Overclocking my Leadtek 6800gt

[J_Tweedy]

I have the Leadtek A400gt TDH (6800gt Agp8x) and have overclocked it to 400/1100 clock frequencies. My cooling is not great, but it does the job- Idle temps are CPU 30C, Case 26C and GFX card 47C. These did not change since i overclocked, probably due to the huge and seemingly very effective heatsink on the gfx card. I have not overclocked anything else. I am having no problems now, but my question is, what are the implications for doing this in the long term (say in a year's time or more)- is there likely to be any degradation in any sense, or any shortening of the card's life? I like it at Ultra speeds, but will not risk it for much longer if there is likely to be problems in the future.
Thanks for any help.
btw: i hear the 6800gt differs from the ultra only in frequency? If so, would that mean it's perfectly safe to run it at ultra speeds? Also, i haven't done any real stress testing- but ive been playing bf2 quite a bit! Without any probs whatsoever.

 

[duffers20]

I think it would have a very marginal effect on the life of the card, I mean, as you said, the only difference is in frequencies, and if its running fine at those ( and I think the ultra runs at 425/1200 or something??) I woudn't worry about it.

 

[bryanf445]

besides, by the time this card is hurt at all by that oc, youll have a much better, faster card anyways

 

[Shamrock]

You still could sell it for $200 and actually make a profit.. You don't need to blow it up.

 

[J_Tweedy]

so it takes a while for any damage to occur? i.e. 2 years at least (when i plan to upgrade next)

 

[Shamrock]

It all depends on the overclockage.. I mean if you want to overclock A LOT then you will need a lot of cooling. If you have a miniscule amount of cooling and you overclock a lot, your graphics card is liable to get damaged.

 

[J_Tweedy]

400/1100- is that considered a lot? Keep in mind my temps have barely changed.

 

[sinkoman]

No, that's not allot at all.

As you said, the gt and ultra only differ in clockspeeds.

Which is why I laugh at the people who purchased an Ultra over a GT. Unless you got a BFG. Then you have an excuse.

 

[J_Tweedy]

i have been told however, that often lower clocked hardware is a result of higher spec hardware that didnt make the grade- hence the lower clock- does this mean the 6800gt is not made to run at these speeds, and will cause damage in the long run? Sorry to repeat myself a bit, but no answer to this Q yet!

 

[duffers20]

Which is why I laugh at the people who purchased an Ultra over a GT. Unless you got a BFG. Then you have an excuse.

Whats up with teh BFG?

To answer your question J_Tweedy, I'm not totally sure, but you are right in saying that the chip could have been made an GT for a reason, but I think in most cases you are ok, better check that out though.

 

[J_Tweedy]

The BFG is obverclocked outa the box i think? btw, duffers, how do i go about checking it out?

 

[J_Tweedy]

bump- does no one know the possible long term dangers of a stable overclock?

 

[duffers20]

I would say that the life of teh chip will decrease slightly, but if you don't cool it properly, then it will age quicker. I don't think there are any other effects on teh chip itself.

 

[socK]

The card will last longer than you will ever need it, even highly overclocked. (unless you fry it of course) Nvidia cards have that auto-detect thing, just hit that, most end up finding themselfs over Ultra speeds.

 

[Cole]

Nvidia cards have that auto-detect thing

ATI has that thing to, which changes your speed based on temp of your card..they call it "Overdrive".

 

[bodhi]

what are the ultra speeds as a matter of interest, cos ive got a 6800gt

 

[ComradeBadger]

The card will last longer than you will ever need it, even highly overclocked. (unless you fry it of course) Nvidia cards have that auto-detect thing, just hit that, most end up finding themselfs over Ultra speeds.

This man speaks the truth

 

[J_Tweedy]

oh, ok- well my temps have barely changed (1-2C) and this is a fairly low o'clock. Thanks guys.

 

[Glirk Dient]

I OCed my BFG 6800gt to 400/1.10ghz.

I believe that is the ultra speeds, mine runs just fine with those settings.