Can the 8800GT be slowed down with a setting?

[ocfun]

I didn't want one of the over clocked versions of an 8800GT because I want to avoid heat issues and I don't care about a 10% drop in performance. So I found one called: "XFX PVT88PYDF4 GeForce 8800GT" at Amazon. The description says it runs at 600mhz and it doesn't appear to be over clocked from the factory.

However, several reviewers pointed out that the box says, "Alpha Dog Edition" and they think that means it's over clocked and they were confused about which version it really was. On some other internet sites they say it runs at 670mhz. So now I'm confused as to what it really runs at as well.

I read that 8800's can be hot. Especially single slot versions. Because I need ALL my extra slots for other cards, the 8800 must be single slot. So my question is, if I get it and it runs at 670mhz and it's pretty hot, can I slow it down with one of the utilities everyone used to over clock them? Are there ways to cool it down?

Here is the card:

http://www.amazon.com/XFX-PVT88PYDF4-GeForce-Express-S-Video/dp/B000XQHBEE/ref=dp_return_1?ie=UTF8&n=172282&s=electronics

 

[Mousemonkey]

I have two of the 'PVT88PYDF4' Alpha Dogs and they run at 600mhz. Zalman VF900 fits and is quieter than the standard effort.

 

[mactronix]

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[mactronix]

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If you have room in your case for a double slot solution you could do a lot worse than getting this card instead.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127329
The non stock cooler will save you worrying about heat issues and you wont be loosing any performancein fact its OCed
Mactronix

 

[Zenthar]

If you have room in your case for a double slot solution you could do a lot worse than getting this card instead.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127329
The non stock cooler will save you worrying about heat issues and you wont be loosing any performancein fact its OCed

Got my vote on this one.

 

[dokk2]

I didn't want one of the over clocked versions of an 8800GT because I want to avoid heat issues and I don't care about a 10% drop in performance. So I found one called: "XFX PVT88PYDF4 GeForce 8800GT" at Amazon. The description says it runs at 600mhz and it doesn't appear to be over clocked from the factory.

However, several reviewers pointed out that the box says, "Alpha Dog Edition" and they think that means it's over clocked and they were confused about which version it really was. On some other internet sites they say it runs at 670mhz. So now I'm confused as to what it really runs at as well.

I read that 8800's can be hot, so my question is, if I get it and it runs at 670mhz and it's pretty hot, can I slow it down with one of the utilities everyone used to over clock them? Are there ways to cool it down?

Here is the card:

http://www.amazon.com/XFX-PVT88PYDF4-GeForce-Express-S-Video/dp/B000XQHBEE/ref=dp_return_1?ie=UTF8&n=172282&s=electronics

the alpha dog is not overclocked ,,,if you are really worried about heat get an aftermarket cooler like the vantec iiceberq6 pro,,although it will use another slot,,it does exhaust the heat from your video card right out the back of your case,also arctic cooling has similar products,i personally go for the vantec,,because of it's adaptability to different cards/cases...

 

[Zenthar]

if you are really worried about heat get an aftermarket cooler like the vantec iiceberq6 pro,,although it will use another slot,,it does exhaust the heat from your video card right out the back of your case,also arctic cooling has similar products,i personally go for the vantec,,because of it's adaptability to different cards/cases...

Wouldn't that end-up costing nearly as much as just buying a GTS card and, as a bonus, void his warranty (I heard some companies can be particularly anal about stuff like that)?

 

[ocfun]

I have two of the 'PVT88PYDF4' Alpha Dogs and they run at 600mhz. Zalman VF900 fits and is quieter than the standard effort.

Thanks MouseMonkey. That's a good idea. Can the Zalman VF900 be installed without using up an extra slot? Unfortunately I need all my slots for other cards and everything with the 8800 must fit in one slot. I've now edited my post to reflect this.

 

[ocfun]

If you have room in your case for a double slot solution you could do a lot worse than getting this card instead.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127329
The non stock cooler will save you worrying about heat issues and you wont be loosing any performancein fact its OCed
Mactronix

That's a nice one Mactronix but I can't give up the extra slot unfortunately. It looks well made with the copper heat pipes on it too. Actually I wanted to get the 8800GTS until I found out it used up 2 slots. I heard the 8800gts would run cooler because it had more room to cool it off. All I can think of at this point is to buy a fan and mount it inside the case blowing at the graphics card. I wonder if that would work without adding a heat sink.

Also thanks to dokk2 for the Vantec idea, but I can't use it because of the slot usage. Also thanks to Zenthar.

 

[ocfun]

It's good to know the Alpha dog isn't over clocked.. But I still wish there was a utility to allow me to turn down the clock of the graphics card. Or at least experiment with it to see how it effects temps. If anyone knows of a VGA cooler that fits into a single slot, that would be great. That may require a new thread though so people know what I'm asking about... Again the only thing I can think of at this point is buying a fan to point at the graphics card inside the case. Then I could turn the fan on with a switch during gaming and off during internet browsing. I'll be using an getting an Antec 900 case, so maybe that will help enough I won't need an after market cooler.

 

[mactronix]

It's good to know the Alpha dog isn't over clocked.. But I still wish there was a utility to allow me to turn down the clock of the graphics card. Or at least experiment with it to see how it effects temps. If anyone knows of a VGA cooler that fits into a single slot, that would be great. That may require a new thread though so people know what I'm asking about... Again the only thing I can think of at this point is buying a fan to point at the graphics card inside the case. Then I could turn the fan on with a switch during gaming and off during internet browsing. I'll be using an getting an Antec 900 case, so maybe that will help enough I won't need an after market cooler.

Well yes there is no reason why you cant use one of the overclocking utilities to set the clocks lower than stock. Some people do set a profile of lower clocks for when they are doing only 2D work. I think the idea of increasing the airflow through the case is worth a go. It could be that just fitting an extra or bigger fan will keep the card at lower temp. You may even find that once the card is installed you dont have a problem with the temps. Worst case scenario is you get the card and install it, find that the temps are to high. If this happens get a desk fan, take the side of the case off and direct the fan into the case to cool it as a temp measure untill you can source a better cooler or case fan. just dont put the fan too close and running too fast as to cause any issues with the rest of your rig. Its crude but it works
Mactronix

 

[Conumdrum]

If your worried about heat and need a 8800GT buy the BASIC EVGA 8800GT. It's from the best Nvidia manufacturer and has a great warrenty, and the step up program. And it runs as hot as others.

It will be fine as is, it will work okay. Use Rivatuner to set up the fan profile to help it keep cooler. And think of having more cooling in your case. And Rivatuner will let you underclock the card.

Antec 900 is a great, great air case. The stock fans work very nice, slap a 120mm on the hole (precut) on the door and it will help too.

Why would you ever want to underclock a fast card? Just buy a lesser card. I don't get it.

 

[emp]

The solution I can give you will end up costing a little bit more but it'll definitely keep your card running extremely cool and even up the overclocking ceiling. You can get a Thermalright HR-03GT and install it on what I would call a 'reverse' mode. Here's a pic:

The top card has the HR-03 on 'reverse' mode and the bottom one has it on a traditional installation mode. The advantage to this is that you only are using the space of a single slot below the card. I'm pretty sure the reverse mode is actually more effective at cooling than the traditional mode due to the fact that hot air moves upward.

 

[Mousemonkey]

Can the Zalman VF900 be installed without using up an extra slot?

Err no, In fact I have found that if another card is too close then the performance of the VF900 can be badly impaired.

 

[homerdog]

You can set the clocks to whatever you want with RivaTuner. I downclock my 8800GT all the way to 400MHz when I'm not gaming. Saves on power and drops temps a lot.

 

[ocfun]

mactronix, thanks for reply. I will be looking into under clocking it if it gets too hot now that I know it's possible. Again, I hope my new Antec 900 will help. Hopefully I won't need a desk fan either , lol.

Conumdrum, Thanks for mentioning the basic version. I think you meant it doesn't run as hot, but you said it runs as hot. For now I've gone with the card I mentioned and will see how it does. If I can get everything under control and it doesn't mess up my case temps, I will keep it. Otherwise I will try a different card for sure. Why underclock? I felt it would give me more options. The card can be slowed down and I can improve cooling. That will give me a quiet and relatively cool computer. It will also play older games while under clocked. But I will also have the option to turn up the clock and also the fans in the Antec 900 to play something like Crysis if I want to. I've already let go of the high end 8800 for this mid version. But going to a low end card would probably be too slow. Also a lesser card will always be a lesser card, where the better card can hopefully be controlled (heatwise). If not, back it goes.

 

[ocfun]

emp, Wow that loks great! Very cool looking! This may be something I try. The only thing is that the pipes almost look like they could prevent installation of PCI cards. But it's probably a close fit which would be just fine. It's a "cool" solution lol. I've written down the Thermalright and will keep it in mind after I get my card.

mousemonkey, that's too bad then. But thanks anyway.


homerdog, that is EXACTLY what I was looking for. Thanks! I downloaded RivaTuner and tried it on an older Nvidia while I wait for my card to arrive in the mail. The only thing is that there wasn't anything obvious for turning down the clock. I saw many things under the advanced settings, but wasn't sure what would do it. Can you tell me what you change? Otherwise, I will be searching for info on what to use.

 

[Zorg]

Click on the triangle and then the card marked by the red square. and you will see the clock settings. ATITool also works for many Nvidia cards and may be easier to deal with. It's a matter of choice.

 

[ocfun]

Thanks Zorg! I tried it and it works in Riva, but it didn't show the same clock setting slider you have. It only has a slider to select AGP 4X or AGP 8X, so it must be my ancient card, LOL. My old AGP card and P4 system will be history in about 2 days since I ordered a new system and the new 8800 card. I downloaded ATI tuner and that does show it in mhz. I was able to slide different sliders downwards until the 3D cube got a low frame rate. So it works like a charm. Thanks for putting up the pics too.

also, thanks to everyone else who helped.

 

[Zorg]

Happy to help.

 

[Mousemonkey]

Have fun