GeForce GTX 780 Ti Overclocked to 1.9 GHz by K|NGP|N
EVGA's GTX 780 Ti classified K|NGP|N edition has been overclocked to a whopping 1.9 GHz. LN2 was harmed in the process.
Not long ago, word arrived that EVGA was working on its GTX 780 Ti Kingpin edition. Now, overclocker Kingpin, or "K|NGP|N" himself, got his hands on the card and went to work. The result was 1933 MHz on liquid nitrogen.
The GPU was run at 1.212 V, with the memory running at 7.8 GHz. The CPU that was used was an Intel Xeon E5-1660 that was overclocked to 5.0 GHz.
The EVGA GTX 780 Ti classified K|NGP|N edition (What a mouthful!) is a card that is built to be the overclocker's dream card, with no limit on the GPU voltage or the card's TDP. This lets overclockers take the hardware as far as physics will let it go and not be limited by the manufacturer. That said, undoubtedly warranties were probably void.


Was hoping for a bit more explanation.
Was hoping for a bit more explanation.
Now first off, no limit to TDP? WHAT?
Since when does Nvidia even allow this in a retail card? Or did I miss something with the introduction of Nvidia GPU Boost 2.0?
This makes no sense. To a degree does the manufacturer not have to conform to guidelines set by Nvidia?
Otherwise why would Nvidia almost give MSI the boot when they screwed with the GTX660ti / GTX670 Power Edition.
This makes no sense. To a degree does the manufacturer not have to conform to guidelines set by Nvidia?
Otherwise why would Nvidia almost give MSI the boot when they screwed with the GTX660ti / GTX670 Power Edition.
No they don't. Nvidia doesn't make the cards, they only make the GPU chips inside them. Nvidia then creates what's known as a "reference design" which is their standard board layout, power draw and voltage / clock configuration. Manufacturers are free to do whatever they want, they can design their own boards with different clocks and voltages and are thus responsible for any warranty claims involved. Also if a manufacturers design alters the performance characteristics such that it requires driver modifications, it's the manufacturers responsibility to develop those modifications, which is what notebook OEM's sometimes have to do.
EVGA has made several non-reference cards in the past. Hell my EVGA 780 Hydro's aren't reference design and are clocked much higher then the reference design. Same with their Classified edition cards.
No they don't. Nvidia doesn't make the cards, they only make the GPU chips inside them. Nvidia then creates what's known as a "reference design" which is their standard board layout, power draw and voltage / clock configuration. Manufacturers are free to do whatever they want, they can design their own boards with different clocks and voltages and are thus responsible for any warranty claims involved. Also if a manufacturers design alters the performance characteristics such that it requires driver modifications, it's the manufacturers responsibility to develop those modifications, which is what notebook OEM's sometimes have to do.
EVGA has made several non-reference cards in the past. Hell my EVGA 780 Hydro's aren't reference design and are clocked much higher then the reference design. Same with their Classified edition cards.
Really dude? REALLY?
You are kind of missing the point I am trying to make? Not to mention you are telling me things that are about as complicated as a potato...
I know exactly what you are saying, but WHY would NVIDIA give MSI crap over that incident if the vendors are free to do what they want with the chips sold to them?
Geez I hate being treated like an idiot when I try to make a valid point.
No they don't. Nvidia doesn't make the cards, they only make the GPU chips inside them. Nvidia then creates what's known as a "reference design" which is their standard board layout, power draw and voltage / clock configuration. Manufacturers are free to do whatever they want, they can design their own boards with different clocks and voltages and are thus responsible for any warranty claims involved. Also if a manufacturers design alters the performance characteristics such that it requires driver modifications, it's the manufacturers responsibility to develop those modifications, which is what notebook OEM's sometimes have to do.
EVGA has made several non-reference cards in the past. Hell my EVGA 780 Hydro's aren't reference design and are clocked much higher then the reference design. Same with their Classified edition cards.
Really dude? REALLY?
You are kind of missing the point I am trying to make? Not to mention you are telling me things that are about as complicated as a potato...
I know exactly what you are saying, but WHY would NVIDIA give MSI crap over that incident if the vendors are free to do what they want with the chips sold to them?
Geez I hate being treated like an idiot when I try to make a valid point.
I think the reason that MSI had trouble was because the cards cannot be RMA'd to Nvidia if there is a defect if the manufacture doesn't follow certain guidelines. I believe they are free to do what they like, but the cards cannot be RMA'd to nvidia in that case, or something along those lines.
No they don't. Nvidia doesn't make the cards, they only make the GPU chips inside them. Nvidia then creates what's known as a "reference design" which is their standard board layout, power draw and voltage / clock configuration. Manufacturers are free to do whatever they want, they can design their own boards with different clocks and voltages and are thus responsible for any warranty claims involved. Also if a manufacturers design alters the performance characteristics such that it requires driver modifications, it's the manufacturers responsibility to develop those modifications, which is what notebook OEM's sometimes have to do.
EVGA has made several non-reference cards in the past. Hell my EVGA 780 Hydro's aren't reference design and are clocked much higher then the reference design. Same with their Classified edition cards.
Really dude? REALLY?
You are kind of missing the point I am trying to make? Not to mention you are telling me things that are about as complicated as a potato...
I know exactly what you are saying, but WHY would NVIDIA give MSI crap over that incident if the vendors are free to do what they want with the chips sold to them?
Geez I hate being treated like an idiot when I try to make a valid point.
The validity of your point has yet to be demonstrated, the rest I leave to you to figure out.
What Nvidia does or says to MSI is irrelevant. Manufacturers are free to design products to whatever specification they desire, Nvidia makes no promise's that the product will work outside of their reference design. NVidia also doesn't assume any legal liability for a manufacturer using their products outside of their tested and certified capabilities.
Here is what you stated,
Now first off, no limit to TDP? WHAT?
Since when does Nvidia even allow this in a retail card? Or did I miss something with the introduction of Nvidia GPU Boost 2.0?
NVidia doesn't have any say in the matter, End Of Story. EVGA could purchase those gpu chips, glue them onto a Frisbee and use it in an office match on a Saturday.
No they don't. Nvidia doesn't make the cards, they only make the GPU chips inside them. Nvidia then creates what's known as a "reference design" which is their standard board layout, power draw and voltage / clock configuration. Manufacturers are free to do whatever they want, they can design their own boards with different clocks and voltages and are thus responsible for any warranty claims involved. Also if a manufacturers design alters the performance characteristics such that it requires driver modifications, it's the manufacturers responsibility to develop those modifications, which is what notebook OEM's sometimes have to do.
EVGA has made several non-reference cards in the past. Hell my EVGA 780 Hydro's aren't reference design and are clocked much higher then the reference design. Same with their Classified edition cards.
Really dude? REALLY?
You are kind of missing the point I am trying to make? Not to mention you are telling me things that are about as complicated as a potato...
I know exactly what you are saying, but WHY would NVIDIA give MSI crap over that incident if the vendors are free to do what they want with the chips sold to them?
Geez I hate being treated like an idiot when I try to make a valid point.
I think the reason that MSI had trouble was because the cards cannot be RMA'd to Nvidia if there is a defect if the manufacture doesn't follow certain guidelines. I believe they are free to do what they like, but the cards cannot be RMA'd to nvidia in that case, or something along those lines.
No card can be RMA'd to NVidia, ever. NVidia doesn't sell cards and you are not their customer. They sell chips, large crates of chips, to manufacturers. Those manufactures then turn those chips into a product and sell that product to the end user. You have a problem with the card its the responsibility of the manufacturer to replace it in accordance with whatever warranty is in place. The only time NVidia gets involved is when there is a shipment of bad chips, which is something that takes place before the card leaves the manufacturers warehouse due to QA testing.
http://www.overclockers.com/nvidia-says-no-to-voltage-control
http://www.legitreviews.com/nvidia-explains-gtx-680-voltage-control-restrictions-to-legit-reviews_14273
article from when the 680s got locked down hard by nvidia.
http://www.brightsideofnews.com/news/2012/10/3/nvidias-green-light-program--improving-quality-or-strangling-innovation.aspx
Nvidia does a greenlight program where third parties HAVE to go through nvidia before they can sell any product with their chipcards. hence why voltage modding has been gone since the 680. this is also why there is no 6 gig 780Ti.
Nvidia stops them since they think the titan should be the only one with 6 gig. I have no idea why nvidia is letting EVGA do it now with the kingpin edition but it most likely won't go over to the 800 series and this is a one off where EVGA and kingpin begged alot.
http://www.overclockers.com/nvidia-says-no-to-voltage-control
http://www.legitreviews.com/nvidia-explains-gtx-680-voltage-control-restrictions-to-legit-reviews_14273
article from when the 680s got locked down hard by nvidia.
http://www.brightsideofnews.com/news/2012/10/3/nvidias-green-light-program--improving-quality-or-strangling-innovation.aspx
Nvidia does a greenlight program where third parties HAVE to go through nvidia before they can sell any product with their chipcards. hence why voltage modding has been gone since the 680. this is also why there is no 6 gig 780Ti.
Nvidia stops them since they think the titan should be the only one with 6 gig. I have no idea why nvidia is letting EVGA do it now with the kingpin edition but it most likely won't go over to the 800 series and this is a one off where EVGA and kingpin begged alot.
Read the language very carefully, there is a subtle difference. NVidia can not stop them from having a volt modifiable card, there is no legal ground for them to do so. NVidia may recommend against it, may even revoke manufacturer warranty agreements, but they can not tell them what to do with their product after it's been sold.
Microsoft once tried this with OEM's and it didn't work out too well. (MS Once tried to make it illegal to sell a computer without an OS or to replace the OS after it was sold).
:Edit
Ahh found it
Reducing RMAs has never been a focus of Green Light.
We support overvoltaging up to a limit on our products, but have a maximum reliability spec that is intended to protect the life of the product. We don’t want to see customers disappointed when their card dies in a year or two because the voltage was raised too high.
Regarding overvoltaging above our max spec, we offer AICs two choices:
· Ensure the GPU stays within our operating specs and have a full warranty from NVIDIA.
· Allow the GPU to be manually operated outside specs in which case NVIDIA provides no warranty.
We prefer AICs ensure the GPU stays within spec and encourage this through warranty support, but it’s ultimately up to the AIC what they want to do. Their choice does not affect allocation. And this has no bearing on the end user warranty provided by the AIC. It is simply a warranty between NVIDIA and the AIC.
With Green Light, we don’t really go out of the way to look for ways that AICs enable manual OV. As I stated, this isn’t the core purpose of the program. Yes, you’ve seen some cases of boards getting out into the market with OV features only to have them disabled later. This is due to the fact that AICs decided later that they would prefer to have a warranty. This is simply a choice the AICs each need to make for themselves. How, or when they make this decision, is entirely up to them.
With regards to your MSI comment below, we gave MSI the same choice I referenced above -- change their SW to disable OV above our reliability limit or not obtain a warranty. They simply chose to change their software in lieu of the warranty. Their choice. It is not ours to make, and we don’t influence them one way or the other.
In short, Green Light is an especially important program for a major, new product introduction like Kepler, where our AICs don’t have a lot of experience building and working with our new technologies, but also extends the flexibility to AICs who provide a design that can operate outside of the reliability limits of the board. And, if you look at the products in the market today, there is obviously evidence of differentiation. You only need to look at the large assortment of high quality Kepler boards available today, including standard and overclocked editions."
Manufacturers can do whatever they want with their product once they've purchased it, they just won't get warranty rebates from NVidia for those products not covered in the GLP. And since this product is clearly aimed at those of us who would violate our warranty anyway, I don't think that is much of a concern.
http://www.overclockers.com/nvidia-says-no-to-voltage-control
http://www.legitreviews.com/nvidia-explains-gtx-680-voltage-control-restrictions-to-legit-reviews_14273
article from when the 680s got locked down hard by nvidia.
http://www.brightsideofnews.com/news/2012/10/3/nvidias-green-light-program--improving-quality-or-strangling-innovation.aspx
Nvidia does a greenlight program where third parties HAVE to go through nvidia before they can sell any product with their chipcards. hence why voltage modding has been gone since the 680. this is also why there is no 6 gig 780Ti.
Nvidia stops them since they think the titan should be the only one with 6 gig. I have no idea why nvidia is letting EVGA do it now with the kingpin edition but it most likely won't go over to the 800 series and this is a one off where EVGA and kingpin begged alot.
Read the language very carefully, there is a subtle difference. NVidia can not stop them from having a volt modifiable card, there is no legal ground for them to do so. NVidia may recommend against it, may even revoke manufacturer warranty agreements, but they can not tell them what to do with their product after it's been sold.
Microsoft once tried this with OEM's and it didn't work out too well. (MS Once tried to make it illegal to sell a computer without an OS or to replace the OS after it was sold).
There you go... I have not seen you around much, but I would not expect this from a mod. Please stop being condescending and argumentative.
If Nvidia has the threat of revoking manufacturing rights looming over manufacturers, then my original surprise at this cards claims of no limitations is perfectly valid.
Now it does however make sense that they would not want a GTX670 fully unlocked from MSI as that would very much rival the much more expensive GTX680 and threaten sales on it. So from that perspective the GTX780ti does not threaten any higher tier card.
http://www.overclockers.com/nvidia-says-no-to-voltage-control
http://www.legitreviews.com/nvidia-explains-gtx-680-voltage-control-restrictions-to-legit-reviews_14273
article from when the 680s got locked down hard by nvidia.
http://www.brightsideofnews.com/news/2012/10/3/nvidias-green-light-program--improving-quality-or-strangling-innovation.aspx
Nvidia does a greenlight program where third parties HAVE to go through nvidia before they can sell any product with their chipcards. hence why voltage modding has been gone since the 680. this is also why there is no 6 gig 780Ti.
Nvidia stops them since they think the titan should be the only one with 6 gig. I have no idea why nvidia is letting EVGA do it now with the kingpin edition but it most likely won't go over to the 800 series and this is a one off where EVGA and kingpin begged alot.
Read the language very carefully, there is a subtle difference. NVidia can not stop them from having a volt modifiable card, there is no legal ground for them to do so. NVidia may recommend against it, may even revoke manufacturer warranty agreements, but they can not tell them what to do with their product after it's been sold.
Microsoft once tried this with OEM's and it didn't work out too well. (MS Once tried to make it illegal to sell a computer without an OS or to replace the OS after it was sold).
There you go... I have not seen you around much, but I would not expect this from a mod. Please stop being condescending and argumentative.
If Nvidia has the threat of revoking manufacturing rights looming over manufacturers, then my original surprise at this cards claims of no limitations is perfectly valid.
Now it does however make sense that they would not want a GTX670 fully unlocked from MSI as that would very much rival the much more expensive GTX680 and threaten sales on it. So from that perspective the GTX780ti does not threaten any higher tier card.
Read my above post. NVidia stated themselves manufacturers do not have to use GLP and can indeed make cards with OV, they just won't get rebated from NVidia for faulty products.
Also understand there is a difference between the warranty from the consumer to the manufacturer and the warranty between the manufacturer and NVidia. In this we are discussing the warranty between NVidia and EVGA such that NVidia will not rebate EVGA the cost of a faulty non-GLP product.
As for your other comments, consider this a warning.
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/nvidia-gpu-evga-green-light-approval,18150.html
So they don't just sell "buckets of chips... end of story".
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/nvidia-gpu-evga-green-light-approval,18150.html
So they don't just sell "buckets of chips... end of story".
Read again. Devil is in the details.
http://www.brightsideofnews.com/news/2012/10/3/nvidias-green-light-program--improving-quality-or-strangling-innovation.aspx
Reducing RMAs has never been a focus of Green Light.
We support overvoltaging up to a limit on our products, but have a maximum reliability spec that is intended to protect the life of the product. We don’t want to see customers disappointed when their card dies in a year or two because the voltage was raised too high.
Regarding overvoltaging above our max spec, we offer AICs two choices:
· Ensure the GPU stays within our operating specs and have a full warranty from NVIDIA.
· Allow the GPU to be manually operated outside specs in which case NVIDIA provides no warranty.
We prefer AICs ensure the GPU stays within spec and encourage this through warranty support, but it’s ultimately up to the AIC what they want to do. Their choice does not affect allocation. And this has no bearing on the end user warranty provided by the AIC. It is simply a warranty between NVIDIA and the AIC.
With Green Light, we don’t really go out of the way to look for ways that AICs enable manual OV. As I stated, this isn’t the core purpose of the program. Yes, you’ve seen some cases of boards getting out into the market with OV features only to have them disabled later. This is due to the fact that AICs decided later that they would prefer to have a warranty. This is simply a choice the AICs each need to make for themselves. How, or when they make this decision, is entirely up to them.
With regards to your MSI comment below, we gave MSI the same choice I referenced above -- change their SW to disable OV above our reliability limit or not obtain a warranty. They simply chose to change their software in lieu of the warranty. Their choice. It is not ours to make, and we don’t influence them one way or the other.
In short, Green Light is an especially important program for a major, new product introduction like Kepler, where our AICs don’t have a lot of experience building and working with our new technologies, but also extends the flexibility to AICs who provide a design that can operate outside of the reliability limits of the board. And, if you look at the products in the market today, there is obviously evidence of differentiation. You only need to look at the large assortment of high quality Kepler boards available today, including standard and overclocked editions."
From, quite literally, the mouth of NVidia themselves.
Cards that are not certified through GLP will not have warranty support provided through NVidia meaning the OEM will have to eat the costs themselves. You, the consumer, still has a warranty with the OEM as mandated by consumer protection laws.
I think the moral of what has happened between nVidia and OEMs is 'Play nice or we won't play with you in future'.
Back to the article, while this may look positive right now I think in time we will see GPUs being locked down in the amount you are able to overclock them much in the same way that has happened with CPUs (although AMD are much looser than Intel in this regard). So lets hope that this doesn't have a negative impact for the average user in future.