Driver glitch limits overclocking of Nvidia's GeForce 7800 GTX chip

Chicago (IL) - Nvidia has confirmed a bug in its current driver software that prevents serious overclocking - by shutting down a graphics card not just when it runs too hot, but also too cool, Tom's Hardware Guide has learned.

Modern hardware such as Nvidia's latest graphic chip generation support temperature monitoring features that automatically can decrease clock speed and even disable graphic cards when the chip gets too hot. This "software protection mode" however works in two directions, sources told Tom's Hardware Guide.

Nvidia confirmed in an email to Tom's Hardware Guide that the graphic chip will switch into software protection mode when die temperatures reach a range of 30 to 35 degrees Celsius. "There is an issue with our thermal detection software that doesn't let you supercool the chip to run overclocking tests," Nvidia's Nick Stam said.

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