Overclocking
Many enthusiasts like to push the limits on their hardware, and we would feel remiss if we did not do a little overclocking of our own. Although these cards are already pushed past the specification dictated by NVIDIA, they have even more power potential, if you choose to unlock the driver and give it some more speed.
Note that overclocking voids your warranty. You are enthusiasts and you don't need us to be your mothers, but we still have to make that disclaimer.
EVGA
XFX
The XFX might start at a higher clock speed in the core, but it was the EVGA that was able to punch it into high gear. We could only get the XFX to run at a 489 MHz and 1.15 GHz. We say "only get", but that is 89 MHz faster on the core and 150 MHz faster on the memory than the specification would allow for.
The EVGA was able to handle a 20% overclock with the core at 502 MHz and a 1.20 GHz frequency on the memory. Doing this, we were able to boost the score in 3DMark 2005 on the XFX to 7749 marks, but the EVGA posted an even higher score of 8428 marks. This is truly a great value for those looking to get the most out of their hardware for the lowest cost.