my 6800pcie ventures

sbohdan · April 15th, 2006

just wanted to report what my ventures with my new VGA was so far. after being unable to open the pipes, I went to the MVKTech site and asked the experts what they think? here is what it went. this is what I wrote:

Quote:

I just bought an Inno3D GeForce 6800 128MB PCI Express (vanilla) and when trying to open it with RivaTuner it seems there are no pipes to be opened (should be 4 more). I will download the newest RivaTuner and try again. If it doesn't help, would a BIOS flash help? Any modified BIOSes for a 128MB PCI Express? Or did I just get what I paid for? I was searching through the site but didn't find any similar topics for my card. Thanks for any input.

the answer was:

Quote:

Mavke wrote: The GeForce 6800 PCI Express version uses the NV41 chip which means it has only 12pp and 5vs as a maximum so it is normal that you can't unlock anything as there isn't anything more on the chip itself. So the only thing you can do is overclock the card...but that is about it.

my answer:

Quote:

Oh bummer, so there isn't anything to open. Yeah it is 12pp/5vp and when I tried to overclock (to 380/740MHz) I got less points in 3DMark05 then at default, dammit. I should of never buy this piece of crap. Thanks guys for the info. Just saved me from some useless struggling.

Mavke wrote:

Quote:

Indeed that is actually the case for almost all PCI Express cards on those chips NVIDIA uses a new process that basically makes sure that there are only the pipes/vertex units available as they dictate, nothing more and nothing less. If you would have gone for the AGP version of the GeForce 6800 that it would have been possble as the NV40 is then used which is a 16pp/6vp but cut down to 12pp/5vp, but this is not the case for the NV41...

next they asked me to post my cards bios to examine it and see what could be done. I did and got the answer, that I expected (I did examine the bios myself but wanted a second opinion):

Quote:

Mavke wrote: Well the BIOS has it all, it is a NV41 from the BIOS indication. Also the voltage table has been set to zero entries whcih means that it is disabled and will only run at default voltage. So somehow I think even by trying to modify somehow the voltage table it will not do much. But if you want we could give it a go...

Then the memory, you can check that on the website of Samsung actually if you want. But well I already did for you... So the GC2A is actually saying what this memory is rated for and that is 2.8ns meaning that these are okay for 350MHz or 700MHz DDR. So normally if you tweak the timings a bit you should be able to get 750MHz but not much more.

so from my point of wiev this card is crap: no pipes to be opened, no voltage raise (for a better OC) and the memorys at the maximum of its rating. this is definitelly not an overclockers card. the reason I posted this little conversation is to warn all of those, who like me are looking for something with a great potential - this card is crap (BTW: its an inno3D6800pcie 128MB).
as for me: I will search for something that has a great OC potential, if the cooling is crap thats not a problem - I will make my own anyway and sell this one to someone, who just wants a good usable card and doesnt want/has a clue about OC-ing. for me the pipe opening, voltmodding and OC is more fun than the gaming itself, so a card like this has no value to me whatsoever. I like to push the limits but with this one, the limits are set and cannot be altered. actually they (nvidia) made the effort to make a new chip (NV41 as opposed to the good NV40 in the AGP version) with 12 pipes, locked the voltage and made sure the mem. is at its rated limit - its like they did it to mock overclockers. to me this is discusting and I dont want it.

Tyreal · April 15th, 2006

Thanks for the insight sbohdan. It's too bad that nothing could be done.

sbohdan · April 15th, 2006

well dont get me wrong: for a regular gamer the card isnt that bad at all. it gets 3800p. in 3dmark05 at default settings and is cheap but to me it has nothing to offer in means of potential :? (I was gonna do an article how to open the pipes, voltmod and oc with the use of a better cooler- something that is good but not as big as the SI-97 that takes up so much space). now this has to wait till I find a better prospect

fps justin · April 15th, 2006

and there for if you like ocable cards go for the x800gto and x1800 gto.

**gvblake22** · April 15th, 2006

That's a bummer sbohdan. Do you think maybe if you had gotten a 256MB version you would have more luck?

Tyreal · April 15th, 2006

I don't think so. They still use the same core. His mem clocks will differ though of course.

sbohdan · April 16th, 2006

the problem is that with the Nvidia cards there is more gain in performance from OC-ing the GPU then the mem. (its the opposite with ATI).the fact that the pipes can'be unlocked aside but since I can't change the Vcore of the GPU -that really cripples all attempts to seriously overclock :(
I think I will have to find a good deal on A 7900gt and get the funds for it :)

April 15th, 2006	#2
Tyreal Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: British Columbia, Canada Posts: 2,557	Thanks for the insight sbohdan. It's too bad that nothing could be done. I Like Watercooling. D-Tek Fuzion, MCP655, MCR220

April 15th, 2006	#3
sbohdan VGA tuner & F@H Moderator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Ottawa, Canada Posts: 599	well dont get me wrong: for a regular gamer the card isnt that bad at all. it gets 3800p. in 3dmark05 at default settings and is cheap but to me it has nothing to offer in means of potential :? (I was gonna do an article how to open the pipes, voltmod and oc with the use of a better cooler- something that is good but not as big as the SI-97 that takes up so much space). now this has to wait till I find a better prospect Main rig: Chieftec modded case,MSI P4N Diamond, D830@3.48Ghz,1.4V,928FSB 2GB patriot Extreme Performance 6400@900Mhz, 4-4-4-17 Inno3D 7900GT@542Mhz/1.6Ghz, Thermalright SI-97 Samsung 320GB, Maxtor 250GB; Antec 500W Swiftech NB, Asus StarIceBlue CPU cooler; XP Pro Laptop: Dell XPS 1530 (T7500; 3GB 667 RAM; 160GB 7200rpm HDD; 8600GT; Vista 32bit) my 6800LE mod

April 15th, 2006	#4
fps justin Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Vancouver, BC Posts: 1,199	and there for if you like ocable cards go for the x800gto and x1800 gto. E2140 @ 375 x 8 = 3.0ghz 2x1 ocz system 1337s pc2-6400 5-5-5-15 @ 450mhz gigabyte P35 S3L eVGA 7600GT Stock 120 gig seagate ULTRA X-Finity 600w Sonata 2 w/ top fan G5 Lazer Mouse

April 15th, 2006	#6
Tyreal Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: British Columbia, Canada Posts: 2,557	I don't think so. They still use the same core. His mem clocks will differ though of course. I Like Watercooling. D-Tek Fuzion, MCP655, MCR220

April 16th, 2006	#7
sbohdan VGA tuner & F@H Moderator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Ottawa, Canada Posts: 599	the problem is that with the Nvidia cards there is more gain in performance from OC-ing the GPU then the mem. (its the opposite with ATI).the fact that the pipes can'be unlocked aside but since I can't change the Vcore of the GPU -that really cripples all attempts to seriously overclock :( I think I will have to find a good deal on A 7900gt and get the funds for it :) Main rig: Chieftec modded case,MSI P4N Diamond, D830@3.48Ghz,1.4V,928FSB 2GB patriot Extreme Performance 6400@900Mhz, 4-4-4-17 Inno3D 7900GT@542Mhz/1.6Ghz, Thermalright SI-97 Samsung 320GB, Maxtor 250GB; Antec 500W Swiftech NB, Asus StarIceBlue CPU cooler; XP Pro Laptop: Dell XPS 1530 (T7500; 3GB 667 RAM; 160GB 7200rpm HDD; 8600GT; Vista 32bit) my 6800LE mod

April 15th, 2006	#5
gvblake22 Modder-ator Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Tempe Desert Posts: 6,351 Blog Entries: 1	That's a bummer sbohdan. Do you think maybe if you had gotten a 256MB version you would have more luck?