InsaneTek

Overclocking

While there exists a number of other 7800 GTX-based cards that come pre-overclocked in the market, those cards all utilize the exact same components as factory-clocked cards.  Gigabyte’s 7800 GTX comes with the stock frequencies of 430 MHz core and 1200 MHz DDR3 memory.  For added performance, I decided to check for the highest possible overclock by utilizing the “Coolbits” function and testing for optimal clock frequencies.  To verify its stability, I ran a couple of benchmarks and recorded the results to illustrate the speed benefits of overclocking the 7800 GTX.  I was able to achieve a maximum overclock of 465 MHz core and 1260 MHz memory. 

While not as high as some of the special pre-overclocked cards in the market, the Gigabyte 7800 GTX showed considerable improvements in the graphically demanding Chronicles of Riddick and Half-Life 2 benchmarks.  3dMark03 and 3dMark05 also benefited from an increase frequencies.  Although the performance may seem quite small, any free increase in performance is better than nothing and increased clock speeds also contribute to higher minimum frame rate.  In today’s competitive environment among both avid gamers and overclockers, almost every single frame counts, and its good to know Gigabyte’s 7800 GTX provides a little more headroom in the overclocking department.