BFG GeForce 6800 GT OC Review - PAGE 9

Overclocking

There are a couple new things on the Nvidia control panel with regards to overclocking. Under the manual option, they have a "Detect Optimal Frequencies" button. Using this resulted in several tests that took around two minutes in total before the sliders adjusted themselves to a whopping 428 Mhz core and a 1.11 Ghz memory clock. The headroom on the GT seems pretty amazing if this sample is any indication of the ability of the retail cards. Not only are we past 6800 Ultra speeds but we are also surpass BFG's 6800 Ultra OC specs (425 Mhz). Something else to ponder is that the GT is a single slot, single molex solution compared to Ultra which utilize dual slots and dual molex connectors. The BFG 6800 GT OC stayed stable and artifact free for over an hour looping in 3DMark03. Attempts to push the core a few extra megahertz beyond the Optimal Frequency setting resulted in a lockup in 3DMark so the limit is very close to the 428 detected by the driver software.

Early versions of the GT OC may not come with the fancy box

Conclusions

There is a lot to like about the BFG 6800 GT OC. It is hard to go wrong with BFG as a company; they have one of the best, if not the best support in the industry. I mean who else mans their phones 24/7? A lifetime warranty is not a bad thing either. One of the only gripes is the lack of a pack-in game as the BFG 6800 GT OC only comes with a demo disc containing Pandora Tomorrow, Silent Storm and Painkiller. Nonetheless this is not necessarily a bad thing as it helps keep costs down and may save the end user the dismay of getting a second copy of a game they already own.

As far as the card itself goes, the BFG 6800 GT OC is nearly perfect- single slot solution, single molex connector and 6800 Ultra level performance (and beyond if overclocked). Unlike the Ultra based cards, the GT series seem to be going with the single DVI single D-Sub connectors for the video out. This might be an issue for those with dual LCDs. Again, the BFG solution is faster than the stock solutions offered by other vendors being overclocked out of the box at 370 Mhz. Our particular unit was an overclocking beast managing to stay stable at 428/1.11

The price of the BFG 6800 GT OC is agreeable also - with a MSRP of 399$, it is 100$ less than the Ultra and the X800 XT PE. The price is on part with the X800 Pro and in our benchmarking, the GT OC is right up there with the XT PE in most cases. Performance is still being eeked out by the Nvidia driver team with fairly big gains from the initial debut in April till now and more expected in the short term. In my opinion, the 6800 GT OC is the most attractive next generation card to get. Faster than stock, 100$ less than the Ultra/PE XT, Shader Model 3 support, and the potential to get even faster. What more can you ask for?