Gigabyte GeForce 6800 Review - PAGE 9

Overclocking

What overclocking?

We weren't surprised to find that the Gigabyte GV-N68128DH has absolutely no overhead which we can use to overclock the core or memory. It is literally at the edge of its limits, and raising the core clock speed even 5 MHz caused lock-ups in 3DMark. After a session benchmarks at regular clock speeds, board temperatures as reported by a utility application exceeded 70C. That is hot.

Gigabyte has pushed this puppy as far as it will go. On the temperature discussion note, we put the Gigabyte through a more rigorous test than usual - we mounted the Gigabyte in a closed case for the duration of testing with no case fans - only the OCZ Modstream and a Gigabyte 3DCooler. We're happy to report that we did not see stability problems. Ambient room temperature was a balmy 25C.

Conclusion

Before we get to the meat of the conclusion, let us just say one thing:

We had to get down closer to the ground and check whether our test system was turned on when we fired it up with the GV-N68128DH, our OCZ ModStream 520W power supply, and the Gigabyte 3D Cooler-Ultra GT at the lowest setting. Hearing, or rather, not hearing, the system was a major shock, but also quite a pleasant surprise. Are you quiet-computer enthusiasts out there listening?

Gigabyte has done an outstanding job in creating a video card that, while still managing to play the latest and greatest games at very acceptable levels of performance, is completely inaudible. This product is a downright impressive addition to that silent computer you've been yearning for. Coupled with a few other products, such as the OCZ ModStream or Thermaltake Silent PurePower, and an adjustable CPU cooler like the Gigabyte 3D Cooler-Ultra GT, you'll be able to comfortably sleep at night while avoiding the pounding headache the next morning from the jet-engine computer under your desk.

During our laborious "testing", we comfortably played through two hours of Half-Life 2 at 1024x768, 4x AA, and 8x AF while noticing only a slight slow-down during a heavy firefight. This product is not the latest and greatest screamer, but if it can comfortably play virtually every game out there, Doom 3 and Half-Life 2 included, with all of the details turned up while producing absolutely no noise, it is a good compromise for those who are not interested just in flat out performance.