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Sparkle 8800 GT Passive: The Fastest Silent GPU in the World

@ 2007/11/30

NVIDIA’s original target for the 8800 GT was $199 for the 256MB version and $249 - $259 for the 512MB version, and while 256MB cards are just now starting to appear in the worldwide market, 512MB cards just can’t be bought at those prices.

A quick look at Newegg shows that most cards are priced between $270 and $320, but almost all cards are out of stock at this time. If you're willing to spend a little more you can find cards selling for $330 - $350, but then you run into some very creative pricing on shipping.

Comment from Kougar @ 2007/12/02

I really don't know. I haven't browsed any NVIDIA support forums to check just how many issues are being reported, but despite the lack of supply I am noticing some threads reporting artifacting with 8800GT cards already.

Comment from geoffrey @ 2007/12/02

Didn't have the time to test those cards week after week, sorry :/

EDIT: seems like they can die shortly after arrival, electromigration perhaps? Although 65nm is not that new, it is the first time NVIDIA build such an powerful processor that small, a failure in design?

Comment from Rutar @ 2007/12/01

considering the crappy cooler, high failure rates wouldn't surprise me

Comment from Gamer @ 2007/12/01

Nah, mine has already survived 24hours non stop 3D overclocked 680/2000, looks like they did something wrong ?

Comment from Kougar @ 2007/12/01

His sample didn't die on him though? Gary Key implied Anandtech has lost 4 8800GT cards now... If G92 cards are having problems with sudden deaths, then that would conveniently explain why Nvidia has released so few of them and been slow to meet demand if nothing else.

Comment from jmke @ 2007/12/01

Quote:

We might have had bad luck or were just plain stupid with the 12% overclock today, but something is not right in our opinion. The base fan speeds are extremely low at idle (26%~29%) and then do not ramp properly as the temperatures increase during load. Playing around with fan speeds utilizing Riva Tuner or nTune can solve this problem, but should a user really have to do this? We think not.

Geoff found the same with his 8800 GT sample; the fan speed ramps up too slow

Comment from Kougar @ 2007/12/01

GPUs have PCB temp sensors though, so I wasn't sure. Thanks for the info

Anandtech seems to be having bad luck with early 8800GTs, btw: http://www.anandtech.com/weblog/showpost.aspx?i=318

Comment from jmke @ 2007/11/30

afaik there were never external temp probes for GPU...

Comment from Kougar @ 2007/11/30

But were they used? I am thinkg of the Core 2 Duo situation, people trying to compare internal vs external (socket) temperature sensors... Would like to make sure those GPU temp results are still apples-to-apples with past hardware.

Comment from jmke @ 2007/11/30

6 and 7 series also have internal temp diodes

Comment from Kougar @ 2007/11/30

Interesting, Anand is using the internal core temp diode... temps will be hotter than normal then since past GPUs hadn't used core diodes? Or did they?

Comment from jmke @ 2007/11/30

95°C is not hot knowing that critical temp is 110+

@Rutar: S1 might cool better, but why bother? cooler temps won't help OC, because even with S1 it'll be too hot for OC. By buying with passive preinstalled you are also keeping warranty intact

Comment from Gamer @ 2007/11/30

Those cards are damn hot, 50° idle - 95° stressed in CM 832 Stacker with the 2 fans if I don't use Rivatuner.

Comment from Rutar @ 2007/11/30

But wouldn't the S1 cool better because of the massive size of the fin area?

Comment from jmke @ 2007/11/30

will it be cheaper to buy a Sparkle 8800 GT with stock cooling ( http://www.dollarshops.eu/product_in...oducts_id/1064 €249 ) and adding AC Silencer S1 for €20 ? = €269

guess not

Passive Sparkle 8800 GT costs: http://www.dollarshops.eu/product_in...oducts_id/1086 €269

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