6200 not so bad

ultrazls1 · TweakNOOB Joined: 14 Dec 2005 Posts: 22

For those of you who dont know you can see my system specs in my other post. "just got a graphics car...etc"

Anyway I got a new 6800 ultra but havent got it going yet.

I ordered a couple new games and figured I would try them on the old 6200 turbocache before getting my new card installed...the 6200 specs are 64mb actual 256 allocated....but available with the turbocache speed!!!...LOL.. nice trick to sucker people into this card I would guess.

Anyway I installed F.E.A.R. Last night and figured it might not even play. The minimum requirment is a 64 meg video card. The recommended requirements are crazy. 3 gig penitum 4, 1 gig of ram, 256 meg video card 6600 or above!!!

I figured what the hell and tried it.
Ran a test and optimum playing graphics werent to bad at all.
I ended up having it set on maximum for the computer performance and on medium for video card setting all around.
Their is a tad of slow down once in a while, but not enough to bother me, and worth the extra detail.On medium the water looks real and on low it doesnt look like much.
Some pretty noticeable aliasing at times....but it looks a lot better than I figured for how good it plays....being this game came out in something like october and given its requirements....I am very happy.
I think I averaged over 30 fps if I can remember from the test.

Cant wait to get the new card in...cant even imagine how sweet the game will be then.

I am about to install far cry and half life 2 in a couple days....I can let you guys know how it runs on the 6200 if anyone is interested.

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ultrazls1 · TweakNOOB Joined: 14 Dec 2005 Posts: 22

Forgot to mention....this is on stock clock speeds.

350mhz
550mhz

I just ran an auto detect overclock and it went to 407, 667.
This is getting fun....I wonder how much it will help?
How far can I push it?

[TN] Nathan · ALMIGHTY PWNER! Joined: 14 Feb 2002 Posts: 7406

Yea, I have heard decent things about them.

Not a bad value.
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ultrazls1 · TweakNOOB Joined: 14 Dec 2005 Posts: 22

I checked it with 3dmark 05 version today.

Stock I got 1386....350/550
Auto detect pushed it to 1561...408/669
I manual clocked it to 456/701 and got my best score of 1649.

Wouldnt go any higher after that.

I think 1700's are possible If I change some things here and their.

Does it help more to lower the memory speed and raise the core clock or vice versa?

I noticed I could push more out of the core If I lowered the memory clock etc.

fussnfeathers · Lord of the Tweak Joined: 14 Dec 2004 Posts: 2763

Only to a small extent. The core is typically better able to run at higher speeds, the memory poops out faster. So yes, you'll see a slighty better increase pushing the core harder than the memory. Adding some ram heatsinks might allow you to push it just that little bit farther.

One thing you have to watch for is artifacting. Sure, you might get a great score, but it'll run like crap in games. Artifacting is a result of an overheated core or memory.........if you see that, back off right away, you'll burn the card out pretty quickly.

Since you have the 6800, go ahead and experiment, but be warned.............pushing your core and VRAM that hard WILL burn up the card rather quickly, and a crash due to an overheated vid card can botch your Windows install, requiring a reformat.
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ultrazls1 · TweakNOOB Joined: 14 Dec 2005 Posts: 22

I am only clocking it as high as it will allow me to do so by performing the test first.

I also have an automatic warning set if it reaches high temps.

Is this a safe way to do it or will I still have the same problem?
I have seen several people push them this high. But for some reason my memory clock is very fast. I have seen very few over 700 with this card.

I have it clocked to 459/710 now and got a score of 1655.

Should I back it off 10-20mhz on both for safety and to make it run better?

I am being so careless because I dont really give a crap about this card. It isnt worth squat and my new one is about a million times more powerful.
The windows reformat would suck though.

I really wish I could have messed with the non turbocache version. I guess with riva tuner you can unlock 4 pipelines on the 6200 and get scores well into the 2000's. But unfortunately the turbocache version is locked.

fussnfeathers · Lord of the Tweak Joined: 14 Dec 2004 Posts: 2763

Not sure what you're using for a test, but no test that I'm aware of will limit how far you can OC.........it'll just give you a max limit. If you exceed that, nothing's stopping you.

There's also no "set" high temp for a card. Some will run fine at, say, 60c, while others will start to puke at 50c. I use 3DMark05 Game 3 (the Troll game) to check for artifacting. If you start to see "flashes", goofy triangles, etc, then you're overheating. I don't rely on a set temperature guideline as to what's safe.

The typical "test" for OC'ing is like this..........start to OC your VRAM, a little bit at a time, running a hardcore game or test for awhile. 30 minutes or more, not just one short pass. If you get no artifacting, then bump it up a bit more. Once you reach the point where you're seeing distortion, back off 10mhz, and that's your max VRAM limit. Now do the same with the core speeds.

Yes, it takes time, but I find it to be more accurate than any pure "max XXX speed" test, because it's actually burning in the card for awhile. ATITool and the like don't really take the time to stress test. They just go until the artifacts start showing, which could be far too high for running Doom 3.
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ultrazls1 · TweakNOOB Joined: 14 Dec 2005 Posts: 22

It wont even let me apply the settings if I go to high. It does a small self test before I can apply the OC. If it doesnt pass...it wont let me.

and yeah I noticed some artifacting last time I tried 3dmark. I guess I had better back it off a little.

It looked like black chunks of triangles and stuff floating in the air. I noticed it in the level where that sea monster is trying to eat that ship.

fussnfeathers · Lord of the Tweak Joined: 14 Dec 2004 Posts: 2763

Yup, back off until you don't see any of that. The self-test on those cards is like your BIOS memory test........it looks good, but it's really not doing much at all.

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mardel · TweakNOOB Joined: 05 Jan 2006 Posts: 2

I also have the same type of rig you do and am wondering how far cry and half-life 2 ran with the 6200.
So far I have battlefield 2, SW Battlefront 2 and Call of Duty 2. All are doing very well with medium settings set for each.
I also plan on upgrading the video card and have read your other post regarding your psu issue and was wondering how the 6800 ultra worked out for you. I was planning on that particular card also maybe the 6800 gt if the ultra did not work out.
Also what app are using for o'clocing? Thanks

ultrazls1 · TweakNOOB Joined: 14 Dec 2005 Posts: 22

Havent even gotten the power supply yet...so I havent used the card yet. I am so broke from christmas and stuff that I cant fit one into my budget. I am a poor college student.

I have been playing far cry a lot and it runs really well. With auto detect it put all the settings to high, system spec to very high...no anti aliasing etc.

I would just buy whichever card you cand find for cheaper.
From what I understand the gt and ultra are the same card....the ultra is just clocked higher from the factory. You could easily overclock the gt to ultra speeds or higher.

Im not sure if the gt or ultra card would have an advantage in max speed they can be overclocked....but I doubt it would be noticeable. I am guessing a slight edge to the ultra.

ultrazls1 · TweakNOOB Joined: 14 Dec 2005 Posts: 22

Oh....I used coolbits to overclock

mardel · TweakNOOB Joined: 05 Jan 2006 Posts: 2

Thanks for the info.
One other question for you, What did gateway tell you about the psu issue? Is it okay to get an aftermarket psu? What type where you considering? and also any special instructions?