Gainward's GeForce 6800 GT Ultra/2400 Golden Sample Goes Like Hell 256MB

[DR]

Gainward's GeForce 6800 GT Ultra/2400 Golden Sample Goes Like Hell 256MB is a fast and furious card that will ultimately appeal to the enthusiast who desires clock speed above all else. In that respect, it's a decent effort. Forget that it's named a GT; that's just clever marketing. The only question you really need to ask yourself when contemplating a video card at this end of the market is whether an NV40-based 400/1200-clocked card is worth £380 of your hard-earned money. If it is, it's well worth considering.

http://www.hexus.net/content/reviews...lld19JRD05MjY=

[Rys]

I think the overclocking is mostly limited by its single power connector. Odd board, can't really see myself why anyone would buy it, other than the looks.

Almost all other GTs clock to 400MHz core and 1100 mem, getting you an Ultra anyway, plus they have dual DVI and smaller coolers. £380 for 1.6ns mem and overclocking bias, but only a single power connector limiting what it'll do? Not for me.

Rys

[oralpain]

I've had several 6800GTs, the single power connector is not really what is holding them back, the core is. The higher ratted cards will do much high MHz at a similar temp. They are binned quite carefully (for maximum profit) and most have very little real headroom.

Most people getting high OCs out of the 6800GTs, without water or better cooling, are not stability/artifact testing the cards very well. Most review sites have the same problem, they don't even have the card long enough to really test it.

It takes me a week or two of constant testing to identify some problems. Apparently few peopel have the patients to bother.

[directhex]

what the hell kind of name is 'goes like hell'?

[BUFF]

Originally Posted by Rys

Almost all other GTs clock to 400MHz core and 1100 mem, getting you an Ultra anyway, plus they have dual DVI and smaller coolers.

I have had 3x 6800GTs - only 1 would clock past 1100MHz memory & 1 wouldn't go past 400MHz core (& they were all the only item on that feed from good PSUs).
Most don't have dual DVI (some XFX do).

[PD HEXUS]

Originally Posted by directhex

what the hell kind of name is 'goes like hell'?

it's obv a long time ago now, so i can't be sure of the exact months, but i think i first heard reference to this 'Goes Like Hell' branding around Christmas 1997.

from recollection this branding was proposed up by Hans-Wolfram Tismer.

he was, i'd say, the point man for the successes in the mid to late 90's of the original 'Hercules Computer Technology', which was before the assets and branding of Hercules were acquired by Guillemot at the turn of the decade.

Wolfram talked to me about a forthcoming Hercules product - Hercules Terminator 128/3D “GLH” - and i'm more than sure that he mentioned to me that “GLH” referred to 'Goes Like Hell'.

This linkage:

http://web.archive.org/web/199807020...se/T128_3D.htm

has a press release and some details about the Hercules Terminator 128/3D “GLH” which was an S3 Trio3D based AGP (1.0?) 3D graphics accelerator, with a whopping 8MB of "ultra-fast high performance memory”*.

Hans-Wolfram Tismer is now the Managing Director of NVIDIA's premier European partner, Gainward.

Tbh if Wolfram had not joined Gainward – or 'CARDEXpert' as (i think) they were (hardly) known - when he did, i doubt most people here would have even ever heard of Gainward, and almost certainly would have never seen Gainward's profile raise to the leading position it is perceived to occupy now...




*i'll see if i've still got a Hercules Terminator 128/3D “GLH” and it's 8MB of "ultra-fast high performance memory” to send to Rys for a pov...

[KDH]

Gainward has the most annoying and confused naming sceme, just beating asus.

Overpriced, gimmicky cards generally.

[PD HEXUS]

Originally Posted by KDH

Gainward has the most annoying and confused naming sceme, just beating asus.

yep... i've pretty much told numerous Gainward employees – including Wolfram hisself - the very same thing for years...

...that said, i've not been yet able to offer a sure-fire alternative as to how it should maintain sufficient brand identity and differentiation (in its product naming schemes), so that people understand that many of its products are, as they claim, different from garden variety reference designs.

Originally Posted by KDH

Overpriced, gimmicky cards generally.

interesting... perhaps you're right.. how many have you tested and how many have you owned, and over how many years?

[KDH]

Originally Posted by PD

yep... i've pretty much told numerous Gainward employees – including Wolfram hisself - the very same thing for years...

...that said, i've not been yet able to offer a sure-fire alternative as to how it should maintain sufficient brand identity and differentiation (in its product naming schemes), so that people understand that many of its products are, as they claim, different from garden variety reference designs.


interesting... perhaps you're right.. how many have you tested and how many have you owned, and over how many years?

Unfortunately(as they seem like good cards), only owned two, played with a few more in rigs at lans, but the prices of the likes of the water cooled ones(coolfx)... not many people can afford them(myself included)

The gimmicky part is mainly aimed at their watercooled products.

The naming scheme is not so much that they use their own naming scheme, it's that they label them all as ultra's and usually have several of each specific type.