A few questions for recent GTX 280 owners

[Ninja Prime]

I was going to wait out the R700 but my trigger finger is getting itchy and I might get a GTX 280 instead. I have a few questions/concerns though:

1: Is the overheating problem that seems to be effecting like 50% of them fixed yet on recent cards?

2: Is the driver issue with not being able to display above 60hz on Vista fixed now?

3: Does anyone have a Corsair HX620 power supply and is running a GTX 280? If so, how does it work? From what I can tell, it can be done, but it requires a bunch of half-assery and converter connectors and I'm not sure I want to go that route.

4: Drivers in general, any crashes/instability?

5: Any specific board makers having lots of problems? I have a BFG 8800GTX OC right now, was thinking about going with them again as they seem respectable, thinking about getting the BFG GTX 280 OCX version, anyone have this?

Thanks.

[saturnotaku]

1: Is the overheating problem that seems to be effecting like 50% of them fixed yet on recent cards?

It should be. The eVGA GTX 280 I initially bought was from the early batch that had problems. I did an RMA through eVGA directly, and the new card has been working fine. If you buy one online, there is still a chance that it could be one of the early units, so make sure you get it from someplace like Newegg that has a good return/exchange policy. Otherwise, hold on to your invoice and deal directly with the manufacturer.

2: Is the driver issue with not being able to display above 60hz on Vista fixed now?

Never heard of this. Are you talking in general, or is this about the 60 Hz thing that's been present since Windows 2000? I just tired 1024x768 @ 75 Hz and it worked fine.

3: Does anyone have a Corsair HX620 power supply and is running a GTX 280? If so, how does it work? From what I can tell, it can be done, but it requires a bunch of half-assery and converter connectors and I'm not sure I want to go that route.

The general rule of thumb is that you want to avoid using any sort of power adapter(s) with these cards. I have an OCZ GameXStream 600W, which has a 6- and 8-pin connection, and the card works great. If you don't have the proper power connections, you might want to consider investing in a newer PSU.

4: Drivers in general, any crashes/instability?

Biggest problem right now, aside from overheating, is the card throttling its speed in 3D applications for no apparent reason. We have a sticky on that issue here, and apparently NVIDIA is aware of the problem. A fix is allegedly on the way, but that was discussed a couple weeks ago. There are workarounds you can employ with RivaTuner.

5: Any specific board makers having lots of problems? I have a BFG 8800GTX OC right now, was thinking about going with them again as they seem respectable, thinking about getting the BFG GTX 280 OCX version, anyone have this?

Personally, I would go with an eVGA board because when you register the card, you can buy their advance RMA service. For about $10-19, you can get a replacement card shipped to you first, and eVGA will pay shipping to send the old/defective card back. I picked the standard overnight RMA, which I think was $17. When you submit an RMA, it takes a day or two for them to process and ship the replacement card, but that's still faster than you having to send in your card first and wait for them to ship a replacement. It was a pretty hassle free process, all things considered.

[nekrosoft13]

I was going to wait out the R700 but my trigger finger is getting itchy and I might get a GTX 280 instead. I have a few questions/concerns though:

1: Is the overheating problem that seems to be effecting like 50% of them fixed yet on recent cards?


A lot of reported problems where just problemw with airflow, I had overheating problems before re-located one fan and temps dropped from 105c to 75c Max. There are some card that are really defective, just make sure you get one from a company with good warranty or store with good return policy.


2: Is the driver issue with not being able to display above 60hz on Vista fixed now?


Sorry have LCD, couldn't test.

3: Does anyone have a Corsair HX620 power supply and is running a GTX 280? If so, how does it work? From what I can tell, it can be done, but it requires a bunch of half-assery and converter connectors and I'm not sure I want to go that route.

technically it should, corsair PSU and some Cooler Master PSU are made by same comapny, some Cooler Master/Corsair PSU cause power spikes when they run close to max, causing hardware to fail. Just something to keep in mind.

4: Drivers in general, any crashes/instability?

everything ran like a dream when i had GTX 280, still might buy GTX 280.


5: Any specific board makers having lots of problems? I have a BFG 8800GTX OC right now, was thinking about going with them again as they seem respectable, thinking about getting the BFG GTX 280 OCX version, anyone have this?


just buy one from EVGA, BFG or other big brand that has lifetime warranty

[john19055]

I think you will be happy with the GTX-280 ,like most nvidia products ,but I can't help but wait for the 4870x2 2gig to come out .I think that will be a good deal.But you can;t go wrong with either of them IMO.

[nekrosoft13]

I think you will be happy with the GTX-280 ,like most nvidia products ,but I can't help but wait for the 4870x2 2gig to come out .I think that will be a good deal.But you can;t go wrong with either of them IMO.

4870x2 will be a great card, just in my case not sure if that much power is nessesary.

4870x2 for 1gb buffer will cost 550, unless ati really want to hurt nvidia and really lower the price.

while gtx 280 right now is 450, GTX 280 performance is more then enough for me, so why not save a bit of cash.

[Monolyth]

3: Does anyone have a Corsair HX620 power supply and is running a GTX 280? If so, how does it work? From what I can tell, it can be done, but it requires a bunch of half-assery and converter connectors and I'm not sure I want to go that route.I am running GTX 280 w/a Corsair HX620 with no issues. My 620 came w/a 6-pin & 8-pin PCIe power connector.

4: Drivers in general, any crashes/instability?I've not see any issues yet.

[Ninja Prime]

I am running GTX 280 w/a Corsair HX620 with no issues. My 620 came w/a 6-pin & 8-pin PCIe power connector.

Odd. Mine must be older, it only has two 6 pin connectors. :(

So even if I use a 2x6 pin to 8 pin converter, I don't have any 6 pin connectors left. They make a 2x4 pin to 6 pin converter too but I don't know if I want to go with all that wire mess and extra power cable loss, can't be good for the card or PS.

[nekrosoft13]

grab a new silverstone ;)

[Monolyth]

Odd. Mine must be older, it only has two 6 pin connectors. :(

I'm not sure if they are still doing it but if you owned an HX620 you could e-mail Corsair and request an 8-pin cable, you just pay for the S&H on the cable.

http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies-archive.cfm/800623.html - for more info.

[Ninja Prime]

Newegg just decided for me. :D

An email notification just popped up from them that said the BFG GTX 280 OCX was in stock and that they had a Corsair TX750w power supply for $100. Should be here on friday.

[SH64]

Well said Saturn .. thanks for the info!

[hemmy]

technically it should, corsair PSU and some Cooler Master PSU are made by same comapny, some Cooler Master/Corsair PSU cause power spikes when they run close to max, causing hardware to fail. Just something to keep in mind.



You are on drugs, Corsair PSU's are amazing, Coolermaster PSUs are budget PSUs

[Monolyth]

You are on drugs, Corsair PSU's are amazing, Coolermaster PSUs are budget PSUs

Well it could simply be a matter of Corsair having better QA then Coolermaster, he is merely stating that they have the same PSU supplier.

Although I've not heard of this power-spiking issue, I'm sure if it affected more Corsair units we would see more about it.

Either way gratz to Ninja on ur purchase, hope you enjoy the GTX 280, I sure have thus far. :)

[nekrosoft13]

You are on drugs, Corsair PSU's are amazing, Coolermaster PSUs are budget PSUs

crainger let me know (in general hardware forum) that corsair changed their PSU, they are no longer made by the same POS company that does coolermaster PSU.

still there are few older Corsaid PSU still on sale that are trash.

[tijean]

You should go with the ATI HD 4870 now... I had the 8800gtx for almost 2 years and it was a very good upgrade.

I wanted the GTX 280 too but 2 reasons I didn't buy it. First the card is very noisy and secondo: it's already obselete because it will be replace by the .55nm version very soon.

Hd4870 in automatic mode, I never hear it. Quiet like the 8800gtx.

You should buy the 4870 and later buy the GTX 280 .55nm version. The 4870 will still have a very good resale value.

[nekrosoft13]

Hd4870 in automatic mode, I never hear it. Quiet like the 8800gtx.

You should buy the 4870 and later buy the GTX 280 .55nm version. The 4870 will still have a very good resale value.

in automatic mode fan runs on very low speed, which makes the card runs quite hot, hence the fan hack.

you are right about 4870 being a great value

[tijean]

It ran HOT and so ? It doesn't crash and it perform well. The GPU can take this heat with no problem. ATI made a choice of silence vs noise.

Not that hot btw, it goes up to 85 at full load, so was my 8800gtx.

The hack suck, the card become very noisy.

[hell_of_doom227]

It should be. The eVGA GTX 280 I initially bought was from the early batch that had problems. I did an RMA through eVGA directly, and the new card has been working fine. If you buy one online, there is still a chance that it could be one of the early units, so make sure you get it from someplace like Newegg that has a good return/exchange policy. Otherwise, hold on to your invoice and deal directly with the manufacturer.



Never heard of this. Are you talking in general, or is this about the 60 Hz thing that's been present since Windows 2000? I just tired 1024x768 @ 75 Hz and it worked fine.



The general rule of thumb is that you want to avoid using any sort of power adapter(s) with these cards. I have an OCZ GameXStream 600W, which has a 6- and 8-pin connection, and the card works great. If you don't have the proper power connections, you might want to consider investing in a newer PSU.



Biggest problem right now, aside from overheating, is the card throttling its speed in 3D applications for no apparent reason. We have a sticky on that issue here, and apparently NVIDIA is aware of the problem. A fix is allegedly on the way, but that was discussed a couple weeks ago. There are workarounds you can employ with RivaTuner.



Personally, I would go with an eVGA board because when you register the card, you can buy their advance RMA service. For about $10-19, you can get a replacement card shipped to you first, and eVGA will pay shipping to send the old/defective card back. I picked the standard overnight RMA, which I think was $17. When you submit an RMA, it takes a day or two for them to process and ship the replacement card, but that's still faster than you having to send in your card first and wait for them to ship a replacement. It was a pretty hassle free process, all things considered.


As far as i know card doesn't throttle. Never happened to me.

[hell_of_doom227]

If you want to enjoy Crysis and other DX10.0 games get GTX280. HD4870 simply sucks there, oh yeah ATI morons will tell you switch to DX9.0 and run everything to High and it runs great, and then they will say Vista sucks, but also they will say our card supports DX10.1 but they ignore the fact that ATI is garbage for DX10.0 games.

Save yourself headache and get GTX280. Runs cooler then HD4870.

[LordJuanlo]

Anyone buying a new card better wait for the 4870 x2 results. The first previews show (http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-4870-x2-preview/) that it destroys the GTX 280, double framerate in most cases. Maybe the card will be a little more expensive, but it could be worth the difference

[nekrosoft13]

Anyone buying a new card better wait for the 4870 x2 results. The first previews show (http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-4870-x2-preview/) that it destroys the GTX 280, double framerate in most cases. Maybe the card will be a little more expensive, but it could be worth the difference

i'm waiting (lee)

i really want to see detailed review, something like this
http://www.egielda.com.pl/?str=art&id=4400

especially like this part
http://www.egielda.com.pl/images/art/874f08b22c19c5aebdeb81f601d6c19c.gif

This chart shows which games have solid fluid performance in 1920x1440 AAx4

TAK = yes, that is solid fluid performance
NIE = no

[saturnotaku]

As far as i know card doesn't throttle. Never happened to me.

This is a concept you're too thick to understand, but I'm going to spell it out for you anyway.

Just because you're not having a problem, doesn't mean that issues don't exist. Here is a seven-page thread on the eVGA forums alone that talks about this issue.

Downclocking/throttling on GTX 200 cards (http://www.evga.com/forums/tm.asp?m=421769)

There's also that big sticky right at the top of this very forum.

[SH64]

Anyone buying a new card better wait for the 4870 x2 results. The first previews show (http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-4870-x2-preview/) that it destroys the GTX 280, double framerate in most cases. Maybe the card will be a little more expensive, but it could be worth the difference
No Crysis benchmark = fail

[hell_of_doom227]

This is a concept you're too thick to understand, but I'm going to spell it out for you anyway.

Just because you're not having a problem, doesn't mean that issues don't exist. Here is a seven-page thread on the eVGA forums alone that talks about this issue.

Downclocking/throttling on GTX 200 cards (http://www.evga.com/forums/tm.asp?m=421769)

There's also that big sticky right at the top of this very forum.


Switch gpu speed to its default 602Mhz and you will be fine.

[Lfctony]

Switch gpu speed to its default 602Mhz and you will be fine.

Wow. Really.... :headexplode: