GTX 470 SLI = GTX 480 SLI Performance?

[syirrus]

I wanted to see if two GTX's 470 in SLI could match the performance of two GTX 480's in SLI. So I purchased two PNY GTX 470 from bestbuy.

My system specs:
Core i7 @ 4GHZ @ 20x200
RAM 6gb DDR 8-8-24 @ 1603 1.64v
x2 PNY GTX 470 in SLI
Windows 7 Ultimate x64
Corsair 750Watt PSU (I know that I'm pulling 800watts b/c it overloads my APC. Time for a larger PSU)
x3 500GB hdd 7200

Clock speeds on my cards:
Vcore is at 1087 mV via MSI afterburner
Temps never exceed 90C with fan speeds at 85%


My Results:
Unigine standard test



Unigine extreme test



A comparable system:
(src: http://www.evga.com/forums/tm.aspx?&m=301161&mpage=2 )
Intel I7 980x @4577mhz 1.40625V
Evga X58 759 Classified
12Gb Dominator gt 2000 cas 7
8x OCZ 30Gb Vertex Raid0
on LSI 9260-8i
EK Supreme HF
Black Ice GTX Extreme 360
Swiftech 655
2x EVGA GTX 480 SC
Tagan TG1100-U96 1100 Watts - for Video cards
Antec TruePower Quattro TPQ-1000 -for Computer
Cooler Master COSMOS S RC-1100-KKN1
Windows 7 64 bit
3 x 25.5inch Samsung Touch Of color monitors =)
41,757 vantage 2x 480's SC 853mhz /2120
http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dmv=2099705

Unigine standard test




Another comparable system:
(src: http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?p=1035616362)
Windows 7 Ultimate x64 RTM fully patched as of 04/20/2010
Intel i7-980x@ 4.13 GHz (25 x 165 BCLK @ 1.365V)
Corsair H50 cooler
ASUS P6X58D Premium BIOS 703
eVGA GeForce GTX 480 2x SLI
HP w2408h 24" 1920x1200 LCD Monitor
Enermax EGX1000EWL Galaxy 1000W
Corsair XMS3 6GB DDR3
2x WD 1002FBYS 1TB SATA 7200 RPM non-RAID
Antec 1200 Case

Unigine extreme test



Unless I have missed something, it looks like my setup is allowing me to match the performance of the more expensive 480's at a reduced cost of both energy and cash. I'm not sure about the increased mV's on the cards, but the temps never exceed 90C on the first card (lower temp on the 2nd). Perhaps I will back of some of the mVcore to see if I can get a stable clock with less voltage. So far no artificting or crashing at those clock speeds. If anyone has any suggestions of comment please share.

Syirrus

[syirrus]

Update: I updated my PSU from that Corsair 750 to a 950. All seems to be running well. In fact, I was able to reduce my mVcore to 1.075 with the same clock speeds listed above on my 470 GTX's. I'm still working to see how much lower I can tweak the mVcore voltage. I will report more when I make sure the new adjustments are stable.

[Maverick123w]

Wow.. you got the core on a 470 up to 800mhz?

[syirrus]

Originally Posted by Maverick123w

Wow.. you got the core on a 470 up to 800mhz?

Yeah it's crazy I know. I had to bump up the mVcore on the GPU's. Currently, it is at 1.075 (stock 0.950). Are you running 470 GTX's in SLI?

[Maverick123w]

No, but my 470 is being delivered on Friday and I was hoping for 700 core.... if anything above that is attainable I'd be very happy. Seeing you get 800 makes me wonder just how much faster than the 5870 the card would be.

[syirrus]

Originally Posted by Maverick123w

No, but my 470 is being delivered on Friday and I was hoping for 700 core.... if anything above that is attainable I'd be very happy. Seeing you get 800 makes me wonder just how much faster than the 5870 the card would be.

I was shocked when I was able to hit 800. I actually ran it at 825 and it seemed stable but I need more time to verify if in fact it is. I figure at this point I'm doing pretty well and don't really need to push it much harder.

I used this guide which was pretty straight forward to o/c the core and memory.

http://www.guru3d.com/article/overcl...a-gpu-voltage/

Syirrus

[Maverick123w]

Originally Posted by syirrus

I was shocked when I was able to hit 800. I actually ran it at 825 and it seemed stable but I need more time to verify if in fact it is. I figure at this point I'm doing pretty well and don't really need to push it much harder.

I used this guide which was pretty straight forward to o/c the core and memory.

http://www.guru3d.com/article/overcl...a-gpu-voltage/

Syirrus

Thanks for the link

[lee63]

I'm gonna leave mine at 800 until Evga release their volt thingy for the 4xx series....these cards do OC well

[Johnny C]

Originally Posted by lee63

I'm gonna leave mine at 800 until Evga release their volt thingy for the 4xx series....these cards do OC well

I'm just hoping they don't require frequent oven bakings to keep running those clocks.

If things look good 3-4 months from now, I'll probably grab a GTX485

[odin20]

i wouldnt count on a 485 anytime soon, i would actually say the 480 will be tops for nvidia for a long time from all ive read anyway.

[syirrus]

UPDATE:
Currently, things are still working well. I have been testing my system stability and I think I found some good clock speeds that work.

My SLI setup clock speeds:
CPU/Shader/Mem
800/1600/1025

I had to reduce the memory speed down by 25Mhz just to make sure there wasn't any artifacting or stability issues.



A comparable system to mine:

Main Rig - Windows 7 Ultimate x64 RTM | Intel i7-980x@ 4.13 GHz (25 x 165 BCLK @ 1.365V) | Corsair H50 cooler | ASUS P6X58D Premium| eVGA GeForce GTX 480 2x SLI | Enermax EGX1000EWL Galaxy 1000W | Corsair XMS3 6GB DDR3| 2x WD 1002FBYS 1TB SATA 7200 RPM non-RAID | HP 1270dvd drive | Samsung S203N DVD drive | Lite On DH-4B1S SATA 4x BD Disc Triple Writer | Antec 1200 Full Tower Case | HP w2408h 24" 1920x1200 LCD Monitor | Westinghouse M2401 24" 1920x1200 LCD Monitor



My system benchmarks:



Well there you have it. I hope this post help people out there deciding on whether or not they want to go the 480 or 470 SLI route.

Syirrus

[Maverick123w]

Did you have to do anything special with your card to overclock it? I have voltage modification checked in afterburner but it still doesn't give me the option. Also when I change the core speed gpu-z is reporting it as increased memory speed.... lol