The XFX 7600 GS PCIe Video Card Review

Post by **Apoptosis** » Tue May 16, 2006 9:57 am

The XFX 7600 GS PCIe Video Card Review

The NVIDIA SLI-Ready GeForce 7600 graphics processing units (GPUs) unleash silent gaming and video on the PC. Today Legit Reviews takes a look at the XFX GeForce 7600 GS Extreme Edition video card and test drive it like you would. After playing current game titles, benchmarking the card, and overclocking it come see our thoughts.

Article Title: The XFX 7600 GS PCIe Video Card Review @ Legit Reviews

Nytefall · Post by **Nytefall** » Tue May 16, 2006 4:15 pm

Hi there,

i got myself a XFX 7600 GS Extreme Edition last week and i'm quite impressed.

Surprisingly my card ran out of the box at higher speeds than advertised.
Coreclock was about 535Mhz an memory clocked at 481Mhz. I haven't tried to go any further cause i plan to keep my warranty at least another week or so

One other thing i would like to mention: The memory for the extreme edition are rated at 2.2ns (and not 2.5ns as the others) which translates into about 450Mhz so this i propably might break 500MHz or more if i want to..

Another interesting thing: completly passive cooled my card went up to 95°C while benchmarking (not actual gaming). With casefans turned on it would drop to 85°C. I then placed my 120mm CPU-Fan (runs passive 50°C at load

) behing the card and got down to 65°C. I might settle with something between passive and minor airflow.

regards
Nytefall

kenc51 · Post by **kenc51** » Tue May 16, 2006 4:27 pm

Welcome Nytefall!!!!

I'd suggest using a fan on the cpu with a controller.....you can run with low rpm for day2day use and then up the fan speed when gaming or benching.....

I wouldn't try overclocking without good airflow, don't rely on the passive cooler!!

again Welcome........post often, it always good to hear from new members.
why not formally introduce yourself? LINK

Post by **Apoptosis** » Tue May 16, 2006 9:51 pm

welcome to the forums... You got the same overclock i got 535MHz!

Adding a case fan pointed towards the HSF makes a world of a difference like you noted.

Thanks for the feedback!

bigblockmatt · Post by **bigblockmatt** » Tue May 16, 2006 11:46 pm

adding a case fan...doesnt that kinda defeat the purpose of the whole passive cooling thing? why go passive if you are gonna add a fan on somewhere else to cool the card.

Nytefall · Post by **Nytefall** » Wed May 17, 2006 12:36 am

bigblockmatt wrote:adding a case fan...doesnt that kinda defeat the purpose of the whole passive cooling thing? why go passive if you are gonna add a fan on somewhere else to cool the card.

Well, that's what i thought..

I am able to supply a good airflow throughout the case (bigtower) and i have a nice fancontroller but with my recent upgrade i dont need no fans anymore :D

I got myself a Amd 64 3200+ CnQ and added a Scythe Ninja 1000p (that thing is a monster

) - runs 31°C idle an 50°C full load without any direkt airflow!

And with the XFX i could actually go full passive cause 95°C won't damage this card, but i'm just not that comfortable with it. While watching a moview i already turn all my fans off. Just for gaming i turn on my 120mm fan and set speed as low as i can.

Only my northbridge cooler is very noisy. I just have to replace it. Will the Zalman NB47 sufficent for a nForce4?

regards
Nytefall

kenc51 · Post by **kenc51** » Wed May 17, 2006 6:57 am

Nytefall wrote: Only my northbridge cooler is very noisy. I just have to replace it. Will the Zalman NB47 sufficent for a nForce4?

regards
Nytefall

I doubt it......they are not too big, also it might not fit....what board are you using?

Nytefall · Post by **Nytefall** » Wed May 17, 2006 7:48 am

hmm, 47mm vs 4mm stock cooler is quite a difference in my opinion.

The problem is, my Northbridge was moved to the 'south' on my MSI Neo4-F, so it actually intersects with my cards.
However, it would fit if i cut a fin or two.

I already had a NB47 on my old KT400 and it would be big enough to cool most chips, but as the nForce4 runs quite a bit warmer as the KT400 i wonder if it would still be cool enough with all fans turned off..

padrian · Post by **padrian** » Mon Jun 19, 2006 4:16 am

I just tested this card and what I got si very different temperatures. In Idle I obtained around 80 degrees and in Full 100 degrees. I do have system fans, one is blowing at the heating system provided by XFX(it really is a heating system

). I consider that I have a good airflow, my AMD 64 3000+ has temperatures around 40 degrees C (in Idle stays under 40).
Do you think that these are the temperatures of a silent video card?
When it gets really hot, only in graphic aplications(games of course), it also makes a strange buzz.

Bwall · Post by **Bwall** » Mon Jun 19, 2006 7:20 am

padrian wrote:I just tested this card and what I got si very different temperatures. In Idle I obtained around 80 degrees and in Full 100 degrees. I do have system fans, one is blowing at the heating system provided by XFX(it really is a heating system ). I consider that I have a good airflow, my AMD 64 3000+ has temperatures around 40 degrees C (in Idle stays under 40).
Do you think that these are the temperatures of a silent video card?
When it gets really hot, only in graphic aplications(games of course), it also makes a strange buzz.

The temperatures for your entire system are quite high. Our temperatures were obtained by testing in a room of 70 F.

padrian · Post by **padrian** » Mon Jun 19, 2006 12:41 pm

Do you consider temperatures under 40 degrees Celsius for AMD64 3000+, at Idle, with box cooler, no system fans, to high? At Loat it stays under 50. So I have temperatures around 40 degrees. I just installed the only system fan to cool this VGA but it's still hot, with or without the case closed(or opened). This XFX is not a silent card

, it forces you tu buy coolers just for it. I really prefer silent solutions for every component. I prefer medium performance, with low noise, than a supercharged PC-helicopter on my desk and xxxxW RMS speaker system to cover it so I can really hear the action in a movie.

Post by **DMB2000uk** » Mon Jun 19, 2006 12:51 pm

The real reason the card is getting so hot it because there is no airflow in your case, I know its nice to have a quiet PC, but temperatures have to be sacrificed. How can you say that there is good airflow when there are no system fans? lol. Try adding a large slow rpm fan (low noise) to push air through the case, preferably bringing in cool air at the front or pulling hot air out at the back/top.

When XFX made this card, im sure they designed it for a case with air-flow, but the temps you are getting are within the cards limits (i think!) but are very close to its max.

Dan

padrian · Post by **padrian** » Mon Jun 19, 2006 3:57 pm

Even with a system cooler blowing cool air at the card at very close range, with the sistem cover off, the card got 100 degrees Celsius. There waren't high temps in the room. Are the capacitors on the card able to manage such high temperatures? As for good airflow, doesn't under 40 degrees for my CPU sound like good temps? I don't use monster coolers like Scythe Ninja.
Anyhow the shop where I bought the card got the same high temps when I asked them to test it too. I gues they will replace it because 100 degrees may be the limit of some components like capacitors...
All I wanted is an opinion about the card, not lessons about airflow(doh, like high temps and bad airflow doesn't ring any bells).

kenc51 · Post by **kenc51** » Mon Jun 19, 2006 4:05 pm

padrian wrote:Even with a system cooler blowing cool air at the card at very close range, with the sistem cover off, the card got 100 degrees Celsius. There waren't high temps in the room. Are the capacitors on the card able to manage such high temperatures? As for good airflow, doesn't under 40 degrees for my CPU sound like good temps? I don't use monster coolers like Scythe Ninja.
Anyhow the shop where I bought the card got the same high temps when I asked them to test it too. I gues they will replace it because 100 degrees may be the limit of some components like capacitors...
All I wanted is an opinion about the card, not lessons about airflow(doh, like high temps and bad airflow doesn't ring any bells).

The heatsink might not be getting good contact with the gpu core!
You could remove the heatsink and apply some arctic silver etc. but that might void the warranty!

padrian · Post by **padrian** » Tue Jun 20, 2006 6:03 am

The card was replaced. At idle the card has around 50 degrees C. I haven't yet tested the temperatures at Load but I'm sure they will dot reach 100.

Post by **DMB2000uk** » Tue Jun 20, 2006 6:22 am

Glad to hear that you've got it sorted, ken was probably right and it wasnt making proper contact with the heatsink.

Sorry if it sounded if i was preaching at you before

Dan

padrian · Post by **padrian** » Fri Jun 23, 2006 4:31 am

No offence taken. A good airflow keeps you PC alive many years. I know that from experience. I advise any PC user to keep an eye on the temperatures. If there is any suspicious behaviour, compared to the indications of the manufacturer, you should look better inside your PC, or you should contact the IT shop where you purchased the component. If the component get's toasted, they will not replace it, and they will find many reasons for this, none in your favor.

padrian · Post by **padrian** » Fri Jun 23, 2006 4:36 am

This was the only place where I found a good test of an XFX 7600 GS Xt. I recommend for every "best buy" product on the market to be tested like this. A direct comparison betwen the results of your test and the result of any other user can make the difference betwen an working VGA and a toasted one.

Pengwin · Post by **Pengwin** » Fri Jun 23, 2006 10:36 am

hmm

maybe this is a good idea

http://www.nvnews.net/reviews/inno3d_76 ... ndex.shtml

who ever thought of it is a bright cookie.

Legit Reviews

The XFX 7600 GS PCIe Video Card Review

The XFX 7600 GS PCIe Video Card Review

Temperatures

Re: Temperatures