Is Factory OC Worth It?

[TotalSharpie]

I'm choosing a new graphics card for my PC. But that's not the point. The point is, I've found a card that I like. The Sapphire Radeon HD 7770 1GB. That costs about $150 where I am. However, there is a factory overclocked version that's $5 more. Is it worth it? How much will OC improve the card's performance?

[Linuxury]

I have 2 of the XFX that runs at 1095mhz and I can OC it to 1125mhz no problem

[perplex]

put it this way,

are you planning to over clock your own graphics card?

if not then for only 5 bucks more you may as well get the OC version, i guess its like paying someone to OC your card + the warranty backs the OC

you may not see the difference in the OC, will most likely be a couple of fps here and there

so if your not planning to OC, i think for $5 more you may as well get the OC

[jrga]

With a factory OC'd card, the binning process is stricter and so it just means you can push it further as well in 99% of cards

[Scia]

Well, I have OCed my Reference GTX 680 past the Direct CU II Top edition and it cost a lot less, so solely for the OC I'd say it's not.

[Helltech]

In my opinion it is never worth it for factory overclock unless it is the same price of course. Almost every card I have had, a reference card could hit the highest factory overclock I could find.

For example my EVGA GTX 260s could hit the overclock of the EVGA SSC cards without a problem. My Asus GTX 670 destroys the factory overclock version of the same card.

Also, OCing your graphics card doesn't help *that* much from what I can tell. It is great for benchmarking but in real word gaming I'd rather just have my fans running lower and lose 2-3 FPS.

[Nexus]

Could you post links to both the cards? Difficult to say without information.

[Money]

If it $5 more then go for it. No harm in upping performance.

[Cameron]

Factory oc'd cards often feature a beefier cooler and better power delivery. Also they can be binned so you receive the cream of the crop

[TechFan@ic]

Not really no, you often find identical GPUs but one is factory OCed and is more expensive, you can always OC yourself , not worth it I reckon .

[rahulr1]

Generally OCed card have higher overclocking capabilities and are also more acoustically satisfying. If you see Linus's coil whine video you will know what I mean. Another thing to account for is warranty support. Factory OCed cards usually endorse extravagant experiments with your graphics cards and will cover this in a warranty whereas a reference card will not.

[Helepolis]

It all depends, if it's really only 5 bucks more than just grab it even if you plan to overclock. However when it comes to spending bigger bucks for a factory overclock I wouldn't advise it if you plan on overclocking your GPU in the near future.

[gasho]

If you not into overclocking yourself then go for the factory OC one.

[TotalSharpie]

For Nexus:

Non-OC'd: http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX37901

OC'd: http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX37891

[TotalSharpie]

Whoops, the top one is OC'd and the bottom one is non-OC'd, sorry.

[dasr1985]

it just depends on the manufacturer and how the card is built IMO. If you get a reference design card, yes you can overclock it but you won't get the benefits of cooling unless you buy your own or go liquid cooling for it. If you don't EVER plan on liquid cooling your card I would say just go with the pre overclocked card.....

I'm going to post this anyway, it looks like with the cards you have chosen it won't matter either way, lol.

[star102]

Well, I have OCed my Reference GTX 680 past the Direct CU II Top edition and it cost a lot less, so solely for the OC I'd say it's not.

Well the Direct CU II can go much futher than yours

[kght22]

cards with a factory oc usually come with better cooling solutions than cards that are at reference speed, and usually they are not much more expensive. are they worth it for the factory oc? probably not. are they worth it for the better cooling solution? most of the time yes. but that only matters if you don't plan to provide your own cooling solution that might be better than what the producer uses. but also keep in mind that allot of factory oc cards also include higher quality hardware than reference, sometimes having special features (like special hardware for overvolting the gpu, or even just unlocked gpu voltage). so you have to really look close.

[Nexus]

For Nexus:

Non-OC'd: http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX37901

OC'd: http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX37891

For 150mhz on the core and 500mhz for the memory for $5 i would say just go for it, other than that both cards are identical, You will only see a small boost in performance between the two but at least it is guarunteed. Hope this helps :)

[Scia]

Well, I have OCed my Reference GTX 680 past the Direct CU II Top edition and it cost a lot less, so solely for the OC I'd say it's not.

Well I do own a reference 680 and my brother owns a Direct CU II, either mine is golden or his sux but I can top it by 4mhz ^^ [both OCed]

[Electronics Wizardy]

I have seen 7770 going for less than 120 dollars on newegg and se this as a better deal than 155 dollar oced card as the peformace difference will be less than 10 percent

[TotalSharpie]

Wow. Thanks to all of you. You really helped. :)

[NewKID]

http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=74900&vpn=GV-R777OC-1GD%20Rev2%2E0&manufacture=Gigabyte&promoid=1270

cheaper and you could overclock it 100mhz more im sure. even if you dont overclock it, you wont notice a great difference. probably a few more fps

[R4STABAN]

It depends what you mean.

For example, EVGA sells (amongst other skus) a reference 680 and an overclocked 680 (680 SC). Both have the reference cooler, one just has a boost clock overclock at bios level. I.E not worth the extra money.

On the other hand, evga also sells higher end cards that run at a higher base clock. These do get binned, but only iirc to meet the base clock specification, not the boost clock. These cards are usually worth it but not this gen with nvidia slapping us in the face with regards to overvolting. Again, the EVGA FTW 680s are pretty much pointless over a reference. I remember when they launched and a guy on evga forums 'upgraded' to one and was treated to a 33 mhz higher overclock over his reference 680.

[Deeko]

In my opinion it is never worth it for factory overclock unless it is the same price of course. Almost every card I have had, a reference card could hit the highest factory overclock I could find.

For example my EVGA GTX 260s could hit the overclock of the EVGA SSC cards without a problem. My Asus GTX 670 destroys the factory overclock version of the same card.

Also, OCing your graphics card doesn't help *that* much from what I can tell. It is great for benchmarking but in real word gaming I'd rather just have my fans running lower and lose 2-3 FPS.

Question, does a normal card say the gtx670 run cooler then an overclocked version. ?