GTX 480

[Condor]

I visited my local computer store today mainly to check prices on new hardware etc and during the course of the conversation, I mentioned being interested in buying a GTX 480 vid card.

The reply I got was a definite NO particularly in regard to the heat emitted from the card. He told me to better look into the ATI 5870 which to my mind is a pretty good card.

I noticed some of you guys here have bought the "480" so what are your general impressions particularly as far as the temperatures etc  are concerned  \

Thanks

Paul

[John Venema]

Temps? I don't worry about stuff like that. I just installed the 480 and it works. It's quiet too. When I specced this PC I invested in a good case with 7 fans and a killer CPU heatsink/fan.

Methinks your local PC store "expert" has been reading too much BS on review sites and forums.

[tennyson]

Bit like the doubting thomases when the i7 first came out.

I'm hanging out for mine.

Frank

[Ian Routley]

If the card operates at the temperature it is designed for, and you have airflow in your case ... then there isn't a problem, is there?

[tennyson]

Hahaha....thanx John, you just reminded me to take a look at one of the local distributor sites.

695 bucks for a 480......can't resist that.

Just ordered it, it's in stock and I'll be picking mine up in the morning....Yahooooo!

Frank

[Phil Manhart]

Great choice Frank. It sounds like the guy at the computer shop needs to broaden his horizons a bit... especially when it comes to selling computer parts. 

My 480 never hits over 85C, where my ATi 4850x2 used to hit 90C. It's also quieter than my 4850x2 was... but I've never owned a 5870 so I don't know about those.

I think what it comes down to is if you don't use FSX, and only play other computer games, then the 5870 is the best price/performance/power/heat ratio out there, but us simmers know whats best for our simulation, and it isn't the 5870.

Phil

[Sniper31]

Temps? I don't worry about stuff like that. I just installed the 480 and it works. It's quiet too. When I specced this PC I invested in a good case with 7 fans and a killer CPU heatsink/fan.

Methinks your local PC store "expert" has been reading too much BS on review sites and forums.

I concur precisely! I run a 470 GTX Superclocked, and my GPU temps when running FSX stay at 60 degrees Celsius, so with proper cooling heat is definately not an issue.

[GrahamP]

My 480 never hits over 85C, where my ATi 4850x2 used to hit 90C. It's also quieter than my 4850x2 was... but I've never owned a 5870 so I don't know about those.

If you're hitting 85C I can to some extent understand the talk about high temps.  As I understand it, the general consensus is that anything over 80C shortens the life of the processor.

But hey, reading all the good reports I couldn't resist and I've ordered one .  I have a good case with lots of cooling.  Just waiting for Scan to get them in stock.

Graham

[tennyson]

Just picked her up and about to install, so YBBN is gonna get a hiding.

Will report back as soon as I have some news.

Frank

[tennyson]

Ok, it's been several hours and a few of them have been racked up in FSX.

Unfortunately, several have been racked up trying to find how to keep it running and then finding the sweet spot.

Whilst I'm sure I've just been privvy to how JV and the ORBX team hope that their scenery would be displayed on all of our systems, I'm a little underwhelmed by the amount of tweaking needed to get the 480 stable.

I'd put it down to Nvidia drivers. I'm using 197.41, which is the latest from Nvidia for the 480 and Win 7 64 bit.

What are the rest of you guys using? Would it be worth while exploring Cuda drivers or something from guru3d?

I also ran REal Temp 3.40 to check the temps and at one stage the GPU was at 83 degrees. That seems a little excess to me, especially with my box which has more fans than Kylie Minogue.

Is there also a config file for FSX Go for the 480 yet?

Thanx guys,

Frank

[jnrjim67]

Hi Frank

Some good info here

http://forums1.avsim.net/index.php?showtopic=282230&st=0

Im wanting to get the GTX 480 soon so what are your thoughts and what is happening with stability you mention.

[tennyson]

Jim,

As I said, I'm pretty sure it's driver issues, such as CTD when I go to full screen on my triple head2go.

I did have an awe-inspiring fly around Caloundra and the Sunshine Coast in the Catalina.

I've honestly never seen such high def in my life and I'm sure this is how ORBX would like it all to look and perform like.

I don't have any other games on my FSX/FTX drive to compare with, but I'll keep plugging away until those flights are the norm for me.

I'm thinking it's been very much worth the money already.

Frank

[John Venema]

Frank, there's only one set of drivers for this card at the moment (197.41) which are still beta quality IMHO, so with time we'll see quite a bit more performance out of this beast.

I made sure I completely removed all traces of old drivers before I installed the 197.41's (DriverCleaner Pro is a must), and then I deleted my fsx.cfg

[tennyson]

I did exactly the same procedure, too, John.

I was running those drivers that Nvidia pulled earlier (I think it was 197.45)with my GTX295, but I wasn't having any problems with them.

The triple head2go always presents a challenge to every situation tho and I don't think they optimise for that all the time.

Frank

[flyguy737]

Frank I want one too but I am going to go to an i7 and better system first but I am very intrigued so keep the info coming from what I hear it is the best card ever

[Phil Manhart]

Like John mentioned, a fresh fsx.cfg and very thorough driver uninstall and install is definitely called for with ANY major hardware change like a video card.

I actually ended up doing a fresh Windows install because I had to replace my motherboard after damaging my old one replacing the GTX 480 (it was a careless rookie mistake too  ).

I've had very little issues so far, a couple of CTD with the PMDG JS41 and 747, but I attribute those to my overclock that I'm still fiddling with.

For the fsx.cfg, I've found that only running one tweak is working the best for me: (Making FSX cry actually, instead of FSX making the hardware cry...  )

[bUFFERPOOLS]

UsePools=0

I then run with an unlimited framerate and NO FPS Limiter, and with extremely high everything, sliders to the right, should kill my system settings I'm getting 60+ outside of Seattle and Portland, and around ~20-30 in Seattle and Portland... great performance IMHO.

Phil

[Condor]

Just in regard to the GTX480, I've noticed the prices fluctuate from $694.00 to something like $870.00. How do they work that out

Cheers,

Paul

[tennyson]

The 694 dollar one is made by a not so well known manufacturer with an NVIDIA chipset and specification, whereas the 870 dollar one is made by a well known manufacturer with the same Nvidia Chipset and the same specification.

Hey Phil, I deleted my fsx.cfg after reloading the Nvidia drivers and don't have the tweaks like you said, but I do have FSX Go. Still waiting for somebody to come up with a profile for the 480 tho.

Must check if I got unlimited frames....oh, hang on, I got it limited to 30. I'll try changing that and see if I have any change.

Just did a flight from YMML to Brissie in the ERJ 135 and it was glorious, such wonderful ground scenery. Kind of lost it coming in to Brissie, but will keep at it.

I can see the potential here and no other outlay has me hopping like this one!

Frank

[Deleted_today]

Hi,

got my 480 last week on Tuesday and had to fight with FSX.cfg. I found some good advise in AVSIM-Forum. Using the 480 with TH2GO is a little bit try and error ) Sof far my results: first I had to clean my old driver 197.41 and had to delete fragments of it with driver cleaner; second I installed 197.45 (beta);now I deleted all tweaks in the cfg and build it up step by step. The only entries I ´ve  now using are: HIGHMEMFIX=1, REJECT_THRESHOLD and POOLSIZE in  the BUFFERPOOL section; TEXTURE_BANDWIDTH_MULT=80.

I had to reduce Autogen to "very dense" because of getting ctd´s with PDMG MD11. Over Seattle I have now 12- 19 Frames with MD11. My CPU has 85 - 100% (58 Celsius) load and my GPU 73 Celsius.

The Problem is, if I manage AA with NHANCER or extern with NVIDIA Panel, I will get a disorted picture (disrupted in 5 pieces over all three monitors) in windowed screen mode. The only AA mode which works for me is the NHANCER 8SQ. In Fullscreen  all AA modes are working. Frames are limited at 25 by external limiter.

To my opinion, you should better buy this card in a couple of month. The driver will be more stable. But if you get h...y by smelling new hardware and begging for 15 -25 % more fsx power.... contact your local dealer  ;D

Cheers, Uwe

[tennyson]

Great info there, mate.

I believe the 480 will go down as one of those "gotta have" hardware items of 2010, like the i7, an SSD and fast RAM.

I'm still amazed by it and have come to grips with most of my woes and am enjoying it now.

Did a flight from Auckland to Sydney last nite and scenery was breath taking.

Frank

[gheeD]

Hello. I'm using this post as i don't want to create new one about this since there is allready manymany of these.

As HD5870 prices go up in my local shops, they get closer and closer to GTX480, im starting to think if i should get 480, only 60€ more expensive than HD5870 Vapor-X (the one i am after...) But my concern is what is everybody elses; the heat. Can you GTX480 owners post some proof that the gtx480 is running "cold" (atleast cold enough for it not to break) i was drooling after the AMP! ver from zotac, but after seeing it with 800€ price tag, i decided not.) Any possibility for 70c, after ~1hour of FSX? How about furmark (also known as MSI kombustor if u use MSI afterburner) other thing i am thinking of getting is watercooling, anybody has experience with water cooling GTX480?

[tennyson]

Ghee,

A fair bit has transpired since some of those earlier posts.

The new 257.15 beta drivers are rock solid on my machine.

I've had NO crashes since running these drivers and my flights last for many hours at a time.

Yesterday I had the J4100 loaded for over 4 hours while I tried to come to terms with the tutorial flights and no problems.

I've got realtemp, but don't even bother using it anymore.

I think it's a bit like the frame counter, we gotta throw it out the window and just concentrate on running the program smooth and reliable.

I'm not chasing problems that don't exist,

Frank

[gheeD]

I understand that, you don't like looking at the temps, but i am just wondering how much difference there is to my old one, HD4870 Golden sample that is holding steady 55c after 1hour of flying, and i guess its impossible to overclock with reference cooler? I have also heard that the reference cooler is pretty loud. Is that correct?

[Valcor]

Can't comment on 480 compared to ATi.  But my 480 runs at similar temps to my 285 with an extra 5% fan speed added in.  Without the extra 5% fan, runs bout 5c hotter.

The GTX 480 is a monster of a card.  Using the beta drivers, this card chews alive autogen, specially trees.  On very dense autogen settings, large forested areas such as Darrington used to send my 285 into stutters.  The 480 stays rock steady smooth at 40fps+, with Extremely Dense autogen!

Now don't expect miracles with everything though.  FSX is still mostly CPU intensive, so with complex airplanes such as PMDG, the frame hit will be the same.  But generally, you can have higher sliders while dealing with that frame hit.

(My cpu is an i930 at 3.

[gheeD]

I see we have same CPU's, even at same GHz (tho waiting for my cooler atm, then OC'ing to ~4ghz. U said its the same temp as GTX285, but no numbers. Also, have you noticed GTX480 heat other components too?

thanks all

edit: After this i am confident temps wont be issue with GTX480. Will be getting this late july, when i come back from europe road trip.

[Valcor]

I generally don't give numbers because the ambient in my room changes every day here in the US Northeast.  A cool 60F night will result in much better looking temps than a high 80F day. 

But anyhow, the GPU temps range from 65 to 75c in FSX.  In Bad Company 2, it will go up to low 80s.  This is with around 65% fan speed settings.

Even in my very well sealed case, the GPU temps, even in the 80's, don't affect the CPU at all.  The fans all generally vent/flow different directions.  I never see my CPU go above 65c, and I may be pushing it above 4.0 soon because of that.

[gheeD]

I generally don't give numbers because the ambient in my room changes every day here in the US Northeast.  A cool 60F night will result in much better looking temps than a high 80F day. 

But anyhow, the GPU temps range from 65 to 75c in FSX.  In Bad Company 2, it will go up to low 80s.  This is with around 65% fan speed settings.

Even in my very well sealed case, the GPU temps, even in the 80's, don't affect the CPU at all.  The fans all generally vent/flow different directions.  I never see my CPU go above 65c, and I may be pushing it above 4.0 soon because of that.

Okay, good, more and more certain of buying GTX480. I dunno how i managed to live before, this spring i got A/C, since then my room has been 17c... Before mostly upper 20's, sometimes over 30c! :S really hot. Dunno what it is in fahrenheit.

[Spirit Flyer_old]

My EVGA 480 GTX came in today and I immediately upped the volts from 1050 to 1125, raised the core clock from 700 to 850 mhz and the memory all the way up to 2000MHZ and then ran the snot out of it. Top temperature in FSX with full load was 82c, barely above ambient, without hearing the fan at all. What a delight this rig now is! What nonsense the heat and noise alarms were, at least for FSX. Get a GTX 480!

[gheeD]

Can you report what ur frames are over seattle with all max? Since we have allmost same rig. Defo getting GTX480!! Thanks guys.

[GrahamP]

The new 257.15 beta drivers are rock solid on my machine.

I've had NO crashes since running these drivers and my flights last for many hours at a time.

Yesterday I had the J4100 loaded for over 4 hours while I tried to come to terms with the tutorial flights and no problems.

Hi Frank,

Interesting to read that.  I'm getting great perfomance with the GTX480 on a single screen but none of the drivers to date have given stable graphics when forced to a custom 5040 x 1050 resolution with the TH2GO.  I've tried to force it to 4320 x 900 and 3840 x 800 but I haven't found a refresh rate that works.  3840 x 1024 is available but that's the wrong aspect ratio for my monitors.  What resolution are you running at and how did you achieve it?

Graham

[tennyson]

Graham,

I've tried the 5040 res but had all the probs in the world.

I went back to the native resolution of my monitors, which is 1920 x 1024 (they're 24" HD monitors) and I've never had the probs until I threw the 480 in and ran those initial drivers, but since the betas hit the deck, it's been plain sailing and as solid as my old GTX295.

The 480 has been the single most amzing peice of hardware I've ever thrown at FSX (apart from the i7)

Frank

[Condor]

My Gigabyte GTX480 is performing without any problems. The heat and noise factors are non-existent and on my stock 980X, FSX  is running as smooth as silk. I'm betting my Antec 1200 case with something like 6 fans is helping out somewhat as well. I'm sure you won't be disappointed gheeD.

Cheers,

Paul

[gheeD]

Yes, seeing my GPU is HD4870 anything is a big improvement. I have fractal design R2, with 2 silent case fans. Going to add 1 to pull cool air in when i buy GTX480. That is, after my eurotrip.

[GrahamP]

Graham,

I've tried the 5040 res but had all the probs in the world.

I went back to the native resolution of my monitors, which is 1920 x 1024 (they're 24" HD monitors) and I've never had the probs until I threw the 480 in and ran those initial drivers, but since the betas hit the deck, it's been plain sailing and as solid as my old GTX295.

The 480 has been the single most amzing peice of hardware I've ever thrown at FSX (apart from the i7)

Frank

I take it you're running 3840 x 1024 then, Frank.  Unfortunately that's too stretched on my mine, so I'm relegated to a single screen until the drivers support a widescreen resolution with the right aspect ratio for my monitors.  Hopefully the 257 WHQL drivers will do that.

Graham

[gheeD]

I read the new 257.15 drivers should add 96x AA option for 3-way SLI. That would be awesome.

Also, in a benchmark, 20fps increase comparing the 257.15 and 197.41 drivers in bad company 2, which is the only other game i play in addition to fsx.

edit: Intresting, GTX485: http://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/faith/gtx485-less-hot-and-noisy-in-the-sack/

Simply put, it’s what Fermi should have been at launch.

A little quicker. A little cooler. A little easier to make.

I think i might buy that one instead, if release is soon.

[stiletto2]

I take it you're running 3840 x 1024 then, Frank.  Unfortunately that's too stretched on my mine, so I'm relegated to a single screen until the drivers support a widescreen resolution with the right aspect ratio for my monitors.  Hopefully the 257 WHQL drivers will do that.

Graham

Looks like you are using 16 x 10 monitors...why woudn't you use 1280 x 800 x 3?

Stiletto2

[GrahamP]

Hi Stiletto2,

Yes, they're 16 x 10 monitors.  Thanks for the suggestion but 3840 x 800 is not available in the choice of resolutions.  I've tried to create that as a custom resolution but couldn't get it to work.  If you know how to get that I'd love to know how you do it.

Graham

[GrahamP]

Hi Stiletto2,

Yes, they're 16 x 10 monitors.  Thanks for the suggestion but 3840 x 800 is not available in the choice of resolutions.  I've tried to create that as a custom resolution but couldn't get it to work.  If you know how to get that I'd love to know how you do it.

Graham

I've just realsied you've got the GTX285, so you would have the 3840 x 800 resolution to select.  That isn't available for selection with the 480 on the drivers that have been published to date.  Thanks anyway for posting.