Any other gamers let down with 7600gs performance

PretzelB · Post by **PretzelB** » Thu Sep 28, 2006 5:16 am

Let me set the record straight from the start and say that this is more of a rant - not about a product but about my own stupidity. Normally I research for days or weeks before making the most simple purchase but I recently made a quick decision on my video card that has me upset. Having said that, on to the point ...

My latest configuration in my game rig is pretty silent by my standards so on that front I'm happy. It also appears pretty stable too. But I'm very disappointed with the game performance. I replaced a single BFG 6800GT with twin passively cooled ASUS 7600GS cards in SLI. I knew the 7600GS was a budget card of sorts but I thought it would come close to the 6800GT with just a 1 on 1 let alone a 1 vs SLI comparison.

But from what I see now it looks like the twin 7600GS cards are barely keeping up. My primary games at the moment are City of Heroes, BF2, and Company of Heroes. I'm seeing more stuttering using the same settings that I did with my 6800GT card. Needless to say I'm kicking myself for making a hasty decision and not checking here first.

So, any 7600GS gamers out there happy with their performance? If so, I'd also like to know what you upgraded from.

Vicotnik · Post by **Vicotnik** » Thu Sep 28, 2006 8:36 am

I recently went from a 7900GT to a 7600GS and couldn't be more happy. But I don't play that much anymore and when I do it's mostly older games like Q3A. The reason I downgraded was the money I made by switching and the lower power consumption of the 7600GS.

The 6800GT has more than double the memory bandwidth of a 7600GS. Maybe that is why your current setup is slower. I also wonder why you choose to go with a SLI setup. Why not a single 7900GT or 7950GT? About the same cost and power consumption, same noice level (none - since both setups can be passively cooled), and better performance.

merlin · Post by **merlin** » Thu Sep 28, 2006 10:56 am

PretzelB wrote:Let me set the record straight from the start and say that this is more of a rant - not about a product but about my own stupidity. Normally I research for days or weeks before making the most simple purchase but I recently made a quick decision on my video card that has me upset. Having said that, on to the point ...

My latest configuration in my game rig is pretty silent by my standards so on that front I'm happy. It also appears pretty stable too. But I'm very disappointed with the game performance. I replaced a single BFG 6800GT with twin passively cooled ASUS 7600GS cards in SLI. I knew the 7600GS was a budget card of sorts but I thought it would come close to the 6800GT with just a 1 on 1 let alone a 1 vs SLI comparison.

But from what I see now it looks like the twin 7600GS cards are barely keeping up. My primary games at the moment are City of Heroes, BF2, and Company of Heroes. I'm seeing more stuttering using the same settings that I did with my 6800GT card. Needless to say I'm kicking myself for making a hasty decision and not checking here first.

So, any 7600GS gamers out there happy with their performance? If so, I'd also like to know what you upgraded from.

That really doesn't look like a good choice for an upgrade actually, like you've ranted. Going from a high end card of the previous generation to a low-mid range card of the next generation is usually going to drop you backwards.

You're losing more than half your memory bandwidth for a single card, and SLI is inefficient at best.(nowhere near double performance) Not to mention the 7600GS is far slower than the 7600GT. I think you would have gotten much better results from the 7600GT or 7900GS. Even a single 7900GS would be a pretty good upgrade over the 6800GT...and would cost you probably the same amount or less than 2 7600GS's. I'd return the cards and get a 7900GS or 7900GT.

Chinja · Post by **Chinja** » Thu Sep 28, 2006 12:11 pm

Not sure if this will help you, but I've been reading Company of Heroes does not run will in SLI without a patch. Try looking it up.

This game is supposed to run well in SLI once the patch is applied.

PretzelB · Post by **PretzelB** » Thu Sep 28, 2006 12:21 pm

Well, as I said, it was s stupid move on my part and I'm kicking myself. I really didn't think the 7600gs would be this inferior. I did look at some reviews on the 7600gs but nothing would compare it to a 6800gt. But, I can't really blame anyone but myself.

I didn't look into a 7800 or 7900 series because I didn't want to look into having to install a passive cooler. But that would have probably been the way to go.

The bright side may be this will finally get me motivated to sell my old junk on eBay and work up some cash to do it right. I just hate the idea of eBay though.

Excuse me while I wander off mumbling and kicking myself more.

merlin · Post by **merlin** » Thu Sep 28, 2006 2:58 pm

PretzelB wrote:Well, as I said, it was s stupid move on my part and I'm kicking myself. I really didn't think the 7600gs would be this inferior. I did look at some reviews on the 7600gs but nothing would compare it to a 6800gt. But, I can't really blame anyone but myself.

I didn't look into a 7800 or 7900 series because I didn't want to look into having to install a passive cooler. But that would have probably been the way to go.

The bright side may be this will finally get me motivated to sell my old junk on eBay and work up some cash to do it right. I just hate the idea of eBay though.

Excuse me while I wander off mumbling and kicking myself more.

Mmm, another reason to kick self, there's a few passive 7900's out there too...and a 7950gt too.

Thomas-BP2 · Post by **Thomas-BP2** » Thu Sep 28, 2006 3:07 pm

I don't have any experience with SLI setups, but as part of looking for an answer to another issue I dropped in at NVIDIA Forums. I noticed a lot of people have discussed slow performance of SLI, so maybe this helps.

As far as I can see most of the problems come back to two issues; either the two (identical) VGA cards have different firmware versions or there is a driver confusion/conflict between the different parts of the SLI setup. To fix the second issue you have to follow a specific sequence of uninstalling, reinstalling, activating etc. Maybe it will help if you open your bedroom window, turn on a toaster in the kitchen, and let the light burn in the bathroom as well - just to be on the safe side

Take a look at: http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?s=60 ... opic=19018

PretzelB · Post by **PretzelB** » Thu Sep 28, 2006 3:50 pm

merlin wrote:Mmm, another reason to kick self, there's a few passive 7900's out there too...and a 7950gt too.

I didn't see a 7900 when I searched NewEgg but I just saw the post on the 7950. The 7950 is what I should have purchased, though my target was the $230 range and it's around $300.

PretzelB · Post by **PretzelB** » Thu Sep 28, 2006 3:53 pm

Thomas-BP2 wrote:I don't have any experience with SLI setups, but as part of looking for an answer to another issue I dropped in at NVIDIA Forums. I noticed a lot of people have discussed slow performance of SLI, so maybe this helps.

As far as I can see most of the problems come back to two issues; either the two (identical) VGA cards have different firmware versions or there is a driver confusion/conflict between the different parts of the SLI setup. To fix the second issue you have to follow a specific sequence of uninstalling, reinstalling, activating etc. Maybe it will help if you open your bedroom window, turn on a toaster in the kitchen, and let the light burn in the bathroom as well - just to be on the safe side

Take a look at: http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?s=60 ... opic=19018

I may need to look into that. Part of the problem is that this kind of started because I had to reinstall windows. I decided to benchmark with the Futuremark tests before I started but the tests don't work with the 7600gs yet, so the scores are very low. Plus, after I got everything clean and installed, I tried to install 3dMark06 and it's trying to overwrite a DLL - which I don't like since my drivers are all up to date. So I'm stuck without a good benchmark.

I'm kind of wondering what to do for a benchmark now. It could be I need to do that SLI juggle but I have no way of knowing really.

Poodle · Post by **Poodle** » Sat Sep 30, 2006 9:30 am

Memory is crucial for video cards and the gs comes with DDR2. Always check what memory (g)ddr speed, latency in ns, and amount before ordering.

If your a gamer GDDR3 or even better GDDR4 is the way to go.

Sendorm · Post by **Sendorm** » Sun Oct 01, 2006 11:06 am

Actually this all depends on the 7600gs card one is using. For instance I own a palit 7600gs sonic, which comes clocked at 450/1000 and has gddr3 memory.

With "detect optimal frequency", I was able to o.c the card to 550/1450 and squeeze 6200 3d mark 2005 points out of the card.

With a price of 122$ + tax (%18 percent in my country, way overkill) this card is a bargain. (consider that a typical 7600gt costs 160 + tax here)

Here is a review of the card:
http://xtreview.com/review114.htm

I must say that I am quite satisfied with the performance.

jojo4u · Post by **jojo4u** » Sun Oct 01, 2006 12:05 pm

Here the numbers:

In terms of efficiency, Geforce 7 and 6 are comparable IMHO.

Geforce 6800GT 16 pipelines 350/500 Mhz 256-bit memory 6 vertex processors

Geforce 7600GS 12 pipelines 400/400 Mhz 128-bit memory 5 vertex processors

The old Geforce is better in pipline*core and memory.

Post by **CA_Steve** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 9:27 pm

I've been having problems with my 6600GT, so I installed a 7600GS on my AGP based mobo with 2800+ Barton. 3D2006 score goes from 1500-1800 to 2100+. 10-20% improvement - about what was seen on Anandtech. Not a monster performer, but good enough until I can afford to build a new system.

This new Gigabyte passive has a lot less heatsink than the 6600GT.

7600GS: 62C 2D/idling and 70C while gaming. No sandwiched heatsink on back with heatpipes - so no cooling from my Sonata exhaust fan.
6600GT: 50C idle and 80C+ gaming.

Vicotnik · Post by **Vicotnik** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 5:22 am

CA_Steve: Try removing the PCI cover plate just under the card. Usually that help creating a little airflow around the heatsink.

Post by **CA_Steve** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 5:58 am

Vicotnik wrote:CA_Steve: Try removing the PCI cover plate just under the card. Usually that help creating a little airflow around the heatsink.

Actually, I'm pretty pleased with 70C passive temps while gaming.

Jambler · Post by **Jambler** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 3:14 pm

Coming from a 6600GT the 7600GS was no big improvement, so I took it back immediately and upgraded to a 7600GT - Much better!

Post by **CA_Steve** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 4:26 pm

limited by my agp mobo, $'s, and the wish to have a warranteed passive card, my options were few:-)

floffe · Post by **floffe** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 4:23 am

Yeah, I also got the Gigabyte AGP 7600GS, it's nice. Certainly more than enough for my modest needs, plays Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory well enough in 1280x1024 with high details (100+ fps, dipping to 90 soemtimes).

Jambler · Post by **Jambler** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 6:24 am

Yes, in fact I was quite happy with the 6600GT until I started playing Oblivion. Everything else (HalfLife2, Far Cry, Doom3, Quake4) is fine as long as you're realistic about the quality settings. The 7600GS is certainly a bit better than the 6600GT and a nice card as long as you avoid Oblivion.

Any other gamers let down with 7600gs performance

Any other gamers let down with 7600gs performance

Re: Any other gamers let down with 7600gs performance

Yes I was disappointed.