*GTX 260/280 Unofficial TPU! Thread*

[mep916]

Last year, I stepped up fron the 8xxx series GTXes to the Ultras. It was fast and easy. The turnaround time was roughly 10 days. You pay for the step up; get a RMA number; ship the card, then when they receive it, they ship the new one. I'm in Northen Cali as is eVGA, so I think that's why I received the stepped up cards so quickly.

 

[Kursah]

I paid the 20-some-odd bucks for 2nd day, I talked to a rep to see what it was about, seems pretty solid...last I checked I was in 38th spot for step-up. Gonna miss this GTX, gonna have to flash it back to stock bios lol. If you guys want I can upload my custom GTX FTW + Fan Mod bios. Fan Speed 80%, over 75C 100%, FTW clocks 666/1404 1101.

I'm looking forward to getting it over with..the x1950xtx is a good card, but it's nothing compared to what I have now lol!

 

[Cold Storm]

Glad to see you don't have much to wait... I was like 500+ish... lol... That's what you get for wanting the new card! but you got it good man! Glad to hear about it.
X1950 isn't anything to be mad at. but you will look at a game and be like.... wow....

 

[PaulieG]

They go by the invoice that is on your profile.. You take a screen shot of the invoice, load it to their website, and they then check thew the screen shot about if it is legit.
I bet Nate would do it all for ya... all he has to do is reg, the card, do step-up, and then once the step-up is ready to start, you just send it in... When you send it in, all they care about is the RMA of it from what I know.. But, if you want to put Nate's stuff on the package then It would be better I bet.
But, they do it just by the invoice. I bet Nate can even change the shipping to you... Or, easiest thing, Call them up and ask... But, if it's from Nate, I don't see what would make him not help a Fellow out!?

Yeak, I know Nate will help me out with this, I just didn't know if I could "cut out the middle man" so to speak. I wish EVGA had the double lifetime warranty like XFX, then I wouldn't need Nate to do any of the work.

 

[Kursah]

So my step-up has been approved, I got an RMA number, I'm reading through the e-mail with shipping info and see this at the bottom:

EVGA'S VOID WARRANTY POLICY
By way of example product received from customers evidencing any of the following conditions are NOT eligible for "in warranty" replacement:
-- Inadequate packaging
Some examples are:
>> Multiple products packed into a single box without separators to prevent contact with adjacent products.
>> Products packed in boxes without protective cushioning.
>> Products shipped with Styrofoam peanuts only.
>> Products where the EVGA Serial Number has been removed or defaced.
>> Physical damage to the product i.e. a broken or dented printed circuit board assembly.
>> Components added or removed from the printed circuit board.
>> Water Damage due to modification to the GPU using a water block of any type.

I guess it's a good thing I didn't pack it back into the box I kept when Newegg shipped it my way. Are they really that finicky about packaging filler? I guess just getting some bubble wrap is a good idea then? Does that mean just toss the card in a box full of peanuts?

 

[dadi_oh]

So my step-up has been approved, I got an RMA number, I'm reading through the e-mail with shipping info and see this at the bottom:

EVGA'S VOID WARRANTY POLICY
By way of example product received from customers evidencing any of the following conditions are NOT eligible for "in warranty" replacement:
-- Inadequate packaging
Some examples are:
>> Multiple products packed into a single box without separators to prevent contact with adjacent products.
>> Products packed in boxes without protective cushioning.
>> Products shipped with Styrofoam peanuts only.
>> Products where the EVGA Serial Number has been removed or defaced.
>> Physical damage to the product i.e. a broken or dented printed circuit board assembly.
>> Components added or removed from the printed circuit board.
>> Water Damage due to modification to the GPU using a water block of any type.

I guess it's a good thing I didn't pack it back into the box I kept when Newegg shipped it my way. Are they really that finicky about packaging filler? I guess just getting some bubble wrap is a good idea then? Does that mean just toss the card in a box full of peanuts?

My guess is that they mean a bare card (no ESD bag) in the peanuts. Styrofoam is an awesome generator of static electricity and would damage the bare card.

 

[Kursah]

LoL oh well I went out and got a cheap roll of bubble wrap, covered it in bubble wrap and covered the bubble wrap in tape lol...give em' a little bit of work to get to my good ol' GTX260. I'm running on the x1950xtx atm...and even in 2d I notice a difference...still a good card tho, I'm impressed still.

I hope you guys keep this place updated with oc's, scores, tweaks, tips, etc!

 

[johnspack]

Well, I've been bored while waiting for funds to build an intel system.. I have now verified over and over that this palit's mem will run stable at 2500(2520 actually) with my shaders backed down to 1480(1456 says rivatuner) and gpu at 712. I've run crysis, grid, cod4 ect at it and it's solid. Best fps in crysis for me so far. Dreaming of my new e8500......

 

[PaulieG]

Nate's setting up the step up for me on my 260gtx for a 260gtx+. It was like a total of $30, as Nate paid $279 for the card originally. I hope the waiting list isn't too long once he has it set up! Man, I need a cheap backup card. Why did I get rid of that lowly 8400gs?

 

[Kursah]

And to think you could've had my x1950xtx

Glad I didn't trade this card now, cause I can still game with good settings and decent frames. Had to give ya a little flack...I can't wait Paul, hopefully we both get good OC'ers too. I'd love to see 800/1600, doubt it'll ever happen...and it doesn't need to, but it'd be sweet none-the-less!

Keep us posted man! I'll do the same...I'm hoping in about 1.5weeks I'll be set.

 

[Cold Storm]

Nate's setting up the step up for me on my 260gtx for a 260gtx+. It was like a total of $30, as Nate paid $279 for the card originally. I hope the waiting list isn't too long once he has it set up! Man, I need a cheap backup card. Why did I get rid of that lowly 8400gs?

Glad to hear you have it going man! And, at that price! Good stuff man, good stuff.

 

[Tatty_Two]

Be very interested to see how these 260+ do in real world stuff, as I have fallen in love with this P5Q3 board now I might just have to go red and get me a couple of 4850's or sumfin for Christmas.

 

[waxking1]

I sent my 260 in today for a stepup to the 216. I hope it turns out to be a good clocker. I'm running my old 8800GT in its place. Runs the new Crysis pretty decent. I've still got the 4870 in my other computer but I have most of my games loaded on this computer.

I had a 280 for a while but ended up returning it. It was getting way too hot and it really wasn't much faster than my 260.

 

[Kursah]

I miss my damn GTX260 lol...the x1950xtx does a pretty good job, but damn it's no comparison!

Hopefully the 180 series of drivers are out by the time I get the 216/72 GTX260 lol!

 

[waxking1]

I miss mine too. I'm sure its going to be week after next before I get mine back. I sent it 2nd day air but they will send it back ground, which takes five days.

 

[Cold Storm]

Dang Kursah, and Wax... that was a FAST turn around.. Glad to see you should have those babies by the end of next week! Can't wait to see the difference between the cards..

Tatty: The fanboi avatar.....

 

[Tatty_Two]

Was just playing around with me new memory, thought 2006 would be a good stress test, nothing tweaked, I was playing COD4 multiplayer hence the 260 clocks, I dont normally keep them high for everyday use.

 

[waxking1]

Hey Tatty,
Nice clocks on the 260. Is the CPUz reading your multiplier wrong? Also I noticed your SM2 score looks low but your SM3 score looks more like an overclocked 280.

How about the 9650? Is it overclocking as well as you expected it to?

 

[Tatty_Two]

Hey Tatty,
Nice clocks on the 260. Is the CPUz reading your multiplier wrong? Also I noticed your SM2 score looks low but your SM3 score looks more like an overclocked 280.

How about the 9650? Is it overclocking as well as you expected it to?

Am on 4.45gig for the 9650 but she is not stable at that, max orthos stable so far is 4.3gig but I am more than happy with that on air, I can game at 4.4gig if I get my memory right......but TBH, I only run at 4gig 24/7 so thats fairly irrelivant, anything over is benching only, she will do 4gig on 1.3V! I just increased volts for this 2006 run to make sure she didnt crap out on me.

Yes I was comparing my score with a couple of guys who have done runs in the 2006 thread, strange thing is my SM2 score is higher than one of them but lower than the other.

Seems you are right, unlike my games, 2006 likes higher core and lower shaders......so 10 minutes ago I did a run at 770 core and dropped my shaders to 1590, increased my CPU by 225mhz.....................now have a look at this! My best ever single card score

 

[Cold Storm]

Tatty, that looks sweet! Man, makes me so e p3nis envy over ya... So envy....

 

[waxking1]

Great scores Tatty. That's more like it. I thought you sold your 260, is this a different one? Thoses scores would rival an overclocked 280. You sure you're not watercooling the GPU.
How high are your max temps?

 

[Tatty_Two]

Great scores Tatty. That's more like it. I thought you sold your 260, is this a different one? Thoses scores would rival an overclocked 280. You sure you're not watercooling the GPU.
How high are your max temps?

No this is the same 260....I do have a buyer who wants it, trying to decide if Ireally need a 4870x2 as there is a fairly good deal in the UK at the moment, TBH I probably dont need it, this gives me what I need, no genuinly stock air cooling, on that 2006 run I would estimate max load temps at around low to mid 70's, thats with ambients only around 18C.

 

[Kursah]

Nice tatty, I hope you keep in the GTX realm just for donating to this thread lol! If you go X2 though, it'll last you quite I while longer I would bet. That's kind of a tough decision, one you gotta decide what would be best...stick with what you have and upgrade when next (or next-next) gen stuf is out and you need more performance, or go for the top dog now lol!

 

[Cold Storm]

Tatty... the 260 probably gives ya the most you need, but Kursah is right on the thing... You will probably need to upgrade in the next gen, but if you get the x2 then you won't have to...
But, knowing you, you might even change that!
It is a hard thing man... hard one...

 

[Kursah]

Well I'm not saying the 260 will suck in a year, or even two...that kind of depends on where games go with optimizations, coding and overall performance. I wouldn't worry too much on DX10, 10.1 or 11 really, at least yet. But if in a next-gen or two, your GTX isn't giving what you want...oh well, you're gonna replace it. If you decide to go top dog now...the X2, you could actually end up in similar shape, or still good to go...it's kind of hard reading the future of actual game performance, which is what matters most to me. Though I would say the GTX260 is no slump by any means.