Overclocking (updated)
I've mentioned that our sample overclocked from the stock 380/680 clocks to 420/750 without any real difficulty. I'll show you how this increase in pure fillrate and bandwidth translates into extra performance in GPU-intensive benchmarks.
First, 3DMark 2003 again. Run at 1024x768x32
A healthy 500 mark by changing a couple of settings.
Now to CodeCreatures Pro, again at 1024x768x32
Pass go and pick up your extra 10% seems to be the name of the game here.
Lastly on to Serious Sam 2, run at 1024x768x32, but with 4x AA and 8x AF thrown in for good measure.
Yum.
I'm pretty confident that ATi could have launched the 9800 Pro at 400/350 clocks without any bother. The present 380/340 clocks ensure that ATi don't have to be too picky with current yields. The process has come on a bit since the 9700 Pro's inception. Moving to a 0.13u manufacturing process should allow fpr core speeds of up to 500MHz with relative ease.
