NVIDIA TNT2 Roundup (July 99)

Overclocking: Memory

There are two parts of your TNT2 board that you can overclock, the core (the TNT2 chip itself) and memory. If we first start by talking about overclocking the memory, there are basic speed grades (nanosecond ratings) on the memory chips themselves that will give you a basic idea of how far you'll be able to push them. The speed breakdown is as follows:

The chips most commonly seen on TNT2 boards are 7ns, 6ns, and 5.5ns parts. The theoretical speed ratings from the above table are not strictly adhered to, otherwise you'd see 6.5ns chips on regular TNT2 boards. The ratings are much more conservative meaning that 7ns chips almost always work at 150MHz, and it would be insane to find a 5.5ns chip that wouldn't work at 183MHz. You can also use this conservative rating to your advantage, as it means that there is a potential for overclocking.

The most popular manufacturers of memory for TNT2 cards are EliteMT, Hyundai, Samsung, and Vanguard. The EliteMT and Hyundai chips are most commonly found in 5.5ns parts on the TNT2 Ultra boards, with the Samsung on most non-Ultra boards. Vanguard memory seems to be quite rare, although Guillemot uses the 5.5ns Vanguard SDRAM on their Maxi Gamer Xentor 32 Ultra. The most successful overclocker seems to be the Hyundai 5.5ns SDRAM which is used on the Creative Labs 3D Blaster TNT2 Ultra and the Hercules Dynamite TNT2 Ultra. Keep in mind that the Hyundai isn't the only memory used on those two boards, so just because you pick up a Creative or Hercules board doesn't mean you'll be getting the Hyundai SDRAM.

EliteMT 5.5ns	Hyundai 5.5ns	Samsung 7ns	Vanguard 5.5ns

EliteMT is a cheaper alternative to the Hyundai, and still holds a decent amount of overclocking potential. Although the standard your mileage may vary disclaimer applies to all forms of overclocking, overclocking your memory is a bit more predictable than overclocking your TNT2.

Here is a quick breakdown on what memory different manufacturers use on their boards. In no way is this intended to be a comprehensive list, however it does list the most popular SDRAM used by that particular manufacturer. Most manufacturers have at least two memory vendors for their boards:

By looking at the above list, you'll begin to see that the Hercules Dynamite TNT2 Ultra, and Creative Labs 3D Blaster TNT2 Ultra use the exact same memory. This means that if you get a 3D Blaster TNT2 Ultra with 5.5ns Hyundai SDRAM chips, chances are that you'll be able to push your memory clock to 200MHz and beyond, which is what Hercules guarantees their 5.5ns Hyundai chips at. Once again, keep in mind that most manufacturers have at least two sources of memory so you may end up with a Hercules Dynamite TNT2 Ultra that can't make it any higher than 200MHz mem or you may end up with a Diamond Viper V770 Ultra that'll easily hit a 200MHz memory frequency.