i am at the max that catalyst overclocking software will allow, what can i realistically get from a 5850 and what software do i use to go past the limits of CCC?

Flash bios with the Asus or MSI bios, or if that makes you wee your pants a little use MSI afterburners unofficial overclocking method, this will let you bypass the overdrive limits but you will lose powerplay so you clocks want go down when GPU is at idle.

MSI afterburner link below

http://event.msi.com/vga/afterburner/download.htm



To enable the unofficial overclocking, navigate to.

C/program files/MSI Afterburner/MSI Afterburner CFG file, open it with notepad/look for EnableUnofficialOverclocking = 0 change the 0 to 1 and then restart Afterburner.

what is achieveable on these is 800 on the core fine and what memory spd should be easy to get to?

Also, you can still use powerplay even when you're using the unofficial overclocking method, simply make a profile and save your cards default clocks in it and make another profile with you overclock in it, when you want powerplay back just load up your default clocks profile, powerplay will be disabled when you go past the default clocks but works fine at stock clocks with afterburner.

what is achieveable on these is 800 on the core fine and what memory spd should be easy to get to?

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All 5850's I have seen on utube and on here can do 1000 on the core so if you want to play it safe hit 900 and bump the volts up a bit with afterburner. Memory can be bumped up to 1100 or even 1200 as they are the same spec as the 5870.

Ok im a tad lost i have afterburner running and i set the core amd mem, click save then hit number 2, number 1 is saved as the default clocks. When i then click on 1 or 2 the clocks just stay at the overclocked one, can you explain this a bit more?

What is powerplay? will this msi app run the overcloked setting by default when i game? do i have to run this msi app all the time in the bg? just a bit confused

You got to hit apply after clicking on a profile number, and make sure you do what I said to enable overclocks past the overdrive limit.

You should go in the settings and enable start with windows and unlock voltage control.

Powerplay will turn the volts and clocks down on your card when you're not gaming, saves on power and heat, like I said when you game enable your overclock profile, when not gaming switch to default profile to get powerplay back.

RavenXXX2 said:

You got to hit apply after clicking on a profile number, and make sure you do what I said to enable overclocks past he overdrive limit.

You should in the settings and enable start with windows and unlock voltage control.

Click to expand...

Ok yeah i have enabled the overclock in the config, i have now got profile 1 as default, profile to as overclocked. Do these work automatically when i game or do i have to set them before i play, also what memory speed should i be safely aiming for? thanks

RavenXXX2 said:

when you game enable your overclock profile, when not gaming switch to default profile to get powerplay back.

Click to expand...

Memory, bang it up to 1200, the biatch can take it.

Do i have to tweak the voltage? when i ram the core to 900 and mem to 1200 and apply it the pc immediately freezes, the fans on the gpu dont kick in or anything.

Oh God yeah, you're way past default clocks at 900, put it up to 1200, safe volts that.

Ok this seems to be working, many thanks for this Raven, one question from above, if i set the clock at startup as the default 1, i take it it wont switch up to the overclocked one for gaming? i have to manaually change it first?

Whatever is applied last in afterburner will be loaded when you restart or boot up your PC, so if you don't mind no powerplay then keep your overclocked profile on, otherwise yes you need to apply your over clock profile for gaming, and you're welcome.

can you explain what powerplay means?

Powerplay = you're browsing the internet or doing some other none GPU intensive stuff, powerplay will reduce the clocks and volts on your card to save on power and in doing so will also reduce temps, when you play a game the clocks will automaticly go up, when you exit said game clocks will reduce.

Ok so to utlise powerplay with MSI afterburner you basically cant? sorry im quite new to the gpu overclocking but i appreciate your help

Like I said, at default clocks which you have set in a profile, powerplay will work with afterburner and unofficial overclocking, once you overclock past default clocks powerplay will be disabled until you enable default clocks again.

Getting quite afew freezes and im not sure if its voltage or the card not wanting it, whats a safe top end voltage?

For 900 core, don't go past 1300, just try a bit at a time until the freezes stop, back your memory down to 1100 whilst checking for core stability. Keep an eye on temps, you may have to set the fan to 30-40%.

Memory will be fine at 1250MHZ without any changes, why? It's rated at 1250MHZ.

I stopped using the powerplay trick because I heard the dynamic voltage changes can damage the card. Seeing as I'm watercooling I have no warranty so have to be careful.

Now I just leave it on 1000/1200 with 1274 voltage 24/7. I'm on a fresh install of windows the past couple of days and ever since then powerplay instantly greyscreens my computer anyway. Afterburner profiles also don't work now either, so not much choice.