Need Help, GTX460 not sure if i'm happy

J-I-M · 26 Jul 2010 at 15:40

Hey all

Ok basically i haven't benched in a while and i noticed quite low frames in programs and games which has been bugging me all day, i've got my MSI GTX460 today and not sure if i'm happy with it, so i've done a bunch of benching and wanted your reviews on wether these scores are acceptable for my card/system and if there's anything holding me back.

I hopped on a couple of games and noticed the same stuttering/frame rates as my HD 512 4870 which baffled me, so here's the benchmark results:

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The settings i used for 3dmark06 are 1920x1080p Resolution, x8AA (Quality x3), Anistropic filtering. The FPS i'm currently getting in games is really no better than a HD4870 i've noticed and wondered if there was any cause of this.

Note: The card isn't at all overclocked it's completely stock.

RavenXXX2 · 26 Jul 2010 at 15:42

06 is too CPU bound, use vantage or heaven benchmark, RE5 bench, Dirt 2 demo bench.

http://www.techpowerup.com/downloads/1799/Unigine_Heaven_DX11_Benchmark_2.1.html

http://downloads.guru3d.com/Resident-Evil-5-PC-Benchmark-Utility-download-2331.html

http://www.gamershell.com/download_53452.shtml

mame · 26 Jul 2010 at 15:58

looks like you are forcing 32xAA there

J-I-M · 26 Jul 2010 at 16:16

Thanks for the link RavenXXX2

@mame I did indeed, i put max settings on to see how it performs here's a link from the 3dmarkVantage

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Settings i used again are 1920x1080p Extreme settings on all, 16 anisotropy, 8multisample count 1:2 processor scale.

D13 · 26 Jul 2010 at 16:21

i wouldnt have thought so at that res, but if you are seeign no improvment in gaming there is a chance of cpu bottleneck

Marine-RX179 · 26 Jul 2010 at 16:23

Use MSI Afterburner and get the overclocking going. Should easily upping from stock 675MHz to 800MHz without even touching the voltage.

J-I-M · 26 Jul 2010 at 16:26

Running an E5400 at 3.984 ghz which i've no idea is bottlenecking me, if so wouldn't of thought so by much? quite aggravating this as i've seen no improvement in games what so ever, if anything actually i've noticing a little less frames in area's i didn't on the 4870.

However i notice higher frames when idling, is 4gig ram enough for this card? i've got nothing like aero on everything appears to be on high performance, including the GTX460's power options in the Nvidia options.

J-I-M · 26 Jul 2010 at 16:27

@ Marine-RX179 i was tempted to overclock which i have done in the past but never voltages on cards but i'll certaintly give it a go, if it becomes unstable how do i go about fiddiling with the voltages? i.e start from and work up to and so forth.

Kelt · 26 Jul 2010 at 16:29

J-I-M said:
Running an E5400 at 3.984 ghz which i've no idea is bottlenecking me, if so wouldn't of thought so by much? quite aggravating this as i've seen no improvement in games what so ever, if anything actually i've noticing a little less frames in area's i didn't on the 4870.

However i notice higher frames when idling, is 4gig ram enough for this card? i've got nothing like aero on everything appears to be on high performance, including the GTX460's power options in the Nvidia options.

As Marine said, it's well worth overclocking this card.

http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/3...overclocked_w_voltage_adjustment/index11.html

Even beats a factory overclocked GTX 470!

J-I-M · 26 Jul 2010 at 16:35

Good grief this card does improve slightly with an overclock, i've stablized it at 750/1500/1800 but my worry is if i push it a little further and i start to need voltage tweaks how do i go about it? i've never done voltages on Gcards before and wouldn't mind a little enlightenment if no one minds sharing with me?

Kelt · 26 Jul 2010 at 16:45

J-I-M said:
Good grief this card does improve slightly with an overclock, i've stablized it at 750/1500/1800 but my worry is if i push it a little further and i start to need voltage tweaks how do i go about it? i've never done voltages on Gcards before and wouldn't mind a little enlightenment if no one minds sharing with me?

Use the latest version of MSI Afterburner 1.6.1. which supports the 460.

Just go easy, get as much out of it at standard voltages as you can, if you feel the need for more, increase the voltage using AB, but don't go above 1.1V.

J-I-M · 26 Jul 2010 at 16:49

Thanks KelticDaz, and others... i'm currently at 850/1600 using the stability test given from the afterburner aswell. I'll keep you posted on how it goes, see what this beauty can do it's a smooth overclocker i've had a lot of nuisance in the past but this one is making it a breeze so far!

Kelt · 26 Jul 2010 at 16:55

J-I-M said:
Thanks KelticDaz, and others... i'm currently at 850/1600 using the stability test given from the afterburner aswell. I'll keep you posted on how it goes, see what this beauty can do it's a smooth overclocker i've had a lot of nuisance in the past but this one is making it a breeze so far!

Also, you would see a big benefit from upgrading to a quad-core cpu. In games that support it (and they're getting more common), the increase can be dramatic. I went from an E2180 to a Q6600, never looked back.

J-I-M · 26 Jul 2010 at 16:56

I've been looking to upgrade my CPU to a Q9550 however they're a little pricey and i can't seem to find a cheap-ish Q6600 for sale, i've been keeping my eye open but i don't trust certain sites i've never bought 2nd hand for pc parts before.

Marine-RX179 · 26 Jul 2010 at 16:59

J-I-M said:
Thanks KelticDaz, and others... i'm currently at 850/1600 using the stability test given from the afterburner aswell. I'll keep you posted on how it goes, see what this beauty can do it's a smooth overclocker i've had a lot of nuisance in the past but this one is making it a breeze so far!

You probably worried for nothing

I think all the GTX460 in reviews had no problem overclocking to 830MHz on stock voltage. I've seen reviews where with voltage tweak, the GTX460 can hit 900~950MHz. But I'm not really sure if it is worth it for you, as your CPU is probably holding back the GTX460 a bit, and you might not see further improvement clocking the GTX460 further. But I guess it no loss testing it out...just be careful not put the voltage too high and keep at eye on the temp.

J-I-M · 26 Jul 2010 at 17:04

I did get abit panicy and thought i'd wasted my money as i'm one for perfect performance (had a better rig than my current (aside from the card) but due to moving, my priorities came first and i had to sell this n that) So i'm quite on edge about part-upgrading at the moment due to not having upgraded in a good year and a half.

Is it worth touching the memory clock at all? i've not touched that yet only core clock and shader clock, i'm stable testing my 850clock at the moment and temps seem fine with the fan on 70% (might i add this card is incredibly quiet) roughly 45% maximum so far under temps.

Haven't the need to touch the voltages yet, if i can get away without doing untill i upgrade the cpu i shall.

Kelt · 26 Jul 2010 at 17:14

J-I-M said:
I did get abit panicy and thought i'd wasted my money as i'm one for perfect performance (had a better rig than my current (aside from the card) but due to moving, my priorities came first and i had to sell this n that) So i'm quite on edge about part-upgrading at the moment due to not having upgraded in a good year and a half.

Is it worth touching the memory clock at all? i've not touched that yet only core clock and shader clock, i'm stable testing my 850clock at the moment and temps seem fine with the fan on 70% (might i add this card is incredibly quiet) roughly 45% maximum so far under temps.

Haven't the need to touch the voltages yet, if i can get away without doing untill i upgrade the cpu i shall.

Of course, whack it up as high as it'll go.

Marine-RX179 · 26 Jul 2010 at 17:31

Yea. You will know you clock the memory clock too high if you see graphic tearings in games.

Have a look at GPU-Z pic in this:
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/GeForce_GTX_460_Cyclone_OC_768_MB/34.html

The MSI GTX 460 Cyclone 768MB can clock the memory clock to 1105Mhz. Since the Cyclone version provide better cooling to the RAM with its heatsink sitting directly on top of the RAMs, I think for your standard MSI GTX460 768MB you should take a step back and clock to around 1000MHz.

J-I-M · 26 Jul 2010 at 17:35

Got the settings stable at 900/1800/2100 for 20 mins'ish going well, though this'll be as far as i got the feeling my processor will hold it back, i'll probably knock it down a tad also but it's nice to know i can push this quite far and it doesn't even sweat, i had to change the voltage to 1,000 (from 9.9 something) maximum degrees has been 50 using the stability test, will test it on games as soon as i feel it's stable and see how we go!

Marine-RX179 · 26 Jul 2010 at 17:45

J-I-M said:
Got the settings stable at 900/1800/2100 for 20 mins'ish going well, though this'll be as far as i got the feeling my processor will hold it back, i'll probably knock it down a tad also but it's nice to know i can push this quite far and it doesn't even sweat, i had to change the voltage to 1,000 (from 9.9 something) maximum degrees has been 50 using the stability test, will test it on games as soon as i feel it's stable and see how we go!

Looking good. I think these clock speeds would be enough for you for now. If you do upgrade the CPU in the future, then may be you can try for 950MHz core speed.