I'm not very experienced when it comes to overclocking but I understand the basics.
I've been playing with my x1600 card on my second machine using the wonderful ATI Tray Tools. I've only just found the great little overclocking feature and have been testing the limits of my card.
Problem is I'm a little concerned about what is actually happening as far as the GPU is concerned.
When I fired up the overclocking tool the GPU core speed was set to the default 499 MHz. I started the 3D renderer test thing (the spaceship rotating) and instructed ATT to find the maximum speed. While I was doing this I used the ATI Tray Tools temperature graph monitor so I could see if there was any nasty changes.
Now the confusing bit, the program has overclocked the card to about 630MHz and shows no sign of stopping. The temperature of the card when under strain (oblivion, test rotating spaceship etc) never really rises above 61 degrees celsius regardless of the GPU clock speed. The idle temperature remains at around 43 degrees.
This is slightly worrying, I'm beginning to wonder whether there is something going on behind the scenes that ATI Tray Tools doesn't pick up? So my concern is that my graphics card is suddenly going to combust because the ATI Tray Tools program doesn't know when to stop.
1. Is my graphics card going to blow up?
2. Is 60-65 degrees celsius a safe operating temperature when under strain?
3. Should I just keep overclocking until ATI Tray Tools starts to find artifacts in the test animation?
4. Is overclocking the video card memory safe to do using ATI Tray Tools?
I should point out that I have no extra form of cooling installed in the system. It's a well ventilated case with lots of clear air flow however.
If any of you are experts I'd very much appreciate a little advice on knowing when to stop etc.
Please forgive me if I've posted this in the wrong place.
Thanks
I've been playing with my x1600 card on my second machine using the wonderful ATI Tray Tools. I've only just found the great little overclocking feature and have been testing the limits of my card.
Problem is I'm a little concerned about what is actually happening as far as the GPU is concerned.
When I fired up the overclocking tool the GPU core speed was set to the default 499 MHz. I started the 3D renderer test thing (the spaceship rotating) and instructed ATT to find the maximum speed. While I was doing this I used the ATI Tray Tools temperature graph monitor so I could see if there was any nasty changes.
Now the confusing bit, the program has overclocked the card to about 630MHz and shows no sign of stopping. The temperature of the card when under strain (oblivion, test rotating spaceship etc) never really rises above 61 degrees celsius regardless of the GPU clock speed. The idle temperature remains at around 43 degrees.
This is slightly worrying, I'm beginning to wonder whether there is something going on behind the scenes that ATI Tray Tools doesn't pick up? So my concern is that my graphics card is suddenly going to combust because the ATI Tray Tools program doesn't know when to stop.
1. Is my graphics card going to blow up?
2. Is 60-65 degrees celsius a safe operating temperature when under strain?
3. Should I just keep overclocking until ATI Tray Tools starts to find artifacts in the test animation?
4. Is overclocking the video card memory safe to do using ATI Tray Tools?
I should point out that I have no extra form of cooling installed in the system. It's a well ventilated case with lots of clear air flow however.
If any of you are experts I'd very much appreciate a little advice on knowing when to stop etc.
Please forgive me if I've posted this in the wrong place.
Thanks
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