Best way to get a stable overclock on MSI GTX 980

[JL94x4]

Hi all. I'm looking to get a stable overclock on the MSI version of the GTX 980. How would be best to achieve this? My specs are;

Intel i7 3770
MSI GTX 980
16GB RAM
CORSAIR CX 750 PSU

Thanks!

 

[Mayh3M]

Start at 1400 then increase by 10, each time checking for stability by playing games. Playing GTA V is a great stability test.

 

[JL94x4]

Start at 1400 then increase by 10, each time checking for stability by playing games. Playing GTA V is a great stability test.

Sorry, start at 1400 on what?

Never overclocked a graphics card before. What do I use? MSI afterburner? What do afterburner settings need to be to start with, and what do I keep going up by 10 on?

 

[Mayh3M]

Sorry, start at 1400 on what?

Never overclocked a graphics card before. What do I use? MSI afterburner? What do afterburner settings need to be to start with, and what do I keep going up by 10 on?

Oh okay sorry just assumed you had done so before.

MSI afterburner is regarded by most to be the best overclocking tool so go ahead and use that - its relatively simple and intuitive.

MSI 980 specs:

Core Clock: 1216 MHz
Boost Clock: 1317 MHz
Memory Clock: 7010 MHz

GTX 970s/980s are renowned for their overclocking potential, with the vast majority doing 1400 MHz+ on the core and 7700 MHz+ on the memory.

So open up MSI afterburner and increase the core clock by around +100, and the memory clock by +350. The reason you do only +350 for the memory is because this is multiplied by 2 for an effective 700 increase. Leave voltage alone for now but increase power limit to its maximum. Once you've dialled your settings in, click on the tick button to apply the settings.

The best way to check for a stable overclock is by actually playing games to see whether they crash or not. A good 30-60 minutes in GTA V driving around multiple areas is a great way to test for stability. If your game runs fine with no hicks, you can go ahead and increase the core by +10 MHz increments until you either see artefacts on your screen or the game just crashes altogether.

If you do crash or see artefacts, try increasing voltage to +87 mV to see if that stabilises things. Some people prefer to use their highest stable overclock with no additional voltage, rather than having to use increased voltage for an even higher overclock. That's your choice though.

 

[JL94x4]

Oh okay sorry just assumed you had done so before.

MSI afterburner is regarded by most to be the best overclocking tool so go ahead and use that - its relatively simple and intuitive.

MSI 980 specs:

Core Clock: 1216 MHz
Boost Clock: 1317 MHz
Memory Clock: 7010 MHz

GTX 970s/980s are renowned for their overclocking potential, with the vast majority doing 1400 MHz+ on the core and 7700 MHz+ on the memory.

So open up MSI afterburner and increase the core clock by around +100, and the memory clock by +350. The reason you do only +350 for the memory is because this is multiplied by 2 for an effective 700 increase. Leave voltage alone for now but increase power limit to its maximum. Once you've dialled your settings in, click on the tick button to apply the settings.

The best way to check for a stable overclock is by actually playing games to see whether they crash or not. A good 30-60 minutes in GTA V driving around multiple areas is a great way to test for stability. If your game runs fine with no hicks, you can go ahead and increase the core by +10 MHz increments until you either see artefacts on your screen or the game just crashes altogether.

If you do crash or see artefacts, try increasing voltage to +87 mV to see if that stabilises things. Some people prefer to use their highest stable overclock with no additional voltage, rather than having to use increased voltage for an even higher overclock. That's your choice though.

I'll give this a shot in the next 24 hours! I'll keep you posted.

(or come back for more help if needed haha)

 

[Disco_P]

Sound advice from Mayh3m.

Personally I avoid memory overclocking until I have settled on a core overclock. Therefore you know for a fact whether any crashes or artifacts are due to core rather than memory.

 

[Skynet5]

Nice approach Mayh3m