GPU overclocking

[eddyc]

Is there a guide to GPU overclocking anywhere? What do I do?

Sorry if this is very stupid questions. I have never done anything other than CPU overclocks before.

 

[eddyc]

You have to use software to overclock graphics cards. Your choices:

EVGA Precision
MSI Afterburner
Rivatuner.

No particular order there... I've used MSI and Riva on mine. Both decent programs.


MSI Afterburner i feel is better though - the UI is much simpler, and setting fan profiles at temperatures is a breeze, as opposed to having to create the fan profiles and then linking them to particular temperature thresholds as you do in Rivatuner.

Thanks very much, I will give MSI a go.

Edit: Will MSI work even though I have an ATI graphics card? Oh also my mobo came with some software called GPU NOS for gpu overclocking. Would I be better off using that?

Basically, There are very few ways to do a GPU Overclock, as far as I'm aware. The main concensus though is to un-link the Core/Shader clock if you can, the next is to increase one thing at a time, or everything at the same time, but in smaller amounts.

Will the core/shader clock link be in the BIOS?

I can change my gpu clock speed in the bios so should I have it set to manual rather than auto when using the software, but have it set at the default value?

First off, try increasing the core by 10-20... Either run it through 3DMark, or just play some demanding games for a few hours. Keep an eye on temperatures... If you get no artefacts (strange appearances on screen... like coloured blobs, or lines...) then try upping it a bit more.

Can I use atitools for this or is it better to assess myself?

If you're really hardcore, you can unlock Voltage overclocking in I think all 3 programs, which can let you get even better overclocks. Apparently, the latest AMD cards like voltage increases lots when it comes to getting core boosts.

Reckon I will leave voltage alone. Not quite ready to describe myself as hardcore!

Have a look at your card itself... If there is a big heatsink covering the lot, then thats cool. If you have one of those aftermarket coolers, check the RAM chips. If there's no heatsinks on them, I'd suggest you either get some RAMsinks, or don't overclock the memory on the card.

This is my motherboard I am assuming that the two sets of fins, just to the left of the cpu and just above it are the gpu heatsink and the RAMsink respectively. Is that right?

I hope that's a good enough guide

Thanks so much for this. My graphics are right on the edge of playing lots of games really well (in my world anyway ) so I think a small increase in performance is going to make a lot of difference. Cheers