GPU overclocking
- Thread starter eddyc
- Start date
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
I hope that's a good enough guide
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
I hope that's a good enough guide
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?
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?
Can I use atitools for this or is it better to assess myself?
Reckon I will leave voltage alone. Not quite ready to describe myself as hardcore!
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
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Ah I found you! Yea should work with your graphics card. I have never had much luck with the GPU provided software for overclocking, however it is worth a shot.
No, the ones above it are probably MOSFETs and the one to the left might be a northbridge or something. Ram has heatsinks on the ram chips and the gpu has all its cooling on the card itself. SMAndy was referring to your graphics card, some have a big cooler that covers the whole card including the graphics card ram, some have a small cooler which just covers the graphics card cpu (gpu) and has heatsinks for the graphics card ram. RAMSinks are just small heatsinks which stick to your graphics card ram.
http://tweed-pc-repairs.com/blog2/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/graphics-card-01.jpg
This graphics card has a full cover cooling solution so you could overclock the graphics ram without much issue.
http://computer-reviews.net/files/connect 3d radeon 9550se video card.jpg
This one does not - you can see the 4 memory chips around the silver heatsink in the middle (that covers the gpu), the RAMSinks would be like small versions of the silver heatsink that sit on each of the 4 ram chips to provide some cooling. If your card is relatively new then you shouldn't have a problem - but as with all overclocking watch the temps!
Thanks so much for this. My graphics are right on the edge of playing lots of games really well (in my world anyway
What card do you have? And what resolution are you playing at?
Daven
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