• Competitor rules

    Please remember that any mention of competitors, hinting at competitors or offering to provide details of competitors will result in an account suspension. The full rules can be found under the 'Terms and Rules' link in the bottom right corner of your screen. Just don't mention competitors in any way, shape or form and you'll be OK.

How to overclock a 7850 past 1050MHz?

555BUK

555BUK

555BUK

Soldato
Joined
10 Feb 2007
Posts
3,452
I have just built a new system for a friend who wants me to get the max out of it. So far I have his 2500K @ 4.6GHz, but I am struggling to bypass the 1050MHz CCC limitation/bios for his 7850.

Even after removing CCC and enabling unofficial overclocking within the latest Afterburner Beta's I cannot raise the slider above 1050MHz. Card is a reference VTX 7850 which is perfectly stable at 1050core/5800mem, but I know that core can do more.

Any tips?

oh, and having played with the 7850 for a few hours I think it is a very decent card. When overclocked, it performs pretty close to my old GTX580 within most games. Even BF3 is playable at 1920x1200 on decent'ish settings. The 580 is better, but not by much.

edit: RESOLVED - See post #11 onwards for MONSTER 7850 overclocks (upto and beyhond 1275MHz GPU / 6000MHz mem stable).

GTX580 & 7950 performance has never been cheaper:).

BF3 FRAPS test
bf3lr.jpg


64227302.jpg


Crossfire tests added 27/5/2012
bf3crossfire.jpg


bf3crossfire2.jpg



another edit:
NOW 1350MHz Core Stable and benchable @ 1376-1400MHz!

The above requires a BIOS flash to unlock 1.3v (Instructions here). You also need very good cooling (I fitted an Accelero Twin Turbo II). Here and here are some benches @ 1376MHz core.
 
Last edited:
Are you on the 12.4 betas? The only way to bypass the limits atm is to use older drivers.

The reviews where they OC higher than 1050 are all using the launch driver 8.95.5

I'm stuck at 1050 as well until the apps get updated. Trixx doesn't even support 78XX's yet.
 
Although you still never fessed up;) and you probably think I'm a total pita, according to guru3D's 78series oc'ing article http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-7870-overclock-guide/2 you need to enable unofficial oc'ing in AB:

'Breaking free from limitations

Should you need more then AMD's restricted the clock frequencies, then you will need software that can deal with that. AfterBurner can do so, but you'll need to follow these instructions. Now this tweak[see link below] disables AMD's Powertune. The results may be an instable graphics card. Really anything can happen. If you don't appreciate that, then overclocking is not for you.

The default limitations however should be more than plenty for overclocking, so we really do not advise disabling Powertune in the first place.

Anyway, we recommend you start off with a GPU core clock of 1100 MHz and work your way upwards. With each increase of say 25 MHz stress your GPU with a stringent application or game. A full 3Dmark 11 session would be a good indicator for stability.

We ended at 5800 MHz for the memory and a nice 1203 MHz on the GPU core (in combination with 40% fan RPM and thus a 1300 Mv voltage tweak).'

http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=338906

'You need to alter the following:
Seek UnofficialOverclockingEULA field and add following text:
I confirm that I am aware of unofficial overclocking limitations and fully understand that MSI will not provide me any support on it
Set UnofficialOverclockingMode to 1 to keep PowerPlay active (may not work on old ASICs), 2 to traditionally disable PowerPlay or to 0 to temporary disable unofficial overclocking path
Using the unofficial overclock method opens up more freedom in terms of voltages and clock ranges, it however also can open a can of worms in terms of stability or weird issues.

Unofficial means unsupported -- we grant some extra tweak options to fool around with, but in no way, manner or fashion is it supported by Guru3D.com or MSI.'

Hope it helps mate.:D
 
As I said, that doesn't work, I've tried it with MS AB Beta 14 and Beta 15, doesn't unlock anything (using 12.4 beta drivers).

Also I found Beta 15 to be VERY buggy, doesn't give fan readings, gpu usage, clock speeds etc. and attempting to unlock just bluescreens the system.

Beta 14 works fine, lets you OC and gives all the readouts correctly, but again won't unlock at all, it doesn't bluescreen, but it also doesn't unlock any voltage or clock limits.

You either have to use the launch drivers, or wait for Trixx/MS AB to get updated.
 
Well, I still cannot get past the 1050MHz lock, but ASUS GPU Tweak allows voltage control and I can undervolt down to 0.99v and still maintain 1050MHz with complete stability. I think this card will do 1200MHz+, once software (Afterburner/Trixx) fully supports it.

AB b15 just locks up as soon as I open it.
 
SUCCESS!

To overclock 7850's past 1050MHz you need ASUS GPU Tool (works with any manufacturer).

After install, go into Settings and tick the following boxes.
*GPU Voltage
*Overclocking range enhancement

GPU tool now opens up the clock ranges for my reference 7850 up to 1720MHz GPU and 9600MHz. Needless to say, don't try that high.

Here is a a piccy and Heaven bench at 1200MHz GPU / 5800MHz mem (2500K porcessor @ stock). This provides roughly stock 7950 performance for half of the price.
gputweak.jpg

12005600.jpg


1200MHz is not the limit, just the first >1050MHz bench I have attempted.
 
Last edited:
Looks like 1260/6000 is the max for me on stock cooling. 1290 fails on test 2-3 of Heaven, and I do not want to raise volts above 1.15v. At 1.15v 1260MHz is stable enough to loop Heaven.

Still, not bad for a GTX580/7950 matching £170 graphics card. A mere ~45% overclock just does not sound as good as 50% would.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom