How to overclock a 7850 past 1050MHz?

Moron · 7 Apr 2012 at 12:58

Well I've gone and got myself a 7850. 555BUK and Hex's overclocking attempts has made me want to give it a try.

A heavily overclocked one will be a nice step up from a stock 5870.

Will start off with one and see how it goes and hopefully there will be another on offer soon and will grab a second.
Was waiting for the 680 Jetstream but think 2 7850 is better overall plus i don't need a new psu for 2 card setup which has always removed the cost benefit from it.

Just tried running Heaven to compare the bench marks for when it arrives but some reason it doesn't want to run so will just have to do it on the 7850

welshdragon · 7 Apr 2012 at 13:25

I think the reference 7850 uses the 7870 pcb so just a bit worried going for non-reference in terms of clocking. Currently eyeing up both sapphire and Asus as mroe readily available. Can't decide!

Pants · 7 Apr 2012 at 13:32

welshdragon said:
I think the reference 7850 uses the 7870 pcb so just a bit worried going for non-reference in terms of clocking. Currently eyeing up both sapphire and Asus as mroe readily available. Can't decide!

That makes me feel a bit better going reference. Although I'm not really too concerned about the fan design on such a frugal GPU.

Are the reference designs not made by the respective companies at all? Or do they put them together, but based on exactly the same components etc?

welshdragon · 7 Apr 2012 at 13:35

I dont know. I am torn between the VTX reference one and the sapphire twin fan one. There's only £20 in it but I want whichever will clock best.

morguk · 7 Apr 2012 at 13:48

welshdragon said:
I think the reference 7850 uses the 7870 pcb so just a bit worried going for non-reference in terms of clocking. Currently eyeing up both sapphire and Asus as mroe readily available. Can't decide!

Hex has an MSI that clocks like a beast. To 7950 I think he said!

555BUK · 7 Apr 2012 at 13:55

Just to add a little more info.

The reference cooler is very quiet (almost inaudible) on Auto, but once you start cranking the core up past 1050MHz heat becomes an issue and it is best to switch to a custom fan profile.

My custom profile keeps the card relatively quiet at 1200MHz whilst keeping temps below 80. I would say that if you want to go >1200MHz for 24/7 you are better off with a custom Sapphire or MSI cooler. I can bench at 1300MHz but need max volts (1.225v) and fan on 100% (which is very noisy). I think 1150-1200MHz is probably the sweatspot for reference coolers.

My final 24/7 settings are as follows:-

*2D clocks are underclocked and undervolted.

555BUK · 7 Apr 2012 at 13:59

morguk said:
Hex has an MSI that clocks like a beast. To 7950 I think he said!

I think that a 7850 @ 1200/5800 clocks is pretty much equal to a stock 7950 or GTX580. Of course, the 7950 will overclock way past this, but it costs nearly twice as much. The 7850 is probably the best value "fully capable upto 1920x1200" card available at the moment.

welshdragon · 7 Apr 2012 at 14:03

Reference cooler it is! VTX one ordered!

///Rage · 7 Apr 2012 at 15:18

What a great thread!

My question is for 2560x1600 res will a 7850 OCed cut it? Otherwise it will be a 7950 but upgrade monies are limited.

Moron · 7 Apr 2012 at 16:59

get two 7850 and it'll run 2560x1600 easily i suspect. One probably won't be enough for massive FPS

555BUK · 7 Apr 2012 at 17:28

///Rage said:
What a great thread!

My question is for 2560x1600 res will a 7850 OCed cut it? Otherwise it will be a 7950 but upgrade monies are limited.

If you want to run max settings on the latest games, a single 7850 won't be enough at 2560x1600. However, if you are happy to turn some of the setting down a notch, it should be fine.

For Ultra settings @ 2560x1600 in games such as BF3 you really need a GTX680, 7970 or 7850's in crossfire. 7850 crossfire will be a fair bit faster than a single 7970.

///Rage · 7 Apr 2012 at 17:36

Moron said:
get two 7850 and it'll run 2560x1600 easily i suspect. One probably won't be enough for massive FPS

555BUK said:
If you want to run max settings on the latest games, a single 7850 won't be enough at 2560x1600. However, if you are happy to turn some of the setting down a notch, it should be fine.

For Ultra settings @ 2560x1600 in games such as BF3 you really need a GTX680, 7970 or 7850's in crossfire. 7850 crossfire will be a fair bit faster than a single 7970.

Id like to avoid xfire/sli if possible. I mostly play DCS which does not support multigpu. I am looking forward to Arma3 and CnC Generals 2 however which makes me think they will be a lot more demanding at those resolutions.

Dammit I was set on buying a 7950 until I saw your thread!

555BUK · 7 Apr 2012 at 19:07

///Rage said:
Id like to avoid xfire/sli if possible. I mostly play DCS which does not support multigpu. I am looking forward to Arma3 and CnC Generals 2 however which makes me think they will be a lot more demanding at those resolutions.

Dammit I was set on buying a 7950 until I saw your thread!

Well, as you want to avoid dual cards, the 7950 will be the safest bet for 1600P res.

Jarrod · 7 Apr 2012 at 20:00

Damn I can't seem to get either of my cards over 1160mhz, I don't understand how people are easily reaching 1200mhz. My temps are fine, but the screen just freezes or the screen goes black :S.

MORE SPEED · 7 Apr 2012 at 20:19

Tried bumping up the voltage a tad?

555BUK · 7 Apr 2012 at 20:22

Jarrod said:
Damn I can't seem to get either of my cards over 1160mhz, I don't understand how people are easily reaching 1200mhz. My temps are fine, but the screen just freezes or the screen goes black :S.

Have you tried them individually? Crossfire/SLI setups always seem to reduce clocks by a bit.

Defy Belief · 7 Apr 2012 at 20:48

For the VTX3D 7850's, seems like a great price but what are they like for RMA's etc?

///Rage · 7 Apr 2012 at 20:49

555BUK said:
Well, as you want to avoid dual cards, the 7950 will be the safest bet for 1600P res.

I think so. My brief flirtation with the 7850 OC is over I guess. Fun while it lasted

morguk · 7 Apr 2012 at 20:55

Defy Belief said:
For the VTX3D 7850's, seems like a great price but what are they like for RMA's etc?

OCUK deals with it

psychodil · 7 Apr 2012 at 20:55

Well ive sold my gtx 570 now and will be buying a new card after my holiday in a month or so. It will probably be a 7950 or if the missus spends too much of the spending money it will be one of these cards. Both great overclockers, but i will wait for a decent non reference cooled one as i like quiet while i overclock to the limit