is it worth overclocking my graphics card when i get a game that needs it?

Reaper 392

Reaper 392

Reaper 392

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right now, i dont actually own a game that i cant run happily at maximum, but i thought i'd ask this now in preparation for when i do.

currently i have the Asus version of the GTX 460 768MB (i believe its called the ENGTX 460 TOP). when i am running 3 copies of prime 95 and furmark, it is not getting above 75C (at ~2/3 fan speed too). the maximum temperature its ok to use it at is 105C, so even if it was running 20C hotter it would be absolutly fine.

how much of a benefit would i see if i overclocked it as much as i could while keeping it at a sensible temperature and voltage. eg, if the game was running at ~20FPS now, what would it be likely to run after the overclock?

ps. i know next to nothing about overclocking, so i would be doing this either with the built in programs, or INCREDIBLY carefully and slowly using the bios settings
 
MSI Afterburner is good for oc a gfx card. best thing to do is try it and see if you gain enough to justify it. its easy to do, i managed it so that says a lot, and it lets you save profiles, so you can always not have it load with windows and just run it in whatever profile you want when you game.
 
To me the main point in watercooling the graphics card is to reduce noise. I recently installed my old 4870 for testing purposes without watercooling and it was soo damm loud. When using a full cover block you can run very high clocks with very little noise.
 
beh* said:
To me the main point in watercooling the graphics card is to reduce noise. I recently installed my old 4870 for testing purposes without watercooling and it was soo damm loud. When using a full cover block you can run very high clocks with very little noise.
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im just using the stock air cooler here. theres no way im mixing water and computers any time soon with my fists of ham
 
Sorry Reaper, mis-understood your question (i must have watercooling on the brain). If your happy with your current perforance and tempertures just wait until you're not. I think overclocking your graphics card can make a huge difference but there is little point if you don't a game that warrents overclocking in the first place.
 
Is there good cooling is your case. My gtx 460 got just as hot clocked as high as i could get it. Mite want to put a few fans in your case. Just get some cheap ones. No need to buy expensive ones for your case i dont think
 
beh* said:
Sorry Reaper, mis-understood your question (i must have watercooling on the brain). If your happy with your current perforance and tempertures just wait until you're not. I think overclocking your graphics card can make a huge difference but there is little point if you don't a game that warrents overclocking in the first place.
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agreed. i like to run my system for a good couple of weeks/months before overclocking. this is mainly because this is about the period of time it takes for me to get used to what i thought was a fast computer and feel its slow and sluggish, so a nice little OC gives the impression its all fast and new :) that gives time to save for a hardward upgrade. this build i kinda had a play with OC from day one, and have gone back to stock on GFX as i didnt really know if it made a difference as i had not run it at stock.

so really, my point is, if nothing feels slow, then maybe have a play with afterburner and see how it feels, if there is a huge difference then either go back to stock knowing that once something comes out you cant play, you have that performance in your pocket. or leave it OC'd and in a few months wish you could afford a new gfx card.
 
As others said already just download msi afterburner and set up a couple of overclocked profiles. Test them to check they are stable then just run some benchmarks such as 3d Mark to see where the increase performance is worth it.
 
discobiscuits said:
As others said already just download msi afterburner and set up a couple of overclocked profiles. Test them to check they are stable then just run some benchmarks such as 3d Mark to see where the increase performance is worth it.
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thanks, i will do that when i have a bunch of free time, but leave it stock until i need the extra performance


beh* said:
Further to that point, you can use afterburner to undervolt your card.
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im really not fussed about the leccy bill - im living in very overpriced student accommodation where all the bills are included, so im gonna use that to the full :D
 
Its you are getting 20 fps on a game, then overclocking the gfx card will probably give you about 3-4 fps more. Unless its some mega overclock.

But I guess minimum fps will be better so that fps will be more consistent.
 
its worth ocing a gpu even if you dont need the extra performance I say, just as long as its done carefully so as you dont damage it or over do it and dont mind the extra electricity costs. What I would suggest especially if ur cpu is cooled on water is to make sure you have plenty case fans as ur gpu will be hotter when oc'd, maybe get a spot cooler directly facing it. I have just built a sandybridge system and getting an asus 560 gtx, dont need to oc it but doing it anyway :)
 
ooverclocking does reduce the life of your card but I would rather mine broke before the warranty than after, so im ocing from the start. If it does break within 3 years I can replace it and no harm done
 
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BAppleton said:
ooverclocking does reduce the life of your card but I would rather mine broke before the warranty than after, so im ocing from the start. If it does break within 3 years I can replace it and no harm done
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when you say reduce its lifespan, are we talking 15 years instead of 20, or a lot worse than that.

the reason i ask is im almost certainly going to be upgrading it after 4 years, so im not overly bothered if its going to die after 7 years of hard gaming
 
if your upgrading in 4 years sure oc your card and it should be undamaged and fine to sell as long as you follow the procedures, make sure the card has plenty of cooling and that you dont over do what asus recommends for your card, to many volts and it will most likely break. The way to look at it is like this. If a card has a lifespan of 10 years by putting more volts into it and making it work harder your making it age faster
 
I used EVGA overclock software in my EVGA gtx 295 and had terrible results, it ran all benchmarks quicker but was so temperamental, random crashing in windows, games having flashing images in the background and I didn't go mad with the setting, I researched the most common figures and went s little lower. Maybe it's just my card and need better cooling on it?
 
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