Overclocking 7950

a66as · 27 Aug 2012 at 15:06

Hey guys, how would i go about overclocking a 7950? I have the msi twin frozr III. im using msi afterburner. Can i just turn everything to full whack and expect it to be stable if i leave the core voltage (Mv) where it is?

psychodil · 27 Aug 2012 at 15:12

I have the same card.

I would raise the voltage to 1.2v to start with.

Then you can raise the clocks to 1100/1500 to begin with and run a few benches such as Heaven and 3dmark and maybe a few games to check stability, but Im 99% sure you will be stable at those clocks.

If the temperatures and noise are acceptable, that means you can add a bit more voltage (but its up to you). I wouldnt go much higher than 1.225 or 1.25v on the twin frozr cooler.

See how you get on at those clocks and come back :cool:

Dude · 27 Aug 2012 at 15:29

Can i just turn everything to full whack and expect it to be stable if i leave the core voltage (Mv) where it is?

No .
If you overclocked your CPU & left the vcore the same you wouldn't expect that to be stable !

Mal X · 27 Aug 2012 at 15:41

with great care, watch out for the voltage, do not go above 1.24 V unless you really know what you're doing and I didn't, my replacement card is on max AMD catalyst OC only, which keeps the volts at Stock, which in turn keeps me and the card........... Happy

shankly1985 · 27 Aug 2012 at 16:02

Am running mine @1005/1500 @ 1.037V. Any higher and I need to increase the Voltage on my card.

a66as · 27 Aug 2012 at 19:04

I tried to keep it at stock volts and put it on 1000/1575 but my pc bluescreened after a while

psychodil · 27 Aug 2012 at 19:05

Your card may have very low stock volts. Whack it up to 1.2 and try again and see if you notice the noise.

shankly1985 · 27 Aug 2012 at 19:34

psychodil said:
Your card may have very low stock volts. Whack it up to 1.2 and try again and see if you notice the noise.

I wouldn't whack it right up there. That is the worst thing you can do, And am no expert when OC you do it in slow +6 increase starting with core.

@op what is your stock voltage? mine is 1.031v

psychodil · 27 Aug 2012 at 19:45

Even try 1.175 to begin with then. I can assure you the twin frozr cards are easily cab able of running at 1.2v for 24/7 usage. I'd be shocked if you can't run 1100 core at 1.175v, which is the default voltage of the 7970.

a66as · 27 Aug 2012 at 19:51

my stock volts are 1.031V as well

psychodil · 27 Aug 2012 at 20:09

Put it up to 1.175 then, same as a 7970. Its the same chip as a 7970 so it will be fine with the same volts.

shankly1985 · 27 Aug 2012 at 20:09

a66as said:
my stock volts are 1.031V as well

Up the core to 1000 and mem to 1500 and up the voltage to 1.037v thats only a +6 very little. and run heaven Bench and BF3 if you have that game for a game test. Any issue BF3 will show it.

If you get a black screen crash with driver stopped responding, incrase Voltage another +6 and test again till stable.

Also keep an eye on your GPU temps, messing with the voltage brings more heat. To give you a temp read what I get when playing BF3 my max temp @my OC is 61C when running a bench on heaven its around 68-70c

psychodil · 27 Aug 2012 at 20:18

Yes increasing the voltage by less than 0.6% is really going to help :rolleyes:

The chips and cooling are more than capable of taking 1.175v, the 7970 reference cards do with the same chips and with worse cooling.

shankly1985 · 27 Aug 2012 at 20:23

psychodil said:
Yes increasing the voltage by less than 0.6% is really going to help

The chips and cooling are more than capable of taking 1.175v, the 7970 reference cards do with the same chips and with worse cooling.

You missing the point, you start of with little increase till you reach your goal. Your saying whack it up to 1.2v for say 1100/1575 when he might get the same OC at much less voltage say 1.090v
giving you less heat for the same OC, its always best to start slow and work your way, than doing it complete other way around

spoffle · 27 Aug 2012 at 20:24

psychodil said:
Yes increasing the voltage by less than 0.6% is really going to help

The chips and cooling are more than capable of taking 1.175v, the 7970 reference cards do with the same chips and with worse cooling.

It's all about the classic art of overclocking. Upping the voltage in small steps and testing stability.

A card might be fine running at those volts, but if you can get it stable with less volts, why not?

psychodil · 27 Aug 2012 at 20:40

Because the cooling is more than capable of coping with the heat level.

I agree with the principal as you get towards your final step but this is just setting a sensible starting step.

I will show you my heaven bench of my MSI twin frozr at 1275MHz if you like.

I would aim for a sensible target of 1200Mhz core at 1.2-1.25v on this card as a ballpark figure.

shankly1985 · 27 Aug 2012 at 20:44

psychodil said:
Because the cooling is more than capable of coping with the heat level.

I agree with the principal as you get towards your final step but this is just setting a sensible starting step.

I will show you my heaven bench of my MSI twin frozr at 1275MHz if you like.

I would aim for a sensible target of 1200Mhz core at 1.2-1.25v on this card as a ballpark figure.

Yes but you seem to understand and no what your doing. So your way is fine, am not saying it isn't. But for someone asking on the forum how to OC its clear he new to it, so for him its best to start of slow and work his way.

What temps you getting anyway? BF3 and heaven?

psychodil · 27 Aug 2012 at 20:51

For 24/7 I run at 1200-1225 Mhz, BF3 usually tops out at 66C, but I game with vsynco on at 60Hz. Heaven is usually low 70's.

shankly1985 · 27 Aug 2012 at 20:58

psychodil said:
For 24/7 I run at 1200-1225 Mhz, BF3 usually tops out at 66C, but I game with vsynco on at 60Hz. Heaven is usually low 70's.

Nice temps... I might drop my mem down and see if temps drop.

psychodil · 27 Aug 2012 at 21:00

Lol that wont make any difference to your GPU temps.