Overclocking GFX cards - why can't I go higher?

cHk4 · 14 Jul 2009 at 20:04

Ok I have been playing around and my XFX Ati 4890s are now 950/1135 (Using the thing in the new CCC)

If I go any higher than 950 3DMark06 crashes, if I go to 1150 it crashes on 3DMark06

being a bit of a novice when it comes to hardware is there any reason I can not go higher? I have seen a few posts at various places with people having up to 1000/1180 and just wondering why my stuff crashes at anything higher than what I put.

Thanks

Speed · 14 Jul 2009 at 20:07

Are the temps ok? Have you tried testing the clocks with games and Ati Tool?

Also try 3DMark Vantage, 06 is out dated these days.

As for why you can't go any higher, it could be the card, the cooling or the lack of voltage.

cHk4 · 14 Jul 2009 at 20:10

Must admit I have not tried 3DMark Vantage, I will give that a shot. Also did not try any games. Testing clock with Ati tool?

Oo I have no idea how to change voltage to my card, like I said total noob

But will try 3DMark Vantage

Thanks

Speed · 14 Jul 2009 at 20:27

cHk4 said:
Must admit I have not tried 3DMark Vantage, I will give that a shot. Also did not try any games. Testing clock with Ati tool?

Oo I have no idea how to change voltage to my card, like I said total noob But will try 3DMark Vantage

Thanks

Ati Tool has an artifact scanner which is often good for testing overclocks, it can itself also overclock the card.

Have you looked into the Voltage tweak?

cHk4 · 14 Jul 2009 at 20:44

Ok I will have a look for the scanner (can't see it at a quick glimpse)

When you say Voltage tweak do you mean going to hardware > overclocking settings then the apply to both cores/adapters voltage with a number on the right? Mine is currently 1.053 if this is what you mean.

How would I know what voltage to set it to, like I said (not like you couldn't guess!) I'm a noob but really wish to learn

Thanks

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Temps don't seem to go over 72 with current settings

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Ok I have set them via ATI Tray Tools to
960/1160
Temp now goes up to 88 with 1 min of the Show 3D render, it also does not find any artifacts - is this good/bad?

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Ok now its finding them like mad?
Any idea? lol

Leeroy123 · 14 Jul 2009 at 23:45

ati is crap.

Phatzy · 14 Jul 2009 at 23:59

Leeroy123 said:
ati is crap.

leeroy is a fool.

you need get a custom cooler on that to get 1000mhz or more. On stock volts should get around 950mhz, but you may have a read at this web site http://vr-zone.com/articles/increas...oc-hd-4890-using-rivatuner/6880.html?doc=6880

cHk4 · 15 Jul 2009 at 00:02

Thanks mate, Yea I can get to 950 however I noticed when playing Crysis my GFX card hit 91 degrees and I started getting white spots on the screen so I restored factory defaults. I have not read the link yet but could this be due to my card getting too hot? About to go to bed so will read in morning

Would 2 of these on my 2 cards make a big difference?
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-047-AK

Thanks

-edit-

will 91 degrees kill my cards?

Phatzy · 15 Jul 2009 at 00:22

the 48xx series seems to like to operate upto 110c but not recommended as the pcb warms up then ram starts to crack under too much heat, yea them coolers seems fine with good reviews, but to be honest i never seen 1 in action.
if they cool your cards down to about 70c or lower on load id say 1000mhz is in your grasp with a volt tweak. anyway report back see how they go, as my card warms my feet nicely but im scared to loose my card as i have no income at the moment

i may get 1 of them coolers at that price.

mame · 15 Jul 2009 at 00:37

My 4850 wouldn't overclock at all. I could raise the clocks slightly and it would run the same or slower. If I raised them much at all then it would lock up within seconds. Temps were fine.

Phatzy · 15 Jul 2009 at 00:57

my old 7950gt is like that, apply an extra 10mhz. start a simple game and lock ups, other than that it was super

Mojo · 15 Jul 2009 at 02:01

950Mhz seems to be the best OC available for the 4890 chips that aren't god. Another 50mhz to hit the 1Ghz barrier, whilst good opportunities for willy waving, won't give an enormous bump in performance. 950mhz is still a stonker of an overclock. Makes me want to get two

cHk4 · 15 Jul 2009 at 07:55

Ok so 950 seems to be ok. What should I aim the second number to be? 1135 is what I can get it to fine 950/1135 on 3DMark06, however like I said temps go to the 90 mark and also in games I start getting white spots.

I just don't want to damage my cards lol -.- I seem to have lost 200 on my benchmark 06 score -.-

baked188 · 15 Jul 2009 at 11:55

Leeroy123 said:
ati is crap.

Cough* user error *cough :rolleyes:

mame · 15 Jul 2009 at 11:58

nothing to so with ATI. My 4850 woudn't over clock and yes my GTX 260 overclocks quite a bit but my 8800gt would hardly overclock at all whereas my 3850 would overclock to silly levels. Can't remember the exact clocks.

Speed · 15 Jul 2009 at 12:10

cHk4 said:
Ok so 950 seems to be ok. What should I aim the second number to be? 1135 is what I can get it to fine 950/1135 on 3DMark06, however like I said temps go to the 90 mark and also in games I start getting white spots.

I just don't want to damage my cards lol -.- I seem to have lost 200 on my benchmark 06 score -.-

Might pay to get an aftermarket cooler or try and tidy up your case to improve airflow. Temps causing white spots are never good.

baked188 said:
Cough* user error *cough

You are obviously a happy AMD/ATi user then. I've also owned a 4890 and wasn't happy with it's performance, that certainly wasn't down to user error, more poor drivers. I don't wish to start a flame war but everyone is entitled to their opinions on a manufacturer and you can't say every problem down to user error.

cHk4 · 15 Jul 2009 at 12:14

Speed said:
Might pay to get an aftermarket cooler or try and tidy up your case to improve airflow. Temps causing white spots are never good.

Aaaa so its a temperature caused issue, ok mate thanks for that. I might get the after market cooler that OcUK sell as I have read reports of 20 deg lower temps on that. I think for now then I will leave them at stock. Even at stock they run very hot 80+!

My case is a Coolmaster Sniper and I have 2 extractor fans and 4 other fans in the case...

I have no real need to overclock the cards although the few extra FPS on Crysis was nice and made the game seem a lot smoother.

I just wonder how hard the aftermarket coolers are to put on the cards.

Thanks for your help as always mate.

Happy · 15 Jul 2009 at 12:16

Speed said:
You are obviously a happy AMD/ATi user then. I've also owned a 4890 and wasn't happy with it's performance, that certainly wasn't down to user error, more poor drivers. I don't wish to start a flame war but everyone is entitled to their opinions on a manufacturer and you can't say every problem down to user error.

I completely agree with you, however you have experienced an issue with a particular card, when he was having a go at the generalization that all ATI cards are crap.

Speed · 15 Jul 2009 at 12:26

cHk4 said:
Aaaa so its a temperature caused issue, ok mate thanks for that. I might get the after market cooler that OcUK sell as I have read reports of 20 deg lower temps on that. I think for now then I will leave them at stock. Even at stock they run very hot 80+!

My case is a Coolmaster Sniper and I have 2 extractor fans and 4 other fans in the case...

I have no real need to overclock the cards although the few extra FPS on Crysis was nice and made the game seem a lot smoother.

I just wonder how hard the aftermarket coolers are to put on the cards.

Thanks for your help as always mate.

We I can't say for certain it's a cooling issue causing that particular problem, maybe take the side panel off and direct some fans at the card, see if the issue clears up before you purchase a new cooler.

Most aftermarket coolers are quite easy to install, done a few Zalman's in my time and the instructions are pretty good.

Happy said:
I completely agree with you, however you have experienced an issue with a particular card, when he was having a go at the generalization that all ATI cards are crap.

True you shouldn't really have brand preference when you have problems with a single product, but most of us do it. I had loads of issues with a 9700 and a 9800, then I had a few good nVidia products after that (6600GT AGP for example) so I sticked with them until a generation or two after that.

But, then again we don't know how many ATI/AMD card's he's had and what problems. It was however a rather short sighted inflamtory, off topic, unhelpful and troll like post however! :rolleyes:

cHk4 · 15 Jul 2009 at 12:30

Speed said:
We I can't say for certain it's a cooling issue causing that particular problem, maybe take the side panel off and direct some fans at the card, see if the issue clears up before you purchase a new cooler.

Most aftermarket coolers are quite easy to install, done a few Zalman's in my time and the instructions are pretty good.

Would say setting my fans manually on the cards to 100% (auto seems to only put them at 35-50%) do any damage? Guess this would be a way to test, bang them to 100% fan usage load it up for a min or two and see if I get the white dots, but don't want to burn my fans out -.-