Reference 5850 overclocking

[Spokwiththeears]

I'm going to overclock my 5850 soon and I'd like some advice on what I need to do please.

I'm also thinking of buying a Zalman VF3000A to put on it so that it stays cool when overclocked, can someone who has one of these give me their opinions on it?

Thanks.

 

[eyetrip]

How heavily do you intend to OC?

I only ask because I can push mine to 950 with 1.212V on the stock cooler and temps seem fine.

If you don't intend to try and OC too heavily it may not be worth the extra outlay for 3rd party cooler and invalidating your warranty.

Edit: also, you may want to see how well your card OC's before getting third party cooler. Even if you intend to OC heavily, the card may simply not push very far.

 

[Spokwiththeears]

I don't plan on pushing it to its limits, just a reasonable overclock to hopefully raise the minimum fps in a few games. I'll have a go at overclocking with the stock cooler as you say. What software do I need for overclocking and how can I test for stability?

 

[Si105]

Use MSI afterburner to change the clocks and voltage, and use furmark to test if it works

 

[Spokwiththeears]

Ok, what is the maximum voltage I should be using? and what temperatures are safe?

 

[MoodyB]

Find you highest clocks without increasing voltage first. Most 5850's should manage 800/850 core, 1100/1150 memory without the need for any voltage increase.

 

[muppet]

I run my 5850@950 core 1200 mem but I've had it@1032 core and 1250 [email protected] using afterburner

 

[gurusan]

So my card is artifacting and crashing at 1.2V 900MHz in afterburner. It's a Visiontek reference design....I think perhaps I've just been unlucky and have sub-par silicon?

 

[TerryH]

I knew 5850's had poor OC abilities but I'm honestly shocked at how terrible the Sapphire "Extremes" are.

 

[MoodyB]

So my card is artifacting and crashing at 1.2V 900MHz in afterburner. It's a Visiontek reference design....I think perhaps I've just been unlucky and have sub-par silicon?

If temps are ok then bump the vcore up to 1.225v and try again ?

 

[d_brennen]

I knew 5850's had poor OC abilities but I'm honestly shocked at how terrible the Sapphire "Extremes" are.

Are those reference boards or the shorter ones? My reference 5850 does 850/1100 stock volts (1.085) and easily 950/1200 at around 1.15. Temps (re fan speed) get a bit much for me, but still safe. I had it as high as 1000/1200 but tbh its not needed

 

[pspcpog]

Voltage mod in Sapphire Extreme 5850 (short non-reference)
is blocked and the highest stable I can achieve is about
840/1200 @ stock volt. Good for CF tho.

 

[j.col]

i use amd clock tool, it will let you go higher than MSI afterburner, but i set up a user defined fan profile in MSI

 

[pastymuncher]

Using Afterburner, my old Asus would do 900/1200 @ 1.162v and 1000/1250 @ 1.2v.