Overclocking GPU, I finally got brave enough to do it....

nero0410

Distinguished Member
Joined
Jan 5, 2004
Messages
13,540
Reaction score
5,467
Points
3,117
Location
Weston Super Mare, UK
So I finally got brave enough and Overclock my already factory overclocked Gigabyte GTX 460OC 1GB

Rest of my main system component's are: (excluding hdd's, sound, etc....):
Amd Phenom II X6 1055T @ 2.8ghz
8gb G-skill 1333mhz Ripjaw's ram
Gigabyte GA-870A-UD3 Motherboard (since there were two slots for graphics cards on this board I thought I'd be able to get another gtx460 for sli in the future, but this board does not support it :( Other than that I'm quite happy with the board.)

Stock out of the box was My Overclock's:
Clock: 715 Clock: 800
Memory: 900 Memory: 1000
Shader: 1430 Shader: 1600

Idle temp's are near norm:
28 - 34 oc

All games tested at 1920x1080.

I have not touched the voltage at all.

Right click, view image for larger version
(but I'm sure you already know that)
GPUoverclock1.jpg


Games tested and FPS:

Oblivion I know this is old, but I have it heavy modded with this lot:
Beautifying Oblivion the Complete Guide - Steam Users' Forums

Everything maxxed plus all mods above installed -
Temp - 61 oc
FPS - 30-40+

Crysis

Everything maxxed apart from motion blur as I don't like it:
Temp - 62 oc
FPS - 25 - I am not sure why, but the game seem's to be locking the fps at 25

Metro 2033

Everything maxxed, DX11 tessallation (not DoF don't like it + drop 10fps with it on too), AAA Antialiasing:
Temp - 63 oc
FPS - 35-40+

Total War: Shogun 2

DX11, All high apart from - no hdr (dont like it), No SSAO, 4xMSAA, No depth of field (not bothered about it)
Temp - 61 oc
FPS - Land - 40-50+ Sea - 30-40+

There seem's to be a lot of variation when playing, but I am only seeing around 5-10 fps increase if that, the temps of the card is staying as it usually does before overclock.
The fan speed is not exceeding 55/56%, even with Kombuster running for 20 mins, and the 67 oc temp with kombuster is the temp I always got before my overclock anyway.

A couple of questions:

1. Is it safe to keep this overclocked like this all the time, or should I revert back to normal settings?

2. Since it is running so cool still underload, would it be safe and good idea to ramp it up a little more?

3. Would you recommend I overclock my processor a little too?
Usually 38 oc idle and 44 oc under load. I haven't noticed it go above 45oc
This is with a stock fan, it is usually cooler, but that depends on the weather.

4. Any tips on processor overclocking?

Hope you have enjoyed my little expierament, I have been cacking myself all the time as it's the first time I have dabbled in it :rolleyes:

tris
 
Not sure about much of an oc with the stock cooler. I know mine not an x6 but i have mine at 1.472v (+.150) with 206 x17 for 3502mhz.

With a new cooler 3.5ghz should be easy for you. A mate of mine has an 1100T @3.8.
 
You need to overclock your CPU as well, otherwise it's just a big bottleneck for your GPU.

Overclocks, as long as they're completely stable, are perfectly fine to leave on all the time.
 
Nero, Metro has a built in Benchmark utility you can use :) First time i have tried clocking this 570. I don't breach 60c in Metro or BFBC2 and it would be even lower but i don't run v-sync in FPS games. I also think changing the compound on the GPU would drop temps further, but after what happened to my 470, i'm not opening this card.

Will do 900 @ 1.1 but for me it's too much of a jump in volts for 900. 1 hour of Kombuster. Idles at 33-34c and maxes at 73c, most games i don't even breach the mid 50's




Metro Benchmark at my playable settings. Btw i don't understand where they get the min framerate from as not once did i see it dip below 30fps.






 
Last edited:
Thanks for that, I have been expierementing and these are my best result's:

Core: 855
Shader: 1710
Mem Clock: 2000
Again no change to voltage's

I did try highher in 2 and 5 increment step's, but any higher than 855 and the card stopped responding.

Temp maxxed at 62 oc with this bench, with the overclock idle's at 40 oc.

Metro 2033 settings:
Options: Resolution: 1920 x 1080; DirectX: DirectX 11; Quality: High; Antialiasing: MSAA 4X; Texture filtering: AF 16X; Advanced PhysX: Enabled; Tesselation: Enabled; DOF: Disabled

Total Frames: 1951, Total Time: 59.81487 sec
Average Framerate: 32.72
Max. Framerate: 58.12 (Frame: 1045)
Min. Framerate: 15.62 (Frame: 6)

At factory OC I am getting an Avrage of 28fps using the same settings as above and with my overlclock here I am getting an average 32. So only a 4 fps difference from the bench with this overclock.

I'm presuming that those results are acceptible for my current setup, I will have a look as to what sort of change it has made in game in a minute for a few mins.

Stock out of the box and My recent Overclock's with the test above:
Clock: 715 Clock: 855
Memory: 900 Memory: 2000
Shader: 1430 Shader: 1710

When I open up Kombuster now I am only getting OpenGL 2 now instead of D3D DX11, and I have no idea how to change it back. I'd appriciate an answer as to why or how I change it back, pressed F1 for options and there doesn't seem to be anythnig there to change it back again.

Cheers for the help and info

tris

EDIT 1:
Had a freeze so dropped my oc to 850 and memory to 1900.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for that, I have been expierementing and these are my best result's:

Core: 855
Shader: 1710
Mem Clock: 2000
Again no change to voltage's

I did try highher in 2 and 5 increment step's, but any higher than 855 and the card stopped responding.

Temp maxxed at 62 oc with this bench, with the overclock idle's at 40 oc.

Metro 2033 settings:
Options: Resolution: 1920 x 1080; DirectX: DirectX 11; Quality: High; Antialiasing: MSAA 4X; Texture filtering: AF 16X; Advanced PhysX: Enabled; Tesselation: Enabled; DOF: Disabled

Total Frames: 1951, Total Time: 59.81487 sec
Average Framerate: 32.72
Max. Framerate: 58.12 (Frame: 1045)
Min. Framerate: 15.62 (Frame: 6)

At factory OC I am getting an Avrage of 28fps using the same settings as above and with my overlclock here I am getting an average 32. So only a 4 fps difference from the bench with this overclock.

I'm presuming that those results are acceptible for my current setup, I will have a look as to what sort of change it has made in game in a minute for a few mins.

Stock out of the box and My recent Overclock's with the test above:
Clock: 715 Clock: 855
Memory: 900 Memory: 2000
Shader: 1430 Shader: 1710

When I open up Kombuster now I am only getting OpenGL 2 now instead of D3D DX11, and I have no idea how to change it back. I'd appriciate an answer as to why or how I change it back, pressed F1 for options and there doesn't seem to be anythnig there to change it back again.

Cheers for the help and info

tris

EDIT 1:
Had a freeze so dropped my oc to 850 and memory to 1900.
thats wot u got mine too with no probs as well :)
 
I only run my overclock when I play a demanding game such as metro for example. There's no point if the card is comfortable at stock and still achieving 60fps at full settings. Not saying you will kill your card or anything just personal preference.
 

The latest video from AVForums

TV Buying Guide - Which TV Is Best For You?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom