Bishop's guide to overclocking the nvidia gfx card

[Titan]

I have overclocked in the past with much success, but to be honest, it is not worth it to me.

The stock card runs just fine as is.

[canttouchthis]

Originally Posted by Titan

I have overclocked in the past with much success, but to be honest, it is not worth it to me.

The stock card runs just fine as is.

Yeah, it all depends on your needs. When I first got my graphics cards I was fine with how they performed. But now... They're starting to look a little grey in some of the newer shinier games, and my overclock has extended their usable gaming life.
If you're happy with how it performs, don't mess with it.

[bishop]

well, i got things to go fubar today. i put it up to 680/900 core/ram and my game went fubar. it was getting pretty hot so i think once i get the water in ill give it another go. current max stable for me is 670/890 core/ram.

[canttouchthis]

yeah my max is 700/950 (vs. 450/765 stock). It isn't terribly stable at that speed. I keep it around 665/900 for daily use. I have like the 3rd fastest comparable rig according to 3dmark :P.

[sir-understeer]

So do you have to have that program running in the background for the OC to happen? Or will it all go away once you click "OK" out of the program?

Also, what are you guys' fan speed? Mine is set to 50% duty cycle and I'm seeing 59 degrees Celsius core temp, with like 12MHz bump in the core speed and memory speed.

[canttouchthis]

well ATItool saves teh clock settings. If you select the startup options in my guide it'll start with your computer, apply your changes, then quit (and the changes will still be active).
Personally I run two zalman vf700s, so they run at 100% constantly. I get like 48C idle, and like 70 load. What card do you have? if you're getting similar temps at stock settings it's probably safe at that (and if it's not your manufacturer will be replacing it).

[gkMasta]

i tried to oc my 8800gtx but it didnt give much more 3dmarks because my cpu slows the card down.
i shud oc the e6600 to 3.6 or 3.8 to get an improovement with the oc'ed graphic card.
but my ram sux :/

here u can see my specs btw:

sysProfile: ID: 42625 - -Masta-

[sir-understeer]

I have a BFG 8600GT with 256 GDDR3 memory. Same card as bishop from those pics.

[bishop]

rivatuner just minimizes to the task bar once you click ok.

[sir-understeer]

I see that what I've done last night prior to going out and shutting down my PC did not save... which means that if I want to run the OC settings everytime without starting Rivatuner up every time I turn off my PC and turn it back on, I'll need to check on the check box that says "apply overclocking when Windows starts up".

[sir-understeer]

Also, are you sure that the fan control on the video card itself is correct?

I did not notice any change in the core temp even when I cranked the fan speed to 55% duty cycle from 29%. The temp stayed at 60 degree Celsius, sometimes quickly cycling between 59 and 60 degrees. I expected the temps to drop down to the 40s but nope, nothing...

[canttouchthis]

Originally Posted by gkMasta

i tried to oc my 8800gtx but it didnt give much more 3dmarks because my cpu slows the card down.
i shud oc the e6600 to 3.6 or 3.8 to get an improovement with the oc'ed graphic card.
but my ram sux :/

here u can see my specs btw:

sysProfile: ID: 42625 - -Masta-

yeah 3dmark 06 is heavily cpu dependent. That's why in my mini guide I said to use 03. You'll notice the most difference in that, and it'll be more like in game performance.

SU, atitool has that feature, and I highly reccomend it. the 8600 takes a ton of heat stock!!!
Elite Bastards - XFX GeForce 8600 GT Fatal1ty video card review
look at the gpu temperature chart.
That's quite hot. I'd consider going with some extra cooling before I'd do too much overclocking wise. The fan may not lower the idle temp when it's at more than 60%, however under load I imagine it runs a lot cooler than 40%. I'd do some temprature testing, or use the ATItool built in stress tool.

Also, could you clean the beginning of this thread up a bit? thanks.

[sir-understeer]

What do you want me to clean up?