Overclocking Lounge
Stable OC ValuesNVIDIA GTX 260m
Core speed: 640 MHz
Shader: 1600 MHz Memory: 1000 MHz NVIDIA GT 240m
Core speed: 665 MHz
Shader: 1462 MHz Memory: 948 MHz NVIDIA GT 555m
Core: 760 MHz
Shader: 1520 MHz Memory: 970 MHz NVIDIA GT 335m
Core: 550 MHz
Shader: 1310 MHz Memory: 840 MHz NVIDIA GT 540mCore: 800 MHz
Shaders: 1600 MHz Memory: 1025 MHz Nvidia GT 520m
Core: 670 MHz
Shaders: 1340 MHz Memory: 900 MHz Nvidia GT 420m
Core: 650 MHz
Shader: 1300 MHz Memory: 906 MHz Nvidia GT 310m
Core: 735 MHz
Shader: 1800 MHz Memory: 850 MHz MSI GeForce N460GTX
Core: 850 MHz
Shader: 1700 MHz Memory: 1800 MHz MSI N460GTX Hawk
Core: 850 MHz
Shader: 1700 MHz Memory: 1950 MHz ATI mobility 5850
Core: 750 MHz
Shader: 750 MHz Memory: 1000 MHz ATI 6970m
Core: 750 MHz
Shader: 750 MHz Memory: 1100 MHz ATI Radeon 5750 HD 1Gb
Core speed: 800 MHz
Shader: 800 MHz Memory: 1300 MHz XFX AMD/ATI RAEDON HD 5770 1G
Core: 950 MHz
Shader: 950 MHz Memory: 1435 MHz ATI Radeon 5770 xfire
Core: 940 MHz
Shader: 940 MHz Memory: 1275 MHz Dual 1 GB ATI Radeon 6870 Crossfire
Core: 940 MHz
Shader: 940 MHz Memory: 1050 MHz |
For all of you enthusiasts out there that just want to drain a little more power from your video cards I present to you this basic start in GPU Overclocking.
Basically there are two ways to Overclock a video card, the first one by modifying the clocks values and for a little more juice the voltages values directly in the vbios. The second way is done by softwares that are able to change these amounts directly from windows. It's a faster and safer way to perform an overclock. Usually it'll last until you shut down your rig (unless otherwise specified) and it's the best way to find the more stable OC values of your GPU. This article is only going to cover the second way, because this way no warranty is void and there are lesser risks involved. The first step for OC a GPU (integrated or not) is to have the latest driver available. If you scroll down you'll find where to get them. For example for NVIDIA line the softwares I recommend are: NVIDIA System Tools 6.06, MSI Afterburner or EVGA Precision (yes in that order). In my experience (but it varies from card to card) I recommend NVIDIA official tool because the OC values you choose in the sliders are the ones that are exactly applied (EVGA Precision isn't too precise, ironic). Even if most of these OC software have built in temperature monitors, you should really use another ones to check the temperature. (Check the bottom for some temperature monitoring softwares) The OC process should be this one: Increase the clocks sliders (or values) just a little (10 or 15 MHz, you can start from the stable OC list I'll put in a later post), stress your card with a benchmark or your favorite game (nice stress tool in the next post) and while you constantly check the temperature see if you hit one of these card limits: 1°Temperature limit: If your card heats too much, you are in danger of burning it, a safer limit is around the 80-85°C, but then again these are relative limits that can be pushed a little further, but sometimes speed gains are not justified against the temperature increase. For example in the M14x Nvidia 555 a good OC would be
Core: 700 Shader: 1400 Memory: 1000 If when trying to take the Core to 715 you see that the temperature increase is 10°C, then even though the 80° limit hasn't been reached, this 15MHz increase is not worth. 2° Hardware limit: The cards components and architecture define its operational range, and even if there are certain tolerances (which actually are the ones allowing OC itself) some limits just can't be exceeded. This is why after increasing beyond certain values the cards clocks just reset immediately after we test them or the card just fails completely.
Generally the video cards have two operational modes, 2D and 3D. The first mode is the low energy one; the GPU reduces its clocks values to the ones set in the vbios, this happens when the cards process power is not required, generally when under windows. The second mode, is when the card works at its 100% capacity (without OC) increasing its clocks to another set in the vbios. The issue here is that, when be change the clocks sliders to gain 3D power we'll be doing this in a windows environment with the card set to function with 2D clocks, and if the values inputted in the software are too high, when the card tries to switch to 3D mode one of these cases will happen: -Instant clock resets: The card will reset its clocks to the default ones as soon it switches to 3D mode, therefor the OC is never done (happens when we set the sliders too far away from the real OC limit) -Black screen or computer shutdown/reset: here the GPU tries to work with the imposed clocks but fails (happens when we are still above the hardware OC limit but we are getting closer to it) 3°Driver limit: The driver itself can impose an OC limit. In this case the program that interfaces the Operative system with the GPU card is the one that can't process the speed increase. Some of the symptoms here:
-If we are below the temperature limit and we start seeing artifacts (bugs or rendering errors in the screen) when doing an OC stress test then we just hit the driver limit of the card. -BSOD. Windows Blue Screen is another symptom that we hit a Driver limit. IMPORTANT: A temperature excess might generate the same symptoms as hardware or driver limits, that's why is always convenient to monitor that the temperature is in fact in normal ranges, that way if the card fails we'll know the actual reason. OC Software for NVIDIA cards: NVIDIA System Tools 6.06: http://www.nvidia.com/object/nvidia_system_tools_6.06.html
Once installed a new performance option will appear inside the Nvidia Control Panel. There, with just some sliders move, we'll be able to change the cards clocks. NOTE: Sometimes in Alienware machines a STEALTH activation followed by a de-activation may be required in order to enable the sliders to change. MSI Afterburner: http://www.evga.com/precision/
Don't forget to check also the cool android app that allows to controll your OC directly from your phone.- OC software for ATI cards: AMD GPU CLOCK TOOL: http://www.techpowerup.com/downloads/1641/AMD_GPU_Clock_Tool_v0.9.26.0_For_HD_5870.html
Sapphire TriXX: http://www.sapphireselectclub.com/ssc/TriXX/TriXX.aspx
All of these programs have sliding bars that adjust the clocks values. The only rule is to never have more than one installed, and after uninstalling one, to clean the register. NOTE: There are in fact more OC programs, but these are the best ones. ATI mobility Drivers: *11.7b modded drivers. Based in the 11.7 desktop drivers, this version provides the most stability and compatibility for all mobile cards in single or crossfire modes.
11.7b modded Drivers 12.4 Drivers: Latest available Drivers. They seem to bost performance a lot but they are not quite well tested yet 12.4 Drivers - NVIDIA drivers: (64b) 301.24
If the above one doesn't work (in m14x for example) here is a modded version that works fine: (64b) 301.32 (modded) NOTE: Desktop drivers are easy to get from the manufactures page. ------------------------------------------- For temperature monitoring softwares you can try any of these ones: GPU-Z: http://www.techpowerup.com/realtemp/
------------------------------------------- If you want to validate an OC you can try this stress tool for checking your temps, hardware and driver stability. Furmark: http://www.geeks3d.com/20110628/furmark-1-9-1-furmark-1-8-5-download-gpu-stress-test-burn-in-graphics-card-opengl/
It's guaranteed that if you pass furmark test then you've got a sure stable OC, but be warned temps increases, shutdowns and resets are expected if the OC is very unstable (just don't be scared of them). NOTE: WATCH YOUR TEMPS! ------------------------------------------- |