Hi People, I have a Gigabyte 1GB GTX 460. I am thinking about overclocking my graphics card to get better performance out of it for the Battlefield 3 Beta that is going to be released next week. Current Clock Speeds etc.. - Core Voltage: (Doesnt tell me in MSI Afterburner) - Core Clock: 715MHz - Shader Clock: 1430MHz - Memory Clock: 1800MHz I was wondering if you could tell me: - What are the best programs for overclocking a gpu (if its not MSI Afterburner) - What changes should I make to maximize performance without haveing to change the Core voltage? - Will the changes make much difference? Your help is greatly appreciated!
i have the exact same card, in the options theres an option to unlock the Core Voltage, im currently on 820 Core Clock, 1640 Memory clock and 2020 memory clock. With a core voltage of 1112 or 1125. I cant remember xD
will these changes be fine and make any difference? - Core Voltage: 1110 - Core Clock: 800 - Memory Clock: 2000 Should i boost the shader clock aswell?
The shader clock is locked to the core clock, so it goes up anyway and will be 1600 as it's always twice the amount.
Only you can tell us if theres any difference mate. If youre only overclocking for the sake of it, then you should probably run a benchmark before and after an OC to determine whether or not theres any difference. Ive got an Asus HD 6850 DirectCUwhich ive taken from a core 790mhz and a mem 1000mhz, now runs 901 on the core and 1128 mem. Stable OC survives 90mins of Furmark. The results are less than spectacular. My average frame rate went up by about 5fps and the minimum frame went up by 1 or 2. (all settings on full in furmark) its not much but it can make the difference between playable and unplayable (especially in Bad company 2) Edit- Afterburner is fine for GPU OCing. You need to raise the sliders a bit, then stability test (furmark). If it does 90 mins of that with no BSOD or reaching temps youre not happy with, then you raise the sliders some more and repeat. When you get a blue screen, take the sliders back a bit untill you reach the maximum point that your GPU can manage without BSOD
Furmark/OCCT may no longer be reliable for stability testing since Nvidia drivers now try to detect them (though throttling may only occur with the 5xx series). Unigine Heaven is a pretty demanding benchmark though and should suffice for most situations as a stability test. One thing specific to Gigabyte cards is that the fan is BIOS-locked to a maximum 70% speed. Anyone overclocking should reflash the BIOS to a version that allows the full 100% (see here for more details) and configure MSI Afterburner to ramp up the fan at high temperatures (and use Afterburner to keep a sharp eye on GPU temperatures). The fan will be noisier at full speed but dedicated overclockers are all deaf anyway.
Before downgrading to my 460 I ran some tests with the 470 to see just how far apart they are, and the 470 is a monster for sure. By way of reference, approx 900MHz core on the 460 yields performance equal to a stock 470 (608MHz), so there is definitely a good boost with that overclock. I agree with jeckulz that you should only OC if it makes a difference, becuase overclocking with increased voltage is an entirely different ballgame from just changing a few clock speeds. Don't be afraid to push for 900MHz core if you're going to increase the voltage, but remember that the 1087mV cap is there for a reason; if you unlock it, you are treading dangerously. 1087mV was sufficient for me to get 900/1800/2000 stable, and since most 460s overclock very well it's definitely worth a bash.
i manged 800/1600/2000 on stock voltage. i dont like the cooler on the gigabyte version, gives a slight rattle if fan speed is 80% or above :/. I even tried a second 460 and it rattled as well. Keep ramping up the core speed and memory on stock voltage until you get a BSOD or your game crashes or your screen starts artifacting. If any of that happens, up the voltage a few knots and test again.
