View Full Version : What is Good OC'ing Technique?
I know this topic has been debated to death, and I've searched and read a lot about it, but I haven't really been able to find a good answer. I currently using a Sapphire 9800 Pro 128MB(R350/Hynix)...
By the way, the R360 that I thought I had earlier ended up not being an R360, it was an R350, I'm blind, sorry!
So anyways, I want to get the most out of my OC, so what are some things I should keep in mind? I should incriment the core and RAM speeds up right? Not just jack them up all the way at first. Then, I back off when I start seeing artifacts while running 3DMark03 or something right? So, that will enable me to find the core max, then the RAM max, and there's my max OC, no damage done right?
See, I did all that, but my max OC has degraded. First I was able to get barely 410/374 w/o artifacts, which is pathetic, but still more than I'm getting now. Now I get 399/360 and I see minor artifacts while running very demanding benchmarks. What's the deal? I'm using stock cooling and I replaced it with AS5 a week ago. Temps in my room are constant 21C and I have the side panel open. Did I damage something? Was my card on the verge of being a dud, and I pushed it over the edge? Should I exchange it with New Egg for a new one? Everything still runs find at stock speeds, and they'll be getting some AS5 at my expense... :o
I've had the same experience, and while I don't know what caused it to happen, it seems to have "burned in" to a slower speed.
Fresh from the factory, my 9500 would just barely hit 400MHz core. A little while later that dropped to 390, and then 385 after that. The degrading frequencies seem to have stopped there.
I don't know why it happens, but I've had the same experience, so it's probably somewhat common....
JigPu
Hmmm, so it's probably nothing that I did wrong right? Do you think I should exchange the card? I mean, it's not broken, it works fine at stock speeds.
If I did exchange it for a new card, would you recommend the same technique that I used for this one? I tried to OC as gently/gradually as I could. I don't see how I could've been more careful.
Great, now I'm down to 392/357. What do you guys think? Get rid of this card? Did I do anything wrong?
felinusz
05-03-04, 09:41 PM
You might want to remove the stock cooler, and make sure your AS5 is making good contact with the GPU core. Bad contact, or even a bad tube of TIM might be the cause, how hot does the rear of the GPU feel?
If contact is fine, and the TIM is still evenly spread, you could try out a 3rd party cooler, and see if it helps. Arctic Cooling's VGA silencer is cheap, and many people here have had great results with it, and nothing but good things to say.
Unfortunately, if your card doesn't overclock well, you can't really return it for a new one :(. If it doesn't do stock speeds stably, it's a different matter.
TIM's fine, cooler's fine. Doesn't get that hot on the backside. I even put a spare Vantec Stealth right underneath so that it's blowing air over the stock HSF and ram. Well...that really sucks. :( I guess I just have to hope that it starts producing artifacts at stock speeds then? :o
TheMightyBuck
05-04-04, 08:13 AM
i wouldn't hope for artifacts at stock speed.....
try to up the voltage on the vgpu, that might take care of some of the stability. maybe up the vvram, too.
I don't want to vmod my card and overtly void the warrenty... :(
DJCorpse
05-04-04, 01:40 PM
havent you already voided it tho by removing the stock cooler and putting as5 on???
Yeah, but they can't tell from looking at it since AS5 is visually identical to the TIM that was originally on it. Volt modding the card would be an obvious sign of tampering. Besides, I didn't abuse the card, if anything it's worth more now than it was new because of the AS5, haha! :D
Ok, I've decided to pawn off my old one and buy a new one from New Egg. My conscience wouldn't let me return it, so I figured I'll minimize my losses and pay a small price for my experiments. Hopefully this time around I'll get a better performer. I can't afford to keep doing this! :o
Cyrix_2k
05-06-04, 02:29 PM
why don't you wait and buy an x800pro?
Isn't that going to be expensive?
obsolete
05-06-04, 03:56 PM
GV2NIX Isn't that going to be expensive?
Heh.........$500 give or take. Think I'll pawn my mom off to get one. :D
Cyrix_2k
05-06-04, 03:58 PM
Possibly...
But why spend $200 on ANOTHER 9800pro you don't NEED? You'll have over $400 in TWO 9800's when you could've bought a better performing card (x800). You might as well cut your losses and sell your current 9800 and get the extra cash you need so you can buy an x800pro. That card will perform more than twice as well as your 9800. It will also have more features built in to the hardware and it uses GDDR3! That means you can have ram that runs at 1ghz on stock cooling!!!
*sigh* I know, it sounds great, but... Wallet's burnt from all the wc stuff I just bought. :(
I can get $200 for my old 9800 Pro. I found someone willing to pay that much! :eek:
I guess the only way to make myself feel better about the x800 is convincing myself that the first production units will be buggy and won't perform as well, haha! Do you think there's any weight to this argument? Or are the first production models usually the best?
Cyrix_2k
05-06-04, 06:28 PM
Originally posted by GV2NIX
*sigh* I know, it sounds great, but... Wallet's burnt from all the wc stuff I just bought. :(
I can get $200 for my old 9800 Pro. I found someone willing to pay that much! :eek:
I guess the only way to make myself feel better about the x800 is convincing myself that the first production units will be buggy and won't perform as well, haha! Do you think there's any weight to this argument? Or are the first production models usually the best?
Hey if you can 200$ for your current 9800pro, then atleast you won't loose any money.
I believe the current x800's aren't buggy and if they actually are, it could be fixed with new drivers AFAIK. However, the x800's should drop in price in a few months...
your argument is a good one, first batch of cards normally are buggy, generally the 3rd batch of cards upwards are the ones to get.
It's too tempting, I hate you guys! :D
Well, I'll think about it. At the very least I'll have a fresh new 9800 Pro to tide me over until I decide what to do. I must resist the urge to buy more expensive stuff, haha!
Cyrix_2k
05-06-04, 08:21 PM
What, not another 9800pro. Out with old, in with the new. You REALLY NEED to get an x800 or you'll die of boredom. The 9800pro is so OLD!!! Get something new...
Heheheh, did I repeat myself enough? ;)
I know the GDDR3 is awesome, but what kind of core does the x800 use? New process? Is it supposed to be a good overclocker? I've tried to read up on it, but I'm not getting the type of info that I want.
Actually, nevermind. I don't want to get into that or it'll make me want to buy one, haha!
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