Overclocking HD 7770 and I get BSOD code 116

[poco242]

I am VERY new to overclocking. I have always bought off the shelf PC's and upgraded when needed. I recently did my first build. It is not a high end build. Middle of the road. I do a little gaming, but games like NFS Hot Pursuit so my needs are not that great.

Anyway I have been playing around with overclocking. I have had good luck doing the CPU, (AMD Phanom II 965). I have that stable at 3.8ghz running Prime95 for a while. The last couple of days I have been messing with the graphics card through AMD overdrive. (The CPU I did through BIOIS) It is a Saphire HD 7770. Stock GPU clock is 1000mhz. I bumped it up to 1150 and boosted the memory up 150hz and the voltage up 5%. It is stable and I picked up 400 points testing on 3DMark. I tried for 1200 but get a BSOD code 116 when the test starts. The thing I do not know is on that test I had the memory clock the same as the GPU clock. Should the memory clock be higher than the GPU? Is that maybe why it crashed? I am doing this for fun. Stock it will play every game I play at max settings anyway. I do more HD video editing than games playing. It works great for that.

Any insight would be appreciated.

 

[EarthDog]

On most 7770's you cannot control voltage. I believe you are talking about power limit? You want to raise that to the limit.

The memory does not have any association with the core as far as speeds it needs to be set at. It simply sounds like you have an unstable clock is all.

 

[poco242]

Using AMD overdrive to change the GPU it has a power setting from 0 - +20%. It doesn't actually give a voltage so I am not sure what it does. Just going to 1150 did pick up 400 points on the 3DMark test. That being about a 10% increase I guess I should just be happy with that, but I am trying to learn how this all works. On that test my CPU is scoring lower than the GPU so maybe the FX 8350 I have been looking at may be my next purchase. The MOBO I have supports it so what the heck. Maybe another 7770 card as well

 

[EarthDog]

I'm telling you what it does... its a power LIMIT. It does not change the voltage. Raise that to 20% and leave it while overclocking.

You cannot compare scores of unlike things. You need to have a pretty old CPU to bottleneck a 7770 (you do not mention any other hardware so we have no clue what you have...list it for additional help. ). So, that single card is playing all games maxed out, yet you want to get another???

 

[poco242]

Got it on the power.

Doing the 3DMark test it also rates the CPU and how it handles its end of the test. It uses both scores to come op with a final score. That is why I brought it up.

My entire system is -

MOBO - Asus M5A97 R2.0
CPU - AMD Phanom II 965
RAM - G Skill Sniper 4gb X2
C drive - Samsung SSD 250gb
GPU - Saphire HD7770 GHZ edition 1gb memory
Windows 7

 

[EarthDog]

Correct, it does use both scores to get a combined score. But that is a synthetic benchmark. Unless the game you play heavily uses the CPU (like in RPGs) that is where you will see a general improvement.

Personally, I wouldn't buy another 7770. It only has 1GB of graphics memory and that is low for 1080p gaming (2GB+ is the standard now for 1080p).

 

[poco242]

Yes this card is defiantly lacking when it comes to 1080. I use the computer as an HTPC as well connected to a 46" LED TV. I had to run the tests at 720 or it would not even get up to 10fps on most tests. I am sure if I get some new games I will start to see its limits. I only paid $70 after rebate for the card so that is why I thought running two in cross fire would be better and cheap. Maybe something else all together would be better.

 

[EarthDog]

It would, especially on 1080p because of the lack of vram... take a look at some modern and older games. You can see the majority already use way more than 1GB at 1080p.


LINK -> http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=718118

 

[poco242]

Thanks for the info. That is very helpful.

I guess I am wrong in thinking that 2 1gb cards would be as good as 1 2gb card?

 

[EarthDog]

In SLI/CFX (multi-GPU setups) it does not double the vram as the data is mirrored on each of the cards.

 

[poco242]

I see. Like I said, I am new to this so I have a lot to learn. I have been using computers for many years and have done a lot of "upgrading" of the shelf PC, but no complete builds. I will look for a deal on a 2gb card now. maybe an R7 or R9 series.

 

[EarthDog]

What is your budget? We can help too...

 

[poco242]

I guess I would like to be at $200 or under. I am not big into gaming and I play mostly racing games. They do not seem to be as taxing on the GPU as some games. (at least the ones I like) Any suggestions would be great. I prefer AMD. Every PC I have owned since 1996 has had an AMD processor.

 

[EarthDog]

You will likely be AMD this time around as well just because of pricing and performance right now. In the future, I would let your wallet do the talking and not your heart as that tends to get your wallet into trouble at times, LOL!

I will look for some things and edit this post with suggestions in a bit... stay tuned.......

 

[Xeon_KI]

r9 270 for $179 looks perfect for you

something like this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121823

 

[EarthDog]

+1 or a 270X for $199 (+$5 SH).

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814103240

 

[poco242]

Thank You. Either one fits the bill. I think I may also need to upgrade my Corsair 500w power supply. Not sure how much head room I have now, but that isn't a big deal. According to my UPS I am running over 350 watts under a load, but that includes my TV.

 

[EarthDog]

You don't need another psu. Try it without your tv since it isn't powered by your power supply for the pc.

 

[poco242]

I will. I have an in-line watt meter I can hook up to see what just the computer is drawing. I will do that before changing the PSU out. But it would give me an excuse to get an RM series

 

[EarthDog]

A RM series? What is that?