What's the point of OC editions?

[spankjam]

Hi,

I'm contemplating to buy the upcoming Strix based on the TUFs amazing cooling performance but am confounded by OC editions rated higher clock speed while all cards boost automatically to the highest possible value anyways, given thermal restrictions?

 

[BugFreak]

So called higher binning so higher stock clocks. From what I have seen from people with the 3080 it makes little difference as long as you get a quality brand aka ASUS, eVGA, etc though. The people are manually overclocking to about the same speeds regardless of editions.

 

[Janus67]

OC versions of the regular cards are just factory over clocked. Not binned any higher. Strix, kingpin, etc cards may be binned higher or have a higher power limit.

 

[spankjam]

OC versions of the regular cards are just factory over clocked. Not binned any higher. Strix, kingpin, etc cards may be binned higher or have a higher power limit.

I don't know if you've owned an Nvidia GPU lately but there is no factory overclock because the card itself boosts up to the highest possible value based on power and thermals anyways.

 

[EarthDog]

I don't know if you've owned an Nvidia GPU lately but there is no factory overclock because the card itself boosts up to the highest possible value based on power and thermals anyways.

I've owned a few... you can still overclock on them (TUring). I don't know about these. It all depends not the power limit headroom which the OC'd cards tend to have more room.

It isn't a blunt object anymore where you pour voltage into it and raise clocks. It's a fine balance between staying under the power limit and raising clocks.

That said, they still don't overclock a lot, you are right. The 3090 series seems to be the same way?

 

[wingman99]

Overclocking video cards there is very little to be gained. The gains you achieve will not be noticed. Check out TPU https://www.techpowerup.com/review/ for comparisons on over clocked cards compared to stock.

 

[ssjwizard]

Ever since the GTX6XX series buying OC models has been kinda pointless. Getting something like the FTW versions or as already mentioned k1ngpin edition come with hardware differences that may allow you to overclock past the stock boost limit. My 980Ti will self boost to around 1300ish but I can manually OC it to a bit over 1400 full time with stability. As already mentioned some of the OC cards may have a hither thermal limit set in BIOS or a higher power limit that will allow natural boos limits to increase, but I wouldnt bank on it. If you want a card that is truly extra overclockable you need something with a non reference PCB design.

 

[SPL Tech]

Overclocking video cards there is very little to be gained.

Fake news. I see a 10% increase in performance on my overclock. With a custom BIOS you can EASILY get a 2080 super to outperform a 2080Ti stock. EASILY. I'd be willing to bet that I could get a 3080 to outperform a stock 3090 with the right BIOS or shunt mod.

 

[bmwbaxter]

Even on our forum I doubt the majority of users are going to be flashing a cards bios.

 

[SPL Tech]

Even on our forum I doubt the majority of users are going to be flashing a cards bios.

Then maybe they shouldent be on this forum. This is an overclocking forum and flashing a BIOS is super easy. I had zero experience doing it and I was successful on my first attempt. Took me about 30 min of reading to figure it out and then it was a done deal. Even without a BIOS flash, depending on what card you have there is still a ton of potential for gains. You can get 5% solely off the memory overclock.

 

[wingman99]

Fake news. I see a 10% increase in performance on my overclock. With a custom BIOS you can EASILY get a 2080 super to outperform a 2080Ti stock. EASILY. I'd be willing to bet that I could get a 3080 to outperform a stock 3090 with the right BIOS or shunt mod.

I trust reputable site like TPU over what you have to say without proof. 2% at the most going from stock to overclocked. TPU LINK: https://www.techpowerup.com/review/evga-geforce-rtx-2080-ti-ftw3-ultra/33.html

 

[bmwbaxter]

Then maybe they shouldent be on this forum. This is an overclocking forum and flashing a BIOS is super easy. I had zero experience doing it and I was successful on my first attempt. Took me about 30 min of reading to figure it out and then it was a done deal. Even without a BIOS flash, depending on what card you have there is still a ton of potential for gains. You can get 5% solely off the memory overclock.

There was a time I would have agree'd with you. But now with my limited time I run my stuff close to stock most of the time since I don't want instability to ruin what game time I have.

 

[Ben333]

I've noticed increased FPS adding 140 MHz core and over 1 GHz to my memory clocks on my 1650 Super.

 

[SPL Tech]

There was a time I would have agree'd with you. But now with my limited time I run my stuff close to stock most of the time since I don't want instability to ruin what game time I have.

You can have both. I dont have crashes. My stuff is stable. Maybe after two years I have to drop the OC by one notch, but otherwise it's stable.

 

[EarthDog]

Fake news. I see a 10% increase in performance on my overclock. With a custom BIOS you can EASILY get a 2080 super to outperform a 2080Ti stock. EASILY. I'd be willing to bet that I could get a 3080 to outperform a stock 3090 with the right BIOS or shunt mod.

Most wont bios flash or shunt mkd in order to see those type of gains. Realistically for most, its but a couple of percent.. less and less each generation. But sure, if you're bios flashing and shunt modding, you can get several % increase.

Lol fake news...lol

My stuff is stable. Maybe after two years I have to drop the OC by one notch, but otherwise it's stable.

you can have your cake and eat it too... but it will go bad if you eat both, lol. I think you proved HIS point.

 

[Ben333]

Gotta agree with earth dog. Can't tell you guys how many poor E8400s I pumped > 1.4 vcore into to be > 4 GHz OC, then later they won't run stock clocks at stock vcore lol

 

[SPL Tech]

Most wont bios flash or shunt mkd in order to see those type of gains. Realistically for most, its but a couple of percent.. less and less each generation. But sure, if you're bios flashing and shunt modding, you can get several % increase.

Lol fake news...lol


you can have your cake and eat it too... but it will go bad if you eat both, lol. I think you proved HIS point.

You can get 5%+ solely by moving the sliders around in your OC program of choice with absolutely no BIOS mod. REAL shunt moding and hardcore BIOS editing with extreme cooling can get you nearly a 50% increase. There are 2080Tis out there that will outperform even an overclocked 3090. I have seen 2080Tis running like 2600 Mhz core clock. It can be done.

Also, having to drop the OC after two years a single bracket is nothing. After 2 years I probably sell my stuff anyway so who cares. That's like complaining that you have to wash brand new cars therefore they arnt worth buying. That's such a ridiculously inconsequential task it's not even worth mentioning.

 

[EarthDog]

You can get 5%+ solely by moving the sliders around in your OC program of choice with absolutely no BIOS mod.

Not with Ampere (isn't that what we are talking about?).

3080's
Actual 3D performance gained from overclocking is 3.9%.
Actual 3D performance gained from overclocking is 2.7%.
Actual 3D performance gained from overclocking is 2.9%.
Actual 3D performance gained from overclocking is 4.5%.
Actual 3D performance gained from overclocking is 1.6%.
Avg - 3.1%

3090's
Actual 3D performance gained from overclocking is 3.3%.
Actual 3D performance gained from overclocking is 4.8%.
Actual 3D performance gained from overclocking is 3.4%.
Actual 3D performance gained from overclocking is 3.0%.
Avg - 3.6%

There are 2080Tis out there that will outperform even an overclocked 3090.

Maybe... but you're getting into the realm of exotic cooling which isn't a 24/7 thing... again, the context of this thread is ambient, not one off LN2 awesomeness.

You're right on some points, but this is a straw man argument...we aren't talking about sub-ambient and BIOS/shunt mods. I think you're talking in Turing/previous gen gains, and I'm talking Ampere (along with the OP we're trying to help here).

 

[wingman99]

Not with Ampere (isn't that what we are talking about?).

3080's
Actual 3D performance gained from overclocking is 3.9%.
Actual 3D performance gained from overclocking is 2.7%.
Actual 3D performance gained from overclocking is 2.9%.
Actual 3D performance gained from overclocking is 4.5%.
Actual 3D performance gained from overclocking is 1.6%.
Avg - 3.1%

3090's
Actual 3D performance gained from overclocking is 3.3%.
Actual 3D performance gained from overclocking is 4.8%.
Actual 3D performance gained from overclocking is 3.4%.
Actual 3D performance gained from overclocking is 3.0%.
Avg - 3.6%

Maybe... but you're getting into the realm of exotic cooling which isn't a 24/7 thing... again, the context of this thread is ambient, not one off LN2 awesomeness.

You're right on some points, but this is a straw man argument...we aren't talking about sub-ambient and BIOS/shunt mods. I think you're talking in Turing/previous gen gains, and I'm talking Ampere (along with the OP we're trying to help here).

Where did you get the numbers for Actual 3D performance gained from overclocking?

 

[Woomack]

You can get 5%+ solely by moving the sliders around in your OC program of choice with absolutely no BIOS mod. REAL shunt moding and hardcore BIOS editing with extreme cooling can get you nearly a 50% increase. There are 2080Tis out there that will outperform even an overclocked 3090. I have seen 2080Tis running like 2600 Mhz core clock. It can be done.

Also, having to drop the OC after two years a single bracket is nothing. After 2 years I probably sell my stuff anyway so who cares. That's like complaining that you have to wash brand new cars therefore they arnt worth buying. That's such a ridiculously inconsequential task it's not even worth mentioning.

You are talking about extreme overclocking with hardware mods so something that not even 0.1% users do and it doesn't go anywhere out of competitive benchmarking. Even top OC series have locked power limits, voltages, or OCP/OVP or something else that limit their OC. To get a graphics card like the Kingpin series you have to pay way too much to be worth it and without additional mods, it still won't OC much higher than a cheaper series.

All new AMD and Nvidia graphics cards overclock about 3-7%, regardless of series. This situation remains without changes for about 3 generations. The exception are higher binned chips but manufacturers already sell them as special OC versions and from their factory OC clock they won't OC much higher. Afaik most (count 90%) of Ampere GPUs are already from higher bins and at least anytime soon won't be any better.

Maybe I missed something but for last gen cards, BIOS mods were not really possible and cross flashing required exactly the same memory chips or other components so it work right. It was like manufacturers were delivering special OC BIOS versions to some of their sponsored overclockers to make some noise.

On a standard BIOS for most GPUs (AMD and Nvidia), the GPU frequency slider in OC software is ending at 3-10%. The power limit is usually up to 20%+ but it doesn't mean it works like that or the card requires +20% to get 3-5% higher performance. In the same time a higher power causes the card to heat up more and if the cooler can't take it, then the maximum boost clock is lower so OC is usually a waste of time.

Where did you get the numbers for Actual 3D performance gained from overclocking?

In some reviews like on TPU there are results with OC gains. Frequency and performance gains are at about 5-7% for 20 series Nvidia and about 3-4% for 30 series. I also feel like Earthdog tested his sample(s) so has some of his results for comparison.