Overclocking my 3yo GPU. A good idea or not?

[boobaffet]

Let me start by saying its my first time doing this and i didnt add any kind of cooling system to it.

 

I have a 3yo sapphire radeon 4850 512mo. CCC tells me that i have 500mhz gpu and 750mhz memory when not overclocked and im now trying the automatic overclocked value of 625mhz gpu and 993mhz memory.

 

Im not noticiing any temp increase for doing this. In both case when i run swtor my temp goes up to 85-90C(fan at 40%), and it idles at about 65-70C.( I just cleaned up the dust today cause my pc crashed while playing swtor, the temp went up to 115C)

 

So is there any risk of doing this if my temp doesnt go higher then 90C? Would my gpu break faster or something?

For now i can enjoy swtor shadow without lagging too much in most area.

[mypadinla]

SWTOR is going to fry that card....

[Hambunctious]

High heat will cause crashes, and shorten the life of the card. That said, if that card can exceed 60fps, and I don't know that it could, then you should turn on vsych. If your card already has low framerates, in the 30 to 40fps range, then there's nothing else you can do to ease the strain on the card....other than set it back to default. Heck, you can pick up a nvidia 520 2gb pci card for 90 bucks, or a 550 for 30ish more.

 

Oh, I run a 550 with vsynch on, and it stays at around 45-50C at 30% fan, depending on which planet I am on.

 

On a side note, in very high fps places like in a small room instance, having vsynch on makes your movement controls sluggish, but normal with it off, oddly enough.

Edited May 10, 2012 by Hambunctious

[boobaffet]

High heat will cause crashes, and shorten the life of the card. That said, if that card can exceed 60fps, and I don't know that it could, then you should turn on vsych. If your card already has low framerates, in the 30 to 40fps range, then there's nothing else you can do to ease the strain on the card....other than set it back to default. Heck, you can pick up a nvidia 520 2gb pci card for 90 bucks, or a 550 for 30ish more.

 

Well is there any more problem that can happen from overclocking the card? Cause i have the same temperature than i had before(80C atm playing swtor maxed)

 

And why turn on vsync? never understood what it did really. But yeah i sometime have close to 100fps, With the game maxed but shadow at low i get ~60fps most of the time. With shadow it depends, sometime i dont notice the drop but sometime it get laggy/unplayable. It seems better now that i overclocked my GPU tho thats why i wanted to know if there was any risk doing it.

Edited May 10, 2012 by boobaffet

[Venirious]

As long as you have tested stability with a program like Furmark and you're consistently aware of your temps you should be fine. Like Ham already mentioned, additional heat will decrease the lifespan of the card, but some people are fine with that.

 

Edit: Just pointing out, simply checking the temp while running SWTOR isn't much of a stability test, you'll want to use furmark or something similar.

Edited May 10, 2012 by Venirious

[Hambunctious]

Why turn on vsynch? Less screen draws per second = less work for your card = cooler card. It lowers my temp by 10C, and I was getting 120+fps in non-fleet/non-alderaan places.

 

Plus, unless you have 120hz monitor, you're not really getting the full effect from higher than 60fps. It just seems smoother in game at 60fps, with less hitching on fast view turns.

 

ATI might be different, but 90C seems high to me.

[boobaffet]

Why turn on vsynch? Less screen draws per second = less work for your card = cooler card. It lowers my temp by 10C, and I was getting 120+fps in non-fleet/non-alderaan places.

 

Plus, unless you have 120hz monitor, you're not really getting the full effect from higher than 60fps. It just seems smoother in game at 60fps, with less hitching on fast view turns.

 

ATI might be different, but 90C seems high to me.

 

Ok ill remember that, but for now i cant since im running fullscreen windowed mode ( which keep my computer at the swtor temp even when im not playing)

[Hambunctious]

Vsynch checkbox is in the game's prefences/graphics tab, at the top.

[boobaffet]

Vsynch checkbox is in the game's prefences/graphics tab, at the top.

 

I know but it cant be checked in windowed mode.

[StrykerOne]

Overclocking shouldn't damage your card as long as you don't change the voltage and don't push it to the point where your temps start rising. What it can do is make your system less stable... many GPUs are actually voltage limited rather than heat limited on overclocking, because they start crashing or getting graphics artifacts and glitches long before the heat would become an issue. You can overvolt a GPU but that's risky and with temps already in the 90+ range I wouldn't try it... just slowly push the clock speed until either you see your temps start to rise or you start seeing odd things on your screen, then back it down a bit and you should be fine.

[boobaffet]

Ive been running a furmark burn in test for about 20min(posting from my phone). Does this thing ever stop by itself?

[boobaffet]

Overclocking shouldn't damage your card as long as you don't change the voltage and don't push it to the point where your temps start rising. What it can do is make your system less stable... many GPUs are actually voltage limited rather than heat limited on overclocking, because they start crashing or getting graphics artifacts and glitches long before the heat would become an issue. You can overvolt a GPU but that's risky and with temps already in the 90+ range I wouldn't try it... just slowly push the clock speed until either you see your temps start to rise or you start seeing odd things on your screen, then back it down a bit and you should be fine.

Im not seeing any temp increase or visual glitch with my current overclocking value. So ill be fine? Aka my gpu wont break in 6month because of this?

[Venirious]

Ive been running a furmark burn in test for about 20min(posting from my phone). Does this thing ever stop by itself?

 

Last I used it I don't believe it did. Some people like to run it for several hours to be sure about the temperature ranges, but you really just need to verify temps topped out in a safe range

Edited May 10, 2012 by Venirious

[boobaffet]

Last I used it I don't believe it did. Some people like to run it for several hours to be sure about the temperature ranges, but you really just need to verify temps topped out in a safe range

 

Ive been running the test for 42min now and the temp has been 92C since about 2min in. Does that mean its stable? Can i close it? Btw 4fps .1680x1050 res and x8AA

[Venirious]

42min. You should be fine to stop there. I re-test as necessary if I start having problems or room gets hotter due to weather or what not.

[Cheops]

...I was getting 120+fps in non-fleet/non-alderaan places..

 

correct me if i'm wrong just isnt SWTOR limited on max fps to around 110-112? i'm running 2 560ti in SLI and never see it over ~111 (very rarely see it under 90 tho)

[Muertepk]

you will shorten the life of your system, and it is possible that high heat at some time might cause microfractures.

 

these are exactly what they sound like microscopic fractures in the connecting solder or other connections.

its other components that may get over heated. like the power supply and cpu. which is why anyone who asks the pros about OC, gets the add cooling as much as you can. you may be running fine now.... and you say youre maxing swtor, but at what cost to the rest of the system. OC is fun and can be benificial if done properly, seems like your doing it as well as possible from what you are sharing. keep the heat in the forefront of your mind though. as the paste that transfers heat from your gpu to the cooling fins and fan, same for the cpu and its cooling system....

the paste wears out and starts to lose its heat transfer capabilities. there is paste thats rated for higher temps. and factory paste.

 

think of it like a car, you can add a bigger carb or intake injectors, and get a hotter bigger bang in the combustion chamber but it wears out gaskets and parts faster, you can counter this by drilling some holes in the air cleaner assembly, or buy getting a larger air filter component to add cooler air to the mix, ensuring a cleaner burn.

but things get hotter, hotter than they were rated at the factory. sure its a car, but heat vs. components is the common point.

 

i have seen melted cards galore from improper overclocking. motherboards with a hole where the cpu used to sit.

wire looms totally melted into a tube of rainbow plastic slag and bare copper.

ram sticks falling out of the slots due to the cpu just going nuke hot for too long warping the clips and slots.....

 

just add a couple fans, or cut a hole in the case side where the GPU sits and add a fan there. if you visit your local PC shops or recycle centers....you may find some ducted ports with fans attached....

 

have fun watch the heat, goto cnet and look up a free heat monitor application. i know nvidia and amd and intel have progs for this and im sure a bunch of OC sites would have some as well.

 

warning, fans can run OC too, if the prog you use lets you adjust the fan speeds according to temps you can get low fans speeds while loading into a planet but then shrieking turbos when they ram up under load.

 

have fun! its great stuff to learn how to tweak and test and push your system.....

 

my specs > 2.4 ghx dual core. nvidia 220 gtx 1gb. 3 gb ram. pushing a 16x9 lcd in widescreen. i get decent FPS but in heavy WZ i get a lto of lag so much its really hard to keep up with things, my cpu is the bottle neck and the vid card needs updating and new ram sticks, but i got a 800w power supply that dosent get worked.

 

got a phenom quad core and a 550 nvidia and a pack of 4 2gb patriot ram sticks in my carts on a couple of sites..... yawn sorry to be a bore one of my favorite subjects here....

[StrykerOne]

Im not seeing any temp increase or visual glitch with my current overclocking value. So ill be fine? Aka my gpu wont break in 6month because of this?

 

Well, you'll theoretically put more wear on it than if you didn't overclock but you should be fine. It may give you trouble sooner than it would otherwise, but that has more to do with the fact that it has a lot less tolerance for errors at the increased clock rate so if it ever starts bugging on you just reset it to factory standard and see if that helps (I once had to scale back a factory OCed GPU a bit once it got older to keep it from glitching). I wouldn't think you'll increase the odds of it completely failing by any significant amount... in other words, it's the same crap shoot you get with any GPU. (Seriously, I've had two die on me in the last 10 years or so, neither one overclocked beyond the initial factory settings. )

[boobaffet]

Thanks for your input everyone ill keep it OC but ill watch my heat and reduce it if i see wierd glitch in a game.

 

Feel free to keep discussing overclocking and whatnot.

 

Edit: Should i turn off OC when im not playing a game?

Also whats better a temp below 80 with a fan working at 80%+ or a temp beetween 80-90 with a fan working at 40%

Edited May 10, 2012 by boobaffet

[Muertepk]

Well, you'll theoretically put more wear on it than if you didn't overclock but you should be fine. It may give you trouble sooner than it would otherwise, but that has more to do with the fact that it has a lot less tolerance for errors at the increased clock rate so if it ever starts bugging on you just reset it to factory standard and see if that helps (I once had to scale back a factory OCed GPU a bit once it got older to keep it from glitching). I wouldn't think you'll increase the odds of it completely failing by any significant amount... in other words, it's the same crap shoot you get with any GPU. (Seriously, I've had two die on me in the last 10 years or so, neither one overclocked beyond the initial factory settings. )

 

 

 

funny you say that, ive had two die and had to replace the last one.

in ten years.......<twilightzone.wav.loop>

 

the last one i had was a 220gtx superclocked, fancy way of adverting OC but evga ftw!!11! but after round 2 weeks it started screaming the fan was just off the hook. i tried so many things, even dialing back the settings....

but the fan must have been or the fan controller was toast, loudest damn thing i have ever heard for such a small fan. like jet turbine i swear...well maybe a little exaggerating but it was really really loud. i sent it back for a normal 220 gtx and here it is 3 years later....

 

hmmm maybe if i OC it i got plenty of juice and fans...and i do need a new card if it burns i can justify the new one ..........lol

[Darth_Vampirius]

The GPU is 3 years old? Hell, clock it through the roof. If it dies, it dies!

[fadingdimension]

As people have said earlier, more fps = more heat.

 

If you cannot or will not use v-sync I suggest a program called "Bandicam". It's basically like Fraps except that you can limit your FPS while NOT recording. I use it in almost every game to limit my fps. It's free for unlimited trial (which allows the fps limiter to be used indefinitely). It's super light weight and simple.

 

http://www.bandicam.com/downloads/

 

Once you install and open it click the "FPS" tab and check the box "Set FPS Limit" enter your desired FPS in the next box, then un-check "Only when capturing". You can change the key-bind to toggle the fps limit also. It also provides an optional FPS overlay with toggle. That simple. Hopefully that helps take some heat/load off your card.

 

Bloom in this game will also drive heat up a lot. I'd turn that off. Not much of a loss anyway.

 

If your case airflow is bad then just open the side of your case and leave it open or get better airflow.

 

I see you said your fan was at only 40% when at max temps. You should be running the fan at 100% @ 90c. Personally my card (HD 6870) will automatically down-clock/crash at 100c to avoid damage.

 

I use MSI Afterburner to OC my card. It will allow you to set up a custom fan profile. Basically you set up a x-y axis graph with fan speed and heat. Again I set 90C at 100% speed and have a nice curve down from there. This will allow your fan to gently ramp up as heat ramps up. This program will also allow you to increase voltage and clock speeds. It has heat, fan, gpu usage, voltage, clock speed monitors you can check also.

 

http://event.msi.com/vga/afterburner/download.htm

 

If your card is still running @ 90C even at 100% fan speed then I would say don't OC.

 

It's good to keep in mind that a hot chip will run slower, be less stable, and require more power to operate. More power obviously creates more heat and in turn starts a vicious cycle that quickly hits a wall.

 

Or buy a new card.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150521

 

I use this. Good card. Very cheap if you're on a budget. Comes with a free copy of Dirt3 (good game btw). Wouldn't waste money on anything too cheap/low end. Will run SWTOR at max. Will play any modern game with respectable settings. Overclocks well. Mine is at 1025core/1200memclock/1.3v/ Runs around 65c - 85c under load. Just make sure you have an adequate PSU (500w at the very least). Also you can buy a second later on for very cheap to run in CFX.

Edited May 10, 2012 by fadingdimension