Tips On Overclocking?

[EZBakeNShake]

I've just recently finished my first ever PC build (13700K, 32GBs RAM, 7800 XT) and I want to overclock it. I've never overclocked anything before so I want some tips on it so that I make sure it's stable and that I don't damage anything. I do want to overclock the RAM and GPU but my CPU runs quite hot (I only have a 240 AIO, I can't fit a 360) so I want to leave it alone. Any tips please? Thanks!

[aledsav1]

if your cpu runs quite hot then the last thing you want to do is overclock it..as that usually requires some headroom temp wise, maybe you can look into undervolting it which will reduce the temps..and its a strong chip so why you would need it overclocked is probably pointless..

 

originally overclocking was a very niche group, motherboards did not have built in overclocking settings really, and we did it pretty much purely for 'cos we could'  a hobby, and benchmarks/trying to get the highest scores etc

[RONOTHAN##]

19 minutes ago, EZBakeNShake said:

I do want to overclock the RAM and GPU

GPU overclocking is easy. RAM is not. I'd start with GPU and maybe CPU (tuning your CPU, sort of undervolting, can still get a bit of a performance uplift, even on a lower cooling capacity setup) before going to RAM, since there'a a ton of factors that go into overclocking RAM that make it take forever. 

 

GPU overclocking is pretty straightforward, and there's no risk to damage anything as there's many failsafes in place to prevent you from doing anything stupid. TechPowerUp has some pretty good guides for how to do it in their GPU reviews, though the general process is as follows:

1. Open up AMD Wattman
2. Open some sort of benchmark (I like Time Spy, but pick whatever you like) and run it. Record the score.
3. Max out the power limit
4. Re-run the benchmark.
5. Lower the voltage 25mV and re-run, making sure to monitor the clock speed and see that it's going up.
6. Repeat step 5 until either the clock speed stops going up (in which case raise the max clock slider 100MHz and continue), you crash/score decreases, in which case revert to the last stable settings. 
7. Repeat with the memory clock, increasing it 25MHz until the score stops increasing
8. Stress test in the games you play by just playing them, and if you crash, raise the voltage or decrease the memory clock speed until you no longer crash. 

Do know that GPU overclocking (with the exception of the RX 6800/6900 series of cards if you did some fancier OC methods) hasn't really had that much headroom in the past few years, so don't expect to get a huge performance uplift by overclocking. 

 

RAM overclocking is a much different beast since in order to do it well, you need to balance 8 different voltages, the memory frequency, and 20+ timings, then spend 8+ hours stress testing to make sure it's actually stable. There are more lazy methods of going about it if you know some more specifics about your RAM, but without knowing those specifics it's not really possible to give any specific guidance about what to aim for or not. 

[aledsav1]

my error, i didnt read it right:) you want gpu n ram!

[EZBakeNShake]

14 hours ago, RONOTHAN## said:

GPU overclocking is easy. RAM is not. I'd start with GPU and maybe CPU (tuning your CPU, sort of undervolting, can still get a bit of a performance uplift, even on a lower cooling capacity setup) before going to RAM, since there'a a ton of factors that go into overclocking RAM that make it take forever. 

 

GPU overclocking is pretty straightforward, and there's no risk to damage anything as there's many failsafes in place to prevent you from doing anything stupid. TechPowerUp has some pretty good guides for how to do it in their GPU reviews, though the general process is as follows:

1. Open up AMD Wattman
2. Open some sort of benchmark (I like Time Spy, but pick whatever you like) and run it. Record the score.
3. Max out the power limit
4. Re-run the benchmark.
5. Lower the voltage 25mV and re-run, making sure to monitor the clock speed and see that it's going up.
6. Repeat step 5 until either the clock speed stops going up (in which case raise the max clock slider 100MHz and continue), you crash/score decreases, in which case revert to the last stable settings. 
7. Repeat with the memory clock, increasing it 25MHz until the score stops increasing
8. Stress test in the games you play by just playing them, and if you crash, raise the voltage or decrease the memory clock speed until you no longer crash. 

Do know that GPU overclocking (with the exception of the RX 6800/6900 series of cards if you did some fancier OC methods) hasn't really had that much headroom in the past few years, so don't expect to get a huge performance uplift by overclocking. 

 

RAM overclocking is a much different beast since in order to do it well, you need to balance 8 different voltages, the memory frequency, and 20+ timings, then spend 8+ hours stress testing to make sure it's actually stable. There are more lazy methods of going about it if you know some more specifics about your RAM, but without knowing those specifics it's not really possible to give any specific guidance about what to aim for or not. 

Very informative, thank you! Is MSI Afterburner a good GPU overclocker, and is Kombuster a good GPU benchmark?

[RONOTHAN##]

Just now, EZBakeNShake said:

Very informative, thank you! Is MSI Afterburner a good GPU overclocker, and is Kombuster a good GPU benchmark?

I wouldn't really use Afterburner for AMD GPUs. Afterburner is great for Nvidia cards, but for AMD cards you should either be using Wattman (the overclocking utility built into the driver) or MoreClockTool. That isn't to say Afterburner can't work on AMD cards, but there are some settings that you don't have easy access to that you have in the more AMD specific utilities.

 

As for Kombuster, It's fine. It's not my first choice, but it's not as bad as it used to be. 

[TatamiMatt]

8 hours ago, RONOTHAN## said:

I wouldn't really use Afterburner for AMD GPUs. Afterburner is great for Nvidia cards, but for AMD cards you should either be using Wattman (the overclocking utility built into the driver) or MoreClockTool. That isn't to say Afterburner can't work on AMD cards, but there are some settings that you don't have easy access to that you have in the more AMD specific utilities.

 

As for Kombuster, It's fine. It's not my first choice, but it's not as bad as it used to be. 

I didnt know this, been using afterburner myself as i dont really mess with too much, just fan speed, and core and mem OCs, but didnt know wattman was a software that existed, will have to take a look into that tonight, thanks!