Need answers

[Alvin Hermano]

I got two questions, 1.) Is the gigabyte gtx 970 g1 gaming able to overclock or is it already overclocked, 2.) Is a corsair 600w 80+B enough to run the GPU?

GPU: http://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-GeForce-Graphics-GV-N970G1-GAMING-4GD/dp/B00NH5T1MS/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

[AlwaysFSX]

Yes and yes? And yes that power supply is more than enough.

[ChaosGoW]

All graphics cards, be it reference or aftermarket are able to be overclocked. It's just a matter of how far which is determined by 2 major factors (and many other less major ones).

 

1. Can the cooler on the card handle the extra heat it puts out?

This is where being a smart buyer comes into it. You want the best possible cooler no matter your overclock as this allows you to run your card faster for longer, and quieter for longer. Having a good cooler does not guarantee a big overclock though, it's extremely reliant on factor number 2.

 

2. Have I won the Silicon Lottery?

No matter the brand, cooler or anything else, your maximum overclock depends entirely on the chips on your card. You could buy 2 GTX970s with identical specs but one will always out perform the other and it's entirely luck. Sometimes you'll get 50mhz and that's as far as you can go with it but others you'll get 400mhz. Some companies like Gigabyte are known to throw away GPUs that don't overclock well and try to give you chips that go way beyond the specs listed on the box but this is still not a guarantee you'll get very far.

[Randomness]

1. The GPU is factory overclocked, but is still able to be overclocked.

 

2. Yes the minimum PSU requirement is 550W