Safe Overclocking?

killsjoyz · December 3, 2014

So i just overclocked my New Gtx 970 Gigabyte (non G1 Gaming) GPU. I used msi after burner ended up with +185mhz core clock and +550MHZ Memory with a +12% power limit. Is this a safe overclock? I ran a bunch of stress test and bench marks and I've yet to see any artifacting and overheating. GPU at the hottest during furMark was 66C. I'm pretty new to OC'ing so what exactly am i risking by doing this? I can see a noticable improvement while gaming but what is the price? Also do you guys usually have MSI afterburner run at startup or only when u need it? Is there a downside to running MSI on startup? Thanks

EpIcPoNaGe · December 3, 2014

That's a safe overclock. Nvidia blocks you from immediately bricking your cards anyway so you don't have to worry too much.

For overclocking, you accept the fact that you are possibly lowering the lifespan of your GPU. Truthfully, if you don't plan on keeping the card for like 10 years, you don't really need to worry about the lifespan.

As for overclock on start up, I personally don't put it on start up as I don't find it necessary to have an OC'd GPU for normal tasks. I just pull up my OC tool and click my preset before gaming.