How do I overclock my GPU?

[Bananamancer]

I really don't have a single idea how to overclock. I have a Zotac GTX 970 dual-fan. My current board isn't great for overclocking but I already have a GIGABYTE Z97 GAMING 5 and waiting for an i5-4690k. Any basic ways to overclock without hurting any of my system?

[zappian]

Downloand msi afterburner and try to increase core clock in about 30 mhz intervals.

 

After each OC stress test it with heaven.

[Oshino Shinobu]

Use wither MSI Afterburner or EVGA Precision X (or pretty much any other GPU overclocking program) and increase the clock a bit at a time (30MHz or so). Test it with something like Unigine Heaven or Valley after each time. reduce the clock if you get a crash or start seeing graphical glitches. 

[EarthboundHero]

Downloand msi afterburner and try to increase core clock in about 30 mhz intervals.

 

After each OC stress test it with heaven.

This, but start out with 50MHz, the bring it down as you go. All the way down to 5MHz or even 1 if you want the absolute max. Don't worry about memory clocks,they won't increase performance, unless you can get a huge OC on them. If your voltage is unlocked raise it a bit. And keep an eye on temps.

[Bananamancer]

Downloand msi afterburner and try to increase core clock in about 30 mhz intervals.

 

After each OC stress test it with heaven.

just straight out open Afterburner and increase the core clock? Should I expect my pc to shutdown sometimes?

[Bananamancer]

This, but start out with 50MHz, the bring it down as you go. All the way down to 5MHz or even 1 if you want the absolute max. Don't worry about memory clocks,they won't increase performance, unless you can get a huge OC on them. If your voltage is unlocked raise it a bit. And keep an eye on temps.

I wont need to open my mobo's BIOS right?

[zappian]

just straight out open Afterburner and increase the core clock? Should I expect my pc to shutdown sometimes?

 

It wont shut down.

 

Some games might crash but thats it.

[EarthboundHero]

I wont need to open my mobo's BIOS right?

Nope.

[Bananamancer]

It wont shut down.

 

Some games might crash but thats it.

should I set my fans to run at 100%?

[No Nrg]

You will also want to increase the power limit in Afterburner up to 110% (i believe it only goes that high for 970s) and don't bother touching the voltage. Voltage has little effect on the overclock with Maxwell cards and could actually lower the overclock you obtain before thermal throttle. I run a custom fan profile so it's not loud all the time. Simply have the full fan speed kick in at 65C and you'll be fine.

 

Also download GPUz from Techpowerup so you can see clock speeds and temps in real time in an easy to read format

 

Core Clock: Increase in 50Mz intervals as mentioned, test in Unigine Heaven or Valley Benchmark. 3Dmark Firestrike is nice too. I also like to play a game or two for ten minutes or so for real world stability test (benchmarks are artificial and may not give true stability picture). Go up another interval if stable, down if you crash or see graphical glitches.

 

Memory Clock: thing to remember with GDDR5 memory is the 7Ghz quoted as spec is 4 times what it is reporting in GPUz (7000MHz or 7GHz / 4 = 1750MHz). 7GHz  is know as the effective clock speed. This link explains it pretty well http://www.enthusiastpc.net/articles/00001/3.aspx. Any change you make to the memory clock will be multiplied by 4 (change of 50MHz x 4 will boost you to 7.2GHz as example). I do this in +25MHz steps until crashes or glitches in benckmarks or games.

 

This is just me, but I have a overclock profile saved for my MSI GTX 980 (1444MHz core clock/7.52GHz memory clock) and only use it if I actually need the extra performance. No point in adding stress to your card if the performance isn't needed for the game you're playing.

 

PM me if you have any questions

[Bananamancer]

You will also want to increase the power limit in Afterburner up to 110% (i believe it only goes that high for 970s) and don't bother touching the voltage. Voltage has little effect on the overclock with Maxwell cards and could actually lower the overclock you obtain before thermal throttle. I run a custom fan profile so it's not loud all the time. Simply have the full fan speed kick in at 65C and you'll be fine.

 

Also download GPUz from Techpowerup so you can see clock speeds and temps in real time in an easy to read format

 

Core Clock: Increase in 50Mz intervals as mentioned, test in Unigine Heaven or Valley Benchmark. 3Dmark Firestrike is nice too. I also like to play a game or two for ten minutes or so for real world stability test (benchmarks are artificial and may not give true stability picture). Go up another interval if stable, down if you crash or see graphical glitches.

 

Memory Clock: thing to remember with GDDR5 memory is the 7Ghz quoted as spec is 4 times what it is reporting in GPUz (7000MHz or 7GHz / 4 = 1750MHz). 7GHz  is know as the effective clock speed. This link explains it pretty well http://www.enthusiastpc.net/articles/00001/3.aspx. Any change you make to the memory clock will be multiplied by 4 (change of 50MHz x 4 will boost you to 7.2GHz as example). I do this in +25MHz steps until crashes or glitches in benckmarks or games.

 

This is just me, but I have a overclock profile saved for my MSI GTX 980 (1444MHz core clock/7.52GHz memory clock) and only use it if I actually need the extra performance. No point in adding stress to your card if the performance isn't needed for the game you're playing.

 

PM me if you have any questions

will try this soon after I get my 4690k my board right now is really potato.

[Dacoolioman]

just straight out open Afterburner and increase the core clock? Should I expect my pc to shutdown sometimes?

you could get in to situations where you need a hard reset