MSI GTX 970 Overclocking

[DotoreN]

I haven't touched my MSI GTX 970 in a while, and it's a beast even running at stock.

But I might overclock it, to get experience in overclocking and I really want to see the result difference.

 

I made a list of things I want to know before I get into overclocking;

 

- Does overclocking a MSI GTX 970 void warranty if done by MSI Afterburner?

- How does overclocking work? From what I know, I'll have to upp core & memory clocks in afterburner while running a program in the background and if it does weird stuff on the screen, i'll have to down the slider a little?

 

Help would be appreciated such as what programs to use and what steps i'll have to do etcetc.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

- Dotoren.

 

[Oshino Shinobu]

1) No. They'll still honour the warranty, provided you don't use a custom BIOS or anything. 

 

2) That's pretty much it. Increase the clock, test it, increase the clock, test it. Continue until you get artefacts or crashes, then back off till it's stable. 

[Lord_Karango17]

Overclocking does void warranty, but the thing is they have no way of knowing, so when you return the gpu, if it is running stock clocks, then the warranty will still be active.

 

Your methodology on overclocking is about right. Increase the core clock in small incidents and run stress tests like unigen heaven to check for crashes/ instability/ artifacts. Once you reach the highest core clock, choose weather you want to up the voltage and go for gold, or stay as it is, and do the same with the memory.

[DotoreN]

1) No. They'll still honour the warranty, provided you don't use a custom BIOS or anything. 

 

2) That's pretty much it. Increase the clock, test it, increase the clock, test it. Continue until you get artefacts or crashes, then back off till it's stable. 

 

 

Overclocking does void warranty, but the thing is they have no way of knowing, so when you return the gpu, if it is running stock clocks, then the warranty will still be active.

 

Your methodology on overclocking is about right. Increase the core clock in small incidents and run stress tests like unigen heaven to check for crashes/ instability/ artifacts. Once you reach the highest core clock, choose weather you want to up the voltage and go for gold, or stay as it is, and do the same with the memory.

 

Few more questions:

 

1. What do I have to "up" first, Core or memory clocks?

2. If my screen turns black or anything, how can I down the slider in afterburner if the screen is black? (maybe a noob question )

3. If I found a stable core & memory clock, is it then recommended to sit a little below the stable clocks or is this unnecesary

4. Why is Heaven used for overclocking? What exactly is this program, just a scenematic of overly high end graphics in order to see artifcats and crashes?

[Lord_Karango17]

Few more questions:

 

1. What do I have to "up" first, Core or memory clocks?

2. If my screen turns black or anything, how can I down the slider in afterburner if the screen is black? (maybe a noob question )

3. If I found a stable core & memory clock, is it then recommended to sit a little below the stable clocks or is this unnecesary

4. Why is Heaven used for overclocking? What exactly is this program, just a scenematic of overly high end graphics in order to see artifcats and crashes?

1) its generally better to start with the core, as that is what mainly impacts the performance within games.

2)make sure to leave the "apply overclock at startup" setting unchecked, so if anything happens, the pc will automatically restart and revert to default clocks (generally if the driver crashes, which is what happens when you oc too far, the clocks get reverted back to default anyways)

3)In some cases, it is recommended to go one incident down (20 mhz maybe) to make sure that it is completely stable (while my max oc is stable in almost every game, it crashes in the crew, so I bumped ti down a bit, to make sure any other games that may crash run stable.

4) people normally recommend unigen valley, or heaven, as it simulates the load that a game would, and does not create the unreasonable temperatures that programs like furmark do. 

[DotoreN]

1) its generally better to start with the core, as that is what mainly impacts the performance within games.

2)make sure to leave the "apply overclock at startup" setting unchecked, so if anything happens, the pc will automatically restart and revert to default clocks (generally if the driver crashes, which is what happens when you oc too far, the clocks get reverted back to default anyways)

3)In some cases, it is recommended to go one incident down (20 mhz maybe) to make sure that it is completely stable (while my max oc is stable in almost every game, it crashes in the crew, so I bumped ti down a bit, to make sure any other games that may crash run stable.

4) people normally recommend unigen valley, or heaven, as it simulates the load that a game would, and does not create the unreasonable temperatures that programs like furmark do. 

 

2 more (and probably last) questions related to oc.

 

1. From running at stock and after, with what steps can I boost the core & memory clocks. 10mhz, 20mhz, 50mhz? 

2. How long does it take in Heaven to know whether you have artificats/ it runs stable or not?

 

Thanks for the clear answers btw  I'll start tomorrow with ocing.

[chopdok]

If you use it for 1080p - don't bother with overclocking the VRAM - bandwith not an issue for 970 in 1080p. Leaving VRAM at stock will allow you to reach slightly higher GPU core clocks usually.

[Lord_Karango17]

2 more (and probably last) questions related to oc.

 

1. From running at stock and after, with what steps can I boost the core & memory clocks. 10mhz, 20mhz, 50mhz? 

2. How long does it take in Heaven to know whether you have artificats/ it runs stable or not?

 

Thanks for the clear answers btw  I'll start tomorrow with ocing.

1) at the start you can likely add 100 mhz without a problem, as it will be tedious increasing it by 20 mhz when you know it will work...

2) you generally dont need to run it very long to see if its stable or not. If it artifacts, it will do so instantly (sometimes the artifacts may be hard to spot, and not obvious, if you just reached the limit)

[DotoreN]

1) at the start you can likely add 100 mhz without a problem, as it will be tedious increasing it by 20 mhz when you know it will work...

2) you generally dont need to run it very long to see if its stable or not. If it artifacts, it will do so instantly (sometimes the artifacts may be hard to spot, and not obvious, if you just reached the limit)

 

let's say your GPU dies in 5months after overclocking, and it's still under warranty. How can you set the GPU to default clocks, so you can return it?

 

(if not touched voltages)

[Lord_Karango17]

let's say your GPU dies in 5months after overclocking, and it's still under warranty. How can you set the GPU to default clocks, so you can return it?

 

(if not touched voltages)

It is not usable anymore, they have no way of checking that the clocks have been changed.

I believe they just check for visual damage, and just replace it... 

[DotoreN]

It is not usable anymore, they have no way of checking that the clocks have been changed.

I believe they just check for visual damage, and just replace it... 

 

What is not mentioned yet are the temps.

 

When I use afterburner + heaven and overclock the coreclocks & memory but NOT voltages, do I have to look at temps or are temps not really important aslong as I don't touch voltages?

[Lord_Karango17]

What is not mentioned yet are the temps.

 

When I use afterburner + heaven and overclock the coreclocks & memory but NOT voltages, do I have to look at temps or are temps not really important aslong as I don't touch voltages?

Temps are always important, but unless you intentionally make the fans run at a lower speed, it will likely not go above 80C

[DotoreN]

Temps are always important, but unless you intentionally make the fans run at a lower speed, it will likely not go above 80C

 

I have 40-60fps in heaven... am I not supposed to fully load it so it runs on 20fps or so?

[Locke290]

Temps won't be a worry with this card with normal bios.

[Lord_Karango17]

I have 40-60fps in heaven... am I not supposed to fully load it so it runs on 20fps or so?

load is not dependent on fps. just because you are getting a higher fps, does not mean the gpu is not under load. in heaven the gpu will likely be at/ above 95% gpu usage most of the time...

[DotoreN]

load is not dependent on fps. just because you are getting a higher fps, does not mean the gpu is not under load. in heaven the gpu will likely be at/ above 95% gpu usage most of the time...

 

I see.

 

In every overclock guide I see that people up the powerlimit from 100 to 110%. In afterburner your max temp will then change from max 80c to like 95C

In heaven with coreclock +100mhz my card is already 80C constantly

This means the card can get 95C with 110% powerlimit... isn't this a little too hot?

So should I keep my power limit at 100% so the temp stays below 80C?

 

Also does it matter if heaven is running in fullscreen or window mode?

[Lord_Karango17]

I see.

 

In every overclock guide I see that people up the powerlimit from 100 to 110%. In afterburner your max temp will then change from max 80c to like 95C

In heaven with coreclock +100mhz my card is already 80C constantly

This means the card can get 95C with 110% powerlimit... isn't this a little too hot?

So should I keep my power limit at 100% so the temp stays below 80C?

 

Also does it matter if heaven is running in fullscreen or window mode?

You can un link them, and have a look at your fan profile if you would like it to not be that warm. Raising the temp limit, will just let the gpu go that high, but in most cases even if you set 95, it wont go much above 85 before throttling...