Safe & Easy way to get started overclocking 970.

[SystemofaSyndrome]

Hi everyone, does anyone here have a good tutorial on how to easily and safely overclock a 970, what might the temps look like and what are the cons, the pro's seem quite obvious but if you have some pros you would like to point out then go ahead.

My gpu is already fast enough for me, but I want to have the resources and ability to overclock it so it can compete with newer games requirements as time progresses.

 

Thank you!

[Janne]

dont worry about safety, it doesn't matter

[ICantThinkOfAnyGoodName]

Pros: better performance

Cons: slightly more power consumption&heat

Step 1: get GPU-Z, MSI Afterburner and unigine valley

Step 2: open all of the programs and let unigine valley run(not full screen)

Step 3: go to the sensors tab in GPU-Z. Here you will see a lot of data about your GPU.

Step 4: increase the core clock by 50 MHz in afterburner. Let the wait 5 minutes and look for artifacts or crashes in valley. Also look whether the card is throttling due to either power or temp limit in GPU-Z. If the card is throttling due to power limit, you can increase the power limit in afterburner to the maximum value it allows.

Step 5: repeat step 4 until you see either artifacts or get crashes in valley.

Step 6: go back to the last stable clock. Now you can do step 4 and 5 with 20 or 10MHz again if you want.

Step 7: once you've found a clock which you think is stable, let valley run for 30 minutes and see whether it is still stable.

Step 8: do step 4-7 with the memory clock now.

Step 9: play some games with the overclock. I recommend battlefield or shadow of mordor because they tend to crash early when the GPU is unstable, but any graphically demanding game is fine. If you notice any artifacts or crashes, lower the GPU clock by 10 MHz.

Step 10: once you've played a few hours without crashing or artifacts you can consider your clocks stable. Congratulations, you have succesfully overclocked your GPU.

[blackadder]

If you don't increase voltage there is really no worry.

[Snadzies]

GPUs now have several safety measures built into it as well as the common overclocking software so that you pretty much can't do anything that will break the GPU.

You'd need a custom BIOS and some home made overclocking software to do any real damage.

 

A very short and simple guide:

Set the power limit to the max.

Set the core clock to around +100-150mhz.

Set memory to +200-400mhz.

Run some bench marks.

80-85c range is perfectly safe but many people prefer to try to keep the temps lower.

[incarnate]

If you don't increase voltage there is really no worry.

Even if you do, the bios has a hard limit. You could specify +1.5 volts and the bios will limit it. Unless you have a custom bios

[blackadder]

Even if you do, the bios has a hard limit. You could specify +1.5 volts and the bios will limit it. Unless you have a custom bios

also you have to de solder to get past 1.35 volts.

[SystemofaSyndrome]

also you have to de solder to get past 1.35 volts.

 

Even if you do, the bios has a hard limit. You could specify +1.5 volts and the bios will limit it. Unless you have a custom bios

 

GPUs now have several safety measures built into it as well as the common overclocking software so that you pretty much can't do anything that will break the GPU.

You'd need a custom BIOS and some home made overclocking software to do any real damage.

 

A very short and simple guide:

Set the power limit to the max.

Set the core clock to around +100-150mhz.

Set memory to +200-400mhz.

Run some bench marks.

80-85c range is perfectly safe but many people prefer to try to keep the temps lower.

 

Pros: better performance

Cons: slightly more power consumption&heat

Editing in instructions on how to overclock

 

dont worry about safety, it doesn't matter

Thanks everyone, does anyone have a program in which you prefer using, and if you have multiple/disagree with someone else, then please point out pros and cons of the program in question.

And does GPU Boost 2.0 come into play with this, I'm not familiar in anyway with overclocking, so sorry if this comes off as normie-ish.

[ICantThinkOfAnyGoodName]

Thanks everyone, does anyone have a program in which you prefer using, and if you have multiple/disagree with someone else, then please point out pros and cons of the program in question.

And does GPU Boost 2.0 come into play with this, I'm not familiar in anyway with overclocking, so sorry if this comes off as normie-ish.

I edited some instructions into my post which include which programs you should use.

[blackadder]

Thanks everyone, does anyone have a program in which you prefer using, and if you have multiple/disagree with someone else, then please point out pros and cons of the program in question.

And does GPU Boost 2.0 come into play with this, I'm not familiar in anyway with overclocking, so sorry if this comes off as normie-ish.

i use msi afterburner, its pretty great even if you don't oc, works with every card

Yes gpu boost will work like auto oc but, wont be as high as if you do it manually.