Overclocking R9 390

[Numbafieve]

So i finally have a power supply and the cooling to keep the nuclear reactor R9 390 Strix from getting too hot but as i'm overclocking this i cant get it past 1125Mhz.  I have tried setting the power limit up considerably higher (+35) and i have also tried higher voltages (+20mV) but no matter what i do the card will do just fine at 1125 and then artifact pretty hard at 1150Mhz with 1200 just crashing.  I feel like even for an AMD card that is pretty bad for overclocking.  Any ideas on what is wrong, either operator error or the card itself?

[Imakuni]

Just now, Numbafieve said:

So i finally have a power supply and the cooling to keep the nuclear reactor R9 390 Strix from getting too hot but as i'm overclocking this i cant get it past 1125Mhz.  I have tried setting the power limit up considerably higher (+35) and i have also tried higher voltages (+20mV) but no matter what i do the card will do just fine at 1125 and then artifact pretty hard at 1150Mhz with 1200 just crashing.  I feel like even for an AMD card that is pretty bad for overclocking.  Any ideas on what is wrong, either operator error or the card itself?

Then try 1140mhz?

[Aytex]

Prob have shitty silicone lottery

[TestiezMachin3]

Your card has been factory OCed and pre-overvolted to maximize selling both good and bad silicon. As Aytex said, its all about the silicon lottery.

[nothereanymore]

1 hour ago, Numbafieve said:

So i finally have a power supply and the cooling to keep the nuclear reactor R9 390 Strix from getting too hot but as i'm overclocking this i cant get it past 1125Mhz.  I have tried setting the power limit up considerably higher (+35) and i have also tried higher voltages (+20mV) but no matter what i do the card will do just fine at 1125 and then artifact pretty hard at 1150Mhz with 1200 just crashing.  I feel like even for an AMD card that is pretty bad for overclocking.  Any ideas on what is wrong, either operator error or the card itself?

Power Limit is safe to max out. Set the slider all the way.

 

Also, AMD needs less MHz to achieve the same performance gains as NVIDIA. My 390X hit 1200MHz and at that point it's above a 980 in almost every game. My PL is maxed, voltage is +32.

[afyeung]

2 hours ago, Numbafieve said:

So i finally have a power supply and the cooling to keep the nuclear reactor R9 390 Strix from getting too hot but as i'm overclocking this i cant get it past 1125Mhz.  I have tried setting the power limit up considerably higher (+35) and i have also tried higher voltages (+20mV) but no matter what i do the card will do just fine at 1125 and then artifact pretty hard at 1150Mhz with 1200 just crashing.  I feel like even for an AMD card that is pretty bad for overclocking.  Any ideas on what is wrong, either operator error or the card itself?

+20mv is nothing my friend, sounds like you're a bit afraid to add voltage. Also, just max the power limit, it doesn't matter. I need +100mv and liquid cooling to run my 390x stable at 1190mhz. On air, you're looking between 1160 and 1200 with +100mv. I don't know what cooling you have. But beware, voltage will heat up your card very very fast, with minimal clock gains. 

[afyeung]

1 hour ago, Noirgheos said:

Power Limit is safe to max out. Set the slider all the way.

 

Also, AMD needs less MHz to achieve the same performance gains as NVIDIA. My 390X hit 1200MHz and at that point it's above a 980 in almost every game. My PL is maxed, voltage is +32.

I'm calling BS that you have a stable 390X at 1200mhz and +32mv. There's really no way that's possible. Even for a golden chip. 

[danrey84]

I know you may already know this but sometimes trying to OC an already OC card doesn't always work or doesn't always work with the same level of gains. Maybe try looking at putting a kracken g10 on it and water cool it. that's another way to negate the heat which is caused by overclocking

[nothereanymore]

On March 17, 2016 at 8:12 PM, afyeung said:

I'm calling BS that you have a stable 390X at 1200mhz and +32mv. There's really no way that's possible. Even for a golden chip. 

Wait until I get home. Should be in two weeks or so. Send me a message to remind me and I'll take a screenie.

[afyeung]

18 minutes ago, Noirgheos said:

Wait until I get home. Should be in two weeks or so. Send me a message to remind me and I'll take a screenie.

I mean, there's not really anyway to prove it. I apologize if you actually do have that then you have the best 390x on the planet lol. 

[Vellinious]

My 290X will run 1200 with +50mv....I don't find that, that hard to believe.

[nothereanymore]

19 hours ago, afyeung said:

I mean, there's not really anyway to prove it. I apologize if you actually do have that then you have the best 390x on the planet lol. 

I could stream it. Although I am moving soon. Not sure how the different house will affect it. It shouldn't but who knows. Not like I mind though.

[Coaxialgamer]

Check vddc in gpu z for actual voltage. 

 

My 290x was running at a fairly low voltage,  so even with +200mv it still runs fine on air and stays under 1.3v.

[Tenelia]

Like others have said, it's safe to max out the power slider. Even if you've +50% power, the card will only draw the power that it needs at the moment in time. I've helped to OC 390s from Gigabyte and MSI. It doesn't OC by much even though the temps stay low after modding.

 

Don't expect too much.

[Nena Trinity]

Remember you are over-over-clocking!

[JoePro87]

I also have a 390, and I've been just starting to mess with the overclock settings. (I just got the card) Honestly, I've always been nervous when adding more power to it, because I've heard that adding too much can roast your card. However, hearing that it will only draw the power it needs at the time kind of helps comfort me a little bit, so I think I'm going to try it out tomorrow, and see how well that works for me. Much like OP, I was able to get mine clocked to 1125 with no problems. I barely get any artifacting at 1150, but it does happen a little. I also have the memory OC'd to 1650 with no problems. To the other 390 owners, how far have you been able to push the card? I am using the Sapphire edition of it, and it is air cooled. I don't want to roast this card, as I can't afford another replacement, but I'd like to be able to push it a little harder if I can. Thanks!

[Numbafieve]

On 3/20/2016 at 8:49 PM, JoePro87 said:

I also have a 390, and I've been just starting to mess with the overclock settings. (I just got the card) Honestly, I've always been nervous when adding more power to it, because I've heard that adding too much can roast your card. However, hearing that it will only draw the power it needs at the time kind of helps comfort me a little bit, so I think I'm going to try it out tomorrow, and see how well that works for me. Much like OP, I was able to get mine clocked to 1125 with no problems. I barely get any artifacting at 1150, but it does happen a little. I also have the memory OC'd to 1650 with no problems. To the other 390 owners, how far have you been able to push the card? I am using the Sapphire edition of it, and it is air cooled. I don't want to roast this card, as I can't afford another replacement, but I'd like to be able to push it a little harder if I can. Thanks!

So for the last however long ago it was that i started this thread, i have been messing with my card and even with the max voltage i can pump through the card (even tried a constant voltage) i can only hit 1125Mhz.  I have the memory at 1600 but i didn't care to push it any further since it wasn't really doing anything for either a benchmark score or any extra FPS in games.  I guess i just have a really crappy card, kinda disappointing though since i have some headroom in terms of cooling.  I still don't regret buying the strix version of this card over the sapphire, the strix was on a wicked sale at microcenter and i got it for something like $290.  All of the 970s and 390s were about $330-370 at that time.

[JoePro87]

27 minutes ago, Numbafieve said:

So for the last however long ago it was that i started this thread, i have been messing with my card and even with the max voltage i can pump through the card (even tried a constant voltage) i can only hit 1125Mhz.  I have the memory at 1600 but i didn't care to push it any further since it wasn't really doing anything for either a benchmark score or any extra FPS in games.  I guess i just have a really crappy card, kinda disappointing though since i have some headroom in terms of cooling.  I still don't regret buying the strix version of this card over the sapphire, the strix was on a wicked sale at microcenter and i got it for something like $290.  All of the 970s and 390s were about $330-370 at that time.

Ironically, even cranking up the voltage, I was still only able to hit 1125 as well, without getting artifacting. Guess we were just losers on the silicon lottery!

[Numbafieve]

1 hour ago, JoePro87 said:

Ironically, even cranking up the voltage, I was still only able to hit 1125 as well, without getting artifacting. Guess we were just losers on the silicon lottery!

honestly though i can play any of my games at either max or very nearly max settings so i cant really complain.  Most people probably cant say the same.  So even though we lost in the silicon lottery we are still a total success! 

[JoePro87]

35 minutes ago, Numbafieve said:

honestly though i can play any of my games at either max or very nearly max settings so i cant really complain.  Most people probably cant say the same.  So even though we lost in the silicon lottery we are still a total success! 

Agreed! Still, could be slightly better framerates.  Okay, so I'm not complaining.