Help overclocking GTX 970

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Nirad9er

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Feb 18, 2004
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I just got a MSI GTX 970 for my secondary computer.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...7833&cm_re=msi_gtx_970-_-14-127-833-_-Product

I'm trying to overclock with MSI afterburner and I'm using MSI Kombuster to test the overclock but for some reason the core clock isn't going beyond the 1152MHz boost.

I applied +250mhz on the core and +400 on the memory to start. I launch Kombuster and can only see the memory overclock is being applied.

Can anyone help me out.

Thanks
 
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It is really simple. Stop using that application to test with. You are basically pushing the card to its max with that application. As once the card maxes out it will down clock to keep it safe. When you run that application it is maxed and can only go down to protect the gpu.

Short version of this.
KILLER_K [H]ardness Supreme, 6.8 Years
Welcome to the world of the TDP limited scenario. You are basically maxing out the gpu. It is going to protect itself by not allowing the boost. Since it is running at the max load and building up temperatures at the same time. Once the card isn't maxing the TDP and building heat up. It will start back boosting like it normally should.
Click to expand...
 
I played Company of Heroes 2 for a few minutes and it boosted to 1554/7800 and seemed to be running great.
 
Maybe 1554 was too much lol. screen went black, but 1515/7900 seems OK
 
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Run Unigine Heaven benchmark in a window and it will cause the video card to boost up just fine without overloading it.
 
So I'm using Unigine Heaven to test my overclock with. I have an MSI GTX 970 Golden Edition.

I have the TDP Limit set to 110% with core voltage at +85 using MSI AfterBurner.

So I can push it up at +227Mhz core/+350Mhz memory, but right at 228 my drivers start crashing. My TDP is only at 102% max though. Does this mean my card can't really overclock?
 
At +225 I'm right at a core clock of 1553 MHz according to GPU-Z and Afterburner.
 
100% TDP is different from card to card. Since the golden edition has a monster of a heat sink MSI may have upped the wattage for 100% TDP. You'd have to look at the BIOs to know or find someone else who has.

But honestly TDP is only something to worry about if you are maxing it out. Not reaching it is a good thing. 1550 is a good OC for 970s I think.
 
Since it is higher overclocked compared to the normal edition. It looks to be in the normal , average results. But I would have figured for the higher priced it would have been a little better than that. What is the ASIC score on your card?

Regular GTX 970 : Core Clock 1140 MHz Boost Clock 1279
Golden Edition GTX 970: Core Clock 1165 MHz Boost Clock 1317 MHz

Starrbuck said:
1553 is a very good OC and might be more than that particular card can handle.
Click to expand...
 
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KILLER_K said:
Since it is higher overclocked compared to the normal edition. It looks to be in the normal , average results. But I would have figured for the higher priced it would have been a little better than that. What is the ASIXC score on your card?

Regular GTX 970 : Core Clock 1140 MHz Boost Clock 1279
Golden Edition GTX 970: Core Clock 1165 MHz Boost Clock 1317 MHz
Click to expand...

All that really means is MSI guarantees it to run at the Golden Edition rates and it really only implies that it may overclock better. You're still playing the silicon lottery. :)
 
We all know that. But that wasn't my point of my post though. You are paying a larger premium and really getting nothing in return. As we all know they overclock good enough on the standard cooler. Now they are just trying to squeeze money out the same product.

Starrbuck said:
All that really means is MSI guarantees it to run at the Golden Edition rates and it really only implies that it may overclock better. You're still playing the silicon lottery. :)
Click to expand...
 
KILLER_K said:
We all know that. But that wasn't my point of my post though. You are paying a larger premium and really getting nothing in return. As we all know they overclock good enough on the standard cooler. Now they are just trying to squeeze money out the same product.
Click to expand...

You're getting a guarantee to run at the higher clocks. Maybe that's enough. Maybe it's not. It's up to the buyer to decide.
 
It's only, sadly, ASIC 60.7%. Though with the same overclock the was done on the [H] review of the MSI Gaming 4G, I get a temperature difference of -10C.

So basically, I paid $40 more for 10C lower temperatures.
 
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