[H] users 7950 Overclock Results

Leijona Sisu said:
Really? I thought Furmark was without a doubt the most insane test you can do.

Doesn't Unigine cost money..? I'm not sure I want to pay for just a benchmarking app.
Click to expand...

Furmark is absolute overkill and doesn't represent a gaming load on the card. Unigine and 3DMark have free versions.
 
Well Furmark is supposed to be for testing stability. Which is what I thought this thread was all about.

Anyway here's my Unigine results:

zh5hNEh.png


fmh1rmW.png


Also for reference my ASIC is: 65.2%
Which apparently is pretty low :(
 
Last edited:
At what voltages are people getting 1200mhz? I benched 1200mhz through Valley at 1.1v on my 950mhz ed card, but I'm not sure how stable that is (never got to that stage as my mobo blew 3 weeks ago... and I'm only sending away for RMA tomorrow :/ I miss my PC lol).
 
I use Furmark for testing cooling. It heats up core and VRMs like no other benchmark that I know of.
 
Gumbi10 said:
At what voltages are people getting 1200mhz? I benched 1200mhz through Valley at 1.1v on my 950mhz ed card, but I'm not sure how stable that is (never got to that stage as my mobo blew 3 weeks ago... and I'm only sending away for RMA tomorrow :/ I miss my PC lol).
Click to expand...


My Sapphire 950mhz Ediiton HD7950 can do 1200mhz at around 1.1v as well. Most of the newer cards that feature boost default to 1.25v even at stock speeds during load.
 
I installed my second MSI HD7950 Boost and this card has ASIC 65% and it is worse than the one with ASIC 53%. It does 1175/1475 without any problems but I can see artifacts at 1200/1500.

VDDC on both cards is around 1.180 - 1.197 during Valley.
 
Last edited:
SonDa5 said:
My Sapphire 950mhz Ediiton HD7950 can do 1200mhz at around 1.1v as well. Most of the newer cards that feature boost default to 1.25v even at stock speeds during load.
Click to expand...

I'm not a complete noob but I do lack some understanding of these things. Clearly my card can maintain an nice OC at 1.1v (1200mhz). The thing is, I see others saying their default boost voltage is 1.25v. My card isn't stable at that voltage. As in, even at 100% fan speed, it starts throttling and eventually crashes. How can these cards maintain higher voltages so readily, and yet they need those much high voltages to maintain clock speeds comparable to mine (and yet I manage those clockspeeds at much lower voltages).
 
Last edited:
Common belief is that those other cards "leak" voltage and hence even if they apply 1.25V what is eventually available to the GPU chip is a smaller value.
The ASIC number is believed to be a good representation of this, with a low ASIC value you loose/leak more voltage compared to a higher ASIC value.
My ASIC value is 57% and my card even at 1.3V cannot get to 1200 on core while others like SonDa5 can get to 1200 on core at a mere 1.1V and his ASIC is about 90%.
 
QDemon19 said:
Common belief is that those other cards "leak" voltage and hence even if they apply 1.25V what is eventually available to the GPU chip is a smaller value.
The ASIC number is believed to be a good representation of this, with a low ASIC value you loose/leak more voltage compared to a higher ASIC value.
My ASIC value is 57% and my card even at 1.3V cannot get to 1200 on core while others like SonDa5 can get to 1200 on core at a mere 1.1V and his ASIC is about 90%.
Click to expand...

I see. I just couldn't understand why REFERENCE 7950's had such high voltages, and mine isn't even stable at 100% fan speed at those voltages - but I guess it's a good thing I have an ASIC of over 90% then? :D

Thanks!
 
QDemon19 said:
Common belief is that those other cards "leak" voltage and hence even if they apply 1.25V what is eventually available to the GPU chip is a smaller value.
The ASIC number is believed to be a good representation of this, with a low ASIC value you loose/leak more voltage compared to a higher ASIC value.
My ASIC value is 57% and my card even at 1.3V cannot get to 1200 on core while others like SonDa5 can get to 1200 on core at a mere 1.1V and his ASIC is about 90%.
Click to expand...

Its a belief, but its almost certainly wrong. No one ever cooperatively compares voltages, asic, power draw, temps, and overclockability. The only things that I've ever seen are, "Oh no, I have 50% ASIC and only hit 1100!".

Ive compared with a member from overclock.net, and while its only 1 sample, its the only real test yet. We found that with nearly the exact same ASIC [86.8%] and same card [Sapphire Vapor-X] mine hit 1200 with 0.05v less [1.137v vs 1.187v] but mine drew slightly more power [based off of HwInfo readings] and ran hotter as well [Ambients not compared, but mine is almost certainly lower with a window open, in 20*f weather]. Leakage, based off of the cards sensor, was about the same. His max core was 1200 for stable gaming, mine is 1250.

So;
<=1% ASIC difference
>=4% less voltage required for same speed
>=4% higher max overclock
Higher temps at same clockspeeds despite lower voltage, while also having more power draw while having nearly the same voltage leakage and the exact same card model. Quite the conundrum...

I'd love for more testing to be done but again, no one seems to be interested beyond max OC and ASIC, and I really dont think we're going to see a legitimate relation between them.
 
45454asasa said:
So;
<=1% ASIC difference
>=4% less voltage required for same speed
>=4% higher max overclock
.
Click to expand...


I think the ASIC is more related to how well a GPU will operate at a set voltage with a given speed of operation. Probably has something to do with the amount of resistance in a GPU under load.


Max over clock is more luck of the draw. Having a high ASIC score does allow for less voltage to operate and less voltage means less heat and electrical wear and tear on the card so a HIGH ASIC score + good GPU for high max over clock is the ideal situation.


In general high ASIC score is more desirable because it will conduct electricity better and operate cooler and better.


I also have a Vapor X HD7950 that has low ASIC score and is alot more work to find max over clock because of heat produced from high voltage.


Effective cooling seems to be the best way to get the most out of these cards.
 
Well, i noticed that usualy low asics cards deals better with high voltage and this reduces the temps. For example i had a GB 7950 WF3 with asics quality above 75%(i really can't remember exactly how much) and i hit 1200MHz on core with little more than 1.2V, but on 50-60% fan the core temp was around 75 degrees and VRMs - 80-90 degrees. Now i have another GB 7950 WF3 with asics quality 58.4% and i need almost 1.3V. for 1200MHz, but on 60% fan the temp of the core is no more than 72 degrees and VRMs are 75-77(VRM1) and 70-72(VRM2).
 
Got 4 Sapphire 7950 Boosts and the ASICs on them run between 48-66%. I ended up boosting voltage on 2 of them just to get them to be stable at 100% usage....
 
How many of you guys have replaced the stock thermal grease, or is it generally considered good enough for these cards?
 
Gavinni said:
How many of you guys have replaced the stock thermal grease, or is it generally considered good enough for these cards?
Click to expand...

I only replace it if the temps are awful. Otherwise it's good enough.
 
How are you guys controlling VRM temps when more voltage is applied? This seems to be my my difficulty in OCing my card. At the moment my case is on it's side with the panel removed. (Temporary setup).

Case fans blowing onto... where exactly, would help?
 
GPU-Z hasn't shown me a varying VRM temp since I recently received my Sapphire 7950....lol. It's been 26 degrees Celsius permanently. Not sure why.
 
MasonD said:
GPU-Z hasn't shown me a varying VRM temp since I recently received my Sapphire 7950....lol. It's been 26 degrees Celsius permanently. Not sure why.
Click to expand...

That cannot be right!

Does it do the same if you try to log results, or say choose Max in the VRM displays on the Sensors tab.
 
Gumbi10 said:
How are you guys controlling VRM temps when more voltage is applied? This seems to be my my difficulty in OCing my card. At the moment my case is on it's side with the panel removed. (Temporary setup).

Case fans blowing onto... where exactly, would help?
Click to expand...

If you've the regular 2 fan style 7950, having a case fan that can pull in cold air onto the card helps.
The fans on the card will do the circulation and hopefully cool down the VRMs.

For extreme VRM temps maybe someone has a better idea, this is all that I' aware of.
 
QDemon19 said:
If you've the regular 2 fan style 7950, having a case fan that can pull in cold air onto the card helps.
The fans on the card will do the circulation and hopefully cool down the VRMs.

For extreme VRM temps maybe someone has a better idea, this is all that I' aware of.
Click to expand...

Where might I mount the fan? If it's on the side panel it would be blowing air directly onto where my fans blow air out - that's not efficient, is it? I've never mounted case fans before (excluding the one that comes with the case) and I know there's a right and wrong way to o it :D
 
The fans on the Dual X Video card are in pull configuration, i.e. it pulls in air through the fans onto the GPU/coils/VRM and hot air is ejected along the sides of the card.

The card fans are pulling in air from your case and if you can blow cold air into the space between the panel and GPU fan, yes that should help with cooling.

Like I said, this works in general, however if you're looking for specific orientation to maximize air flow over the VRM maybe someone who has done it could help.

Most people mount the side panel fans (facing the GPU) so that they're pulling in air into the case, not the other way around.
 
QDemon19 said:
The fans on the Dual X Video card are in pull configuration, i.e. it pulls in air through the fans onto the GPU/coils/VRM and hot air is ejected along the sides of the card.

The card fans are pulling in air from your case and if you can blow cold air into the space between the panel and GPU fan, yes that should help with cooling.

Like I said, this works in general, however if you're looking for specific orientation to maximize air flow over the VRM maybe someone who has done it could help.

Most people mount the side panel fans (facing the GPU) so that they're pulling in air into the case, not the other way around.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the crystal clear explanation :) I thought the air was being expelled upwards into my panel, which is why I questioned the logic of blowing cool air into that updraft - but as you said the warm air is being expelled out the sides of my card and "upwards" (towards the roof, the shroud directs it that way instead of it going out my panel).

But yeah, any tips regarding VRM cooling would be cool. It's not a huge deal really, I'm getting excellent overclocks from my card as it is, but the lure of potential extra mhz is so tempting :p

I am getting 3/4 Arctic Cooling F12 fans (120mm case fans). I realise there are not the best fans, but they are so cheap, I have access to them at 3 quid a pop. Is there any big reason not to jump on this deal? Are they too loud? (My motherboard is being RMAed and I can add some items to my basket, might as well seeing as shipping is covered already).

3 pin fan headers, do they allow fan control? Maybe I just want the fans to be at 75% speed for acoustic reasons.
 
Could anyone tell me if my temperatures seem normal?

I'm running stock clock on my Sapphire "OC" which is 950 Core/ 1250 Memory with a Dual-X fan.
50*C idle seems rather high when the fan is at 60% right?
 
SlvrDragon50 said:
Could anyone tell me if my temperatures seem normal?

I'm running stock clock on my Sapphire "OC" which is 950 Core/ 1250 Memory with a Dual-X fan.
50*C idle seems rather high when the fan is at 60% right?
Click to expand...

Yes indeed.

But it should't be 950 core when it's idle. 950 is the boost speed? 800/850 is the base speed? It downclocks when not running a 3D application. What's your case setup? DO you have case fans?
 
SlvrDragon50 said:
Could anyone tell me if my temperatures seem normal?

I'm running stock clock on my Sapphire "OC" which is 950 Core/ 1250 Memory with a Dual-X fan.
50*C idle seems rather high when the fan is at 60% right?
Click to expand...

What are the load temps? 50c idle is very high.
 
Bitcoin mining right now and I'm at 60*C with 100% fan.

I remember it it sitting around 60-70 when playing BF3 (max settings). I am powering a 30" IPS and a 24" LCD though.

This is one of the reasons why I wanna water cool my case, but I got the wrong case ;(

The clock is always 950 Gumbi. It's not like the Vapor-X where it has a boost mode.

It's a HAF 912 with 200 mm megaflow up top with OEM 120mm in the back. 1 Sickle flow 120mm intake ont he side, 1 120mm Cougar intake fan in the front, and another 120mm OEM fan in the front.
 
Using sapphire trixx I can get 1300Mhz core 1500Mhz memory @ 1.237 vddc stable. Finding a setting for memory was tricky and nothing above 1500 was stable Can take pics later & time lapse if you want proof. Omg trixx lets me slide core all the way to 1560Mhz??! not even going to try past what I got
 
SlvrDragon50 said:
Bitcoin mining right now and I'm at 60*C with 100% fan.

I remember it it sitting around 60-70 when playing BF3 (max settings). I am powering a 30" IPS and a 24" LCD though.

This is one of the reasons why I wanna water cool my case, but I got the wrong case ;(

The clock is always 950 Gumbi. It's not like the Vapor-X where it has a boost mode.

It's a HAF 912 with 200 mm megaflow up top with OEM 120mm in the back. 1 Sickle flow 120mm intake ont he side, 1 120mm Cougar intake fan in the front, and another 120mm OEM fan in the front.
Click to expand...

Oh, it's the 950mhz edition card. I have that card. When in 2D mode, the card should downclock to 300mhz. Is it doing this? The should really idle at 30-35 degrees ceclcius (depending on our case cooling), so 50 is quite high.

Can you get a screenshot of the card idling in MSI Afterburner? What speed is the fan at when it's idling.
 
Gumbi10 said:
Oh, it's the 950mhz edition card. I have that card. When in 2D mode, the card should downclock to 300mhz. Is it doing this? The should really idle at 30-35 degrees ceclcius (depending on our case cooling), so 50 is quite high.

Can you get a screenshot of the card idling in MSI Afterburner? What speed is the fan at when it's idling.
Click to expand...

It's a Sapphire. The card is always at 950 mhz. Never drops down to 300. And I don't use the automatic fan setting. It's always too low.
 
SlvrDragon50 said:
It's a Sapphire. The card is always at 950 mhz. Never drops down to 300. And I don't use the automatic fan setting. It's always too low.
Click to expand...

I know it's a Sapphire, I have the same card :).

Yoou're not giving me anything to work with, man. The card does indeed, I suspect, drop to 300 mhz in general usage (ie, when not gaming or doing anything graphically intensive). I just want to confirm that it does to rule out anything of that nature first. This downclock with not be represented in the core clock speed tab on the left of MSI Afterburner. The current core clock speed is always found in the left tab. It should be at 300 mhz when not gaming (browsing the web, whatever). Show me a screenshot of this to confirm.

The Dual-x cooler on your card is a good cooler, more than sufficient to cool your card at stock speeds. The auto fan setting is more than sufficient at stock speeds. Show me a screenshot of MSI Afterburner showing fan speed, GPU temp and GPU current clock (all found on the right hand tab of Afterburner).
 
Yeah, that's way too hot. It is downclocking to 500mhz though, as you can see in the graph.

That's way too hot. What is the voltage set to? It should be idling at 30-35 degrees at 20% fan speed.
 
Voltage is at 1.156V

I had the same problem with my 4870 (even though it was known for being a hot card).

I have a 550W Antec Neopower powering it. It's old, but it's pretty reliable.
 
SlvrDragon50 said:
Bitcoin mining right now and I'm at 60*C with 100% fan.

I remember it it sitting around 60-70 when playing BF3 (max settings). I am powering a 30" IPS and a 24" LCD though.
Click to expand...

Gumbi10 said:
Yeah, that's way too hot. It is downclocking to 500mhz though, as you can see in the graph.

That's way too hot. What is the voltage set to? It should be idling at 30-35 degrees at 20% fan speed.
Click to expand...

He's running multiple monitors off of it, GPUs usually run warm at idle when pushing multiple monitors.

SlvrDragon50:
Unplug all but 1 monitor (and restart for good measure) and see if your idle temps don't drop precipitously.

I thought this multi-monitor issue was pretty common knowledge.
 
It still seems kinda hot though considering 60% fan speed for 45*C. I didn't think a dual monitor setup would make it that much hotter.

I will try that though Kueller.
 
SlvrDragon50 said:
It still seems kinda hot though considering 60% fan speed for 45*C. I didn't think a dual monitor setup would make it that much hotter.

I will try that though Kueller.
Click to expand...

You said it only gets up to 60C under load mining, which says to me the cooler is working fine. Your problem then from my understanding is specifically with idle temps. Graphics cards in general and AMD cards in particular don't downclock as effectively when running multi-monitor setups*. The card will also pull more power (20W-30W) at idle.

Notice your memory speed goes from a max of 1300MHz to a minimum of...1250MHz in that afterburner screenshot. A card that's properly downclocking itself will usually drop memory clock to 300MHz.

Before you go thinking this might be a bug...it's not, it's intended to prevent another issue. If you lower the memory clock too much when running multiple (ramdac driven) monitors they will start flickering.

*This doesn't apply when running Displayport monitors (or active DP-DVI adapters), you can hook up as many of those as you like (or have ports for) without encountering the typical idle heat/power issues.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top