Hello and thanks for reading. And if you don't like reading and prefer the short version, skip to the question in bold below.
I've recently had two GPUs in my machine, a long-time Gigabyte GTX 460 1GB OC edition and, more recently, a Sapphire AMD 7870 XT. The GTX 460 has been an ultra-reliable card for years; the 7870 XT I had to RMA twice and I just sold the third because I just wasn't happy with the card. (Side note: an MSI Nvidia GTX 760 OC Twin Frozr 2 GB is on its way to me now to replace the GTX 460.)
In the last few months I overclocked both the GTX 460 and the Sapphire 7870 XT. While I'm new to overclocking, I've read many articles and watched more than a few videos on it, so I think I get the gist. In both cases I was able to achieve at least a decent OC (around 15%-20% of the core clock and, in the case of the GTX 460, 10%-15% of the memory; the general consensus seems to be that OC'ing the 7870 XT's memory yields little result). The OCs were stable to the degree that they would run both Furmark and the Unique Heaven benchmarks all the way through without issue. Additionally, I could game with them for a time (at least a half hour, and often 1-3 hours) with no problems.
However, sooner or later the game would crash and I'd get the dreaded Driver Display Has Stopped Responding and Recovered error. While I didn't spend enough time in enough games/applications with the 7870 XT to truly establish its stability at stock clocks, I certainly have with the GTX 460. And there's no doubt that OC'ing the card — at least to the degree that I did (again, 10%+ core and memory) caused the issue. No OC, no issue.
For what it's worth, my Intel i5-2500k is running a healthy, though not especially aggressive OC. The only reason I bring this up is that I'm not OC-knowledgeable enough to know if this could be taxing my system to such a degree that it somehow compromises the GPU's overlclockability. Seems improbable, but, I'll repeat, I'm no expert. And the GPU clearly is the likely culprit, since when I return to stock clocks, the issue disappears.
So my question simply is, Is there any way — besides lowering the OC (possibly to stock) — to avoid the driver crash? Especially since the OCs I've used have allowed for stable gameplay/PC use for a good amount of time before the crash occurs:
•Would raising voltages help (I did raise the voltage modestly with both cards and never came close to having a heat issue — cards stayed below 70 C with fan at 75% max)?
•What about BIOS settings?
•Since the crashes happen after a good amount of use, is this more likely a memory OC issue, meaning I could OC the core?
Any input would be greatly appreciated. I'm okay running stock clocks, especially with the relatively far superior GTX 760 on the way, but I'm really curious, since so many folks seem to be able to attain great stable clocks and I have not. I understand that this could be luck of the draw, but with two cards now having the issue, I'm wondering if it's something else.
Thanks,
ELB
Potentially related system specs:
Mobo: ASUS P8Z68-V
PSU: Corsair 620HX
CPU: Intel i5-2500k
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws X 8GB DDR3 1600
OS: Win 7 Home Premium
I've recently had two GPUs in my machine, a long-time Gigabyte GTX 460 1GB OC edition and, more recently, a Sapphire AMD 7870 XT. The GTX 460 has been an ultra-reliable card for years; the 7870 XT I had to RMA twice and I just sold the third because I just wasn't happy with the card. (Side note: an MSI Nvidia GTX 760 OC Twin Frozr 2 GB is on its way to me now to replace the GTX 460.)
In the last few months I overclocked both the GTX 460 and the Sapphire 7870 XT. While I'm new to overclocking, I've read many articles and watched more than a few videos on it, so I think I get the gist. In both cases I was able to achieve at least a decent OC (around 15%-20% of the core clock and, in the case of the GTX 460, 10%-15% of the memory; the general consensus seems to be that OC'ing the 7870 XT's memory yields little result). The OCs were stable to the degree that they would run both Furmark and the Unique Heaven benchmarks all the way through without issue. Additionally, I could game with them for a time (at least a half hour, and often 1-3 hours) with no problems.
However, sooner or later the game would crash and I'd get the dreaded Driver Display Has Stopped Responding and Recovered error. While I didn't spend enough time in enough games/applications with the 7870 XT to truly establish its stability at stock clocks, I certainly have with the GTX 460. And there's no doubt that OC'ing the card — at least to the degree that I did (again, 10%+ core and memory) caused the issue. No OC, no issue.
For what it's worth, my Intel i5-2500k is running a healthy, though not especially aggressive OC. The only reason I bring this up is that I'm not OC-knowledgeable enough to know if this could be taxing my system to such a degree that it somehow compromises the GPU's overlclockability. Seems improbable, but, I'll repeat, I'm no expert. And the GPU clearly is the likely culprit, since when I return to stock clocks, the issue disappears.
So my question simply is, Is there any way — besides lowering the OC (possibly to stock) — to avoid the driver crash? Especially since the OCs I've used have allowed for stable gameplay/PC use for a good amount of time before the crash occurs:
•Would raising voltages help (I did raise the voltage modestly with both cards and never came close to having a heat issue — cards stayed below 70 C with fan at 75% max)?
•What about BIOS settings?
•Since the crashes happen after a good amount of use, is this more likely a memory OC issue, meaning I could OC the core?
Any input would be greatly appreciated. I'm okay running stock clocks, especially with the relatively far superior GTX 760 on the way, but I'm really curious, since so many folks seem to be able to attain great stable clocks and I have not. I understand that this could be luck of the draw, but with two cards now having the issue, I'm wondering if it's something else.
Thanks,
ELB
Potentially related system specs:
Mobo: ASUS P8Z68-V
PSU: Corsair 620HX
CPU: Intel i5-2500k
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws X 8GB DDR3 1600
OS: Win 7 Home Premium
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