Not steady gtx 970 overclock

Jamezz2 · Nov 26, 2015

I overclocked my gigabyte twin turbo oc gtx 970, and the problem is when I run any benchmarks, when I check msi afterburner it says the core clock doesn't stay steady at the oc, it looks like a jagged line, constantly moving up and down during the benchmark. My question is, is this normal? Or is that a sign that it's unstable?

Cpu: i5-4590
Mobo: Asrock z97 Extreme6
Psu: EVGA Supernova 750w

Vellinious · Nov 27, 2015

Jamezz2 :

Download GPUz, open it up and have the sensors tab open during your benchmark runs. Sound like you're hitting a power limit. Watch the "PERF CAP REASON" line. I'd bet it's dropping the core clocks to get back under the power limit. If I'm right, you'll see green in that line during your runs. If you aren't already, you can alleviate some of that by moving the power target slider to it's highest position.

Will look something like this: The PERF CAP REASON line will tell you why it's clocking down.

Jamezz2 · Nov 27, 2015

Vellinious :

You're absolutely correct. I ran valley for about 10 seconds and sure enough, there was green in the percap line. I do have my power limit maxed out in msi afterburner, so is there anything I can do about trying to stablize it? Should I up the voltage, or is the oc i'm at just too high to get stable? In gpuz, it said the core clock was up to 1453 when valley first started, then it went down to 1420. When I ended valley, it went back up to what i'm trying to get it stable at, 1515.

Jaycen12345 · Nov 27, 2015

as long the video card didn't crash, i would say it is stable, keep using msi burner, it is the best overclocking software in my opinion.
try testing it with uni engine valley

Vellinious · Nov 28, 2015

Jamezz2 :

Lowering the voltage will help keep it under the PWR perf cap limit. But the only way to circumvent it is to run a custom bios. Try lowering the voltage a bit and see if that doesn't help. If not, you'll need to lower the clock a tad to get it back under. There's a point where having a little bit of green there isn't going to throttle your card much, but if it's already hitting a perf cap at 1453, you're not gonna see 1500 without flashing to a custom bios. Well...you might see 1500 for a second or two at a time, and then it'll throttle WAY down to keep the card under the power limit.....

It's a pretty common problem with 970s. The factory power limit settings in the bios are just awful.

Jamezz2 · Dec 3, 2015

I lowered the voltage all the way down to stock and it still had the line in gpuz all green, so I tried lowering the core clock a bit. I ended up going from +225 down to +150 and it didn't do anything at all. I'm just going to keep it at +210, as it was stable there but it just wasn't staying at a single core clock. It didn't crash from Valley after about 10 minutes, i'll try again for 20 or so and if it doesn't, i'm calling it quits there. Thanks everybody!

Vellinious · Dec 3, 2015

Jamezz2 :

There's ways around the power limit problem by running a custom bios. But you have to weigh the potential benefits with the dangers of flashing a bios. It's not nearly as difficult as people make it to be, but if you make a mistake, there's a possibility that it'll brick your card.

If you want more info on that, read this thread:

http://www.overclock.net/t/1573308/nvidia-gtx-900-cards-custom-bios-upon-request

Jamezz2 · Dec 3, 2015

Given that I'm just an occasional gamer right now, I'll stick with it the way it is. Maybe in a year or two if I start gaming more seriously, I'll upgrade the gpu and if needed flash it. But for now, this will work.

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