GTX 970 overclocking, memory clock randomly locks

Villentretenmirth · Mar 20, 2016

I've recently been trying out overclocking my gpu and have been getting on quite well. But after around 20-30 mins of gameplay or benchmarking, it goes down, specifically from 4000-3000 for some unknown reason. I've tried rolling back my nvidia drivers, uninstalling the latest driver and reinstalling them, but to no avail.

I use msi afterburner. GPU temps are usually around 70-72 during gaming. Kinda new to this so I don't really have a clue as to why this is happening.

Any thoughts are very much appreciated

AdmiralDonut · Mar 20, 2016

How much did you overclock the core and memory by, and is it just the memory that downclocks or does the core also revert back?

Unolocogringo · Mar 20, 2016

Usually an unstable overclock.
GDDR5 memory has ECC (Error checking and correction) built in.
If the driver sees to many errors it will down clock to stop errors.
Use a overclocking stress tool such as OCCT or MSI kombuster that has error checking built in.
Also you need to run them at least 20-30 minutes to fully heat the card and memory up.
Memory errors are more likely to occur when the memory is hot instead of cold.
OCCT
http://www.ocbase.com/index.php/download
Kombustor
https://gaming.msi.com/features/afterburner

Villentretenmirth · Mar 20, 2016

AdmiralDonut :

its only the memory clock. its +40 on the core clock and + 500 on the memory clock. other parameters are untouched.

Villentretenmirth · Mar 20, 2016

Unolocogringo :

Usually an unstable overclock.
GDDR5 memory has ECC (Error checking and correction) built in.
If the driver sees to many errors it will down clock to stop errors.
Use a overclocking stress tool such as OCCT or MSI kombuster that has error checking built in.
Also you need to run them at least 20-30 minutes to fully heat the card and memory up.
Memory errors are more likely to occur when the memory is hot instead of cold.
OCCT
http://www.ocbase.com/index.php/download
Kombustor
https://gaming.msi.com/features/afterburner[/quote

Thanks, i'll give it a try

Villentretenmirth · Mar 21, 2016

Unolocogringo :

so i've tried using kombuster but no instability was shown. i am still able to overclock for about 20 mins, then the memory clock goes down to 3000. Restarting allows me to overclock again, but in 20 mins, it again downclocks.

AdmiralDonut · Mar 21, 2016

Villentretenmirth :

Which version of the NVIDIA drivers are you currently using, have you tried an older/newer one, have you done a clean install/driver sweep, and have you checked the Windows logs to see if anything is falling over in the background?

Unolocogringo · Mar 21, 2016

I looked and it appears the new version of Kombuster does not have error checking. The older version was based on furmark which did.
OCCT still has error checking and reporting.
Give it a try.
You may need to place a check mark in the error detection option.

Unolocogringo · Mar 21, 2016

As stated above, GDDR5 has error checking and correction. MOST errors will result in a memory re-read and you will not get graphical errors unless the errors are extreme.

Villentretenmirth · Mar 21, 2016

AdmiralDonut :

Villentretenmirth :

Which version of the NVIDIA drivers are you currently using, have you tried an older/newer one, have you done a clean install/driver sweep, and have you checked the Windows logs to see if anything is falling over in the background?

Driver version is 364.51. I'm afraid i don't know how to do a clean install or driver sweep, nor do i know how to check windows logs. I am not very tech savvy i'm afraid.

Sergeant_Sneaky · Mar 21, 2016

Villentretenmirth :

AdmiralDonut :

Driver version is 364.51. I'm afraid i don't know how to do a clean install or driver sweep, nor do i know how to check windows logs. I am not very tech savvy i'm afraid.