- Apr 21, 2012
- 15
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- 10,520
I'm quite new to overclocking, so bear this in mind. I think I have an ok grasp of the ideas but I'm sure there's plenty I'm unfamiliar with.
With my MSI 2Gb OC 660TI, I've been able to get to +130 mhz on the core clock and +650 mhz on the memory without changing voltage at all. I'm reasonably happy with this, seems to net me about a 15-20% improvement in framerates compared to stock without getting too hot. Of course, my next step was to try increasing the voltage a little and hope that can edge me up a little higher on core and/or memory.
However, (and it's taken quite some time to figure this out because this is kinda batty behaviour) nothing I can change with voltage control will make a difference. At default, it will sit at .987 V under normal functioning and jump up to 1.175V under load, without even voltage control being unlocked! Putting voltage control into the mix means I can add up to 100mV, but adding that ONLY adds to the .987 in normal functioning, not to the load amount (and only brings the .987 to 1.087, which is well underneath the 1.175 default load voltage). Under load, it's 1.175 V no matter what I do. Even selecting "force constant voltage" doesn't change this.
Now I don't particularly want web browsing and such to run at a higher voltage if it's not going to make a difference when under load, so there's no point in raising voltage (hell, I might even undervolt it, if that's a word). I'm just mystified at how this works. I'm guessing since it's an OC version of the 660ti, maybe it's been designed to go up to the maximum safe voltage under load, but why do that when it haven't even been overclocked yet? Doesn't increasing the voltage without overclocking just potentially damage the card without the (usually) corresponding gains in clock speeds and memory speeds? Also why do I seem to have absolutely zero control over the voltage while at load?
So, I guess my question is, am I reading this situation correctly, or is there some way I can actually have any control over my voltage while at load?
With my MSI 2Gb OC 660TI, I've been able to get to +130 mhz on the core clock and +650 mhz on the memory without changing voltage at all. I'm reasonably happy with this, seems to net me about a 15-20% improvement in framerates compared to stock without getting too hot. Of course, my next step was to try increasing the voltage a little and hope that can edge me up a little higher on core and/or memory.
However, (and it's taken quite some time to figure this out because this is kinda batty behaviour) nothing I can change with voltage control will make a difference. At default, it will sit at .987 V under normal functioning and jump up to 1.175V under load, without even voltage control being unlocked! Putting voltage control into the mix means I can add up to 100mV, but adding that ONLY adds to the .987 in normal functioning, not to the load amount (and only brings the .987 to 1.087, which is well underneath the 1.175 default load voltage). Under load, it's 1.175 V no matter what I do. Even selecting "force constant voltage" doesn't change this.
Now I don't particularly want web browsing and such to run at a higher voltage if it's not going to make a difference when under load, so there's no point in raising voltage (hell, I might even undervolt it, if that's a word). I'm just mystified at how this works. I'm guessing since it's an OC version of the 660ti, maybe it's been designed to go up to the maximum safe voltage under load, but why do that when it haven't even been overclocked yet? Doesn't increasing the voltage without overclocking just potentially damage the card without the (usually) corresponding gains in clock speeds and memory speeds? Also why do I seem to have absolutely zero control over the voltage while at load?
So, I guess my question is, am I reading this situation correctly, or is there some way I can actually have any control over my voltage while at load?
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