9600 GT overclocking

[Old fellow]

Hello, I've recently bought a new Graphics card (XFX GeForce 9600 GT), though I believe it's the 'slowest' out of the XFX 9600's they offer, with a GPU clock of 600 Mhz, and memory speed of 1400 Mhz. Most other XFX cards seem to be 650/1800 or faster.

I was wondering, would it be safe to overclock the speeds of my card to similar speeds of the others, like 650/1600 or so? And would the performance be similar? My GPU remains perfectly cool (I believe), idling at about 35 and never exceeding 60 degrees under stress.

Also, would this overclock affect the lifespan of the card much? What's the usual lifespan of a Graphics card? I'm usually hesitant when it comes to computer issues like overclocking, 'cause I never want to damage any components, I think this should be okay though, 'cause it's only a minor overclock?

Thanks!

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Yes, as long as you have adequate cooling you'll be fine.....keep an eye on temps and inch your way up .....baby not giant steps

 

[Old fellow]

So is heat the only thing that can cause damage at this level of overclocking? In that case, I think I've got nothing to worry about, thank you .

Nice signature by the way!

 

[cromedome]

High frquencies and high voltages also can damage a GPU, so dont set too high voltages

 

[shagrathdex666]

just set your fan at 100 percent when you make high clock profiles its the safest way not to fry your gpu!