Overclocking confusion!

[cry_monster]

now i dont know if this is the software or what. i have a pasion for overclocking esspecially CPUs and GPUs. i have a problem with overclocking a ASUS EAH5870 (one of the best if not the best 5870 on the market). i am also using msi afterburner instead of smart doctor because the volages wont save on smart doctor causing my pc to BSoD when i start. i also use 3dmark 06 to test to see if things run stable and to see if my score increases. the problem is that the score is decreasing the higher i oc. at stock clocks i get SM2.0 score of 8157 and a 3.0 score of 9734. now with extremley high clocks like a 1010 core clock and a 1300 memory i get a 8117 2.0 and a 3.0 of 10400. and i am stable at those clocks. but why is there minimal difference with such more higher clocks. my 5850 at stock clocks blew away this 5870 and this is the 3rd EAH5870 i have gone through. my build is an Asus croshair formula III, 4gb 1333 corsair, amd 965 with a 4.1 ghz clock and of cours the 5870 by AUSU. i just want to know why my scores are showing no change. and my temps never get above 75 even with the 1.35 volts i use for the 1010 core.

 

[szymek]

Dont use 3dmark06. It's very cpu depending. If you use msi afterburner, try kombustor delivered with aftermburner. personally i prefer more FurMark(only because of the animation) and in furmark tick every single posistion except 1.70 mode, note that you need to download the newest version(1.82) and see there your temps and stability. Talking about stability, your eye is not perfect and you cant see a single small artifact, thats true. Downlad OCCT and in gpu mode even though it doesnt show your gpu temp, it counts number of artifacts. Remember to always stay at ZERO. To see the advantages of your OC, download fraps and see it in a real game, I dunno what you like playing, BFBD2 perhaps? or far cry 2 ( its quite gpu depending) Good luck. Note that every app I talked about is freeware (maybe except the games).

 

[cry_monster]

that still doesnt explain why 3dmark score is droping. even if its old it should go up when i overclock, that what it did with my 5770s when i overclocked them to 1000 core and 1300 memory.

 

[welshmousepk]

The reason the score is dropping is because of a new OC feature on these cards.

Basically, instead of artifacting, the GPU doublechecks and autocorrects frames. This stops artifacts from appearing, but lowers framerate as the load on the GPU is higher.

In other words, your OC is not stable. on any other card you would be seeing artifacts. try upping the voltage. this should cause the scores to go back up.

i would also recommend a different bench though, as 06 will not stress the GPU adequately.

 

[cry_monster]

my voltages are already at 1.35 and i just tried 1.4 and no change i can go up to 1.5 but i dont think that is to safe :O

 

[cry_monster]

is there any way to disable that OC so called feture.

 

[welshmousepk]

no, 1.31 is as far as i would go. so basically, lower the clock. you aren't stable, and the GPU is throttling. sounds like you have hit the limit.

 

[cry_monster]

well unless the limit for this card is 875 core i have a really hard time beliving i hit the limit. this is the ASUS EAH5870 this is most likley the best 5870 there is. and i just ran a furmark bench and at stock clocks i got a score of 20966 and with every OC between stock and 1000 core and my score wont go passed 21400. there has to be a way to stop that feature you were talking about.

 

[cry_monster]

do you think mabee my cpu is bottle necking. i am going to rais it to 5ghz and see what happnes.

 

[welshmousepk]

Not all chips are the same, some won't overclock at all.

and no, you cant turn of that feature. even if you did it would only serve to maker the system unstable.

it could be a CPU bottleneck, but with such a powerful CPU that seems unlikely. but it could also be the software is just unable to use the GPU to the fullest.
I would say to download Unigine Heaven and try that.

 

[jsc]

I am curious. What is the basis of your claim that the ASUS EAH5870 is the best 5870 there is?

 

[cry_monster]

well the fact that it is ASUS tells me that it is going to be made out of the best parts there is, from the solder to everything else. i judge this by the board i have, the asus Crosshair formula III. the formula has broken i belive the most overclocking records there is, so that amazing abilaty to make MOBOs would be shown on there GPUs. there support IMO is also very quick. i also have an ASUS G71 laptop that is amazing, i have this thing always overclocked from 2.53 to 2.88 and i have no issues with the laptop. not to mention when the GPU started artifacting i RMAd it and got it back within that week. and i dont thinik i have seen an ASUS product with less than 4eggs on newegg or 4 stars on any other website.

 

[welshmousepk]

Doesn't matter how good the board is if the chip has a low OC limit. they get the Chips from ATI, and the quality will be just as unknowable as the other chips out there.

 

[cry_monster]

well the chip is a 5870 chip so there is lots of headroom when overclocking. but how well the solder is the capacitors are and the cooling is are more imprtant to overclocking than the chip itself is. and i have settled with a stable 1.35 volts 985core and 1300 memory.

 

[welshmousepk]

well the chip is a 5870 chip so there is lots of headroom when overclocking.

No, all chips are different. some won't overclock at all.

overclocking is never guaranteed.

 

[cry_monster]

Dude the chip itself is overclockable. its the other componants on the board that pervent overclocking. like some non reference boards wont allow ovweclocking, not because the chip wont do it, its because the board wont allow voltage controll. i have never herd of a GPU that cant be OCed a little bit. and besides this is a EAH5870 one of the best overclocking cards on the market. now i understand that some chips come off the line and have a little bit of differences here and there perventing the same OC for every card but like i said i have never herd of a card that cant be overclocked.

 

[welshmousepk]

Dude the chip itself is overclockable. its the other componants on the board that pervent overclocking. like some non reference boards wont allow ovweclocking, not because the chip wont do it, its because the board wont allow voltage controll. i have never herd of a GPU that cant be OCed a little bit. and besides this is a EAH5870 one of the best overclocking cards on the market. now i understand that some chips come off the line and have a little bit of differences here and there perventing the same OC for every card but like i said i have never herd of a card that cant be overclocked.

quite recently on these forums there was a guy whose 5870 became unstable with even a 5mhz overclock.

im not saying that this is your issue, but it IS possible. the chips themselves can be less than great and have trouble overclocking, regardless of what board they are on. just like CPUs.

 

[cry_monster]

then he got a bad 5870 or a non reference card that would not allow overclock. but like i said the chip that is instilled in the 5870 is always overclockable its just if the cards hardware/BIOS will allow it. my asus has the Unlocked bios that i am sure your XFX does too, that person may of had a diamond or a visiontek card that stricly prohibit overclocking.

 

[welshmousepk]

/facepalm

never mind, i wonder why you bother making the thread if you ignore the info given to you though.

 

[cry_monster]

alright look i am not here to start a fight but dont claim you are right on a subject that is completley off topic. This card CAN be overclocked and if you were paying attention i have found a STABLE overclock after i managed to get smart doctor to work. but to come in here and say "never mind, i wonder why you bother making the thread if you ignore the info given to you though." is completley ignorant of you considering that all you have mentioned is that my card cant be overclocked. i am looking for someone who can give me info on WHY my score are around the same, not someones telling me that a card that was built from the ground up cant be overclocked. your info was good for someone who needed it but please do some research on the EAH5870 and you will find how silly your comment was.

 

[cry_monster]

i figured it out!!! my memory clock of 1300 was to low. as soon as i raised it to 1375 my score blasted right back up.

 

[ubernoobie]

lol, you dont really know how it feels to not be able to overclock. If you say every 5870 overclockable, my friend raised his voltage to 1.3 and he cant get more than 1 mhz without system freeze and his psu is a corsair 850hx so it would be able to deliver the power

 

[cry_monster]

is it a non reference card not made by ASUS?

 

[cry_monster]

I have after endless hours of benching have found the absolute perfect clocks and volts. i have a core clock of 985 a memory clock of 1363 & at a voltage of 1.35. it was great talking to you guys . full load temp of 78c and a idle temp of 49c. the temps will drop by another 10c in the winter here in phoenix AZ.

 

[spentshells]

1375 mhz mem ?? balls !