Overclocking Quadro FX 880m for better gaming

[TheDuuuuudeAbides]

Hey all,

I have a laptop I got through a special deal, but had less freedom for configuration, thus the best card I could get was a Quadro FX 880m. The processor is good (i7 820qm, 1.73ghzx4) and 4 gb of ram, but the card isn't designed for gaming, and is thus the weakest link. I'm pretty new to overclocking, but read on a forum that somebody managed to overclock the 880m from 550/790/1210 (core/mem/shader) to 720/1013/1515 (with an i5 no less). I however, have only been able to hit about 80% of that, using MSI afterburner/GPUtool/nVidia control panel. When I go too high, the card goes into a safety underclock mode, where it only hits 405, and the only way to get it even back to normal is to reset the computer. Temperatures don't get too high, so I'm not sure why it resets.

So I have three questions:
1. What am I doing wrong? Do I need to also overclock the CPU/memory? What's the best way to do that?
2. Is there any way to reset the GPU back to normal after it goes into safe mode without restarting my computer?
3. I read that the only real difference between Quadros and GeForces is the firmware and drivers, and that I could get much better gaming performance out of the 880m by using GeForce firmware/drivers. Is this true, and how do I do this?

Thanks so much for any help

 

[tehawesome]

The Quadro is the same as a decent GeForce card. Just install a GeForce driver on your pc, and the card will game better. Quadro is only different because it has detail, rather than performance, drivers.

 

[tehawesome]

Go to the Nvidia site for drivers.

 

[techweenie]

I have a ThinkPad W510 with an i7 720QM and Quadro FX 880m. Contrary to popular belief, Quadro drivers do not negatively impact gaming performance. In some cases, the Quadro 880m actually outperforms the GT 330m. I was able to overclock mine to 675/900/1485 safely before temps started climbing too high. Every chip is different and some will overclock more than others. I read somewhere to keep the core and shader clocks at a 1:2.2 ratio, which is what my settings reflect. It makes just enough of a difference to make games with borderline playable framerates very playable.