Minimum stable clocks for 4870

[youssef 2010]

First of all, happy new year to all of you.

Second, I am asking about the minimum clocks for 4870. I was able to set the gpu and the memory to 165/200 respectively(lower than that caused artifacts) but it can't run stably for 24 hrs (if screen saver is activated for a long time, the only solution is to restart).I am just asking that to save my time (once you underclock it, you can set the fan to an inaudible 20% and maintain 55 degrees celsius).

BTW,After many trial an error, it was confirmed that this card runs hot because of its memory modules.

Thanks for taking the time to read my post

 

[Rustyy117]

Why would you underclock your GPU that much? It will run like cr*P.

 

[youssef 2010]

I under colcked it in 2D mode only, but when gaming, I restore default clocks along with an annoying 40% fan speed

 

[Rustyy117]

I see, You get an aftermarket cooler to silence your GPU, Something like a Thermalright HR-03 GT would work well

 

[youssef 2010]

The problem isn't heat,I want to know the minimum stable clocks for this card based on user experience to save tweaking time (you can save power,decrease heat & practically silence the card w/o paying a single pound or losing performance because you simply don't need it in 2D mode)

 

[Rustyy117]

Well i dnt think you'll find much user experience on underclocking a 4870. The only way i know other than CCC is to download a program called RBE (Radeon bios editor) and use that program to change the 2D clocks, then you'll have to flash your card with the edited BIOS. Its some what risky.

I'd highly recommend you read up on it first, it could brick your card (although if you do brick your card by flashing it, you can rescue it, if your have another graphics card)

 

[youssef 2010]

what I did was to set the clocks to the lowest possible in CCC then I opened ATI tray tools and tried to lower the clocks further but you have to lower the clocks 10 MHz then click apply & then lower them some more(you had to press OK & then re-enter the progrom each 50MHz of underclocking) .Using this,I downclocked it to 165/200MHz GPU/Memory and kept cool,saved power and lost no performance in 2D mode (if you reach a clock lower than 500/450 in ATI tray tools,it's unlocked in the CCC overdrive).

But the problem is that this setting isn't 24/7 stable for the GPU (the memory turned out to be perfectly stable).

So,what I was looking for is a number for the GPU clock from any of TH reader's experience(if you ever underclocked anHD4870).

Flashing the BIOS is too risky,it's much easier (& safer) to save the settings in the CCC & apply on start-up via hot keys.

SORRY for the long post

 

[Rustyy117]

my HD5850 runs at 157/300 in 2D mode which i think is fine, I trust ATi know what there doing so I'll leave it at that.

Glad you found a way of reducing the clocks : )

BTW you do know that your card will underclock itself when in 2D mode I didnt set my 5850 to run at 157/300 in 2D mode it just does it. I'm sure the HD4870 does the same.

 

[youssef 2010]

HD4870 runs @500/900 in 2D mode & if you leave it to the automatic fan it hovers around 80C so, I had to think of a way to lower the temps w/o increasing the fan speed(I am worried about the fan's lifetime)

BTW,ATI solved this problem in the 5000 series & it existed only in the 4870& 4870X2

(If Anyone found the minimum stable clock for the GPU,please TELL me)

And I can't thank you enough omgitzfatal for taking the time to reply to my question

And for those of you who don't have time to read the post,I'll be clear

WHAT IS THE MINIMUM STABLE CLOCK FOR THE 4870 GPU?

 

[jay2tall]

if your card hovers around 80C in 2d mode I think you have issues elsewhere. What are the temps at load? Is this with the fan set to auto or manual? what model card is it? What is the fan duty cycle at idle if everything is set to auto.

I had a 4870 ASUS Dark Knight card and at idle it was about 46-48C. The fan would stick at 50% and since the fan was smaller I didnt like hearing it. I set the fan profile to 35% and it was much better and only brought the temps to 50-53C at idle. In game I think max I've seen was high 85C+.

I would think ATI sets the 2D to make sure you get proper performance and also to be stable, I am not surprised it isn't stable at a lower clock. I think your bigger issue is heat, correct? have you tried removing the cooler, cleaning and reapplying thermal paste? Also, do you have enough case airflow?

 

[youssef 2010]

I'm sorry if I wasn't clear enough in my statement of the problem but, here it is

My card is a Sapphire HD4870 based on AMD's reference design (not the vapour-X series).So,these temps are normal for the reference 4870 as you can see by checking out this review
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-4870,1964-18.html

You wanted to know the temps at load, they ranged from 80-90 but all that ended with the release of catalyst 9.2 & manual fan speed control.By just setting the card 8% higher than default,temps dropped to mid 60s at idle & didn't pass 70 under load (fan set to 35-40%).

Your card is an ASUS Dark Knight (CUSTOM COOLER) is not the reference design but an improved custom design.

The problem that torments this card (or any other 4870) is that its memory runs very hot (& heats everything around it consequently).I proved that when I set the memory to run @ 450 MHz,the temps dropped to 59-62 with the fan set to 20% (lowest setting in the driver).All the way down to 200 MHz,the memory was 24/7 stable.(note that this setting isn't allowed in the driver but you can force it using ATI tray tools as I explained in an earlier post).

As for the GPU, I underclocked it to 350 MHz and this setting was 24/7 stable.But all I wanted from this question is to save my time and benefit from user experience on TH forums So, if anyone had experience in underclocking their 4870,PLEASE tell me the minimum stable clock for the GPU.

BTW here are the rest of my specs:

Processor:AMD phenom IIx4 955 BE(3.2GHz,6MB L3 cache)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103674
Power Supply: hec X-Power Pro 600W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817339025
Graphics Card: Sapphire HD4870 512 MB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102748R&Tpk=4870
HDDs:1.5 TB(1TB and 500GB) WD caviar
Ram:4GB (2x2) Kinston DDR3 @1333MHz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134812&cm_re=kingston-_-20-134-812-_-Product
Case: Gigabyte Setto 1000
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811233048&Tpk=setto%201000
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-MA790XT-UD4P
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128378&Tpk=ga-ma790xt-ud4p

SORRY for the long post

 

[JofaMang]

I'm sorry if I wasn't clear enough in my statement of the problem but, here it is

My card is a Sapphire HD4870 based on AMD's reference design (not the vapour-X series).So,these temps are normal for the reference 4870 as you can see by checking out this review
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-4870,1964-18.html

You wanted to know the temps at load, they ranged from 80-90 but all that ended with the release of catalyst 9.2 & manual fan speed control.By just setting the card 8% higher than default,temps dropped to mid 60s at idle & didn't pass 70 under load (fan set to 35-40%).

Your card is an ASUS Dark Knight (CUSTOM COOLER) is not the reference design but an improved custom design.

The problem that torments this card (or any other 4870) is that its memory runs very hot (& heats everything around it consequently).I proved that when I set the memory to run @ 450 MHz,the temps dropped to 59-62 with the fan set to 20% (lowest setting in the driver).All the way down to 200 MHz,the memory was 24/7 stable.(note that this setting isn't allowed in the driver but you can force it using ATI tray tools as I explained in an earlier post).

As for the GPU, I underclocked it to 350 MHz and this setting was 24/7 stable.But all I wanted from this question is to save my time and benefit from user experience on TH forums So, if anyone had experience in underclocking their 4870,PLEASE tell me the minimum stable clock for the GPU.

BTW here are the rest of my specs:

Processor:AMD phenom IIx4 955 BE(3.2GHz,6MB L3 cache)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103674
Power Supply: hec X-Power Pro 600W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817339025
Graphics Card: Sapphire HD4870 512 MB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102748R&Tpk=4870
HDDs:1.5 TB(1TB and 500GB) WD caviar
Ram:4GB (2x2) Kinston DDR3 @1333MHz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134812&cm_re=kingston-_-20-134-812-_-Product
Case: Gigabyte Setto 1000
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811233048&Tpk=setto%201000
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-MA790XT-UD4P
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128378&Tpk=ga-ma790xt-ud4p

SORRY for the long post

Relax. Take a deep breath. Invision your happy place, and imagine going there.

All better? Good.

If you used the search feature, or even google "underclocking 4870" you would already know that it is not a common question or situation. The fact that you are actually underclocking just the 2D default clock, changes the question dramatically, as it is a very specific change you are making, and your question has a broader connetation to it.

The reason you are not getting experienced feedback on the issue, is that by and large enthusiast PC users don't buy high power parts to neuter them. It is rare that someone spending hundreds of dollars on a Videocard is going to be concerned with the power usage to the point of finding a lowest possible clock. If heat is an issue for someone who has bought one of these cards, they don't underclock, they add a fan or two to their case, they do some wire management, or they even goes as far as changing out the cooling that came attached to the GPU. Your impatience with getting experienced advice on the issue is misplaced, and perhaps you should instead take some pride in going where very few have gone before. It is a good thing that you are adding YOUR experience to the archive (if anyone ever bothers to use the search function ) as the next person who comes along with similar concerns has a reference point to work from. You see, this is how unofficial community shared information is developed; someone has to be first to do it AND tell others about it.

Since reading this thread, I have decided to try underclock my 2D clocks as well, as I can see a benefit from it when taking a look at the big thermal picture that is heat control. Thanks for your effort and information!

 

[youssef 2010]

No problem, mate. You are most welcome

BTW about "If you used the search feature, or even google "underclocking 4870" you would already know that it is not a common question or situation" I found a forum addressing this issue here
http://forums.techarena.in/overclocking-computer-modification/1124228.htm

Thanks for the google search suggestion,never occurred to me

 

[youssef 2010]

Best answer selected by youssef 2010.

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey