Should I overclock or not? (7970)

[CoryJamaul]

Hello,

I am posting this more for the curiosity of if I should do so or not. My 7970 already handles most games well on the highest settings; However, I know more demanding games are bound to appear in the future. I was wondering how much of an increase in frames I could reasonably achieve, how much of an overclock I am capable, and the possible adverse affects to overclocking. I've always been standoffish to overclocking because I felt it would lower the life expectancy, but lately I've been curious to see what my machine is capable of.

Thank you,


CoryJamaul

xfx fx-797a black edition
i7 3820 quad core
x79 extreme6 LGA 2011
850 Watt PSU
16GB (4x4) G.SKILL Ripjaws

 

[ss202sl]

Here's a good article:
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2012/01/09/amd_radeon_hd_7970_overclocking_performance_review/7

 

[abbadon_34]

yeah, first sentence says it all. the 7970 is a great overclocker if you choose.

 

[CoryJamaul]

I've read that it holds great potential, and I can see by ss202sl's article that this is true. However, I am still wondering about the precautions. What would be a safe overclock frequency (where there is no need for voltage increase)?

 

[abbadon_34]

It's impossible to tell how far a individual card will go, and "safe" is difficult to define. Read some reviews, and use some utilities to expereriment. It really trial and error and guessing. The built in AMD tools usually give a conservative guess. All involve increase the clocks and testing until it crashes. Depending on "safe" you want it, you could back it off or push on with more voltage and more aggressive overclocking utilities.

 

[CoryJamaul]

Alright, nevermind then.

 

[CoryJamaul]

Best answer selected by CoryJamaul.