Would you recommend factory OC or manual OC for a noob?

[Shizuki]

Hey guys.

So I'm currently in the process of building a computer and I might get either a 7950 or a 660ti.

I was wondering is it dangerous to OC if you aren't sure what you're doing?

I've never done it before so I was thinking I'd go for a factory OC card since I can guarantee they're settings will work and they'll have a warranty on the card. As well as I wont need a new GPU cooler since (I'm guessing) they tweaked the settings to work with the stock one.

Thoughts?

 

[Lord Tumnas]

both the 7950 and 660ti are very good cards, however if you manually overclock the 7950 will probably go further
it can be dangerous if you start playing with voltages, however if you only adjust the core clock and memory clock it is usually pretty safe
if you get a card with decent cooling, then you dont need to purchase a new cooler, an asus directCU II, a sapphire vapor x or an msi twin frozr are the best cooling options
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202003 this is the vaporX and it also comes with sleeping dogs

 

[Goodeggray]

If you're not sure the factory oc is stable and is the way to go. It the rest of the system going to be able to take advantage of it.