Overclocking a 560 SE

[aigram]

Hello,

I have a EVGA GTX 560 SE and I am using the Precision X program. Clearly this thing is just asking to be overclocked, but I have never done it before. If someone could walk me through a mild overclock process for this graphics card, that would be awesome. I'm not looking for anything too crazy, maybe a couple more points on the ol' MS experience ticker, and some solid performance improvement.

 

[saint19]

Hi and welcome to Tom's hardware forum.

I want ask you 1st if the GPU is a reference model, or have a good cooling system on it. This is because as soon as you start to overclock, the temps of your GPU rise up almost immediately.

 

[aigram]

The 560 SE has a built in fan, and in addition I have two case fans sitting directly in front of it. Also, the OC'ing program I would be using is EVGA's Precision X tool.

 

[saint19]

What temps are you getting at this moment?

 

[aigram]

Right now it idles at about 38-41 C and when I really tax it, the temps will hit about 49-53 C.

 

[mancsoulja]

Right now it idles at about 38-41 C and when I really tax it, the temps will hit about 49-53 C.

You have some room there to O/C. I'd suggest you try to keep your GPU below 90. Although even thats a little extreme. I wouldnt like to see my GPU go much higher than 80 degrees. Precision X has some nice monitoring software.

As for the actuall overclocking itself. try not to jump to a high one straigh away. Increase you base clock by about 5-10mhz at a time. then play a game for 20 mins or so to make sure it's stable. Also keep an eye on thoes temps. I wouldnt worry about overclocking your VRAM too much for now. It will have little to no effect on performance.

 

[aigram]

So when I increase the clock, do I need to adjust the voltage along with it? And I understand why I do not need to oc the VRAM.

 

[aigram]

Also, can anyone estimate what a realistic eventual target clock would be?

 

[aigram]

Best answer selected by aigram.