Overclocking on Gigabyte Windforce GTX 670

[irondoq]

Okay so I just recieved my GTX 670, and my install went off without a hitch. I cleared out the previous drivers (GTX 560 Ti), and did a fresh install with the new ones (too lazy to check... the new ones lol). Before I get into the problem, I might as well list my rig specs:

Corsair 400d Case
Antec 750w psu.
Gigabyte Windforce GTX 670
GA-Z68A-D3H-B3 revision 1.3 motherboard with U1a bios
500gb Hitachi 7200rpm drive
120gb Mushkin ssd
8gb 1600 g.skill ram
CM Hyper 212+ cpu cooler
i5 3570k @ 4.5Ghz on 1.2v

Ok so out of the box the boost clock is getting up 1110 at the highest, sometimes hovering around 1089. Using precision, I have been steadily bumping it up, each time testing for a few minutes using Furmark. I got up to 1200Mhz when it started to crash, showing that various drivers having to do with OpenGL had crashed. I backed it down to 1185, +75 on the core. With the memory I was able to get +150, brinving it up to 3151Mhz. These numbers seem awfully low. Was it just the silicon lottery coming back and biting me in the ass? All the time the temperature was kept under 65 C, so what could be happening? I am pretty much convinced that this is just a poorly preforming chip, but would it be something that I can submit an RMA over?

 

[vmem]

1185 on the core isn't bad. note that tom's only got to a 1059mhz:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-670-test-review,3217-7.html

how much are you bumping up the voltage? if you look at the "tear down" picture in this review:
http://www.hitechlegion.com/reviews/graphics/17774-gigabyte-gtx-670-oc-video-card-review
you'll notice that the card doesn't have VRM heat-sinks. thus bumping up the voltage would quickly hit some thermal cap. preventing further overclocking

 

[irondoq]

I haven't touched the voltage, do you think that would help? And looking at Newegg's description of the card the default boost speed is 1058... so they suck at overclocking (jk)? I haven't reached any thermal limitations, but I will bump it up ever so slightly and see what kind of results I get. Thank you for reminding me that the voltage meter is there!

 

[irondoq]

Just got into it and I'm scared as to how much I should bumt the voltage. Stock is 988 and max is 1175. Is there a risk in just straight up jumping to 1175, as it was obviously capped there for a reason, correct?

 

[vmem]

it's capped at 1175 as a suggested maximum. you'll see many professional overclockers getting voltage unlocked cards and doing suicide runs on liquid nitrogen.

the voltage limits are there because upping the voltage speeds up the electrical degradation of your card. the two biggest enemies of modern electronics are heat and high current. the two, combined, slowly wear down your components through a slow natural process called electromigration. there are many manufacturing techniques implemented to prevent this type of degradation, but by upping the voltage, you're still speeding up the process.

this is why generally, for everyday use, it's recommended to not overclock or overclock at stock voltages. this is especially true for high-end cards such as your 670. if performance is satisfactory, what's the point of pushing it further? however, some will argue "what's the pointing of being careful so that your card lasts 10+ years?", which is also valid.

basically, up the voltage at your own risk. keep an eye on temperatures (generally anything under 80C is safe), and be reasonable. if you can hit 1200mhz at 1.000V, there's no point to push to 1.100V to get to 1250mhz. also, some cards will actually slow down when pushed to the very limit. so always run benchmarks and compare the performance of your overclocking results

 

[irondoq]

Good stuff. Seeing what the maximum is, but temps are still staying safe. I'm the kind of person who just wants the best performance possible, and as this card has a three year warranty, (I don't figure I'll have it that long), I might as well get the highest clocks I can. Benching using Heaven BTW. I'll post my results once the testing is done.

 

[vmem]

in that case, turn it up to 1.175V, overclock carefully and check with benchmarks. after you hit max clock, start LOWERING the voltage until you find the place it's unstable. and you have your top performance voltage there's no sense in burning higher and roasting the other components inside the case

 

[irondoq]

I think I just got a very poor preforming card. Even at 1.175v and maxed power target I cant break 1200Mhz. My kepler boost is a measly 41Ghz, where on multiple sites it was common to be in the 100-250 range. SAD FACE.

 

[vmem]

I think I just got a very poor preforming card. Even at 1.175v and maxed power target I cant break 1200Mhz. My kepler boost is a measly 41Ghz, where on multiple sites it was common to be in the 100-250 range. SAD FACE.

Well, it depends on your psu and mono as well. And don't be sad, your clocks are pretty high

 

[irondoq]

PSU is Antec High Current Pro 750w, Mobo is Gigabyte GA-Z68A-D3H-B3.

 

[irondoq]

Best answer selected by IronDoq.