Did I get a good chip?

[RockSmasher]

Hello people smarter than me,

I have an EVGA GTX 680 FTW+ 4gb. I have a stable overclock consisting of:

Power Target: 132%
GPU Clock Offset: 120mHz
Memory Offset: 500mHz
Temps @ 80% Fan Speed: 70-72c

Just wondering if this is a good o/c, or fairly average. In all the reading I have done, it seems that most people are getting only around 50-60mHz on core, and about the same memory. Thanks in advance.

 

[RockSmasher]

I should have clarified, the temp is at 99% GPU load.

 

[Sumukh_Bhagat]

It is good. I'm not a expert at this but I say keeping the temp at 70 is good.

But why are you OCing a GTX 680? Isn't it good enough at stock?

But you'll get to know if it is better only when you'll perform a benchmark at stock vs OC. So, perform a benchmark and share it here.

 

[DarkSable]

^It's better. The only reason to get a 680 over a 670 is to overclock, and even then, it's only better if the cooler is better.

EDIT: and if he shelled out the extra money for the 4GB version, then he's probably playing on three monitors. If he isn't, he fell for market hype, or the certain few people on here with enough idiocy to argue against all fact and tell people it gives them better framerates.

 

[RockSmasher]

Hmmm....results are...strange.

Default:

Temp: 63c @99% load
FPS: 158

O/C'd to OP specs:

Temp: 71c
FPS: 97

Using Precision X Furry-Tessy Donut.

Throttling? But why, temps are good.....

 

[RockSmasher]

Yeah Dark, I will be on 3 monitors as soon as I am on days off to get the other two monitors. Also, I don't see why people are so concerned with price on forums. If I didn't have the money, I probably wouldn't have bought a 680. Not saying you implied that, just saying.

 

[DarkSable]

Sounds to me like a driver issue, but that is odd.

The reason we're concerned about price is 1) that gamers are usually poor sons of bitches, and 2) if you can save a few bucks off your budget here and there, it can go to a more well rounded computer. (I mean, if we had an unlimited budget, I'd say get two 7970 Vapor X's... but since you do have a budget... *shrug* If you can afford it, but it's a waste of money, isn't it better to have the money in your pocket for, say, a gaming mouse, or new headphones? [Not saying it's a waste - it's not for you, but in most cases, it is.])

 

[RockSmasher]

Just ran Heaven 3.0, and results are more to what I would expect.

H3 settings:

DX: 11
Tesselation: Normal
Anisotropy: 16x
AA: 4x
Shaders: High
1920x1080 res

Stock card clocks:

FPS: 81.8
Score: 2060
Min FPS: 41.1
Max FPS: 185.2

O/C'd clocks:

FPS: 90.1
Score: 2262
Min FPS: 44.1
Max FPS: 204.6

Thanks for the replies and insight Dark, I appreciate it =)

 

[RockSmasher]

I should have included that I am running 310.54 beta drivers. FPS in BF3 according to FRAPS went from min: 54 to min: 61 switching from the 306.97 WHQL drivers. Granted, MP in BF3 is highly subjective when running a benchmark.

 

[DarkSable]

Then it sounds like one of your temp sensors is wonky - nothing to worry about.

 

[RockSmasher]

Right on. I just built this rig about 3 weeks ago, and I have been nothing but happy, so thanks for putting my mind at ease.

 

[DarkSable]

Of course, glad we could help. You've got a sexy overclock there, and unless it causes you troubles, I'd leave it.

 

[RockSmasher]

I am coming from an Alienware M17x that I bought 2 years ago, for a rediculous $5700, and this thing I built for $1800, including sick Razer Mamba mouse, Samsung SA650 24" monitor, Steel Series vhsavdghagd 3 mech keyboard, and Corsair Vengeance 2000 headset, would absolutely EAT the Alienware. A word of caution, Dell and Alienware's customer service and quality is fundamentaly broken, do NOT buy anything from them is the short version.

 

[DarkSable]

And that's why you don't buy alienware.

Just curious, do you use the mamba with the cord? It supposedly gives close to the performance of a wired mouse then, but I've always been curious about that.

Also, it's funny... a search for "Steel Series vhsavdghagd 3" doesn't turn up even a single model.

 

[RockSmasher]

Haha, yeah, whatever the *** the model is of this keyboard, it's a whole bunch of letters and numbers. I use the Mamba wireless (first wireless mouse btw) and absolutely LOVE it. Also, how in the *** did you get your GPU core to 1200 + mhz??

 

[RockSmasher]

I just upped mine by 150mHz, and it is stable in everything except Heaven 3.0, but that only brings me to 1136mHz. Have you tweaked voltages?

 

[RockSmasher]

Your memory latencies btw are rediculous. I cant go ANYTHING under 9-9-9-24 or no post or BSoD. I am at 1T though.

 

[DarkSable]

^Watercooling. It's a freaking beast.

Not only that, but I'm going to try to stuff that entire rig into a mini-ITX case. Just put up a thread asking for mod advice. (I'm thinking to keep the watercooling - there's room in the front of this case for a 200mm square rad, and a 240 up top.)

EDIT: That's what a good motherboard will getcha. I haven't ever been able to get 1T stable though.

 

[RockSmasher]

That's awesome man, if you shove all that gear into a mini ATX, I'd f()cking sh!t.

 

[DarkSable]

Haha, I actually seriously want to... either that or wait and actually plan it out when I upgrade in a couple years.

 

[RockSmasher]

See, with mine, 1T was no prob, as soon as I start f()cking with latencies....game over.

 

[DarkSable]

Mhmm. Overclocking works like that - I can't get my i5 over 4.4 without making the vcore skyrocket, but it's vcore is low enough it probably shouldn't even boot at 4.4. Go figure.

 

[RockSmasher]

Whereas mine, I was running at 4.2 on stock air, put on h80i, moved multiplier to 45, ran Prime95 for 4 hours. Max temp was 66c. Maybe I lucked out, maybe temp sensors are totally f()cked, either way, don't really care, cause I'm happy. If it burns up, I'll get a 2011 MB, and an i7 3970x.

 

[RockSmasher]

I do think I have to upgrade my PSU though. The guy at Memory Express sold me a Thermaltake TRX 750 R2 or some sh!t, and I want to get a Seasonic or Corsair, cause everything I've heard about Thermaltake PSUs has not been very good.

 

[DarkSable]

Ohh, yeah, that's probably a good idea. I haven't seen a thermaltake power supply in god knows how long.

I'd avoid the extreme CPU, by the way. That chip is $600 more expensive than the lga1155 i7, and gets beat in a few benchmarks, with only marginal performance gains when it doesn't get beat.