Best software for overclocking Nvidia Graphics Cards???

[euphoria4949]

Hi everybody,

Just a quick question to ask your opinions on what software/utility is best for overclocking Nvidia GTX GPU's???
I have a ASUS GTX 690 and I want to OC it a bit, nothing major. The card came with ASUS GPU tweaker but I read that MSI Afterburner was pretty good as well as EVGA Precision.

But what do you guys think, and what really is a safe, stable and decent OC for a 690 with out voltage changes???

Thanks =)

 

[morne]

Asus has smart doctor for beginner overclockers also has a function to allow the GPU to overclock itself, called hyper drive, set to 3d game mode and set the max it should boost, try not to do more than 30mhz.
Afterburner is ok, used it a few time's also there is a Riva tuner, very good program but i fried my 9600GSO on that so don't recommend it.

 

[ubercake]

First, why do you feel a need to OC your 690???

If I were you, I'd download both EVGA Precision X and MSI Afterburner. Try them both and keep the one you like better. They are both solid products and use the Riva Tuner backend so it's a matter of which interface you like better. I've been using the Precision X software simply to change the fan profile on my cards to keep them cooler. It works well for my purposes.

 

[darth pravus]

+1 for EVGA precision or MSI afterburner. Used both of them and they both get the job done. I prefer EVGA for kepler and MSI for non but thats just my preference of interfaces.

 

[refillable]

I always use MSI Afterburner to OC my nvidia and there is not a single problem until now . For a little OC, I would recommend 950/1650.

 

[euphoria4949]

I always use MSI Afterburner to OC my nvidia and there is not a single problem until now . For a little OC, I would recommend 950/1650.

Ok, thank you guys for your advice. I have downloaded MSI Afterburner and I'm playing around with it now. But one thing, as I'm a GPU overclocking n00b when I've increased the memory clock, so far up by 352Mhz then run 3DMark 11, the increase in memory shows up going from 3000Mhz to 3500Mhz, but the increase in core clock doesn't show 3DMark still shows 705Mhz???
So do I need to increase the core voltage or the power limit???

 

[darth pravus]

use the overlay to monitor your actual core clock.

3dMark isn't very good at showing keplers core clocks. My gtx 670 only shows 354mhz but it actually clocks at 1250

 

[euphoria4949]

Right ok I see. I've downloaded GPU Z and now I can instantly see the changes in memory and core clocks.

I have increased the memory from 1500Mhz to 1650Mhz and the core from 915Mhz to 1015Mhz with no increase in voltage or power limit.
But how does that sound???
Oh I almost forgot, I have no shader clock on my MSI AB, has that been removed or do I need to enable it???

 

[ubercake]

No specific shader clock exists on the 600 series as the shader function is handled by the cuda cores rather than shader-specific processors the Nvidia cards used in previous generations.

So you're affecting the shader processing by increasing the core clock though this won't show up separately.

 

[euphoria4949]

No specific shader clock exists on the 600 series as the shader function is handled by the cuda cores rather than shader-specific processors the Nvidia cards used in previous generations.

So you're affecting the shader processing by increasing the core clock though this won't show up separately.

Gotcha, thanks.

Ok, so I have run 3DMark with it OC'ed at GPU clock @ 1015Mhz - Boost @ 1120Mhz and memory @ 1650Mhz and it ran fine with Max temps of 65c and increased the 3DMark score by around 450 points.

So........ (Sorry for the n00b/idiot question) could I push the core clock up another 100Mhz and maybe the memory by 100 as well or am I risking damaging it, or would I simply need to increase the voltage???

 

[darth pravus]

You don't actually have any voltage control on kepler cards. It is locked. I would not bother overclocking your memory and seeing how far you can take your core clock.

That is where the biggest gains are.

 

[euphoria4949]

Ok thanks. Well I am slightly increasing the core clock and running it again but I just noticed one thing and as a n00b it worried me. The GPU power % reached 133%, is that normal to be over 100%??? I haven't increased the voltage or power limit.

 

[darth pravus]

I shouldn't go over if you haven't increased the percent.

It is very difficult to damage these cards as they have a locked voltage and are built for longevity.

You might as well but the power target on max to get the most out of it.

 

[euphoria4949]

I shouldn't go over if you haven't increased the percent.

It is very difficult to damage these cards as they have a locked voltage and are built for longevity.

You might as well but the power target on max to get the most out of it.

Yeah that's what I've done, I was reading some info on OC a 690, how to and what to expect so I'm gonna leave it as it is as I'm pretty happy with what I've managed for my 1st GPU OC =)

Currently:
Core Clock @ 1105Mhz
Boost Clock @ 1210Mhz
Memory @ 1752Mhz

Thanks everyone for your help, I really appreciate it

 

[darth pravus]

Thats a very good boost for a 690. What temps?

Have fun with your card

 

[euphoria4949]

Thats a very good boost for a 690. What temps?

Have fun with your card

Just ran 3Dmark a couple of times and at that OC the temps max out @ 66c with the GPU fan @ 68% and case fans @ 40%.

Thanks, I am definitely going to have fun =D

 

[ubercake]

That's a great OC with temps staying low.

Why have I been hearing all this chatter about not being able to OC the Nvidia cards in other threads? Must be some ignorance out there.

 

[euphoria4949]

Best answer selected by euphoria4949.