Is there a way to safely overclock a graphics card?

[Legolas8181]

As I understand it, overclocking anything is making it work harder and faster than it was designed to go. Therefore, overclcoking something at all has the potential to make the hardare literally blow up or catch fire. So is there a way to make a GTX 1080 work a bit harder safely?

 

[Atomicdonut17]

Yes, completely. What brand is your card? Just about every card, if not EVERY card, has a corresponding software (Like Zotac's FireStorm) that gives you desktop options to safely and effectively overclock a card. However, there's still limitations. Boosting the clock will make it work harder, and thus perform better, but will increase the temps. Every card has a basic cooling solution, and these solutions can usually handle a pretty modest amount of OCing before it requires something beefier. That's usually where the 'novice' stops. However, many people like to take off the store-bought cooling solutions and use water blocks, to more safely crank up the OC and get low temps all the same.

Case and point, yes you can.

 

[Legolas8181]

Yes, completely. What brand is your card? Just about every card, if not EVERY card, has a corresponding software (Like Zotac's FireStorm) that gives you desktop options to safely and effectively overclock a card. However, there's still limitations. Boosting the clock will make it work harder, and thus perform better, but will increase the temps. Every card has a basic cooling solution, and these solutions can usually handle a pretty modest amount of OCing before it requires something beefier. That's usually where the 'novice' stops. However, many people like to take off the store-bought cooling solutions and use water blocks, to more safely crank up the OC and get low temps all the same.

Case and point, yes you can.

So am absolutely fine to overclock the card a little if I dont mind the fans getting louder but beyond a little bit, not so much?

 

[dark_lord69]

"literally blow up or catch fire."
Unlikely. Typically what people experience is that their hardware just begins to malfunction (If they push it too hard and/or don't have adequate cooling.)

"a way to make a GTX 1080 work a bit harder safely?"
The more modest your overclock is, the safer it is. Do a google search for others that have overclocked the card you have to get an idea of what may be a reasonable overclock range. Look at that range and pick a spot near the lowest overclocks that people have done.

Hypothetical Example: 1 Ghz GPU
Lets say you google that example above and most people say they are overclocking it to 1050 to 1175.
Just choose the 1050MHz overclock to be SAFER but keep in mind no overclock is a safe overclock unless it's done by the manufacturer. Speaking of which checking to see what manufacturers have overclock that chip up to might help you as well.

 

[Legolas8181]

Yes, completely. What brand is your card? Just about every card, if not EVERY card, has a corresponding software (Like Zotac's FireStorm) that gives you desktop options to safely and effectively overclock a card. However, there's still limitations. Boosting the clock will make it work harder, and thus perform better, but will increase the temps. Every card has a basic cooling solution, and these solutions can usually handle a pretty modest amount of OCing before it requires something beefier. That's usually where the 'novice' stops. However, many people like to take off the store-bought cooling solutions and use water blocks, to more safely crank up the OC and get low temps all the same.

Case and point, yes you can.

Oh and the card is by nVidia themselves. Through Alienware

 

[TJ Hooker]

No, your card isn't going to blow up or catch fire from overclocking. If you overclock your card hard (overvolting as well), you risk reducing it's lifespan, but it will probably still last for years. If you're really concerned about negatively affecting your cards longevity, don't increase voltage and make sure temps stay under 80 C.