How far to push my EVGA gtx8800 overclock?

[netjack]

I have an hr-03 plus cooler installed on my Gigabyte P35-DS3, C2D E6850, 4x1gb Crucial Ballistix PC8500 (1066mhz), Corsair HX620 rig

Temps & Scores are as following:
Stock (575/900)
40C Idle
50C Load
3dmark 06 score - 10,824

Highest OC (670/1000)
51C Idle
68C Load
3dmark 06 score - 13,484

I used atitool and rivatuner. I just kept upping by 5mhz and never received any artifacts. The only reason I stopped at 670 was because I got bored and scared that I was pushing it too far. How do I know what is too far? I'm out of warranty and don't want to risk frying this card.

thx

 

[chizow]

Nice temps and OC

It looks like you have a very good after-market cooler on there and good case cooling, so I'd just keep an eye on your temps and go from there. Keep in mind, 3DMark isn't the best app to test load temps, the artifact tester in ATI Tool gives a better indication of high-end load temps. Certain games will stress the GPU more than others with as much as a 10C difference under load.

If you're worried about warranty and killing the card, it wouldn't hurt to back your OC down and drop your load temps into the 62-65C range. Just curious, what make is that GTX that its out of warranty? Or did you buy it second-hand with no warranty transfer?

 

[Fallen Kell]

It depends on your case, cooling, power supply, luck and if you can flush the $400 for a replacement card or not I think 670 is pretty up there... 650 is what most are pushing to at least on the original chips. You may in fact have an 8800 Ultra chip that didn't make full Ultra spec, and was binned as a GTX (especially if you only bought this in the last couple weeks).

 

[n7]

LOL @ 65C load range.

My 8800 GTX w/ fan @ 100% idles @ 80C due to my very hot apartment & not the best case airflow.

Play some games too...helps to see if it's really stable also.

 

[netjack]

to answer some questions posted above -

i bought it second hand, so no warranty

i used both the artifact ati tool and nvidia's monitor to monitor temps

i have antec p182 w/ 5 nexus case fans - so excellent cooling..also have ac on all the time

i played fear at 1900x1200 for some time..no issues

maybe i'll just bump it down to 650 :/

crappy thing is I can't seem to oc my e6850 pass 3.6ghz (noted in other threads started by me) so i'm sure I could get more out of this card if I could get more out of the processor

 

[MarcVenice]

My 8800gts idles at 60, if your load temps are 60 you're perfectly fine. Temps aren't all there is to it though. I'd put them at 650/1000 and be happy with it. You could try upping the shaderclock too btw, which helps quite a bit in games.

 

[netjack]

I must have missed that option, how do you adjust shaderclock?

 

[chizow]

Originally posted by: n7
LOL @ 65C load range.

My 8800 GTX w/ fan @ 100% idles @ 80C due to my very hot apartment & not the best case airflow.

Play some games too...helps to see if it's really stable also.

That might explain some of the problems you've been having with your GTX

But seriously, you guys are missing the point. He's already running a very aggressive OC with a top-of-the-line aftermarket cooler and getting load temps of 68C. He's worried about killing the card. Sure load temps in the 70-80C range are acceptable for most, but saying a stock clocked/cooled part at 70C is just as stable as a highly OC'd part at 70C is simply not true. Better to err on the side of caution, especially with no warranty to fall back on.

 

[chizow]

Originally posted by: netjack
I must have missed that option, how do you adjust shaderclock?

You don't have to, the shader core scales with the GPU. There's a few lists floating about that list the exact core/shader speeds for each increment/strap and you can check the actual speeds using various tools, including RivaTuner/ATItool.

 

[MarcVenice]

There's no such option, gotta flash the bios and what not. Google it, hehe. Haven't done it myself, someone else suggested it some time ago. It's a bit hardcore for me, but you might be interested ^^

 

[fire400]

do you know if you have to keep two cards at the same speed in SLI? or do they both OC at the same time?