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Is overclocking graphics cards worthwhile anymore?

Comdrpopnfresh

Comdrpopnfresh

Golden Member
Is overclocking the latest generation graphics cards worthwhile to gain any real performance? Is there any higher risk?

Also, a question on the side... If I install my 1gb gfx card when it gets here, on my system with 1gb ram installed... will I even be able to play any games? Does the system memory become reserved for gfx memory?
 
Originally posted by: Comdrpopnfresh
Is overclocking the latest generation graphics cards worthwhile to gain any real performance? Is there any higher risk?

Also, a question on the side... If I install my 1gb gfx card when it gets here, on my system with 1gb ram installed... will I even be able to play any games? Does the system memory become reserved for gfx memory?
Click to expand...

Yes, you do get real world performance.

No, the system memory does not get reserved for the video card - the 1gb of memory is on the card itself.

 
I never really saw a point in overclocking video cards. Ok, so you get an extra 5-10 frames on top of the 60 you got before, whats the big point? Now if you are getting below 60fps then overclocking may yield some worthwhile results but If I was at that point I would just buy a new video card if I needed a large increase in performance.

Overclocking does help out with Folding though from what I have learned.
 
from the review sites I've seen comparing GPU & vid memory overclocks against stock, there isn't a very significant boost in performance

CPU overclocking on the otherhand generally produces noticeable gains
 
i have tried to overclock my 2 x 9800gtx for quite some time now. i found out that if u play mario and luigi or something similar you can achieve an outstanding overclock, even 50%. but if you are in to real graphics like crysis and crysis warhead you will notice that even 5% overclock is not achievable. since the game is pushing hard on the vga.

this is my case anyways. i hope others had better luck

-------------------------------------------------------

q6600@3.1Ghz aircool
nforce780sli
2 x 9800gtx
4gb pc6400 corsair@800mhz

 
thanks for all the replies! I guess I'll wait and see what stock framerates I get before overclocking. With the 4870 1gb and a 22" widescreen with 1680x1050 resolution, I'm hoping they'll be just fine in css, l4d, fallout3, and farcry 2, and half-life (2.1, 2.2). Besides the gigantic increase in computing horsepower from my current 7600gt, will the 1gb of memory on the 4870 give me better performance, with having such a low amount of system memory? I'm inclined to think the meager 256mb of graphics ram on my 7600gt is making the card grab ahold of some of the system memory; and with 1gb, I don't have much to spare.
 
Oh- what about overclocking the gddr5 on my new card? I read a slight increase to it'll fry the card- is this true? What's the multiplication factor on gddr5; 4x(base clock)? If it comes w/ a stock memory speed of 4x900mhz=3.6ghz, what range of useful, yet safe, speeds would I have for a memory overclock?
 
Originally posted by: Comdrpopnfresh
thanks for all the replies! I guess I'll wait and see what stock framerates I get before overclocking. With the 4870 1gb and a 22" widescreen with 1680x1050 resolution, I'm hoping they'll be just fine in css, l4d, fallout3, and farcry 2, and half-life (2.1, 2.2). Besides the gigantic increase in computing horsepower from my current 7600gt, will the 1gb of memory on the 4870 give me better performance, with having such a low amount of system memory? I'm inclined to think the meager 256mb of graphics ram on my 7600gt is making the card grab ahold of some of the system memory; and with 1gb, I don't have much to spare.
Click to expand...

why are you buying a high end graphics card when you only have 1gb of system ram? better yet why has NOBODY else said anything about this since you even mentioned that in your op? video card advice and suggestions are useless if the rest of your pc isnt up to snuff.

you wont be playing any modern games with 1gb of system ram. to be honest 2 gigs doesnt even cut on Vista in couple of newer games. order you a 2gb kit right now and add it to your system.
 
First off if you have 1 gig of memory you should be upgrading your ram. 1 gig is not enough for games today. 2gigs for XP and 2+ gigs for vista should be mandatory. If you have 1gig of vram it will not eat your 1gb of system memory. It will share system memory if it's needed but highly unlikely.

Crysis Benchmark on my 8800gs overclocking results

As you can see it can have huge improvements. 25-30% gains. It really depends on the card, games and CPU.

Risk? If you keep the heat down and use a nice power supply to feed it you won't have any problems. Some companies even cover overclocking in their warranty.

Card like 4870 is not much of an overclocker. The gains are minimal at best because it has less TMU and ROP which equates to less gains when overclocked. They aren't known for their overclock ability either.
 
Thanks for the concern over my ram situation. I was just issued a fairly nice rma store credit by crucial- I'll be ditching my current 667mhz value ram (overclocked to 920mhz) for 8gb of ballistix tracer ddr2-800, and setting it to the epp of 1000mhz promptly. I just need to find time to 1) look up crucial's store phone # and 2) place my order. Finals week is a b*tch and then some- trying to look forward to a long overdue completion of my computer in all realms.
Is asus's dark knight 4870 1gb good? I couldn't find any reviews online... I did read from comments on newegg, and reviews of asus's 9800gtx+ and 4870/512 w/ the same cooling it is much cooler + quieter than the stock ATI cooler... though it doesn't exhaust directly out the second slot... but my case (antec 300) should be up to the task of clearing the heat out before it can affect other components.
 
Originally posted by: Comdrpopnfresh
Thanks for the concern over my ram situation. I was just issued a fairly nice rma store credit by crucial- I'll be ditching my current 667mhz value ram (overclocked to 920mhz) for 8gb of ballistix tracer ddr2-800, and setting it to the epp of 1000mhz promptly. I just need to find time to 1) look up crucial's store phone # and 2) place my order. Finals week is a b*tch and then some- trying to look forward to a long overdue completion of my computer in all realms.
Is asus's dark knight 4870 1gb good? I couldn't find any reviews online... I did read from comments on newegg, and reviews of asus's 9800gtx+ and 4870/512 w/ the same cooling it is much cooler + quieter than the stock ATI cooler... though it doesn't exhaust directly out the second slot... but my case (antec 300) should be up to the task of clearing the heat out before it can affect other components.
Click to expand...

from not enough ram to overkill? lol. you have Vista 32bit so thats going to be 5gigs down the drain unless you upgrade to 64bit.
 
Originally posted by: toyota
Originally posted by: Comdrpopnfresh
Thanks for the concern over my ram situation. I was just issued a fairly nice rma store credit by crucial- I'll be ditching my current 667mhz value ram (overclocked to 920mhz) for 8gb of ballistix tracer ddr2-800, and setting it to the epp of 1000mhz promptly. I just need to find time to 1) look up crucial's store phone # and 2) place my order. Finals week is a b*tch and then some- trying to look forward to a long overdue completion of my computer in all realms.
Is asus's dark knight 4870 1gb good? I couldn't find any reviews online... I did read from comments on newegg, and reviews of asus's 9800gtx+ and 4870/512 w/ the same cooling it is much cooler + quieter than the stock ATI cooler... though it doesn't exhaust directly out the second slot... but my case (antec 300) should be up to the task of clearing the heat out before it can affect other components.
Click to expand...

from not enough ram to overkill? lol. you have Vista 32bit so thats going to be 5gigs down the drain unless you upgrade to 64bit.
Click to expand...

Yup. I only recently upgraded from 1gb to 2gb. Has been nice(ish) as I don't Game as much as I used to, so I don't notice a huge improvement that way, but my whole system is noticeably snappier.
 
Originally posted by: Andrew1990
I never really saw a point in overclocking video cards. Ok, so you get an extra 5-10 frames on top of the 60 you got before, whats the big point? Now if you are getting below 60fps then overclocking may yield some worthwhile results but If I was at that point I would just buy a new video card if I needed a large increase in performance.

Overclocking does help out with Folding though from what I have learned.
Click to expand...

If you encounter a game that is "just" borderline playable, dipping into sub 30 framerates with heavy action and you find it renders the game unenjoyable, then overclocking might help.
It could raise minimum framerates to the point where it doesn't effect the gameplay as much as it did. So, yes. I think there is some merit to o/cing GPU's in a case like that. And also for bragging rights!! 🙂
 
that's exactly what happened to me with mass effect, had some framerate problems here and there that disappeared after i've overclocked my vid card
 
Originally posted by: toyota

from not enough ram to overkill? lol. you have Vista 32bit so thats going to be 5gigs down the drain unless you upgrade to 64bit.
Click to expand...

Working on that too. lol. Hopefully everything falls together in just the right way. I might even update my cpu to an E8400 depending on how cheap gas is when I'm set to go home. I'm sure double the cache should help everything too. I'm really hoping, above everything else, that when I quench my system's thirst for ram, put in this graphics card (w/ some supposed shield that blocks 66% of emi), do a fresh OS install, and maybe boost SB voltage a bit, that my x-fi chooses to wake up on the right side of the bed
 
Originally posted by: toyota
Originally posted by: Comdrpopnfresh
Thanks for the concern over my ram situation. I was just issued a fairly nice rma store credit by crucial- I'll be ditching my current 667mhz value ram (overclocked to 920mhz) for 8gb of ballistix tracer ddr2-800, and setting it to the epp of 1000mhz promptly. I just need to find time to 1) look up crucial's store phone # and 2) place my order. Finals week is a b*tch and then some- trying to look forward to a long overdue completion of my computer in all realms.
Is asus's dark knight 4870 1gb good? I couldn't find any reviews online... I did read from comments on newegg, and reviews of asus's 9800gtx+ and 4870/512 w/ the same cooling it is much cooler + quieter than the stock ATI cooler... though it doesn't exhaust directly out the second slot... but my case (antec 300) should be up to the task of clearing the heat out before it can affect other components.
Click to expand...

from not enough ram to overkill? lol. you have Vista 32bit so thats going to be 5gigs down the drain unless you upgrade to 64bit.
Click to expand...

For as cheap as memory is, it certainly doesn't hurt to get 8GB. He might decide to run another OS that can use it, 64-bit OS are not the only way to utilize it.
 
Originally posted by: Comdrpopnfresh
Thanks for the concern over my ram situation. I was just issued a fairly nice rma store credit by crucial- I'll be ditching my current 667mhz value ram (overclocked to 920mhz) for 8gb of ballistix tracer ddr2-800, and setting it to the epp of 1000mhz promptly. I just need to find time to 1) look up crucial's store phone # and 2) place my order. Finals week is a b*tch and then some- trying to look forward to a long overdue completion of my computer in all realms.
Click to expand...
Don't buy RAM from the manufacturer...ever. Here, try this... $9.50 AR shipped for 2gigs:

2x1gb Corsair Dominator PC2-8500 @ Zipzoomfly.com
 
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