OC a 6800 GT--how to for a total technoidiot

[xbird]

HI;
New to the forums here. i'm pretty much lost when it comes to a lot of the terminology etc dealing with working on computers. i understand what overclocking is and was wondering just how do i go about it, and how much i should push it. i have an hp pav a350n--p4, 1 gig (original 512 plus kingston 512 hypercard) 256 meg 6800 gt agp 8x/4x and truepower 2.0 430 watt suppply. i'm looking to get the best performance out of this setup for battlefield 2 and forgotten hope//fh2 when it comes out. right now i can't run the game at higher settings or it lags out big time, and that's with everything shut down in hte background incl antiv and firewalls. i'd appreciate any suggestions and would need basic step by step handholding as half of what i've read on here is miles over my head. ty.

 

[theMan]

just download a program called NVTweak. check all the overclocking boxes. then, go into the nvidia utility by right clicking the desktop>properties>settings>advanced>nvidia 6800gt. then, go to Clock Frequency Settings, and set it to manual overclocking. select find optimal frequencies. it will take a bit. usually, this is your Max overclock. i dont go any higher. run some benchmarks, if you get artifacts, or the card gets too hot, reduce the speed.

 

[xbird]

ty for the reply, i'll give it a try in the next couple days and let you know how i make out.

 

[calculusz]

You could also try CoolBits.

 

[coomar]

coolbits and rivatuner

 

[CraKaJaX]

Originally posted by: theman
just download a program called NVTweak. check all the overclocking boxes. then, go into the nvidia utility by right clicking the desktop>properties>settings>advanced>nvidia 6800gt. then, go to Clock Frequency Settings, and set it to manual overclocking. select find optimal frequencies. it will take a bit. usually, this is your Max overclock. i dont go any higher. run some benchmarks, if you get artifacts, or the card gets too hot, reduce the speed.

pretty simple imo

 

[xbird]

well, i took the time to use nvtweak. like the fact that you've gotta sign off on warranty basically--lol. took me a bit to figure out that you have to go from 2d std to 3d performance in order to get the detect optimal button. other than that ez. ty. should i run with fan always on now? also, what are artifacts? for me they're stone usually spear points, scrapers and knives i pick up in plowed fields. ;~)

 

[Bona Fide]

Originally posted by: xbird
well, i took the time to use nvtweak. like the fact that you've gotta sign off on warranty basically--lol. took me a bit to figure out that you have to go from 2d std to 3d performance in order to get the detect optimal button. other than that ez. ty. should i run with fan always on now? also, what are artifacts? for me they're stone usually spear points, scrapers and knives i pick up in plowed fields. ;~)

Artifacts are like these huge jagged things that just come up on the screen and are really messed up. You'll know an artifact when you see it. They're usually a sign of instability, overheating, or a dying video card.

 

[theMan]

yeah, usually its like a green spot or flash.