what do I use for overclocking the dual-x 7970?

[tornadog]

I downloaded the latest version of trixx, but it has no monitoring. Is it better to try afterburner or gpu tweak? Whats a safe o/c to start with @ 1.25V

Also is there a advanced view for trixx, because I see only 1 voltage control..

 

[blastingcap]

I don't think you can control memory voltage with the Dual-X cards, only with specialized ones like MSI Power.

You can use Afterburner (latest version), or TRIXX + GPU-z since GPU-z in monitoring mode gives you graphs similar to MSI Afterburner.

Safe oc varies but I would tread with caution, like 1150MHz, then go up in 20MHz bunches until your stress testing fails, then back down by 20Mhz.

 

[tornadog]

ok I started at 1200/1600 1.175V and ran the heaven benchmark, no artifacts, temps did go upto 78 C, score 21xx, then ran 3dmark 11 and score was 9730.

 

[lopri]

Quick question about that card: Does it use AMD-built PCB? (There should be "AMD" logo and letters at the bottom of the card near PCI-e connecter )

 

[tornadog]

i dont see an AMD logo or lettering on the pcb

 

[lopri]

OK thank you.

 

[(sic)Klown12]

Quick question about that card: Does it use AMD-built PCB? (There should be "AMD" logo and letters at the bottom of the card near PCI-e connecter )

Reference PCB, but with a normally empty power phase filled.


As for a overclocking tool, I use Afterburner. Trixx was always buggy for me, much like Asus's tools. It also doesn't allow you to mess with memory voltage unlike AB. For voltage, I don't feel safe going over 1.2v, but 1.25v should be OK if you manually create a more aggressive fan curve. Memory should be OK up to 1.65v or so.

 

[Tempered81]

you can control memory voltage, press the triangle next to core voltage slider in afterburner.

Use -rcl and -xcl command line parameters to launch afterburner, and reboot. Afterburner.exe -rcl, afterburner.exe -xcl or afterburner.exe /xcl

Reset clock limits, and extend clock limits.

Your limits will be 1300mv vddc and 1750mv mvddc. The asus bios and GPUtweak will give you 1400mv vddc, but it's not really needed, and could cause problems flashed onto a dual x. An older version of afterburner, or a msi bios might be needed for mvddc control

Your clock goal imo should be 1300mhz core 1900mhz memory with 100% fan and less than 75C. or 1400/2000 on water.

Depending on the quality of your board and asic, you might end up as low as 1100/1500, or as high as 1350/2000. Good luck.

 

[Tempered81]

Does your card make coil whine? 1200/1600 is a good start mate!

I'm not sure about that asus bios flash being successful on the dual x oc board, but with the dual switch, you cant lose

Go for the asus top for increased voltage limits, and tighter mem timings. Based on XS oc thread, there are reports that the asus bios doesnt give you any meaningful overclocks even with the capability to get 1400mv.

you'll probably be okay with 1300

 

[Don Karnage]

ok I started at 1200/1600 1.175V and ran the heaven benchmark, no artifacts, temps did go upto 78 C, score 21xx, then ran 3dmark 11 and score was 9730.

Can you post a link to those 3dmark results? Score is super low

 

[lopri]

@(sic)Klown: Are you suggesting that Sapphire's 7970 is actually better built than AMD's reference 7970?

When I was looking (an am still looking) I looked for AMD-built 7970 with a better custom cooler because I couldn't trust any of the 3rd party PCBs. Even ASUS' attempt at its own design apparently wasn't too successful. Only Gigabyte 7970 had AMD-built PCB + custom cooler which is widely applauded here.

When I was looking at 670 (and am still looking), I looked for 680 PCB with a better custom cooler. (no way I'm getting that half-assed PCB with plastic cooler glued on) ASUS seemed to have gotten it right with 670 in its own design, so I took that one into consideration as well.

 

[tornadog]

Can you post a link to those 3dmark results? Score is super low

this is at 1225/1700 stock voltage

http://3dmark.com/3dm11/3586627

I checked the 3dmark scores, and for the same cpu and gpu, mine is the third best score on the site. The highest was 10700. One thing I find strange is my card is only reporting 1024MB VRAM while the other cards are reporting 3072MB VRam

 

[(sic)Klown12]

@(sic)Klown: Are you suggesting that Sapphire's 7970 is actually better built than AMD's reference 7970?

It will have slightly better power delivery. Means power usage should be a little lower, and all other things being equal that could help it overclock better due to more stable power delivery. But how much it actually helps in the real world is probably negligible.

 

[Don Karnage]

this is at 1225/1700 stock voltage

http://3dmark.com/3dm11/3586627

I checked the 3dmark scores, and for the same cpu and gpu, mine is the third best score on the site. The highest was 10700. One thing I find strange is my card is only reporting 1024MB VRAM while the other cards are reporting 3072MB VRam

I actually read the title as dual 7970s and not just a single

 

[Elfear]

Does your card make coil whine? 1200/1600 is a good start mate!

I'm not sure about that asus bios flash being successful on the dual x oc board, but with the dual switch, you cant lose

Go for the asus top for increased voltage limits, and tighter mem timings. Based on XS oc thread, there are reports that the asus bios doesnt give you any meaningful overclocks even with the capability to get 1400mv.

you'll probably be okay with 1300

Do you know if the issue with Powertune has been fixed using GPU Tweak? Months ago when I flashed my card with the Asus bios, I couldn't get Powertune to work when GPU Tweak was running. So the 1.4V was wasted since I couldn't go above 0% on Powertune.

 

[Tempered81]

Not sure about powertune

 

[tornadog]

ok 10K in 3DMark11 at 1267/1700 and 1.25V, hot as hell though. Dont think it can run 24/7 at that values.

 

[Don Karnage]

ok 10K in 3DMark11 at 1267/1700 and 1.25V, hot as hell though. Dont think it can run 24/7 at that values.

Whats the Graphics score?

 

[Tempered81]

ok 10K in 3DMark11 at 1267/1700 and 1.25V, hot as hell though. Dont think it can run 24/7 at that values.

how hot is hot as hell? post some screenshots mate
hwinfo64

 

[tornadog]

whats the graphics score?

10687

how hot is hot as hell? post some screenshots mate
hwinfo64

I was running gpu-z in the background with logging turned on and I saw the temps hit 84 degrees in one of the tests. At 1200/1600 on Heaven, it hit a max of 78 degrees

 

[Tempered81]

What was the fan speed when it hit those temperatures?

 

[tornadog]

80%

 

[Tempered81]

1267 / 1700 @ 1250mv core @ 80% fan, 78-84C. Very good results for a decent card. You have the 3rd fastest 3dMark score for your CPU/GPU - must be nice!

What's the memory voltage and VRM temps? Do you plan to push to 1300-1400mv @ 1300mhz and increase mem voltage?

 

[Tempered81]

Actually, that seems hot for that Dual-X cooler... 1250mv @ 80%, have you tried changing TIM/reseating and/or tightening the cooler? A bump in memory voltage should get you to ~1900

 

[lopri]

Very nice, tornadog. 1250/1700 without changing voltage is pretty amazing and if I had such a guarantee I'd pick one up right away. How do you like the card so far? Do you happen to have played The Witcher 2?