xfx 5870 OC begins

[Shmee]

I just got my 5870 recently, (ya, kinda a late adopter) and I was wondering what OC programs I should use. It is an xfx. Will that work with MSI afterburner? is this still the tool of choice for voltage tweaks? I understand that the basic OC happens in CCC, and afterburner is used for voltages.

Any other advice? Is it safe to leave the fan on auto, or should I up it manually?

This is my first ATI card in several years. Last one was an x1650. I already used driver sweeper and uninstalled the nvidia drivers. I ran OCCT gpu on the 5870 at stock, and things went fine, I got to see the temps go up and hear the fan go from 20% to 40%. Seems loud as the GTX 260 fan at 100% almost

Thanks.

 

[Termie]

Based on my experience with an XFX 5850, I think you'll need to use AMD GPU Tool to overclock past the CCC limits, which are relatively low. MSI Afterburner is not able to override these limits. Afterburner does allow voltage changes, although I don't think you'll need more voltage just to hit the CCC limits. Also, voltage tweaks aren't available on the newer cards with non-standard boards/coolers.

 

[Shmee]

Based on my experience with an XFX 5850, I think you'll need to use AMD GPU Tool to overclock past the CCC limits, which are relatively low. MSI Afterburner is not able to override these limits. Afterburner does allow voltage changes, although I don't think you'll need more voltage just to hit the CCC limits. Also, voltage tweaks aren't available on the newer cards with non-standard boards/coolers.

mine is reference, I made sure of that

So AMD GPU tool is a separate program from the CCC overdrive? Interesting.

Thanks, looks like I will be using that and MSI Afterburner.

 

[Termie]

Here's the link: http://www.techpowerup.com/downloads/1128/AMD_GPU_Clock_Tool_v0.9.8.html

I use it in combination with Afterburner, which provides voltage adjustment, GPU usage, and temperature.

Have fun!

 

[dug777]

Based on my experience with an XFX 5850, I think you'll need to use AMD GPU Tool to overclock past the CCC limits, which are relatively low. MSI Afterburner is not able to override these limits. Afterburner does allow voltage changes, although I don't think you'll need more voltage just to hit the CCC limits. Also, voltage tweaks aren't available on the newer cards with non-standard boards/coolers.

Using afterburner I had no worries bypassing the CCC limits on my XFX 5850 (Black edition). Voltage bump works fine too, had it up to 950 core without going past 1.2v but was using furmark at the same time and while my core temps were fine, my VRM temps were scary Real world doesn't come close to those temps however.

Here's the trick:

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?p=1035336810

See last post.

 

[MrK6]

Here's the trick:

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?p=1035336810

See last post.

Ironically, I posted the same advice in that thread and I'll post it here too: Find your stable, safe overclock and then flash your BIOS with them. Actually, I'd recommend using an unlocked 5870 BIOS for testing your maximum clocks, and then edit said unlocked BIOS with your desired clocks and flash again. It's nowhere near as difficult or "scary" as some make it out to be, and it's simply awesome to boot up your PC with everything ready to go and controlled only by the driver, especially if you're like me and like a really clean setup.

Anyway, ask any questions if you want help doing this.

 

[Shmee]

hey, so I found I got a nice stable point at 1.225 V and 950 core, with memory still at 1250. (is an xxx edition)

What tool should I use for editing the bios? The MSI afterburner didn't work as smoothly as I would like, what with the limits and downclocking problems.

 

[Grooveriding]

hey, so I found I got a nice stable point at 1.225 V and 950 core, with memory still at 1250. (is an xxx edition)

What tool should I use for editing the bios? The MSI afterburner didn't work as smoothly as I would like, what with the limits and downclocking problems.

I used RBE for mine.

http://www.techpowerup.com/rbe/

 

[Shmee]

well, I got it working at 950 core now @ 1.225 V. I had to uninstall the 10.4 drivers cuz i had enabled overdrive, but it gave me a chance to install 10.5.

Next phase will be pushing a bit further, and upping memory as well.

A few questions though: I assume VDDC is the GPU vcore voltage, so the VDDCI must be the memory voltage? Wanted to make sure, that is what GPUZ displays, but it doesn't really explain it.