4890 toxic maximum voltage

[Mrbumbum]

Hello,


I recently purchased a Sapphire 4870 toxic off of Newegg with the hopes of it hitting 1 GHz, unfortunately even with the stocked voltages on this card of 1.4 volts (which is already over-volted compared to reference 4890’s) it can only achieve 980mhz.

I can achieve the factory over-clocked settings of 960 core / 1050 mem with a lower voltage of 1.375v but any lower and It artifacts in ati tool.

I tested 1ghz with 1.45volts via rivatuner and it passed 70mins of testing with ati tool with no errors. Gpu temp maxed out at 75 c, and the VRM’s were 95-98 c. I was using Furmark with stock settings but I quickly uninstalled that program because the vrm’s were hitting 135 c on the default settings.

Is 1.45 volts to much? I think my temps appear fine but I’m not certain. I originally thought the gpu’s in the toxic / atomic versions were better then those in references, but I was sadly mistaken since they just upped the volts. I’m seeing people achieve 960 core on stock 1.31 something and 1ghz on 1.4 when I need 1.45. The only thing this card appears to have going for it is the vapor x cooler / blue pcb.

Any input would be most appreciated.

 

[me24940]

I have been looking at this card as well.

Looks like this reviewer was able to push it above the numbers you've indicated, but didn't mention voltages and looks like testing was for short duration just to see what could be done.
http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/sapphire_hd4890_atomic/3.htm

One of the things I was considering this card for is that it comes with heatsinc on the VRM's, as the 4870/4890 have problems with VRM's overheating and was hoping this heatsynch would help remedy the problem...... but I'm surprised to hear yours were reaching 135c! That is not good.

I'd be interested to hear if others are having similar problems with overclocking & VRM temps with the 4890 Toxic, and whether you've noticed this card push up temps in your case, CPU, etc. as it pushes most of its hot air into the case instead of out the back.

I'm either going to get the 4890 Toxic - depending on feedback on above issues...

....or the much cheaper option of a stock XFX 4890 with Akasa Vortexx Neo cooler and some Zalman RAM heatsynch's for the VRM's. At least then it will push most of the air out the back of the card/case.

 

[Mrbumbum]

Furmark is a godly program that heats the card like no other. 3 hours of crysis warhead and the vrm's only hit upper 80's, 8mins of furmark got the vrm's to 135c. As far as temps go for my other components they have remained unchanged, I have an antec 900 so I have more then enough airflow in and out of the case to make up for the lack of the gpu venting air out

Overall I'm happy with the card but if I could do it over again I think I would buy a reference one, or at least the cheaper vapor x card and up the voltage myself.

I also keep the card's fan on auto, which sits at 38% idle and goes to 43% underload, keeping the card at most 70-71c. The card is silent, but at higher fan speeds it sounds like a hairdryer. There is also a odd Whistling / scratching sound that comes from the card when ati tool runs and occasionaly occurs in a game.

 

[me24940]

After a wide search in the UK in mid June through early July, neither the 4890 Atomic or 4890 Toxic were anywhere to be found, not in the UK, US/Can, or France. Finally, I found a new Toxic on ebay in Germany, a GameStar edition which came with Battleforge. I was a bit worried ordering off ebay, but its now in my new system chugging along nicely.

Crysis all set to Very High and 8x Anti Aliasing is like playing a completely different game vs. my old Pentium 4 system which barely handled the low settings.

Just using ATI Control Center, I OC'd it further from 960Mhz to 1000Mhz, and memory from 1050Mhz to 1100Mhz. Didn't have to mess with the voltages at all. Not sure if it has further room, but seems a reasonable overclock to me. I jave only been using it for a day with this overclock, but tested with ATITool for 45mins without any issues and games are running smooth. Temps seem fine under load and VRM's didn't exceed high 80's, alhough putting your hand near the rear vents or front near the VRM heat synchs, you can feel the heat coming from it when running intensive 3D.

The fan is quieter than other fans in my system running on automatic about 38-43%, and my case fans are quite quiet themselves. I bought this card ultimately for quiet cooling and as far as the fan goes, it delivers. However, I was really dissapointed when running Crysis for the first time, the card squeeled a high pitch annoying sound. I'm assuming this is the same whistling sound Mrbumbum methioned. Over the course of a week, the sound is now occuring much less and it is not as loud, but still annoying at times. Jury's out on how big a noise problem this will be. I think it may be the voltage regulators; I don't know if its true, but read somehwere there can be a burning in period where the squeeling will be loud before lessening.

 

[doakwolf]

I'm also keen to know what voltages others are using for 1GHz OCs on the 4890. I have mine OCd to 1GHz @ 1.45v too (any less voltage results in artifacts). Max 75c-76c temp (Furmark stress test) so I'm happy with that. I'm just curious to know if others have managed such OCs with less voltage...?

Jero.