expensivecomputer

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Good morning Forum,

I currently have a MSI 7970 OC at 1100/1575 via Catalyst Control Centre, and cannot go any further without crashing my games with "driver has stopped working". So i have a few questions in regards to overclocking as I'm an amateur in this field.

1. Does the card itself determine the overclocking capacity, or does the program determine/contribute to the overclocking capacity.
- Eg. Would using MSI Afterburner provide me with a better(or different) overclocking results than say using CCC
** My aim here is to determine if i can obtain a higher overclock than 1100/1575 using MSI Afterburner, or is 1100/1575 my maximum overclock

2. I've heard people mention about voltage tweaking and would like to know, how does that affect overclocking and when do you take the option to voltage tweak a card?
- As my current overclock has stagnated at 1100/1575, will voltage tweaking allow me to further overclock my card or is 1100/1575 my maximum?
** My aim here is again to determine if i can obtain a higher overclock than my currently max clock of 1100/1575.

I've seen on some reviews that they reach over 1300 core clock, i'm jealous and wonder if i can reach such a delicious clock.


Thanks.
 

deadjon

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Voltage tweaking will provide your Card with enough raw power to get to higher clocks. Usually anything over the 1125mhz speed on the 7970 is hard to get to with stock volts.
If the software is available (I beleive MSI Afterburner has a voltage tweak now) and your card is running cool enough then voltage tweaking is the way to reach those rediculous clocks.
I will warn you though, voltage tweaking needs to be controlled, and it needs to be researched prior to application. I suggest going up in increments of 5mv (0.005v) and see where you can get before you hit a wall with either instability or cooling.
 

joedjnpc

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As a side note did you set your power options to 20% + in Overdrive? I haven't touched the stock voltage yet but I can run stock voltage at max Overdrive settings with power set to 20%+, good luck.
 

expensivecomputer

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Thank you very much for your replies. I understand voltage tweaking has it's risk as with overclocking but i'd like to find out a bit more.

With standard overclocking, you raise your core clock about 15-20 increments, test for stability and monitor the temperature.

Now with voltage, is that similar? ie. raise it by x (or 0.005v) increment, then raise core clock by 15-20 then test for stability/temperature?
If it's stable at that voltage and core clock
1. Increase voltage by 0.005v
2. Increase core clock by 15-20
3. Monitor temperature
4. Run stability tests like furmark3d
5. If stable, repeat at step 2
6. Once max core clock reached at current voltage, go back to step 1.



Will increasing voltage (regardless of increasing the core clock further or not, at good temperatures ~50-60 degrees ) run the risk of damaging the card?
ie. im currently at stable 1100/1575 at stock voltage. Now if i increase the voltage by 0.005v and LEAVE it at 1100/1575 is there any increased risk of damaging my card if the temperature is still good (50-60 degrees)?
*** I'm just trying to determine danger of increasing voltage, i'm intending to increase core clock of course ***
 

expensivecomputer

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Yes i have enabled power to 20% from the outset. :D
 

expensivecomputer

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I've only been able to raise core clock to 1190 at 1.281 Volts, im a bit sad because i can reach 1090 core clock at stock (1.174 volts).

So playing with volts to 1.281 only yields an extra 100hz... :( Been seeing ppl with 1175hz on stock volts lol