First time overclocking questions

[DragonAltair]

So I don't have the money to buy all the components to make to pc I want to build for a while. I also don't want to build a budget computer for now because I'd like to put everything towards just getting a decent higher end pc.

But right now I have a prebuilt gateway dx4300-21 system with an amd phenom II x4 820. (says on the sticker it's suppossed to be an 810 so guess I'm lucky) and an ati radeon hd 5750. I believe it's the reference card (dual slot with 1 fan) and i also believe it says amd ati radeon hd 5750 but I don't know if that matters. Basically eveything on the system is stock except I took the entire computer out of it's case and put it in a rosewill thor v2. (this is the case I was going to build the next one in) I also switched out the psu for one I took out from another newer intel pc. The psu has a max output of 430W


Sorry if this seems long and useless by now but I'm trying to provide all thr info I can.

I am currently in the process of seeing if my first time overclocking using this gpu is successful. I've been running heaven 4 in fullscreen on ultra with 4xAA @1920x1080. It's passed benchmark and has been just running for the last 45 minutes so I have a bit to go to see if it's stable.
OC'd though afterburner. Wasn't able to unlock the voltage or power limit slider but am running heaven 4 @880Mhz core and @1300Mhz memory clock. Temps are reading a max of 72 C in heaven. Alt-tabbing to see reveal that gpu-z sensors says max temp 77 C with an avg of 72.3 C.
Fanspeed at 90% and max vddc which i assume is voltage @1.100v steady. Afterburner also reads max temp 77. I'll post pictures after I'm done running heaven of everything.

So is this a good oc if it ends up stable? This is my first oc in any way so any information is appreciated. Also after benchmark of heaven avg fps was 15 with a score of 381. I don't know what this means though and how long should I let heaven run before i deem it stable enough to use?

 

[computers_are_freaky]

Ok, first off, that score is low (I'm not trying to say it's broken or bad), I recommend dialing back the benchmark to the resolution you will actually be playing, so 720p (unless you play LOL or something like that), and maybe lower the graphics to high.

There is no such thing as a good or bad overclock: sure there are better or worse overclocks, but the montra that all overclockers that help on these have been repeating since time immemorial is that all cards are different and don't overclock the same, even if they are the same make and model. If your OC is stable and you are happy with it, then it is a good overclock (at least, that is my opinion). If you think you can get more out of it, then by all means keep tinkering, but keep an eye on those temps, because they seem to be getting a bit high. I really would advise against 80°C or above for daily use.
(Yes, benchmarks are more stressful on cards than games, but getting 80+ at full load means you're still getting close to that gaming)

As far as testing stability, I like Valley, and running for 45min without crashing or tearing usually means it's stable, but to properly test it you need to play your games, because some games stress different parts of the gpu compared to benches and stresstest, so they might reveal an instability.

Oh yeah, and ati is a gpu manufacturer by the sounds of it, but this thread should answer this question.

Remember, you can always upgrade a bit at a time, for example you buy the gpu you want, and slot it in this pc (sure it might bottleneck, but it will be better that a 5750 I hope), then you upgrade your psu, then, when you have the rest of the money you need, upgrade the CPU, RAM and MOBO.

Hope this helped, and have fun.