GPU Overclocking effects

[bboysil]

What exatly can happen if i OC my GPU and vram?
I know that at some point screen artifacts may apear.
Why?
Is it because of the vram because the scene info isn't stable at that clock? or is it because of the GPU can't render corectly at that speed?

If i go with the clock higher and higher(let's say that i have the best coolers around)
what happens then? Will the screen be unreadable or blank and everything else will be ok(ie the pc works fine except the image is unreadable) or will the PC restart?

Any info is welcome. thanks

 

[almerac]

What exatly can happen if i OC my GPU and vram?
I know that at some point screen artifacts may apear.
Why?
Is it because of the vram because the scene info isn't stable at that clock? or is it because of the GPU can't render corectly at that speed?

If i go with the clock higher and higher(let's say that i have the best coolers around)
what happens then? Will the screen be unreadable or blank and everything else will be ok(ie the pc works fine except the image is unreadable) or will the PC restart?

Any info is welcome. thanks

first off you will need really good overclocks to see any difference.
when you crank the speed on the card, and its to much it artifacts because its not completing operations, (a thread fails in a pipeline, as a result of the pipeline being pushed to fast), but it still pushes the render to the monitor.

with video cards about the only coolers that you can use to REALLY get better over clocks out of are ones that can drop the card die below ambient temperature or keep it damn close to it. this is because you cant change the voltage on most video cards, and they are designed to operate at a specific frequency with a certain amount of voltage, at a certain temperature envolope.

to offset the problem of the failing pipelines without being able to over volt, you need to lower the temperature GPU, VRAM, to be below what it was designed to operate at to reduce the resistance to electrical flow. and even then thats no garantee, just a bet that that is whats keeping it from being clocked higher.

if your really planning to overclock a video card, it really starts before you buy the video card. looking at reviews of cards that even at stock speeds have a lot of head room, looking at what king of cooling you can add to it (chilled water or phase change are usually the most feasible), looking to see if over-volting it is easy, and relatively safe for the lifetime of the card. no point in buying a $500 card, to overclock it to insane levels, and have it burn itself out in 6 months.

in any case you, again, you usually need a hefty overclock (at least 20% more then the stock speeds) to have a real difference in performance.

 

[Fox_Aquatis]

If you overclock too far and you use a CRT monitor the monitor will seem like it's trying to set the refresh rate every few seconds, you might notice "static" in games or even just in Windows. All of this comes from experience from a GeForce4 that suddenly wasn't stable at stock speeds but worked when overclocked, it actually exhibited those same characteristics when at the faulty stock speeds as when it was overclocked too far.

 

[trinitron64]

video overclocking is best utlized when the video card manufacturer handed you an opportunity

like my case?

I scammed bestbuy into selling me an x800xl which they had listed at $370 Canadian ... for only $140 Canadian (very beginning of the summer)

Then i got home and found that my x800xl actually had the x800xtpe core in it

with the side of the case open and a fan directed at the card i hit 570/570 from 399/400 or w/e the hell the weak ass specs are.

Do research... find the cheapest card... that is actually a little devil in disguise... then perhaps try to swindle someone in the processes as well?

:twisted:

Watch for those artifacts... I did burn up a 9800pro I once had... although it was amazing because i was stoned with a friend... playing CSS... and the game went absolutly bonkers on us... which was amazing... amazing... amazing.

:lol:

GOODLUCK!