is it safe to overclock?

[fmnoob]

i have always been scared of overcloking as i dont want to break anything but i have gtx 470 and a 750 watt power supply can i overclock

 

[alceryes]

Safe when done properly? Yes.
Dangerous when done improperly? Yes!

Which GTX 470 do you have and what's the PS mfg? The max performance gain you'll see is 15%. Most people will fall in the 3-7% gain range though.

 

[Rdslw]

In general ~5% OC is safe for all around 15% it starting to get tricky and might require some help, but still not hard. Anything above that is for experts mostly and I would not recommend going after it.
maybe start here and follow his steps:
http://www.guru3d.com/articles-pages/overclocking-geforce-gtx-470-with-extra-gpu-voltage,2.html
Stop whenever you feel comfy.

 

[fmnoob]

is it worth overclocking the gtx 470 though?

 

[Eximo]

That is an older card, but it was powerful in its day. Still easily out performed by something like a GTX1050.

The better question is can you afford to replace it if it fails?

As for overclocking. The 400 and 500 series from Nvidia are well known for consuming huge amounts of power, which limited their thermal headroom quite a bit. As long as you don't mind the extra heat and power consumption you might get a little more out of it.

 

[alceryes]

is it worth overclocking the gtx 470 though?

This is subjective. Only you can determine 'worth' in your specific situation. Would you rather buy a new video card or try to 'eke out' a little bit more performance? If you want to try overclocking spend a day (a full 8 hours) reading all you can about overclocking. Don't just read 5 forum posts and try to throw a bunch of settings together because some post says that they got their card to run a certain game smoothly.

When you're ready, start with just small frequency adjustments (no voltage adjustment yet) and see where that gets you. After you make one adjustment you need to run the hell out of the system (benchmark and game) for a minimum of a couple hours to even begin to think that it's stable.

Also, what's your power supply and exact gtx 470 model?

 

[fmnoob]

my power supply is 750 watts and its a palit gtx 470

 

[alceryes]

Loads of info about that card in this thread - http://www.overclock.net/forum/69-nvidia/925862-nvidia-geforce-gtx-470-overclocking-club-85.html
GPU overclocking - https://www.howtogeek.com/338116/how-to-overclock-your-graphics-card-for-better-gaming-performance/

Note: That is an older card so the tools/software people list will be dated.
Start reading and good luck!