Modest overclock for a Zoltac 1070 TI mini?

[kulharin]

I just installed the card and was looking to do a modest overclock to boost fps at 1440p.

https://thepcenthusiast.com/zotac-geforce-gtx-1070-ti-mini-review/7/

To me this sounds like am ambitious overclock!?

Upon tweaking my settings what software is recommended for stress testing the 10 series? Unigine valley?

Also would it make a difference to put the card in a slot further from my CPU and heatsink, which is also overclocked.

 

[mjbn1977]

Every card is different. But I think 2050Mhz is realistic for most 1070ti cards.

In Afterburner, increase the power limit slider to the maximum (I don't know how far it goes on that card, 120%?). Then start with an overclock at 2050Mhz and run 3dMark stress test. if it doesn't crashes and passes you can increase by 25Mhz at a time until 3D mark crashes/fails. Go back to the last stable setting and be happy. If it crashes at 2050Mhz, reduce by 25Mhz and repeat.

I stress test with 3dmark time spy. but you can also just start your favorite game and play for a few minutes. I never used U Vally, but I think it works well. I also used Heaven in the past. But I like 3dmark time spy the best. If the overclock is unstable it usually crashes within the first 20 seconds.

oh, and keep you card at the first PCIe slot next to the GPU! Its the fastest one....

Keep in mind, that the clock rate will change from game to game and also with different resolutions. That's because of how Nvidias Boost 3.0 works

 

[kulharin]

2050 boost correct? Not base

 

[mjbn1977]

2050 boost correct? Not base

In afterburner, start with +200Mhz on the clock speed slider. also increase the power limit. than stress test. no crash increas by lets say 10 or 20mhz....stresstest. Until it crashes. than reduce to the last stable setting. Don't forget to hit the apply checkmark button after adjusting clock rate. After you found your stable overclock, click on the disk/save profile button and then click on the profile number you want to use. then, in the settings, set this profile to be used for 3d applications.

 

[kulharin]

Ok thanks and I am using firestorm for this card as its a Zoltac card and firestorm is a zoltac app... I put it up to 2050 which was a +150 and it completely a couple passes of Unigine valley successfully.. I'll try heaven, superposition and 3d mark as well... I guess a good rule of thumb increasing the clock by 150, the memory should be happy around 300?

 

[mjbn1977]

not sure about the memory...but that is easy as well. Don't touch memory until you found a stable GPU overclock. Then increase memory. Start with +500. if you run a benchmark and its too much and unstable you will start seeing artifacts in the graphics...colorful lines and patterns, flickering, etc.

 

[kulharin]

Ok thank you. Generally how many long is is it a good idea to run the benchmark programs for to get a good indication of stability? I assume assume the settings should be cranked to max in the benchmark?

 

[mjbn1977]

yeah, set the settings to max and use the resolution that you usually use for gaming. Most of the times it will crash fairly soon if its unstable. If you not sure run a full benchmark run of heavens until it shows the result or run the stress test option in 3dmark which runs for about 10 min. 3dmark will tell you afterwards how stable it is (in %) if it didn't crash. I believe you want over 97%

 

[kulharin]

Oh, the stress test for 3d mark ain't free? Looks like it wants me to buy it.

 

[mjbn1977]

oh, sorry...that can be. I bought it years ago and forgot that that isn't free. In that case just run the benchmark. Its pretty much the same thing. If it completes the benchmark you should be ok.

 

[kulharin]

Ok thanks. Boosting the clock +150 to 2050 seems to crash Heaven though not Valley. But +125 is all good for both.

 

[kulharin]

So I can run it with a +125 to the clock without issue. did 4 passes of Heaven bench mark, followed by 4 passes of Valley benchmark, followed by a pass of the 3dMark benchmark... all at maximum possible settings. If I try and put the clock at +150 I encounter instability, such as a Heaven Benchmark briefly locking or crashing.

The odd thing is I boosted the the memory up +600! and I noticed no artifacts or had any instability, crashes, lock ups in any of the benchmark testing... My temps reached a max of 60oC with +125 clock and +600 memory... Is it unusually or dangerous to be overclocking my memory this much and not encountering problems?

 

[mjbn1977]

I wouldn't be surprised if +600 on the memory work. I only recommend +500 as a starting point. No, its not dangerous, but if it is too high you will notice. As long as the cards stays cool (what it does) you are fine. Just don't play with the voltage, only voltage changes can reduce life expectancy of the card. Increasing the power limit IS NOT a voltage change. So you good.

 

[kulharin]

Is there a stress test that is geared toward testing vram?

 

[mjbn1977]

You don't need to stress test besides the normal benchmarks. The best stress test is actual gaming. If you start noticing any weird artifacts, lines, colors that would be the indicator that the vram oc is not stable. Believe me you would notice right away. If it happens you just lower the vram overclock a little. But I think you should be fine with +600. You might be even able to get a little more.....but remember...any further increase on the overclocks is not really bringing any real life improvements..... maybe 1 fps more.

 

[kulharin]

I was able to run. 3dmark, Heaven, Valley and Superposition through without crashing and no visible artifacts or temps exceeding 60oC at +900 on the memory. I'll likely just leave it at 600 though to ensure stability in gaming.

 

[kulharin]

I am curious why the Benchmark tests only show clock speed increases in 25mhz increments regardless of how I set it in firestorm if I set it to 2040 it will bench at 2050 if I set it at 2030 it will bench at 2025?