Need opinions about overclocking a bit my GPU

[ojnab]

Hi I have MSI Geforce GTX 960 2gb GPU and I want it to overclock for a little bit. I know that MSI has an app to overclock to OC Mode the card but my question is can I overclock it to more manually than OC Mode thing from MSI app? If yes like how many mhz can I raise it?

My rig is

i5-4460
Asus H81MD
MSI Gtx 960 2gb
16gb kingston hyperx fury ram ddr3 1866mhz (runs only at 1600mhz cuz of mobo limit)
PSU Aerocool rave 600w PSU 80+ rated bronze.

 

[PCMACPC]

Every card overclocks differently.

Some useful websites and videos:
- http://www.guru3d.com/articles-pages/msi-geforce-gtx-960-gaming-oc-review,26.html
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUEMS-B1Siw

In the Guru3d Article they managed to get +175 on the core clock and +450 on the memory clock, but it might be possible that your one overclock totally different.

 

[Rdslw]

MSI Afterburner should be compatible. Getting around 7-10% is safe. Have fun.|
small help
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUEMS-B1Siw

 

[True Buie]

Heyo ojnab

Nice to see you cant to OC a bit.
First of all the programs for overclocking. Personally I use HWmonitor, MSI Afterburner and Furmark for this.
HWmonitor for temperatures around in your PC.
MSI Afterburner is for the actual OC process.
Furmark is for stresstesting the GPU after an OC have been set.

In MSI Afterburner you can pretty much just max out the sliders and see that the card won't work properly anymore. This won't hurt the card, just so you won't get scared if you exceed the GPU's limit.
You should start with just increment the Core clock by maybe 10-15 Mhz and see where this gets you. Test it out in Furmark and see if your score gets any better.

When you've reached the "limit" on the Core clock you can start raising the Memory Clock. This is where you usually find most of the OC benefits. You can increment by 50 Mhz this time around, since normally cards can reach ~+300Mhz.
Again. Test in Furmark to see if there's significant performance increase.

After you've reached the limit on the Memory clock as well, it's time to increase the voltage on the card. Just max out the Voltage slider. The card will not be harmed by this. Basically you just go back and see if you can increment the Core clock and Memory clock anymore now.

As for temperatures, I'd say stick to around 80-85 degrees Celsius max. I've had an MSI 960 4GB model and noticed that the max I've ever reached was around ~70 degrees Celsius. You can adjust the fan speed and make a custom fan curve in MSI Afterburner if you desire so.

I could OC my own card with these numbers:
Core clock: +115Mhz
Memory clock: + 380Mhz

Cheers.