Overclocking GTX 980 SC - Can't get a stable overclock

[camason86]

Hi all,

I'm looking for some advice here on how to get a stable overclock on my GTX 980 SC. I've read many articles and posts about people being able to achieve 1500Mhz OC'd from the normal 1367Mhz boost clock that this card comes with.

I am using EVGA Precision X to overclock. Using Valley benchmark I can get it to run artifact free at about 1440Mhz. If I push it any further than that I get artifacts during benchmarks which is an obvious red flag. However any game I run crashes within 5 minutes even if I overclock just a bit.

Do I just have a weak card as far as overlclocking, or am I missing something?

I've tried raising the power target to max (124%) and leaving it at 100%, or somewhere in between. Doesn't seem to make a difference. I've used fan curve settings to be sure it doesn't go above 80 degrees C (usually sits around 65-70).

I'll start at +13MHz to the boost clock and go up from there in 13MHz increments. As I mentioned above, benchmarks are stable up until I hit the +78MHz area, then I start to see artifacts. The lowest I've tried with in games is +39MHz and even then, any game will crash pretty quickly.

Is there a trick with the voltage settings? I have played around with that a bit, but I'm not entirely sure what it does.

My CPU is an i5 4670K running at 4.4GHz. This is overclocked in my bios but it's completely stable. Could that OC be affecting the GPU stability some how?

I really appreciate any advice here! Fairly new to GPU overclocking.

Thanks!

 

[lindsay24]

If you've independently stress tested your CPU with your graphics card at stock, it shouldn't be interfering.

Raising the power limit should also be enough to get a decent overclock. The days of manually tweaking voltages are pretty well over unless you're trying to break records or crush benchmarks.

It looks like you've done everything right. I think you might have just lost the Silicon Lottery. It happens. My graphics card overclocks about as good as a brick too, so I know the pain.

 

[aquielisunari]

Hi all,

I'm looking for some advice here on how to get a stable overclock on my GTX 980 SC. I've read many articles and posts about people being able to achieve 1500Mhz OC'd from the normal 1367Mhz boost clock that this card comes with.

I am using EVGA Precision X to overclock. Using Valley benchmark I can get it to run artifact free at about 1440Mhz. If I push it any further than that I get artifacts during benchmarks which is an obvious red flag. However any game I run crashes within 5 minutes even if I overclock just a bit.

Do I just have a weak card as far as overlclocking, or am I missing something?

I've tried raising the power target to max (124%) and leaving it at 100%, or somewhere in between. Doesn't seem to make a difference. I've used fan curve settings to be sure it doesn't go above 80 degrees C (usually sits around 65-70).

I'll start at +13MHz to the boost clock and go up from there in 13MHz increments. As I mentioned above, benchmarks are stable up until I hit the +78MHz area, then I start to see artifacts. The lowest I've tried with in games is +39MHz and even then, any game will crash pretty quickly.

Is there a trick with the voltage settings? I have played around with that a bit, but I'm not entirely sure what it does.

My CPU is an i5 4670K running at 4.4GHz. This is overclocked in my bios but it's completely stable. Could that OC be affecting the GPU stability some how?

I really appreciate any advice here! Fairly new to GPU overclocking.

Thanks!

I've found this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyk5DCladcY (Using Asus GPU tweak and it's logging feature instead of EVGA's utility along with MSI Afterburner's OSD to monitor resource usage in real time) video is extremely helpful with getting to KNOW your GFX card and its capabilities. However judging by the steps you've taken I agree with the silicon lottery loss. I'm curious what the GPUs's ASIC quality score is. There are 3 bars on the top right of GPU-Z's main screen. Click that and then the ASIC quality tab. It really doesn't mean anything but still... The silver lining is that the card is already overclocked. The OC ceiling with overclocked cards can be much lower than a stock card but then there is the binning process and the silicon lottery to think about. OCing is an art and nothing is assured.

BTW that is not the full name of your card. Specifics usually help but isn't a huge deal considering you did mention it is superclocked. My card is the EVGA 970 FTW. Yes, I could call it the GTX 970 and still be close to the right name. Its full name is EVGA GeForce GTX 970 FTW GAMING ACX 2.0.

 

[camason86]

Thanks guys. I think you're right in that i just got unlucky with a card that doesn't want to overclock any more than it already. But yeah, it is already overclocked by default, so i don't have anything to complain about. I was mostly just doing this to learn and see if I could get it to work, not expecting to get a large performance boost out of it.

I don't have three bars at the top right of GPU-Z, so I'm not sure where to find the ASIC score. The full name of my card is EVGA GeForce GTX 980 4GB SC w/ACX 2.0. It performs well as it is and I will just leave it alone until I decide to upgrade to a 1080

Thanks again for the insight!

 

[aquielisunari]

Thanks guys. I think you're right in that i just got unlucky with a card that doesn't want to overclock any more than it already. But yeah, it is already overclocked by default, so i don't have anything to complain about. I was mostly just doing this to learn and see if I could get it to work, not expecting to get a large performance boost out of it.

I don't have three bars at the top right of GPU-Z, so I'm not sure where to find the ASIC score. The full name of my card is EVGA GeForce GTX 980 4GB SC w/ACX 2.0. It performs well as it is and I will just leave it alone until I decide to upgrade to a 1080

Thanks again for the insight!

Guess I am using an old version

You could call EVGA 1 (888) 880-3842 and have them lead you through an overclock. No, they aren't contractually bound to offer a card that overclocks. No, overclocking and responsible over-volting does not void your warranty. They are not like Intel. What I do know is that they have been extremely helpful with their tech support with my EVGA cards. They may ask for your PSU's +12V voltage. That is normally in your BIOS's health report. They like it as close to 12V as possible. That number may explain the issue. I think HwMonitor shows that info but they prefer the info provided by the PC's BIOS.

Just an opinion. Leaving well enough alone is a good practice. If it isn't broke, don't fix it.

Glad we could help.