Strix R9 390 Clock Speeds HELP!!

[OdinA]

Hey guys, i brought the strix r9 390 and i want to overclock it but there's something i don't understand...the specs say that non overclocked should go up to 1050Mhz but when i look at GPU-Z it says its running between 860 and 950Mhz...When i put the card at 100% power limit it reached the the speed described in the specs...I don't understand why its running way lower than what its set to.

 

[bgunner]

Oh this is a fairly easily explained. The 1050 MHz speed is considered a "BOOST" state that is achieved while in 3D clocks only if temp over head allows. The power Limit actually changes the point at which the card will lower the clock speeds "throttle" to lower temps to prevent overheating. EXAMPLE: if the card starts to throttle at (lets say but not accurate temps) 70°C if you raise the Power Limit to 8 it would start to throttle at around 80°C allowing for the temperature head room to enter boost state. This is an example and temps may not be the same but for clarification on how it works this shows exactly what happens.

So because your clocks are staying around the 860-950 MHz point It leads us to say that your card just does not have the temp head room to go higher. To help with this try setting a fan curve that allows the fans to spin faster earlier. This will help cool the card. You can also ensure that the case has proper ventilation to remove the hot air and bring cool air in.

 

[OdinA]

Oh this is a fairly easily explained. The 1050 MHz speed is considered a "BOOST" state that is achieved while in 3D clocks only if temp over head allows. The power Limit actually changes the point at which the card will lower the clock speeds "throttle" to lower temps to prevent overheating. EXAMPLE: if the card starts to throttle at (lets say but not accurate temps) 70°C if you raise the Power Limit to 8 it would start to throttle at around 80°C allowing for the temperature head room to enter boost state. This is an example and temps may not be the same but for clarification on how it works this shows exactly what happens.

So because your clocks are staying around the 860-950 MHz point It leads us to say that your card just does not have the temp head room to go higher. To help with this try setting a fan curve that allows the fans to spin faster earlier. This will help cool the card. You can also ensure that the case has proper ventilation to remove the hot air and bring cool air in.

the boost clock is 1070Mhz actually...i see how power limit works...I set the fan to 50% from 0 degrees to 50 degrees...any higher it will ramp up more and more... As the temp reaches 65 degrees the fans speed up faster (as in a steeper curve) and if the card reaches 80 its at max speed. Also i set the power limit to 15%...And i have a 750W 80+ Gold PSU

 

[bgunner]

OK. If you use Asus Tweek or any version the like MSI afterburner, HIS iTurbo, Sapphire TriXX ect. have an option to make a full fan curve of your choice. More temp points can be added if necessary to help customize the curve. These programs are all based off of Riva Tuner and work best for Overclocking vs. AMD's overdrive in there drivers where you can not make a fan curve. These programs have more options than AMD's OCing program also.

EDIT: Set the Fan to hit 100% at 75°C and the rest of the curve of your choice. When OCing expect more noise and the need to feed more cool air into the system to keep it cool. These are the only ways to keep the card and CPU cool.