What overclock should I be able to get out of an R9 270?

[TehCaucasianAsian]

I bought an R9 270 solely because it was the exact same as a 270X, just underclocked. I sorta regret getting the HIS IceQ Boost edition, since the fan design is rather flimsy and cheap, but it does cool pretty well. I just wish I went with something different, since other boards have higher base clocks and sturdier fan designs. Anyway, I have this card and the base clock speeds are...

900MHz on the core
1400MHz on the memory

I use MSI Afterburner and I OC this card to the limits of 1050MHZ and 1500MHz on the core and memory, respectively. I then decided to unlock unofficial overclocking to see how much speed I can get from my card. As soon as I choose a higher speed on either option (core or memory) the temperature exceeds the normal ~50C I get and goes above 60, and I bluescreen in multiple applications and games. My case is an NZXT Source 210 with decent cooling, a few fans, and the HIS IceQ cooler is rated as being pretty nice, so what kind of OC should I even be able to get out of my card? Did I get a bad card that literally can't handle anything past the official limits? That would suck but I can live with the limited clock speeds. I just want something higher. Stock speeds compared to the overclocked card give me 20+ FPS in MSI Kombustor Furry Donut Core Burner V2, and in games I can get massive performance increases (Skyrim is 40FPS stock at Ultra settings, exceeds 60 when OC'd). So what overclock SHOULD I be able to get?

 

[Diox55]

http://download.cnet.com/MSI-Afterburner/3000-20432_4-75871628.html

First down the MSI afterburner. This is the best monitor and over clocker for gpu's. The best tip is to raise it to as high as you think it can go, if it doesn't turn off the system or crash a game, then it should work. Also pay attenion to your voltage. I'd say, take it up to maybe 1100 mhz on core speed, and and 16-1700 on the memory.

 

[GDsmiffy]

pffft in my eyes mate id be happy with what you got ive got the 270x version from sapphire so core is 1070mhz and memory is 1400mhz i can get 1100mhz on base clock but get bsod sometimes so im stuck at like 1085mhz !!!! and get up to 65.c so be happy mate you basically have a 270x

 

[chris987]

well from a point above, you must increase voltage in order to achieve a stable overclock but most gpu have it locked.

 

[TehCaucasianAsian]

well from a point above, you must increase voltage in order to achieve a stable overclock but most gpu have it locked.

Yeah, in Afterburner my Voltage is locked. Is there a safe way to unlock it? I'll give you my full system specs just to make sure I even SHOULD unlock the voltage.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($109.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-D3P ATX AM3+/AM3 Motherboard ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($72.00 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.43 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: HIS Radeon R9 270 2GB IceQ X² Video Card ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($40.00 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($44.99 @ Micro Center)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WN881ND 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($18.93 @ Amazon)
Total: $715.28
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-09 12:34 EDT-0400)

 

[chris987]

well im not sure but you would have to mess with the gpu firmware and that doesnt sound like a good idea. you already overclocked the gpu to a nice extend. also gpu with unlocked voltage have premium components you pay more for! i would be satisfied with such o/ced performance!