The Basis of Video Card Overclocking

[XtR-X]

Well... I ran a search... I didn't find exactly what I was looking for so I guess I'll make my post.

I want to overclock my Radeon 9700 Pro. How exactly is this done, basically?

In through the BIOS (like how CPUs are O/C)?

Using software only?

BIOS and software together?

Etc.

I think an overclock would be great for me because on the side of my case, I have a powerful 120mm fan pushing alot of air and it all hits my video card. An overclock would be usefull.

Thanks alot guys.

 

[iss]

most the radeon overclocking info I have seen involves flashing the card with a modified bios that enables the card to be overclocked. then you have to use a utility like rage tweak to do the actual overclocking.

Rage 3D has a entire thread on how to overclock your radeon card.

 

[Nic]

Just download the Omega drivers for your ATI card and install all the utilities that come bundled. If you then go to [display properties > settings > advanced > clock rate] you'll be able to overclock both gpu and memory settings for your card. That's the easy way to do it, or you could go download a tweaker as iss suggested.

 

[XtR-X]

Oh, I also just noticed that Catalyst 3.7 allows changing Clock Rate and Memory rate.

My current for my 9700 Pro is at:

Clock: 324
Mem: 297

What should I go to (knowing I have a powerfull 120mm fan blowing onto the side of my card)?

 

[Nic]

You should increase by 5MHz at a time and then run a game to see if you notice any defects in the video. Once you can go no higher, with perfect picture, then wind back a couple of notches and leave it there. You should be able to get around 380 clock/340 mem, so perhaps try jumping to 370/320 to begin with.

Overclocking will shorten the life of your card, so only do it if you find things too slow when running your current games.

 

[XtR-X]

I need help. I fed up my vid card and I can't really see what I'm typing. I was to anxious to do it now I screwed up big time. Now my display is messed up! Crap! Is there any downloadable file to fix this?

 

[XtR-X]

Btw, I was screwing arround with my other computer with Linux and all kinds of weird stuff and all. It will take a while for me to get XP and stuff runnin on it Um any advice?

Also, sorry for the dbl post its an emergency.

 

[conradguerrero]

can u roll back ur driver or boot into safe mode?

 

[agissi]

did you/can you "un-oc"/take your vid.card speeds back to normal?

 

[iss]

if you are overclocking thru the omega drivers all you have to do to return to normal clock is uninstall the omega drivers.

 

[XtR-X]

Actually, I did it thru Catalyst 3.7 drivers, which enabled that feature. Gosh, I wish I had listened to you Nic...(well actually I got bored and anxious simply because my GF 4 MX was outperforming my Rad9700Pro after I had tweaked it alot) about going by 5Mhz... I took a jump to about 470/470. I can't rollback the drivers or anything and I put it back to normal clocks and defaults and its still messed up. I even underclocked it and its the same.

Did I screw my vid card then?

Lol, if there is no other option, I will get another RMA for this damn video card again. That's only if it's necessary... I'll go nuts without a good computer for more than 2 days time. I'd probably start killing people.

I think I'm gonna RMA it, sell the 9700pro to a friend brand new, then look into the GeForce FX 5900 Ultra that I've always been looking to... mainly because I think nVidia rules ATi and my ATi experiences have been sh*t.

 

[Nic]

If you oc'd up to 470/470 as you said, then you may very well have damaged your card. Nothing currently available can go that high, or even close to it. If safe mode also has a garbled display, then it looks like your card is screwed. Its probably going to cost you if it goes back to the manufacturer, as the fault will be easily spotted as due to overclocking your card (my guess). Also, I wouldn't buy nvidia at this time due to poor DX9 performance issues. That 9700 Pro is a pretty decent card.

 

[XtR-X]

I believe newegg.com will accept it no matter the reason.

 

[XtR-X]

Ahhh! Thank God! My video card works today! HAHA! I don't know what happened but it reset the clock and memory values! Yes!

I am blessed!!!

Um... the problem with the Catalyst 3.7 drivers is that overclocking it cant be done by 5mhz at a time, its more like 20.

 

[Nic]

Originally posted by XtR-X
Um... the problem with the Catalyst 3.7 drivers is that overclocking it cant be done by 5mhz at a time, its more like 20.

Isn't there an 'Advanced' button that allows you to set the increment step?

Now that you're getting a new card, some unsuspecting buyer will inherit all your luck.

 

[agissi]

Gosh XTR... you and those 9700s go through alot. Isnt this card (that u almost fryed) your 2nd one? lol, you would have been on your third

 

[JackieChanIsGOD]

Wow... you took it to 470???

hehe
That's a lot...

And yeah, if you ever want to overclock again, change the increment step...
And go to google and find out some limits of the 9700, just so you know...

And i would advise against the 5900...
Have you seen the HL2 tests?
Owchie Wowchie for nVidia... DX9 and nVidia do NOT mix well... The 5200 using DX8.1 outperformed the 5900 using DX9... neet eh?

 

[XtR-X]

Originally posted by Nic
Now that you're getting a new card, some unsuspecting buyer will inherit all your luck.

Lol, not necessarily. Um... I'd probably RMA it then ship it to their address, that way they know it's brand new and not used, therefore getting the most out of money... you will get more for a new one rather than a used one.

 

[XtR-X]

Originally posted by JackieChanIsGOD
Wow... you took it to 470???

hehe
That's a lot...

And yeah, if you ever want to overclock again, change the increment step...
And go to google and find out some limits of the 9700, just so you know...

And i would advise against the 5900...
Have you seen the HL2 tests?
Owchie Wowchie for nVidia... DX9 and nVidia do NOT mix well... The 5200 using DX8.1 outperformed the 5900 using DX9... neet eh?

I dunno, I've always been a super-fan of nVidia for a long time. I'm actually not going to buy my video card anymore, I will simply upgrade to a more ultimate one within a year or so.

Depending on how my experiences go, it will determine whether I would rather stay with ATi and/or give them another shot or go back with my long friend nVidia.

Originally posted by ---agissi---
Gosh XTR... you and those 9700s go through alot. Isnt this card (that u almost fryed) your 2nd one? lol, you would have been on your third

Lol, call it 2 - 1/2. This one was such a close call but I'm gonna RMA it anyways. :grinthumb

 

[petebelero]

I have a Radeon 9700pro and I use Radeonator for tweaking. its really dumb-stupid easy. Just don't blow the card playin with the Mhz sliders...

Oh, and what's that about the core and memory frequencie's having to be synchronized with radeon 9700 and most other radeon products?

My card de-synchronizes itself if I dont freeze both settings at the same value..... is that normal?