What is your OCing method?

[Shadowtroop]

i would like to know what are your preferred methods of overclocking and finding a stable setting for your GPUs. i usually start with setting the clocks on Afterburner, then i hit it with some Furmark to see if it last a while, i then use heaven 2.1 for about an hour or so. then i just play my favorite game and see if it lasts. Then repeat.

[SpeedCrazy]

I havent played around much since i oced my 7600 as hard as i could and left it there. But i would play with the settings run 3DMark06 then furmark for about an hour then push it some more. Saving profiles as i went. Then the profile that crashed the drivers was the one i knew was the highest i could go, so i then worked it down little by little till it stayed stable.

[WarWeeny]

i just look up the vidcard i have see the oc results of others, mimic it and test it out. (msi afterburner) and if that last for an hour or so i play crysis for a bit to see if there are glitches in a game and then when i finished that.. il up the clock speeds further until i find glitches in either after burner or crysis

[IVIYTH0S]

OC til Furmark/Kombustor has issues, then run the most stable of them in MANY games.

 

Games are the best test, furmark doesn't test the memory as well.

 

Also don't go for the most graphically intense either, Crysis allowed me for a higher overclock than C&C 3 did

[Shadowtroop]

i noticed that games are more demanding as well, i would do a furmark for a full hour and it would run stable, but 2 minutes into metro 2033 or crysis and its back to the drawing board

[IVIYTH0S]

i noticed that games are more demanding as well, i would do a furmark for a full hour and it would run stable, but 2 minutes into metro 2033 or crysis and its back to the drawing board

well not the drawing board but just use that as the new test, then try another game once that's satisfied

[El_Capitan]

Run MSI Afterburner to apply changes, while having FurMark running in Stability Test mode non-Fullscreen in 1280x1024.

 

Make sure you have your fans on auto or 100%, you want to keep your temps below at least 10C the max allowed temp, in case you don't have that great of cooling.

 

1. Up the Core Clock by 10 until you see blips or tearing. Keep the Shader Clock Linked. If you see blips or tearing, back it up to the previous setting. Save your profile often. If your desktop crashes (not a BSOD crash), then that means you also went too far.

2. When you stabilize your Core Clock, run what your card can handle. For instance, I'll run my GTX 460's in 1920x1200 Benchmarking Fullscreen with 16X MSAA Samples. If that passes, then start playing the most graphics intensive game you have and the highest settings your card can handle and see if you have any issues (I use Civilization 5). If you don't, then you can up your games graphics a notch if you want to.

3. If all is good, then do the same with Memory Clock like you did with Core Clock. If you see static or tearing, you went too far.

4. Repeat step 2.

 

That's it. Just keep your temperatures monitored, and you won't have any problems unless a game you're playing isn't optimized for your card or SLI/Crossfire configuration.

[IVIYTH0S]

Make sure you have your fans on auto or 100%, you want to keep your temps below at least 10C the max allowed temp, in case you don't have that great of cooling.

I didn't think to mention this part as it would only apply to those with hard-voltmods though at that point, they probably have some ridiculous water or extreme cooling while also knowing the limits of their hardware. (As any card with voltage maxed allowed by the manufacturer will assuredly hit a wall before temps become a problem)

But still great mentioning and good guide anyway (also think that graphic intensity games are the only one to try, it's also good to try different breeds of games. IE. FPS, RTS, Racing etc.)

[Nyt]

I put the clocks up in Afterburner until I hit a wall , the I up the voltage and test with 15 minute Furmark and 5+ hours of gaming.