Overclocking help/advice

[Sofa King Kool]

I've been considering overclocking my graphics card lately, except I have no idea what I'm doing, so I'm hesitant to change anything. I decided to try clicking the "Run automated clock configuration utility" to see what that would do. It moved the Graphics processor status slider all the way up to the top.

http://img117.imageshack.us/img117/4623/fgfgfgfgyr1.jpg

I then tried running Oblivion to see if it would play any better and there was no difference. The only difference I've noticed is that surfing the internet seems to be slightly faster than it was before.

And now I'm stuck. The adjustment didn't really do anything and I don't know what to do. If anybody has any help or advice, it would be greatly appreciated.

[darthbudge]

Well there are several factors as to why this may not be helping much.

1:Bottlenecking, if your Video Card is pretty good but the rest of your system isn't overclocking won't show much increase cause what is really slow is the rest of your computer.

2: Some Video Cards Overclock more then others. A 54MHz increase is not alot so the performance won't be much.

Those two are probably the most common factors with this. Personally I say try it with a few games and if you see performance increases then keep it but if you don't then reset to factory settings to keep it safe.

[Vinny]

Don't expect to see a huge performance boost...

Here's my current GPU OC:
Core: 560MHz (from 520)
Memory: 600MHz (from 540MHz)

From what, I only saw about a 10FPS improvement in somewhat older games (like HL2) and only 5FPS improvement in newer games (FEAR, Oblivion).

And geez, your card is running pretty hot (though nothing to be worried about). Mine runs at around 38C idle and 56C under load. Do you live in a generally warm/hot area?

I would recommend you get ATITool. It's a much better program than CCC.

[bmsdaddy]

Did you run any benchmarks before and after the overclocking? The performance may not be easily seen but may show up in the benchmarks. Also, like darthbudge said, your videocard may not be what is holding your system back. What do you have for a CPU and system memory?

[Sofa King Kool]

Did you run any benchmarks before and after the overclocking? The performance may not be easily seen but may show up in the benchmarks. Also, like darthbudge said, your videocard may not be what is holding your system back. What do you have for a CPU and system memory?
Uhh... I don't know. How do I find out? I'm not great with computers.

[red flare graf]

You should probably try overclocking the video memory as well. I generally just do 5 to 10mhz at a time and test it.

I've never used catalyst, though.. I've always ran nVidia cards. There's a "test" function in coolbits, I don't see one on your screen though.

[red flare graf]

Uhh... I don't know. How do I find out? I'm not great with computers.

You can download a program like 3dmark '06 to benchmark your card. It basically runs through 3D cinematic demos and gives you a score at the end. Run this before you overclock, and afterwards, then compare the scores.

If you right click My Computer on your desktop and go to properties, it should show you your CPU speed and how much memory you have.

[Sofa King Kool]

1.78 GHz, 1.00 GB of RAM

I'll try overclocking the video memory. At what point on that heat gauge should I stop?

[darthbudge]

Umm I don't really think that OCing your Video Card is going to do much, your processer is pretty lacking for playing something like oblivion. If you really want to improve performance you would need to upgrade your processer.

As to tempature for your video card, I would say don't let it get above 75 degrees celsius or might risk something. Generally though if you start getting weird anomalies in games or your computer starts slowing down that could be a sign of over heating.

[nathansu]

Overclocking is fairly pointless with regard to performance. It's more of a "look how much I can crank up the frequency before it blows up" appeal.

OCing almost never gives you noticable performance boost.

[red flare graf]

Overclocking is fairly pointless with regard to performance. It's more of a "look how much I can crank up the frequency before it blows up" appeal.

OCing almost never gives you noticable performance boost.

I disagree. I've got my 2.1ghz dual core overclocked to 2.88 and it's like night and day.

[bmsdaddy]

I overclocked my 7900GS to 7950GT speed and noticed a considerable difference in performance playing Supreme Commander, Railroads, and F.E.A.R.

[thater]

OK, with ATI cards you MUST get the Omega drivers for it, much better than the factory drivers. You can get them here: http://www.omegadrivers.net/


Next, after they have been installed, run ATI Tray Tools. It runs in the system tray and is sooo much better than Catalyst Control Center. ATI Tray Tools will allow you to benchmark, overclock, underclock, and practically anything else you would like to try. I cannot recommend this stuff enough, an absolute must for those with ATI cards.

[Sofa King Kool]

OK, with ATI cards you MUST get the Omega drivers for it, much better than the factory drivers. You can get them here: http://www.omegadrivers.net/


Next, after they have been installed, run ATI Tray Tools. It runs in the system tray and is sooo much better than Catalyst Control Center. ATI Tray Tools will allow you to benchmark, overclock, underclock, and practically anything else you would like to try. I cannot recommend this stuff enough, an absolute must for those with ATI cards.
That sounds good, although I can't find what I'm supposed to be downloading...

If I get those drivers, will I see a noticable difference in performance?

[thater]

That sounds good, although I can't find what I'm supposed to be downloading...

If I get those drivers, will I see a noticable difference in performance?

at the top of the page, under the graphic, click ATI RADEON, you should be able to follow the rest

yes the difference is noticeable with the right settings in ati tray tools

[Photomotoz]

OK, with ATI cards you MUST get the Omega drivers for it, much better than the factory drivers. You can get them here: http://www.omegadrivers.net/


Next, after they have been installed, run ATI Tray Tools. It runs in the system tray and is sooo much better than Catalyst Control Center. ATI Tray Tools will allow you to benchmark, overclock, underclock, and practically anything else you would like to try. I cannot recommend this stuff enough, an absolute must for those with ATI cards.

I just wanted to second this. I am currently using the Omegas and OCing with ATItool.

[Vinny]

I must not have set-up Omega right because when I used it, I saw a minor boost in generic benchmarks but my gaming performance took a hit. I just couldn't figure out ATI Tray Tools- it didn't seem as simple as ATITool to me.

[nathansu]

I disagree. I've got my 2.1ghz dual core overclocked to 2.88 and it's like night and day.

On what apps? Getting a few more points in 3d-mark does not count (it's not a noticable gain).

[Roufuss]

I must not have set-up Omega right because when I used it, I saw a minor boost in generic benchmarks but my gaming performance took a hit. I just couldn't figure out ATI Tray Tools- it didn't seem as simple as ATITool to me.

I was the opposite, when I used Omega I saw a huge improvement in games.

[nathansu]

Let me also add that the person doing the overclocking typically is biased towards thinking he/she sees a performance increase without it actually happening.

If you put a bunch of work into ocing something, it's hard not to think you automatically get a performance boost.

[Sofa King Kool]

Hmmm. I don't see my card on that list anywhere. I have an X1600 pro. I'm probably just not understanding what I'm seeing. I'm seeing the word "catalyst" (followed by a number) a lot and I have no idea what that means.

[Sofa King Kool]

Ok, I finally got the right drivers, but now the actual overclocking part is confusing the hell out of me. I need to find a computer buff around here that can help me with this.

[bmsdaddy]

Let me also add that the person doing the overclocking typically is biased towards thinking he/she sees a performance increase without it actually happening.

If you put a bunch of work into ocing something, it's hard not to think you automatically get a performance boost.

Thats why it is important to benchmark before and after. Not just with synthetics like 3dmark but with demo modes or using fraps in the actual games you play.

[red flare graf]

On what apps? Getting a few more points in 3d-mark does not count (it's not a noticable gain).

I went from about 40fps in Oblivion to 65 or so. I did a ton of reading and pretty much got the most overclockable CPU I could find. My motherboard easily lets you increase the FSB and voltage. I haven't even tried overclocking my video card yet though but I'm sure I'll get around to it.. It's a stock overclocked Geforce 8800GTS 640mb.

[nathansu]

I went from about 40fps in Oblivion to 65 or so. I did a ton of reading and pretty much got the most overclockable CPU I could find. My motherboard easily lets you increase the FSB and voltage. I haven't even tried overclocking my video card yet though but I'm sure I'll get around to it.. It's a stock overclocked Geforce 8800GTS 640mb.

You know that the human eye can't distinguish > ~25fps, correct? One can not notice the difference between 40 and 65 - it's a biological limitation of ours.

[bmsdaddy]

You know that the human eye can't distinguish > ~25fps, correct? One can not notice the difference between 40 and 65 - it's a biological limitation of ours.

The reason you would want a higher average framerate is because that usually means min framerate is also higher. So if you are running 50fps while walking around a room and suddenly three or four enemies jump out guns-a-blazin' your framerate doesn't tank and you end up lying on the ground looking up. There are things all around you that cannot be perceived, doesn't make them any less important.

[red flare graf]

The reason you would want a higher average framerate is because that usually means min framerate is also higher. So if you are running 50fps while walking around a room and suddenly three or four enemies jump out guns-a-blazin' your framerate doesn't tank and you end up lying on the ground looking up. There are things all around you that cannot be perceived, doesn't make them any less important.

I almost responded without reading your post but I couldn't have said it any better.

[nathansu]

The reason you would want a higher average framerate is because that usually means min framerate is also higher. So if you are running 50fps while walking around a room and suddenly three or four enemies jump out guns-a-blazin' your framerate doesn't tank and you end up lying on the ground looking up. There are things all around you that cannot be perceived, doesn't make them any less important.
This has absolutely nothing to do with average framerate. Tanking the system because "n" enemies come on the screen does nothing to say that you can distinguish > ~25 fps, it simply means that you don't want to have any chugs in the game what so ever, which has _nothing_ to do with having a framerate greater than what your eye can percieve. You make absolutely no point at all.

Go ahead and overclock all you like - it does next to nothing for you. That is, nothing that you can percieve except perhaps a boost to your ego by telling all of your friends "ZOMFG MY 1337 RIG IS RUNNING AT 3.4GHZ = PWNAGE".

[Photomotoz]

You know that the human eye can't distinguish > ~25fps, correct? One can not notice the difference between 40 and 65 - it's a biological limitation of ours.

This is a common misconception. You can tell the difference, although it is not as dramatic you can easily see the difference. I can't find it now, still trying, but there is a program out there that would spin a shape with one side going at two framerates at the same time. And you could easily see he difference between the 30 and 50. It was much smooother. I will continue to search for it.

[nathansu]

This is a common misconception. You can tell the difference, although it is not as dramatic you can easily see the difference. I can't find it now, still trying, but there is a program out there that would spin a shape with one side going at two framerates at the same time. And you could easily see he difference between the 30 and 50. It was much smooother. I will continue to search for it.

Please point me to some science that shows that the human eye can percieve anything > ~25fps.

[Photomotoz]

Please point me to some science that shows that the human eye can percieve anything > ~25fps.
Well I still can't find that program but here you go : http://www.daniele.ch/school/30vs60/30vs60_3.html

And here
http://spng.se/frame-rate-test/