Over-clocking an HD3870

[kagazi]

I just purchased the Sapphire single slot version and I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with over-clocking this card.  If so, what program is best to use.

[Mermaid Man]

ATI's with stock cooler don't overclock that well. Just use the built-in overclocker in ATI's CCC. I'd do the auto overclock mode, it'll test core/memory and reach it's limits.

[kagazi]

thank you!

[waspiflab]

Overdrive is rubbish on my 3870 crashed every time
Try Riva Tuner:
http://www.guru3d.com/index.php?page=rivatuner

[kagazi]

What are your experiences with using Riva Turner 2.06 on the HD3870? When I opened the program it gave a warning that version 2.06 has not been tested with the display driver that I'm using.

I'm a little hesitant to use it for this reason, but if you've been successful then I'll give it a try.

I was able to over-clock the gpu clock using the overdrive from 775 to 791.  The memory clock didn't budge.  

[Fozzer]

In my honest opinion... ....

If anyone has just purchased a new Graphics Card and are thinking of over clocking it to increase its performance, to my mind, they have suddenly realised they have just purchased a Graphics Card which does not meet their present requirements!

They are now heading for....
a: Infringing their Warrantee.
b: Destroying the Card.

The reliability is now quickly going down the Toilet!

The same reasoning applies to Central Processors.....!

Paul....Get a faster Graphics Card/Processor to meet your requirements...and leave it Standard!... ...!

[Brett_Henderson]

In my honest opinion... ....

If anyone has just purchased a new Graphics Card and are thinking of over clocking it to increase its performance, to my mind, they have suddenly realised they have just purchased a Graphics Card which does not meet their present requirements!

They are now heading for....
a: Infringing their Warrantee.
b: Destroying the Card.

The reliability is now quickly going down the Toilet!

The same reasoning applies to Central Processors.....!

Paul....Get a faster Graphics Card/Processor to meet your requirements...and leave it Standard!... ...!

As long as you take your time.. learn what you're doing.. and use a little common sense..  overclocking is fine. If you're that concerened about performance, you'll outgrow the device before you wear it out..  Like if you overclock a $500 CPU and shorten it's life from 4 years down to 2 1/2 years; you'd be replacing it by then anyway. It's no different than puting a slightly larger carb, or better exhaust system on a motorcycle, to squeeze a few more RPM anf HP out of it.  ;)

[Fozzer]

As long as you take your time.. learn what you're doing.. and use a little common sense..  overclocking is fine. If you're that concerened about performance, you'll outgrow the device before you wear it out..  Like if you overclock a $500 CPU and shorten it's life from 4 years down to 2 1/2 years; you'd be replacing it by then anyway. It's no different than puting a slightly larger carb, or better exhaust system on a motorcycle, to squeeze a few more RPM anf HP out of it.  ;)

..talking abut Motor Bikes....

As a keen Motorcyclist, I have lost count of the number of times I have seen Youngsters spend loadsa-money, tinkering with their brand spanking new, fully fared, multi-coloured, super-dooper, 125cc, 2-stroke Racer....

...then spend even more money getting the cylinders bored out, fitted with high compression pistons, advanced the ignition timing, weakened the mixture, etc, etc, to make it go FASTER...

...only to find that after a couple of miles down the road, the engine has seized solid, with the piston rings welded to the cylinder bores, and the whole engine a write-off... ...!

...and the Bike worthless...!

It nearly always ends in tears... ...!

...when what they should have done was to have thought about it a bit more and purchased a 500cc Motor Bike, and had the benefit of greater speed and reliability, without any modifications......!

Sorted!... [smiley=thumbsup.gif]...!

Paul....125+ MPH is plenty fast enough for me, with a standard Bike... 8-)...!

...anyone fancy a home modified, supercharged, bored out, Continental 0-200 engine fitted with oversized pistons, for their Cessna 150.... ...!
...going cheap!...(don't mention it to the FAA).... ..!

.... ....!

[Brett_Henderson]

Yup... if you get carried away, and aren't careful, you'll ruin it all

[NickN]

O/c on a CPU/GPU when done correctly can reduce their life by up to 50% assuming that clock is maxed out and a maintained duty cycle of past 60% all the time.

First of all the theroretical life of a CPU/GPU is now 7-10 years assuming correct cooling is applied so worst case is a max of 3.5-5 years

Second, no one is running a max clock at 60% duty+ so that 3.5-5 years is more like 4.5-7 years

Third, anyone on the same CPU/GPU you were on 4-7 years ago?


LOL



So, the issue is not that clocking is bad.. its only bad for those who do not know what they are doing. When done correctly it can and will in fact put money in your pocket because you have clocked anywhere from 500-1000+ dollars instead of spending that.

And then again, even with the hardware I use, I could not run FSX the way I do without the system clocked up... to the tune of about 35-40% over what it is rated to do.

So that means I am abput a year ahead of anyone with FSX performance who is running brand-new hardware at default speeds.