8800GTS OC'ing

[TBSN]

I have an 8800GTS (640GB) and I've never really had to overclock it. Most games run pretty well, but now I want to push it a little more with STALKER: Clear Sky.

Does overclocking really make much of a difference? Stalker is just beautiful, and I want to put some of the settings higher.

What's the best way to do it, nTune? Does it make as much a difference as oc'ing the CPU (which was pretty easy in my case...)

Thanks!

 

[angry hampster]

Get rivatuner.


It can make a difference of several FPS.

 

[rogue1979]

8800GTS (G80) responds very well to overclocking. I've played with two 320MB versions and both got 650/1500/2000 and had a very noticable performance boost in games.

 

[ronach]

Go here http://www.gainward.com/support/support_uk.html and download a version of Expertool for your Nvidia or ATI vid card. I am useing it on my 8800GTS 320. There you have it.

 

[TBSN]

Originally posted by: rogue1979
8800GTS (G80) responds very well to overclocking. I've played with two 320MB versions and both got 650/1500/2000 and had a very noticable performance boost in games.

What did you use to overclock? Rivatuner? nTune? Is there anything that you need to do in Bios, or is it all software?

I have the 640GB version of the 8800GTS; is that G80?

What do you use to stress-test the OC? I think nVidia has one built in to the drivers, but I don't know if that's what people are using.

I've heard of RivaTuner, never heard of ExperTool, but I'll check that out as well.

Thanks for your help!

 

[angry hampster]

Just use rivatuner, it's windows-based and very easy to use. The 640mb version is G80. Use 3dmark06 to stress-test.

 

[TBSN]

Cool, I like RivaTuner. Does anyone know a good tutorial for it, using the 8800GTS?

The tutorial on the site is good, but a few of the options in the menu are different than the latest version of RivaTuner. I don't know how to set it up so the Fan Speed changes with Temperature.

Thanks for the help!

 

[NoSoup4You]

I used nvidia's 'System Tools' which can be downloaded from their site. Easy and simple.

It makes a substantial difference, however don't expect it to allow you to up all the settings...etc.

For a free an easy, not to mention guaranteed overclock, go for 625/1500/925. It seems every GTS 640MB will run this, bar none. Most can go even further. But you shouldn't really need to stress test too much at those settings.

A good overclock would be around 650/1550/1000, but I hate worrying about lock ups/overheating...etc so I leave it lower. Don't get too concerned with memory speeds, they have almost no noticeable impact on performance.

Good luck, the 640MB GTS still has some life left in it.

 

[TBSN]

So far, so good. I've got it at something around 620/1400/1000, and it runs great. I'm running Clear Sky with everything maximum (dx9.0, of course) and 4xAA.

Does anyone know how to set up RivaTuner so that it will automatically change the fan speed based on temperature?

At default, when my card gets hot it will simply throttle back the performance rather than turn the fan up... weird.

 

[zagood]

Good Riva guide:
http://www.vaguetech.com/?pageid=rt207

I'm still using my 8800GTS 640...I found that 600/1400 is my sweet spot for stock cooling and performance, as well as being a nice round number. I'm itching to get a new card but haven't found anything that really compares to what this card was when released...i.e. "the second best card for much cheaper." 4850 would be the closest, but the minor issues (fan speed bug etc) turn me off.

Here's my rivatuner scheduler settings. You'll understand more when you look through the guide and try out different ones yourself.

Underclock = 400/925
Overclock = 600/1389

launch monitor on RT open
Underclock on RT open
overclock on hardware acceleration range 1-1
underclock on hardware acceleration range 0-0
fan setting 60% @ range 0-65C
fan setting 80% @ range 67-72C
fan setting 100% @ range 75-120C
default settings on RT shutdown.

-z

 

[TBSN]

Originally posted by: zagood
Good Riva guide:
http://www.vaguetech.com/?pageid=rt207

I'm still using my 8800GTS 640...I found that 600/1400 is my sweet spot for stock cooling and performance, as well as being a nice round number. I'm itching to get a new card but haven't found anything that really compares to what this card was when released...i.e. "the second best card for much cheaper." 4850 would be the closest, but the minor issues (fan speed bug etc) turn me off.

Here's my rivatuner scheduler settings. You'll understand more when you look through the guide and try out different ones yourself.

Underclock = 400/925
Overclock = 600/1389

launch monitor on RT open
Underclock on RT open
overclock on hardware acceleration range 1-1
underclock on hardware acceleration range 0-0
fan setting 60% @ range 0-65C
fan setting 80% @ range 67-72C
fan setting 100% @ range 75-120C
default settings on RT shutdown.

-z

sweet, that's exactly what I was looking for.

Did you set RivaTuner to open at windows startup?

The RivaTuner Statistics Server is what enables it to monitor what the HW acceleration level is at, right? Should I check the "open at Windows Startup box?"

What about memory clocks? Does that matter, or should I leave it at stock?

I like this program a lot, I'm surprised its free!

 

[zagood]

I got frustrated that I couldn't get it to load at startup without Vista blocking it, or at least telling me that it wanted to. That was with 2.09 so I don't know if it's easier now.

It can be done, it was just late and I was probably drunk last time I tried.

heh...never thought about opening the statistics server automatically. I always just hit the orange gear. I'll do that now. Thanks!

-z

 

[programmer]

I didn't find too much benefit to overclocking my 8800GTS 512. Maybe a few frames here or there, depending on the game, but not enough to risk cooking the card. It already runs pretty hot as it is, and is plenty fast at stock speeds.

 

[TBSN]

Originally posted by: zagood
I got frustrated that I couldn't get it to load at startup without Vista blocking it, or at least telling me that it wanted to. That was with 2.09 so I don't know if it's easier now.

It can be done, it was just late and I was probably drunk last time I tried.

heh...never thought about opening the statistics server automatically. I always just hit the orange gear. I'll do that now. Thanks!

-z

Yeah, I guess you could also set up a scheduled thing so it opens with RivaTuner, if you don't want it to open with Windows...

My windows load time takes long enough so I'm thinking I'll just set it up that way. So if I feel like playing a game, just open RivaTuner and everythings ready to go...

Originally posted by: programmer
I didn't find too much benefit to overclocking my 8800GTS 512. Maybe a few frames here or there, depending on the game, but not enough to risk cooking the card. It already runs pretty hot as it is, and is plenty fast at stock speeds.

I have the older version of the GTS, but I have been amazed at how much of a benefit OC'ing it has had. I am running Clear Sky (whch is pretty much why I wanted to OC it in the first place) at full settings (except for grass density and lighting distance) at 1680x1050 with 4xAA, and it runs very smoothly! (before I couldn't even turn on AA before it getting a little choppy)

 

[crouthamel]

I have a 8800GTS 512 (G92) and use RivaTuner to overclock it. In testing with Vantage and 3DMark06 I do see a difference in numbers, but from a real world perspective in gaming it's hard to say. It's probably just a psychological factor in that I think it's better

If you have an eVGA card, you can also use their precision tool to overclock. It's made by the same guy who created RivaTuner - Unwinder.

http://www.evga.com/precision/