12.8
12.9
+runs bf3 faster
cant speak for anything else
as far as oc'ing goes
rule #1 dont over volt it. period. 1.175 is "stock" volts for the 7970 pcb on a reference card. i set that as my max goal. you can go a bit higher --1.25-- but really no need IMO. especially since these cards OC past 1000mHz on stock (<1.1V) voltages. IIRC zaydq ran 1000+ with under 1V.
i guess step #2 find a fan speed you are comfortable dealing with
then start upping core clocks. what i did was up the clocks by 25 until it crashed. then back it up by 5 until its stable. do a quick burn in test and make sure temps are ok. I use OCCT for burn in. it generates higher temps than furmark. I bench in heaven to make sure it doesnt artifact (unfortunately you have to sit and watch it cycle). also bench in 3dmark to make sure it doesnt crash.
then do the same thing with the memory clocks. I bench in heaven to make sure it doesnt artifact (unfortunately you have to sit and watch it cycle). also bench in 3dmark to make sure it doesnt crash. burn in with OCCT for max temps.
cliffs:
-set voltage to 1.175V
-set decent fan speed. make sure it doesnt drive you nuts.
-move core clocks up 25 til crash, then down 5 til stable
-move mem clocks up 50 til crash, down 25 til stable\
-lower voltage by 0.01 til crash, them move up 0.005 til stable
after every single adjustment test:
-unigine heaven for artifacts. set all settings to max
-3dmark11 for crash. set to stretched.
-OCCT for burn in/temp testing. max all settings.
-monitor temps and voltages with HWinfo64
if any test fails back it up a bit. If you have a setup that works make sure to actually test it real world in game. It should be fine as the other tests stress it far beyond a game will but theres always the chance of something not meshing correctly.
personally im comfortable with <80 core temp and <90 VRM. I did no testing above 1.2V. My fan is kinda loud but I run my stock 3x 230mm + 1x140mm case fans at 100% plus I have my Noctua D14 CPU cooler buzzin away in there. My rig sounds very much like a window fan set on low.
Personally I like that sound as I sleep with a fan on, so this does not bother me. I set my GPU fan to have a noise level equal to the case and went tinkering from there. Then I went crazy trying to break 10K 3dmarks, but thats not necessary.
also i had to back my cpu OC down a bit as it didnt sit kosher with me OCing the GPU and kept crashing everything. i ended up taking her down 1.0 BLCK and 1 core multiplier (down ~.1gHz) and then had better GPU OC results.