A few straightforward questions about overclocking
A few straightforward questions about overclocking
Hello everyone
I’m experiencing a crash to desktop while playing two Titan X graphics cards in SLI for Witcher 3. I increased their overclock by 20%, set the maximum voltage to 110% using MSI Afterburner, and everything has been running smoothly with no artifacts or crashes.
Recently, I encountered this crash in a single game, but the sound persisted afterward. It’s unusual—I expected glitches or screen issues beforehand if the overclock was too high. I’m certain it’s related to the overclock itself, as I can play for long periods without a crash using standard settings. The Witcher 3 community seems to be facing the same issue.
I’m a bit unsure about the 'Power Limit' setting. I moved it to 110% following a guide, thinking that would help increase core and memory performance while keeping temperatures manageable. In practice, my max temperature reaches around 80°C during Witcher overclocked play with two Titan X cards in SLI. The power limit sometimes caps at about 112%. This seems high, but I haven’t had any crashes despite the overheating.
Apart from the crash, I don’t notice any other problems with the overclock in Witcher or other games. I experience some frames per second drops and worry that the voltage setting might be harming the cards. I’m open to increasing the voltage further if it means better performance, but I’d like to confirm whether 110% power limit is safe for my setup.
Thank you.
SickBumblebee:
My PSU is actually a 1,500-watt multi-GPU approved power supply. I have no further details beyond that. The CPU is slightly overclocked thanks to an option in BIOS that automatically handles it for me. Thanks for the advice!
You don't know the brand name of the power supply?
Here are some options available at Newegg:
- Corsair: single 12V rail
- Enermax: 6 12V rails
- Silverstone: 8 12V rails
- Thermaltake: 2 12V rails
I was using an Enermax Galaxy EVO 1250W with a GTX Titan I. I made sure to use two separate 6 12V rails for the Titan, which has a 250W TDP. The overclocking issues disappeared after switching to a Corsair 1000W single 12V rail power supply.
Yeah, you're not at risk of doing damage with that OC. If it was stable (i.e. no crashes) it would be fine, but obviously things are being pushed just a little too hard.
As an anecdote, I had what I thought was a nice and stable OC for around 6 months, no issues at all until I started playing Witcher 3 and then I got crashes. Just dialed the OC back slightly and everything was fine. It seems like it really pushes GPUs that little bit extra. Why don't you just take 20Mhz or so off your GPU clock? That'll probably sort it and make no noticeable difference.
I agree with you. The game seems to favor GPU performance. It behaves similarly to Occt. When I used Occt, it pushed my GPU beyond its limits and caused crashes. At 1125/1575 volts, it delivers 350-375 watts, which is more than 100 watts over the TDP of my card at 250 watts. That’s why I stopped testing with it. It functions better when I reduce the settings a bit. Usually, if the regular version works, some games and apps will go further, making your overclock unstable in that case.
I dialed the overclock back slightly, played for a few hours and everything looks okay. I also looked up some information and it seems the issue might be fixed by adjusting the card settings in the Nvidia control panel to 'prefer maximum performance' in power management.
Ryan_78 agrees with the idea. The game seems to be focused on pushing GPU performance, similar to occt. Testing it caused my GPU to overheat and crash frequently. At certain settings, it draws more power than its rated TDP allows, leading to instability. I was concerned about damaging my cards because the algorithm might allow excessive power draw unless core voltage is increased. I’m still adjusting settings to find a stable balance.
SickBumblebee :
Hello everyone
I’m experiencing a crash to desktop while using two Titan x graphics cards in SLI for Witcher 3. I increased their overclock by 20% and set the maximum voltage up to 110% using MSI Afterburner, and everything is running smoothly without any artifacts or crashes.
Recently, I encountered this crash in a single game, with the sound continuing briefly afterward. It’s quite unusual. I expected some glitches or screen issues after an overclock, but I’m confident it’s due to the increased voltage. I’ve noticed others in the Witcher 3 community are facing the same issue.
I’m a bit uncertain about the 'Power Limit' setting. I moved it to 110% as instructed in a guide. I thought this would allow the core and memory to run at their limits while keeping temperatures under control. In practice, my temps only reach around 80°C during Witcher overclocking with two Titan x cards in SLI. The power limit often caps at about 112%. This seems high, but it hasn’t caused crashes even after long gaming sessions.
Apart from the crash, I haven’t had any other problems with the overclock. I also experience some screen tearing, which makes me worry about potential damage to my cards. I’m sure raising the voltage could help, but I’d rather avoid that.
Could you please confirm if setting the power limit to 110% is safe for my configuration?
Thanks.
SickBumblebee :
My PSU is actually a 1,500-watt multi-GPU approved power supply. I have no further details beyond that. The CPU was slightly overclocked using an option that automatically handles it in BIOS. Thanks for the advice!
You don’t know the brand name of the power supply?
Here are some options available at Newegg:
- Corsair: single 12V rail
- Enermax: 6 12V rails
- Silverstone: 8 12V rails
- Thermaltake: 2 12V rails
I was using an Enermax Galaxy EVO 1250W with a GTX Titan I. To power the Titan, I connected it to two separate 6 12V rails. This setup handles a 250W TDP card well. Overclocking the Titan caused power issues until I switched to a Corsair 1000W single 12V rail supply, which resolved the problems.
My troubles started when I overclocked the Titan’s power settings. The label on the power supply indicates the number of +12V rails and the amperage each one can handle.
4Ryan6 :
SickBumblebee :
My PSU is actually a 1,500-watt multi-GPU approved power supply. I only know that. The CPU was slightly overclocked using an option that automatically handles it in BIOS. Thanks for the advice!
You don’t seem to recognize the brand of the power supply?
The 1500-watt models available at Newegg right now.
Corsair offers a single 12V rail.
Enermax provides a 6 12V rail.
Silverstone has an 8 12V rail.
Thermaltake features a 2 12V rail.
I was using an Enermax Galaxy EVO 1250W with a GTX Titan I. I made sure to use two separate 12V rails from the 6 rails to power the Titan, which has a 250W TDP. The overclocking issues persisted until I switched it to a Corsair 1000W single 12V rail supply. The problems only appeared after increasing the Titan’s overclock settings.
The label on the power supply indicates the number of +12V rails and the load capacity for each.
Unfortunately, my computer was custom-built by Dell for me. So I’m not certain about the exact specs. However, I’m pretty sure it could handle overclocking two Titan graphics cards. It’s not that I changed the core voltage, but thanks a lot for your help!