After the crash, the GPU cannot be overclocked.
After the crash, the GPU cannot be overclocked.
Updated: Don't worry! The MSI afterburner turned out corrupted. I tried running my stable overclock once more after a fresh install. This post will stay as it is in case others face the same issue.
ITheEric :
Update: MSI afterburner appears to be corrupted. I attempted a stable overclock again after a new install. This post will remain unchanged in case others encounter the same issue.
Original post:
I looked for some time but didn’t find a solution for my issue. The previous day I tried overclocking my GPU, specifically an MSI R9 390 gaming card, using MSI afterburner for testing. I didn’t adjust the core voltage and temperatures stayed below 80℃. Everything worked fine: I managed to raise my core clock by 100MHz (it increased but showed artifacts). Then I overclocked the memory as well, also achieving a 100MHz boost without problems. After that, I tried pushing it another 20MHZ; it ran stably for a few minutes before crashing. The screen went black and I had to restart my PC. Post-restart, my stable clock now delivers 19fps in Unigine Heaven instead of the usual 133 fps. Small overclocks (like +20 core or no memory) also performed poorly (around 30 fps). The standard clock, however, maintained its previous performance, averaging about 113 fps.
I researched and found it might be related to the driver. I removed MSI afterburner using Display Driver Uninstaller and reinstalled it again, but it didn’t resolve the issue. So what’s the actual problem?
Where did you obtain MSI AB from?
Was your CPU already overclocked?
How much of a FPS improvement does that overclock provide in real-world games?
Did the 20 fps increase with Unigine Heaven repeat consistently?
What are your current core and memory clock readings?
The rest of your component list, including PSU?
I’m asking this because if someone finds this post and has a R9 390, they won’t know where your clocks stand now that AB is fixed. The only clear point here is the graphics card itself, which doesn’t help anyone. Current settings, parts, and performance details are all missing.
Where I obtained the MSI AB file was from the official MSI website.
My CPU wasn’t already overclocked; I plan to do this next.
The real-world FPS boost from that OC needs further testing, and I’ll share results soon.
The +20 FPS improvement with Heaven worked, though it was actually +10. The correction in my post fixed the mistake, but the gain was consistent.
My current core and memory speeds are 1040 and 1500 respectively, going to 1140 and 1600. This change didn’t raise core voltage, but higher core speed caused artifacts and higher memory speed led to a crash.
The remaining components, including the PSU, are as follows: CPU is I5 6600K stock, cooler is Scythe Mugen 4, motherboard is MSI Z170A GAMING M3, GPU is MSI Radeon R9 390 8GB Gaming, RAM is Kingston HyperX Fury black HX424C15FBK2/8, and PSU is Corsair RM550x.
This was a very old entry, but I realize I missed updating the fix. Removing MSI afterburner and reinstalling it resolved the issue.