GTX 970 overclock results!
GTX 970 overclock results!
I found something unusual. My previous MSI 970 clock at 1556MHZ (+225 core, +550mem, 1225mv) was crashing during games. I returned it and discovered some artifacts that weren’t present before, likely due to the core settings. After adjusting the core to +215, boosting memory to +600, and raising the hardware lock voltage to 1250mV, the clock stabilized at 1556MHZ again, and 1543MHZ without voltage with no artifacts. It seems stable in games now. I also tried different settings—raising mem to its peak performance (650, which is unstable), increasing voltage to get the highest possible clock—but it ended up matching the previous unstable clock speed with altered parameters. It appears that raising the voltage can actually improve performance beyond the stable core frequency.
Final maximum stable clock: I’ll test this further and update soon.
Performance settings:
- 1556MHZ @ 51-54C full load
- +110% Power target
- +215 core – reached its limit before artifacts appeared
- +600mem – will keep this for a while unless issues arise
- +87mV – causes a slight clock boost, so kept on
- 104-106% – highest TDP I’ve encountered on my card.
I understand the MSI 970 has a limited 110% power cap, which prevents it from reaching 1.6GHZ with this card. See source: http://www.hardocp.com/article/2014/09/2...d_review/8.
I also note that my MSI Gaming 970 came with a clock of 1328MHZ, not 1366.
I'm a bit let down with my ACX2.0 SC. It only runs stable at +100mhz (1,417) on the core, and anything higher causes artifacts and crashes. I managed to get +125mhz on Heaven with a score of 1589, but that same setup crashed on Furmark. My memory cap is at 600mhz, and it doesn’t seem to impact my core overclocking ability. Still, the 970 is a powerful card at stock, and since I can achieve great performance from my "SC" card, I’ll consider the $30 saved as a win.
Different from my earlier comment in this thread, I also encountered some problems with clock speeds near 1430MHz (Boost). I believed it was stable back then because it handled all the heavy tasks smoothly, even running Crysis 3 during a campaign. Things might have changed later.
I lowered things to a more modest 1200 non-boost (which gives around 1340 boost on the core) and 7400MHz effective in memory now that they're in SLI.
I think we're all facing similar challenges.
Not that being stuck in this situation is a bad thing.
I'm feeling a bit let down with my ACX2.0 SC. It only runs stable at +100mhz (1,417) on the core, and anything higher causes artifacts and crashes. I managed to get +125mhz on Heaven with a score of 1589, but that same setup crashed on Furmark. My memory cap is at 600mhz, and it doesn’t seem to impact my core overclocking ability. Still, the 970 is a powerful card at stock, and since I can get solid "FTW" performance from my "SC" card, I’ll keep the $30 saved as a win.
You should try testing memory at +500 and +600; if there’s no big difference, stick with +500. I used +600 for a while too, but it gave me about 1-2 fps more without crossing into artifacts.
I'm a bit let down with my ACX2.0 SC. It only supports +100mhz (1,417) stable on the core, and anything higher causes artifacts and crashes. I managed to run +125mhz on Heaven with a score of 1589, but that same setup crashed on Furmark. My memory is maxed out at 600mhz, yet it doesn’t seem to hinder my ability to overclock the core. Still, the 970 is a powerful card at stock, and since I can achieve solid "FTW" performance with my "SC" card, I’ll keep the $30 saved as a win.
You should try memory at +500 and +600 if you don’t notice much difference; I’d stick with +500. I previously used it at +600 for a while, but realized it gave me about 1-2 fps more without crossing into artifacts.
I’ve only checked memory at +600 versus Stock settings and saw a 5% boost in Heaven Benchmark. For context, +125 core and +600 memory gave a 12% improvement over stock. Overall, I’m not aiming for constant overclocking—just wanted to push my card to its limits.
Your card reference is what I'm looking for. I got my MSI gtx 970 up to 1556MHZ +225 core +550 mem around the mid-50s c. It scored 1636 in heaven 4.0 at 65.0 fps with 1080p.
You mentioned something about your EVGA GTX 970 at 1379mhz scoring 1656, then boosting it to 1450mhz and getting 1710 in the same setup.
Did you test both with fullscreen and 8x AA or 4x? I tried at 4x as recommended.
Also, I haven't even adjusted the mem or voltage yet.
Niccko :
BRUH? My EVGA GTX 970 was stocked at 1379mhz, got 1656 with that. I increased it by +71 to 1450mhz and scored 1710 in heaven 4.0 at 67.9 fps 1080p? Either my card is great or yours isn't; p or both! Did you test everything at fullscreen and 8x AA or 4x? I ran at 4x as recommended.
By the way, I haven't even touched the mem or voltage.
He clearly used 8xAA and his score of 1636 is quite solid and on target.