GTX 970 paired with ASUS Maximux VI Hero is suitable for overclocking.
GTX 970 paired with ASUS Maximux VI Hero is suitable for overclocking.
I have an nVidia GTX 970, combined with an ASUS Maximus VI Hero running an Intel i5 quadcore 4670k @ 3.40GHz and 16GB RAM. The GPU is water cooled with a Corsair H75 + a Kraken G10 bracket, while the CPU is watercooled with a Corsair H60. I mainly did the watercooling because temperatures in where I live can go really high in the summers (up to 40°C). Right now, it's still about 30°C, so the weather is still not so much of a problem.
GPU temperatures at idle doesn't go higher than 26°C, while CPU's doesn't go over 30°C. When gaming, both goes up "only" 20 degrees (GPU's up to 46°C, while CPU's go up to 50°C), so I guess there's some good room for overclocking. Problem is I never did any overclocking before, and I'm kind of skeptic about the GPU, since while the Corsair waterblock seems great, the Kraken fan doesn't seem that reliable to cool the rest of the videocard components... And since my output is 1080p at 60Hz (both max values), I can't go over 60FPS. I can get that value, but not at all times. When it gets really "busy", FPS can dip down to 48, even 45 FPS (I'm measuring with FRAPS).
So my question is, is it safe to overclock it a little bit just to obtain that 60 FPS constant value? Is just overclocking the GPU suffice to achieve it, or is it necessary to overclock both the GPU and CPU? Is MSI Afterburner the most recommended for my GPU, or is there other better software? For the CPU, is the BIOS overclock enough? Any pre-determined values I could use?
Thanks in advance!
I own an MSI 970 with the stock air cooler already installed, and I can easily overclock it without any issues. You should be able to do the same with liquid cooling as well. If you're concerned about the VRAM on your 970, I've seen others who used the G10 add aftermarket heatsinks and they all confirm it works fine.
Check out this forum thread: http://www.overclock.net/t/1487012/offic...wners-club
For more info, see this product page: http://www.amazon.com/Cosmos-Copper-Cool...B00637X42A
Some of these heatsinks are used by users, and others suggest you might not need them.
I own an MSI 970 with the stock air cooler already installed, and I can easily overclock it without any issues. You should be able to do the same with liquid cooling as well. If you're concerned about the VRAM on your 970, I've seen others who used the G10 add aftermarket heatsinks and they all confirm it works fine.
Check out this forum discussion: http://www.overclock.net/t/1487012/offic...wners-club
For more info on the G10, visit: http://www.amazon.com/Cosmos-Copper-Cool...B00637X42A
Some of these heat sinks are used by users, and a few say you might not need them at all.
Hey there! Sure, I'll check what I can find about overclocking the CPU first. For the GPU, I think I'll wait if I need to get more heatsinks—since it's tough for me to get them from outside the USA and it might take a while.