Help With Overclocking
Help With Overclocking
I’ve been pushing my Zotac 1080 to its limits. Unfortunately, I only managed an extra 80mhz on the core clock (I haven’t touched memory yet). I’m wondering why, even when under full load, the voltage doesn’t rise as high as it should to reach the 2062 MHz target shown here. It doesn’t even hit 2062 if the card is just warming up, so it can’t be due to thermal throttling. I also pushed power and temperature limits to their maximums.
My next concern is why the base clock arrow never reaches its limit during idle but jumps above the boost clock arrow when under load (as shown in the pictures). This is my first overclock attempt, so I’m sorry if I ask too many obvious questions—does the GPU automatically enable boost, or do I need to turn it on manually?
Additionally, it produces a strange, hard-to-describe noise whenever the system is under stress. As soon as the load stops, the noise disappears instantly. Lastly, the method I’m using to hit 2062 MHz by locking the curve also locks the voltage. Is this harmful to my GPU, and would you recommend it?
Thanks for your help and any overclock tips or tricks you might have!
Even with water cooling, I can only maintain stable performance at 2121Mhz, which is an improvement from the 2012Mhz boost. Pascal prefers cooler temps, so sometimes reducing the overclock can actually help. The card maintains its boost longer before throttling occurs.
GPU Boost 3.0 indicates it doesn’t require high voltage to reach the target, which is favorable for temperature management. I don’t need to worry about it too much.
Nvidia has made it very difficult to overvolt the card significantly. Only hardware modifications and vBIOS tweaks can push performance further. Pascal typically peaks near 2100Mhz, and some cards can easily reach 2150Mhz with luck.
The next challenge is finding a stable memory overclock, as you’ll encounter quite a few...
Even with water cooling, I can only keep the card stable at 2121Mhz, which is an improvement from a 2012Mhz boost. Pascal prefers cooler temps, so sometimes reducing the overclock is actually advantageous. The card maintains its boost longer before throttling occurs.
GPU Boost 3.0 indicates it doesn’t require high voltage to reach the target, which is favorable for temperature management. I don’t need to worry much about this aspect.
Nvidia has made it very difficult to overvolt the card significantly. Only hardware modifications and vBIOS tweaks can push performance further. Since Pascal reaches around 2100Mhz, some cards can easily hit 2150Mhz with luck.
The next challenge is finding a stable memory overclock, as higher memory bandwidth can boost performance noticeably. I managed only about an extra 200Mhz (bringing it to 400Mhz), though many users have achieved close to 11000Mhz effectively.
Eximo shares his experience with stable performance even with water cooling, managing around 2121Mhz after a previous boost to 2012Mhz. Pascal prefers cooler conditions, so sometimes reducing overclocking helps maintain stability. The card remains boosted longer before throttling occurs. GPU Boost 3.0 indicates the device doesn’t require high voltage for target performance, which is favorable for temperature management. Nvidia has made it difficult to exceed safe voltage limits, so only hardware tweaks and vBIOS updates can push performance further. Some cards easily reach 2150Mhz, while others hit 2100Mhz. The next challenge is finding a memory overclock to boost bandwidth, which could add around 200Mhz (bringing it to 400Mhz effectively). I noticed many achieving close to 11000Mhz. Thanks for your time! The temperatures weren’t as high as 67C when I started Minecraft with shaders—the most demanding game—but still reached up to 85C. So you’re right, it’s acceptable the clock stays at 2012Mhz instead of 2062 as suggested on the curve graph?
Minecraft mods can be quite challenging. If you're looking for something more demanding, here are some free-to-play options:
Unreal Engine 4:
Unreal Tournament (try detailed maps without flat textures)
Fortnite (the cartoon style doesn't fully utilize the engine)
CryEngine 3:
Mechwarrior Online
2012Mhz is quite solid out of the box. With the fan speed at 92C, an average of 88C suggests it's likely hitting 92C on the core and then reducing. At that stage, it's a good time to tweak the fan curve according to your noise tolerance.