I need to know what I'm doing with my CPU and GPU
I need to know what I'm doing with my CPU and GPU
I recently assembled my first rig in about two decades using a Ryzen 5 2600, an Asus B450 motherboard, an EVGA RTX 2080 with 16GB Corsair RAM at 3200mhz. It functions properly, which is great. I’m just trying to understand how to optimize it further. I have a plan: the CPU was clocked at 3.85GHz with a voltage offset of up to 1.35V. For the GPU, I used MSI Afterburner, setting core speed to +150, memory clock to +675, power limit at 110%, which pushes the temperature up to 84°C and the core voltage to +5. It seems stable when running 3DMark FireEx and Heavenly, and a CPUID stress test on the CPU itself shows temperatures under 67°C with the GPU at around 82°C. That’s acceptable. What would be ideal numbers for better stability? I’m currently using a Wraith Spire cooler (the higher-end model) and a Phanteks P300 case, which should provide good airflow since it doesn’t overheat much. I’d really appreciate any advice or feedback—sharing my exact specs would help someone else fine-tune their setup. Thanks in advance!
All essential details covered here.
Ryzen 2000 series overclocking instructions
NVIDIA RTX 2080 / advanced overclocking manual
Before attempting CPU overclocking, it's highly recommended you thoroughly review this material multiple times until you grasp precisely what you're doing and how to confirm stability and validate your adjustments. Skipping this step risks creating unnecessary complications. If you're prepared to invest the effort needed for thermal management and stability checks, it becomes straightforward—not overly complex. Only those who avoid effort often face significant issues or hardware damage.
I’m going into this now with a bit more knowledge than before. Should I reset all my previous changes in the BIOS or MSI Afterburner settings to start fresh? It might be a good idea to return everything to the defaults just to be safe. Also, is it okay to perform GPU overclocking after completing the CPU overclocking? That’s a bit of a beginner’s question but...
Yes, it's possible to start with CPU overclocking first, and it makes sense to do so. While overclocking the CPU, ensure nothing else affects stability. Keep memory, graphics, and the operating system consistently stable so any issues are likely tied to your CPU adjustments. After achieving full stability and thermal readiness, you can proceed with other steps like configuring XMP profiles for memory or further CPU/GPU overclocking. For the Intel burn test, it's not my preferred approach. If you haven't tried yet, I strongly suggest reviewing my beginner's guide on overclocking. Briefly, this comes from many trials, discussions with experienced overclockers, and web resources, aiming to identify the most efficient and reliable methods.
The benchmark for the CPU was completed too late, but the information is still useful. I’m now focusing on overclocking the GPU since I feel stable with the CPU clock. Recently, I ran BO4 and played Assassins Creed Odyssey without any crashes. Thanks for your assistance, it’s really appreciated.
Overclocking the GPU is taking time; I can’t get consistent readings from 3DMark. The FireEx scores are decent, sitting around 20500, but they’re unstable in TimeSpy. The screen often tears and flickers, so I tend to reduce the memory and GPU clocks. The FireEx results in 3DMark and Heavenly are solid, but not in TimeSpy. I lowered the core by about +50 and the memory by +500 (running it after finishing typing). Does this work? But the user mentioned expecting a core around 140 with memory at over 700—am I doing something wrong?
EDIT: It’s now around 230, and I’ve been using the GPU for about 4 hours. TimeSpy still doesn’t stabilize at any OC. The screen flickers and looks faulty; most people think the memory is clocked too high. Even after setting it to 0 and no further OC, it keeps flickering. Does this mean my CPU overclock is correct, or is the GPU failing? I’m stuck here.
Another hour later
I reset the GPU and performed a basic auto-OC scan, which showed a curve in MSI Afterburner. I then ran a straight TimeSpy test right after and got results almost matching what I’d achieved manually. The issue remains: TimeSpy keeps flashing and showing errors, yet it still gives a valid score just under 11k. What should I do? Fire Extreme is near 21k, and Heavenly comes in under 6k—both solid scores, ranking me around 94%. Should I try more adjustments? I’ll play for a bit to see if anything unusual happens (hopefully not).
I'll consider bringing in someone with more experience for that card.
Well, it seems he hasn't upgraded any RTX cards yet either.
Typically I don't overclock my graphics cards. If a card doesn't meet the requirements of the factory overclock, I opt for a larger one. If that's not possible, then I have to either wait or adjust settings. LOL.
I'd like to suggest using EVGA software instead of MSI software. There are signs that the Precision X and OC scanner work well with this card.
EVGA - Support - EVGA Software
www.evga.com
EVGA Software
www.evga.com
EVGA OC Scanner
www.evga.com