Overclocking question, you're definitely familiar with this!
Overclocking question, you're definitely familiar with this!
I currently have an xfx r9 290x graphics card. I’d like to begin overclocking and I’ve reviewed some guides and watched several videos, but none of them covered the software that the written instructions focused on. Those guides were about an older version of the program that I was told to use.
My current setup is Sapphire Trixx, as I’ve learned it performs better than MSI’s software. Now my main concerns are:
1) What does “power limit” actually control? Does it determine how much power my GPU can draw, is that right?
2) The guide I read suggested setting “power tune” to 20%. I think “power tune” is similar to “power limit,” but my version of Trixx allows a maximum of 50%. Should I push it to the full 50% to increase performance, or should I keep it at 20%?
3) Another guide mentioned increasing the “clock speed” by 100, running it and if it crashes, reducing it by 25 until stable. Does this approach relate to adjusting the GPU clock, and is it a safe and effective method for finding my optimal settings?
Edit: Just a note, my CPU is an AMD FX-8350. At the moment I’m achieving around 78 FPS, and my temperatures are about 90°C.
Edit: I’ve experimented by setting the core clock to 1025 MHz and adjusting power tune between 5% and 15%. Nothing changed during benchmarking. In fact, at the base setting my GPU rarely hits its 1000 MHz target—usually around 890 MHz. When I run Unigine Heaven, it consistently reaches full MHz performance.
Power limit is yes, indicating how much power your power supply can provide to the graphics card. I haven’t come across powertune before, but I wouldn’t recommend increasing it by 50%. That could cause significant damage. If your GPU doesn’t have a non-reference air cooler, I’d suggest only reaching the maximum of +10%. With an overclocked air-cooled GPU, it usually needs only a little more than that. I usually stick to +7%, which gives just the right amount of power without creating excess heat. I’d be cautious when overclocking the graphics card, perhaps starting at +50 and adjusting gradually. A 50 MHz increase in core clock speed has always worked well for me. Once you notice thermal throttling or other issues, it’s best to adjust accordingly.
Power limit is yes, indicating how much power your power supply can provide to the graphics card. I haven’t come across powertune before, but I wouldn’t recommend increasing it by 50%. That could cause significant damage. If your GPU lacks a reference air cooler, I’d suggest only reaching the maximum +10%. With an overclocked air-cooled GPU, I usually stick to +7% for optimal performance. I’d be cautious when overclocking the graphics card, and I usually adjust the core clock by 50mhz. If you notice thermal throttling or instability, reduce the core/memory clock by about 15 to restore stability. P.S. Avoid changing voltage unless you’re experienced—unless you’re using a water-cooled GPU, you can safely increase the power limit by 10-15% for more stable overclocking.