So im new to the whole overclocking thing...
So im new to the whole overclocking thing...
So I'm planning to boost my PC's performance, as I just installed it. I'd like to push it further without taking unnecessary risks. Here are my current details and the temperatures I expect from MSI Afterburner after testing Rise of the Tomb Raider and Shadow of Mordor 3 or 4 times in a row.
CPU: AMD FX-8350 Black Edition at 4.0ghz
Cooler: The stock heatsink that comes with the FX-8350 Black, which surprisingly includes heat pipes
Motherboard: ASRock 970m Pro3 (matx)
RAM: Kingston HyperX FURY (8gb 4x2)
GPU: Reference Powercolor Radeon HD 7970
Case: HP Pavilion A4313w (Modded)
1 case fan
PSU: EVGA 600w silver 80+ (hard to find, but available on Best Buy)
Now regarding the temperatures I'm seeing in MSI Afterburner:
CPU: The highest I've recorded it was 56, though it might have reached higher
GPU: The peak I've observed is 83, but that happened in a case with a subpar heatsink on an Athlon II X4. I tried using a Sempron (single core) cooler on an Athlon iIX 4 and it got hot too—maximum fan speed reached was 35 so far.
I'm considering getting an aftermarket watercooler for my CPU soon (Corsair H60).
But could I overclock any part of the system right now? Thanks!
So I'm just getting started with overclocking... Of course! It's really important for you to get familiar with overclocking, otherwise you wouldn't have to ask these questions, to avoid damaging your hardware due to lack of knowledge (as I mentioned earlier, learn first and then proceed). Understanding the basics helps you decide which components to purchase, and I personally think the H60 is a huge waste of money. Wow! That should definitely help reduce overclocking-related heat! Not really! Check out this link: Some people might come over and offer temporary fixes, but you need to learn how to overclock yourself. This means exploring the internet, reading guides, and learning from others' experiences so you're not just another statistic in the field. You have plenty of time to master this, and if you put in the effort to understand it, your questions will be more focused and relevant. I hope you see my point without feeling offended.
what the person above me was saying is really important. i spent five days alone researching what to do and what to look for before i joined here and started posting. what they’re trying to say is that the best way to learn is by doing, not by having others tell you what to do. in short, being clear about what you’re doing is the key to getting better. eventually, you’ll hit a barrier and won’t know how to overcome it because you were just following instructions instead of figuring it out yourself.
my suggestion is to go with intel, but since you already have an amd cpu, it makes sense to stick with that.
my question is: why do you need to overclock? do you know how far you want it to go?
I understand not to push the stock cooler too hard just because they're not great. When I said I was aiming for a more cautious approach, I meant a gentler overclock that others could maintain stability with. I focused mainly on the graphics card when considering an overclock, since I was limited by the case. I opted for a reference card to force heat out of the back intentionally and manage temperatures better. For the H60, I thought it would fit, but the H60 wouldn't work well here.
I’ve done some research and can handle the steps myself. I was searching for data on how far people have successfully overclocked a 7970 reference card.
My motivation wasn’t driven by necessity but by a desire to reduce waiting time for video renders. Regarding the graphics card, it’s already at its limit with 2014 settings and struggles even on ultra games—especially since I enjoy ultra mode.
I understand not to push the cooler beyond its limits just because they're rarely good, especially when I was suggesting staying more cautious. My focus was mainly on the graphics card when trying to overclock while stuck with this case. I opted for a reference card to force heat out of the back deliberately and keep temperatures down. The H60 wouldn't fit here, but the H60 could.
I've done some research and can handle the steps myself. I was searching for data on how far people have managed to overclock a 7970 reference card. I didn’t do this randomly; I just wanted to know the approximate limits of the 7970 when using a reference cooler.
As for why I need this overclock, it’s more about wanting to reduce waiting time for video renders.
Regarding the graphics card, it’s already at its maximum performance by 2014 and struggles with games on ultra settings—though I enjoy ultra.
Dude, here’s the advice:
GET A NEW GFX CARD
forget about overclocking or the cooler; nothing matters now since you have a weak GPU as your main bottleneck.
So why are you pushing it? Just for better gaming?
There’s a reason people ask that and why I’m asking you.
By the way, are you using an SSD?
L0stChild :
MrWillyP :
I know NOT to overclock on a stock cooler, just because theyre never great, when I was saying staying more on the safe side I meant a more conservative overclock that other people were able to keep stable. I was more referring to the graphics card when looking to overclock while im stuck with this case, i chose to get a reference card so it would blow heat out the back on purpose to keep thermals down. I was looking at the h60 as for the hyper 212 will definately not fit in this case, and the h60 could.
I have done research, and can do the steps myself, i was looking for some numbers on how far people have been able to overlock a 7970 reference card.
I didnt go into this blind, and I know its not an exact science, I was simply asking a question about how far people were overclocking the 7970 reference card so i could have a rough ball park of how high the 7970 can be overclocked when on a reference cooler.
And to answer why i need the overclock
Its less of a need and more of a want, id like to spend less time waiting on videos to render
As far as the video card goes, its getting maxed by 2014 and on games on ultra and i happen to like ultra...
dude bro heres ur solution
GET A NEW GFX CARD
forget about any overclocking or cooler nothing matters at this point because u have a shit gfx card which is ur bottleneck.
so as i said why do u want to overclock? for better gaming?
theres a reason why ppl ask that and why im asking you.
btw are u running ssd?
The 7970 still runs games on ultra at acceptable framerates, I just wanted to push it a bit further, and don't use bottlenecking as an excuse, nothing in this system is bottlenecking, not truely. something you may not know is that a r9 280 is practically a rebranding of the 7970 of which is a very common card still..
The 7970 continues to run games at high framerates on ultra settings, I just aimed to go a bit further without relying on bottlenecking. There’s no reason this isn’t working well, not really. What you might not realize is that the R9 280 is essentially a rebranding of the 7970, which remains a very popular card.
So the situation involves one fan but I plan to install another soon. The GPU hasn't exceeded 79 degrees yet since I had a CPU with an incorrect heatsink. AMD tends to run hotter than NVIDIA by default, and the 7970 stays safe up to 85 degrees according to AMD. Since the card isn't overclocked right now, the fan automatically adjusts its speed. Under load it's around 35, so if I increase it, it should drop noticeably. I might test this tonight. Regarding the CPU, it reaches a maximum of 55 and usually stays at 15 under normal use (web browsers, word documents, etc.). It doesn't throttle when it hits its heat limit, which suggests the fan might speed up even more.
As for the hard drive, I have an HDD which isn't really a choice—it could become a bottleneck if anything. I currently have two 7200 RPM drives: one blue and one Samsung. I intend to replace them with SSDs for the operating system and games later. If the game is already running, it shouldn't significantly affect FPS, though all SSDs mainly speed up load times.