Struggling to achieve a steady overclock for the GTX 980 SC
Struggling to achieve a steady overclock for the GTX 980 SC
Hi all,
I'm seeking some guidance on achieving a consistent overclock on my GTX 980 SC. I've come across many discussions and articles about people reaching 1500Mhz from the standard 1367Mhz boost clock.
I'm using EVGA Precision X for overclocking and can maintain artifact-free performance around 1440Mhz with Valley benchmark. Beyond that, artifacts appear during testing, which is a clear warning sign. On the other hand, my games crash after just five minutes even when I push the clock slightly higher.
Am I facing issues with the card itself for overclocking, or is there another factor at play?
I've tried setting the power target to maximum (124%) and keeping it at 100%, or somewhere in between, but results remain unchanged. I've also adjusted the fan curve to ensure temperatures stay below 80°C (typically around 65-70°C).
My approach is starting at +13MHz on the boost clock and increasing in 13MHz steps. Benchmarks stay stable until reaching the +78MHz range, after which artifacts become noticeable. The lowest settings I've tried in games are +39MHz, but crashes still occur quickly.
Could there be a specific trick with voltage adjustments? I've experimented with that but am unsure of its impact.
My CPU is an i5 4670K at 4.4GHz and it's stable in my BIOS, though overclocking it doesn't seem to affect GPU stability. Could this OC influence the card's performance?
I truly value any advice here! I'm relatively new to GPU overclocking.
Thanks!
If you've stress tested your CPU with your graphics card at default settings, it shouldn't be causing issues. Increasing the power limit usually helps achieve a solid overclock. Manually adjusting voltages is mostly unnecessary unless you're aiming for record-breaking performance. It seems you've done everything correctly. You might just have missed out on the Silicon Lottery—it happens to everyone.
If you've stress tested your CPU with your graphics card at default settings, it shouldn't be causing issues. Increasing the power limit usually helps achieve a solid overclock. Manually adjusting voltages is mostly unnecessary unless you're aiming for record-breaking performance. It seems you've done everything correctly. You might just have missed out on the Silicon Lottery—it happens to everyone.
camason86 :
Hi all,
I'm looking for some advice here on how to get a stable overclock on my GTX 980 SC. I've read many articles and posts about people being able to achieve 1500Mhz OC'd from the normal 1367Mhz boost clock that this card comes with.
I am using EVGA Precision X to overclock. Using Valley benchmark I can get it to run artifact free at about 1440Mhz. If I push it any further than that I get artifacts during benchmarks which is an obvious red flag. However any game I run crashes within 5 minutes even if I overclock just a bit.
Do I just have a weak card as far as overlclocking, or am I missing something?
I've tried raising the power target to max (124%) and leaving it at 100%, or somewhere in between. Doesn't seem to make a difference. I've used fan curve settings to be sure it doesn't go above 80 degrees C (usually sits around 65-70).
I'll start at +13MHz to the boost clock and go up from there in 13MHz increments. As I mentioned above, benchmarks are stable up until I hit the +78MHz area, then I start to see artifacts. The lowest I've tried with in games is +39MHz and even then, any game will crash pretty quickly.
Is there a trick with the voltage settings? I have played around with that a bit, but I'm not entirely sure what it does.
My CPU is an i5 4670K running at 4.4GHz. This is overclocked in my bios but it's completely stable. Could that OC be affecting the GPU stability some how?
I really appreciate any advice here! Fairly new to GPU overclocking.
Thanks!
I've found this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyk5DCladcY
(Using Asus GPU tweak and it's logging feature instead of EVGA's utility along with MSI Afterburner's OSD to monitor resource usage in real time) video is extremely helpful with getting to KNOW your GFX card and its capabilities. However judging by the steps you've taken I agree with the silicon lottery loss. I'm curious what the GPUs's ASIC quality score is. There are 3 bars on the top right of GPU-Z's main screen. Click that and then the ASIC quality tab. It really doesn't mean anything but still... The silver lining is that the card is already overclocked. The OC ceiling with overclocked cards can be much lower than a stock card but then there is the binning process and the silicon lottery to think about. OCing is an art and nothing is assured.
BTW that is not the full name of your card. Specifics usually help but isn't a huge deal considering you did mention it is superclocked. My card is the EVGA 970 FTW. Yes, I could call it the GTX 970 and still be close to the right name. Its full name is EVGA GeForce GTX 970 FTW GAMING ACX 2.0.
Thanks guys. I think you're right in that i just got unlucky with a card that doesn't want to overclock any more than it already. But yeah, it is already overclocked by default, so i don't have anything to complain about. I was mostly just doing this to learn and see if I could get it to work, not expecting to get a large performance boost out of it.
I don't have three bars at the top right of GPU-Z, so I'm not sure where to find the ASIC score. The full name of my card is EVGA GeForce GTX 980 4GB SC w/ACX 2.0. It performs well as it is and I will just leave it alone until I decide to upgrade to a 1080
Thanks again for the insight!
Camason86 shared his experience and clarified some points about his situation. He mentioned that he was expecting a big performance improvement but found the card already overclocked by default. He also noted the lack of three bars in GPU-Z and sought advice on finding the ASIC score. He confirmed the card's name and voltage preferences, and referenced past support from EVGA's tech team. Overall, he advised leaving it as is unless a more suitable upgrade becomes necessary.