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Tips for overclocking and the impact of adjusting water cooler screws

Tips for overclocking and the impact of adjusting water cooler screws

T
The_D3mon
Senior Member
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694
10-26-2024, 10:59 PM
#1
Hey everyone,
I've been experimenting with pushing my new system to its limits for about a month now. Although I've read a lot online, I thought it was wise to seek advice from those with more experience.
Recently, I purchased a gaming PC from Gumtree featuring a 4690k processor, which I've overclocked to 4.3mhz. The setup includes Z-87 MOBO, 8GB RAM, a GTX 980 graphics card, 256SSD, and a 1TB HDD (plus another identical one). The price was $850, plus an additional $60 for extra RAM from eBay—a new 8GB Kingston HyperX model.
The build looks solid for overclocking thanks to its large radiator with six copper heatpipes across the CPU, paired with two fans, and the GPU is mounted in a Corsair all-in-one water cooler with an NZXT bracket and dual-fan radiator.
https://goo.gl/photos/ng2S7nDzQVzSoDYZ8
To be honest, I've really enjoyed the improvements while playing BF4. Previously, I used a gaming laptop with a 750M processor that struggled at 1080p on low settings. Now I can see enemies from farther away before they notice me, and my aim stays sharper during movement. The system handles all adjustments smoothly in Ultra, and I can boost the resolution up to around 150% without dropping below 60 FPS.
I've also been tweaking the GTX overclock in MSI Afterburner. The card consistently hits its thermal limit, causing it to throttle. I checked the cooler's screws and found them loose—so I tightened them by hand while performing a GPU stress test using a Phillips drill bit. I even used a long screwdriver for the job.
I downloaded Furmark Stress Test, which pushed the GPU to higher loads than gaming does. It forced maximum power but didn't reach very high MHz, likely due to thermal throttling. The results were extreme—temperatures soared to about 92°C before I re-tightened. You can see the temperature drop in this graph:
https://goo.gl/photos/XwwdXKVBv8sxii4fA
After some adjustments, I managed to get all screws as tight as possible with just my thumb and index finger, then loosened them slightly. During a stress test, the temperature stayed under 70°C. However, this also introduced another issue: I now need to re-evaluate my overclock parameters since the card's operating conditions have changed completely. Previously, overheating limited power and clock speed; now it's delivering more power and pushing the clock higher, which is causing instability. The image below shows the temperature curve during tightening:
https://goo.gl/photos/...
I'm currently testing voltage +87, power limiter 120, clock core +140, memory +500. This seems to bring the speed back closer to what it was before overheating, but only if I stick to the original cooling setup.
Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
(Sorry the image links don't display properly—I just shared the URLs)
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T
The_D3mon
10-26-2024, 10:59 PM #1

Hey everyone,
I've been experimenting with pushing my new system to its limits for about a month now. Although I've read a lot online, I thought it was wise to seek advice from those with more experience.
Recently, I purchased a gaming PC from Gumtree featuring a 4690k processor, which I've overclocked to 4.3mhz. The setup includes Z-87 MOBO, 8GB RAM, a GTX 980 graphics card, 256SSD, and a 1TB HDD (plus another identical one). The price was $850, plus an additional $60 for extra RAM from eBay—a new 8GB Kingston HyperX model.
The build looks solid for overclocking thanks to its large radiator with six copper heatpipes across the CPU, paired with two fans, and the GPU is mounted in a Corsair all-in-one water cooler with an NZXT bracket and dual-fan radiator.
https://goo.gl/photos/ng2S7nDzQVzSoDYZ8
To be honest, I've really enjoyed the improvements while playing BF4. Previously, I used a gaming laptop with a 750M processor that struggled at 1080p on low settings. Now I can see enemies from farther away before they notice me, and my aim stays sharper during movement. The system handles all adjustments smoothly in Ultra, and I can boost the resolution up to around 150% without dropping below 60 FPS.
I've also been tweaking the GTX overclock in MSI Afterburner. The card consistently hits its thermal limit, causing it to throttle. I checked the cooler's screws and found them loose—so I tightened them by hand while performing a GPU stress test using a Phillips drill bit. I even used a long screwdriver for the job.
I downloaded Furmark Stress Test, which pushed the GPU to higher loads than gaming does. It forced maximum power but didn't reach very high MHz, likely due to thermal throttling. The results were extreme—temperatures soared to about 92°C before I re-tightened. You can see the temperature drop in this graph:
https://goo.gl/photos/XwwdXKVBv8sxii4fA
After some adjustments, I managed to get all screws as tight as possible with just my thumb and index finger, then loosened them slightly. During a stress test, the temperature stayed under 70°C. However, this also introduced another issue: I now need to re-evaluate my overclock parameters since the card's operating conditions have changed completely. Previously, overheating limited power and clock speed; now it's delivering more power and pushing the clock higher, which is causing instability. The image below shows the temperature curve during tightening:
https://goo.gl/photos/...
I'm currently testing voltage +87, power limiter 120, clock core +140, memory +500. This seems to bring the speed back closer to what it was before overheating, but only if I stick to the original cooling setup.
Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
(Sorry the image links don't display properly—I just shared the URLs)

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Reply
G
goldcrest73
Junior Member
Find
10
10-26-2024, 10:59 PM
#2
you're giving a lot of attention to your AIO
..... wait a sec
nvm =o
my usual tip for those upgrading... think about moving to the newest platform/generation.
sometimes investing in an older system can stop you and make it hard to reuse components.
the 3-4 generation gap is when you should start rebuilding. or roughly every five years.
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G
goldcrest73
10-26-2024, 10:59 PM #2

you're giving a lot of attention to your AIO
..... wait a sec
nvm =o
my usual tip for those upgrading... think about moving to the newest platform/generation.
sometimes investing in an older system can stop you and make it hard to reuse components.
the 3-4 generation gap is when you should start rebuilding. or roughly every five years.

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A
Alexis141
Member
Find
109
10-26-2024, 10:59 PM
#3
you're giving a lot of unnecessary advice into your AIO
..... wait a sec
nvm =o
usually, when people upgrade, they should consider moving to the newest platform or generation.
sometimes investing in an older system can end up being a dead end and you won't be able to reuse components.
the best time to rebuild is around 3-4 generations back, or roughly every five years.
Reply
Reply
A
Alexis141
10-26-2024, 10:59 PM #3

you're giving a lot of unnecessary advice into your AIO
..... wait a sec
nvm =o
usually, when people upgrade, they should consider moving to the newest platform or generation.
sometimes investing in an older system can end up being a dead end and you won't be able to reuse components.
the best time to rebuild is around 3-4 generations back, or roughly every five years.

Reply
Reply