I saw many posts by many members asking for help on how to overclock their ATI GPU....there already is a very good guide by Hardwareman on how to do it, which u can find here (this guide is for every card...not just ATI)
Guide to overclocking your Graphic Card
but i am posting my own guide on how to do it.
First of all, you'll need to know what overclocking is. It is a process of increasing the card's performance (hence the load) by increasing it's core clock and memory clock.
U must be thinking if we can do it, why it has not been done already?
This is because, the manufacturer has to keep in mind that card has to function even in the worst conditions....
Then again, if u want to overclock your card, you have to do it safely, and test it under stress conditions, so that you can be sure it will run properly and wont fry itself
There are many ways to overclock your ATI card, and i will explain several in this guide.
The theory can be explained in this way. We need to increase the core clock by 5MHz at a time keeping the memory clock constant, and scan it for artifacts. When we have scanned for artifacts and have reached its maximum value, then we keep the core clock to stock value and increase the memory clock by 5MHz at a time, till we reach a maximum value.
When we have found the maximum value for both Memory clock and core clock, we keep both values to the maximum and scan for artifacs.
If you are not able to follow what am i saying, dont worry, it'll be made clear.
Just read on.
Download the following softwares, they will be required to overclock your card
GPUTool--
ATITool 0.27b--
GPU-Z--
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First Of All, i recommend you to download the latest drivers for ATI, but its not necessary.
The easiest way to find your card's maximum limitations is by using GPUTool
Open the software, then click on find max one by one, as shown
it'll set the clocks to a little less than maximum value
To increase it more, set the core clock to the new value as found by the "find max" option keeping the memory clock at stock value,then increase the core by 5 MHz,then click on "test for stability".Test the stability for at least 2 minutes,if it is stable,then increase the core clock by 5MHz again. Keep doing it until you are encountered by artifacts.
Artifacts are small little yellow or blue dots that appear if your clocks are too high, which are similar to this
One important thing which you'll have to keep in mind is dont run any frame generating software( Like Fraps ) during this whole process. Its presence may be detected as artifacts.
When you have found the maximum core clock,reduce it by 5MHz and note the value
Then do the same with memory clock, and reduce the maximum value by
5MHz and note it.
Then, set the core and memory clocks to new values, and test them for stability.Now you have to run the stability test for at least 30 minutes.
When i say 30 minutes i really mean 30 minutes.
But to be sure, you should be running the test for 2 hours straight, but half and hour will do.
Keep a check at the temperature of your card using GPU-Z. Open it,go to sensors and see the temperature. Till 70 degree Celsius is safe, 75 is manageable, 80 is red zone, and 90 is the limit. If your card reaches the 90 degree Celsius mark within 1 hour, you definitely need to underclock it, or install any cooling equipment like a 5-inch external fan.
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The second way is by using ATItool. I like ATItool more than GPUtool because of the artifact scanning and it finds maximum memory and core clocks accurately(just like GPUTool),as i find it better.But both the softwares are equally reliable.
You can increase the core and memory clocks by ATI overdrive itself, go to catalyst control center, go to ATI overdrive, and click on the lock as shown in the figure
After unlocking it, you can change the clocks.
To test it, use ATItool.
Change the clocks in the manner explained earlier
Increase the core clock 5MHz at a time keeping the memory clock constant.
You can do it from ATItool itself.
Click on "Scan for artifacts" , and run the test for at least 2 minutes
If stable (no artifacts), increase core clock by 5Mhz more, and repeat the procedure until artifacts occurs(unstable clock).
Dont minimize the ATItool during artifact testing, and dont run any frame generating software( like Fraps), as it may be detected as artifact.
When you have found the maximum core clock, note it and decrease it by 5MHz(just to be on the safe side), and repeat the procedure for memory clock keeping core clock constant, and reduce it by 5MHz.
When you have found the max values for core and memory clock, apply them as current clocks, and again check them for stability using ATItool, and again check the temperatures. If they begin to close 90 degrees, stop right there and underclock your card.
There, you have learnt how to successfully overclock your card
But how do you know how much have you gained from your overcloking?
For these, there are many benchmarking softwares available, like PCMark, 3DMark,3DMark Vantage, SiSandra, FurMark,AquaMark etc.
The smallest among these is Furmark, which can b downloaded here
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Run the test before overclocking your card, and then again after overclocking
and note the difference
Note that the test has to be ran with similar settings both times, and it's not to be minimized, as the scores can differ hugely if any setting is altered.
If you do not overclock properly, then the result might be disastrous
So these are two of the many ways in which you can overclock your ATI card.
Note that this guide is to be followed safely, and Techarena.in will not be responsible for any damage done to your card.
Hope you find my guide useful, if you find anything to add or any mistakes, please point it out.
Any questions or general query, feel free to ask.
I have already posted this in Guides and tutorials section, but since this section was also relevant, so i am posting it here too
i hope its OK with the moderators
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