Want to Overclock my GTX 680-DC2 Series GPU

[DieHard]

I need some practical advice. Looking for limits. I am a total noob at this. Getting stutters, sometimes not very playable in 2.0.1 The old DCS build 1.2.16 was great.

 

Built a PC from scratch a few years ago, almost all parts were from NewEgg.

 

But my current PC is a Dell Alienware Aurora-R3 purchased new in 2011. I've added this new card 2 or 3 years ago and extended RAM to 16GB. Going to add SDD and looking at MSI GTX 970 at some point in the future. Yeah, I realize in order to play DCSW decently a new build is in my future, sometime.

 

I want to overclock my Asus GeForce GTX 680-DC2 Series (4GB) GDDR5 GPU .

 

I have a tweaking utility titled: ASUS GPU Tweak that came with the card.

 

Parameters that can be adjusted using sliders are:

===============================

GPU Boost Clock (MHz)

 

Min. GPU Voltage (mV)

 

Memory Clock (MHz)

 

Fan Speed (%)

 

Power Target (%)

 

 

Thanks for any help and/or advice.

Edited April 1, 2016 by DieHard

[HawkDCS]

Long time overclocker here.

 

Most important thing is to watch your temps the card will slow down if it can't stay cool.

 

Try adding 25MHZ at a time and see if its stable. Stable means the driver or game doesn't crash or have graphical artifacts with the higher clocks. Keep increasing until you get unstable and back down 20-30Mhz on the card. Start adding clock speed till its unstable. Pull back.

 

Power target you can max out as its safe on the card. Adding MV is another story but you shouldn't hurt it adding more Mv. That being said if you toast your card don't blame me. Don't bother adding Mv unless you can't get the overclocks you want stable. Do this as a last resort.

 

Then start adding to the Ram clocks Separately from the GPU clock. Leave GPU clock stock while increasing ram timing. Dont try and add to both at same time or you won't know what is causing the instability.

 

Its very game dependent if you need more GPU clock or Ram Clock.

 

Try and keep card under 80C if you can. Use the fan to do this. It will get loud the more you OC to keep your temps down. So its always a balance between noise and OC if you aren't water cooled.

Edited April 1, 2016 by HawkDCS

[DieHard]

Yeah, water cooled or whatever the liquid is.

 

Thanks for the reply. I will experiment.

Edited April 1, 2016 by DieHard

[HawkDCS]

If its water cooled you should be golden to push it aways on overclocking. Usually with overclocking you can get about 10-20% gains in FPS with same card.

 

So if you are getting 50FPS another 5-7FPS average would be great.

 

If you are underwater you can more easily add more Mv to it aswell as card runs cooler overall.

[BitMaster]

DieHard,

 

I think that card is not watercooled but what you see are heatpipes attached to the DC ( direct copper ) plate. Asus Watercooled cards are called Poseidon.

 

I would try not to raise Voltage on GPU at all but only increase clock on GPU and RAM until it fails, then dial back a bit.

 

You should google some 680-NV-GPU OC articles to see how that GPU wants it, each is different.

 

My 980 goes with minimum volts to 1500 and RAM to 8000 instead of 1350 and 7000, roughly same 10% more fps in any game. My temp slider is all low and GPU temp never above 48-50°C when gaming, watercooled tho.

 

I would not go above 70 or 80 C and more important than GPU are your caps.....cool those too with adequate air or water if you can. They get very very hot if you overdo it with volatge, over 100°C !

[Sporg]

I need some practical advice. Looking for limits. I am a total noob at this. Getting stutters, sometimes not very playable in 2.0.1 The old DCS build 1.2.16 was great.

 

Built a PC from scratch a few years ago, almost all parts were from NewEgg.

 

But my current PC is a Dell Alienware Aurora-R3 purchased new in 2011. I've added this new card 2 or 3 years ago and extended RAM to 16GB. Going to add SDD and looking at MSI GTX 970 at some point in the future. Yeah, I realize in order to play DCSW decently a new build is in my future, sometime.

 

I want to overclock my Asus GeForce GTX 680-DC2 Series (4GB) GDDR5 GPU .

 

I have a tweaking utility titled: ASUS GPU Tweak that came with the card.

 

Parameters that can be adjusted using sliders are:

===============================

GPU Boost Clock (MHz)

 

Min. GPU Voltage (mV)

 

Memory Clock (MHz)

 

Fan Speed (%)

 

Power Target (%)

 

 

Thanks for any help and/or advice.

 

I have a PC with i7-2600K and ASUS GTX 670 myself.

 

In my experience you can't OC your video card much before it locks up under load.

And even with OC it does not give a lot of extra performance.

 

However, have you tried overclocking your CPU?

It gives a massive performance boost, even with an older GPU.

 

My i7-2600K runs at 4.3 GHz boost speed without touching voltage settings, just with a good cooler.

It even runs 4.4 GHz if it is only on few cores.

And this increase in speed could really be felt in DCS.

[DieHard]

Yeah, water cooled or whatever the liquid is.

 

Thanks for the reply. I will experiment.

 

Was referring to my i7-2600 CPU.

 

Sorry to mislead.

[DieHard]

Was reading the Alienware Club forums. They tend to be kind of conservative as to modding their machines.

 

I asked the question here specific to DCS just to see what you guys recommend, and maybe find guys here with similar equipment past or present.

 

I hate jumping in blind, try to make informed decisions.

 

Never have overclocked a CPU out of sheer terror of messing up. Guess I'll give it a try.

 

Thanks.

[Hadwell]

the 2600 non-K can be o/c'd to about 3.8 ghz, but you need to up the bclk because the multiplyer is locked, that means upping the voltage, and that you need good ram that can handle a higher bclk... that also means you need good cooling, to handle the increase in voltage.

[Akki]

My CPU and videocard are watercooled and the reduction in noise and temps are very dramatic. If you can afford it (it can be "expensive") and you have no worries to transform your pc into a fishbowl :P, you won't regret it. You will never come back again to loud fans and hot air inside your pc.

 

Regarding DCS I have been a simmer for some years now and I read on this forums many many problems of users regarding DCS.exe crashs, video problems, installation problems.. extrange behavior, BSODs.. well I am maybe one of those lucky guys with no problems AT ALL in that regard. Same for any other game or sim that I played too...

 

I'm sure this is because a cool (cold) CPU, a freezed (iced) videocard and plenty of RAM, that's my oppinion. Plus all that, watercooling is efficient and very fun to do :smilewink:

 

When you in top of it add a fine and precise joystick :joystick: you will fly like a dream.

[Hadwell]

well I am maybe one of those lucky guys with no problems AT ALL in that regard. Same for any other game or sim that I played too...

 

 

no... you have a decent machine, the people with problems are the ones who can't, or won't (for some reason) upgrade to at least as modern of hardware as you or I have....

 

like you can pick up an 2500K cpu for like 60$ used on ebay... it's way better WAY better than a 2600 non K, can overclock a 2500K to 4.3 ghz easy without upping the bclk or voltages.

 

and GTX780s go anywhere from 100-300$...

Edited April 1, 2016 by Hadwell

[BitMaster]

Also some guys like PC's and Games and Sims but have basically no clue about hardware and how to help themselves. Got lots of those pals ringing my number...

 

Just having a fat PC doesnt mean it runs decent, hell no. Misclick one or the other check box and your performance is ruined, that easy.

[Hadwell]

Also some guys like PC's and Games and Sims but have basically no clue about hardware and how to help themselves. Got lots of those pals ringing my number...

 

Just having a fat PC doesnt mean it runs decent, hell no. Misclick one or the other check box and your performance is ruined, that easy.

 

 

except that, in general, the people that are having studdering issues are using AMD FX cpus, or 5 year old locked intel cpus, and/or are not using 16gb of ram, an ssd, or at least something like a 960 or 680....

 

and those that are using good hardware usually get their graphics settings sorted out rather quickly... don't keep coming back multiple times saying "this game is broken, it's not my computer"

[Akki]

no... you have a decent machine, the people with problems are the ones who can't, or won't (for some reason) upgrade to at least as modern of hardware as you or I have....

 

like you can pick up an 2500K cpu for like 60$ used on ebay... it's way better WAY better than a 2600 non K, can overclock a 2500K to 4.3 ghz easy without upping the bclk or voltages.

 

and GTX780s go anywhere from 100-300$...

 

You are right with the OC, when you pass 4 ghz with good temps and low voltages, the thing begins to make you smile. In my case, I have 3 cores that reach 5.0ghz and one that gets only to 4.5 ghz. DCS usually uses only 2 cores, one for game systems and the other one for sound as I understand but I do not know if there are changes on that with EDGE. A good two core chip could be very capable to provide a nice experience.

Edited April 2, 2016 by Akki

[Akki]

Diehard, what do you have in mind? Upgrade some components or do some OC magic to maximize what you have?

[DieHard]

Right now I just want to push my GTX 680 GPU to see what I can get and see if the game improves.

 

My CPU is not the K version, but i7-2600 with its built in TurboBooster activated to on will get me 3.9 not overclocked. I am currently researching to see if I can actually overclock it, re: Tom's Hardware.com articles.

 

Looking at a MSI GTX 970 as my next graphics card BUT I get from Alienware they don't support it. So, I am researching that, too. I am willing to give it a go and at least try it :

 

http://en.community.dell.com/owners-club/alienware/f/3746/t/19661685

 

My local BestBuy has the nVidia brand equivalent with a 15 day money back return policy if it doesn't work out.

 

 

Thanks for the replies and the suggested help.

Edited April 3, 2016 by DieHard

[BitMaster]

Do not overdo the OC on the non-K with Busclock.

 

103 or 104 is max I'd ever go on a P67 also keep RAM all times at 1.6 and not 1.65 if you OC or not. It damages your CPU over time on the P67! Just some hints that are hard to gather on the net.

 

Try buying a 2600k or 2500k on the net but check for the D2 stepping, latest and batch batch of the SandyBridge K's.

 

The best Guide I found among many to successfully max out my OC to 5GHz is this page as it

focuses and explains different versions of the 2600-K, some early models need more power and produce more heat and usually not go above 4.3 or 4.5 max, even if WC. The later the model

the better your changes for better OC with lower overall voltages applies ( LESS HEAT ! ).

 

https://hardforum.com/threads/official-asus-p8p67-series-overclocking-guide-and-information.1578110/

 

My tips ( if your board allows to do so, avoid Alienware btw, ask a local dealer that u trust to build one for you next time, cheaper and better imho ):

 

Check for Phase controls in your Bioses and if available set all those ( RTFM too ) to HIGH or EXTREME to support higher voltages and currents.

 

DO NOT RAISE ANY VOLTAGE in the BIOS if your mobo has a software to do so from within windows. If none such available, well; good luck finding one or do it from BIOS only which is somewhat more time consuming but no different in the end.

 

I do not need to raise ANY voltage other than the main CPU threshold Volatge from 1.20 to 1.35V.

Do not change PLL or such Voltages.. if at all, you'd lower them :) RAM always 1.60V !!!

 

Watch the CPU temp as you increase the Busclock by 1MHz, do some tests, play DCS, run prime95 stress test and kombustor from MSI same time to max power draw and stress. If it runs OK, go 1MHz higher.... and so on.... 105 should be top of the pole I guess 5 x 34 170MHz more for riding on the edge... you gotta see if is worth it by busclock as it something P67 really really doesnt want and like but somehow accepts it in limits ( some boards by default run 101 ).

 

It really all depends on the individual machine and set & settings when you OC ;)

[BitMaster]

The board raises the Volatge for CPU automatically if the CPU demands more...up to 1.5 -1.65 Volts under heavy loads...that is a hefty 130W round about instead of the allowed 92w in my case ...you better cool properly or it wont even boot or run prime for 1 sec.

 

So no need to go above the threshold Voltage as described for your CPU, it auto-overvolts as needed, by default, oc or default.

Edited April 3, 2016 by BitMaster

[DieHard]

Experimented last night pushing my GTX 680. My GPU fan was on maximum manual setting and it was running too hot, just about to limit and game froze up---104th Phoenix MP.

 

I will experiment tonight manually upping my case fans' rpm and see if I can improve the cooling. If not, I'll go get a Nvidia GTX 970 single card.

 

Thanks for the replies and ideas.

[Demon_]

You can remove the side panel.

 

I put a fan (low speed) in front of my pc during hot summer time.

Edited April 6, 2016 by Demon_

[DieHard]

Good idea, stupid me never thought of that.

 

Thanks

[Sporg]

Experimented last night pushing my GTX 680. My GPU fan was on maximum manual setting and it was running too hot, just about to limit and game froze up---104th Phoenix MP.

 

I will experiment tonight manually upping my case fans' rpm and see if I can improve the cooling. If not, I'll go get a Nvidia GTX 970 single card.

That sounds like the experience I got when trying to overclock my GTX 670.

 

All seemed fine, even with stress/load test, but DCS does not like overclocked GPU and crashes after a while.. :-(

 

However, I have been running DCS for years with the CPU overclocked to 4.3 GHz, no problems what so ever.

 

That's why I suggested that you try overclocking your CPU instead.

[DieHard]

Retrograde driver for better performance concerning GTX 680?

========================================

http://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/240723/unstable-nvidia-drivers-from-version-358-50-upwards-gtx-680-win7

 

 

Just exploring this issue and experimenting to improve MP performance, before considering upgrading to new card.

[Demon_]

I use the 337.88 for my Gtx680 sli. Some of the recent drivers i tried were not good.

[DieHard]

Yeah, I think that may be what's going on, too. I retrograded currently to 358.887 , the lowest Nvidia GeForce recommended on Win 7, 64-bit.

 

My last post above suggested this version, but this looks like it is for Win 10.

 

355.82 - WHQL

https://www.bing.com/search?q=nvidia+geforce+driver+355.82+-+WHQL&pc=MOZI&form=MOZSBR

 

and will give your suggestion a try, too.

 

My Asus Geforce GTX 680 (4GB vram) was ballpark $500 new for a single card, 3 or 4 years ago and the price has not moved very much from that when I looked via Google today.

 

Thanks

Edited April 6, 2016 by DieHard