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- Mar 20, 2014
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Following up from a thread that was posted by another member, that got met with criticism due to naming terminology of all things(very mature from a moderator in all honesty).
I'm posting it on his behalf for the benefit of others, this time without the unnecessary knit picking and insults from everyone.
This way users can reply. I'd advise mods to not lock this thread, I do not condone the behaviour in the original thread, however he has achieved some of the highest clocks seen on Hawaii. It's short sighted to lock information threads based on squabbles.
Many thanks,
Information and guide written by user Rangerjr1
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I see a lot of people who have issues regarding throttling, clocking and OC software in general so ive decided to write a guide.
This is all based on my experience with 2 290Xs and 1 290P (Reference cards). Cant guarantee it'll match your own experiences, it has worked with all 3 cards of mine so far. And it should give you an idea on how to do things with these cards.
What programs to use:
Just stay clear of MSIAB, 2d/3d profiles doesnt work properly, max of 100mV+ overvolts, card sync doesnt work either. Its riddled with issues. And dont ever enable overdrive in the driver settings.
For mild benching and everyday use i suggest Sapphire Trixx, it has custom fan profiles, 200mV+ overvolting, working card sync. Everything you need for daily use.
For all in benching you have no choice but to use modded GPU Tweak that allows for volts up to 2V, you'll also need to flash your bios, i suggest the PT1 bios for the 290X and PT1T for the 290P. Ill link other relevant guides and download links for bioses and GPU Tweak on the bottom.
Max volts i would use under water for benching with GPU Tweak is 1.55v, it'll drop to 1.47-1.5v or so depending on the card. For air you should just use Trixx and go all in 200mV, wont kill your card for quick runs, just make sure your fan is running 100% and that you open your sidepanel so it can breathe properly.
Overclocking:
These cards was a real pain in the ass to begin with, but now that ive experimented with them ive found that these cards have goldilock zones. Ratios, core/RAM ratio. Until you find this you're probably not going to be able to push your card. The harder you push them the more you need to know this ratio, ive had my cards crash on lower clocks and higher volts because i wasnt within the ratio it liked. Keep in mind this is only when you're really pushing your card.
So for example:
My 290P likes a core/RAM ratio of 1.27, which is 1335/1700 (Elpida RAM) at my highest bench clocks. Lowering clocks so you're not pushing it as much should remove the need to stay within this ratio. My 290Xs fav ratio is 1.32, 1345/1775 (Hynix RAM) clocks. 1345/1700 would not work on my 290x while 1345/1775 would, its weird but its how it works apparently.
If your core gets unstable your screen will freeze/go black, and the driver will most likely reset and put you back on desktop. Unlike RAM which give you no mercy and will freeze your PC immediately. There's some luck involved though, some times clocks will run a bench or 2, some times it wont. Some trial and error.
And for those who dont know, the RAM scales linearly with core voltage, once you hit the max you RAM will do on stock volts try increasing the core voltage by 50mV or so, you'll see that the RAM can now clock higher (Which is why i was able to get 1700 on my Elpida card, a combination of knowing the ratio and running 1.55v)
These cards are tough, dont be afraid to push them. But make sure you've got cooling that reflects the clocks you want.
Throttling: This isnt even an issue, the card throttles because your card is following your commands by lowering its voltage in order to stay cool enough so the fan wont have to increase its RPM. If you let the fan speed increase the throttling is gone. Put your max temps to 85-90 or so, and let the fan run wild. i GUARANTEE YOU the card will not throttle. Unless there's some other underlying problem.
Black screens: Your card doesnt actually crash, its still running. Still rendering. Which means if you're running xfire just use the card that doesnt blackscreen as the main card, the other will still render your stuff. Reducing the refresh rate of your monitor should give you more headroom with overvolting before blackscreening (Blackscreening has always been caused by overvolting on my cards). You might have to replug the DVI though if your screen goes black. If you manage to reset the clocks and voltage it should be back to normal without having to restart.
For benching the 14.1 drivers arent too bad actually, so try that out. (MSI ABs power limit does not work with these drivers so use Trixx, you should always use Trixx)
DO NOT USE MSIAB.
If anything doesnt make sense, or you've got some input then please tell me.
Flashing guide: http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/sho...php?t=18552408
PT1 Bios: http://kingpincooling.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2473
Modded GPU Tweak: http://www.mediafire.com/download/vo...yInfo+1005.rar
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