Looking for an overclocking guide for MSI GAMING gtx 970

[jonathan1107]

I have an MSI gaming gtx 970 4gb card and I'm about to try and OC it a little. From what I've read it has a lot of headroom. So I've got these questions for you guys:

1. Is it worth it to unlock this card's bios in order to unlock the TDP limit and achieve higher clocks?
2. Is there a written guide somewhere for this card (overclock guide) been looking on google.ca ... not much luck

 

[m&m's]

1. You should try with the original BIOS, push the power limiter to the max and see by yourself if it limits you.

2. Take a look here: http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/msi_geforce_gtx_970_gaming_review,26.html

 

[EarthDog]

For most I would say don't say unlock...flashing a bios while inherently easy, can brick your card. If you have a dual bios, then that risk is gone... But I still say no need. I wonder.if the hyper conservatives in your cpu thread will condone bios flashing....

As far as overclocking gpus, it doesn't require hand holding/guides. Crank power limit, raise one clock (core/memory) at a time and test. Once you find max stable, then overclock the other. If that isn't enough, bump the voltage up and push on. Keep an eye on clocks and that they are stable and you are not hitting the power limit. Use unigine heaven or valley to test stability.

 

[eidairaman1]

Its too easy to flash a card and brick it than recover it

 

[jonathan1107]

Yeah, I've had an asus directcu ii gtx 670 before and I had flashed the bios because it had another bios (switch) and it yielded a way better overclock...
but I wanna wait and hear from others who've flashed their 970 to see what kind of gains we're talking about... if it's infinitly small and insignificant, I won't flash it...

a lot of people who don't know what they'Re doing brick the card because they don't pay attention to the VRAM (frying it) when flashing and using diff voltages...

anyhow, I was looking for a guide, to get a first idea of the kind of clocks people are getting and at which point the cards start throttling

 

[eidairaman1]

Look at the reviews here

 

[EarthDog]

Voltage on the ram is usually not the issue....not at all.

Each card will throttle at different levels. There is not a cookie cutter answer for this, you will have to find out yourself.

 

[jonathan1107]

Voltage on the ram is usually not the issue....not at all.

I've read a lot about people frying their VRAM ... voltage or heat... whatever the case may be...

• About MSI AB + RIVA TUNER: Do these 2 work well together to enable OSD (showing gpu temps, cpu temps, usage etc...) EVEN WHEN using SweetFX ??? With my gtx 670 I often couldn't get the OSD to display (even when I enabled d3d9 compatibility in the riva tuner system tray or within sweet fx settings) twas often a gamble... one game was like "ah... OSD works with this game"... "ah crap... OSD won't work with this one"

 

[EarthDog]

Rivatuner comes with AB...so yes, it works well.

 

[MxPhenom 216]

Its too easy to flash a card and brick it than recover it

its not really hard to recover either,just need a back up gpu to boot from.

 

[jonathan1107]

Can you guys refresh my memory about the maxwell terminology. I remember that with my gtx 670, I was using EVGA PRECISION X (instead of MSI AB) and I remember terms like:

• Base Clock
• Boost Clock
• K-Boost
• Power %
• Power limit

etc... I see that I don't have a "k-boost feature" on the MSI AB panel like I had on the EVGA precision x panel.

 

[MxPhenom 216]

Can you guys refresh my memory about the maxwell terminology. I remember that with my gtx 670, I was using EVGA PRECISION X (instead of MSI AB) and I remember terms like:

• Base Clock
• Boost Clock
• K-Boost
• Power %
• Power limit

etc... I see that I don't have a "k-boost feature" on the MSI AB panel like I had on the EVGA precision x panel.

That is because K-Boost is something EVGA implemented, which is a pretty worthless feature IMO.

 

[jonathan1107]

Ok so I've been benchmarking all morning my gpu and I reached an OC of +175mhz and +450mhz on the memory.

The thing is I'm trying to run long runs of heaven benchmark in order to make sure I got stability and no throttling...

My gpu-z logs show that I have slight drops (mini 1mhz) for like 20 seconds. But there are a very few frames where I see the 12v dropping to 1 in the log, don't know if it makes sense and that's where I see a 15mhz drop on the clock sometimes.

I have an antec tpq 1200 OC edition psu which can turn the 12v rail up or down. Like from 11.3v to 12.6v. Should I increase it a little for stability?

 

[EarthDog]

Screenshots would help...

Leave the rail alone... Unless you measured it properly with a multimeter and it's more than 5%(spec) off.

Damn, lol , a 1.2kw psu for a system that may not pull 300w when overclocked...

 

[jonathan1107]

Screenshots would help...
Leave the rail alone... Unless you measured it properly with a multimeter and it's more than 5%(spec) off.
Damn, lol , a 1.2kw psu for a system that may not pull 300w when overclocked...

I used to run SLI and I wanted to make sure I had a really good PSU for the future along with nice stability... Ok so here's a copy of a few of my runs from this morning (GPU-Z) log.
Here's my problem:

I seem to be able to stabilize my clocks around a maximum of 1525-1560mzh ish along with a 1949-2000mhz ish memory but when you look @ the log you'll notice my voltage (when set to max through MSI AB which is +87mv) yields a total of 1.25v. You'll see that my TDP is also within the limit (110%) and yet my voltage on the card UNDER LOAD sometimes drops to 1.225v and that is when my clocks throttle back (when they do).

So my current OC isn't bad I'm just trying to figure out what I should do next. Also, having the TPQ 1200w from antec allows me to turn the nob behind it to increase my 12v rail to 12.6v (or less... it ranges from 11.4v to 12.6v I believe) maybe that would help... otherwise I don't understand the voltage drops I'm getting

 

[jonathan1107]

Here's the GPU-Z LOG I was talking about:
I'm not familiar with how to "post a log file" on a forum, so I'll just paste it here. I'll HIGHLIGHT the important part


2014-11-04 17:42:02 , 1541.3 , 1949.4 , 60.0 , 75 , 1723 , 803 , 99 , 58 , 0 , 102.7 , 4 , 1.2250 ,

2014-11-04 17:42:03 , 1541.3 , 1949.4 , 60.0 , 75 , 1721 , 828 , 99 , 57 , 0 , 101.0 , 4 , 1.2250 ,

2014-11-04 17:42:04 , 1541.3 , 1949.4 , 60.0 , 75 , 1728 , 828 , 99 , 57 , 0 , 101.4 , 4 , 1.2250 ,

2014-11-04 17:42:05 , 1541.3 , 1949.4 , 60.0 , 75 , 1728 , 828 , 99 , 57 , 0 , 101.3 , 4 , 1.2250 ,

2014-11-04 17:42:06 , 1541.3 , 1949.4 , 60.0 , 75 , 1723 , 828 , 99 , 57 , 0 , 100.6 , 4 , 1.2250 ,

2014-11-04 17:42:07 , 1541.3 , 1949.4 , 60.0 , 75 , 1726 , 828 , 99 , 56 , 0 , 100.0 , 4 , 1.2250 ,

2014-11-04 17:42:08 , 1541.3 , 1949.4 , 60.0 , 75 , 1726 , 840 , 99 , 56 , 0 , 100.3 , 4 , 1.2250 ,

2014-11-04 17:42:09 , 1541.3 , 1949.4 , 60.0 , 75 , 1724 , 840 , 99 , 57 , 0 , 101.0 , 4 , 1.2250 ,

2014-11-04 17:42:10 , 1541.3 , 1949.4 , 60.0 , 75 , 1724 , 848 , 99 , 59 , 0 , 99.6 , 4 , 1.2250 ,

2014-11-04 17:42:11 , 1541.3 , 1949.4 , 60.0 , 75 , 1724 , 840 , 99 , 57 , 0 , 99.7 , 4 , 1.2250 ,

2014-11-04 17:42:12 , 1541.3 , 1949.4 , 60.0 , 75 , 1724 , 840 , 99 , 55 , 0 , 99.9 , 4 , 1.2250 ,

2014-11-04 17:42:13 , 1541.3 , 1949.4 , 60.0 , 75 , 1728 , 840 , 99 , 56 , 0 , 99.6 , 4 , 1.2250 ,

2014-11-04 17:42:14 , 1541.3 , 1949.4 , 60.0 , 75 , 1723 , 840 , 99 , 55 , 0 , 99.8 , 4 , 1.2250 ,

2014-11-04 17:42:15 , 1541.3 , 1949.4 , 60.0 , 75 , 1728 , 840 , 99 , 57 , 0 , 99.8 , 4 , 1.2250 ,

2014-11-04 17:42:16 , 1541.3 , 1949.4 , 60.0 , 75 , 1719 , 838 , 99 , 58 , 0 , 100.8 , 4 , 1.2250 ,

2014-11-04 17:42:17 , 1541.3 , 1949.4 , 60.0 , 75 , 1723 , 838 , 99 , 59 , 0 , 101.1 , 4 , 1.2250 ,

2014-11-04 17:42:18 , 1541.3 , 1949.4 , 60.0 , 75 , 1728 , 838 , 99 , 59 , 0 , 101.3 , 4 , 1.2250 ,

2014-11-04 17:42:19 , 1541.3 , 1949.4 , 60.0 , 75 , 1724 , 838 , 99 , 58 , 0 , 101.6 , 4 , 1.2250 ,

2014-11-04 17:42:20 , 1541.3 , 1949.4 , 60.0 , 75 , 1721 , 846 , 99 , 58 , 0 , 100.6 , 4 , 1.2250 ,

2014-11-04 17:42:21 , 1541.3 , 1949.4 , 60.0 , 75 , 1724 , 836 , 99 , 57 , 0 , 101.1 , 4 , 1.2250 ,

2014-11-04 17:42:22 , 1541.3 , 1949.4 , 60.0 , 75 , 1726 , 836 , 99 , 56 , 0 , 101.4 , 4 , 1.2250 ,

2014-11-04 17:42:23 , 1541.3 , 1949.4 , 60.0 , 75 , 1726 , 836 , 99 , 55 , 0 , 101.4 , 4 , 1.2250 ,

2014-11-04 17:42:24 , 1541.3 , 1949.4 , 60.0 , 75 , 1724 , 836 , 99 , 54 , 0 , 101.0 , 4 , 1.2250 ,

2014-11-04 17:42:25 , 1541.3 , 1949.4 , 60.0 , 75 , 1724 , 831 , 99 , 53 , 0 , 101.6 , 4 , 1.2250 ,

2014-11-04 17:42:26 , 1528.2 , 1949.4 , 60.0 , 75 , 1726 , 809 , 99 , 53 , 0 , 99.9 , 4 , 1.2000 ,

2014-11-04 17:42:27 , 1528.2 , 1949.4 , 60.0 , 75 , 1723 , 809 , 99 , 53 , 0 , 96.8 , 4 , 1.2000 ,

2014-11-04 17:42:28 , 1528.2 , 1949.4 , 60.0 , 75 , 1724 , 809 , 99 , 54 , 0 , 96.6 , 4 , 1.2000 ,

2014-11-04 17:42:29 , 1528.2 , 1949.4 , 60.0 , 75 , 1724 , 809 , 99 , 54 , 0 , 97.1 , 4 , 1.2000 ,

2014-11-04 17:42:30 , 1541.3 , 1949.4 , 60.0 , 75 , 1724 , 817 , 97 , 57 , 0 , 96.1 , 4 , 1.2250 ,

2014-11-04 17:42:31 , 1541.3 , 1949.4 , 59.0 , 75 , 1721 , 809 , 91 , 54 , 0 , 94.9 , 4 , 1.2250 ,

2014-11-04 17:42:33 , 1541.3 , 1949.4 , 59.0 , 74 , 1723 , 809 , 90 , 54 , 0 , 93.9 , 4 , 1.2250 ,

2014-11-04 17:42:34 , 1541.3 , 1949.4 , 59.0 , 74 , 1721 , 809 , 91 , 54 , 0 , 93.1 , 4 , 1.2250 ,

2014-11-04 17:42:35 , 1541.3 , 1949.4 , 59.0 , 74 , 1716 , 809 , 89 , 53 , 0 , 93.7 , 4 , 1.2250 ,

2014-11-04 17:42:36 , 1541.3 , 1949.4 , 59.0 , 74 , 1713 , 809 , 91 , 55 , 0 , 94.6 , 4 , 1.2250 ,

2014-11-04 17:42:37 , 1541.3 , 1949.4 , 60.0 , 74 , 1714 , 809 , 99 , 55 , 0 , 100.8 , 4 , 1.2250 ,

2014-11-04 17:42:38 , 1541.3 , 1949.4 , 60.0 , 75 , 1713 , 808 , 99 , 53 , 0 , 100.9 , 4 , 1.2250 ,

 

[jonathan1107]

also I'm noticing a buzzing sound when I'm runinng Heaven Benchmark coming from the card. When I stop the heaven benchmark, it also stops...

any idea if this is bad for the card? It doesn't seem to have it's performance affected at any rate

 

[Ed_1]

ok, I will try an help you out , for one don't worry about buzzing you hear while BM(especially at end screen where fps go like xxxx fps), that will happen to a degree on most modern HP cards , its just the choke coils vibrating .

Now onto OC, there two things i would say, if you just want to see high scores in different BM, then use them for stability, but if you want game stable in all your games, youe will need to run them, at least a hr of time .

Now onto 970, I would set power limit maxed , this is where you will run into throttling with high clocks and higher voltage , many can BM at like 1550+ but in games because of how dynamic the load can be need to lower it down . you will have to see whats best for your card (my "guess" would be something like 1475-1525 on core for game stable, with memory around 7800-8k .
Now to start off don't use any added voltage, so you get a baseline ,see what your max is for GPU core, first then move to memory .
One thing to note because of limited power when you do raise voltage, you lower your headroom a lot on power and also when you raise voltage if any throttling happen it going to lower clocks along with voltage a notch .
So IMO I would very much try and stick with stock voltage, the MSI 970 are pushing out a lot of voltage stock , even though GPU-Z says, for example on mine 1.218 , the real voltage measured with DVM is 1.28+ .
With MSI AB 4.0 set up power limit in graph so if you start seeing spikes you know your at edge for your voltage and clocks . Use the MSI AB graph's, that log is useless as it is not registering any spikes that happen (you be better just looking at GPU-Z sensor, max value)

 

[RCoon]

also I'm noticing a buzzing sound when I'm runinng Heaven Benchmark coming from the card. When I stop the heaven benchmark, it also stops...

any idea if this is bad for the card? It doesn't seem to have it's performance affected at any rate

Coil whine. Perfectly normal under certain loads when VSync isn't enabled in whatever you're running.

More common on reference cards.

 

[EarthDog]

Use the MSI AB graph's, that log is useless as it is not registering any spikes that happen (you be better just looking at GPU-Z sensor, max value)

They would both read the same thing as they are both working off 1s (default) refresh times...

 

[GhostRyder]

I have an MSI gaming gtx 970 4gb card and I'm about to try and OC it a little. From what I've read it has a lot of headroom. So I've got these questions for you guys:

1. Is it worth it to unlock this card's bios in order to unlock the TDP limit and achieve higher clocks?
2. Is there a written guide somewhere for this card (overclock guide) been looking on google.ca ... not much luck

It has plenty of headroom on the stock bios so you should be able to achieve in the 1400+ range on just the core itself and memory clocks of 10%+. There are not many out there honestly as far as guides go but you could use this for reference. Generally speaking GPU's can be much easier to play with using a program like MSI afterburner to overclock by just bumping the sliders up and the voltage to gain no artifacting, crashes, or freezes and move on from there. Its actually a lot more forgiving than processors generally are from my experience at least as long as you do not just start crazy bumping the sliders up on the core and memory.

As far as unlocking the TDP, that is always something you can do with the right bios but its more of a risk because you risk the card bricking from a bios flash or the bios used and risk breaking your warranty should any issues arise. I would say see what you can do first on your own and go from there!

 

[Ed_1]

They would both read the same thing as they are both working off 1s (default) refresh times...

hmm, you sure, to be honest I never used the log feature, I find senor output fine . I normally use AB though , I can tell you I am 95% sure he is hitting power limit with 1.250 (87+mv ).
the bios (PT=220w) just doesn't have headroom for that much voltage for that clock speed , which if you measured it would be 1.34+v out of the VRM with DVM .
You really shouldn't need more than 20+mv and again, I would try no added first .
By using AB and setting power limit, you will see spikes first just before it hits the limit and before any down clocking , that is why i recommended doing that .

there also a temp throttle down clock at 65c but it seems from log is is steady 60c ,so that should be fine .

What happens if you just mash voltage over, it might be ok for quick BM or tow, but once you play real games, with there gpu % going up and down it will hit TDP limit and then throttle to lower clock/voltage and then its good chance it becomes unstable at the lower voltage .

 

[EarthDog]

Pretty sure, yes. The log is just the text version of the graph for all intents and purposes. You can see the log is 1s, and so is the graph which also changes by what you set in the settings.

That depends. With my 980 and +87mv (to 1.26v actual) I am only hitting 106%. Every card is different but there is usually a fair amount of headroom so he may not be hitting the 110% limit...

Regardless, both the log and graph will show the same things as they are tied together at the hip.

there also a temp throttle down clock at 65c but it seems from log is is steady 60c ,so that should be fine .

That low?? I know with 980's its 80C (until you raise the power limit which raises the temp limit). 65C seems incredibly low for temperature throttling. Where are you getting that from?

 

[Ed_1]

Pretty sure, yes. The log is just the text version of the graph for all intents and purposes. You can see the log is 1s, and so is the graph which also changes by what you set in the settings.

That depends. With my 980 and +87mv (to 1.26v actual) I am only hitting 106%. Every card is different but there is usually a fair amount of headroom so he may not be hitting the 110% limit...

Regardless, both the log and graph will show the same things as they are tied together at the hip.

That low?? I know with 980's its 80C (until you raise the power limit which raises the temp limit). 65C seems incredibly low for temperature throttling. Where are you getting that from?

your 980 PT is 240'ish watts (depending on version) and most go to 120% on slider, 970 go 110-112% but again % is misleading as depends on bios 100% value set .

On temp, this is on MSI 970 , I forget if like G1 or strix does it , its not the full temp limit, which is default 80c (raising slider it goes to 91c ), that is the hard temp limit but there is one at 65-67c which drops clocks small amount , like 10mhz , its not bad but I try and keep temps in the 60'ish range .
which is not hard on these cards .

My card hits a power limit at around 108% with slider at 110% , I only run it at like 1484 24/7 so far, there really no reason in real games to push it to limit IMO .
but at that setting the max I get in spikes is like 100-101%, but avgs 90's . that is in BF4 for example .

 

[jonathan1107]

DID some reading on the web only to find that the COIL whine issue with the MSI GAMING GTX 970 4gb is WIDESPREAD. I get the whine no matter the FPS I get. If I start a game or If I run a benchmark it's unbearable...
Happens when I run a game @ 2560x1440 with 42 FPS or when I run it @ 120FPS or even 240FPS... It seems many owners of this card have RMA'ed it... I REALLY don't feel like waiting 5 weeks to get a new card... any tricks to solve the coil whine issue? (my v-sync is enabled btw)