- Joined
- Jul 18, 2007
- Messages
- 812 (0.13/day)
- Location
- Almonte, Canada
| System Name | Sonny Boy |
|---|---|
| Processor | i5 11600K 4.9GHz @ 1.35 Vcore |
| Motherboard | AORUS Z590 Elite AX |
| Cooling | Deepcool Gammix 240mm AIO |
| Memory | 4 X 8GB Teamgroup DDR4 3200MHz |
| Video Card(s) | ASUS RTX 3060 Ti GDDR6X |
| Storage | Adata Legend 1TB |
| Display(s) | Philips 27" 4K |
| Power Supply | Corsair 750W |
| Mouse | Razer Basilisk |
| Keyboard | Razer Huntsman V2 |
| Software | Windows 11 Pro |
I was playing around with overclocking my Sapphire 4870 512MB and had some disappointing results with respect to increasing the GPU core voltage. I am not in front of the machine now so this is just from memory (I can post screen shots later). I was using GPUTool to check for artifacts and then 3dMark06 Firefly Forest looping for final stability test.
Stock Voltage 1.2625V I can hit 820MHz core and 1000MHz memory (I may have more room to OC memory but 1000 seemed like a nice even number).
If I increase core to 830MHz I can get the occasional artifact in GPUTool (minutes apart). At 850MHz it artifacts heaviliy every 2 seconds. So I considered 820MHz as my max core. I looped 3dMark06 Firefly Forest for over 4 hours without issue so I consider this a stable OC. As far as temps go... With fan at 35% (bearable) I am hitting high 60's on the core under load. VRM's are hitting low 80's.
So I thought I would try and find what Vcore was needed to get the core OC higher. Basically I would set the core clock (using CCC) and then bump Vcore until artifacts stopped in GPUTool. As temps climbed I bumped the fan speed up manually... And this is what I got... The temps may not be exactly right but I know the 105C is correct on the VRM's at 850MHz.
Vcore Core (MHz) Core temp VRM Temp Fan Speed
1.265 820 68 82 35%
1.275 830 72 90 35%
1.300 840 75 101 100%
1.350 850 78 105 100%
So then I tried a 3dMark06 run at 850MHz and it crashed very quickly in the first bench. Machine locked up and required a hard reset. So even though I can go without artifacts at 850MHz it means nothing since a regular 3D app won't run.
So it seems to me that adding voltage to this card does not give a very good return on investment. Temps skyrocket and it ends up being unstable anyways. I had been planning on watercooling or adding aftermarket cooling on this card but it seems like it would not help (given that 100% fan on stock is still having trouble holding temps in check).
I have another 4870 on its way to me and I was originally planning on watercooling the pair (using the stock baseplate for VRM and memory cooling) but based on this it seems ike it would be a lot of money for very limited OC gain. (Yes I know noise levels are lower but 35% fan is pretty tolerable for me).
So now I am thinking I will just keep stock cooling and crossfire the 4870's and shoot for a moderate 800MHz on the cores and 1000 on memory. I would have liked to get them to 850MHz (4890 speeds) but seems like it would be way too much investment for marginal increase in performance.
Anyone else have better experiences with Vcore?
Stock Voltage 1.2625V I can hit 820MHz core and 1000MHz memory (I may have more room to OC memory but 1000 seemed like a nice even number).
If I increase core to 830MHz I can get the occasional artifact in GPUTool (minutes apart). At 850MHz it artifacts heaviliy every 2 seconds. So I considered 820MHz as my max core. I looped 3dMark06 Firefly Forest for over 4 hours without issue so I consider this a stable OC. As far as temps go... With fan at 35% (bearable) I am hitting high 60's on the core under load. VRM's are hitting low 80's.
So I thought I would try and find what Vcore was needed to get the core OC higher. Basically I would set the core clock (using CCC) and then bump Vcore until artifacts stopped in GPUTool. As temps climbed I bumped the fan speed up manually... And this is what I got... The temps may not be exactly right but I know the 105C is correct on the VRM's at 850MHz.
Vcore Core (MHz) Core temp VRM Temp Fan Speed
1.265 820 68 82 35%
1.275 830 72 90 35%
1.300 840 75 101 100%
1.350 850 78 105 100%
So then I tried a 3dMark06 run at 850MHz and it crashed very quickly in the first bench. Machine locked up and required a hard reset. So even though I can go without artifacts at 850MHz it means nothing since a regular 3D app won't run.
So it seems to me that adding voltage to this card does not give a very good return on investment. Temps skyrocket and it ends up being unstable anyways. I had been planning on watercooling or adding aftermarket cooling on this card but it seems like it would not help (given that 100% fan on stock is still having trouble holding temps in check).
I have another 4870 on its way to me and I was originally planning on watercooling the pair (using the stock baseplate for VRM and memory cooling) but based on this it seems ike it would be a lot of money for very limited OC gain. (Yes I know noise levels are lower but 35% fan is pretty tolerable for me).
So now I am thinking I will just keep stock cooling and crossfire the 4870's and shoot for a moderate 800MHz on the cores and 1000 on memory. I would have liked to get them to 850MHz (4890 speeds) but seems like it would be way too much investment for marginal increase in performance.
Anyone else have better experiences with Vcore?
