GPU and CPU overclock

[WorstPlayerEU]

Hello,

my gpu = mini gtx 970 (GTX970-DCMOC-4GD5)
Should I even OC my mini gtx? I feel like I shouldnt since it's mini with one fan...
Currently oced via msi afterburner while adjusting with Unigine Suite Valley.

Could I get better performance by setting Core Voltage higher and also Power Limit to lets say 120%-130%?

my cpu = i7-4790k (constantly 4,44-4,52 GHz) - have watercooling
tbh I dont even remember that I would overclock that but since it's not on 4 as it should be then I guess I did that :X is it worth to try to oc it to 4,6-4,7 GHz (would my watercooling be enough?) or am I damaging my gear just for some 5% performance increasement?

Also few questions that probably shouldnt be in this "zone":
Is it reasonable to have 90% Fan speed?
Is my motherboard compatible with gtx 1080/1080Ti? - https://imgur.com/6fY1Asd
Have mini ITX motherboard - has it worse performance than normal one motherboard?
Any idea/suggestion for price/performance gpu? (mostly playing FPS games which are focused on cpu I know... still...)

 

[infrared]

Hi, welcome to TPU!

Overclocking your gpu is fine, doesn't matter if it's mini, just watch temps. Any fan speed is fine, 100% if you want, it won't hurt it.

Without knowing a lot more about your config I can't advise you on the CPU overclock, if your temps are fine and voltages in safe ranges then feel free to try to push it a bit further, you won't damage the hardware but you will run into stability issues when you go too far. Check for stability with some benchmarks and stress tests, back it down a bit when you're done to ensure it's completely stable.

All motherboards are compatible with a 1080/1080Ti, you just need to make sure your power supply has enough spare watts.

mini ITX doesn't have a performance disadvantage over a full size board.

My recommendation would depend on your budget, a 6gb gtx1060 would give slightly better performance, it wouldn't be a big upgrade though, maybe hold onto the 970 for a while and keep an eye out for a 1070/1070Ti/1080 at a good price. Orrr, AMD Vega 56. I can't be bothered to shop around for prices for ya, but those would probably be the cards to consider upgrading to.

We have pretty comprehensive reviews of all of those graphics cards thanks to our supreme leader, w1zzard: https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/?category=Graphics+Cards&manufacturer=&pp=25&order=date

 

[WorstPlayerEU]

We have pretty comprehensive reviews of all of those graphics cards thanks to our supreme leader, w1zzard: https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/?category=Graphics+Cards&manufacturer=&pp=25&order=date

Oh so 1070Ti are considered as good gpus? :O i heard only bad things about them...

also thanks for the info and answered questions

appreciate it!

 

[infrared]

You're welcome

There's nothing really bad about the 1070Ti, on release people were freaking out thinking they were non-overclockable.. in reality they overclock fine with tools like afterburner, it's only the manufacturer that can't use a factory overclocked bios for them. They're very close to a stock 1080, and will outperfom it when overclocked. The tables turn when you oc the 1080 of course, but the 1070ti seems like a good performing card. You generally get the performance you pay for at each tier, I wouldn't recommend a 1070ti over a 1070 or 1080, it's simply another step inbetween.

Good luck with upgrading your system give us a shout if you're not sure about anything.