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Help Overclocking Asus gtx 670 directcu ii

jonathan1107

jonathan1107

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Dec 30, 2010
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System Name Brutus
Processor i5 4690k @4.7Ghz (Watercooled)
Motherboard z97 MSI Gaming 5
Cooling NZXT Kraken x61 AIO watercooler
Memory Gskill Ripjaws 8gb (2x4gb) 1600mhz 7-8-7-24
Video Card(s) MSI Gaming GTX 980ti x2 (sli)
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Hi, I just purchased 2x asus gtx 670 directcu ii (non-top version) to use in SLI

I will receive them tomorrow most likely. I would like some help gathering the knowledge I need before doing anything stupid tomorrow ;)

I know most of what there is to know about OCing videocards... MSI AB, Unigine... temps and all...

I just wanna get some tips from the people who Already have heard about the "issues" that arise when trying to OC this card in particular.
 
If you already know about GPU OCing and the tools to do it, there's not a lot to say other than you may be unaware that despite being able to produce high clocks at low temps, the ASUS cards can also tend to have wildly wide frame rate windows.

Check yours first to see if this is the case, but if it does, one way you might be able to minimize or alleviate it is by setting Power Management in the Nvidia Control Panel to Maximum vs Adaptive. This minimizes Nvidia's tendency to downclock their GPUs relative to load on their 600 series.

If that doesn't help or does very little, you can also try using Nvidia Inspector to disable idling and set a constant max boost clock. This can keep your GPU from having erratic fluctuations in clock speed and GPU usage.

Before trying disabling idling and setting a constant max boost clock though, I would ramp up the stock fan speed, which is something you should do when OCing anyway.

Disabling idling and setting a constant max boost clock, as long as it's within Nvidia's guidelines for max voltage and boost clock, is perfectly safe and covered under warranty. It's no different than running a constant OC clock speed on a CPU vs using Intel's Turbo Boost. Non load temps should still be close to that of stock idle temps. It's mostly usage that drives temps, not clock speed.
 
so... What do you mean when you say Asus cards tend to have "wide frame rate windows"?
Why is that an issue with Asus cards?

Also, where can I find the "Nividia's guidelines for max voltage and boost clock" ?
 
jonathan1107 said:
so... What do you mean when you say Asus cards tend to have "wide frame rate windows"?
Why is that an issue with Asus cards?

Also, where can I find the "Nividia's guidelines for max voltage and boost clock" ?
Click to expand...

Hmmm, so you're knowledgeable about OCing with various tools, but you've not read or heard about the common buzz on the net regarding the many complaints of Nvidia voltage locking these 600 series cards?

The typical max boost voltage most 670s ship with is 1.175 volts. It's pretty much Nvidia's standard max recommended voltage. Any card vendor that chooses to go over that does not quality for the Nvidia GPU warranty and chooses to put their own warranty on it, MSI for instance with their "Triple Overvoltage" cards.

The max boost clock can vary depending on the model of 670 you get, but it correlates with how much voltage you use. The main thing Nvidia really pays attention to is what voltage is used, because any boost clock you get will be limited by that, and voltage is the main thing that can cause damage if you use too much.

Then there's boost percentage. By default the max boost percentage is like 10% over the default built-in boost. Some cards can achieve much higher than that. This all wasn't really even an issue until Nvidia implemented auto boosting than can't be turned off, and voltage locks that come with warnings of no warranty if they're broken. This is why card vendors that unlock voltage boosting have to use their own vs Nvidia's warranty on the GPU itself.

On the wide frame rate fluctuation, I've only read about it recently in perusing Hardwarecanuck's roundup review on some 660 Ti cards, which uses the same GK104 chip. I combined that with TPUs reviews of the 660 Ti cards showing the MSI 660 Ti PE OC beating the ASUS 660 Ti TOP at much lower clocks with max OCs on both. I'm not saying it happens with all 600 series ASUS cards, and either is a good choice, but it was an eye opener for me. That's why I said IF you get any problems with wide frame rate window. It's not necessarily a given.
 
You don't really need to OC them. Two gtx670s are powerful enough for most recent games, unless you are planning to go multi-monitors.

My first 670 is Asus DCII top (not OC) but it died after a couple days and I replaced it with two galaxy 670 GCs. I heard that some people have the same problem too. Currently where I live there is not a single store with Asus DCII top cards in stock. I believe there must be some problems with this model, but that's just me. If you want to stay on the safe side I'd say don't OC them.

BTW galaxy 670gc is surprisingly as powerful as Asus DCII top. So I guess the extra money I paid for Asus went to the backplate and not performance increase.
 
yup... well ... I guess I got fooled by the fact that the techpowerup review of the directcu ii card was a perfect 10... didn't know there were "issues" with this card... I'm surprised Wizzard didn't encounter these "issues"
 
Reviewers often get shipped cherry picked cards when they're from the manufacturer (AMD or Nvidia).There was an article about the 680's and this somewhere.
It can also be luck. My first 7970 clocked up to 1300 no problem. My second card from MSI struggled to be stable at 1150.
It can be a lottery.
 
I too was wondering if ASUS discontinuing their TOPs so quickly after launch had anything to do with technical problems. They stopped production on the 660 Ti TOP rather quickly too. Then again, ASUS doesn't seen to buy the higher binned chips in the quantities others do, so it could just be a matter of not having enough high binned chips to meet demand on TOP models.

Ya never know though, given what Hadwarecanucks and TPU showed on the 660 Ti, it could be the TOP version had some kind of voltage regulator problems in the power circuitry, or something like that to cause drastic fluctuations in FPS.

Considering there aren't any 660 Ti TOPs available anymore and that TPU showed the MSI PE OC beating it slightly when both were OCed, I decided to not risk any problems with a non TOP DCU II, despite W1zzard telling me he prefers the DCU II cards for their lower temps and heat.
 
well... in my case I went for 2x Asus gtx 670 directcu ii (the NON-TOP version)... which I believe are goin to be just fine...

I'm gonna watch them temps closely and I'm pretty sure I'm gonna get a very decent OC on them too... I know ASUS have had their share of problems on the TOP cards, but apparently they fixed most of the problems, thru bios update and software update...

so I dunno, I'll keep u guys posted about the stability of my new cards
 
jonathan1107 said:
...I'll keep u guys posted about the stability of my new cards
Click to expand...

Yeah please do, even though I already bought an MSI I'd be curious to know. And if you could, let us know what the width of the frame rate window in your benches look like. Mainly how low the FPS dips.
 
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