Save overclocking limits (temps)

My new MacBook Pro (2.2GHz, 128MB 8600GT) has just undergone some quick overclock testing. My results are below. The 8600GT seems to overclock well, but I'm curious what are the safe limits for temperatures.

Ignore the weird scores, the benchmarking was run at 1280x854 or some goofy resolution like that. The first test is with factory clocks.


core/mem
466/632 = 3150 (factory)
500/660 = 3320
525/685 = 3375
550/702 = 3480


550/700 is effectively 18% core/20% memory overclock. Temps peaked at 90C during testing, according to an nTune history graph.

Is 90C a safe temperature? At factory clocks, the temps peak at 88C. Not bad...only a 2C increase for a 20% performance boost.

What's the safest I can honestly push the temperatures up to?

 

Just pushed things a bit harder:

575/730 = 3575

Temperature never went above 90, once again.

 

Check ntune threshold temps, I know for mine it's (the GS) it's 127 C it seems high, but it should be ok.

 

90° should be fine if it is the peak. I am guessing average is around 85°?

You still have alot of room to push the core up. 600mhz should not be a problem.

 

Btw thanks for these results. I was wonderin what the 128 clock speeds were and what scores they would be getting in 3dmark06. Repped. Btw.. what drivers are you using?

 

Lol stalking you thegsrguy

So is 3150 the score you get with 165.01 without OCing. If so thats crazy. With 162.18 I get around 2850.

 

Again, note that I'm running at 1280x854, not 1024x768 or 1280x1024. This is because I have the free version of 3DMark.

Peak is 90, yes. The fans are going full-bore at that point, the temps seem to average around 86-88 degrees. Mine also has the 127 threshold, though I don't know if I trust that, especially given the MBPs relatively small size.


Only problem is that the overclocks don't stick if I reboot...kinda lame.

 

Drivers are the 165.01, BTW. These seem to be the most stable, though not necessarily the fastest

 

curious- are you using ntune to overclock?

if not, which driver are you using?

 

Yes, as I stated up top: nTune to overclock with the 165.01 drivers.

 

are you running vista 32 bit, xp or vista x64? i can't get my clock speeds to stick using 163.31 drivers in vista 32 bit

 

32-bit. I have the same thing -- clock speeds reset to defaults when I reboot the machine.

 

Hi all, just found this thread, I did a search for nTune and the 165.01 driver on google but nothing came up, can some one direct me to them so I can try it on my MBP with bioshock I just got

 

Here you go. That's the XP version. Be sure to download the driver and the modded inf (extract the driver and put the inf in the folder you extracted).

 

jaymester, What model MacBook Pro do you have? Does your MBP have an nVIDIA GPU (8600m GT)?

If you have a 2.2/2.4 GHz MBP (with 8600m GT) you can use laptopvideo2go.com drivers, but you don't want to use 165.01 for BioShock. ForceWare 163.44 was released specifically for BioShock. Use 163.xx drivers for the best results with BioShock. I've only personally tested the 163.44 XP drivers so I can't recommend the others. Make sure you read the QuickStart Guide and follow the installation instructions. Peace.

ForceWare 163.xx Drivers:

163.44 XP 32bit
163.44 Vista 32bit

163.69 XP 32bit
163.69 Vista 32bit

163.71 XP 32bit
163.71 Vista 32bit

As for overclocking, you won't be able to overclock any 163.xx driver with the current version of nTune (5.05.47.00). As far as I know, only RivaTuner 2.04 can overclock 163.xx drivers (though not all).