GTX 460M Overclocking

I'm about to buy G53SW, and I was wondering, if I use the Overclock options (MAX all with MSI burner) almost all the time (90% of the time), and use on the same time Cooler Master SF-19 (Cooling pad) (or U2) and IC Diamond Thermal Compound (or stock), will it cause much bigger damage to the GPU?

 

bigger damage... compared to what?

As long as your temps are within limits, overclock all you want.

A cooling pad won't help you much with the G73 cooling system.

 

Yea I forgot, compared to "middle" Overclocking options

 

That, if you want a cooling pad to have an effect, you'd need to fashion yourself a new bottom panel with more aeration holes. Note that there are still some air intakes where the GPU and CPU are, but they are rather small.

 

SF-19 on full blast with the maintenance plate removed shows some good results.

I expect there will be some serious results from the G74 which practically has a manhole cover.

 

I was thinking of opening the case of the laptop, as Reaper_Wolf said, and put into the SF-19 the U2's fans.
another questions is the score of it... someone can post it? plus the temp'?

 

Whenever you overclock, you take a risk of overreaching the hardware's heat limitations.

However, that risk is mitigated by the fact that companies like Nvidia and ASUS plan their hardware with very large tolerances and err on the side of safety.

From my research it seems most ASUS GTX 460m users can get
fairly high OC's to work without causing much of a heat differential.

Individual results may vary, but 20%+ OCs seem fairly likely and some report 25%+ on the core/shaders.

Most of the reports place the OCs at the level of the stock 560m (775 core) or higher. Some got as high as 850core/1700shader/750memory.

For reference, the closest related Desktop card (same specs, just underclocked) to the 460m/560m is the GTX 550Ti which runs at 900core/1800shader/1026memory.

Apparently the 560m can OC to the desktop 550Ti level... (core/shaders only, the memory doesn't get much higher than the 460m)

If you take your 460m, and carefully OC it up by 25-50MHz increments and try it and test the heat under load, you should be able to find a safe OC that doesn't cause much risk of damage.

 

So you are saying that, I can do a maximum OC, Only if I do it in steps of 25-50Mhz every few seconds, right? and it won't take any Damage if the temp' good (80C no?), right?

 

In any event, you'll probably attain your max possible OC before you reach critical temps.

The 20-25MHz jump is only to find your max OC in regards to heat and stability. Once you've found your max OC, you can go straight to it without worrying.

 

Once you buy your laptop you'll see.. You can OC the SW to 820 / 1640 / 1625 (1670), check the fps of your game, monitor the gpu and cpu temps, and you'll be surprised how low the temps are even at 2 hrs. of playing.

Older games (2009) OC'ed to 750-775 only registers 73*C GPU temp. after 4-5 hrs. of playing. For me, TW2 OC'ed to 820-825 only registered 76*C GPU temp. / 68-70*C CPU temp. after 2 hrs. of testing doing multiple boss fights. No cooling pads.

Even OC'ed to 800+, it will still idle at 37-43*C.

 

What do you mean? max possible? how do I know that?

 

You can't know what is the maximum overclock you can apply to your GPU. Only testing will determine that. Start from the stock clocks and increase them by bumps of 20-25MHz until either the card gets too hot or you start seeing flickering, artifacts or bsods. Every card will overclock to different levels. The cards are guaranteed to run stable at stock clocks but they can usually go higher.

Not everyone can push their cards as high as some people here. Just because reaper can do 850/1500/1700 it doesn't mean that you'll be able to. On the other hand, the possibility that you can go higher exists as well.

If you want to know the reason, search for what binning in electronic manufacturing means.

 

You want to run it longer than a few seconds at each level.
Start with stock to get a baseline then up it by 50MHz, run through a benchmark or game demo (something to keep it occupied) and look for massive heat changes or defects.

I prefer at LEAST one full 3dmark or similarly long benchmark that runs automatically.

Your first couple jumps can be larger (50MHz), but after then use the smaller ones.

Ease up the settings to find the maximum setting it will run at, then run it at the setting which works a few times to make sure all is well. If anything (even the smallest detail) seems wrong, ease it down. A STABLE OC is better than bragging rights.

I often find that just that one step back results in the best balance of speed and stability and a longterm OC.

As mentioned, once you find the stable OC, push it to that when you game.

 

Well, max meaning the highest you can go without crashes/artifacts/other random none normal stuff. So far 460m seems to do pretty good at hitting 850mhz on core, and chastity has hit 874mhz, so anywhere in that range will most likely be your max as well. However, there is NEVER a guarantee, each GPU is different, so you very well could only hit 775mhz, or 800, or just whatever the luck draws.

Either way, overclocking isnt really difficult, just watch the temps, and everything should be fine, I even just leave HWMonitor as a startup program so it's constantly running and I can every now and then check up on it to see how my temps look.

 

So for G53SW-XN1 usally, what is the best settings for OC?(850mhz on core and bla bla bla...)
Or every card with his own max?(750Mhz on one, 900Mhz on the other...)

 

Every card has it's own max. However, there usually is an average value that most cards can attain. It seems to be 850 for th 460m like it was 800MHz on the 5870 core.

 

So I can do steps every 25-50Mhz with each option till the games crash and bla bla bla... right? and if the temp' good(OC), it should be fine (the GPU) right>?

 

Yes!

/10

 

DD Thanks guys^ you really helped me!!!

 

A reminder... nothing is 100% sure.
You might be the unlucky guy whose 460m just won't work above stock.

Also, no one can tell you 100% that your GPU will survive even 1MHz higher than stock.

Note, I say this only to urge caution and not to deter you.

Do the reading, do the careful work, and enjoy the rewards.

Most of the dead OC'ing attempts are due to people who rush their OC just for bragging rights.

 

When you are saying survive, you mean just won't be able to run games quickly... right?

"Most of the dead OC'ing attempts are due to people who rush their OC just for bragging rights"

So if I do steps (25Mhz every few seconds), and when I see the games run quiet bad (lags and bla bla bla), I have to take one step back, and my GPU won't die, right?

 

Exactly, that's why you go step by step. If you were to go to an insanely high value straight off the bat, then you might damage something. I would still do a few minutes of testing to make sure it's stable. Furmark or any demanding game is good for that purpose.

 

Is there any software to check it?

 

Download the free version of 3Dmark vantage or 11 and run it between OCs. It doesn't take too long to run and does the job well.

 

Once you found the max Clocks, you can jump directly between it and the stock clocks, it will not affect the GPU, its like Powermizer ^^

 

And when the FPS goes down/lags/crashes I will have to stop right??

 

No, expect 3Dmark to drop below 30ps, it was made for benchmarking purposes. When your screen start flickering, you get artifacts or outright get a BSOD it means stop.

 

Oh, when your OC is too high, Vantage will show rendering errors and artifacts, then the screen will blank, and the test will stop showing and lockup, and you'll see the "driver has reset" error.

On my SW, I have gotten a 874 core / 1674 mem / 1747 shader overclock for a 29.5% overclock I can get a higher mem oc if I lower the core, but I get better yields with higher core vs higher mem.

Edit: some Furmark testing:



I had to use ThrottleStop 3.01 to get the furmark to run properly due to evil throttling, plus tap it down frpm 874 to 871. I don't know why, since my gaming and Vantages have been rock stable at 874.

 

nice. what is your 3dmark06 score

 

Vantage is Result P10392

06 : http://3dmark.com/3dm06/15839804 16382

11 : http://3dmark.com/3dm11/1440231 P2499 (just 12 shy of my best 5870 JH)

 

3dmark06 : 16288 (1280x1024) core 853, memory 1550.

i can set my gtx 460m memory as high as i want to 1650+ and core up to 865. no artifact, but it will downclock. and when it downclock itself i cant set my clock to higher than 200mhz, so i have to restart

 

You got the same throttling issue. Run Throttlestop, tho you'll need to tweak to get max performance. I had to use it to get a proper Furmark.

 

I'd say that 850 is probably the average max value so it's a good reference even with the variance between each GPU.

 

I use Nvidia Inspector for my overclocking.

 

throttlestop works for solving GPU throttle too?

 

I think the one issue triggers the other.

 

I cant overclocky my 460m more than 810. It gives me display stopped responding error and returns to default settings.

Anyone can overclock more then 810 on a g73sw?
With 275.50 beta drivers?

 

Different units overclock differently, it's pure luck. Mine is stable at 820MHz core and 1660MHz memory. A select few can go up to 850 MHz, most people max out at or below 800MHz.

 

Agree with sarge_. Mine is stable at the clocks in my sig. I can't go to 850 though.

 

Mine too, driver fail at 850 on benchtest, stock memory.

At 840 / 1680 / 1250 I see artifacts already when bench testing. I think 830 is the max for me, no artifacts.

Only stable when playing The Witcher 2 @ 825 / 1650 / 1600. It could do 820 / 1640 / 1670 but it almost has the same FPS when playing TW2 using 275.33 whql driver.

I always try the OC and test with TW2 before benchtest since it's the most demanding game I have and it's DirectX 11. I've seen 30+, 40-50 FPS with TW2 after OC'ing in medium-ish setting at 1080p.

I don't know if having 16 Gb. of RAM will help the driver not choke out on bench..

Here's a screenshot of TW2 at 825 / 1650 / 1600 with FPS. Warning Spoiler!

View attachment 67149

 

To people who cannot OC to 850, can you check GPU-Z and post your vBIOS revisions?

 

I believe mine is the latest (as far as I know): 70.06.25.00. 0C
820/1640/1660

 

70.06.0E.00.12 For me

 

Update to my OCing. My new gaming clocks are in my sig.

 

This may be a stupid idea, but would it be of any benefit to flash a proper Asus 560m vbios - same amount of vram and same bus size - onto the 460m for better overclocking? I think both cards are spec wise virtually identical other than clock speed, right?

 

each card really behave differently
first, i got my gtx 460m 1gb it can clock up to maximum 830core, 1515 memory upper than that it will cause artifact

second, i got my gtx 469m 1,5b from asus (defect card, cause stripe in LCD), clock up to 800core, 1690memory. upper than that it will cause display driver stop responding, and artifact

third, i got my gtx 460m 1,5 again from asus. clock 855core, 1525memory. upper than that IT WILL NOT SHOW ANY ARTIFACT no matter how much i increase both core and memory, BUT it will crash (not stable)

so each card behave differently and have their maximum memory/ core speed.

 

I'm not too overly concerned about not being able to clock up to 850 Mhz coming from 675 mhz...

At 825/ 1650/1600 my GPU temp. sits stable in gaming at 76*C and idles at 35-43*C. And this is where my benchmark scores are at.

All my other RPG games only needed 750-775 OC and it will sit stable at 73*C GPU temp.

I never had a single problem with my SW, so I can't really complain or expect too much from it, especially coming from a mid card.

 

my 460 run just 3 C higher than factory settings

800
1600
1500

 

..see, with those OC you're already a tad faster than a stock 560M 192-bit. What is your highest GPU temp when playing after 4 hrs. straight on stock clock?

When I OC to 775 (like 560M) I get 73*Celcius highest GPU temp. after 4 hrs. of playing Dragon Age Origins.

OC to 825-832 when playing The Witcher 2, my highest GPU temp. sits at 76*C after 2 hrs.

Also adjust your NVidia Control Panel, it drammatically affects your game's frame rates. You have to have FRAPS running while playing games to see how much improvement in frame rates you are really getting from your OC, if not you are just doing guess work. You want atleast 35 FPS to enjoy gaming, 30 minimum..

 

Crysis all high settings
stock GPU
19-26fps
73C max

Overclocked
24-30fps
77C max

Overclocked all high,shaders medium
28-38fps
74c max

Overclocked all high,medium shaders and shadows
32-48fps
76C max