Asus G72GX Lower Clocked GTX260...safe to run at real stock speeds?

Basically, as Im sure a lot of you know, the G72GX (along with some other models Im sure) has a lower clocked GTX260m running at 500/800/1250. REAL stock speeds for this card are 550/950/1375...I consider these to be most definitely faster.

However, I just had to RMA my laptop because the GPU went bad and they replaced it with a new one. My question is this, is it safe to run my GPU at REAL stock speeds instead of the crappy underclocking that Asus has done? I mean, it IS a GTX260m chip, so theoretically it should be able to run 550/950/1375 right? Laptop is constantly on a cooling pad and GPU overclocked never goes past 70C under load.

I must say that the last GPU that went bad I had running 550/950/1375 for about a month before it went ka-put...was this due to something other than it being a bad GPU? Was always run cool, no issues. If I run the GPU at 550/950/1375 and it starts messing up again can I assume its the GPU again or is something else faulty?

I know a lot of people here are just going to be all "be happy with what you have" or "its not engineered for that" but dammit, I have a GTX260m and Id like to run it at what its rated at! Its like driving a Mustang with 2 of the 8 pistons turned off...yeah its still a Mustang but its now like driving a Taurus...

I mean, unless they are shipping faulty GTX260m's, then if heat is no issue I should safely no problem be able to run at real stock speeds right?

 

:/...no one has anything for me?

 

I have a G60VX and I OC the card beyond the "real" factory specs for the card but only when gaming.
I have yet to run into any problems yet but all GFX cards are not created equal so some run at higher clocks than others.
I found a sweet spot for mine and run it at 700/900/1500 with no real increase in temps but then again I just might have gotten lucky and got a good card.
When not gaming I always switch it back to stock clocks.

 

Jesus Ikas, that's a monster overclock.


In any case, nothing prevents you from overclocking the GPU, Android, at least in regards to the GPUs not being "rated" to handle the clocks. Just make sure you keep your temperatures in check and you'll be just fine. (By the way, what were your "cool" temperatures before your GPU died?")

 

The HIGH was around 75C running Furmark...the new GPU is already displaying the same artifacts as my last one...almost thinking if they actually replaced the GPU like they said they did...I dont know, I HARDLY overclocked it (core and shader clocks are fine, its the RAM clock that I find just inexcusable...800mhz vs 950mhz...!)...might call and RMA again...thoughts anyone? Almost thinking I should considering that the problem has arisen again...I mean, whether it works OK at stock speed theres a good chance the GPU is still bad right? I mean, I cant even overclock the GPU 5mhz past stock on the core without it artifacting again...

I dont know, this is all very odd...anyone know why they have underclocked GTX260m's anyways? Ive heard it was to combat heating issues, but at stock speeds (550, 950, 1375) it never goes above 65C when normal gaming is had and heat has never been an issue...

Just had a thought! Could it be that the GPU is undervolted? Anyway to look and verify this? If it is is there anyway I can put it back to REAL stock voltage and then overclock to REAL stock speeds?

 

The GPU is in fact undervolted to 0.95V at Extra speeds from the real 1.0V. You can verify this by extracting the vBIOS with GPU-Z and opening it with NiBiTor.

I've changed the voltage from 0.95V to 1.0V with no noticeable increase in temperature or max clock speeds. If you want to overclock any higher than you currently can, you'll have to go to 1.05V (gets far too hot in my G51VX, but your G72GX may be able to handle it.

 

Managed that at stock voltages. I'll let you know how stable it is and how temps turn out.

Edits:
Topped out at 91°C doing a benchmark in Resident Evil 5.
Score of 12018 performing a benchmark in Street Fighter IV. Topped out at 80°C. Average FPS of 105.03 (I believe it topped at 180 or so. It was moving fast as hell).
Need For Speed: Shift is more of a cpu intensive game than gpu intensive (though the gpu certainly plays a role). I saw no difference in fps or heat generated. 80°C.
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare topped out at 91°C. Some marked improvement in frame rates.
Race Driver: GRID showed a significant increase of frames per second, and a 1-2°C increase in temperature (96+ instead of 94+).
Significant increase in source engine based games, especially Left 4 Dead.

 

Nothing stops you from overclocking, but are you sure you are reading your temps correctly? 75C seems awfully low compared to the standard near 90C+ everyone gets on stock. Unless you live in an extremely cold place.

I use 530/800/1325 clocks and my max varies per day, due to ambient temperature. It usually capts at 94C or so. I consider core and shanders to be of greater importance when OCing, then memory. Primarly because memory can go bad much easier.

 

Indeed. I suspect he's observing his CPU's temperature rather than the GPU temperature.