Is is worth overclocking my laptop?

Hey guys,
I've recently got some time to see what my laptop can do with games and have decided I want to get Race Driver: GRID. However, with the recent laws in the UK, once you've bought a game you can only return it if it's damaged. So currently I'm seeing if it can handle it. From a review done a couple of days ago, it ran almost perfectly on an OC'ed 8600GT at 1440x900 so it should do fine on my 8600GS DDR3 I think....considering I have a WXGA screen.

I downloaded Rivatuner today optmized it a bit thanks to the tutorials and ran 3dmark06. I got a quite shocked by a flattering score of 3040 which I thought was quite high for my card. However, it's also seen that my GPU temperature rised upto 77C whilst running 3dmark06 (about 75C average). Isn't this quite a bit high seeing that I didn't OC it.......I'm using the default drivers mind, but modded drivers won't make a difference on temperature will they?
I downloaded the GRID demo today too and during loading and at the menu, it was very slow, about 10FPS and there wasn't much running in the background I think. Maximum temperature it reached whilst trying to play was 78C.

So is it worth overclocking at all? Should I try out with modded drivers to see if they will make a big difference? I assume that the maximum temperature a GPU should be to avoid it frying is about 85C. Plus I'm trying not to scorch my card since I'd rather not void the warrenty.

Thanks,
Jam.

Oh yeh, forgot to mention that my graphics card is clocked at 500/1000/702 at default. Don't know if this will be useful at all. Plus I haven't a cooler but aren't my temperatures still quite high?

 

I'd suggest trying the modded drivers at laptopvideo2go and then seeing if the performance is acceptable and go from there.

 

8600 gt is not the same as the 8600 gs.

 

an 8600M GS = Overclocked version of 8400M GT.
I get around the same scores as you...in 3Dmark.

 

not really, i overclocked my laptop cpu and gpu and got about 600 points more in 3dmark06..which showed to be about 2-5 frames more in demanding games..not worth the heat unless your avergaing like 25 fps in a game and want to be at 30

 

With extra texture unit as well, I think. 8600GS should give few hundreds more points in 3Dmark06 clock per clock, AFIAK.

My casual "OC" gives about 600 points, as well (heat stays about the same, it seems)- or, about 20% increase. As you say, useful when I am getting 15-25FPS, otherwise, I wouldn't do that (therefore, I don't use it often). I can push more, but I don't want to take that much risk.

 

unless you get a kick out of pushing your machine to its limit i don't think it's worth it. just optimize you computer and find the right drivers and you should be fine. if you're looking for noticeable difference then upgrading your notebook is the way to go.

 

Thanks for your replies guy.
QUICK QUESTION, I'm about to download the 169.04 driver (thought I might as well start with a stable driver) and have a minor query with it's install. Do I need to un-install my current Nvidia driver first then install the new one, or can I simply just run the new install without bothering un-installing my current driver?

 

uninstall the currunt one first, then Download driver sweeper to remove the leftovers, then install the new drivers, its very simple

 

Thanks. Never heard of that driver sweeper before but it seems a good tool to have.

 

Not sure if it works for your 8600 GS but if you have the time, try this driver as well... 175.80.... Run your 3dmark06 and compare with your 169.04

Correct me if I'm wrong but however one thing I discovered is that 169.04 seems to work well (as in less stuttering issues and such) with older dx9 games better than 175.80.

 

Hey guys, thanks for the replies.
I installed the 169.04 drivers and my 3dmark06 actually dropped. Before (apparrently Forceware 167.43) I got 3040 and it with 169.04, its dropped to 2945 (I ran it twice and got similiar figure). Thats almost 100 points.
However with the default drivers I understand that you can't overclock therefore there is no point installing my old drivers again. Temperatures remained the same with the 169.04 drivers and also the GRID demo also ran slowly. With regard to the GRID demo, I would've thought that atleast the menu's would run fast but they are very slow - unless there is something running in the background though I can't think of anything apart from security and rivatuner/speedfan etc.

I just wanted to know whether its worth me trying to overclock. I reach temperatures of around 77C whilst no overclock - is it safe to overclock to 85C?

Thanks jam.

 

Mine runs at 85 while under full load, and 69 idle. I think it was like 80 or so while not OC. I'm not sure if it makes/made any diff in game or not. I think the 3d06 score is just for bragging rights imo. I'm debating on just leaving it at stock settings myself since I can see no noticable improvement.
Keep in mind, this is only with one game, Mass Effect. I can't vouch for any others.

 

Thanks for the response. Seems that you have similiar temps to mine. I'm currently overclocking my gpu and will post my findings soon. And I agree with your opinion of 3dmark06 in that it isn't accurate and no replacement for real performance though it does offer a reasonably statiblity test whilst overclocking.

Jam.