5670 - Overclocking CPU and GPU: Apps, benchmarks, tests...

So I've been reading, PMing other 5760 owners and reading some more about how to over overclock my 7900GTX card (safely) and my T7200 CPU in my Sager 5760 for some time now I just had a few questions that I wanted to ask before I start modifying my system.

First off, for the 7900GTX, I'm using:
1) nVidia driver 86.63 that is found off Sager's website for the 5760 (Thanks for all the advice Elminst!!!)
2) I've downloaded and installed Coolbits 2.0 and I've used the "Detect Optimal Frequencies" feature under the new Clock Frequency Settings tab and received an optimal setting of : 577MHz (core)/763MHz(memory)
3) I've downloaded and installed RivaTuner 2.06 to monitor GPU temps, BUT here is my first question: How do I REALLY know what to adjust my Value Offest (degrees C) under my graph settings after I click on the Core Temperature Monitoring data source SETUP button?



Right now using the RivaTuner with the default of 0.0 degrees C, I'm getting anywhere from 33-50 degrees C at idle (when web browsing NBR) for my 7900GTX WITHOUT the MAX (Fn + F2) fans on. NOTE: This is with default clock settings for the 7900GTX. Is this normal for a 5760? Do I need to input a Value Offset? I want to make SURE I know the correct/actual GPU core temp for monitoring BEFORE I'm going to overclock; so I know everything is in the "safe zone".

I know I will have to start my 3DMark06 benchmark tests repeatedly to test out if the overclock settings are stable (as well as monitor the GPU core temp), BUT should I install ATi Tray Tools and run each of my gradual overclock settings to check for artifacts as well? Is this worthwhile?

For my T7200 CPU, I'm using:
1) ClockGen 1.0.5.3 software to increase the FSB of the CPU.
2) I've correctly modified the PLL for ICS 954148 (5670 chipset code) as well as the 09 hexbit value from 7E to 7F, updated and applied the settings.
3) I tried out modifying my CPU speed upto 2.20GHz and noticed my CPU temps did not get above 40-42 degrees C when running 3DMark06. I've read that the T7200 is still very stable to 2.25GHz, BUT what is the best way to stress the CPU to test out the new overclock settings? I would be VERY happy with a stable 2.25GHz overclock, to set it and forget it.
4) I'm using NHC to monitor my CPU temps and my CPU Voltage and before performing any of this CPU overclocking business, the CPU voltage would switch 0.9500V to 1.2125V with Dynamic switching CPU speed mode on. After performing this overclock, the CPU voltage was fixed at 1.2125V with the CPU speed mode now reading: MAX PERFORMANCE
Anything I should be looking for? Will the voltage change if I increase the frequency to 2.25GHz? What is a "safe" CPU temp range during HEAVY load/processing/gaming? What is a "safe" CPU Voltage?

Thanks for taking the time to read my thread and help me out!

Game on people!

Brian

 

didnt know you can OC a cpu that way... im used to go in the bios when i OC a desktop cpu... and up to now theres no driver that let us OC the 8800m

 

It took a couple of hours searching on NBR to find the right threads, but I CAN confirm that this method of overclocking the T7200 works via NHC's CPU Clock Speed meter. The CPU Clock Speed would alternate from 1.1 GHz to 2.2GHz after the CPU frequency (slide bar) was adjusted manually to my 2.20GHz setting.

Also, you don't need to OC an 8800M card since it's the best **** since sliced bread as far as video cards go! It can take anything you can throw at it, if I'm not mistaken

 

oh thats great... but its software... so its safe? anyway i dont really need to OC my cpu

ya its the best gpu but if i want to show that i have a bigger e-peenis i have to OC my GPU (3dmark score)

 

Usually I use my CPU at default speeds, but when I need some extra power on MultiSIM(electronic circuit simulator) I use ClockGen to OC my T7700 to 2.6Ghz... in theory it will be +/- 10% faster... ten minutes of work can be done in nine...

It´s one X7800 for the price of an T7700

 

so if i want to .rar my ISO i should do that? but dont ask me whats inside those ISO

 

What is a good CPU benchmark to test if it's safe or not (temp wise I'm guessing)? I don't know if it's safe. That was one of the reasons I created this thread; to get advice on how I could tell my overclock adjustments were safe...

 

theres cpumark.. and sandra ... and some other... i dont use benchmark usualy... i just go with the feeling lol...

 

if your GPU Core Temp is at 0 C degrees....

If you are using Vista read the notes here:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=81852

If you are using Vista x64, also read this last note (to fix 0 C degrees issue):
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=171514

 

actually gophn his gpu is reading 33-50 C
which is just about right. That's what mine reads.
When i first installed rivatuner i had to offset it by 200. But i think the 86.63 drivers (latest from Sager) must have fixed the offset problem, cuz i had to change it back to zero.

so in answer to pyun's question, if it's reading 33-50, you don't need to offset it. That is a fairly typical GPU temp. Mine is currently reading 38 after running for about 6 hours and no cooling pad (i have the back elevated, and no gaming).

If you clock up your CPU with NHC, do you have to leave NHC running? If so, this will hurt your other benchmarks. Running NHC reduced my 3dMark06 score by 300 points.

 

Using a program called SetFSB there is no need to change the byte 09. Just run it and OC directly:





About the temperatures, just keep them under 80ºC for a longevity/stability reason.

On my M570RU with the [email protected] the temps are core1 28ºC core2 33ºC on IDLE and core1 69ºC core2 70ºC after some rounds on ORTHOS.

 

Oh thats great ill try that tonight after work

thx

 

Thanks for the advice! I've been looking up some free CPU stress testing software and I've found: CPUMark 2.1, Stability Test XP, CPUBurn, Core2MaxPerformance Test and CPUTempWatch (to monitor both core temps if I don't want to run NHC). I also downloaded SiSoftware Sandra Lite, but I don't know if it's a program that I have to pay for I've downloaded the 12.1MB file, but I'm not sure if I have to pay for it after I install it (still at work right now).

Thank you Elminst! That's exactly what I was trying to get at

No, I'm not using NHC to overclock the CPU. I don't even know how to do that I used ClockGen to overclock the CPU and once you run the ClockGen and alter the 09 byte value (with the correct PLL ISC code), you can check off a box to "Apply Current Settings at Startup". NOTE: ONLY do this after you've thoroughly tested out your new overclocked settings. I only used NHC to monitor my CPU temps and confirm that the frequency had been modified/overclocked; you don't have to run NHC the entire time for the overclock to remain. I turn off Spybot S&D, Aadware, AVG and NHC when I run 3DMark06 and turn on my Max Fans with Fn + F2. Only RivaTuner is still running (displays GPU core temps on the upper left corner of the screen --> thanks to Gophn's thread!! )

 

I have a Sager 5792 with the T7700 on Windows Vista Home PRemium 64bit... can I overclock that with this program?

 

Yes, just download it from here:
http://www13.plala.or.jp/setfsb/download/beta/setfsb20b19j.zip

Change the clockgenerator to ICS9LPR316AGLF. Then start rising the first slider. Not much, just do the math:

200 x 12(your higher multiplier) = 2400
205 x 12 = 2460
215 x 12 = 2580Mhz

and so on...

 

So I overclocked my 7900GTX last night Final specs after averaging the 30 frequency results I received from pressing the "Detect Optimal Frequencies" button were 575MHz Core/750MHz Memory so I gradually overclocked it up to those specs. I ran 3DMark06 about 10-12 times and AquaMark3D about 5 times and PCMark05 a few times with the 575/750 settings and didn't see temps go over 50.0 degrees C with the Fn + F2 Max fan mode turned on. I thought the temps were supposed to get upto ~70 degrees C.... 3DMark06 scores ranged anywhere from 5373-5379 Is it true that I can leave the card with it's overclocked settings all the time? I've heard that it only gets upto the actual overclocked frequencies when under heavy 3D load and that the rest of the time (i.e. web browsing, listen to music, etc) it only uses 200/400MHZ frequencies ...or something along those lines... Can anyone verify?

I will try overclocking the CPU today to 2.25GHz with the CPU stress test benchmarks I listed before.

I also just received my Zalman NC-2000 laptop cooler at work so I will take some pics of that with my 5760 and compare before and after temps for CPU and GPU soon.

But so far, so good!

Brian

 

For stress testing the cpu, I use three different ones:

OCCT - this will stress cpu and ram. I prefer it because you'll be overclocking the ram too with a FSB modification.

Orthos - basically a pie calc. It's good for testing temps that you might run across during heavy cpu loads.

TAT - Intels own thermal analysis tool. It's advantage is showing the temps right on it, and it actually forces 100% load so the temps will get higher than any game (or OCCT & Orthos) would push it.

For gpu testing, I haven't found anything great. I use the ATI Tool and artifact finder to generally test the oc. Then I'll 3dMark06 and watch temps. Then I'll play with those settings a few days looking for errors.

On my M570U I've got my T7400 running at 2.6 GHz (2.15 stock).. Haven't messed with it much yet and there's still some headroom, but my 7950GTX is stable at 600/783 (575/700 stock)..

edit; as for safe, that's sort of up to you. You are limited in thermal probes and settings you can change. Overclock to the fsb also overclocks your ram and northbridge where you don't know the temps and there isn't much airflow. The cpu will throttle at around 92 degrees. I don't know if the gpu has the same sort of safeguards. Mines spent most of it's life so far overclocked without a single failure.....

 

MightyAA - Thanks for your post! It's nice to have someone else to compare my results too. Is OCCT, Orthos, and TAT all freeware you can download?

Do you find artifacts when you use ATi Tray tool with your overclocked settings? Those are some nice 7950GTX overclock numbers I've read that others have overclocked their 7900GTX to 600/700 instantly (on notebookforums) using niBiTor to change their voltage through vBIOS, but I'm pretty happy with my settings. I'm not looking to have the highest clocks, but I'm not looking to get beat by the 7950GTX's stock speeds either

I'm gonna monitor the CPU overclocking very meticulously tonight and like I said before, I'll be happy with a stable (temp happy) 2.25GHz.

I've also got my Zalman NC-2000 under my laptop now for an extra safety procaution - But I will test all my overclock settings only using the Fn + F2 Max fan function on the M570U. I don't want to rely on the cooler.

 

I was afraid to use niBiTor and reflash (potentially bricking it). So I'm using RivaTuner and alternate NVidia drivers. Just playing around before posting this, I hit 620/785 without artifacts and temps hovering around 65 without the fans hitting high or using Fn+F2. I don't have a laptop cooler, but my card is modded for cooling (KillerNotebook version 1 applied myself), so that probably isn't hurting anything. I prefer the software overclock since I can remove the overclock easily when I want (like running on batteries). Tried 630/800, but small artifacts started showing up, so I'm about at my limit without doing +volts (and I don't want to go there)....

btw; I use PCWizard 2008 since it will find the gpu, cpu, and hd thermal probes as well as provide overclock readings. You can find it at cpuid.com (the same guys who do clockgen and cpu-z).

Here's my 3dMark06 with the prior 600/783 clock. Yours will be a bit slower, but I've got a step up on cpu and gpu from your setup and we're both shamed by the newer rigs out there.
http://service.futuremark.com/orb/resultanalyzer.jsp?projectType=14&XLID=0&UID=13469268

edit... yes, just google the cpu testers.. they are free

 

^Which drivers are you using for your M570U???

I overclocked my CPU successfully to 2.25GHz tonite! Using a program called Core2MaxPerformance it put 100% load on both CPUs and the highest they reached was 65 degrees C (flat lining on RivaTuner)! yay

GPU read 47.5 degrees C in 3DMark06 as it's highest temp with 576/751 specs.

But please let me know what drivers you are using. I just bought Gears of War and it seems that I have to upgrade my driver to 163.44 or the game will not play from the prompt window that pops up on the screen.

If I need to install a new driver, do I have to remove coolbits first? Do I have to install coolbits again after I install the new driver?? Is there anything recommended I uninstall or delete before I uninstall the nvidia driver?

Thanks in advance!

bRian

 

I'm using ForceWare version 167.43 by Clevo. You have to strip the old driver and coolbits since the newer drivers use the NVidia control panel. I'm not sure if coolbits works with the driver at all. Once installed, Rivatuner started working fine though. They aren't wonderful drivers though and I noticed some weird white blending in the 3dMark06 test... but haven't seen any other problems elsewhere. Also, with the 7900, you have a lot more drivers available than I do with the 7950. Laptopvideo2go has a huge selection of drivers and modded drivers for those of us already abandoned by regular driver updates.

Don't suppose Core2MaxPerformance lets you get at the multipliers? I've got an ES cpu, so the chip has unlocked multipliers. I'd like to find something to set them up at x14 or x15 so I don't have to oc the fsb. I've tried to get at them unsuccessfully through CrystalCPU and RMClock.. they'll only let me go down, not up and max at x13.

 

I'm running Windows XP MCE 2005 so I think I'm gonna try driver 169.21 WHQL tonight to see if that will work with Gears of War AND be stable with other benchmarks. I will also test out RivaTuner's overclocking features tonight when I upload the new driver.

The Core2MaxPerformance program doesn't let you manipulate anything. It just puts 100% load on both CPUs and comes with a free Dual core tempwatch program (even though I just used RivaTuner to monitor temps).

 

That's the part I hate: just loading and trying out all the different drivers to see if one is better than another and working consistantly. Newer drivers don't mean better if they were issued to speed up performance on just new cards like the 8000 series. I did note though that the one I picked was worth 100 points on 3dMark06 versus the older driver.. so it performs better, but has that nasty white issue I mentioned and it also doesn't do the "find optimal settings" like you'd get with coolbits. I hate tradeoffs which seems to be what we have to deal with now and these days.

K... thanks for the clarification. I thought it maybe was some cool new oc tool I hadn't tried out before.