M86TU Overclocking Stats + Question

Finally managed to get everything I wanted done, so here are the stats:

NP8662
P9700 @ 2.8GHz
GTX 260M @ Stock (550core/1350shaders/850mem) or OC** (620core/1550shaders/900mem)
4GB 1066MHz DDR3 RAM
Vista Home Premium 64-bit

**Still stock (1v) voltage

3dmark06 score @

• Stock Clocks: 10322
• Overclocked: 11203

(nVidida driver version Forceware 179.53)

My questions about overclocking are about stability tests:

1) If I can pass a 1-minute monitoring, 11-minute load, 4-minute monitoring GPU test with OCCT, recording 0 errors, can I call my clocks stable?

2) What are safe temperatures for the GTX 260M?

In the aforementioned OCCT test with clock settings set to the overclock described above, my GPU temperatures rose for the full duration of the full-load section, getting to 91C as the final monitoring period began.

3) Will games put my card under that kind of full-load stress for that long?

I have a fail-safe rule set up in nVidia Control Panel, so if GPU temperatures exceed 92C, an automatic downclock to (200core/500shaders/200mem) will occur.

On a brighter note, the P9700 didn't get past 55C after 13-14 minutes of full-load Orthos, at stock voltage. Undervolting didn't do all that much, but it runs super-cool from the start, so I'm happy with that.

Overall, I'm very very happy with the system, and hope it serves me well for the next four years of university.

 

The norm for GPU stress tests is 15-20 minutes on Furmark or OCCT. Four minutes is good, but not good enough as it is not equivalent to playing an intensive game for hours straight. Try for 10 minutes and see where it goes from there.

The downclock threshold for the GTX 260M is 108*C. The guaranteed failure temperature is 116*C. However, the maximum safe temperature you should push the GTX 260M, or any GPU, is 88-90*C.

No game will put constant 100% load on your GPU like Furmark or OCCT. You don't have to worry about it.

I'm glad you're enjoying your new machine, AlphaMagnum. It will bring you hours and hours of fun and many years of reliable service.

 

Ah, it's good to hear that I set my downclock threshold close to what it should be. I'll lower it to 90C.

And...it was a 16-minute OCCT test, but the way that program runs it, it goes like this:

1-minute monitoring
LOAD
4-minute monitoring

So a 16-minute test would involve 11 minutes under load, not 4. Is that okay?

 

No games will stress the GPU as much as OCCT, however, 91C was a bit high. Are you using a cooler? A cooler do help alot. The lower the temps, the better.

Congrats with the system!

 

That's fine.

 

I guess those temperature results also rule out overvolting unless I invest in a notebook cooler, which I should do either way, to extend my system's lifespan.

Still though, managing to reach those clocks @ stock voltage makes me quite happy, and really, OCCT ran sans artifacts at (625core/1563shader/900mem). I just opted to lower the clocks to be reasonably sure of safe game performance.

It looks like this system was really worth the money.

Thank you Sager!

 

You do notice a difference in temps by increasing the voltage, around 4-5-6c in my case. If you are happy with the clocks without overvolting, than thats good news

 

There is only one more thing left to do. Change the thermal paste. Then you will see some nice temps.

 

When I ordered the system I had Sager put Arctic 5 Thermal Paste on it, but I'm not sure where that went. (i.e. just on CPU or also on GPU?)

Would it be effective to get some on the GPU?

(also: What brand should I use as opposed to Arctic 5?)

 

Get MX-2 or MX-3. Both are very easy to apply.

 

Hey AlphaMagnum,

Thanks for your post, was too lazy to find some good clocks for the GTX260m and then I found your post, lol. +rep

I used the same clocks and got a max temp of 91C doing a 20 min OCCT test, 1 min idle and 4 min cooldown. Have same specs as you except Im running Win7 x64 and Forceware 186.03

How did you make that failsafe rule? I would also like to create it.

 

I actually did all my overclocking through the nVidia Control Panel, using the 'Performance' heading which came with the nVidia System Tools that I downloaded.

Under that same heading, there's a section called 'Profile Policies.'

From there it's really straightforward, just make a rule that says "Load the following Profile when Which Temperature is higher than XX degrees Celsius."

Profile = (your profile name here)
Which = GPU
XX = 90

(This does entail making a profile in one of the other headings under performance, in which the card is heavily downclocked.)

 

Or you can do it the old school way and just hard mod the downclock threshold from 108*C to whatever temperature you set.

 

this seems intresting too bad i got no idea where to start tho:/ got a m860tu myself with 9800m gt graphics and t9600 2,8 ghz processor. what would be the easiest way to push my processor up? it seems like a bottleneck, and my e- will grow if i have a processor running at more than 3 ghz;D

 

SetFsb works great to OC your CPU.

 

ok. got it down now what should i select in the dropdown box? this was a tad confusing

 

aww, almost as high as my score

 

I'm pretty sure that, with the M860TU, SetFSB immediately will hard lock your system with any Core 2 Duo CPU 2.8Ghz or faster. I don't recommend trying it.

 

hardoc ftw

 

I tried overclocking my system with SetFSB and - nada. I used the PLL RTM876-660 and it shows that my current settings is the highest. Unless I am doing something wrong here... here is a screenshot:

 

When I had the T9800, it would either do nothing, or freeze my machine.

 

Good to know that I am not the only one... I tried using the other PLL number that has been circulating on the board as usable for oc M860TU, with no luck either.