GTX 260 wont clock past 702MHz clock core?

[ATOJAR]

Hi all, ive been testing some overclocks with my card a little, im using the evga precision tool v1.3.2 now ive tested at my current overclocks(see sig)with furmark and all went fine 84c max ... i cant get the shader any higher because i get artifacts & i don't really want to push the memory any higher just to be on the safe side.

The thing is with evga precision tool i cant pass 702MHz on the clock core! ... even if i set it to 703MHz and click apply the clock core just sets back to 702MHz as soon as i click apply! why is this?(i have the shader clock & clock core set to unlinked)

[Blacklash]

I usually find my max shader clock then unlink and push up my core to its max. If your core is at its max and your shaders are not, try moving them up a tad. I use Riva Tuner to OC here.

Subzeros have a very good card and I wouldn't expect those clocks on all 260s. I can briefly do his core and shader clock with the fan @ 100%, and not for any extended period of time. If Thermalright release their new heatsink for the GTX soon I'll try it. I am fairly confident I may be able to do 750|1544 reliably with it. Now I am running 730|1532 2600.

[jAkUp]

It is because you are unlinked, you can only push the core clock so high with an unlinked shader.

[Revs]

It is because you are unlinked, you can only push the core clock so high with an unlinked shader.

I reached 740 no probs. The only thing stopping me going further was RivaTuner's 740 limit.

TBH Ato, I went back to 700 anyhow. Most of the gains to be had are with the shader and memory OC :).

[parasiteeve]

It is because you are unlinked, you can only push the core clock so high with an unlinked shader.

I have a heavily overclocked GTX 260 and thats not true, unlinked is actually better as linked will have you hitting a wall much sooner with the shader before you ever find your max core.

The best way to find your max OC with the GTX 260 is to unlink the shader/core and then find the max shader clock first, after finding the max shader go for your max core.

Example my shader topped out at 1536mhz and this allowed me to find my max core of 760mhz. If I keep a linked ratio it puts my shader at 1636 which is way to high.

[parasiteeve]

I reached 740 no probs. The only thing stopping me going further was RivaTuner's 740 limit.

I dont have a limit with Rivatuner, what are you talking about? I have had my core as high as 780 using Riva Tuner but of course it was not stable. I use 760core for every day use though as its stable.


TBH Ato, I went back to 700 anyhow. Most of the gains to be had are with the shader and memory OC :).


Memory OC does very very little, shader helps some but Core gives the biggest gains from what I have found. It really depends on the game that you are testing.

[Revs]

I dont have a limit with Rivatuner, what are you talking about? I have had my core as high as 780 using Riva Tuner but of course it was not stable. I use 760core for every day use though as its stable.

When I set mine over 740, saved it, closed RT and opened it again, it said 740. Anything over 740 would reset to 740 after reopening. It might be different with a newer version though.


Memory OC does very very little, shader helps some but Core gives the biggest gains from what I have found. It really depends on the game that you are testing.

I just use Crysis to judge my overclocks seeing as it's the only game that actually requires an overclock.

[parasiteeve]

When I set mine over 740, saved it, closed RT and opened it again, it said 740. Anything over 740 would reset to 740 after reopening. It might be different with a newer version though.


Its not Riva Tuner thats limiting your core OC, its your shaders. You need to bump up the shaders a little more and then try to OC the core past 740 again, if it bumps you back down then move the shaders up a tad bit more and try again.

The previouse Gen cards G80's and G92's were not dependent on the shader for the max core overclock, its a bit different with the GTX 260 and 280.

[ATOJAR]

Where do i stand with the memory on these things? Is it just safe to overclock the memory until i get artifacts, back the memory down a little until its stable and leave it at that? its just i remember with the 8800 GT 512MB there was a "rumor" going around that clocking the memory on the 8800 GT's past 2000MHz for long periods will damage the card a lot quicker?

Is that the case with the GTX 260's?

[ATOJAR]

Update:

Just unlocked the clock core/sharers to see how high i could get the the shader clock, right now its at 1404MHz, any higher and i get artifacts in furmark it also knocks my load temp from 84c that i get now to 91c with the shader clock at 1458MHz! .... looks like im stuck at 702/1404/1125.

[parasiteeve]

Update:

Just unlocked the clock core/sharers to see how high i could get the the shader clock, right now its at 1404MHz, any higher and i get artifacts in furmark it also knocks my load temp from 84c that i get now to 91c with the shader clock at 1458MHz! .... looks like im stuck at 702/1404/1125.

91c? ouch! my 260 doesnt even get that high with my card at 260core 1534shader with the fan set at auto.

Try increasing your fan speed to around 75% using Riva Tuner. Also I would worry more about games artifacting than future mark, future mark will heat up your card and cause artififacts that you will never get in games.

[jAkUp]

I have a heavily overclocked GTX 260 and thats not true, unlinked is actually better as linked will have you hitting a wall much sooner with the shader before you ever find your max core.

The best way to find your max OC with the GTX 260 is to unlink the shader/core and then find the max shader clock first, after finding the max shader go for your max core.

Example my shader topped out at 1536mhz and this allowed me to find my max core of 760mhz. If I keep a linked ratio it puts my shader at 1636 which is way to high.

Yes, what I mean is you have to keep a specific CORE:SHADER ratio to go any higher on core.

[Blacklash]

My advice is to not run your card into the dirt for 2FPS. Find your max shader, core and mem then back off about 10 on each.

[hemmy]

Furmark doesn't test overclocks very well IMO

[ATOJAR]

Furmark doesn't test overclocks very well IMO

So what does?

[ATOJAR]

Well i used to always use atitool stress tester, never failed me in the past! ... ill probably just stick with that.

EDIT: Well i can get my memory to 1269MHz stable, as for my shaders well they crap out at anything above 1404MHz(that im at now) ... the next step up from 1404MHz is 1458MHz and i get instant artifacting in atitool stress tester with the shaders at that speed! ... looks like im stuck at 702MHz/1404MHz/1269MHz.

[Blacklash]

Well i used to always use atitool stress tester, never failed me in the past! ... ill probably just stick with that.

EDIT: Well i can get my memory to 1269MHz stable, as for my shaders well they crap out at anything above 1404MHz(that im at now) ... the next step up from 1404MHz is 1458MHz and i get instant artifacting in atitool stress tester with the shaders at that speed! ... looks like im stuck at 702MHz/1404MHz/1269MHz.

IMO that's plenty fast.

I've used ATi Tool to test my clocks before too. It seems reliable. I usually let the furry cube tumble for a few hours. I've never had an OC prove unstable if it could do that without error.

[photopro]

a quick reply to you ATOJAR because i have pretty much the same px as you do, the few differences are that i have a msi gforce260gt with 896mg with quade core i7 930 2.80Ghz
windows 7 64 bit same as you. Also have 6g of ram, same as your model. casing is different..
I like to play battlefield bad company 2 & have lots of problems with the soldier not following my aim. The movement of my soldier feels as though i lag doesn't follow the ennemy as well as i would have expected, therefore i get shot a heck of alot most times... soldiers not far away i have problems follwing with my aim to shoot, so in revenge i get shot dead..lol
my settings on my videocard using the afterburner program that came with vid card is the latest version 8.17.11.9621 forceware 196.21 & my settings vary, here are some settings i use..

Core voltage i have it to the min. set at 0
core clock: 650
shader clock: 1397
memory clock: 1050
Fan speed: 70
temp of GPU is stable at around 52 & that's with my AC not far away.
this is on a saved mode.

another setting i use is

core clock: 703
shader clock: 1412
memory clock: 1102
fan speed: 86
GPU temp is around in mid 50's

my question is how come my GPU usage is sky high? Stays around in mid 80's% & sometimes up to 96% & that on both settings... I've even seen it go to 100%. only progarms i use in background are mumble, norton anti virus & steam & my afterburner since i want to see what lvl's i'm at while gaming...
So to resume i am getting shafted in battlefield big time...
the settings in game that are set to high are texture lvl & effect lvl, shadow lvl low, anti aliasing set at 1xmsaa, datail lvl i have to set it at medium. Anisotrophic filter is at 4x .
Any help would be nice :-)