Overclocking a GF4 MX440 64MB AGP 8X

[icecubez189]

Hi, i hope this is the right forum for an overclocking question, since the other one is for cpu, mobo and mem, whereas the nvidia legacy video cards are here.

Anyways, i have an XFX GeForce4 MX440 64MB AGP 8X, and i can't seem to find much information on an overclocked NV18 core.
So far, i've overclocked it like this: core-mem 275-286@345-358 (with Riva Tuner) but im not sure if i can bump it up anymore safely (it has a heatsink only, no fan).

so im just seeing if anyone has tips or anymore info on overclocking the NV18 core, im just seeing if i can squeeze more performance.

thanks for the help/suggestions!

[ricercar]

When overclocking a NV17/18, I'd strongly recommend a fansink instead of passive cooling. Most GeForce4 MX actually shipped with a fan, so you're starting off with a bad baseline using only passive cooling.

[NightFire]

With stock cooling, some people have managed to bump up their clocks to 375/675 with no artifacts, and that's on the same model XFX Geforce that you've got. Of course, yours may not go that high, but I'd just experiment by OC'ing with 5-10 MHz increments until you get artifacts, and then clock down until they dissapear.

[icecubez189]

ouch, well i had a eVGA GF4, same specs, and it had a heatsink fan on it, i was thinking about switching it onto the XFX card, but i noticed there wasn't a 3-pin power connection located on the card. looks like im stuck with a heatsink, thanks for the help!

[saturnotaku]

looks like im stuck with a heatsink, thanks for the help!

Not necessarily. Back in my GeForce3 days, I used one of the old Blue Orb coolers, which came with a 3-pin fan header. I just plugged it into my motherboard and was off and running. Just a thought.

[icecubez189]

With stock cooling, some people have managed to bump up their clocks to 375/675 with no artifacts, and that's on the same model XFX Geforce that you've got. Of course, yours may not go that high, but I'd just experiment by OC'ing with 5-10 MHz increments until you get artifacts, and then clock down until they dissapear.

i was thinking about trying that, im just worried that i might not be able to turn down the speed in time before i fry or damage the card. its a crap card, but i don't have any budget for a new one (like a 6600GT :( )

thanks for the help so far

[icecubez189]

btw, when using riva tuner, and your bumping up the mhz, whats the use of the exclamation mark that pops up next to the slider bar? is that to tell you you've gone too high for the video card?

[Graphicmaniac]

my sh*tty sparkle has a castrated memory bus .. and is just 266mhz onmemory .. but i can oc till 390mhz

about core i can do till 385

[icecubez189]

Not necessarily. Back in my GeForce3 days, I used one of the old Blue Orb coolers, which came with a 3-pin fan header. I just plugged it into my motherboard and was off and running. Just a thought.

well the 3-pin connector on my motherboard is being used by my side case fan, but i probably have a 3-pin to 4-pin connector lying around which would help me free up some space for one of those blue orb thing your talking about. but im not looking to spend money on a heatsinkfan attatchment, just looking to see how far i can push it currently, or if i've reached that point already.

anyways, i posted a question about the exclamation mark that riva tuner shows, if someone could answer that, that'd be swell.

thanks for the help so far.

[icecubez189]

my sh*tty sparkle has a castrated memory bus .. and is just 266mhz onmemory .. but i can oc till 390mhz

about core i can do till 385

meh, the core gives you better performance when upped IMO, but 266mhz is ok i guess