4870 Overclocking Thread

[dejanh]

But you see there is a reason why FurMark does that and it is actually quite valuable in terms of stability testing. FurMark constantly utilizes an average of 98%-99% of the GPU. No game or other tool does this. That is why the VRM temps are quite higher and that is why FurMark is a good test for true stability. My 2c anyway

[W1zzard]

i didnt follow the whole thread but are you talking about gpu temperature #2 when you talk about "VRM" ? temp #2 is an on-die sensor in the memory controller area.

[r4st4m4n]

i didnt follow the whole thread but are you talking about gpu temperature #2 when you talk about "VRM" ? temp #2 is an on-die sensor in the memory controller area.

I think they are talking about the VRM sensor in everest.

[dejanh]

VRM sensor in Everest

[affiliate13]

Here is a work in progress to get the VRM temps down some. Needs tweaking but maybe worth a look if anyones are too high.

Here

Its not finished as i need to record the temps better over longer testing and i need to fix problem with the angle of the VRM cooler to get even better contact.

[dejanh]

Here is a work in progress to get the VRM temps down some. Needs tweaking but maybe worth a look if anyones are too high.

Here

Its not finished as i need to record the temps better over longer testing and i need to fix problem with the angle of the VRM cooler to get even better contact.

1) You should use FurMark if you want to get maximum VRM temps. Run it in windowed mode at say 1280x1024, stability test setting. About 60-120 seconds in your VRM temps should be maxed out. This also allows you to watch the VRM temps in real time and take a screenshot.
2) I tried the exact same setup as you, with the HR-09 Type 2, but there is no way to make the sink contact the VRMs perfectly unless you shave it or put some plate in between. The damn thing is literally 2mm too wide at the base.

Good idea otherwise. Literally the exact same setup that I did with the HR-03 Good stuff, keep us posted on the results

[Willhub]

Which temp in GPU-Z is for the VRM?

Also is 830/1000 an okish overclock?

[xMrBunglex]

Which temp in GPU-Z is for the VRM?

Also is 830/1000 an okish overclock?

GPU-Z doesn't display VRM temps yet. Wizzard said the next release will. right now we're all using Everest (latest betas) to read them.

830/1000 seems to be more or less average. it's better than mine will do.

[Willhub]

GPU-Z doesn't display VRM temps yet. Wizzard said the next release will. right now we're all using Everest (latest betas) to read them.

830/1000 seems to be more or less average. it's better than mine will do.

Got everest on.

My Accelero S1, 2 Xilence fans on.

case side on, its about 44 degres idle and about 57-60 load so far. Everest is reporting 50 degrees solid for the VRM idle/

Gonna give furmark a whirl now.

Ok ****, after 220 seconds it hit 101 degrees

Where the VRM is, is it those super small chips then at the side there is these huge ones, they are not covered they dont need to be surely?

[dejanh]

Got everest on.

My Accelero S1, 2 Xilence fans on.

case side on, its about 44 degres idle and about 57-60 load so far. Everest is reporting 50 degrees solid for the VRM idle/

Gonna give furmark a whirl now.

Ok ****, after 220 seconds it hit 101 degrees

Where the VRM is, is it those super small chips then at the side there is these huge ones, they are not covered they dont need to be surely?

If I understand you correctly, yes, those small chips are VRM chips. There are 5 of them total. The VITEC and Pulse chips are related I think but I do not believe that these heat up really. I had sinks on them too, but they never really felt hot to touch. Oh and I'm pretty sure that the longer you run FurMark, the hotter those VRMs would get, especially if you are volt modding.

[Willhub]

Got it peaking at 105 degrees now, I would try some little sinks on the pulse ones but cba taking the cooler off again when I'm getting 42-70 degrees on the core which is good.

[dejanh]

Got it peaking at 105 degrees now, I would try some little sinks on the pulse ones but cba taking the cooler off again when I'm getting 42-70 degrees on the core which is good.

Yeah, like I said earlier though I don't think though that sinks on VITEC or Pulse will make a difference. Are you volt modding at all or are those stock voltages? Judging by your temps and clocks you are not volt modding, correct?

[Willhub]

No I'm not volt modding, I dare not I might break the card.

[dejanh]

Here is a work in progress to get the VRM temps down some. Needs tweaking but maybe worth a look if anyones are too high.

Here

Its not finished as i need to record the temps better over longer testing and i need to fix problem with the angle of the VRM cooler to get even better contact.

Hey, I just found this...

http://www.thermalright.com/new_a_pa...50aHVzaWFzdA==

This damn thing should fit onto the VRMs. The HR-09 Type 4 has a 12mm base width and 61mm length as opposed to the HR-09 Type 1/2/3 which has a 15.5mm base width with 61mm length

[affiliate13]

Hey, I just found this...

http://www.thermalright.com/new_a_pa...50aHVzaWFzdA==

This damn thing should fit onto the VRMs. The HR-09 Type 4 has a 12mm base width and 61mm length as opposed to the HR-09 Type 1/2/3 which has a 15.5mm base width with 61mm length

Thanks i might just order one of those, in the meantime you might like to check post #19 on the link in my sig. i put up some Furmark screenies after levelling out the type2
I think the type4 would be a better match though. i suppose i could use the type2 on my mobo instead so it wont go to waste.

[dejanh]

Thanks i might just order one of those, in the meantime you might like to check post #19 on the link in my sig. i put up some Furmark screenies after levelling out the type2
I think the type4 would be a better match though. i suppose i could use the type2 on my mobo instead so it wont go to waste.

Now that is sexy

So you basically took those fins and thermal-glued them to the bottom of the HR-09 to give it a taller base so that you can level it on the VRMs?

Very nice temps, and exactly what I was trying to achieve with the HR-09. I knew the drop would be significant. Across the board, the drop is huge, from 17C to as much as 73C . That's significant, no wait, insane! I think this should definitely allow for some higher voltages and better clocks now. Can't wait to see more results Can you try to push your card to say 850/1150 and 875/1175 and let us know what happens?

[affiliate13]

Now that is sexy

So you basically took those fins and thermal-glued them to the bottom of the HR-09 to give it a taller base so that you can level it on the VRMs?

Very nice temps, and exactly what I was trying to achieve with the HR-09. I knew the drop would be significant. Across the board, the drop is huge, from 17C to as much as 25C+. That's significant. I think this should definitely allow for some higher voltages and better clocks now. Can't wait to see more results

Yes thats all correct only i didnt thermally glue the fins to the HR09 i just put a dab of OCZ freeze on each side, i didnt want to glue them until i knew whether or not it would help.

I will chage the BIOS tomorrow night and see how much i can do with it now.

My E8600 should be here on friday so i would like to compare results before it arrives.

[dejanh]

Yes thats all correct only i didnt thermally glue the fins to the HR09 i just put a dab of OCZ freeze on each side, i didnt want to glue them until i knew whether or not it would help.

I will chage the BIOS tomorrow night and see how much i can do with it now.

My E8600 should be here on friday so i would like to compare results before it arrives.

I edited my post while you were quoting it

Anyway, looking forward to those results!

[Random]

Im lost here guys, would appreciate some clarifications.

What if my goal is 825-30 core / 1000 mem, what mods beyond flashing bios will i need?

Will this work via soft-mods? what's the rate of success? Will this work on stock cooling? what fan settings?

And what FPS performance gain % will i get?

[xMrBunglex]

Im lost here guys, would appreciate some clarifications.

What if my goal is 825-30 core / 1000 mem, what mods beyond flashing bios will i need?

Will this work via soft-mods? what's the rate of success? Will this work on stock cooling? what fan settings?

And what FPS performance gain % will i get?

most people can get 830/1000 with stock cooling and volts, although it isn't guaranteed. you obviously need to flash the BIOS if you want to run it at that speed by default. it would also be smart to give it a more aggressive fanfix profile.

[Random]

most people can get 830/1000 with stock cooling and volts, although it isn't guaranteed. you obviously need to flash the BIOS if you want to run it at that speed by default. it would also be smart to give it a more aggressive fanfix profile.

Im aware there are no guarantees, when you say most people is that roughly an 80% success rate or lower?

What would you recommend as fanfix setting?

And what performance gains will i get in %~ by those clocks?

Thank You.

[demowhc]

both my cards reached 830 np, at 840 they start to get a bit flakey on stock voltage..

as for performance increase, approx 10% I'd say..

[Random]

How do you explain that Diamond HD4870 XOC BE artifacts right out of the box @ 800 Core ?

[xMrBunglex]

How do you explain that Diamond HD4870 XOC BE artifacts right out of the box @ 800 Core ?

if you're talking about Crysis, try the 8.8 beta driver. i heard some people were having problems with Crysis that were solved with the new driver. if you're talking about other games, just return your card for a refund. no need to put up with artifacts.

[dejanh]

How do you explain that Diamond HD4870 XOC BE artifacts right out of the box @ 800 Core ?

I'll chime in on this being that I'd be the XOC BE resident expert

(1) Stock cooling.
(2) No voltage increase on either the core or the memory.
(3) The memory clock is too high for no voltage increase as the Qimonda 40X chips are rated up to 4GHz but are running at 4.4GHz on the XOC BE (10% OC). They have another set (50X) that is rated up to 5GHz but unfortunately no 4870s are blessed with that one.
(4) Lowering the clocks of the memory to 1050 or so on the XOC BE will leave it stable at 800 core.

General comment is that if you want 100% stability with literally zero artifacts ever with any 4870s you need to up the volts for any clocks higher than 820 core and about 1050 memory. That was my finding so far having worked on a number of these cards. Furthermore, voltages over 1.35V-1.37V will make your card very unstable because of a number of possible reasons...VRMs too hot, OCP kicking in, OVP kicking in.

Don't expect to gain much in performance by overclocking the card. As much as some people may bash me for saying this, the 4870 is not the best and fastest card out there by a long shot, and it is a rather poor overclocker with very mixed results and success rates. Everybody's jaw drops though at the thought of GDDR5 and how high it can go, but the point is missed that the limitations of this card do not come from its memory which has more than enough bandwidth to feed the card even at 3.4GHz but rather the core. One thing to note however is that this is probably the best performance/$ card out there following the 4850.

if you're talking about Crysis, try the 8.8 beta driver. i heard some people were having problems with Crysis that were solved with the new driver. if you're talking about other games, just return your card for a refund. no need to put up with artifacts.

XOC BE has problems out of the box with everything. But I posted lots about this already so no need to reiterate And yeah, refund is the best option.