Liquid Cooled Graphics card overclocking

Liquid Cooled Graphics card overclocking

So we seated the card and now we'll dive straight into overclocking, as the rest of our test results will have OC results included. The one group of people that will really benefit from overclocking are the people that opt for a liquid cooled GeForce GTX 580 as they will be in control of noise levels and get much better GPU temperatures. Our setup decreased the graphics card default temperature to a stunning ~40 degrees C, and that's under load.

Now your results will be based on your liquid cooling setup - do not skimp on cheap parts - quality parts will get you quality temperatures at virtually no noise, if you do it right. We have a single loop with dual-fan (12mm) radiator just for the GPU.

As such we should be able to, fairly straightforward, get another 15 to 20% performance out of the GTX 580. First stop, grab MSI AfterBurner and install Kombustor (included in AfterBurner Archive) as well. So here's what we need to do, please download the following utility:

Download:

• Download AfterBurner

Kombustor (GPU stress test) comes optional in the install package of AfterBurner, it is based on Furmark and is tied into AfterBurner. Press the K button within AfterBurner, and the application will start completely pre-configured.

Step 1:After proper driver installation please start-up AfterBurner.

Step 2:
Using the software increase the voltage on the GPU core to 1.138. Don't worry, the card can perfectly handle this voltage and it remains quite safe. But do make sure you have proper liquid cooling temperatures.

With MSI's AfterBurner sitting next to it, you can gradually increase clock and memory frequency real-time and on the fly.

Some people prefer other software, OCCT GPU stress, running 3DMark or a game each time after a frequency change. Everybody has his/her own preferences. Just use an application that is hard on your graphics card. Yet for ease of use we recommend Furmark or Kombustor as it will get the GPU down on its knees.

Step 3:
We are now ready to start overclocking. Slowly increase the Shader clock frequency until your card starts showing artifacts or crashes (with Kombustor or your preferred stress application activated!).

Your graphics card will now slowly heat up. Increase the core frequency, and you'll always want to monitor GPU temperatures. Increase GPU Core clock in 25 MHz increments. After each incremental clock frequency increase, hit apply. Keep an eye on temperatures - on water-cooling 60 to 65 degrees C is your limit really as you need a little extra reserve for when the weather is warm and hot (we test at a room temperature of 21 degrees C).

If you see artifacts either stop Kombustor immediately or restart. If you system locks up, restart, repeat procedure and drop down at least 25 MHZ, preferably 50 MHz. Keep monitoring that temperature. Above 100 degrees C is not okay at all.

Don't be to afraid of a few system lockups and restarts, really. If you are afraid to do so, please don't overclock. It's not for you my man. It is needed to find the maximum threshold of what you can achieve.

Our end results:

Note -- neither the ODM or Guru3D is responsible for a damaged card. Mind you that while we've never been able to break a card with an overclock, that doesn't mean it cannot happen. You are driving the graphics card closer to its maximum limit. As such do it wisely, do it carefully... but most of all you do it at your own risk.

So we settled at 987 MHz on the core, 1974 MHz on the shaders (!). Now use your stress application on the card again for half an hour.

As you can see we achieved a massive overclock. This is not guaranteed for everybody of course, it depends on your LCS setup but also sheer luck on how high your graphics card can go. With decent LCS you should at the very least reach 925 to 950 MHz on the core with added voltage.

So what does this all mean for overall temperatures and power consumption? We'll let's have a look.