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Overclocking & Tweaking
Before we dive into an wide-ranging series of tests and benchmarks, we need to explain overclocking. With most videocards, we can do some easy tricks to boost the overall performance a little. You can do this at two levels, namely tweaking by enabling registry or BIOS hacks, or even tamper with Image Quality. And then there is overclocking, which will give you the best possible results by far.
What do we need?
One of the best tool for overclocking NVIDIA and ATI videocards is our own Rivatuner that you can download here. If you own an NVIDIA graphics card then NVIDIA actually has very nice built in options for you that can be found in the display driver properties.
Where should we go ?
Overclocking: By increasing the frequency of the videocard's memory and GPU, we can make the videocard increase its calculation clock cycles per second. It sounds hard but it really can be done in less then a few minutes. I always tend to recommend to novice users and beginners not to increase the frequency any higher then 5-10% of the core and memory clock. Example: If your card runs at 300 MHz then I suggest you don't increase the frequency any higher than 330 MHz.
More advanced users push the frequency often way higher. Usually when your 3D graphics start to show artifacts such as white dots ("snow"), you should back down 10-15 MHz and leave it at that.
The core can be somewhat different. Usually when you are overclocking too hard, it'll start to show artifacts, empty polygons or it will even freeze. I recommend that you back down at least 15 MHz from the moment you notice an artifact. Look carefully and observe well.
All in all... do it at your own risk.
Since we had way too little time and way too many product to look at I was not able to do in-depth overclocking sessions on the form of charts to show the differences. However, we did push all cards to the maximum ran a couple of tests to check stability and I'd like to show you what we where able to clock these little ogres at:
| Card | Core default / overclocked | Memory default /overclocked |
| GeForce 7600 GT | 560 MHZ / 607 MHz | 1400 MHz / 1600 MHz |
| GeForce 7900 GT | 450 MHZ / 545 MHz | 1320 MHZ / 1568 MHz |
| GeForce 7900 GTX | 650 MHZ / 705 MHz | 1600 MHZ / 1800 MHz |
The entire new product range seem to be phenomenal to overclock. Please make sure your PC is well ventilated and there is enough fresh air around to cool down the graphics card.
Results will vary per card, and you might need to back down a little the minute you see artifacts or simply want to play it safe. None the less, tweaking is a simple trick to get some more bang for your buck.
One small sidenote: Our overclocking results are never a guarantee for your home grown results. Manufacturers' choices in components differ ofter per batch and so will the end-result. This however is a good indication of what is (or isn't) possible.
