[DeepIron]

Originally Posted by brommer66

Hi DeepIron.

I am experimenting a bit with the Rivatuner you mentioned. I have no experience with overclocking though. I have a NVidea 7100 GS card with a standard core clock of 350 MHz/max 525 MHz, and memory clock of 500 MHz/max 750 MHz.

2 questions:
- How far can I increase the clock speeds 'safely' before they become critical?
- Which of the two has most (positive) impact on the FPS rate; or do I have to overclock both?

Thanks

Hi Brommer66...
The "recommended" way of overclocking is to increase the core by say 5 points, then test. If things are ok, no instabilities, increase the memory clock by 5 points and test. Repeat this process, 5 points on one, test, 5 points on the other, test, until you start to have "issues" or instabilities. It's a long process but the 'safest' and most recommended. Once you get to the 'maximum' safe settings, back them off by say 5 points each for a safety margin.

Both settings will affect your frame rates so it's a good idea to increment them as outlined above.

The 'safety' aspect varies from machine to machine and has a lot to do with cooling and voltage levels. Incrementing the clocks as I've described above "should" give you suffiecient warning if you push the card too far...

My 7600GS card clocks normally at 400/350. I'm currently running SH4 at 500/450 and it gets a "little warm". I ONLY overclock while I play SH4. The rest of the time, I return the card to 400/350.

Don't forget to tweak your settings in the game itself. I seldom have everything running at maximum levels because even with overclocking, the card can handle only so much processing.

Hope this was helpful.