Overclocking a XFX 6600gt- questions

[MADWAD]

I'm in the process of overclocking my XFX 6600gt agp(please no comments regarding this card please) with coolbits 2. It seems easy enough but i have a few questions.

1- the settings were set at 300MHz and 900GHz, why? It seems really low..... (i'm using forceware 76.41)

2- When i "Detect optimal setings" it cranks it up to 560MHz and 1.12 GHZ. Should i trust this? or should i just do it manually?

3- When i look at "temperature settings" it's 43 C for gpu core and 33 C ambient temp at idle. I'm think that temp is fine but what can i expect temperature wise when i run games like doom 3 and so on? (it's not going to skyrocket up to 80C or 90C right?) also ( i have 3 fans in my case)

4- I know overclocking voids the warrenty but what kind of real damage am i doing to the card with the optimal settings or lower?
(higher then the default settings though)

5- can anyone(explain to me) or give me a link to what else i should do performance wise with coolbits 2 rather than just changing the clock frequencies?

I would really appreciate any help with regards to the questions above. Thank You

 

[Nubius]

Ya know that XFX is...... just kidding

Those 300/900 settings is because you're looking at the 2D settings.

Use the drop down menu and select 'Performance 3D' is what you want to change. the 2d is windows and you don't need to OC that

2- When i "Detect optimal setings" it cranks it up to 560MHz and 1.12 GHZ. Should i trust this? or should i just do it manually?

Just run 3dmark05 and you'll know pretty quickly if that's safe or not due to artifacts. Generally the 'optimal' settings don't even go as far as you might be able to manually so it should be safe. just watch temps.

Use Rivatuner to monitor temps. Use the 'hardware monitor' option, leave it running and play a game. When you exit a game your load temps drop 10C instantly so you'd never see the actual load. The rivatuner monitor will show you a bar line graph of when the temps rose and fell so you'll know when it got the hottest.

3- When i look at "temperature settings" it's 43 C for gpu core and 33 C ambient temp at idle. I'm think that temp is fine but what can i expect temperature wise when i run games like doom 3 and so on? (it's not going to skyrocket up to 80C or 90C right?) also ( i have 3 fans in my case)

Chances are it will hit 70's possibly 80's especially if that core is OC'd and your house is about 70 or 80F, like I said use rivatuner hardware monitor feature so you can see what your temps were the whole duration of gaming.

4- I know overclocking voids the warrenty but what kind of real damage am i doing to the card with the optimal settings or lower?
(higher then the default settings though)

as long as it's cool technically nothing. Even if you do fry it, you could still RMA it. Just don't mention any OC'ing

5- can anyone(explain to me) or give me a link to what else i should do performance wise with coolbits 2 rather than just changing the clock frequencies?

That's all coolbits is good for. All it does is unlock a feature that's technically already within the nvidia drivers. That 'Frequency' section you see, it's nothing any more special than that

 

[DJ-CHRIS]

I'm in the process of overclocking my XFX 6600gt agp(please no comments regarding this card please) with coolbits 2. It seems easy enough but i have a few questions.

1- the settings were set at 300MHz and 900GHz, why? It seems really low..... (i'm using forceware 76.41)

2- When i "Detect optimal setings" it cranks it up to 560MHz and 1.12 GHZ. Should i trust this? or should i just do it manually?

3- When i look at "temperature settings" it's 43 C for gpu core and 33 C ambient temp at idle. I'm think that temp is fine but what can i expect temperature wise when i run games like doom 3 and so on? (it's not going to skyrocket up to 80C or 90C right?) also ( i have 3 fans in my case)

4- I know overclocking voids the warrenty but what kind of real damage am i doing to the card with the optimal settings or lower?
(higher then the default settings though)

5- can anyone(explain to me) or give me a link to what else i should do performance wise with coolbits 2 rather than just changing the clock frequencies?

I would really appreciate any help with regards to the questions above. Thank You

I have a really nice OC on my 6600GT, i have had 2 AGP XFX ones soo far. I am pretty sure I can push up for the fastest AGP 6600GT

1: Those are the 2d clockspeeds, alot of programs detect them

2: Detect are OK for a nice OC. I get about the same detect, but I have had my card up to 597 / 1.2 GHZ

3: Dont worry about temps, these things run hot, I wouldnt worry till your temps go above 90, I ran at 80.

4: Overclocking does void the warranty, however they have no clue if you do it or not really. You are highly dammaging your card by OC'ing it by drasticly lowering the lifespan. However it will still last until the thing is worth 10$ even with a pretty high OC.

5: Coolbits 2 is the overclocking thing intergrated into the driver right? I have my card at stock right now until I get my audio bug fixed as well as making sure bad memory refrences are only caused by using FRAPS

I have RMA'ed a card I highly OC'ed and they didnt know. However I didnt break it by overclocking, I swear :bald:

EDIT: *Shakes fist at Nubius*

 

[Sh0r_ty]

Ya know that XFX is...... just kidding

as long as it's cool technically nothing. Even if you do fry it, you could still RMA it. Just don't mention any OC'ing

In not so sure about that my winni was running fine 48C @2.3ghz and it used to be able to hit 2.6 easy with 1.5vcore now it can't hit 2.6 with 1.55 or even 2.5 anymore when it used to be able to do that no sweat. i know he is talking about a grfx card but im thinkin that it might be the same. btw if anyone can tell me any other reason for what has happened im happy to hear it but yea

 

[Nubius]

Well every time I asked you if you prime95'd it for 12+ hours I dont remember ever getting a response. So the only thing I can think of is you kept running it even when it wasn't stable and letting it be undervolted which did some damage.

I have benches of my XP-M at 2.7GHz but last time I tried getting that I couldn't =/ could be the same thing, it was cool the whole time, but I tried pushing for 2.8GHz with 2.225vcore so I mighta done somethin to it or just reset the CMOS and continually changing it all the time not sure.

 

[MADWAD]

Thanks for the advice DJ-Chris and Nubius! Just two more questions..... 1)- I ran 3Dmark05 and didn't notice any artifacts (or anything of that nature) and got a 3466 (3Dmark05). What does this mean? (because it means nothing to me) Is that a good/bad score for my system?
2)- overclocking your graphics card seems easy enough (i don't think i'll be overclocking my card any more than it already is) but what about overclocking your processor/cpu? Would you recommend it? Does it put more strain on your computer than the strain of overclocking you graphics card? And how would i go about doing it? (explain,links,articles)
Thanks again guys

p.s - two more questions. I was thinking on buying some more memory (i have 512 ddr3 pc2700 now). Just want to pick up another 256 to see if theres any improvement with regards to online multiplayer gaming - do i have to buy the same memory? or can i upgrade?
2)- What drivers should i use for the XFX 6600gt? (is the 76.14 driver ok?)

 

[DJ-CHRIS]

I think the 71.84 the offical NVIDIA drivers are the best right now, beta is not worth it.

About your ram, if you have 512 it's an extra 10-15 dollars to get another 512 meg stick compared to a 256, and you can run it in dual channel.

Running your ram in dual channel will be an even bigger benefit than having more. You can buy different memory, I would pick up the cheapest PC3200 memory off of newegg.com

 

[MADWAD]

Dj-chris - i switched back to the 71.84 drivers and ran the 3dmark05 and my score dropped from 3466 (with 76.41 driver) to 3381 (71.84 driver)...... whats the deal?

 

[Nubius]

Start with the sticky at the top of this thread in regards to overclocking. Best place you should start.

If you aren't having trouble with those 76.41 drivers then stick with them since they seem to be giving you better performance.

and got a 3466 (3Dmark05). What does this mean? (because it means nothing to me) Is that a good/bad score for my system?

THat's pretty much on par. Your CPU isn't the most intensive and your memory only being PC2700 is holding you back a little bit. On this socket A system with a 1gb of PC3200 I got 3300 stock 500/900 in 3dmark05 with my 6600GT and 3800 overclocking it to 564/1109

In regards to memory, you can pick up PC3200 and it'll work in your system it'll simply downclock. Your CPU is probably only 266FSB anyway which is PC2100 speeds, unless you know it's not, but, when and if you do upgrade your CPU, you can be ready with PC3200 instead of wasting money, getting PC2700 and having to upgrade that again.

TwinMOS has 1gb of PC3200 for $108 at newegg, definitely worth the price, but I understand if your budget for RAM was quite lower than that.

Just so you know, going from hardest to easiest, I'd say OC'ing is hardest with:

RAM
CPU
Then Graphics card being the easiest.

 

[MADWAD]

Nubuis, Thanks again! last question man. My mobo is an Asus P4PE and i'm pretty certain it can only take up to 2700 ram(does this sound right, or do i have no idea of what i'm talking about)

dj-chris - i'm from Canada (so no newegg) and i can't see me finding 512 of Ram(no matter how cheap the brand) for $10 to $15........just isn't going to happen but thanks anyways!