Overclocking 8600M GS in Vista x64 SP1?

[CalcProgrammer1]

I was looking at nVidia's site today and they say the 8600M GS default clock speed is 600MHz. My laptop's 8600M is only 500MHz, must be factory underclocked to save power or something. I'd like to run it a bit faster, and I've heard people got this chip up past 600 or 700 (I don't intend to go that high lol, just want to see if I can turn it up a little).

However, I'm using RivaTuner 2.03 because it had signed drivers (unsigned drivers and Vista x64 don't work together, tried all the disable hacks but none work). I move the slider to overclock, but after hitting OK, it goes back to stock and nothing happens. What do you need to do?

 

[CalcProgrammer1]

Finally figured it out and got it working, found a guide to modding the BIOS and changed the stock frequencies to 630/1260/475 and then flashed it. Now it runs a ton faster and games run smoother. It runs hot still but it always did that. My big problem now is that PowerMizer still wants to turn down GPU speed while gaming on battery. I'd like PowerMizer to run when not gaming and on battery, as that just runs the GPU really hot and wastes battery, but it was keeping it low even while gaming, which is totally unacceptable. Right now I have it disabled, but I want to know if it can be fixed. Since I'm in Vista, I had to use regedit to change the values (stupid nVidia removed it from the control panel).

 

[ricanflow]

I wouldint bother with overclocking a laptop gpu, as its going to create more heat and im pretty sure warranty aint gonnna cover it either.

If you need more power, you could sell it and get a Gateway FX with a real gaming gpu:
Gateway - Laptop with Intel® Centrino® Processor Technology - P-6860FX

Another tip is if you want more power but want to reduce heat, unlink the core and shader clocks and just raise the shaders alone.

 

[Drizzt]

An 8600M gs isn't too bad. And can they tell that he OC'd it? I thought a lot of these nvidia laptop gpu's were having problems?

 

[CalcProgrammer1]

Mine seems to be working fine. I don't know who "they" would be who cares if I OC it. As for warranty, I could always re-flash the BIOS with a stock one from HP's site and the overclock will go away. I don't play a lot of games, but those that I do play run better now (CS:S, HL2, etc). I've also noticed an improvement in Aero and 3d screensaver performance.

 

[Drizzt]

Good, but you can't flash the bios if your laptop is on fire.

 

[Nagasama]

or if your house burns down.
thats a nice laptop there, rican.

 

[commandercup]

I just bought the 6860FX for a little under $1000 at BB and I'm having a good time with it... but I think the CPU really bottlenecks the graphics card...

The CPU really is low-spec compared to the rest of the system!

Oh and you can only reflash the bios on your GPU if the computer starts up... so if you have any real problems then your screwed... Its also not a good idea just to jump to cretain speeds with a bios flash since the temperatures could be too much... One of the reasons they may have downclocked the GPU is because the CPU might expel a whole lot of heat which transfers to the GPU (a common problem in laptops)

 

[Puddle Jumper]

Another reason not to overclock it is the G86 notebook chips are defective and are failing at a pretty high rate. Overclocking it will just make the problem worse since it is heat related.

 

[zmatt]

Yeah OCing a laptop video card isn't smart in general but tampering with a chipset that is known to be faulty is asking for it.

And if it does fail and they find out you OC'ed they will void your warranty and then you are screwed.

If you need more power, you could sell it and get a Gateway FX with a real gaming gpu:
Gateway - Laptop with Intel® Centrino® Processor Technology - P-6860FX

Isn't this a better deal?
IBuyPower Computer :: Battalion 101 CZ-9 Ultra [2] Notebook


It's not nearly as large so it retains some form of portability. and the 9600m GT isn't a bad mobile either.