Overclocked my Sappire X1600

[Shatterer]

I recently got a new Sapphire X1600 PRO 512MB, 8x AGP version. I'm relatively new to overclocking but I decided to give it a go and see how the new card would perform. Here are the results from 3DMark03:

Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 2.40GHz
Sapphire X1600 PRO 512MB
512MB RAM

Before: 6613


After: 7716


On ATI Tools I increased core from 500-> 618 & increased memory from 400-> 477.

I'm assuming the poor CPU test results were primarily due to my low ram (correct me if I'm wrong)?

I want to have some feedback on what I did, whether or not I should overclock more or less.

EDIT: Just realized I spelled "Sapphire" wrong in the title.

[Lee1026]

Always overclock more. Unless if you start having problems, then you scale it back.

[UnderdawgIV]

Yes. What Lee said. And why are you using 3DMark03? Oh well, it does not matter, all I ever really use 3DMark for is checking to see if my GPU Overclock is unstable (when the clock is unstable, your score goes much lower than what it is supposed to be, as well as adversely affecting in-game performance).

[Shatterer]

Ok, I tried increasing the core & memory, but sometimes when I click "set clock", the screen just goes completely black! This forces me to reboot so it makes experimenting very difficult since I don't know when the screen will turn black.

Just wondering, are my currect results considered poor/medium/good?

[Vanquisher]

As far as I know, you can't overclock the x1600's memory more than a few mhz safely, it isn't really the best card for overclocking at all. You should however be able to raise the GPU clock quite high. Try 200 mhz, that should make a difference. My 9550 is only 250/200mhz and i've clocked it to 386/202mhz (my card has the same problem with the memory). For an example of how much power i've sucked out of it the start of oblivion (the cell) was 15fps, now its 25fps. I think yours is around 500/800mhz? Also use ATI tool as it has an auto o/c option and will check for artefacts as it goes so no crashes. The screen would have gone black btw because you o/c you memory too much and it overheated. The x1600 is quite bad for that.

[Shatterer]

Ok, thanks for your help everyone.

I managed to clock to 630/481. At this point it doesn't crash, but I get annoying disturbances in the picture. Anywho, I guess this means I should reduce a bit.

[Incinerate_IV]

I had a X1600, and I managed to OC the core to 620. So yours looks like its on par with mine. But I suggest you put down the memory a bit. When I OC my memory 10mhz on my X1600 I start seeing glitches in games.

[OTZ]

I think 130mhz over a stock 500 is way too high (just my opinion). And yeah, artifacts are a sure sign you're one step closer to buying a new video card.

[Vanquisher]

To be honest I wouldn't overclock your graphics card unless you really need the extra fps, you WILL shorten the lifespan of the card. If you do want to overclock though, its best to use the auto option and wait for it to do it's business, that way you can make sure you're not damaging your card, the computer will be able to spot the errors and artifacts better then your eye can. Make sure either clock is artifact free before trying the other otherwise it will just lower your clock.

[Lee1026]

Like it matters. After all, most people swap it out after a year or two. Now, normally, those things can last a few 100 years, so shortening the lifespan is not on the priorty list of concerns.

[Vanquisher]

Like it matters. After all, most people swap it out after a year or two.

Thats just me, I like to keep my card in good condition because my x-pcs go into a new pc for my younger brother. :tooth:

Now, normally, those things can last a few 100 years, so shortening the lifespan is not on the priorty list of concerns.

Didn't know that, thanks They normaly warn you of this with processors so i guess thats just a bit hyped. I did however smell burning coming from my card the other day, luckily I shut down the comp. immediatly and disconnected it, I think I was going a bit ott on that one , it is useless to me anyhow as I have two of them, but it's fun to see how far you can clock crap cards so they can play oblivion smoothy (even if at 800x600)

[Silverfox]

Just trying Overcloking for myself for the first time.

I've increased On I increased core from 500-> 540 & increased memory from 400-> 445. This is using a X1600 also, 1MB version rather than 512.

I suspect this is very conservative, but I want to keep the card for a while yet.

How much more can I afford to overclock these settings to be on the safer side of overclocking?

How much of an FPS boost should this give a game such as, say, Battlefield 2?

Edit: Hmm disappointing. The game is glitchy even with these (me suspects) mild increases.

[Lee1026]

Remember - overclock until you hit problems, and then scale it back. It is that simple.

[UnderdawgIV]

Actually, back when I had my X1600 Pro, I got the core to 630 without problems. Though the memory I only got to 430, that's about the average limit for the X1600 Pro due to the fact it uses DDR2 RAM.

[Silverfox]

I may try that, but only if I can first get things back to normal.

The graphics have started going funny even though I reset all the values back to their factory levels. Stupid card.

Edit: A good restart fixed that. Now, back to overclocking

Edit2: Everything fine, but the tools will only let me put the Core up to 560, although i'd like to clock it further... 585 and 600. Ah well.

[Incinerate_IV]

A tip to you overclockers, only overclock one at a time. First put the core up and leave the memory alone, then test. After your done testing and you're satisified, THEN overclock the memory. This way is much safer than just putting both up at the same time and see what happens, and its more efficient too.

BTW, the artifact scanner in ATI Tool is very handy, make sure you use it to test the overclock.

[Shatterer]

Agh, whatever, I'm just gonna keep things at default until I see I need extra FPS.

Too much effort on the day before school, I might as well spend my last moments playing Rome instead of tweaking around.

BTW, thanks for the tips.