From where I left off....
Points to consider before Overclocking (OC'ing)....
1. Have a good power supply -- one which is a bit over quoted as per your system requirements.
2. Your card should have an excellent cooling solution. Not sure what XFX8600GT has..? To verify this..monitor the temperatures using Rivatuner. It should not go above 80C - 85C under full stress. (Though nVidia 8xxx series are good cards..and can sustain higher temperatures, better to be safe). If cooling solution is not good..mount an after market cooler. Something like Coolviva Pro SE (Rs 1800) + good thermal gel. Removing the original Cooling solution will VOID all warranties.
3. OC'ing can void your warranties.
4. Be patient while OC'ing takes couple of hours--to hit the optimal, safe threshold.
5. No two cards (even if same OEM and type) will ever have the same threshold. So you cannot always compare two OC'ed setups/cards, to each other.
6. OC'ing will NOT give you drastic improvements in performance. Will just enable you to extract the maximum possible throughput vs the original factory setting. Probably a gain of 5-8 FPS.
7. Once you re-start the system the clocks will set back to default. (Unless you flash the BIOS -- but that is a more complex method -- will not get into that)
Background:
A gfx card consists of three main processing regions. Core Clock/Memory Clock/Shader clock. All three can be tweaked as per the user. In the method below..Core clock and memory clock will be tweaked and the shader clock will be automatically increased. (Which is bound to the CORE clock --- memory clock is independent).
Prerequisites:
1. ATI Tool.
2. RivaTune.
3. Latest Forceware drivers.
(let me know if you want the links for the above mentioned)
Method:
1. Turn off all extra activity on your system. Downloads, graphic rendering applications, internal/external LAN, music, excel, word. Keep the processor free. Since it sends/receives data too the GPU.Keep a native basic OS environment.
2. Launch ATI tools.
3. DO NOT use the FIND MAX buttons. Can ruin your card.
4. Using CORE and MEMORY toggle buttons move the units up. And click SET CLOCK.
5. First increase the CORE by 10 (will change the Shader too) and click on SCAN for Artifacts.
6. Run for 10 mins. If no artifacts then..
7. Increase Memory by 10 units and scan for artifacts again for 10 mins.
8. Keep repeating in increments of 10.
9. Once you start getting artifacts -- you have hit the threshold.
10. Decrease in steps of 2 or 5 repeat artifact study. (This time run tests for at least 20 mins).
11. Once you hit a stable threshold save the profile. (At times you might get a system crash/or hang..again this means..you have crossed the threshold). Re start and run test below the previous value.
KEEP A MONITOR ON THE TEMPERATURES AT ALL TIMES. GOING ABOVE 85c IS RIKSY.
When ever you log - in to the system, the card will be at normal state. Leave it like that. Only when launching graphic intensive applications "load" your OC'ed profile using ATI tool.
This should keep your card safe, and get you a good OC limit.
Best of luck..be patient...enjoy the extra FPS.
