Overclocking a 9600GT

[pfx]

I used the search on overclocking but never really came up with much beyond one thread which is quite elderly now http://forums.auran.com/trainz/showthread.php?t=19894&highlight=overclock

I have a Geforce 9600GT 512Mb and have been considering overclocking it to try and get a gain on FPS. I've set up a temp dependant multiple fan speed using Rivatuner 40/60/80/100% but if i go anywhere near the clock speeds, the smallest change seems to cause nothing but trouble.

I did some extensive searching of the interweb and found reports of people getting some great results with their overclocking but I'm finding the complete opposite to be true.

The alternative is a GPU upgrade as the 9600GT is fairly obsolete. I'm packing the following heat in the box and don't want to go busting the bank with an upgrade. Is there anything decent in the £50-60 range? An older card is fine as long as it has improved performance over my GT.

AMD Athlon64 Dual core 2.6GHz
4Mb RAM
450W PSU

Which by today's standards is fairly meek but runs very well with everything but Trainz, which give me a lot of stutter. I've tried with the sliders down but still the same results.

Apologies if this type of question has been covered ad infinatum.

 

[robd]

@pfx

If you want to go AMD/ATI you can still pick up a Radeon HD5750 1Gb DDR5 for about £60. It will outrun your 9600GT by about 65 - 75% and it's extremely overclockable so you could get more performance gain in theory.

Do a google search for HD5750 and check the prices.

Hope this helps.

Edit: Just re read your comp. specs - 4mb ram, don't you mean 4gb? You may need to upgrade your cpu, Trainz is very cpu intensive. Have you considered o/clocking your cpu?

 

[William0d0]

Some components will not overclock at all simply because their rated speed is the fastest it will run at.

Since your already using NVidia I recommend sticking with it. I have a GTS450 which is around your price range, it's somewhat overclockable and Trainz looks great on my 42" monitor. The 5750 is probably a good deal also.

With a 450 watt power supply don't expect too much though. This game is also heavy CPU dependent.

 

[nugget2225]

reply

ya its a shame the game doesnt support more than 2 cores, what a waste of cpu when people have quad core cpu's, and amd is releasing the true 8 core on the 12th of this month, i cant wait for that

 

[whitepass]

If you get a new video card check that your power supply has the power and plugs for it.

 

[clam1952]

Plus check the wattage for the 12 volt rail is sufficient, there are some power supplies around where the total wattage is correct but the 12 volt rail is insufficient.

 

[pfx]

Thanks for the advice folks.

@ Rob, yeah 4gig RAM. Wouldn't be getting very far with 4meg! Haha. O/Cing the CPU is something which I'm a bit wary about.

Not sure about upgrading the CPU. I'm tied to an AM2 socket as I can't afford to upgrade the mobo, GPU and CPU. I'm looking for the cheapest option really. I did find a GTS450 which is rated far higher than the 9600GT and reasonably priced at 55 quid.

To be honest, I've never really worried about graphics cards before as I always got my bro's cast offs, him being a high end user.

 

[Gandalf0444]

I can attest to the GTS450.. it is a good card. Powers through all the games I throw at it just fine, but then again it is combined with a fast CPU as well.
However the GTS450 is a good medium between a low end card and a super duper over the top high end card.

 

[pfx]

I can attest to the GTS450.. it is a good card. Powers through all the games I throw at it just fine, but then again it is combined with a fast CPU as well.
However the GTS450 is a good medium between a low end card and a super duper over the top high end card.

Good to know Gandalf. Thanks. I had never realised my CPU wasn't really up to the job and I'm now finding out that the options for an upgrade on a socket AM2 are somewhat limited.

 

[robd]

Good to know Gandalf. Thanks. I had never realised my CPU wasn't really up to the job and I'm now finding out that the options for an upgrade on a socket AM2 are somewhat limited.

I'm not 100% sure but your cpu may 'bottleneck' i.e. throttle down a graphics card of any reasonably higher spec than your 9600gt, the bottom line being any GPU upgrade wouldn't provide a significant performance increase.

Sorry to be the bearer of this bad news, I maybe wrong though.

Rob.

 

[Gandalf0444]

Not 100% true. I had a 256MB 7600GS AGP 8x card on my old machine...I got piss poor performance(the cpu was a 2.16GHz AMD Athlon)
But I upgraded to a 512MB 7600GS AGP 8x card and gained between 10 and 15fps...and the card still runs along with the rest of the computer.
A significant improvement I would say....

But a jump from a 9600GT to a 450GTS I think it would have the same effect. As it has double the memory, as well as a revised chip all together and a faster clock speed because of it.

Although I do agree that the processor would be the next bottleneck after replacing the graphics card.. So if you could upgrade both, then that would be your best bet. but 1 or the other will at least provide a few more fps...each frame counts!

 

[robd]

Not 100% true. I had a 256MB 7600GS AGP 8x card on my old machine...I got piss poor performance(the cpu was a 2.16GHz AMD Athlon)
But I upgraded to a 512MB 7600GS AGP 8x card and gained between 10 and 15fps...and the card still runs along with the rest of the computer.
A significant improvement I would say....

But a jump from a 9600GT to a 450GTS I think it would have the same effect. As it has double the memory, as well as a revised chip all together and a faster clock speed because of it.

Although I do agree that the processor would be the next bottleneck after replacing the graphics card.. So if you could upgrade both, then that would be your best bet. but 1 or the other will at least provide a few more fps...each frame counts!

Fair enough comment.

pfx will no doubt make his mind up and do what he thinks right after doing some research.

You're right about him upgrading both gfx card and cpu, but I don't think he has a lot of choices given his current hardware limitations.

Perhaps it's time to buy a new system and b***s to the expense - no wonder it's taking him a long time to finish his Kyle of Lochalsh route.:hehe:

Rob.

 

[Gandalf0444]

Fair enough comment.

pfx will no doubt make his mind up and do what he thinks right after doing some research.

You're right about him upgrading both gfx card and cpu, but I don't think he has a lot of choices given his current hardware limitations.

Perhaps it's time to buy a new system and b***s to the expense - no wonder it's taking him a long time to finish his Kyle of Lochalsh route.:hehe:

Rob.

Exactly! He can listen to any of us till the cows come home, but ultimately it ends with the person doing some of their own research and making the final say as to what they are doing or getting.

 

[pfx]

Fair enough comment.

pfx will no doubt make his mind up and do what he thinks right after doing some research.

You're right about him upgrading both gfx card and cpu, but I don't think he has a lot of choices given his current hardware limitations.

Perhaps it's time to buy a new system and b***s to the expense - no wonder it's taking him a long time to finish his Kyle of Lochalsh route.:hehe:

Rob.

Rob, you're wrong about the Kyle route. My problem there is a user burnout issue! Hehe.

As for the rest, I can afford a GPU upgrade but not the whole system as much as I'd like to. The house I bought recently is very thirsty and PC systems were not at the fore of my mind when doing so.

From what I'm reading, it sounds like a GPU upgrade may be of benefit and if I delve into CPU overclocking, perhaps I could get some more gain yet? As I'm a complete novice to O/C, this is a steep learning curve for me.

 

[Gandalf0444]

If you do delve into overclocking I would highly recommend an "aftermarket" heat sink for the processor...the more you overclock the hotter the processor will run. Just something to keep in mind.
And overclocking all depends on your exact processor.. each and every processor(even if the same type) is different in it's overclocking ability, and weather or not the bios will allow the overclocking to happen(I.E. unlocked multiplier etc)

 

[clam1952]

May be worth hanging on until the end of the month as the Xmas reductions are about due to start.

I'm using a 3 core AMD with a GTS450 on my number 2 PC and it runs TS12 well enough.

 

[robd]

If you decide to overclock your cpu this may help you.

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=655835

 

[pfx]

Oh my poor brain. I knew I was in for a massive info burst. Hehe. Folks, thanks again. With a lack of cold, hard, cash, o/c and the likes is my only way out at present.

I really appreciate all this advice. I forgot to mention, I'm running TS2010 which I suppose, is apparent from my sig thread...

 

[Gandalf0444]

TS10 is defiantly more graphics card dependent then the earlier versions so it defiantly takes some strain off your processor unlike 06 where it just taxed the processor to hell.

 

[JCitron]

PFX,

Just be carful if you plan on overclocking. This is a way to ruin a perfectly working computer if it's done too quickly.

The things to remember are:

Heat
Power
Voltage,
And clock speed.

These are all inter-related. As you increase the clock speed, above the current rating, your components will require more power. This is done by increasing the voltage, and this again causes more heat to be present since the components are now working harder.

The other thing to note, and you've come across this already, is not all components will overclock nicely. They may have the software, but due to the specifications, the components maybe just on the cusp of the highend they can handle.

The ratings given to CPUs, GPUs, etc., are based on what batch, or silicon die they were stamped out of. As the parts are cut from the big die, they are tested and rated. The highend components are placed in one stack, and the mid-grade parts find themselves in another. Then finally the remaining lower quality parts go into either a recycle bin, or are sold off to the companies that want to build really cheap video cards or computers.

These specs that these parts are rated at, determine whether they will run at higher or lower speeds. The board designers will choose a favorable spec for their components, and in general will allow some leaway either way, like a tolerance on the parts. It's usually a percentage such as +/- 1%, or sometimes higher.

Keeping this in mind, you can sometimes get lucky, and end up with a video card that has a middle-of-the-road rated GPU on it that is on the boarder line high end. In other words, you can overclock the snot out of the GPU and memory, and it'll continue to work. Then there are those of us, like you and me, that end up with marginally low-end chips on the boards that crash even when a small parameter is changed.

John