I don't know where else to ask this, but here goes.
I've got a Gigabyte 970 G1 (rev 1.1), ASIC quality of 79.8 and Samsung memory. On the surface, it would seem it should overclock well. Bumped power limit to 112%. Memory, as expected, overclocks really well and runs fine even at values over 8000 MHz, I stopped testing at +550. However, running Unigine Valley I'm getting artifacting from just +80 to core clock speeds. GPU-Z's readout is also telling me TDP never goes higher than 75%. I'm surprised that core clock doesn't want to go much higher than this as +120-150 seems to be safe overclocks for many other 970 G1's and I don't appear to be stressing the GPU very much going by the power consumption.
Am I doing something wrong? Or did the silicon lottery fuck me over somewhere that's not reflected in numerical values? This is the first time I've delved into overclocking my GPU so I'm a bit out of my element. If relevant, PSU is a Cooler Master V650 (80+ gold).
Forget about ASIC quality, it's more or less useless. Also do not look at what other people post on forums or show on YT as stable overclocks. Often enough it's not true or they just managed to record a lucky, stable run. +150mhz is an amazing increase and not standard at all (without further voltage tweaking). Artifacts and driver resets are always an indication for unstable overclocking, so yes your OC isn't stable at all.
Your increased Power Limit doesn't allow for more overclocking because it doesn't seem to hold you back in the first place. 'Power Limit' is more or less a combination of wattage control and max. temperature control (if you do not separate them). So by increasing your power limit you allow your card to reach a higher temperature and to draw more juice before it has to throttle down. But as you said your TDP doesn't even go over 75%, so going from 100% to 112% isn't even necessary.
So what's the problem then?
1.) Could be your memory. Again do not listen to what people claim to be able to achieve, most of it is exaggerated.
Artifacts tend to appear because of overheating memory. Memory chips do not report their temperatures, so you really have no clue about their condition and often enough you do not even notice any kind of problems till they're dead.
2.)It's really your core clock and you 'simply' need to increase voltage. But watch out, an increase in voltage will increase temperatures and it may harm your card especially your card longevity. Many overclockers claim that even +87mv isn't dangerous at all, still less voltage is always preferable and just going for the maximum value isn't the way to go.
In general, when you try to overclock:
1. ) Try to find a stable clock speed first (no memory increase, no increased power limit, no extra voltage, no artifacts, no crashes, no driver resets). Check your TDP if it is near 99%-100% you most probably need to increase your power limit to be able to hold the clock speed under heavy, steady load. But watch out increasing your power limit will most probably prevent your GPU from downclocking at 80°C to protect itself and temperatures may go above 80°C (not recommended at all! Temperatures over 80°C can and will harm your card.)
2.) If you want to go for an even higher clock speed, you'll have to increase your voltage. When it comes to voltage, the lower the better.
3.) Increase your memory clock. Again watch out for artifacts and instability and keep in mind there is no way to check memory temperatures so do not aim for the absolute maximum.
4.) Do not test with just one benchmark for stability/artifacts. Use 3D Mark, an ungine benchmark and a demanding game. The more testing, the better and do not be disappointed if your oc is stable in one game/benchmark and unstable in an other.
Thank you. I suppose I'm going to use the Samsung one, as the ssd is from them.
I though Windows made some things different if you used an hdd or an ssd, like not defragmenting, for example.
That's right Win 10 will auto disable defragmentation for SSDs and if you bought a samsung SSD then using their software is 100% the way to go. It works very well.
My fingers hurt and I'm going crazy
