GPU advice

[film2240]

Hi every1,
I need advice on about 3 things:
1.How can I overclock my radeon Hd4670 beyond the maximum limits that catalyst imposes on me? (to avoid getting a new GPU 4 a while n getting the most from my current GPU til it burns out probably from heavy OC'ing)
2.If I have to get a new GPU (because I can't eek out ny more performance from HD4670 GPU) to improve my chances of mining successfully, what card would be:
a.The best bang per buck?
OR
b.which GPU is best in hte 6000 series for this?As I need to watch Power consumption (due to high rate elec) as well as best performance for a price point (I'll see how that goes b4 acting on that advice).Noise,power consumption and best performance per buck are issues 4 me as well.
3.If I do go for a meatier GPU,what's the fastest 1 I can use with my current PSU (Enermax 620W Liberty) due to possible +12V amp line issues or overloading that PSU due to the GPU drawing too much watts or amps from the 2 +12V lines.

Each line is 22A and it says on the PSU that maximum combined Amps (from both rails) is 36Amps.is this a lot?or is this rather weak nowadays?

The other parts of the system the PSU runs is a core i7 920 @2.67ghz stock (3ghz OC'd),6 GB ram,3 HDDs (2 SATAIIs and 1xIDE which will be replaced at some point),DVD writer (multi-format),my current GPU is Radeon HD4670 OC'd to hte max @ 778mhz clock and 1140mhz mem clock.

ny help would be rly appreciated guys.

[RyNinDaCleM]

Hi every1,
I need advice on about 3 things:
1.How can I overclock my radeon Hd4670 beyond the maximum limits that catalyst imposes on me? (to avoid getting a new GPU 4 a while n getting the most from my current GPU til it burns out probably from heavy OC'ing)
MSI afterburner
2.If I have to get a new GPU (because I can't eek out ny more performance from HD4670 GPU) to improve my chances of mining successfully, what card would be:
a.The best bang per buck?
OR
b.which GPU is best in hte 6000 series for this?As I need to watch Power consumption (due to high rate elec) as well as best performance for a price point (I'll see how that goes b4 acting on that advice).Noise,power consumption and best performance per buck are issues 4 me as well.
HD6870 or HD 5830! Not necessarily in that order!
3.If I do go for a meatier GPU,what's the fastest 1 I can use with my current PSU (Enermax 620W Liberty) due to possible +12V amp line issues or overloading that PSU due to the GPU drawing too much watts or amps from the 2 +12V lines.
HD6990 or HD5970

Each line is 22A and it says on the PSU that maximum combined Amps (from both rails) is 36Amps.is this a lot?or is this rather weak nowadays?
It will run any one, and probably any 2 single GPU cards
The other parts of the system the PSU runs is a core i7 920 @2.67ghz stock (3ghz OC'd),6 GB ram,3 HDDs (2 SATAIIs and 1xIDE which will be replaced at some point),DVD writer (multi-format),my current GPU is Radeon HD4670 OC'd to hte max @ 778mhz clock and 1140mhz mem clock.
While mining, you can lower CPU, And RAM clocks, in turn lowering voltages, to keep maximum power to your GPU(s)
ny help would be rly appreciated guys.

In Red above!

To use MSI AB, download it here! http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&sqi=2&ved=0CCIQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fevent.msi.com%2Fvga%2Fafterburner%2Fdownload.htm&rct=j&q=msi%20afterburner&ei=hoX6TZGxL6ay0AGiiKGuAw&usg=AFQjCNE6etnOx2WO_lKQEEovPvm02ntt4g&cad=rja

Launch AB, then close it! Navigate to the install directory, and find the .cfg file, and open in notepad. scroll to the bottom and change
"unofficial OCing" to 1 (this may or may not be present! Only change if present)
"unofficial OC mode"  to 2
Then copy/paste this to the "unofficial OC EULA: I confirm that I am aware of unofficial overclocking limitations and fully understand that MSI will not provide me any support on it

[film2240]

Hi every1,
I need advice on about 3 things:
1.How can I overclock my radeon Hd4670 beyond the maximum limits that catalyst imposes on me? (to avoid getting a new GPU 4 a while n getting the most from my current GPU til it burns out probably from heavy OC'ing)
MSI afterburner
2.If I have to get a new GPU (because I can't eek out ny more performance from HD4670 GPU) to improve my chances of mining successfully, what card would be:
a.The best bang per buck?
OR
b.which GPU is best in hte 6000 series for this?As I need to watch Power consumption (due to high rate elec) as well as best performance for a price point (I'll see how that goes b4 acting on that advice).Noise,power consumption and best performance per buck are issues 4 me as well.
HD6870 or HD 5830! Not necessarily in that order!
3.If I do go for a meatier GPU,what's the fastest 1 I can use with my current PSU (Enermax 620W Liberty) due to possible +12V amp line issues or overloading that PSU due to the GPU drawing too much watts or amps from the 2 +12V lines.
HD6990 or HD5970

Each line is 22A and it says on the PSU that maximum combined Amps (from both rails) is 36Amps.is this a lot?or is this rather weak nowadays?
It will run any one, and probably any 2 single GPU cards
The other parts of the system the PSU runs is a core i7 920 @2.67ghz stock (3ghz OC'd),6 GB ram,3 HDDs (2 SATAIIs and 1xIDE which will be replaced at some point),DVD writer (multi-format),my current GPU is Radeon HD4670 OC'd to hte max @ 778mhz clock and 1140mhz mem clock.
While mining, you can lower CPU, And RAM clocks, in turn lowering voltages, to keep maximum power to your GPU(s)
ny help would be rly appreciated guys.

In Red above!

To use MSI AB, download it here! http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&sqi=2&ved=0CCIQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fevent.msi.com%2Fvga%2Fafterburner%2Fdownload.htm&rct=j&q=msi%20afterburner&ei=hoX6TZGxL6ay0AGiiKGuAw&usg=AFQjCNE6etnOx2WO_lKQEEovPvm02ntt4g&cad=rja

Launch AB, then close it! Navigate to the install directory, and find the .cfg file, and open in notepad. scroll to the bottom and change
"unofficial OCing" to 1 (this may or may not be present! Only change if present)
"unofficial OC mode"  to 2
Then copy/paste this to the "unofficial OC EULA: I confirm that I am aware of unofficial overclocking limitations and fully understand that MSI will not provide me any support on it

That's quite helpful Ryn :-)

[RyNinDaCleM]

Heeeyy, that's what I do!
One thing I forgot, you need to save that .cfg before re-launching AB

[PandaMiner]

1.How can I overclock my radeon Hd4670 beyond the maximum limits that catalyst imposes on me? (to avoid getting a new GPU 4 a while n getting the most from my current GPU til it burns out probably from heavy OC'ing)
MSI afterburner

Does it matter what brand of MainBoard/GPU you got, to use MSI AB? Thanks.

Sorry to hijack thread.

[film2240]

1.How can I overclock my radeon Hd4670 beyond the maximum limits that catalyst imposes on me? (to avoid getting a new GPU 4 a while n getting the most from my current GPU til it burns out probably from heavy OC'ing)
MSI afterburner

Does it matter what brand of MainBoard/GPU you got, to use MSI AB? Thanks.

Sorry to hijack thread.

From my experience,it rly doesn't matter which brand of GPU u use but the only difference will be that if your GPU doesnt support certain fatures in MSI after burner then it isn't tweakable.

As for you mobo,it does matter I think as you should rly have an MSI mobo if u plan on tweaking certain mobo settings ok.This is just my guess but I hope this answers your question.

[RyNinDaCleM]

AB is NOT a MoBo tweaking utility! MoBo doesn't matter! AB will OC *most* GPUs, but will only enable voltage control on select PCBs (non-MSI included)!

[PandaMiner]

Damn, I just read that XFX cards aren't tweakable. 

Thanks for the replies guys.

[hugolp]

Damn, I just read that XFX cards aren't tweakable. 

Thanks for the replies guys.

There are two types of XFX 8570. I own one of each. There is one with the fan at the back. This one is fully tweakable and a very good card. Then there is the one with the fan in the middle. This one can be tweaked as well, but it has less sensors, it gets hotter (like 10ºC hotter under the same conditions) and I would not recommend it.

[PandaMiner]

I got the XFX 6870 from CompUSA. Its fan is at the back.  I installed msi afterburner, and the only things it allows me to edit are the Core Clock, Memory Clock, and fan speed. Whether they will be stable edits, I am not sure yet.

Dave

[RyNinDaCleM]

I got the XFX 6870 from CompUSA. Its fan is at the back.  I installed msi afterburner, and the only things it allows me to edit are the Core Clock, Memory Clock, and fan speed. Whether they will be stable edits, I am not sure yet.

Dave

Some XFX cards (other brands too) use VRMs that are not supported by MSI AB! The newest version of AB WILL allow voltage adjustment on reference PCB 6xxx cards. Though, it doesn't necessarily have to be reference!
Just to clarify, you did do the EULA, and the check box in the settings for voltage adjustment?

[PandaMiner]

I got the XFX 6870 from CompUSA. Its fan is at the back.  I installed msi afterburner, and the only things it allows me to edit are the Core Clock, Memory Clock, and fan speed. Whether they will be stable edits, I am not sure yet.

Dave

Some XFX cards (other brands too) use VRMs that are not supported by MSI AB! The newest version of AB WILL allow voltage adjustment on reference PCB 6xxx cards. Though, it doesn't necessarily have to be reference!
Just to clarify, you did do the EULA, and the check box in the settings for voltage adjustment?

I had not, but now have.  I can edit the voltage if I so desire, and the ceiling has been raised for my core (from 1000 to 1350). But it's not stable after 950 mhz anyways. (956 being the highest).

I guess what I was trying to say is that XFX cards aren't stable to overclock above stock. (less than 10% OC)

I only wish my memory could go lower than 525 mhz.


EDIT:  I reverted the tick-boxes, and restarted MSIAB, and now my memory can go down to 260 mhz. How weird. Cool, but weird.

[Mabsark]

I got the XFX 6870 from CompUSA. Its fan is at the back.  I installed msi afterburner, and the only things it allows me to edit are the Core Clock, Memory Clock, and fan speed. Whether they will be stable edits, I am not sure yet.

Dave

Some XFX cards (other brands too) use VRMs that are not supported by MSI AB! The newest version of AB WILL allow voltage adjustment on reference PCB 6xxx cards. Though, it doesn't necessarily have to be reference!
Just to clarify, you did do the EULA, and the check box in the settings for voltage adjustment?

I had not, but now have.  I can edit the voltage if I so desire, and the ceiling has been raised for my core (from 1000 to 1350). But it's not stable after 950 mhz anyways. (956 being the highest).

I guess what I was trying to say is that XFX cards aren't stable to overclock above stock. (less than 10% OC)

I only wish my memory could go lower than 525 mhz.


EDIT:  I reverted the tick-boxes, and restarted MSIAB, and now my memory can go down to 260 mhz. How weird. Cool, but weird.

I have an XFX 6870 as well. To underclock the memory lower, just close down AB and re-open it. Now you can go down to 260. Repeat as necessary. I'm using 225 mem clock, 1020 core clock, and 1225 mV and getting around 315 Mh/s. I pushed up the core clock to 1050 and was getting around 330 Mh/s but the fan was too loud. It was stable though, with a temperature of around 75 C.

I use GUIminer running Phoenix with the following settings:

-k phatk platform=0 device=0 VECTORS BFI_INT AGGRESSION=13 worksize=128 FASTLOOP=false

The usual advice would be to set your mem clock to 300 MHz and use "worksize=256". My settings give me an extra 7 Mh/s, so give them a try.

[RyNinDaCleM]

I use GUIminer running Phoenix with the following settings:

-k phatk platform=0 device=0 VECTORS BFI_INT AGGRESSION=13 worksize=128 FASTLOOP=false

The usual advice would be to set your mem clock to 300 MHz and use "worksize=256". My settings give me an extra 7 Mh/s, so give them a try.

I've read that WORKSIZE=128 (-w128) is best for 5xxx and up, excluding the 5830s! But, I have seen mixed results, so YMMV!

[Mabsark]

I use GUIminer running Phoenix with the following settings:

-k phatk platform=0 device=0 VECTORS BFI_INT AGGRESSION=13 worksize=128 FASTLOOP=false

The usual advice would be to set your mem clock to 300 MHz and use "worksize=256". My settings give me an extra 7 Mh/s, so give them a try.

I've read that WORKSIZE=128 (-w128) is best for 5xxx and up, excluding the 5830s! But, I have seen mixed results, so YMMV!

The 5830 and 6780 are pretty much the same card so there shouldn't be any difference in the way they behave really. For the 6870, "worksize=256" is only supposed to be better with a mem clock of 300 MHz, so it should be the same for the 5830 as well. I found it to be prettty much true. Dropping the memory down to 225 and switching to "workload=128" gave even better results though.

I based my settings on this:


I managed to tweak it a little more though. If you've got a 5830 od 6870 I'd deffinitely give those settings a try. They worked as a very nice starting point for me.