Overclocking Using nVidia's Driver Software
By ATVkid*AFZ*
First off, let's get the legal crap straight: by reading this guide and doing what i am about to tell you, you do not hold me accountable for any damage occuring to your video card, i.e. overheating, burning, scorching, frying, etc.
let's get down to business. i prefer to use the overclocking utility built into the nvidia drivers. to do this, you need to download the latest drivers, not beta, but WHQL drivers that are on nvidia.com.... WHQL means that microsoft's tested them and they are compatible with everything... you can download beta drivers, but these haven't been tested w/ microsoft yet, i personally stick w/ the WHQL drivers because they're fully compatible w/ my hardware. in order to access the overclocking utility, you need to right click on your desktop, click on properties. click on settings, it's on one of the tabs, then go to advanced. now if you've installed the drivers, then you shoulud see a tab that says "GeForce (your model number here)"...click on it, then it'll show you the properties of the card. now, you should see a side bar that lists things like "video overlay settings", "tools", etc. you need to find the bar labeled "clock frequency settings".
If you can't find the tab:
if you can't find it, then you need to go and download "rivaTuner", just google for it. you download it, click on the tab next to "customize" (it's in the middle of the page) where your driver is displayed... click on the thing that looks like your card when you click the thing, then go to driver overclocking, overclock like 10 mhz... make sure that the box is checked that says "
apply overclocking at windows startup: xxx/xxx" , where xxx is the numbers displayed... make sure to test before clicking apply, otherwise it won't let you apply it. restart your comp, then go back into the nvidia display thing i told you about before. the tab i told you about is there now...
If you found the tab i told you about
:
now click on the bubble that says "manual overclocking" and read the statement, when you get to the bottom the icon that says "i agree" will light up, and now you can overclock. start bumping up the core speeds and memory speeds, then click on test changes. this tests the changes, then you will be able to apply settings. make sure you have the box checked that says "apply these settings at startup"... this lets you do just what it says... then you can start upping more, until it tells you that it failed to run the tests at the selected settings, you get a black screen, and then it reverts to the last applied settings. find your upper limit to the card's capability, then you're done. check back every few days to see if you can oc it more, my 5200 did some more mhz every day till like a few days passed, but you need to have good cooling to do it... make sure it has a fan on it...lol.
Using "Detect Optimal Frequencies"
Using this is a great way to find out where you need to start overclocking. clicking this will find decent frequencies, and you can go up from there. that way, you don't have to spend an hour on clicking up up up many times, you can get to the optimally detected frequencies and start overclocking from there... it saves time!
This is a great way to squeeze that extra performance out of your card, without getting a new one. on some cards they overclock great
if you have any questions, then feel free to PM me or post right here. if there is anything i've omitted, just let me know... first guide, so i'm a little nervous about how it's gonna come out...lol.
newly updated screenie that explains what to do:
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How to: Overclock using Nvidia's own driver software?
02-09-05
How to: Overclock using Nvidia's own driver software?
