Overclocking GeForce 4

[MajorAccident]

I have a Geforce4 64MB video card. I have enabled the overclocking menu and I have a couple of question about it.

I have 2 sliders, one is Core Clock Frequency and is set to 250 Mhz. The other is Memory Clock frequency and is set to 332 Mhz (these are the default settings).

What should I set these 2 sliders to? Will I really notice any difference? What kind of problems could I encounter when overclocking and are the problems common (do they happen to a lot of users)?

Thank you.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

What kind of problems could I encounter when overclocking

Hopefully none, but a couple common ones would be:

a) Artifacts (ram is getting too warm)
b) You could kill the card if you're dumb about it

What should I set these 2 sliders to?

Don't just set them to anything, slowly increase them a couple increments at a time and then run some benchmarks (ie 3dmark2k1 // 3dmark2k3), if there are no problems and no little glitches (artifacts) popping up on the screen after a while, then increase them a little bit more. What you get them up to depends alot on your case cooling.

Will I really notice any difference?

Again, this depends. It depends on how much you actually manage to overclock it by. If you go up by 10%, you may notice a few FPS more in most games. I managed to get mine up by 25% and got a few thousand extra points out of it in 3dmark2k1.


Good luck,
Blitz

 

[baser5nature]

default settings for a geforce 4 mx 440 w/ 64mb ddr are 270 core and 407 memory...
I've got my core overclocked to 295, but left the memory where it is because i kept having problems with windows showing blank white space when they should have a program running in them...
i think the most i've had my memory at was 425, with problems, without problems - 415, i didn't really see much improvement over 407 so i just left the memory where it was, but i definitely get a slightly noticeable improvement with the core at 295

the only extra cooling i'm using is one of those slot fans that pulls air away from the geforces stock heatsink, and blows it out the back of my case, i've also got plenty of fans ensuring i have good airflow throughout the whole case too...

 

[mikill]

Originally posted by MajorAccident
I have a Geforce4 64MB video card. I have enabled the overclocking menu and I have a couple of question about it.

I have 2 sliders, one is Core Clock Frequency and is set to 250 Mhz. The other is Memory Clock frequency and is set to 332 Mhz (these are the default settings).

What should I set these 2 sliders to? Will I really notice any difference? What kind of problems could I encounter when overclocking and are the problems common (do they happen to a lot of users)?

Thank you.

is your card an MX version or Ti? if its perchance a Ti series card, then the core should have a HSF? good news if it does. that will allow you to over-clock the core and the memory is able to be ovrclk'd. most Ti4200's are defaulted at 250/446 unless it has already been adjusted by the manufacturer.

as far as setting the sliders, go in small increments. i would hope that you could reach 290-300/core (stable) and 500-560/memory (stable).

note: coolbits is limited to 315/core and 560/memory. also, when adjusting the sliders, it should want to test the settings first to see if they are stable.

over-clocking is ok if done properly, but may not be practical. remember, heat factor will dictate how far you over-clock and of course the cards capabilities. worst-case senario is an un-usable card and ultimately replacing it. best case, you gain appreciable performance with stablity at the same time. it is entirely up to you in the end and how much its worth putting the extra burden on the card.

last, im pretty sure many, if not most, have had the same over-clocking problems/issues. anomilies in the video output, reboots possibly or perhaps freeze-ups, damage to card electronics, etc.

hope this is useful

gl

 

[Taurus]

Re: Re: Overclocking GeForce 4

Originally posted by mikill
is your card an MX version or Ti? if its perchance a Ti series card, then the core should have a HSF? good news if it does. that will allow you to over-clock the core and the memory is able to be ovrclk'd. most Ti4200's are defaulted at 250/446 unless it has already been adjusted by the manufacturer.

as far as setting the sliders, go in small increments. i would hope that you could reach 290-300/core (stable) and 500-560/memory (stable).

his is obviously not a ti. his clocks are nowhere near a ti and actually look more like an mx420.

note: coolbits is limited to 315/core and 560/memory. also, when adjusting the sliders, it should want to test the settings first to see if they are stable.

the sliders in coolbits are limited by the detonator drivers. with 43.45, mine go up to 500mhz core and 1ghz memory.

major.. overclock like so...

- step up your core frequency by 5mhz... 'test' it... 'apply' it... then run a minute-long 3d benchmark or game and look for things that aren't normally there. this includes discolored pixels, odd triangles, and just general strange behavior. if it looks okay, go back and up it another 5mhz and repeat. once you get weird things or it locks up, go back and lower it back down 5mhz and that will be your max core frquency. run it at this frequency for a good while (10+ minutes) while playing a game and make sure it's alright.

next... do the exact same thing with memory. eventually you'll get your max memory frequency. it's best to do core and memory seperately. if you do them at teh same time, you'll get artifacts at some point and won't know which slider is causing it.

if i'm correct about you have an mx420, you only have a passive heatsink on the card. so the gpu (aka core) won't be able to dissipate much heat so don't expect a good core overclock. unless you mount a fan to it or something.

good luck.

 

[Krux]

a good rule to go by is don't up the clock more then 10% of the original clock, anywhere in that range should be fairly safe.

 

[Plexapotamus]

a good rule perhaps if you're worried about damaging your card.

I have a Asus V8190 GF4 MX 440.

my default clocks are:
core: 270
mem: 400

my current clocks are:
core: 379
mem: 492

hence I'm a little past the 10% mark
core: +40%
mem: +23%

and I'm rock solid stable.

I have also changed the stock HS to a Iceburq VGA cooler.

Not everyone is going to get the same results even if they have the same card because each card has different tolerances. No one here can tell you what to set the sliders to, you will have to test, test and then test somemore.

The best advice I've heard about overclocking is: If you cant afford to replace it, then leave it alone.

 

[mikill]

Re: Re: Re: Overclocking GeForce 4

Originally posted by mikill
is your card an MX version or Ti? if its perchance a Ti series card, then the core should have a HSF? good news if it does. that will allow you to over-clock the core and the memory is able to be ovrclk'd. most Ti4200's are defaulted at 250/446 unless it has already been adjusted by the manufacturer.

Originally posted by taurus
his is obviously not a ti. his clocks are nowhere near a ti and actually look more like an mx420.

hey taurus, why dont you try reading that first quote again. OBVIOUSLY you didnt read it correctly. I asked a question. then i stated if it WAS a Ti4200...blah blah. you need to read more thoroughly maybe? huh? always knew taurus people need to feel dominant, friggin sad

 

[MajorAccident]

baser5nature had it correct...I have a Geforce4 MX 440 w/ 64MB DDR.

Thanks everyone, this has been very helpful...I will now go and try to test all these settings and see what happens. I've got plenty of cooling in my PC. I have a fan on the CPU, a fan on the power supply, and 2 small fans in the empty bay on the front of my PC.

I have another quick question...any way to adjust the brightness for games via the video card? I have my brightness and contrast on my monitor maxed out. I used to have an ATI RADEON 7200 and it had a little utility where you can adjust the brightness of the screen and a separate setting for screen brightness when playing games. Most games I don't need this tool as you can really adjust the brightness pretty good. I just want to be able to make Half-Life/Half-Life Mods brighter. And ideas?

Thank you.

 

[Taurus]

omg... okay, sorry

but it's still obviously not a ti :blink:

 

[Krux]

Originally posted by Plexapotamus
a good rule perhaps if you're worried about damaging your card.

I have a Asus V8190 GF4 MX 440.

my default clocks are:
core: 270
mem: 400

my current clocks are:
core: 379
mem: 492

hence I'm a little past the 10% mark
core: +40%
mem: +23%

and I'm rock solid stable.

I have also changed the stock HS to a Iceburq VGA cooler.

Not everyone is going to get the same results even if they have the same card because each card has different tolerances. No one here can tell you what to set the sliders to, you will have to test, test and then test somemore.

The best advice I've heard about overclocking is: If you cant afford to replace it, then leave it alone.

yah but your card isn't even a geforce 3 all you have is a supped up geforce 2, suuuure by name is a geforce 4 but thats where the simalairities end. I would venture to say that it had passive cooling when you first got it, so it must not put out much heat. that prolly why you can get such a good clock from it. kinda like the 9600pro half the core was hacked off and it overclocks like crazy.

 

[Plexapotamus]

Originally posted by Krux
yah but your card isn't even a geforce 3 all you have is a supped up geforce 2, suuuure by name is a geforce 4 but thats where the simalairities end. I would venture to say that it had passive cooling when you first got it, so it must not put out much heat. that prolly why you can get such a good clock from it. kinda like the 9600pro half the core was hacked off and it overclocks like crazy.

I really don't see the point you're trying to make, we're talking about overclocking a GeForce 4, not "thats a crappy card" type of childish bull. I have never claimed to have a wonderful card. All I was doing was posting my experence about my GF4 would could or could not have come in handy to the person who started this thread.

thanks for coming out.