# [SOLVED] Overclocking my GTX 260



## McNinja

ok so I've overclocked my GTX 260 EVGA P/N: 896-P3-1260-AR


for these settings each percentage on my large work units for [email protected] GPU2 console Client take 11 seconds less - 58 -56 secs per percentage = 96- 98 mins compared to 116min

core clock: 625
Shader clock:1450
Memory Clock: 1107

Temps (only 2C more overclocked)
core Temp 76C
ambient Temp 56C
fan speed 1719rpm
fan speed 46%

regular speeds for this card is 

Core Clock: 575
Shader Clock: 1200
memory clock: 999

i just want to know what I can safely over clock it to. I can hear high pitched sounds really well so when I did overclock I could hear the difference in the fan speed. This seems like a safe overclock


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## FreoHeaveho

*Re: Overclocking my GTX 260*

That core should go higher, but crank the fan to 100%. My 8800GT goes to 720mhz, however it is a different core.


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## McNinja

*Re: Overclocking my GTX 260*

ok yea so Im using Rivatuner. Awesome App!

overclocked to 

Core Clock 700mhz
shader clock 1550mhz
memory clock 1200mhz
Fan speed 2100rpm

fan speed 60%
temp 67C (wow my card is running cool for such an overclock)
Plus I have a antec 1200 gamer case with 5 case fans 4 x 120mm 1 x 200mm
2 front fans sucking in (120mm)
1 side fan sucking in (120mm)
1 rear fan blowing out (120mm)
1 top fan fan blowing out (200mm)

I've let [email protected] run all night at the old overclock speeds

temp was 71C

So now my work unit should take around 49secs per percentage point or 81 mins

so compared to before thats about 25mins faster or so for each [email protected] workunit


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## linderman

*Re: Overclocking my GTX 260*

crank up the video card fan to 80% .................


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## McNinja

*Re: Overclocking my GTX 260*

ok so I changed the fan speed to 80%

after 5 minutes temp went down to;

Core Temp:60C
Ambient Temp: 47C

thats pretty cool!
I'll post back later with the temps

also I am updating my Nvidia driver to 181.20


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## linderman

*Re: Overclocking my GTX 260*

Bravo .............. nice results


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## McNinja

*Re: Overclocking my GTX 260*

so I'm gonna keep my fan speed for my GTX 260 at 70% keeps it at the same ambient noise level as the rest of my comp

it only went up 3C to 63C instead of 60C

I think this is a great overclock and the video card is really quiet and cool

for a slightly quieter graphics card I am willing to sacrifice 3 degrees Celsius


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## McNinja

*Re: Overclocking my GTX 260*

so I lowered my fan speed to 65% still in a very safe zone of around 64C

I think this is fine and its at the same noise as the rest of my fans.


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## Aus_Karlos

*Re: Overclocking my GTX 260*

Just be careful you can overclock a GPU 100-200mhz and still keep it cool but it can randomly burn out. Ive done this on a 7900GT, i overlclocked the core 200mhz kept it cool around 70c lasted 1 week with no problems what so ever and while i was playing a game the screen went black and never came back. 
Use ATI Tool and run the Artifact test this will really show you how hot your GPU will get under full load and pick up any core errors.


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## linderman

*Re: Overclocking my GTX 260*

hmmmmmmm quiet and overclocking ..............not really a good partnership ................

arent your games way louder than your video card fan ?

thats what I love about the ATI profile ........ when you start gaming you invoke a set profile and the fan climbs to 80% RPM ................. I dont hear it with all the gaming noise and activity?


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## Jtsou

*Re: Overclocking my GTX 260*

If ive overlooked the answer to this sorry but are those temps idle or load?


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## McNinja

*Re: Overclocking my GTX 260*

40C on idle (cool as my CPU)

66C on full load

60% fan usage currently

overclock:
core from 575mhz - 725mhz
Shader from 1200mhz - 1550 mhz
memory from 999mhz - 1250 mhz

I don't see how ATI tool would work with a Nvidia card?

I'm gonna post back with the results for ATI tool.


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## McNinja

*Re: Overclocking my GTX 260*

so far for 18mins

[email protected] is more of a stress test

6C warmer


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## Aus_Karlos

*Re: Overclocking my GTX 260*

Like any overclock i would keep it there for a week before pushing it anymore, just to make sure your system and PSU can handle it.


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## McNinja

*Re: Overclocking my GTX 260*

I don't want to push it anymore I am perfectly happy with it


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## McNinja

*Re: Overclocking my GTX 260*

took a screenshot too early


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## Aus_Karlos

*Re: Overclocking my GTX 260*

So how much of a performance have you gained in your games?


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## mattlock

*Re: Overclocking my GTX 260*

If you're only OCing the card to increase you [email protected] performance the Shader clock is what you want to push. The Core and Memory will do little to nothing in [email protected] In fact, when I played around with OCing my 8800GT for [email protected] performance gains I actually clocked my core down and to reach a higher Shader clock and still improved on my Folding results.

I eventually settled for simply flashing my GT bios to GT SC bios and left it at that.


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## Aus_Karlos

*Re: Overclocking my GTX 260*

I was about to say arn't the Core and Shader Core locked on Nvidia cards. Until i read the last part about flashing the BIOS. For the 260 you will have to make your own custom BIOS to unlock the cores as there is no preset BIOS you can download. (i think)


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## McNinja

*Re: Overclocking my GTX 260*

no no I can unlink the Shader clock and Core clock in Riva tuner

It froze when I ran Crysis with Fraps after 3 mins :hard restart gonna try again in 5 mins with same overclock without fraps

I'm looking to improve both [email protected] performance and games too.


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## Aus_Karlos

*Re: Overclocking my GTX 260*



> no no I can unlink the Shader clock and Core clock in Riva tuner


I thought that aswell but if you only overclock the core and apply the settings you will notice that the shader clock will overclock aswell. Nvidia have syned both the cores though the BIOS the only way to unlink them is to make a custom BIOS.


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## McNinja

*Re: Overclocking my GTX 260*

Update: ok so I even upped the AA to 8x no lag on very high 8x AA on 1280 x 1024 for Crysis Warhead
IMPRESSIVE

it was fraps that did the freeze up


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## mattlock

*Re: Overclocking my GTX 260*



Aus_Karlos said:


> I was about to say arn't the Core and Shader Core locked on Nvidia cards. Until i read the last part about flashing the BIOS. For the 260 you will have to make your own custom BIOS to unlock the cores as there is no preset BIOS you can download. (i think)


I don't know about the 260, but I unlinked the Core and Shader with Riva Tuner on my 8800GT and played around with overclock settings. My card wouldn't OC much more than an 8800GT Super Clocked (SC) and remain stable while Folding. So I opted to flash the bios to the Superclocked edition bios rather than overclocking using Riva Tuner. I didn't need to use custom bios, I simply used Nvidia 8800GT SC edition bios and it worked like a charm.:wink:


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## McNinja

*Re: Overclocking my GTX 260*

hmm where are these bios's and how do I use em?


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## Aus_Karlos

*Re: Overclocking my GTX 260*

Must just be the cards i choose then. The 7900GT, 9800GTX have there core/shaders linked. I was required to flash the BIOS. Theres no need yet to overclock my new cards.


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## McNinja

*Re: Overclocking my GTX 260*

must be I guess, I don't really want to mess with my GPU bios settings. 

so I was just playing Left 4 dead for an hour or so and its all good


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## FreoHeaveho

*Re: Overclocking my GTX 260*



Mcninjaguy said:


> hmm where are these bios's and how do I use em?


I have the BFG matt, would you bios idea work with that?


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## McNinja

*Re: Overclocking my GTX 260*

I mean I really don't need to use the bios but if I could then i wouldn't need to use rivatuner and it would start up automatically instead of 2 UAC cancel or allow boxes to come up when i start up vista


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## mattlock

*Re: Overclocking my GTX 260*



bigfellla said:


> I have the BFG matt, would you bios idea work with that?


I believe the BFG 8800GT OC2 is the same as an EVGA 8800GT SSC so I don't think there is a higher rated Bios that will work for you. (Atleast not an official bios). My card is a basic Evga 8800GT and I flashed the Bios to an 8800GT SC. it couldn't handle SSC speeds so the SC bios was my only option. 

As for McNinja,

You have a few options as far as Bios flashing goes, 260 SC and 260 SSC.

GTX 260 SC:
core clock: 602
Shader clock:1296
Memory Clock: 1026 (2052)

GTX 260 SSC:
core clock: 626
Shader clock:1350
Memory Clock:1053 (2106)

If your card is truly stable at your current OC then you could use the 260 FTW Bios.

Core clock: 666
Shader clock:1402
Memory Clock:1107 (2214)

If you opt for flashing to a different Bios be sure to backup your original just in case something goes wrong. Let me know if that's what you want to do and I'll send a link to where you can download the tools needed and the new Bios.


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## McNinja

*Re: Overclocking my GTX 260*

would there there be a bios at these clocks?

core 725
shader 1550
memeory 1250

I really do need a step by step instructions to change the bios on my card. I think if I did change the bios it would be incremental bios settings. so I'd probably not do it all to the maximum setting I have it right now


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## mattlock

*Re: Overclocking my GTX 260*

AFAIK, the FTW Edition is the highest factory OC available for the GTX 260. I don't think you can simply go into the Bios, make and save changes like you do on motherboards. If it were that easy everyone would be OCing that way. There are tools available to create custom Bios, but I have not experimented in that area. All I've done is flash to official factory OCed bios for a given class of of cards. (I.E 8800GT, 8800GT SC, 8800GT SSC) I've been wanting to play around with it and have a 7800GT to try it on I just haven't had the time.

The flash tool for Nvidia is called NVflash. You can do it using a bootable flash drive. The tool to backup you current Bios does not work on Vista 64, so i'll have get back to you on how to backup your Bios. 

I have to go work right know, but I'll see what I can dig up and post back.


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## McNinja

*Re: Overclocking my GTX 260*

ok I'll at least download NVflash

thanks for the info

I'll wait till you find out about backing my bios in vista64

I'll do some research my self


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## McNinja

*Re: Overclocking my GTX 260*

ehh I found out how to back up my bios and its backed up now using GPU-Z

this seems kinda risky


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## mattlock

*Re: Overclocking my GTX 260*

There is always a little risk when flashing Bios, but there is no risk involved in flashing GFX card Bios than there is when doing motherboard Bios. I've done it more than once with no issues but the decision is yours to make. 

Check out MVKtech.net for some helpful guides on using NVflash. You can also get your Bios there. 

If you decide to flash the Bios you can make an Emergency Flash Disk to restore your original Bios in the event that something does go wrong. Those instructions can be found at http://www.mvktech.net/content/view/415/37/

Keep me posted.


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## McNinja

*Re: Overclocking my GTX 260*

is this the right bios?
http://www.mvktech.net/component/op...func,fileinfo/filecatid,2803/parent,category/

I'm gonna use NVflash 4.42 although I have the newer version 5.72 when I do flash.
now these guides are pretty old, all around 2004. can they be used on the newer cards or what?

I'd also like the option of making a custom bios too. any software you recommend? besides the one on MVKtech.net(which I don't quite trust since it says it only supports up to the 7800GT or something like that)

I forgot how to make my flash drive bootable.
I have a Patriot Memory 4gb flash drive
and a Kingston Data Traveler 16gb flash drive


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## mattlock

*Re: Overclocking my GTX 260*

That's the 260SSC Bios, I don't know why they don't have the 260 FTW listed yet, but it is in the first post at the link below.

http://www.mvktech.net/component/option,com_joomlaboard/Itemid,/func,view/catid,10/id,51468/#51468 

Also, you'll need to use a newer version of NVflash for your card. I used 5.63 on my 8800GT, but you might need to use 5.67. (5.72 doesn't work with some 260s)

As for NiBitor, ver 4.2 and up supports the GTX 260-280. The guide should still apply to the newer versions of the software. There is little difference between 3.9 (which I played with) and 4.6 other than the cards it supports.

To make a bootable flash drive check this site out:

http://www.bootdisk.com/pendrive.htm

One more thing, the Emergency Flash Disk is a nice option, but if you're not sure it'll work with the newer NVflash (I think it will though) you can still reflash with a standard PCI VGA card installed along side your PCI-E card if something were to happen.


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## McNinja

*Re: Overclocking my GTX 260*

ok ok so I successfully flash my bios

I've got my old and new bios on a bootable USB

I used nvflash 5.72 

whats the fastest bios out there???

I'm kind of aiming to do the custom bios now. I'll change the clock speeds and the fan speed

current (a lot faster than my old one)

Core clock :666 (EVIL!)
Shader Clock: 1404
Memory Clock: 1107

tempature 76C


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## McNinja

*Re: Overclocking my GTX 260*

wow mattlock those links were really useful

ok so I made a custom bios now using NiBiTor.4.7

I made it so my fan goes up in speed if its necessary

core clock 700mhz
shader clock 1500mhz
memeory clock 1200mhz

really nice bios customizing program!

so when I did falsh it the first time I had to reinstall my display driver

I don't think I need to re install my drivers again


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## mattlock

*Re: Overclocking my GTX 260*

Glad to hear it worked out for you McNinja.


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## McNinja

*Re: Overclocking my GTX 260*

yea! it works like a charm

it works really well and its much better having the overclock running at a hardware level than using rivatuner

I think this thread is solved


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