How to OC a Gainward Geforce 3 ti 200?

[jchun31]

Hi there guys, well I just have a question on how to overclock a gainward geforce3 ti 200 (ti 450 series). I am currently running it at the "enhanced mode" settings which is 200mhz core, 450mhz memory. I have read a lot of reviews stating that this particular card can reach ti500 levels of performance. My question is how do I overclock this card. Can I use the EXPERTool and just increase the levels of the Core and Memory clock settings gradually, and then test each increase for stability by playing a game and seeing if its stable? Or is there some prog I must download and install? Thanks for your time in advance guys...

[Showtime]

Card cooling: Stock cooling should be fine for now but you might need more if it gets too hot.
For simple and advanced tweaking try Rivatuner. You can find it at:
www.guru3d.com
www.voodoofiles.com
etc
Put all your card settings back to normal. Dl and set up rivatuner.
Check on the main tab that all your drivers are the same number(exp23.12). On main theres 2 arrows pointing toward the bottom right side of your screen. The top one is for is for basic ocing. The bottom for more advanced type tuning. Click the arrow and than the video card symbol. Click Enable overclocking.
1st, Raise the core to around 200, hit test if its ok than save. Than test it with a graphics program. After that, raise it by 5 and test til you get it to around 220. Raise it by 1 or 2 after that and test. Use 3dmark(www.madonion.com) to test it and if you have lines etc in the graphics stop and drop it back down. As long as it can finish test and doesn't freeze, it should be good.
2nd, raise the ram. Try 475 or so and follow the steps like the core. Pay close attention around 500mhz. You can fry your card if your not careful. Check temps if it feels hot to your hands than its probably too hot.
I use crystal orb and some tt ramsinks, my card runs at 229/530.
Yours may go higher or lower. Be careful and run it for a while once you get to ti500 speeds(to check for overheating).
gl
-jel

[LPMiller]

Originally posted by jchun31
Hi there guys, well I just have a question on how to overclock a gainward geforce3 ti 200 (ti 450 series). I am currently running it at the "enhanced mode" settings which is 200mhz core, 450mhz memory. I have read a lot of reviews stating that this particular card can reach ti500 levels of performance. My question is how do I overclock this card. Can I use the EXPERTool and just increase the levels of the Core and Memory clock settings gradually, and then test each increase for stability by playing a game and seeing if its stable? Or is there some prog I must download and install? Thanks for your time in advance guys...

yes, just use experttool. The fan/sinks on the Gainward should be plenty fine, but you might want to take off the fan and reapply the thermal compound.

[sbp]

The regular settings for a GF3 Ti200 is 175 MHz and a 400 MHz DDR-memory clock so your card is already running overclocked. The enhanced mode is what Gainward guarantees that videocard will run at.

Some but not all the GF3 Ti200s will overclock to Ti500 speeds {240/500Mhz}. So its not sure thing.

How to overclock:
Use coolbits: http://www.geforcefaq.com/faq.cgi#hw:gef:ovck:enable

Use powerstrip: http://www.entechtaiwan.com/ps.htm

Use rivatuner: http://guru3d.com/files/rivatuner/

Bump up the settings 5 MHz at a time. Play an intensive game like Quake 3 Areana or run a benchmark like 3dmark 2001SE (http://www.madonion.com/). Look for visual anomalies like tearing and white spots (a sign the memory is overclocked too high}. http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.html?i=1246&p=4

[jchun31]

thanks for your help guys. I was wondering what exactly is "coolbits" ? Is it a program or is it a registry hack?

[sbp]

Its a registry hack that adds the overclocking sliders to one of your display page tabs.