Artifacts in ATI tool?

[magictorch]

With ATI tool 0.26 what do the yellow dots mean? I assume errors.

They appear on ATI tool on higher clocks but no errors are detected. On detect the max core it detected an error at 704 core..yet the yellow dots start at around 626.

Should I trust my eyes and not the error message?

amend: the test runs more smoothly on a fresh restart and if i adjust the cores in the ATI tuner itself. More smoothly in that I get random yellow dots but no bong sound and no errors. I still dont like seing yellow dots though. Just installed an HR-03 and used 3M thermal tape for some of the MOFSET sinks. Others got copper sinks

[Shredder]

I found the best results by doing the core max first with stock memory setting, then return core to stock before doing the max. memory settings. The yellow dots are infact artifacts, specifically they are related to the memory overclock more then the core speed overclock. The better results when first booted up maybe pointing to a temperature related issue as the card would be warmer after a few tests then at first boot.

[magictorch]

thanks shredder
Great thats what I was after to narrow down the problem (temperature and memory). BTW core never gos above 59oc

I was adjusting the core with memory at stock when getting the artifacts. The difference between the "find the max core" and when yellow dots appear (with no "errors") is huge.

Strangely the most stable overclock in terms of "no errors" is when I overclock the core a little followed by the memory and stick to the "grouped" frequencies in this review IT-review hardware - OCing 8800GTX - manual and factory mode.
I have also found it to be more stable if the rest of the system is at stock.

I'll add some MX-2 to my swift-tech GPU MOFSET's as I think its the temperature around these thats the issue-the TM thermal tape just didn't seem substantial enough. Anyway I'm happy with 621, 1053 and great core temps but those pesky yellow dots and no errors!

[Eldonko]

Those dots are artifacts, which you would also see in games and such. If you are looking for max 24/7 OC then you want to go to the point where you dont have any artifacts at all. Make sure you get max core and max mem separately.

Benching is a different story, for the most part you can complete 3d mark when ATItool shows artifacts, just not too many.

[magictorch]

Yes when finding the max memory I held the core at stock.

It seems strange that random yellow dots (artifacts) are not detected as errors and appear way before the ATI tools detected max. I noticed that when finding max core- it eventually called an error when there were a lot of them.

I wonder if this has anything to do with drivers as I never used driver cleaner when uninstalling and updating drivers? Probably RAM though.

Im after 24/7 OC for gaming rather than benching. Ive tested the card in games when it says error free despite random yellow dots and it looks fine...But I'm going to remount the MOFSET with MX2 + thermal tape and see if that helps. Role on the weekend.

[Shredder]

I found that I was forced to redo my gpu OC after I had OC'd the cpu. Save yourself a little time and do your gpu OC when you have found and set your stable cpu OC , less time messing around and more time gaming .

* I run a couple of game servers out of Red Deer, 1 for Fear and 1 for COD4, come by and test your settings if you want, they are 24/7

[Thund3rball]

Just throwing this out there. You can use Rivatuner to not only adjust the core and memory clocks but also the shader clock separately from the core clock. With ATI Tool I believe the shader clock scales with the core clock and there is no way to adjust it independently. To get the maximum performance out of your card with overclocking you should try using Rivatuner to adjust core, memory and shaders, and run 3DMark 06/05 and games to test for artifacts.

I think you may be able to still use ATI tool to scan for artifacts after adjusting clocks in Rivatuner. But I think you'd be better off just watching "Return To Proxycon" over and over and over

Cheers & good luck.

[magictorch]

Thanks for the help thud3rball. You learn a lot when you decide to OC the GPU with a decent cooler mounted on it. Those HR-03's are amazing and look great. Man is this hobby ever addictive and time-consuming!! I just dont want to damage anything.

shredder ill keep an eye out for that server. just got COD4 last week and the multiplayers great!