I am looking for a good guide on overclocking my HD5770, but I cannot seem to find a online guide that explains how to do this properly. Of particular concern is that none tells me what temperature to watch out for, but all tell me to "watch your temps and don't let it get too high." As I've learned that GPUs fry quicker than CPUs, I don't want to take too much risk here.

Any help appreciated.

The AMD Vision Control Center includes an overclocker which I use and has a testing function, I think it's under the performance tab. I usually see what the top end of it's allowable OC and then back it off a little and test it again. TBH you may or may not see any noticeable gain it can depend a lot on your other components CPU, RAM etc

I use the AMD control center overclocking function. It tests the OC (though it might pass the test and still choke on a benchmark program). I think temperatures can safely reach high numbers (around 90C). My stock-fans keep it well below that.

I OC to get good benchmark "measurement" numbers. However, the OC won't make a "visible difference", normally. So, its an option for the fun of it

Supposedly, the HD7970 is designed for overclocking. Thus, it OCs more than normal.

I OC my Vid cards..it was stock at 700mhz and I have it at 850mhz seems to run fine..
I have a 480GTX and use MSI AfterBurner which can also control the FAN by a user setting which is better then letting the Software control it..

I keep the Fan Speed about the same as the temp with a Custom FAN Speed setting .. I am sure there are other Aftermarket App for Controlling ATI Cards as well that let you controll all the OC and fan speeds..

My MAX temp is about 100c.. but is never near that..Just Keep in mind you want to keep the OC high and the HEAT low that is a good rule of thumb.. but you need to be aware of what the core temp max and max Voltage settings that are reccomended by the Cards Manufacturer..


So OC'ng the Core and Voltage introduces more Heat so you would want to keep it cooler by having a User Controlled FAN setting not sure if the ATI one allows for that.... The best would be to Water Cool the CPU & GPU's.. Also if you are feeling upto it some TIM replacement over the Stock TIM could also lower temps depending on the TIM applied..

All Cards will OC differetly you may get 100mhz or upto 200 mhz on the Core but every card will be different.. Just take my advice and find out what the Voltage and the Temp your GPU,CPU can handle and go from there. I did a Google and it seems that 100C is the Temp you need to be wary of.. I would keep it under 80C at full load..Dont forget to Streess test your OC..

For the CPU use Intel Burn Test run for 10 mins. Even if you do NOT OC it is still a good idea to Stress Test your components even on a brand new NON Overclocked system..

for the GPU you could try FurMark..

Who is the Manufacturer of the card??

The best OC is MSI Afterburner. It works on all cards and you can unlock the voltage control too for suicide runs. It lets you control the fan speed too so it is very handy.

Thanks for the help guys. I've just OC'ed my i5 750 from 2.66GHz to a stable 4.1GHz, so now I've turned my sights on the GPU. This is a XFX HD5770, and so far seems to be playing well at 960/1445 which seems to be the max I can set via MSI Afterburner (stock is 850/1200). I'm not too keen on playing with voltages yet though. With a custom, manually-controlled fan setting, a 3DMark Vantage test brings temps up to 85 degrees with a fan RPM of 94%, so I guess that's pretty good with the stock cooler.

Nice. You must have noticed some environments from the combined overclock. Which were the biggest improvements you've seen?

Hehe... I've not played with the OC'ed GPU yet, but the OC'ed CPU improved my load times considerably. I've not taken actual measurements, but I've been caught surprised several times when my mission has loaded and I'm thinking "what, already?!" So that is an improvement.

However, on the process of overclocking, I've upgraded from 4GB RAM to 8GB as the 4GB kit had a defective second stick and I will say that the extra RAM has helped, even on stock settings.