Overclocking HD 4650

Afrohorse · 08-14-2009, 02:06 AM

Hello,

I got my new video card, a low-profile HD 4650 today, and tried overclocking it for the first time.

Now, this card is in a Dell Inspiron 531s, which has a very low wattage PSU (250w), I let CCC auto-tune my card and I thought it would only do the maximum my PSU could handle.

It started at 600mhz GPU clock, and 400mhz memory lock, and now it's at 765 and 555 respectively. I was impressed at how much it overclocked, and tried some games. It ran great, at least a 15fps increase in everything, but I noticed the games crashing a lot. I would get an error from my ATI tools saying that my video drivers stopped working, but I've seen that kind of error before so I kind've shrugged it off.

Anyway, I was playing Age of Empires 3 for a while, when my screen went black and my PC just completely shut off. I tried to restart it, and it would hang at the boot screen. I let it rest a while, unhooked all my USB cables and such, and booted it back up.

It's working fine now, but my question is.. Is that too much for my PSU, or is it an unrelated problem? I played for hours before I overclocked with no problems, and I have testimonials stating that the card runs fine on my PSU so don't say "Hurr durr you need a 1000w PSU to play that card", as many people seem to say on the internet.

Should I reset it to the default clock? Can I scale it down to a safe level? What would that be?

Thanks.

Specs:
250w PSU (Generic dell brand I guess)
2GB DDR2 RAM
Radeon HD 4650 512mb
Athlon 64x2 4000+ Dual Core 2.11ghz

**Tyree** · 08-14-2009, 12:35 PM

I strongly suggest you get a quality PSU. A 4650 should have a minimum 350W PSU.
The Corsair 650TX 650W is on special on Newegg for $100.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139005

Afrohorse · 08-14-2009, 01:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tyree

I strongly suggest you get a quality PSU. A 4650 should have a minimum 350W PSU.
The Corsair 650TX 650W is on special on Newegg for $100.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139005

The problem is my SFF case. I believe it's micro ATX, but I'm not positive. All I know is that PSU wouldn't fit in my case.

Regardless, is that what caused the crash? It wasn't the card overheating or something like that? The highest temperature I saw was about 80 degrees.

**wrench97** · 08-14-2009, 02:20 PM

Lowprofile cards are not really meant to be overclocked, 80 is a little warm for that card and the low profile card and SFF case to not make for the best cooling environment.
I would run the card at stock speeds, under powering and overheating will burn the card out.

Afrohorse · 08-14-2009, 05:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wrench97

Lowprofile cards are not really meant to be overclocked, 80 is a little warm for that card and the low profile card and SFF case to not make for the best cooling environment.
I would run the card at stock speeds, under powering and overheating will burn the card out.

I lowered the speed to 650mhz, runs much cooler and no more crashes. About 75 degrees while gaming.

**wrench97** · 08-14-2009, 05:32 PM

I try to keep ATI cards around 70c or below the frame rates tend to start dropping off around there.

Afrohorse · 08-15-2009, 06:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wrench97

I try to keep ATI cards around 70c or below the frame rates tend to start dropping off around there.

I was playing a game for a while yesterday, Street Fighter IV, getting 60 fps for a couple hours.. then it started getting really choppy and laggy, even though FRAPS said I was still getting 60fps.

Could this be due to overheating?

**wrench97** · 08-15-2009, 07:07 AM

What does it do at stock settings, temp and fps wise?

Afrohorse · 08-15-2009, 01:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wrench97

What does it do at stock settings, temp and fps wise?

Temperature-wise it was about 70-75 degrees while gaming, dropped to around 55 idle.

The FPS at stock setting was probably about 5 less than it is now, in most games. I haven't really measured it.

**wrench97** · 08-15-2009, 01:21 PM

I would run it stock, with a low profile card you lose area on the card for the heat sink so it's smaller.

Amd_Man · 08-20-2009, 08:50 AM

Here's a link for Micro Atx PSU's. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...&name=MicroATX
A 250 watt PSU is simply not enough power for your system.

Afrohorse · 08-20-2009, 01:26 PM

Thanks, both of you. I'll look into buying one.

08-14-2009, 02:06 AM	#1 (permalink)
Afrohorse Registered User Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 15 OS: Windows Vista	Overclocking HD 4650 Hello, I got my new video card, a low-profile HD 4650 today, and tried overclocking it for the first time. Now, this card is in a Dell Inspiron 531s, which has a very low wattage PSU (250w), I let CCC auto-tune my card and I thought it would only do the maximum my PSU could handle. It started at 600mhz GPU clock, and 400mhz memory lock, and now it's at 765 and 555 respectively. I was impressed at how much it overclocked, and tried some games. It ran great, at least a 15fps increase in everything, but I noticed the games crashing a lot. I would get an error from my ATI tools saying that my video drivers stopped working, but I've seen that kind of error before so I kind've shrugged it off. Anyway, I was playing Age of Empires 3 for a while, when my screen went black and my PC just completely shut off. I tried to restart it, and it would hang at the boot screen. I let it rest a while, unhooked all my USB cables and such, and booted it back up. It's working fine now, but my question is.. Is that too much for my PSU, or is it an unrelated problem? I played for hours before I overclocked with no problems, and I have testimonials stating that the card runs fine on my PSU so don't say "Hurr durr you need a 1000w PSU to play that card", as many people seem to say on the internet. Should I reset it to the default clock? Can I scale it down to a safe level? What would that be? Thanks. Specs: 250w PSU (Generic dell brand I guess) 2GB DDR2 RAM Radeon HD 4650 512mb Athlon 64x2 4000+ Dual Core 2.11ghz

08-14-2009, 12:35 PM	#2 (permalink)
Tyree Mentor Hardware Team Join Date: May 2009 Location: Illinois Posts: 5,719 OS: XP Pro-7RC-Mandriva My System	Re: Overclocking HD 4650 I strongly suggest you get a quality PSU. A 4650 should have a minimum 350W PSU. The Corsair 650TX 650W is on special on Newegg for $100. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139005 __________________ Posting your PC specs will help us to help you quicker and more efficiently.

08-14-2009, 02:20 PM	#4 (permalink)
wrench97 Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2008 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania Posts: 18,681 OS: Win7	Re: Overclocking HD 4650 Lowprofile cards are not really meant to be overclocked, 80 is a little warm for that card and the low profile card and SFF case to not make for the best cooling environment. I would run the card at stock speeds, under powering and overheating will burn the card out. __________________ Power Supply and Selection

08-14-2009, 05:32 PM	#6 (permalink)
wrench97 Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2008 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania Posts: 18,681 OS: Win7	Re: Overclocking HD 4650 I try to keep ATI cards around 70c or below the frame rates tend to start dropping off around there. __________________ Power Supply and Selection

08-15-2009, 07:07 AM	#8 (permalink)
wrench97 Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2008 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania Posts: 18,681 OS: Win7	Re: Overclocking HD 4650 What does it do at stock settings, temp and fps wise? __________________ Power Supply and Selection

08-15-2009, 01:21 PM	#10 (permalink)
wrench97 Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2008 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania Posts: 18,681 OS: Win7	Re: Overclocking HD 4650 I would run it stock, with a low profile card you lose area on the card for the heat sink so it's smaller. __________________ Power Supply and Selection

08-20-2009, 08:50 AM	#11 (permalink)
Amd_Man Tech Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Toronto Posts: 505 OS: Dual Boot Windows Xp Pro Sp3/Vista Ultimate 64 Bit Sp1 My System	Re: Overclocking HD 4650 Here's a link for Micro Atx PSU's. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...&name=MicroATX A 250 watt PSU is simply not enough power for your system. __________________

08-20-2009, 01:26 PM	#12 (permalink)
Afrohorse Registered User Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 15 OS: Windows Vista	Re: Overclocking HD 4650 Thanks, both of you. I'll look into buying one.