nVidia GeForce 8600M GS DDR2 Overclocking

[^nox]

Hey Guys

After a long time i figured i would like to contribute to this great community here at laptopvideo2go by some of my personal results and observations about overclocking with my nVidia GeForce 8600M GS. First of all, overclocking is a pretty delicate process and i learned my lesson when i fried my motherboard and GPU last years. From my personal observation i keep my GPU temperature below 90 degrees celsius if possible not higher than 88 degrees celsius. I frequently check my system temperature using rivatuner or cpuz. And run benchmarks in games like Crysis or Left 4 Dead, mostly in graphically intense areas to see what my max temperature is during at least 30minute interval. I usually run these games windowed and test overclocking schemes on fly since i didnt have much of a good experience with atitool and its max test for overclocking.

Edited: You have to find which cooling pad suits your laptop the best in terms of air movement and fan positions. Mine has two fans positioned prety wierdly so i actually lift the back of my laptop on top of my cooling pad about 5 cm using two thick rubber pieces, which ensures even better air movement. Even without a cooling pad I recommend lifiting the back of your laptop for lower temperatures.

My Gaming Specs:

HP dv9548us Laptop

Intel Core2Duo Processor 1.67Mhz

4GB DDR2 Ram Dual Channeled

200GB Harddrive 5400RPMs Sata + 640GB External USB

Cooling Pad, External Keyboard (Important for lower temperature of system as your hand also insulates the heat)

Windows 7 x64 Ultimate

My 3dMark06 Score with nVidia 196.04 driver Stock GPU values 500core | 1000shaders | 400memory:

My 3dMark06 score with nVidia 182.05 Dox Optimized driver "Performance Option", GPU overclocked to 650core | 1500 shaders | 455memory:

My Windows Performance Index with nVidia 182.05 Dox Optimized driver "Performance Option", GPU overclocked to 650core | 1500 shaders | 455memory:

In detail Drivers tested:

196.04 GPU Values 500core | 400memory - 3dMark06 - 2529 Points (Most new games unplayable including some older games) *Stock GPU Values

196.04 GPU Values 660core | 440memory - 3dMark06 - 3073 Points (Most new games unplayable, older games become playable)

196.04 GPU Values 680core | 460memory - 3dMark06 - 3112 Points (Most new games barelly playable, older games get bit better)

185.02 GPU Values 680core | 460memory - 3dMark06 - 3388 Points (Most new games are playable if tweaked, older games can be played on high to medium settings)

182.05 GPU Values 680core | 460memory - 3dMark06 - 3420 Points (Most games are playable if tweaked, older older games can be played on high to medium settings)

182.05 GPU Values 650core | 1390shaders | 455memory - 3dMark06 - 3467 Points (Even better with most new games, older games are pretty much playable on high no AA or AF)

185.85 GPU Values 650core | 1500shaders | 455memory - 3dMark06 - 3558 Points (3dMark score has increased but gaming experience was not as good as 182.05) *Win7

182.05 GPU Values 650core | 1500shaders | 455memory - 3dMark06 - 3548 Points (3dMark slightly lower that 185.85 but games are very much playable) Windows7* - Most Efficient Option.

The final verdict:

I tested quite a few drivers and different overclocking schemes. As you can see drivers and right overclocking can play very important role in getting the most performance. My rule became to stay under 88degrees celsius and dont use 3dMark06 as the only tool to benchmark the performance. Like I said open Crysis in window and check your fps there while watching your temperature. Once you achieve desired FPS let the game run for at least 30 minutes to make sure it is stable temperature wise. I also highly recomend experimenting with unlinking core and shaders while overclocking. At least on my end I gain more performance when i pump up shaders and take down on core and memory.

Hope this post helped a bit and im looking forward to discuss any improvements or other achievements.

All the best

Edited August 10, 2009 by ^nox

[Guest Darion]

Really nice man!

I got a question tho, have you tried to overclock with the new official Mobile GPU driver from nvidia, released just a few weeks ago?

[Guest DDR-King]

Hey Guys

After a long time i figured i would like to contribute to this great community here at laptopvideo2go by some of my personal results and observations about overclocking with my nVidia GeForce 8600M GS. First of all, overclocking is a pretty delicate process and i learned my lesson when i fried my motherboard and GPU last years. From my personal observation i keep my GPU temperature below 90 degrees celsius if possible not higher than 88 degrees celsius. I frequently check my system temperature using rivatuner or cpuz. And run benchmarks in games like Crysis or Left 4 Dead, mostly in graphically intense areas to see what my max temperature is during at least 30minute interval. I usually run these games windowed and test overclocking schemes on fly since i didnt have much of a good experience with atitool and its max test for overclocking.

My Gaming Specs:

HP dv9548us Laptop

Intel Core2Duo Processor 1.67Mhz

4GB DDR2 Ram Dual Channeled

200GB Harddrive 5400RPMs Sata + 640GB External USB

Cooling Pad, External Keyboard (Important for lower temperature of system as your hand also insulates the heat)

Windows Vista 32Bit SP2 - Only recognizes 3.07 GB of Memory

My 3dMark06 Score with nVidia 196.04 driver Stock GPU values 500core | 1000shaders | 400memory:

My 3dMark06 score with nVidia 182.05 Dox Optimized driver "Performance Option", GPU overclocked to 650core | 1390shaders | 455memory:

My Windows Performance Index with nVidia 182.05 Dox Optimized driver "Performance Option", GPU overclocked to 650core | 1390shaders | 455memory:

In detail Drivers tested:

196.04 GPU Values 500core | 400memory - 3dMark06 - 2529 Points (Most new games unplayable including some older games) *Stock GPU Values

196.04 GPU Values 660core | 440memory - 3dMark06 - 3073 Points (Most new games unplayable, older games become playable)

196.04 GPU Values 680core | 460memory - 3dMark06 - 3112 Points (Most new games barelly playable, older games get bit better)

185.02 GPU Values 680core | 460memory - 3dMark06 - 3388 Points (Most new games are playable if tweaked, older games can be played on high to medium settings)

182.05 GPU Values 680core | 460memory - 3dMark06 - 3420 Points (Most games are playable if tweaked, older older games can be played on high to medium settings)

182.05 GPU values 650core | 1390shaders | 455memory - 3dMark06 - 3467 Points (Even better with most new games, older games are pretty much playable on high no AA or AF) *Here core and shaders are unlinked. Most efficient setting at the moment.

The final verdict:

I tested quite a few drivers and different overclockign schemes. As you can see drivers and right overclocking can play very important role in getting the most performance. My rule became to stay under 88degrees celsius and dont use 3dMark06 as the only tool to benchmark the performance. Like I said open Crysis in window and check your fps there while watching your temperature. Once you achieve desired FPS let the game run for at least 30 minutes to make sure it is stable temperature wise. I also highly recomend experimenting with unlinking core and shaders while overclocking. At least on my end I gain more performance when i pump up shaders and take down on core and memory.

Hope this post helped a bit and im looking forward to discuss any improvements or other achievements.

All the best

How do you get Dox Optimized driver "Performance Option"?

[^nox]

Really nice man!

I got a question tho, have you tried to overclock with the new official Mobile GPU driver from nvidia, released just a few weeks ago?

I havent tested the new official drivers yet, i usually wait for dox's optimized drivers as they are fat free. If i get a chance i might give em a try, hopefully they will let me overclock. :)

How do you get Dox Optimized driver "Performance Option"?

I believe that his 182.05 version of drivers had 3 different setting you could choose from. I have tested his newer drivers which do not have this option anymore. They were quite a bit more stable but performance wise a little slower on my setup.

Edited July 23, 2009 by ^nox

[Guest DDR-King]

I believe that his 182.05 version of drivers had 3 different setting you could choose from. I have tested his newer drivers which do not have this option anymore. They were quite a bit more stable but performance wise a little slower on my setup.

I gave it a try, and it gave me one hell of a FPS boost, even before overclocking. But i have a problem with unstable FPS. Its acts kinda like a heart monitor. ^__^__^__^ <- like that kinda :) It seems to be related to my Clock speeds jumping up and down. My stock clock is 450/400.

Did you experience any thing like that? And if so, where you able to fix it?

My setup is a Acer Aspire 5920G with the exact same card as you have. Only my CPU is a 2.2Ghz and i have only 2Gb of RAM. Running Windows Vista Home Premium.

[^nox]

I gave it a try, and it gave me one hell of a FPS boost, even before overclocking. But i have a problem with unstable FPS. Its acts kinda like a heart monitor. ^__^__^__^ <- like that kinda :) It seems to be related to my Clock speeds jumping up and down. My stock clock is 450/400.

Did you experience any thing like that? And if so, where you able to fix it?

My setup is a Acer Aspire 5920G with the exact same card as you have. Only my CPU is a 2.2Ghz and i have only 2Gb of RAM. Running Windows Vista Home Premium.

Ok your settup is almsot the same, you got faster CPU so u should be able to get your few more frames per second. My intuition is that the frames going all over the place could be either: the driver itself "though i tested it and its ok for my setup even though performance option isnt the most stable, but overall gives me the best fps", it also could be your card downclocking and upclocking I would check that with rivatuner monitor, also make sure you got no bloatware no stupid stuff in tray "i run antivirus & startdock $ fingerprint software" (sometimes rapid downturns in fps could be due to your CPU being overloaded by a different software). BTW my stock is 500core/400memory. In other words i did experience this with my games too, usually its coused by a third party software in my opinion as it hogs up your CPU, but the driver might be the reason as well, just play with some overclocking schemes, but make sure you stay under 88 degrees celsius :)

[StewDent]

Sup, guyz!

Rig:

Win7 RTM 7600 x86

1.67 core2duo

2GB RAM

nvidia 8600M GS 512MB DDR2 (driver version - 186.03)

So, I took OC layout of ^nox (650core | 1390shaders | 455memory) and ran it. First time I got like 92*C to 95*C on the GPU, and later on figured out that the problem is that my laptop stands on a table (I could feel the heat with my hand under the desk :)). I dont have a cooling pad so I put my laptop on 2 DVD-boxes, to create some space between the desk surface and laptop's vents. Vuala, we have 77*C in single 3dmark run and max 82*C in games (fallout3, l4dead, TF2).

[Guest joshuanut]

Sup, guyz!

Rig:

Win7 RTM 7600 x86

1.67 core2duo

2GB RAM

nvidia 8600M GS 512MB DDR2 (driver version - 186.03)

So, I took OC layout of ^nox (650core | 1390shaders | 455memory) and ran it. First time I got like 92*C to 95*C on the GPU, and later on figured out that the problem is that my laptop stands on a table (I could feel the heat with my hand under the desk :) ). I dont have a cooling pad so I put my laptop on 2 DVD-boxes, to create some space between the desk surface and laptop's vents. Vuala, we have 77*C in single 3dmark run and max 82*C in games (fallout3, l4dead, TF2).

[Guest joshuanut]

Hi I have so many question on how you overcloked you GPU I can not for the life of me figure it out. any one who can help me would be great! I have a 8600m gs running a release of windows 7 I have used every different driver for the mobile 8600 there is if any of you guys can help me on how to over clock that would be great!

[^nox]

Sup, guyz!

Rig:

Win7 RTM 7600 x86

1.67 core2duo

2GB RAM

nvidia 8600M GS 512MB DDR2 (driver version - 186.03)

So, I took OC layout of ^nox (650core | 1390shaders | 455memory) and ran it. First time I got like 92*C to 95*C on the GPU, and later on figured out that the problem is that my laptop stands on a table (I could feel the heat with my hand under the desk :) ). I dont have a cooling pad so I put my laptop on 2 DVD-boxes, to create some space between the desk surface and laptop's vents. Vuala, we have 77*C in single 3dmark run and max 82*C in games (fallout3, l4dead, TF2).

Hey StewDent

I gotta say im really happy that you got positive results. You actually made me edit my post, because i completely forgto to mention my cooling techniques. max 82 is wicked. Like i edited i actually use a two fan USB cooling pad and i actually have my laptop lifted about 5 cm on the back side so its on a bit of slant on the cooling pad to get even better air movement.I keep testing which position is best again not going above 88 degrees celsius. For the lift all i used was a two thick pieces of rubber eraser stuck on top of each other :)

Keep it up !

Sick score btw :P must be the additional 256 of memory or perhaps win 7 wtf ??? :unsure:

Edited July 30, 2009 by ^nox

[^nox]

Hi I have so many question on how you overcloked you GPU I can not for the life of me figure it out. any one who can help me would be great! I have a 8600m gs running a release of windows 7 I have used every different driver for the mobile 8600 there is if any of you guys can help me on how to over clock that would be great!

Here is step by step guide joshunanut:

1) Get one of the nvidia drivers from Dox mentioned in my post at the top of this page.

2) Get lates riva tuner software

3) In rivatuner click on the button next to the "customize" text on the bottom half of the main screen.

4) Make sure you alow hardware overclocking, then select "performance 3D" next to it.

5) Use my clocks and hit apply.

6) Should be back in action.

[Guest StewDent]

Hi I have so many question on how you overcloked you GPU I can not for the life of me figure it out. any one who can help me would be great! I have a 8600m gs running a release of windows 7 I have used every different driver for the mobile 8600 there is if any of you guys can help me on how to over clock that would be great!

First of all you need to monitor your system temps with HWmonitor (or any other you already have)

Then, you need to go to the nvidia website and download the latest GPU driver for your win7. The thing is that nvidia enabled mobile OC since 185 driver series.

The second step is to download and install Nvidia System Tools 6.02 (here).

After that you'll be able to change clocks in nvidia control panel like that:

You can also try to mod BIOS, however, you didn't mention the brand and model of your lappy, as this method has different solutions for different models.

I tried both driver and BIOS OC, but driver OC is MUCH more preferable and safe.

must be the additional 256 of memory or perhaps win 7 wtf ??? :)

I think both, but wait, win7 is significantly more organized than vista, gives nothing but boost :)

[StewDent]

First of all you need to monitor your system temps with HWmonitor (or any other you already have)

Then, you need to go to the nvidia website and download the latest GPU driver for your win7. The thing is that nvidia enabled mobile OC since 185 driver series.

The second step is to download and install Nvidia System Tools 6.02 (here).

After that you'll be able to change clocks in nvidia control panel like that:

You can also try to mod BIOS, however, you didn't mention the brand and model of your lappy, as this method has different solutions for different models.

I tried both driver and BIOS OC, but driver OC is MUCH more preferable and safe.

I think both, but wait, win7 is significantly more organized than vista, gives nothing but boost :)

Damn, couldn't edit my post, use 6.03 instead. 6.05 has been around for a month, but it's reported to have some stability issues...

Edited July 30, 2009 by StewDent

[^nox]

Damn, couldn't edit my post, use 6.03 instead. 6.05 has been around for a month, but it's reported to have some stability issues...

My turn to test out win7 :) Hey Stewdent did your lappy came with win 7 ? Or did you just get it elswhere ?

Checked out your model it was win vista based :) I might give win 7 try i just dont like RTMs so much :P OH btw our laptops are almost identical, except you got 512 of dedicated memory on your GPU. Btw i strongly recommend geting another 2GB of Ram, it will give you bit more performance to play with "plus ram is soo cheap these days" :-)

Edited July 30, 2009 by ^nox

[StewDent]

Make sure you don't try RC, unfortunately it's a laggy one... And you need RTM 7600.16385 build Retail, that's actually a final win7 release build that will be publicly available in October (there might be some changes but that's improbably). + here is a technet blog in German but it has all checksums, so make sure you compare the SHA-1 numbers with an .iso file, and there won't be any worries about fakes and malwares in the build.

Just checked memory prices, they are really cheap, gonna get some 4 gigs :)

Edited July 31, 2009 by StewDent

[Bades]

My turn to test out win7 :) it will give you bit more performance to play with

Well it won't really. It will improve your ability to switch between programs easier and might improve load times. But as for actual ingame performance, the gains are minimal.

[^nox]

Well it won't really. It will improve your ability to switch between programs easier and might improve load times. But as for actual ingame performance, the gains are minimal.

I figured its not gonna be anything major, but hey any improvement is a good improvement for me. Its all about pushing my old machine to its limits :) Thanks for the reply anyway ! Now if hp could just make live easier and give us a software to control our fans :P

Make sure you don't try RC, unfortunately it's a laggy one... And you need RTM 7600.16385 build Retail, that's actually a final win7 release build that will be publicly available in October (there might be some changes but that's improbably). + here is a technet blog in German but it has all checksums, so make sure you compare the SHA-1 numbers with an .iso file, and there won't be any worries about fakes and malwares in the build.

Just checked memory prices, they are really cheap, gonna get some 4 gigs :)

Wicked, will give it a try and post some results later. Let me know how the memory upgrade works out for you :unsure:

[Guest joshuanut]

I have tried both of the tips as stated before. Im running widows7 64 bit a clean install. Io tied \\ntunes and it restarts in a continues circle. So that does not work both of the drivers on laptopto go website for windows 7 dont want to work with rivatunner is there something that I am doing wrong. I work at a computer store I know my stuff so why cant I overclock. Im using a 8600m GS with 512mb ddr2 ram my computer was a custom build from cyber power

[StewDent]

I have tried both of the tips as stated before. Im running widows7 64 bit a clean install. Io tied \\ntunes and it restarts in a continues circle. So that does not work both of the drivers on laptopto go website for windows 7 dont want to work with rivatunner is there something that I am doing wrong. I work at a computer store I know my stuff so why cant I overclock. Im using a 8600m GS with 512mb ddr2 ram my computer was a custom build from cyber power

Try Nvidia System Tools 6.03, not Ntune, these are different things. NST works perfectly for me.

[StewDent]

Here is my second try out for OC:

Pumped up shaders to 1600Mhz, increasing core over 650Mhz causes driver instabilities. Still get OK temp limits - 81C @ single 3Dmark06 run and 86-87 in games.

Edited July 31, 2009 by StewDent

[Equal1zer]

I have %72 shader overclocked, %50 core overclocked and %30 or something like that memory overclocked.. Im not on my lappy now but if you want i can send some screenshots..

[StewDent]

I have %72 shader overclocked, %50 core overclocked and %30 or something like that memory overclocked.. Im not on my lappy now but if you want i can send some screenshots..

I'm curious what temps do you get. :)

[^nox]

Here is my second try out for OC:

Pumped up shaders to 1600Mhz, increasing core over 650Mhz causes driver instabilities. Still get OK temp limits - 81C @ single 3Dmark06 run and 86-87 in games.

Hey StewDent, 1600 is freaking awesome at 86 - 87 degrees. First of all thanks for testing out diferent scheme for overclocking. second of all thats a hell of a result.

Few questions i o/c thourhg rivatuner, and my max shader clock i can go up to is only 1500 kidna strange not sure how come you were able to go up to 1600 perhaps nvidia software is more accurate ? At the moment im testing 650/1500/455 and it seems to be at a stable temp of maximum 89 degrees in Crysis. Ill post results later.

By the way few questions about win7. When you dowloaded the OS you put it on bootable DVD ? And install as usuall ? Does the HP recovery partition stay intact and can it be used to restore factory settings if i want to revert back to vista even thouhg i have win 7 runing ? One more thing do updates work in win 7 ? :) Thanks mate

I'm curious what temps do you get. :)

m2 is it a DDR2 card ? :P

[Equal1zer]

I have 85-90 degrees at 3dmark06 test but in games the temp is reaching too much so i removed the back panel of my lappy.. its so much better now and the temp doesnt reach even 80 degrees.. Here is a screenshot of my overclock and i didnt use the dox's performance driver.. it makes the textures look very bad. :)

if you want any other screenshots feel free to ask :)

sorry for my engish btw :P

[^nox]

I have 85-90 degrees at 3dmark06 test but in games the temp is reaching too much so i removed the back panel of my lappy.. its so much better now and the temp doesnt reach even 80 degrees.. Here is a screenshot of my overclock and i didnt use the dox's performance driver.. it makes the textures look very bad. :)

if you want any other screenshots feel free to ask :)

sorry for my engish btw :P

First of all your english is perfect ! Second of all thanks for the screens. Looks awesome reaching almost 4000 points, pretty sick. Just few questions, both you and Stewdent are able to push your shader clocks up to 1600mhz, are you able to do the same in rivatuner ? Cous i only get to push it up to 1500Mhz max :w00t: "Im thinking could be the old driver or maybe old rivatuner version". Next which back lid did you remove from your lappy that brought your temperature so low ? :unsure: Thanks for posting again, wicked results. Keep it up !

BTW: I just pushed my clocks again and reached score 3600, temp 86. In crysis stable around 87 - 88 degrees maximum i saw it to go up to was 90. I might have to clean my vents and maybe apply some thermal paste.