Aqua Computer aquagraFX Water Block for GeForce GTX 480 Video Cards

Overclocking Performance

First we will start off with a dead stock EVGA GeForce GTX 480 video card and put it through the paces to see how it does stock and how far we can push this particular card, as all will act differently. Once that is done we will repeat with the Danger Den DD-GTX480 installed. In its stock configuration the GTX480 has a core clock of 701MHz, Memory 924MHz, and Shaders at 1401MHz. Since not too many enthusiasts leave things stock anymore, let’s overclock the card.

To do this we need to install EVGAs Precision graphics tuning tool. You can get it from EVGAs website. To make changes it’s just as simple as moving the slider, hitting apply, and testing.

EVGA also just recently released a new version of E-LEET that allows for voltage adjustment to the card. So we will be using that as well; it, too, can be found on EVGAs website.

I first wanted to see how far I could push the card with the stock cooler. By adjusting only the Core, Memory, and forcing fan speed to 100% I was able to get the card to 830MHz.

Once I had the water block installed I was able to push the card harder, reaching 900MHz on the core and 1100MHz on the memory. To do this I also had to bump the voltage from 1.000v to 1.1125v, but the extra power allowed it to be stable and run perfectly. Let’s see how the card performs!