ATITool Quick Start Guide

A simple guide to beginning overclocking with ATITool.
by foreignkid

1. Warning
2. Settings and Preparation
3. Overclocking your GPU Core
4. Overclocking your Video Memory
5. Saving settings by using profiles
6. Copyright information

1. Warning

Warning: Overclocking can be harmful to your computer system's components, including such consequences as freezing, reboots, shortening of lifespan, and complete destruction. Please realize these risks before you begin using this software. Neither the author nor w1zzard/OCFAQ are responsible for any damage to your computer.

2. Settings and Preparation

Before you overclock using ATITool, adjusting some settings can help you attain a more stable overclock.

Temporal AA
First, turn off Temporal Anti-Aliasing if you have this turned on (when ATITool is run, it will give you a warning if this is on). This can be found by going to the display control panel, click on the settings tab, then the advanced button, and go to the 3D tab. With the Direct3D radio button selected and the Use Custom Settings check box checked, uncheck "Application Preference" and then "Temporal Anti-Aliasing" in the Anti-Aliasing section.

Artifact Scanning
If ATITool is going to be running unattended (this is not recommended), you may want to set ATITool to quit scanning once it has reached a stable clock. This can be done by clicking on the settings button in ATITool, selecting "Artifact Scanning" in the drop down box, checking the "Stop scanning for maximum clock," and then typing in a number of seconds in the box below. Setting this to a larger value gives a higher probability that the clock speeds that ATITool eventually sets your card to will be stable.

3. Overclocking your GPU Core

Your GPU (also called VPU) core is the "engine" that processes information into a presentable format that is displayed on your monitor. The faster its clock runs, the faster it works, and consequently you gain performance.

First, click on Find Max core. ATITool then begins scanning for artifacts, signs that your GPU may be running too hot or too fast. It slowly increases the frequency of your GPU while checking for errors,with occasional heat up breaks to make sure that your card is being stressed as much as possible so that any possible errors show up. Eventually ATITool will detect an artifact or two, and stop increasing the core speed. It will then lower the clock a few MHz before testing the final frequency that it decides is the highest stable frequency. This small decrease at the end is to make sure that the the final frequency that it settles on has no artifacts.

4. Overclocking your Video Memory

Your video memory is used to store information about the 3D scenes that your GPU is rendering, such as textures, and also affects your computer's performance in applications that use 3D graphics. Overclocking it can sometimes have a greater effect on performance.

Overclocking your video memory is just as easy as overclocking your GPU core, but is slightly more complicated. Since the errors detected by ATITool can be from either the core or memory, ATITool will give you an error when you try to overclock your memory while your core is set to a higher clock than its default. This is normal. To overclock your video memory, click on the "Find Max Mem" button. It will follow the same procedures as overclocking the GPU core, eventually settling on a certain memory clock.

5. Saving settings by using profiles

You can save your overclocked settings as a "profiles" that can be loaded at future times. To do this, create a new profile by clicking on the "New" button at the top of the ATITool window under profiles. This will save your GPU core clock and video ram clock settings along with many other settings as this new profile. If you wish to change the settings of a certain profile, you can click "Save" to save those settings to the profile selected in the drop down box. Clicking "Load" will load settings from a profile and set your clocks to the frequencies saved in that profile.

ATITool is capable of detecting when you launch an application that uses the 3D capabilities of your video card, and can load different profiles when entering and exiting 3D modes. To set which profiles are loaded in which mode, simply select them from the drop down box on the left side of the ATITool window. It is important to note that ATITool must be running to change profiles. Most people will find it most convenient to launch ATITool at system startup. This can be done by selecting the "Load on Windows Startup" option found in the "Miscellaneous" section of the settings window.

6. Copyright

This document is (c) 2004 Lee Baker. ATITool is (c) 2004 w1zzard. All rights reserved. 30 lashes if you copy any part of it. Keep hands and feet inside the car. Lee Baker and any affiliated or associated organizations are not responsible for any injuries or damages incurred directly or indirectly from using this document and/or program, included, but not limited to, typing mistakes, virii, loss of data, jail time, failing grades, injury, death, or worse, cafeteria food, or the common cold. Any unauthorized copying republication, or redistribution of this document, including by caching, framing, or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior consent of Lee Baker and/or the respective intellectual property rights holder identified in the respective items. Infringing upon the intellectual property rights of this program and associated documentation are in violation of Federal law, Pursuant to 17 United States Code 512(c)(2) (Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998).
Last edited 7/10/2004 by foreignkid.