9700 Pro stock overclocking

[JR]

I have an OEM 9700 Pro sent as a replacement for one which was defective
from ATI Canada and I was amazed at the fact this this thing can do 380/720
with stock cooling, sheesh =8-D Is this as good as it gets? I'm curious on
what it could do with better cooling, e.g. aftermarket heatsink/fan, water
etc.

JR

 

[Skid]

A good cooler might get you to 400 or better on the core, but there are no
guarantees and the difference isn't major. Memory speed is the biggest
limitation on performance these days.

In my experience, ramsinks won't really get you any higher, but they can
help stabilize ram that is overclocked to the max, especially when you help
the ventilation by aiming a fan at them. In other words, you could hold your
maximum overclock longer before seeing artifacts or getting kicked back to
the desktop.

Bottom line on both, IMHO, is that you can spend a fair amount of money for
very little gain. But it is fun experimenting ;>)