The Nvidia GeForce 7600 GS was released in 2006. Compared to similar models released several years later, the 7600 GS lacks power. For example, the 7600 GS had a max processor speed of 560 Mhz, whereas Nvidia's 2010 model GeForce GTX 480 has a maximum processor speed of 700 Mhz. A side-by-side comparison shows that the GeForce 7600 GS may lack some of the capability of later processors. For this reason it may be desirable to overclock the graphics card, a process in which the user forces the graphics card to perform at a higher speed than it would under normal operations.
Instructions
1. Download Riva Tools from the link in the resources section. Open the installation file and follow the on-screen prompts to install Riva Tools on your computer.
2. Open Riva Tools and select "system settings." Locate this option by clicking on an arrow under "driver settings" and selecting system settings from the menu that appears.
3. A dialog box will open that contains a set of slider bars that allow the user to adjust three settings: shader frequency, core frequency, and memory clock. The shader and core frequencies are both adjustments of the graphics processor.
4. Begin overclocking the graphics card by moving up the sliders under the core and shader frequency options. This will increase the speed of the processor. For users without advanced knowledge of the processor operation of Nvidia cards, it is best to keep these frequencies close to equal.
5. Test the new settings by opening a graphics-intensive program. There are two indications the graphics card has been overclocked beyond its capacity: a graphics intensive program crashes, or the graphics on such a program are unable to render properly. If the new settings do not cause a crash or poor graphics, it may be possible to overclock the processor more by increasing the settings further. When a graphics-intensive program fails the test, gradually decrease the settings until you find the appropriate maximum overclock setting.
6. Repeat these same steps with the "memory clock" slider. Move the slider up and test. The testing procedure is the same: open a graphics intensive program and pay attention for crashes or poorly-rendered graphics. There is more leeway with the memory overclock settings.
Tags: graphics card, Riva Tools, GeForce 7600, graphics intensive, graphics intensive program, graphics-intensive program, intensive program