How to Setup Rivatuner Statistics Server for Nvidia Graphics Cards
Often, we want to get more out of our Nvidia graphics cards than what the manufacturer allows. Luckily, there are a few programs that can help us do this. Rivatuner Statistics Server is one such program that can be used to increase performance and unlock features on Nvidia graphics cards.
This software can help you tweak your settings for the best performance and gaming experience. Using Rivatuner Statistics Server can help you get even more out of your Graphic card.
Are you curious about how to get the most out of your Nvidia graphics card? If so, you’ll want to take a look at Rivatuner Statistics Server. In this article, we will show you how to install and set up Rivatuner Statistics Server for your Nvidia graphics card. Let’s get started!
What is Rivatuner Statistics Server?
As the name implies, Rivatuner Statistics Server is software that collects and analyzes information from your Nvidia graphics card. It allows you to view this information – such as clock speeds, temperatures, voltages, etc. You can then use this data to further fine-tune your graphic card settings.
When you install and run Rivatuner Statistics Server on your Nvidia graphics cards computer, it will automatically recognize the hardware and start collecting data about the current state of your Graphic Card (GPU).
Nvidia statistics server (NVSS) is a part of the official Nvidia drivers which provides an API for advanced NV-CONTROL functionality as well as online access to monitoring. The driver can be downloaded from this page: http://www.nvidia.com/object/unix.html
To get the most out of Rivatuner Statistics Server, you’ll need to calibrate it to your Nvidia graphics card. You will want to do this for each individual game that you play so that the data collected is reflective of how well your Graphics Card performs in that specific game. If the calibration is not done correctly, performance could be negatively affected.
How to install Rivatuner Statistics Server
To get started, download RivaTuner from here: Rivatuner.net. Save the downloaded file and run it. If you get a User Account Control window asking ‘if you want to run this file?’, click Run.
Click on I Agree, install RivaTuner Statistics Server on your system, and then click Next >
Click Finish when installation is complete. You can uninstall RivaTuner Statistics Server just like any other software in Windows using the Add/Remove Programs option in Control Panel.
How to configure Rivatuner Statistics Server to get the most out of your Nvidia graphics card
After installing RivaTuner Statistics Server, you’ll need to configure it for your particular Nvidia hardware setup (GPU and CPU). To do this:
Open Rivatuner by searching for it in the Start Menu or clicking on it in your Programs list.
Click on the Show OSD tab and then click on Nvidia GPU to expand the section. Your video card should be listed by name under detected GPUs:
If you want to change any of this information, such as the clock speeds used for monitoring and/or overclocking, launch NVIDIA NV-CONTROL. You can close Rivatuner Statistics Server at this point. This will not affect how well Rivatuner Statistics Server works with your system.
Note, RivaTuner Statistics Server must remain open while playing games otherwise data collection will stop until it is reopened.
How to use Rivatuner Statistics Server
Now that you’ve configured Rivatuner Statistics Server, let’s take a look at how you can use it.
First, let’s look at the OSD window. You’ll want to have this open whenever you are playing games or benchmarking. The OSD window shows current information about your Nvidia graphics card(s). It is divided into four sections: – GPU Monitoring Section – This section shows general monitoring information for each of your GPUs – GPUS Raw Data Section – Here, data is displayed in raw form.
This also has two sub-sections that display individual graphs for each GPU being monitored – Render Resolution Section – This section displays your current render resolution and scaling method (if set to override) and allows you to change both if needed
Note: If you have SLI/Multi-GPU setups, you will need to click on GPU 0 (which says N/A for the data in the image above) to see data for each card individually.
If you want to change any of this information with regard to your GPUs, such as the clock speeds used for monitoring and/or overclocking, open NVIDIA NV-CONTROL by clicking on the Open NV-CONTROL icon in Rivatuner Statistics Server.
You can close Rivatuner Statistics Server at this point when you’ve completed your changes. It will continue to work just fine when minimized or closed if you’ve changed anything.
How to configure Rivatuner Statistics Server for Nvidia graphics cards
Before you start tweaking the overclocking settings for your Nvidia graphics card, you need to configure Rivatuner Statistics Server to think that your computer is an “Nvidia reference” system. This is important because Rivatuner Statistics Server is designed to work with Nvidia graphics cards so it will “lie” about your hardware to avoid any issues when overclocking. Here’s how:
You’ll need to do this before you can tweak overclocking settings for your Nvidia graphics card using Rivatuner Statistics Server. Note that just because you’ve configured Rivatuner Statistics Server to think that your computer is an Nvidia reference system, it doesn’t mean that the overclock settings will actually work – they just won’t cause problems.
1. Open System Profiler and Benchmark (SPB) from the Start Menu on Windows by searching for it in the Search box or clicking on it in your Programs list.
2. Click on the System Profiler tab and then click on the Graphics card report button (red). You’ll get a popup box like this:
3. Click on the Update Driver button to make sure you are using the latest Nvidia graphics drivers for your particular hardware configuration (for example, if you have an SLI setup, you’ll need to click on Update driver for each of your graphics cards).
4. Click on the Save button to create a regular text file that contains all of the relevant system information required by the Rivatuner Statistics Server. This is important!
5. For Windows Vista/7/8 users only, you also need to click on the ‘Advanced Tools’ tab and tick the ‘Force ACPI 1.0 compliance’, then click Apply and OK to save your changes:
6. Click the blue arrow in SPB to start collecting data, then wait for it to finish (this shouldn’t take long). Once finished, view the overall values at the bottom of this window to make sure they are accurate.
7. After checking the overall values, click on each value for your graphics card and GPU to view them in more detail (if needed). Note that some entries may not be present if you’re using an older graphics card or driver version:
8. Once you’re done reviewing all of the system information gathered by SPB, close it (don’t save any changes). You can then minimize Rivatuner Statistics Server since it is no longer needed.
How to use Rivatuner Statistics Server to overclock Nvidia graphics cards
For this section, we’ll assume you’ve already configured RivaTuner Statistics Server as described above so it thinks your computer hardware configuration is like an Nvidia reference system.
1. Run RivaTuner Statistics Server. It will start minimized to the Windows Taskbar since it’s configured to do that by default (in #3). You can then right-click on its icon in the Taskbar and select ‘Properties’. Here you can set some options, including changing the program window size for when it is restored after being minimized:
2. Open Radeon Overclock or Nvidia Control Panel depending on which graphics card you have installed in your computer. Note that this guide primarily focuses on Nvidia graphics cards so most of the screenshots show this but AMD users can still follow along using similar techniques.
3a. Right-click anywhere on your desktop and click NVIDIA System Settings if you’re using an NVidia graphics card. If you’re using an AMD graphics card, right-click on the desktop and click Catalyst Control Center.
3b. In the pop-up menu that appears, select your Nvidia or AMD graphics card then click on the ‘Change’ button next to it.
3c. Enter a new value for the ‘GPU clock’ setting that is higher than the default value. You can use the sliders or manually enter a new value in the text box that appears, then click Apply to save your changes.
4a. If invoked directly from RivaTuner Statistics Server, it will show you which graphics card was detected and how much it has been overclocked. You can then click on the green arrow icon to apply your new overclock values immediately or click on the red X icon to undo them.
4b. If you used Radeon Overclock, click on the Settings button, select Advanced Mode, and set PowerTune Limit (%) using similar steps as above for Nvidia graphics cards. The only difference is that you can use negative values for PowerTune Limit to further reduce the default overclocked values for AMD graphics cards.
5. If invoked directly from RivaTuner Statistics Server, it will show you your new overclock settings and allow you to click on the green arrow icon to apply them or click on the red X icon to cancel. If you entered a new GPU core clockspeed by editing the text box manually, click on the green arrow icon to apply this setting or click on the red X icon to revert back to your default core clockspeed.
6a. Click on the blue Apply button in SPB then wait for it to finish gathering data (don’t close it though). Once the data is finished gathering, view the overall values at the bottom of this window to make sure they are accurate.
6b. You can then click on an individual value for your graphics card and GPU to view them in more detail (if needed). Note that some entries may not be present if you’re using an older graphics card or driver version.
7. Once you’re done reviewing all of the system information gathered by SPB, close it (don’t save any changes). You can then minimize RivaTuner Statistics Server since it is no longer needed.
Tips and tricks for using Rivatuner Statistics Server to Overclock your Nvidia graphics cards
For this section, we’ll assume you’ve already configured RivaTuner Statistics Server as described above so it thinks your computer hardware configuration is like an Nvidia reference system.
1. Be sure to have a backup of all the original drivers and GeForce Experience/Radeon Crimson configurations for your graphics card(s) before overclocking them since they will be replaced by RivaTuner Statistics Server afterward.
2. Minimize RivaTuner Statistics Server since it is no longer needed. Note that you don’t have to close it, just minimize to the Taskbar so that it is out of your way while you test various overclocking options.
3. Startup GeForce Experience/Radeon Crimson, open the settings menu and select your Nvidia or AMD graphics card. Note that if you don’t see this option, GeForce Experience/Radeon Crimson is not correctly configured to use your graphics card yet so you need to go back to step 1.
4a. If invoked directly from GeForce Experience/Radeon Crimson, it will show you which graphics card was detected and how much it has been overclocked. You can then click on the green arrow icon to apply your new overclock values immediately or click on the red X icon to undo them.
4b. If you used Radeon Overclock, click on the Settings button, select Advanced Mode, and set PowerTune Limit (%) using similar steps as above for Nvidia graphics cards. The only difference is that you can use negative values for PowerTune Limit to further reduce the default overclocked values for AMD graphics cards.
5. If invoked directly from GeForce Experience/Radeon Crimson, it will show you your new overclock settings and allow you to click on the green arrow icon to apply them or click on the red X icon to cancel. If you entered a new GPU core clockspeed by editing the text box manually, click on the green arrow icon to apply this setting or click on the red X icon to revert back to your default core clock speed.
6a. Click on the blue Apply button in GeForce Experience/Radeon Crimson then wait for it to finish gathering data (don’t close it though). Once the data is finished gathering, view the overall values at the bottom of this window to make sure they are accurate.
6b. You can then click on an individual value for your graphics card and GPU to view them in more detail (if needed). Note that some entries may not be present if you’re using an older graphics card or driver version:
7. Once done reviewing all of the Nvidia/AMD system information gathered by GeForce Experience/Radeon Crimson, close it (don’t save any changes). You can then minimize GeForce Experience/Radeon Crimson since it is no longer needed.
Troubleshooting tips for Rivatuner Statistics Server
Rivatuner Statistics Server may get unresponsive or start lagging if the graphics card(s) you’re testing gets/get too hot. If your graphics card fan speed doesn’t change when you increase its clock speeds, it is a clear indication that your GPU is about to fail in a matter of minutes due to excessive heat. In this case, lower the graphics card clock speeds first before setting them to their default values since you don’t want your GPU to die prematurely.
Another way of testing the stability of overclocked graphics cards is by running them in a loop at 100% load for 5-10 minutes. If the system doesn’t reboot automatically due to overheating, it’s a clear indication of stability.
If the system does reboot though, it doesn’t mean that your overclocking solution is unstable but you need to lower its clock speeds a little bit and try again until the system remains stable under full load for 5-10 minutes consecutively. After you found the highest GPU core clock speed it can sustain without rebooting the system, you can then test its stability by running it at 100% load for 1 hour and see if the system hangs or not.
If it doesn’t hang up after 1 hour, raise the GPU core voltage a little bit and repeat the 5-10 minutes and 1-hour tests until either your graphics card overheats or crashes due to excessive voltage.
If your graphics card has memory chips on both sides of the PCB, try testing its stability for 1 hour by running it at 100% load in a loop since this will put more stress on the memory controller. If you use custom BIOSes with higher default core clock speeds than Nvidia’s or AMD’s reference models, make sure to test your graphics card stability in a similar manner since you’re using software that is not officially supported.
If your computer crashes or hangs, restore default clock speeds and voltages then try overclocking again to see if the problem was caused by an overclock setting.
If your computer successfully completes 5-10 minutes and 1-hour stress tests at maximum overclocking settings, you can then use Rivatuner Statistics Server to stress test your graphics card in a loop at 100% load for 4-8 hours to see how well it fares. The longer the time that your graphics card can sustain full load without crashing or hanging, the higher chance that your overclocking solution is stable.
Frequently Asked Questions about Rivatuner Statistic Server
Q. Why does Rivatuner Statistics Server keep crashing on startup?
A. There are three possible reasons why this is happening: 1. Windows protected your graphics card against overclocking by locking its voltage, clock speed, and/or memory speed, which means you won’t be able to overclock it any further on the software side. In this case, use MSI Afterburner instead to overclock your graphics card. 2. Rivatuner Statistics Server is incompatible with your graphics card and/or operating system. 3. Your Nvidia or AMD graphics driver was not properly configured which prevents the software from using its services correctly.
Q. Why does my graphics card report lower clockspeed values than their stock ones?
A. This is normal behavior since the software was programmed to use only the highest stable overclocking settings, which means that if your overclock is unstable it will show you lower clock speeds on Rivatuner Statistics Server compared to MSI Afterburner or any other overclocking software.
This is what you should expect when overclocking your graphics card using Rivatuner Statistics Server since the software does not report real-time clock speeds but uses a proprietary algorithm to determine whether or not an overclock setting is stable enough.
Q. Why are GPU core voltage, memory speed and/or clockspeed values missing in MSI Afterburner, GPU-Z and/or third party software?
A. Rivatuner Statistics Server forcibly disables these values on some graphics cards due to compatibility reasons so they do not cause problems with MSI Afterburner and other overclocking software which also monitor those values. This is a limitation of the Rivatuner Statistics Server’s compatibility mode.
Q. When I press the stop button in Rivatuner Statistics Server, why does it still run in the background?
A. This is normal behavior since stopping Rivatuner Statistics Server on some computers can be very tricky due to driver/software compatibility issues and because there are no well-defined methods for terminating a running process. If you’re having trouble stopping this process, go to Windows Task Manager and kill the rivatunsrv.exe process .
Q. Why does Rivatuner Statistics Server not support my graphics card?
A. Check the official website of your graphics card manufacturer (Nvidia or AMD) for a list of supported products. Some graphics cards like the GeForce GTX 690 and Radeon HD 7990 come with two GPUs on a single PCB (graphics card) which makes them compatible only with Rivatuner Statistics Server for SLI / CrossFire configurations.
Q. Why is there no voltage control support for my graphics card?
A. This is normal behavior since voltage control (overvolting) is not officially supported by most overclocking tools for Nvidia and AMD graphics cards, including Rivatuner Statistics Server.
Q. Why are there no screenshot, video recording or benchmark features available in my system configuration?
A. This is normal behavior since the software is meant to be used as an overclocking utility only.
Q. Why does Rivatuner Statistics Server cause random crashes, freezes or hangs?
A. This is normal behavior since the software was programmed to use only the highest stable overclocking settings, which means that if your overclock is unstable it will show you lower clock speeds on Rivatuner Statistics Server compared to MSI Afterburner or any other overclocking software.
This is what you should expect when overclocking your graphics card using Rivatuner Statistics Server since the software does not report real-time clock speeds but uses a proprietary algorithm to determine whether or not an overclock setting is stable enough.