Overclocking nVidia cards using a CLI on a headless server without X

Question

How can this be done?  I've tinkered with nvclock a bit, but the utility makes my server crash.  If you're wondering, this is for the Folding@Home GPU client.
VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation GK104 [GeForce GTX 670] (rev a1)
VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation GF114 [GeForce GTX 460 v2] (rev a1)
Also, I've heard that video cards can be overclocked by flashing them with a custom BIOS.  Is this a better way to do this?  What advantages does this entail?

Answer 1

AnAkkk wrote:It's not developed by Canonical. The Ubuntu package just has some scripts that does the exact same thing which is described on the ArchLinux wiki.
I have a laptop (Dell 17R SE / 7720) with which I was not able to get the NVIDIA GPU working under Arch with any solution available (even Bumblebee is a pain in the thorax). The only way the laptop is usable under Arch is by not installing the NVIDIA driver and using only Intel graphics (which is no good for gaming).
However, under Ubuntu the nvidia-prime somehow does its magic and NVIDIA just works out of the box. So it certainly does something that we are not aware of.
I also tried making the nvidia-prime working under Arch (to no avail), tried copying Xorg configs from Ubuntu, tried every possible thing, with the same result of X refusing to start.
I wish someone with capacity to understand the innerworkings of whatever's going on in Ubuntu can replicate the solution for Arch, and save the few of us with badly designed muxless Optimus laptops.