Downclocking GPU for powersaving

BikerEcho

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Hi there my fellow geeks.
Does anyone of you guys know if downclocking the GPU makes the computer use less power on "idle". (while NOT playing games)
 
If its a series 600 nVidia card, e.g. GTX 680, it downclocks and downvolts itself. Older generations have a fixed voltage.
Haven't used an AMD vidcard in years so can't answer for them.
 
If I'm not mistaken, the GPU should downclock itself when it is idle.

yes that is exactly what i am thinking, but is it downclocking itself even more when manually downclocked. that's what i don't know.
I know if you are downclocking the Base Clock on the CPU it will powersafe on load as well as on idle.
that's another question btw. does a sandy/ivy bridge CPU powersafe on idle if downclocked.
you only overclock/downclock the multiplier on those CPU's. you set what multiplier it can use at maximum. tricky questions, am i right?


If its a series 600 nVidia card, e.g. GTX 680, it downclocks and downvolts itself. Older generations have a fixed voltage.
Haven't used an AMD vidcard in years so can't answer for them.

i didn't know that.
you can downclock without using the volt meter in your overclocking utility.
overclocking without the volt meter will still make that card use more Watt in games, but would it also use more Watt when not gaming.
 
yes that is exactly what i am thinking, but is it downclocking itself even more when manually downclocked. that's what i don't know.

Don't you mean "but is it downvolting itself even more" rather than "but is it downclocking itself even more"? Don't no for sure, but this question is interesting. I'll find out tonight, if I have time, and let you know. The lowest voltage I've seen my 680 run at, with no downclocking, is about .88V.

I know if you are downclocking the Base Clock on the CPU it will powersafe on load as well as on idle.
that's another question btw. does a sandy/ivy bridge CPU powersafe on idle if downclocked.
you only overclock/downclock the multiplier on those CPU's. you set what multiplier it can use at maximum. tricky questions, am i right?

No fair changing to CPUs from GPUs in the same post :D :lol:
With both the BIOS and CPU voltage management going on with the newer gen mobo's and CPUs its hard to tell. I do know that my SB-E 3930K, according to Intel's voltage fact sheet, can run on from .5 to 1.52V. Lowest I've seen it run, with no downclocking, is about .86V. You'll have to investigate this one yourself because each mobo BIOS will certainly handle things a bit differently.

P.S. No Gamer in their right mind would EVER DOWNCLOCK a GPU! What's wrong with you EchoNatek :D:lol:
 
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i did mean downclock, but i can see downvolt is more correct.
glad you find it interesting. ^^

yeah the CPU question just crossed my mind. so i threw it in there as well, because it was a very similar question. ^^
sure different motherboards handles volt differently.
 
Didn't get around to testing last night -- St Louis Cardinals baseball! Won't again tonight -- game 4.
 
Actually Wizzer, I can't agree with the statement that previous generations before the 600 series had fixed voltages.

To prove my point I took a single GTX 580 card, and set it for plain vanilla stock operation. If I let it idle long enough, the voltage will drop to 890mv @ 50MHz. Normally the quick drop after a few seconds of no activity is 963mv @ 50MHz. At it's full rated Core clock of 797MHz, the voltage goes up to 1075mv as you can see in the attached screen shots. If I have the card over clocked to 920MHz, the voltage will go up to 1150mv, and then back down to 890mv @ 50MHz.

Unless I'm missing something, it appears that the same protocol is in place for the 500 series cards as well. I should point out however, that this only works in this fashion when the Nvidia Control Panel settings for the driver is set to "Adaptive". If I set it to "High Performance", the cards will stay at 797MHz and 1075mv all the time.

Therefore, I have concluded that this is a function of the driver settings and not your fancy, faster then mine, 680 cards! :lol:

:dance:
 

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Actually Wizzer, I can't agree with the statement that previous generations before the 600 series had fixed voltages.

To prove my point I took a single GTX 580 card, and set it for plain vanilla stock operation. If I let it idle long enough, the voltage will drop to 890mv @ 50MHz. Normally the quick drop after a few seconds of no activity is 963mv @ 50MHz. At it's full rated Core clock of 797MHz, the voltage goes up to 1075mv as you can see in the attached screen shots. If I have the card over clocked to 920MHz, the voltage will go up to 1150mv, and then back down to 890mv @ 50MHz.

Unless I'm missing something, it appears that the same protocol is in place for the 500 series cards as well. I should point out however, that this only works in this fashion when the Nvidia Control Panel settings for the driver is set to "Adaptive". If I set it to "High Performance", the cards will stay at 797MHz and 1075mv all the time.

Therefore, I have concluded that this is a function of the driver settings and not your fancy, faster then mine, 680 cards! :lol:

:dance:
Ah, yes, I completely ignored the 500 series cards of which I've never had -- my mistake. I was thinking of my old 480s, geez :eek:
 
OK, finally got some time to try downclock testing. Basically, didn't reduce voltage on my 680s:
 

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