GTX 970 TDP Concern

[miketen587]

Before I go any further my specs are as followed:

Mobo: P8Z77-V LX
CPU: i5 3570K @ 4.2 Ghz
GPU: EVGA GTX 970
PSU: Corsair CX 600
RAM: 8 gb 1600 Mhz
HDD 2x 7200 rpm WD Caviar Blue 500 gb
SSD 1: 120 GB Microcenter SSD
SSD 2: 120 GB Crucial M500

Now onto my issue...I'm having a real hard time keeping the Power Consumption of this card under the 110% at all times, during real world gaming.

My stable OC is at +175 core (1503 mhz max boost) and +230 Mem.

This overclock is completely stable both in benchmarks and in multiple games I've tested for a couple hours each. Dragon Age Inquisition and Titanfall among them. Temperature is fine, never going above 72 degrees. The issue is, every so often my Power Consumption will spike up into the 111-116% area every so often while gaming.

This is not an issue at all during benchmarks. In fact it never goes above even 106% in Heaven or Valley.

I've tried lowering my clocks to as low as +120 core and +200 mem, and Power Consumption still exceeds the 110% every so often.

I know the card throttles itself after 110%. My question is...just how bad this is for the card? Can I potentially cause damage to it by exceeding that 110% every so often? Or is throttling and a potential stutter every now and then as a result, the only thing I'm risking?

Of course, if anyone has ideas on how to eliminate this all together, I'm all ears. Otherwise, I'm planning on just keeping the OC as is. To be perfectly honest, its extremely rare I even notice the throttle considering I'm gaming with Vsync on, and even with the minor throttle every now and again, the chances of anything dropping below 60 FPS are slim.

Any insight / help is appreciated.

 

[Termie]

Anyone running a high-end Nvidia card released in the past two years will eventually encounter the wonders of the power limiter. There's basically no way to overclock any high-performance Nvidia card without hitting the limiter. Most cards will even hit the limiter at stock settings. And the reason you don't hit it in benchmarks is that Heaven and Valley are older engines than Dragon Age/Titanfall and probably aren't using as much of the card's processing capabilities.

In short, don't worry about it. You can't damage the card, and no matter what you do, it will hit the power limit in some situations.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Yeah when I set temp target to 91c and prioritize that, it will hit some limit and start throttling down to stay under the limit. Anandtech had this info in their initial 970 review on how the EVGA FTW model has a 145w hard limit I believe it was and depending on the benchmark/game in question it would lower the boost clock to some degree. At one point it would lower the clock to the low 1100s.

 

[miketen587]

Anyone running a high-end Nvidia card released in the past two years will eventually encounter the wonders of the power limiter. There's basically no way to overclock any high-performance Nvidia card without hitting the limiter. Most cards will even hit the limiter at stock settings. And the reason you don't hit it in benchmarks is that Heaven and Valley are older engines than Dragon Age/Titanfall and probably aren't using as much of the card's processing capabilities.

In short, don't worry about it. You can't damage the card, and no matter what you do, it will hit the power limit in some situations.

Understood. Thank you for the quick response.

 

[miketen587]

Yeah when I set temp target to 91c and prioritize that, it will hit some limit and start throttling down to stay under the limit. Anandtech had this info in their initial 970 review on how the EVGA FTW model has a 145w hard limit I believe it was and depending on the benchmark/game in question it would lower the boost clock to some degree. At one point it would lower the clock to the low 1100s.

So, if my card never even comes close to 91c, would it make more sense for me to prioritize that over Power Limit? Or am I still going to be facing throttling either way?

 

[cmdrdredd]

So, if my card never even comes close to 91c, would it make more sense for me to prioritize that over Power Limit? Or am I still going to be facing throttling either way?

It will throttle either way. You cannot control the TDP limit. Once it's reached the card will throttle. You can only control what happens before the TDP limit. I find temp target to throttle less but each card may vary.

 

[miketen587]

It will throttle either way. You cannot control the TDP limit. Once it's reached the card will throttle. You can only control what happens before the TDP limit. I find temp target to throttle less but each card may vary.

I'll have to give it a try and see what kind of results I get. Thanks.

 

[guskline]

miketen587: Your title lists a GTX970 but your computer specs list GTX670. Which video card is it?

In either case the software will throttle down the card to prevent damage.

What software are you using for the OC? EVGA Precision, MSI afterburner or another?

 

[miketen587]

miketen587: Your title lists a GTX970 but your computer specs list GTX670. Which video card is it?

In either case the software will throttle down the card to prevent damage.

What software are you using for the OC? EVGA Precision, MSI afterburner or another?

Its a 970. 670 is a typo, that was my old card.

I'm using precision X. I know WHY the software will throttle the card. I was just curious as to whether or not, throttling every so often would do any damage to the card eventually, and if there was any way to keep the consumption under 110% at all times while gaming...because I certainly haven't found one.

 

[ocre]

op,

Your card is working just like its supposed to.

you can try different things to keep your boost high but if your throttling because of TDP, the only solution is a bios hack. I hear this is possible these days but havent confirmed.,

Personally, i wouldnt worry about it