Undervolting GTX280 - The Way To Be Cool!

[Xion X2]

I know about 10 people in the hardwareluxx forum who flashed the bios like me without ANY problem. Not a single card broke or something.

And how many of these individuals (including yourself) are playing something that actually pushes the card to its limits?

And I'm not talking about 3DMark06...

[Dreamingawake]

What do i risk? Its only a video card, not a car. And no, a beginner dont even know that you can mod a bios. :D

Btw, its silly to buy a GTX280 if you only have a E6300 @ 1.9GHz. So you throw out the money for a card that is not faster than a 8800GT cause of your crappy cpu.

lol.. at least you're good for a laugh, seriously that post made me smile.. :)

do you seriously think i'd take something like that personally ? "your crappy cpu" LOL

it's guys like you who always give IT guys a bad name, -think you know all
your stuff so well, and not an ounce of humility.

im happy you think my cpu is crappy, really, it doesn't phase me at all.

i hope you work out your anger issues for your own sake :)

ever heard the saying don't count your chickens before they hatch?

[Rummy]

lol.. at least you're good for a laugh, seriously that post made me smile.. :)

do you seriously think i'd take something like that personally ? "your crappy cpu" LOL

it's guys like you who always give IT guys a bad name, -think you know all
your stuff so well, and not an ounce of humility.

im happy you think my cpu is crappy, really, it doesn't phase me at all.

i hope you work out your anger issues for your own sake :)

ever heard the saying don't count your chickens before they hatch?


i think your cpu is dreamy:D

[ekotan]

Really bad idea to undervolt any electronic component below manufacturer's specs, they are set that way for a reason - to provide a tolerance buffer.

Try ripping out the fan and heatsink and watercooling it instead, if the fan noise is bothering you. Dangerden is now selling water blocks designed for the GTX 280.

[sniggle]

Does anyone here have any actual technical explanation as to why undervolting can destroy a GPU? Undervolting has been used for CPUs for ages now with no issue at all. The only risk I can see here is flashing a BIOS from an unreliable floppy. I'd do it with a USB key instead.

They take a bunch of GPUs, find out the minimum possible voltage that they will all run the most stable at and make it the standard. There's no reason why some of these GPUs can't be better than others and run properly at a lower voltage. Since the 280 is the highest end card, there's no higher binning process. That means plenty of the chips can safely run at a lower voltage, but there will be a few bad apples that won't.

Hold the FUD please...

[nIghtorius]

the GPU draws power (Watts). Power = volts * amps.
and one thing is for sure.. you do not want a lot of amps thru those small copper lines on the PCB..

take the following formula (law of ohm)

U = I * R

P = U * I ( <-- here you have it. lowering voltage (U) will increase amps (I) on the same load (P) )

P = ( I * R ) * I
P = I² * R ( also this a dangerous factor. as it is mentioned to reduce heat. therefore lower resistance (R) the higher the amps (I) will be )

does this make sense ?

[Tomsen78]

This make sense, but i calculated it and theres the same amps (I) on the PCB, cause the Watts (P) dropping also the voltage (U) so it doesnt matter. I know that lots of magazines recommend the undervolting from CPU/GPUs, to save power and reduce heat, but its always a risk, but changing the cooler is a risk too, a higher risk. I dont know one in our hardware oc forum who crashed his card from flashing the bios to a lower voltage, but i know some, who crashed a card cause of changing the cooler.

P = U * I


GPU voltage
I = P / U

Original:I = ~220w(load) / 1.18v (bios) = ~186A
Mod: I = ~170w(load) / 1.03v (bios) = ~165A

R = P / I²

Original: R = 220w / 34760A = 0,006329ohm
Mod: R = 170w / 27241A = 0,006240ohm

PSU
I = P / U

Original:I = ~220w(load) / 12v (psu) = ~18A
Mod: I = ~170w(load) / 12v (psu) = ~14A

R = P / I²

Original: R = 220w / 336A = 0,65ohm
Mod: R = 170w / 201A = 0,85ohm

only here we have a higher resistance. But I think you cant take the 12v of the PSU. We lower the voltage on the GPU and now we have less A

I know from many people that the real voltage is a bit higher than 1.18v (~1.23v). So the Amps should be the very similar. There is no risk to lower the voltage. I dont know one single person on earth who crashed his GPU/CPU with a lower voltage. But i want to know if you can find one! ;)

So to lower the voltage is not bad for the GPU/PCB, its a bit BETTER for the live of the card, cause of the less heat, every hardware expert know that. The transistor need the correct voltage to work, the voltage thats choosen from the manifacturer is always higher.

So thats why i can playing games at 692/1417/1214 with only 1.06v, cause the manufacturers choose a high original voltage which i dont need. So i dont need a new cooler to get the GPU cooler or to get it quit.

Fact is: you are loosing the guarantee (i could afford a new one if i want)

Fact is: you can reduce heat, save money, less stress for your ears and a longer life of your card (thats what i want)

If the card will cost about 200$ in 1 year, you would probably change your mind.

[BCKator]

Its the new EVGA FUV!






f-ing under volted

[chickenman]

This came up when I was looking for approximate power draw for my old GTX 280 which is crunching GPU grid (don't have a kill a watt meter).

My card has been undervolted at stock clocks since I purchased it on release, firstly through an alternate bios and nowadays with evga precision.

All the negativity here was unfounded and sensationalist.

Thread necro - ftw.

[Blakhart]

More importantly, did a windows bios flasher ute for nvid cards ever come along? I hate having to install a floppy to boot into 98 just to flash a freaking vid card.

[musman]

When my 285 starts to run hot I take the card out and blow all the dust out of it. Works every time. And I use custom fan settings. I have no issues at all with the card running hot.