Question ASUS DUAL RTX 3060 undervolting help

[Afan Ajdari]

This is my GPU: https://www.asus.com/motherboards-components/graphics-cards/dual/dual-rtx3060-o12g-v2/techspec/
GPU Z stats: https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/attachments/1676484027293-png.283994/


Boost says 1837mhz here, but by default/stock settings without touching anything in MSI Afterburner, my card boosts to 1920mhz in Heaven Benchmark and while gaming. Now I want to undervolt the card abit, should I aim for 1920mhz or 1837mhz?

If I aim for 1920mhz am I overclocking the card?
I don't want to overclock the card at all, just want to maintain same clock with less power that's all

 

[Darkbreeze]

If you have not overclocked the card manually OR enabled any of the "OC or gaming" modes from a preset profile, and it is boosting to 1920mhz then that is the default clock boost frequency. If it is the default clock boost frequency, then that is what you want to keep it at.

What is the purpose of "undervolting" the card? WHY are you wanting to do this? Do you think for some reason that doing so will provide some advantage or extend the life of the card, when it is not even overclocked?

Since the specifications for that card SEEM to indicate that the default max boost is 1837 for "gaming mode" and 1867 for "OC" mode, I'd say that SOMETHING, whether you, or your tweak software, is overclocking the card and I'd be sure to disable any "OC" or "Gaming" profiles if you currently have one enabled, if you are concerned about it. If you are not seeing a thermal response at 1920mhz that takes it outside of the thermal specifications for that card then it's probably not a concern so long as you are not also seeing any instability, card related crashes or errors.

Undervolting might change that, so if you undervolt you definitely want to make sure the card is not in any "OC" or "Gaming" profile modes. Honestly, just running the card at whatever the default configuration is with the default voltage and various frequencies, is pretty much always the best option. Engineers far more knowledgeable than you or I have already determined those configuration settings to be stable and not harmful in the long term, so trying to outguess them is a good way to introduce problems that you probably wouldn't have otherwise. And obviously, that is an entirely different discussion from whether or not to manually overclock anything.

 

[CelicaGT]

I'm not sure I'd bother with an undervolt, but there might be some benefit. The 3060 is in an odd position, it's actually quite capable of much higher frequencies at relatively low voltage and therefor heat. It's also strange in that the memory is rated for a higher clockspeed than it is set to, AND it is slightly memory bandwidth constrained in some scenarios so bumping the memory clocks up has a tangible benefit. I have a lowly Asus 3060 Phoenix, which is a single fan dual slot little thing about half the size of the triple fan factory OC'd cards. In Afterburner I raised the power level to 110% (max for this card), raised the memory speed by 500Mhz (yes, not really MHz but for simplification we'll stick with it), and the Core clock is +151. I run about 2055 to 2070Mhz Boost clocks at 62C (20C ambient) and 1081mV. Fan is on the default profile, quiet and cool as a cucumber. With this set up I gain a solid 10% more performance in MSFS 2020.

I'll link a Jay's Two Cents vid here, he messes around with a 3060 quite extensively, I think he might play with some undervolting too, can't remember. Anyways, if you DO undervolt, aiming for 1920Mhz will be fine, it is not an overclock. The GPU does what it does with the voltage and limits available, where it ends up is half the fun of overclocking/undervolting.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n15BZqDG1NQ&t=326s

 

[Afan Ajdari]

If you have not overclocked the card manually OR enabled any of the "OC or gaming" modes from a preset profile, and it is boosting to 1920mhz then that is the default clock boost frequency. If it is the default clock boost frequency, then that is what you want to keep it at.

What is the purpose of "undervolting" the card? WHY are you wanting to do this? Do you think for some reason that doing so will provide some advantage or extend the life of the card, when it is not even overclocked?

Since the specifications for that card SEEM to indicate that the default max boost is 1837 for "gaming mode" and 1867 for "OC" mode, I'd say that SOMETHING, whether you, or your tweak software, is overclocking the card and I'd be sure to disable any "OC" or "Gaming" profiles if you currently have one enabled, if you are concerned about it. If you are not seeing a thermal response at 1920mhz that takes it outside of the thermal specifications for that card then it's probably not a concern so long as you are not also seeing any instability, card related crashes or errors.

Undervolting might change that, so if you undervolt you definitely want to make sure the card is not in any "OC" or "Gaming" profile modes. Honestly, just running the card at whatever the default configuration is with the default voltage and various frequencies, is pretty much always the best option. Engineers far more knowledgeable than you or I have already determined those configuration settings to be stable and not harmful in the long term, so trying to outguess them is a good way to introduce problems that you probably wouldn't have otherwise. And obviously, that is an entirely different discussion from whether or not to manually overclock anything.

Reason for the undervolt is because at stock settings (1920mhz), it consumes 165 to 170 watts, and temps reach 70-72 C and at this temp the clocks started dropping to 1870-1900mhz because of the high temp

With the current undervolt I have done at 850mv, 1837mhz (I set the max to this according to the official ASUS boost and the GPU Z screenshot above, without touching power limit or temp limit), consumes 110 to 120 watts and I reach 60-62 C max, so much better.

I want to keep the card cool at all times for the longevity of the card, I just bought this, the OC or GAMING mode I haven't touched anything, it came stock with 1920mhz boost.

Is there any way I can check if it's in OC mode or switch it off?

 

[Darkbreeze]

No, that is not a high temp and could not ever be the cause of throttling. The RTX 3060 doesn't even BEGIN to throttle until the GPU temperature reaches 93°C.

As far as the boost is concerned, as per the specifications on the page you linked to for your card, the OC boost maximum is 1867 and the Gaming boost maximum is 1837. If you are seeing boost speeds for the GPU up to 1920mhz then something else has changed the max boost clock or a manual OC has been configured. As far as I've ever known there is no other way for it to happen.

As far as controlling the various configuration settings, that can be done through whatever GPU tweak program you have installed. If you have ASUS GPUtweak II installed then those settings are available in that utility. It has options for enabling and disabling "Gaming booster", "Overclocking range enhancement" and "Professional mode" but there are also presets available in the Tweak II utility for OC mode, Gaming mode, Silent mode and custom modes which you can configure yourself which I believe are found under Profiles in Professional mode, but might be available regardless of mode. Not terribly familiar with ASUS GPU Tweak. Much more familiar with Afterburner, Precision X1, Trixx and

And just FYI, pretty much all of the tweak utilities work with any brand of card but for the most part. Afterburner for certain does, but I think future development has been put on hold as the dev that has worked on it stopped getting support from MSI due to regional and war related problems in Ukraine or something. Still a good choice though if you don't want to use GPU Tweak.

Manual for your card is here: https://dlcdnets.asus.com/pub/ASUS/vga/Manual/GPUTweak_20170426.pdf?model=DUAL-RTX3060-O12G-V2

I would seriously recommend NOT undervolting your card. You can cause just as many problems with not enough voltage as you can with too much and you are NOWHERE near the maximum safe temperature so there's absolutely no reason to undervolt. If power usage is your main concern, well, don't game. Gaming uses power, period. Gaming is a luxury and if you are not gaming at a level where you NEED the full capability of your card at times, then you bought the wrong card.