Question Auto undervolting, silent bios mode or both to have more energy efficiency (without damaging the card)?

[Phil_33]

In a week, I'll buy a sapphire pulse 7700xt.
But I don't like it when my system uses too much power. Electricity is expensive where I live so I need to be carefull.
This is where undervolting/silent bios mode comes in.
However, eventhough, there are guides, I don't thrust myself enough with them. Cause I have half a clue of what I'm doing. So thats why I choose to auto undervolt, which is kind off the easy way.
Is silent bios mode going to be a better option?
Can I stack both? Is it good or bad?
Which way is the best way for energy efficiency while staying cool and quiet?

 

[Ralston18]

Full system specs?

PSU - make, model, wattage, age?

This:

"But I don't like it when my system uses too much power."

Agree: however, you need to think about how much is "too much" and put that value into perspective using some sort of measurement to quantify "too much".

Electricity is usually billed by KWH (Kilowatt Hour) and it is generally very straightforward to determine the overall electrical use by any given customer location. (The electrical bill.) And there are tools that customers can used to determine the power use of individual appliances, tools, and lighting.

Very unlikely that undervolting will save much power - especially within the context of your overall residence's electrical use.

This GPU?

https://www.sapphiretech.com/en/consumer/pulse-radeon-rx-7700-xt-12g-gddr6#Specification

Power Consumption is listed as "230W Total Board Power". What that actually entails and truly means is probably buried in fine print somewhere. End result being that that really means the wattage was determined under ideal circumstances and testing criteria. Not real world in some ways.....

Focus on configuring a stable, smooth running system. Set aside the power concerns for the time being.

Figure out how much power your build is actually using and go from there. Ensure that the PSU can provide the necessary wattage with room for sudden peak power demands.

If necessary, then look for ways to offset some possible increase in the electric bill. All you may need to do is to be sure to turn off a few other lights and appliances when not in use.

 

[Phil_33]

Full system specs?

PSU - make, model, wattage, age?

This:

"But I don't like it when my system uses too much power."

Agree: however, you need to think about how much is "too much" and put that value into perspective using some sort of measurement to quantify "too much".

Electricity is usually billed by KWH (Kilowatt Hour) and it is generally very straightforward to determine the overall electrical use by any given customer location. (The electrical bill.) And there are tools that customers can used to determine the power use of individual appliances, tools, and lighting.

Very unlikely that undervolting will save much power - especially within the context of your overall residence's electrical use.

This GPU?

https://www.sapphiretech.com/en/consumer/pulse-radeon-rx-7700-xt-12g-gddr6#Specification

Power Consumption is listed as "230W Total Board Power". What that actually entails and truly means is probably buried in fine print somewhere. End result being that that really means the wattage was determined under ideal circumstances and testing criteria. Not real world in some ways.....

Focus on configuring a stable, smooth running system. Set aside the power concerns for the time being.

Figure out how much power your build is actually using and go from there. Ensure that the PSU can provide the necessary wattage with room for sudden peak power demands.

If necessary, then look for ways to offset some possible increase in the electric bill. All you may need to do is to be sure to turn off a few other lights and appliances when not in use.

Thought about enlisting the systems specs but the original question is: what is best in general when push comes to shove. And I didn't see much off a point at first.
Full system specs:
-R5 7600 non x (no pbo), msi tomahawk b650 wifi, corsair vengeance ddr5 6000mhz cl30 32gb, kingston kc3000 1tb
-for the moment, a bad xfx rx590 gpu that makes tons of noises due to fancurve (else it goes to 90 degrees)
-1080p144hz1ms 24 inch display from lg (labeled "a" as well)
-case: fractal design meshify 2
-psu: corsair rmx 750w 80+ gold

Due to me playing 1080p144hz, the gpu will be used lightly for the time being as games get heavier, so does the gpu usage. Which is exacly what I want, cause I want to use the card for as long as possible. So in other words, I have room to undervolt without losing fps at all in games.
There is a silent bios mode function as well on this card. Should I use that instead? Or just don't do anything at all and just plug and play?

 

[Ralston18]

Plug and play would certainly be an option. And the option that I would use as a starting point.

However, I would also ensure that my "starting point" is within specs and viable configuration settings.

While also keeping in mind the requirement for heavier use and gpu usage. All components being affected in some manner or the other.

You mentioned that you "want to use the card for as long as possible." So do we all. Unfortunately, "lasting as long as possible" does not sell more gpus or any product for that matter. Many have a designed in EOL (End of LIfe). The more cynical folks often equate that EOL with warranty expiration.

= = = =

Yes there are various options and settings available.

The important part is to understand when there is a specific requirement to use any given option or setting.

And to also understand possible trade-offs by doing so. Some changes have little or no actual impact.

Keep the proverbial "big picture" in mind and if some change is warranted then make that change.

As always though, only one change one thing at a time, document what was changed, where it was changed, plus the original and new setting. Make changes (such as voltages) in small increments when possible. It is very important to know and understand any given change that was made. X may be okay, X + 1 may cross some threshold and performance falters or fails.

And remember to backup everything up beforehand.....

 

[Phil_33]

Plug and play would certainly be an option. And the option that I would use as a starting point.

However, I would also ensure that my "starting point" is within specs and viable configuration settings.

While also keeping in mind the requirement for heavier use and gpu usage. All components being affected in some manner or the other.

You mentioned that you "want to use the card for as long as possible." So do we all. Unfortunately, "lasting as long as possible" does not sell more gpus or any product for that matter. Many have a designed in EOL (End of LIfe). The more cynical folks often equate that EOL with warranty expiration.

This is actually fraud if they did this. I swear if my card dies within 3 years, I'll sue AMD!

Starting point is within specs and viable config: I don't know what you mean by this, but other then disabling PBO and enable expo for ram, I didn't do anything else. The system is perfectly in harmony and I'm miles away from instability...
Also the 7700xt wouldn't cause any trouble. And neither does undervolting or silent mode... Everything would work in perfect harmony out of the box.
Where I wanna go with this is that I'm going to try and use power usage as low as possible just for the electrical bills (I know nvidia is better in this but I don't have 650 euro's for a 4070 and 3070's are too old and don't have enough vram).

On the other hand, the plug in and play is probably better to begin with. Allthough, I don't think auto-undervolting would cause any trouble since it's stable. Neither does silent mode. But I don't know how much power the system/the card uses since I don't have it yet.

 

[Ralston18]

"Starting point is within specs and viable config":

What I meant by that is to just start but do not do any undervolting or change anything else at first. Determine how the system performs and how much power is being used.

"Where I wanna go with this is that I'm going to try and use power usage as low as possible just for the electrical bills".

You must be able to measure or otherwise quantify the amount of power being used. Hopefully less - all being for nought if you do not know.

A Kill-A-Watt meter or similar tool will help determine if your configuration and system use actually saves power or not.....

Reference:

https://www.amazon.com/P3-International-Electricity-Monitor-Display/dp/B00B0M1DJ4

Also:

https://www.makeuseof.com/windows-p...ption of a PC with a,your device in real-time.

As a straightforward comparison: undervolting may save power but if the new gpu encourages you to play more games then you end up using more power.

You pay electrical bills in units of kWh.

 

[Phil_33]

"Starting point is within specs and viable config":

What I meant by that is to just start but do not do any undervolting or change anything else at first. Determine how the system performs and how much power is being used.

"Where I wanna go with this is that I'm going to try and use power usage as low as possible just for the electrical bills".

You must be able to measure or otherwise quantify the amount of power being used. Hopefully less - all being for nought if you do not know.

A Kill-A-Watt meter or similar tool will help determine if your configuration and system use actually saves power or not.....

Reference:

https://www.amazon.com/P3-International-Electricity-Monitor-Display/dp/B00B0M1DJ4

Also:

https://www.makeuseof.com/windows-pc-power-usage/#:~:text=To measure the power consumption of a PC with a,your device in real-time.

As a straightforward comparison: undervolting may save power but if the new gpu encourages you to play more games then you end up using more power.

You pay electrical bills in units of kWh.

Ok thank you!