[SOLVED] Counterintuitive GPU overclock power/voltage behavior? Help me understand

[Mugatuu]

I'm using Nvidia Inspector to monitor GPU utilization and power usage. While OC'ing my GTX 780 I noticed that overvolting the core actually causes game crashes. +145MHz core and stock voltage is stable, while +145MHz core and +63 mV causes a system freeze every time I exit Skyrim. I thought increasing the voltage led to higher stability. BTW my temps are always below 65C.

Another strange thing I noticed is that in normal 2D mode, my GPU utilization stays around 80% with power usage at about 75%. When I activate Nvidia 3d vision, GPU utilization jumps to 100% (expected) but my power usage actually DROPS to 55%. Can someone explain why this might be the case? Thanks.

 

[Eximo]

Additional voltage can do both. Whatever temperature you are measuring might not actually be the junction temperature. If it is overheating, quickly, the card is likely protecting itself. If the increased voltage, plus the load you are putting on it, exceeds the cards inbuilt power threshold, it will throttle.

If the card runs fine without additional voltage, don't bother.