GTX 980 TI & Temperature questions

[Loccen]

Hello everyone,

I would just like to ask a question about my new PC, I am somewhat familiar with hardware ext but please bear with me if I don’t make too much sense.

I have a ASUS GeForce GTX 980 Ti STRIX OC 6GB GDDR5

I have been looking at several forums and am now totally confused with what the temperature should be with this graphics card under load.

I tested several games with max settings including, Civ 5, Mordhiem, Metro 2033 redeux and star citizen, all of which give me a max load temperature between 83 and 84 degrees with a fan speed at 58% (going by afterburner).

Now from what I understand when the card reaches this temperature it starts to throttle.

However with 84 degrees under load, I can get it down to 76 degrees if the fan is at 80% speedish (but pc sounds like it’s a helicopter), and I can also get the temperature down to 79 – 80 degrees with the side off.

My questions are:-
1) Is my gfx card ok at 84 degrees?
2) Is it possible that the gfx are being throttled?
3) Should I increase the fan speed through afterburner if this is a problem?

Many thanks for any help!
Loccen

 

[krells]

1) 84c isn't going to damage anything but you shouldn't be running that warm
2) Yes, most likely when you hit 80c the boost clock is being reduced to try and control the temperature
3) I would increase the airflow in you case with additional fans if possible. If temps drop when you have the side panel off you have an airflow issue. After addressing the case airflow you could set a custom fan curve but you shouldn't need to run the fans at 80%

 

[17seconds]

Your factory preset temperature target is 84c (look for you Temp Limit in Afterburner). This is the temperature that your card attempts to seek out and maintain as part of its Turbo Boost algorithms.

Below that temperature your card will increase its Turbo Boost clocks for more performance. Above 84c your card will decrease its Turbo Boost clocks down to its default speed. This is normal and is not the same as throttling, which your card will do to prevent damage above 95c.

GTX 980 Ti's with the reference cooler will almost always run at exactly 84c, as designed. The main variable then will be the fan speeds and noise necessary to maintain that target temperature. With a custom Strix card, you should expect to run under 84c, but that would also be normal if playing demanding games in a warm room with less than ideal case ventilation.

Most attempts to try to force a lower tempature are only going to increase your fan speeds and noise. My recommendation is to leave everything on Auto, and try to improve your case ventilation. Otherwise, everything is running perfectly normal in terms of your fan speeds in relation to your temperatures.