I want to set the GPU to only use the base clock

[Bilouski69]

ASUS GTX 1050Ti

I am not interested in overclocking and so i want to re-strict the GPU to only use the base clock 1290 Mhz.

I have used MSI Afterburner, ASUS Tweak II (not for overclocking and so the card is running in its default configuration) and GPU-Z to verify the card's status (not all at the same time)

All 3 applications have reported the same readings for everything and according to all 3 applications the cards GPU regulaly gets to 1746.5 Mhz but its maximum Boost clock should be 1392 Mhz. Does any one have ideas why this is happening ?

It seems to me that both MSI Afterburner or ASUS Tweak II do not have the ability that I am looking for. Therefore I am not using them because the PC in question is a Video Production PC and i dont want any software on the machine that I dont need on it.

I just use GPU-Z to monitor the temperature and fan speed etc.

I am using Nvidia Driver version 376.33

Does anyone know if it is even possible to re-strict the GPU to only use the base clock or not?

Many Thanks

 

[RobCrezz]

Why would you want to do that? GPU Boost is built in functionality in all recent Nvidia GPUS. Just leave the card in its default state.

 

[Bilouski69]

Hi RobCrezz, thanks for replying.

The reason for restriciting to the base clock is a simple one.

Sometimes when I render out a video and depending on the complexity of the project, the GPU can be running at between 8% and 100% for the entire time of the encode where GPU accelerated affects are used in the project.

Two projects ago with what the client wanted it was going to take 11 hours+ to render the video (using only the CPU) so I bought the Nvidia card to speed things up and the render time went down to about 90 minutes (the project was 95 minutes long), unfortunatly the GPU was running at over 90% for this entire time (according to GPU-Z log)

By restricting it to the Nvidia specified base clock/boost clock for the particular card (1290 Mhz / 1392 Mhz for the GTX 1050 Ti) you reduce the risk of program crashes even if it takes a little bit longer (but its still a quicker than the CPU)

This is why you would want to restrict it. I must admit that even though the GPU was running between 90% to 100% for the entire time of the encode the temperature for the card only got to 51 degrees Celsius and the GPU clock speed never went below 1746.5 Mhz

Admittedly I do have the computer in an air conditioned room which I have at 16 degrees Celsius when I am encoding videos and In addition to this, in the computer case there is a 12cm fan blowing fresh cool air directly at the graphics card and a 9cm fan removing air from the case so this might explain why the temperature never rose above 51 degrees Celsius

My only real concern is why does the GPU clock speed go up to 1746.5 Mhz but its maximum Boost clock speed should be 1392 Mhz.

With regards to Nvidia GPU Boost 3, from the advertising I have read, it should give me the maximum performance and then throttle itself back to the quoted specifications if things get too much for it to provide full reliability. Is this your understanding of it as well ?

Many thanks in advance for your input on Nvidia GPU Boost 3

 

[RobCrezz]

The GPU should be totally fine running at 100% constantly for hours on end, very common with gaming.

Thats also normal behavior for GPU boost - If it has headroom in terms of thermal and power limit then it will boost up the clock speed. It will lower the speed if it reaches the thermal limits or power limits - Has nothing to do with reliability, at its standard settings it should be completely reliable even with GPU boost.


That said, if you really want to lower it, I would say install Afterburner and set the power target to like 70%, this will stop GPU boost going up so high and keep the power usage down - obviously this will make the card run slower though.

 

[Bilouski69]

Thanks for replying RobCrezz

Prior to purchasing the video card I read an article about choosing a GPU for video editing. In the article it said "Never overclock a GPU when video editing, you should be ok with a factory overclocked card but if you have a choice choose a non factory overclocked card" which is what I did.

You wrote "at its standard settings it should be completely reliable even with GPU boost." this could be what they actually meant in the article when I read about choosing a GPU for video editing.

Thanks for the suggestion about using MSI Afterburner and underclocking the card but I have chosen not to install the software purely because it prevents the possibility of accidentally overclocking.

Personally I am going to use GPU-Z to monitor just the GPU Temperature and Fan Speed. This is because I like the GPU Temperature to return to normal prior to turning off the PC and to check the fan is actually working.

Many thanks for your advice RobCrezz


So in short to solve this question:

There is currently known way to LOCK the graphics card GPU speed to the reference specs, in my case 1290 Mhz for the GTX 1050 Ti.

Only use The Nvidia Graphics Driver and Nvidia GPU Boost will look after the video card just fine and dandy allowing me to get on with the task of video editing.

 

[RobCrezz]

Yeah the way to do it would be use software to either underclock, or lower the power target as I suggested.

No issue letting it do its thing running at the factory settings.