Palit Super Jetstream GTX980 Max/Boost Clock Throttling Issue

[KingOfComputing]

I recently purchased a used Palit Super Jetstream GTX980 on eBay. It installs fine and the drivers go on no problem. It runs 3D games and benchmarks without artifacts but I felt the performance was lacking for a still fairly powerful GPU. So, I opened GPU Z while running a benchmark and noticed the clock speed way below what it should be. As you can see here: http://www.palit.com/palit/vgapro.php?id=2427&lang=en&pn=NE5X980H14G2-2042J&tab=sp , it should be able to boost up to at least 1304MHZ, yet it fluctuates between 700MHZ to around 830MHZ depending on the loading with heavier benchmarks like Superposition in 4K dropping it to low 700s and Heaven letting it go up to 830ish.

I did notice that the power setting in Nvidia control panel was at an energy saving setting (“optimal” I think) so changed it to max performance. This did allow the GPU to run at the full speed when idle i.e. in Windows and 2D apps and games, but it drops down again as soon as any 3D load is applied. GPU Z shows the performance cap reason as being constantly PWR (power green bar) and never changes, but what does that actually mean? Not enough power from PSU? or a problem with the power circuitry on the card?

The temps remain in the 60s under load maxing at around 68C. However, the card does have a rather odd quirk with the fans in that when under load they don’t spin smoothly, they spin up then stop over and over. They aren’t obstructed and can run normally as they do when the PC is first turned on and do when exiting the benchmark. The card has fan stop technology so they don’t spin for normal 2D loads, could this be somehow malfunctioning?

Please advise on what could be doing this and things I could try to fix it?

 

[KingOfComputing]

Sorry but I have to bump this, seriously, no one has any suggestions? ):

 

[dontlistentome]

Two immediate things I'd look at- power and heat. First, that's a power hungry card. You have the adequate power supply with the proper PCI-EX connectors plugged in, right? Next, thermal throttling can happen before you see a high temp because the card may attempt to prevent overheating, not wait for it to happen. So if for instance the thermal paste is dry, the card may detect insufficient cooling and take action to keep temps from climbing too high.

Lastly, I'd try to test the card in another system. It's a used card, so you can't assume it works normally. Testing in two systems can help identify a problem.

 

[KingOfComputing]

Two immediate things I'd look at- power and heat. First, that's a power hungry card. You have the adequate power supply with the proper PCI-EX connectors plugged in, right? Next, thermal throttling can happen before you see a high temp because the card may attempt to prevent overheating, not wait for it to happen. So if for instance the thermal paste is dry, the card may detect insufficient cooling and take action to keep temps from climbing too high.

Lastly, I'd try to test the card in another system. It's a used card, so you can't assume it works normally. Testing in two systems can help identify a problem.

Power supply is a Be Quiet 530 Watt, so a good make though maybe a bit close to the minimum this card needs?

I did try it in another system (I have two PCs). I tried it in my newer Ryzen 1800X build but it behaved quite badly, initially working for a short time then monitor went blank and wouldn't recover (even on reboot). After that the only thing I could display was the BIOS, it wouldn't boot to Windows. I thought the card had died but it still works just the same in the other PC so it hadn't died but weird, plus I thought it would be better in the Ryzen PC as it has a much better PSU Corsair CX850 Modular. So I'm really confused by that

Any ideas?

 

[pete_101]

It's possible it has the wrong BIOS on the card, I know miners sometime flash a different BIOS to get a much more power efficient card. My suggestion would be to flash the BIOS with the latest version you can find for it and see if that helps.

 

[KingOfComputing]

I realise this is an old thread now, but I had been busy and just gotten back around to further troubleshooting this card. I have ruled out temperature as I went into MSI afterburner and set the fan speed up to a constant 60%, which kept the card under 50C even under load so it can't be overheating.

I also noticed that the speed briefly jumps up to the full 1300MHZ for a couple of seconds after starting the heaven benchmark I had been using to test with, then quickly drops back till it reaches 885MHZ. While in afterburner I tried increasing the cards power limit to 110%, no difference. I even tried overclocking it 100MHZ, but again no difference, it always goes down to the same speed.

I am very much thinking this is an ex-mining card as it seems to be restricted to about 60-65% TDP in the BIOS, which I gather is how a lot of mining cards are run?

I went on the GPU database on tech power up and got the official BIOS for the card. I flashed it, which completed fine, but right after I restart to apply changes the display disappeared. I tried the normal HDMI and DVI ports but was getting nothing. The odd thing is though the PC still passed POST fine and if I connected the IGPU and went into device manager the GPU was shown and said it was operating normally, yet it had no display.

I was able to put back the BIOS it came with and it now displays again but of course has the same limitations. On looking at the card closely on the back there is a screw missing and the sticker is ripped suggesting someone has opened it up at some point, presumably to attempt a repair.

I’m really stumped with this card. Should I give up on this GPU as a waste of time and sell it for whatever its worth and put the money to a better 10 series card like the GTX1070ti or GTX1080 or is there anything else I can try to get it working correctly?

I notice tech power up have a couple of unofficial BIOSes for the Palit GTX980. Am I right in thinking I can always put it back so long as I have the BIOS it came with and the IGPU? Or could one of those unofficial BIOSes do something stupid like set a 5GHZ core clock and instantly kill it? It’s frustrating not having it working fully but even as a semi crippled 980 it has some uses e.g. light 3D gaming and 2D gaming….

 

[Ramlethal]

i Would like you to try a larger PSU if possible.
It is possible that it is underperforming cause it cannot draw more power from the PSU like they did mentioned before.
Everytime i had the changes of testing a GTX980 or 980ti i allways had Overkiller PSUs so this kind of problem was never a topic for me, but it sounds logical that this could be maybe the problem in your case.
Also what exact Mobo and CPU do you have? Maybe its just Bottlenecking...

 

[KingOfComputing]

i Would like you to try a larger PSU if possible.
It is possible that it is underperforming cause it cannot draw more power from the PSU like they did mentioned before.
Everytime i had the changes of testing a GTX980 or 980ti i allways had Overkiller PSUs so this kind of problem was never a topic for me, but it sounds logical that this could be maybe the problem in your case.
Also what exact Mobo and CPU do you have? Maybe its just Bottlenecking...

Motherboard is an Asus P8B75-M LX with an i7 3770 and 16GB DDR3. Admittedly not cutting edge anymore, but surely it should not be holding back a GTX980?

I have a newer build as my main PC (the one listed serves as a HTPC in the living room), which has a Ryzen 1800x and a much beefier Corsair CX850 Modular PSU, so that should be more than enough for it. I will give it a go in there too just to be sure the card is at fault.

 

[Ramlethal]

i Would like you to try a larger PSU if possible.
It is possible that it is underperforming cause it cannot draw more power from the PSU like they did mentioned before.
Everytime i had the changes of testing a GTX980 or 980ti i allways had Overkiller PSUs so this kind of problem was never a topic for me, but it sounds logical that this could be maybe the problem in your case.
Also what exact Mobo and CPU do you have? Maybe its just Bottlenecking...

Motherboard is an Asus P8B75-M LX with an i7 3770 and 16GB DDR3. Admittedly not cutting edge anymore, but surely it should not be holding back a GTX980?

I have a newer build as my main PC (the one listed serves as a HTPC in the living room), which has a Ryzen 1800x and a much beefier Corsair CX850 Modular PSU, so that should be more than enough for it. I will give it a go in there too just to be sure the card is at fault.

Well... it shouldnt be a bottleneck.
So it could be the PSU or either the own GTX 980.
thats all that is left :C

 

[KingOfComputing]

i Would like you to try a larger PSU if possible.
It is possible that it is underperforming cause it cannot draw more power from the PSU like they did mentioned before.
Everytime i had the changes of testing a GTX980 or 980ti i allways had Overkiller PSUs so this kind of problem was never a topic for me, but it sounds logical that this could be maybe the problem in your case.
Also what exact Mobo and CPU do you have? Maybe its just Bottlenecking...

Motherboard is an Asus P8B75-M LX with an i7 3770 and 16GB DDR3. Admittedly not cutting edge anymore, but surely it should not be holding back a GTX980?

I have a newer build as my main PC (the one listed serves as a HTPC in the living room), which has a Ryzen 1800x and a much beefier Corsair CX850 Modular PSU, so that should be more than enough for it. I will give it a go in there too just to be sure the card is at fault.

Well... it shouldnt be a bottleneck.
So it could be the PSU or either the own GTX 980.
thats all that is left :C

Tried in my other PC with the 850 watt PSU and exactly the same problem. Oddly it seems to perform slightly worse in this PC with it dropping to 790MHZ-810MHZ. GPU Z still reports the performance cap reason as power though it should be getting plenty from the PSU now.

Guessing it must be something inside the card relating to power delivery like VRMs or capacitors?

I could open it up and have a look, not like the warranty is likely to be any good, but I don't know if there is any point really? I could apply new thermal paste but replacing the components on the board is beyond me sadly and I'm not sure new paste would help since, if the temps in GPU Z are accurate, it isn't getting very hot at all, probably because it's never getting even close to it's full performance.

Guess it's a case of live with it as it is until I can get something better, or maybe sell it off straight away and hope the 10 series continues to get cheaper...