[SOLVED] Undervolt Graphics Card

[Mikey Serious]

Hello.
Tell me please. I want to reduce the voltage on the GPU. My friend claims that the current strength is growing (his card broke due to a decrease in voltage on the graphics core).
There is a formula W=U*I. When I decrease the voltage, the current increases. This will break the power circuits of the video card.
How to refute this?

P.S. Some games consume more. Does this mean there will be more current? Or am I wrong?

 

[Aeacus]

There are only select few reasons, why to undervolt a GPU. And i don't see neither of the two listed by you.

My friend claims that the current strength is growing

If current, as in Amps, then, yes, that is true.

his card broke due to a decrease in voltage on the graphics core

This is true as well, but here is a key difference, low Voltage will damage and kill GPU (any PC hardware in that matter), while low Amperage does not.

PC components work at +12V, +5V or +3.3V.
GPU uses +12V.

Due to this, ATX PSU standard defines acceptable voltage ranges, that all PSUs must adhere to, with as less deviation from the norm as possible;

+12V DC rail - tolerance ±5% ; +11.40V to +12.60V
+5V DC rail - tolerance ±5% ; +4.75V to +5.25V
+3.3V DC rail - tolerance ±5% ; +3.14V to +3.47V
-12V DC rail - tolerance ±10% ; -10.80V to -13.20V
+5V SB rail - tolerance ±5% ; +4.75V to +5.25V

Now, your friend loosing his GPU, due to the low voltage, is most likely due to the issue of the PSU he is using. Crap quality PSUs often output out of spec voltages (too high or too low), that will kill the hardware. Same goes for the very old PSUs as well (performance degraded due to long service life).

P.S. Some games consume more. Does this mean there will be more current? Or am I wrong?

This is true as well. And reason why some games make GPU work harder is due to the demands game puts on a GPU. 3D graphic heavy game (e.g FPS shooter), will need more GPU processing power than 2D graphics game, with little movement (e.g Cities: Skylines).

Now, all GPUs have built-in limit, how many Amps they can pull from the GPU. E.g if GPU is rated for 150W, under normal operation, most it pulls from PSU, is 12.5 Amps. (12.5 Amps x 12V = 150W) Now, it is common that GPUs can spike their power consumption for nanoseconds and pull much more power from PSU. E.g GTX 1070, which is 150W GPU, can pull up to 26 Amps, which translates to 312W.

GamersNexus made a nice video about those GPU power spikes:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnRyyCsuHFQ


--

What i think is going on, is that your friend has scared you with their talk and now you are looking to fix an issue, which is not an issue at all. Like i said, there are only few reasons why to undervolt a GPU and you don't have neither.

I suggest that you forget the scary talks of your friend and instead use your GPU as normal, like it is intended as.

 

[Mikey Serious]

There are only select few reasons, why to undervolt a GPU. And i don't see neither of the two listed by you.



If current, as in Amps, then, yes, that is true.



This is true as well, but here is a key difference, low Voltage will damage and kill GPU (any PC hardware in that matter), while low Amperage does not.

PC components work at +12V, +5V or +3.3V.
GPU uses +12V.

Due to this, ATX PSU standard defines acceptable voltage ranges, that all PSUs must adhere to, with as less deviation from the norm as possible;

+12V DC rail - tolerance ±5% ; +11.40V to +12.60V
+5V DC rail - tolerance ±5% ; +4.75V to +5.25V
+3.3V DC rail - tolerance ±5% ; +3.14V to +3.47V
-12V DC rail - tolerance ±10% ; -10.80V to -13.20V
+5V SB rail - tolerance ±5% ; +4.75V to +5.25V

Now, your friend loosing his GPU, due to the low voltage, is most likely due to the issue of the PSU he is using. Crap quality PSUs often output out of spec voltages (too high or too low), that will kill the hardware. Same goes for the very old PSUs as well (performance degraded due to long service life).



This is true as well. And reason why some games make GPU work harder is due to the demands game puts on a GPU. 3D graphic heavy game (e.g FPS shooter), will need more GPU processing power than 2D graphics game, with little movement (e.g Cities: Skylines).

Now, all GPUs have built-in limit, how many Amps they can pull from the GPU. E.g if GPU is rated for 150W, under normal operation, most it pulls from PSU, is 12.5 Amps. (12.5 Amps x 12V = 150W) Now, it is common that GPUs can spike their power consumption for nanoseconds and pull much more power from PSU. E.g GTX 1070, which is 150W GPU, can pull up to 26 Amps, which translates to 312W.

GamersNexus made a nice video about those GPU power spikes:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnRyyCsuHFQ


--

What i think is going on, is that your friend has scared you with their talk and now you are looking to fix an issue, which is not an issue at all. Like i said, there are only few reasons why to undervolt a GPU and you don't have neither.

I suggest that you forget the scary talks of your friend and instead use your GPU as normal, like it is intended as.

Thank you very much for the answer! There are reasons. Decrease in temperature. Reducing energy consumption. I understood correctly. Let's repeat. The GPU has a current limit. So lowering the voltage won't kill the GPU? There is a limitation. I lowered the temperature on my card. And I love it.

I lowered from 1.07 to 1.000 volts !!!!!

 

[Aeacus]

There are reasons.

Yes, reasons can be easily found. And easily fixed by other means as well, other than the (somewhat) risky GPU undervolt. E.g:

Decrease in temperature.

Fix: Increase the cooling in your PC case. Either put case fans spinning faster, or if you have poor fans, buy beefier fans. PC case could also be restrictive in terms of airflow. If so, PC case replacement may be needed.

Reducing energy consumption.

Fix: Use more efficient PSU. E.g rather than using 80+ Bronze PSU, use 80+ Titanium PSU (which i'm using since i also have an UPS).
Fix 2: Don't use that beefy of a GPU. E.g rather than having 250W GPU (e.g GTX 1080 Ti), use 120W GPU (e.g GTX 1660 Ti) instead. Downside could be loss of performance.
Fix 3: Don't keep your PC running 24/7. If you go to sleep or out of home, turn off your PC (full shut down, not sleep or hibernate).

So lowering the voltage won't kill the GPU

Like i said above, as long as voltages are as close to +12V as possible, you're good. Allowed deviation is +11.40V to +12.60V. But better to be at +12V.

I lowered from 1.07 to 1.000 volts

In GPU OC software (e.g MSI Afterburner), you can adjust Core Voltage, which is in mV (millivolts) or Power Limit, which is in percentage.

Reducing Core Voltage doesn't have that much of an impact on overall GPU power consumption as setting Power Limit for whole GPU. Also, don't go crazy on undervolting since you could kill your GPU if you put the values way too low. Small changes are fine though.

 

[Mikey Serious]

Yes, reasons can be easily found. And easily fixed by other means as well, other than the (somewhat) risky GPU undervolt. E.g:



Fix: Increase the cooling in your PC case. Either put case fans spinning faster, or if you have poor fans, buy beefier fans. PC case could also be restrictive in terms of airflow. If so, PC case replacement may be needed.



Fix: Use more efficient PSU. E.g rather than using 80+ Bronze PSU, use 80+ Titanium PSU (which i'm using since i also have an UPS).
Fix 2: Don't use that beefy of a GPU. E.g rather than having 250W GPU (e.g GTX 1080 Ti), use 120W GPU (e.g GTX 1660 Ti) instead. Downside could be loss of performance.
Fix 3: Don't keep your PC running 24/7. If you go to sleep or out of home, turn off your PC (full shut down, not sleep or hibernate).



Like i said above, as long as voltages are as close to +12V as possible, you're good. Allowed deviation is +11.40V to +12.60V. But better to be at +12V.



In GPU OC software (e.g MSI Afterburner), you can adjust Core Voltage, which is in mV (millivolts) or Power Limit, which is in percentage.

Reducing Core Voltage doesn't have that much of an impact on overall GPU power consumption as setting Power Limit for whole GPU. Also, don't go crazy on undervolting since you could kill your GPU if you put the values way too low. Small changes are fine though.

Thanks for your input and response (sorry for the bad english).

You confused me.

1. What is the risk of voltage drop? Channel Gamers Nexus said it was safe. BUT you can lose stability. It is safe. What risk are you talking about?
2. I have a Corsair R750x power supply. Video card 3070Ti. Full tower case. I just want to lower the temperatures of memory, graphics core (+hot spot). I use coolers, voltage and case cooling.
3. Power consumption has decreased by 30-40 watts. And it brought the temperatures down. How can I kill the GPU? If the decrease leads to a deterioration in stability.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28YfTL0titc

02:15 – Notwist: “@Steve Burke quick question: can undervolting a GPU hurt the card in any way? Particularly if, during testing, you undervolt too far and it gets unstable?”

I do not understand anything. A friend's video card 1000 series died. The reason for the power supply circuit of the graphics core. You are talking about the graphics core.

 

[Flayed]

If you want to reduce your graphics card temperature the simplest way is to increase the GPU fan speed using MSI Afterburner. I think the default fan speeds are too tuned for low noise so they can look good in reviews.

 

[Aeacus]

What is the risk of voltage drop? Channel Gamers Nexus said it was safe. BUT you can lose stability. It is safe. What risk are you talking about?

Lowering too much voltage may cause instability with your GPU, meaning that it isn't capable of working normally (or at all) anymore.

Power consumption has decreased by 30-40 watts. And it brought the temperatures down. How can I kill the GPU? If the decrease leads to a deterioration in stability.

02:15 – Notwist: “@Steve Burke quick question: can undervolting a GPU hurt the card in any way? Particularly if, during testing, you undervolt too far and it gets unstable?”

I do not understand anything. A friend's video card 1000 series died. The reason for the power supply circuit of the graphics core. You are talking about the graphics core.

Perhaps i was not clear enough and caused a confusion;

Steve (from GamersNexus) talks about GPU die (graphics core) undervolting, which is to do with millivolts. And what he says is true; if undervolting GPU die too much, one of the two things can happen: GPU ignores your undervolt and still pulls as much as needed OR GPU becomes unstable, crashing software, and on worst case scenario, corrupting your OS. <- GPU die undervolt doesn't hurt GPU itself on hardware level.

What i was initially talking, is the main +12V rail, that you get from PSU. With it, there is tolerance on how much the voltage can shift, before it starts causing issues (from +11.40V to +12.60V).
Now, your friend, most likely lost their GPU due to the PSU issues.

--

You are safe to undervolt GPU die, if you do it tiny bit and don't experience GPU instability.

 

[Mikey Serious]

Lowering too much voltage may cause instability with your GPU, meaning that it isn't capable of working normally (or at all) anymore.



Perhaps i was not clear enough and caused a confusion;

Steve (from GamersNexus) talks about GPU die (graphics core) undervolting, which is to do with millivolts. And what he says is true; if undervolting GPU die too much, one of the two things can happen: GPU ignores your undervolt and still pulls as much as needed OR GPU becomes unstable, crashing software, and on worst case scenario, corrupting your OS. <- GPU die undervolt doesn't hurt GPU itself on hardware level.

What i was initially talking, is the main +12V rail, that you get from PSU. With it, there is tolerance on how much the voltage can shift, before it starts causing issues (from +11.40V to +12.60V).
Now, your friend, most likely lost their GPU due to the PSU issues.

--

You are safe to undervolt GPU die, if you do it tiny bit and don't experience GPU instability.

Everything is fine with the 12 volt line. Lowered a little bit (1.07 ---> 1.000). Everything works very well.

A friend's power circuits burned out. He considers - the current (amps) has grown. Therefore, after 2 years, the power circuits burned out.

I disagree. Because power consumption has gone down. The power system is different from the equipment in the garage (electric motors). By reducing the voltage, the current in the power circuit also drops.

You also said: the video card limits the current. Perhaps we did not understand each other. I look easier. Only graphics card. All channels say to downvolt - this is useful for temperature, silence, performance (because the voltage is too high from the factory).

 

[xav1er]

Lowering too much voltage may cause instability with your GPU, meaning that it isn't capable of working normally (or at all) anymore.



Perhaps i was not clear enough and caused a confusion;

Steve (from GamersNexus) talks about GPU die (graphics core) undervolting, which is to do with millivolts. And what he says is true; if undervolting GPU die too much, one of the two things can happen: GPU ignores your undervolt and still pulls as much as needed OR GPU becomes unstable, crashing software, and on worst case scenario, corrupting your OS. <- GPU die undervolt doesn't hurt GPU itself on hardware level.

What i was initially talking, is the main +12V rail, that you get from PSU. With it, there is tolerance on how much the voltage can shift, before it starts causing issues (from +11.40V to +12.60V).
Now, your friend, most likely lost their GPU due to the PSU issues.

--

You are safe to undervolt GPU die, if you do it tiny bit and don't experience GPU instability.

Ok, let me explain what OP actually asked at the beginning of this post, because i'm on the same boat and i need info about it, I'm new at this undervolt stuff and the doubt i want to address is probably different from OP's question, but we both need the same info to be at ease probably...

So here's the thing, what OP asked is if when you undervolt through msi afterburner it causes an increase in current draw to the gpu circuit, as i said before i'm new to this stuff and i have no idea about electricity stuff either, but from what i've read so far, that would be the case if you would maintain the same wattage consumption right?, since volts*amps=watts, now here's the question, i've seen on everysingle undervolt guide available on youtube that when you undervolt, it also decreases power consumption aka "watts", so wouldn't that mean that since when you undervolt voltage and power go down, it should also decrease the amps drawn aswell?

I know most ppl want to undervolt to decrease temps which is directly tied to power consumption, in my case i'd like to undervolt to decrease power consumption to not strain my psu since i'm probably on the minimun wattage required for the hardware i want to run....

TL DR: volts*amps (current) = watts -> when undervolting: lower voltage -> lower power consumption (watts) = lower amps (current) drawn?

Edit: i think most ppl confusion on this subject is that they're doing the mat keeping the same wattage consumption, if that was the case then yes, lowering voltage should ramp up the current drawn (there's also some idiots making videos on youtube claiming that undervolting a AMD gpu would allow to more current to pass through and increase performance, jeez...)

 

[Aeacus]

So here's the thing, what OP asked is if when you undervolt through msi afterburner it causes an increase in current draw to the gpu circuit, as i said before i'm new to this stuff and i have no idea about electricity stuff either, but from what i've read so far, that would be the case if you would maintain the same wattage consumption right?, since volts*amps=watts, now here's the question, i've seen on everysingle undervolt guide available on youtube that when you undervolt, it also decreases power consumption aka "watts", so wouldn't that mean that since when you undervolt voltage and power go down, it should also decrease the amps drawn aswell?

If you do slight undervoltage on GPU, via e.g MSI Afterburner and GPU power consumption also drops, then Yes, amperage also drops.

Now, not all GPUs allow themselves to be undervolted. And if you go too far with undervolting, you can crash the GPU.

Two viable undervolting reasons are:

• to reduce likelihood of GPU thermal throttle (used in PCs with poor airflow).
• to expand GPU lifespan (used when GPU isn't stable on stock clocks anymore due to the age/defect).

Now, undervolting GPU to get it below of what PSU can deliver, is short term and not an actual fix. Sure, on idle or low loads, GPU won't stress the already borderline PSU, but all GPUs have power consumption spikes, often double of what they are rated for. On some cases, even triple. (Look GamersNexus video i linked in my 1st reply.)

For example; let's say you have a PSU that can deliver up to 30A on +12V rail. And your GPU needs up to 26A. Now, if you undervolt your GPU and get it to operate around 20A, you'd be fine. As long as GPU power spike doesn't happen. But when it does happen, power draw can shoot into 40+A for nanoseconds. Now, high-end PSUs, normally, are able to tank those GPU power spikes. But it's the cheaper, mid-range (or even worse, low-range) PSUs, that aren't able to cope with it. Resulting in PC shutting down, for the very least. And for the worst, frying the PSU and all what PSU is connected to.

--

TLDR: Reducing voltage will reduce amperage when watts also are reduced.

 

[xav1er]

If you do slight undervoltage on GPU, via e.g MSI Afterburner and GPU power consumption also drops, then Yes, amperage also drops.

Now, not all GPUs allow themselves to be undervolted. And if you go too far with undervolting, you can crash the GPU.

Two viable undervolting reasons are:

• to reduce likelihood of GPU thermal throttle (used in PCs with poor airflow).
• to expand GPU lifespan (used when GPU isn't stable on stock clocks anymore due to the age/defect).

Now, undervolting GPU to get it below of what PSU can deliver, is short term and not an actual fix. Sure, on idle or low loads, GPU won't stress the already borderline PSU, but all GPUs have power consumption spikes, often double of what they are rated for. On some cases, even triple. (Look GamersNexus video i linked in my 1st reply.)

For example; let's say you have a PSU that can deliver up to 30A on +12V rail. And your GPU needs up to 26A. Now, if you undervolt your GPU and get it to operate around 20A, you'd be fine. As long as GPU power spike doesn't happen. But when it does happen, power draw can shoot into 40+A for nanoseconds. Now, high-end PSUs, normally, are able to tank those GPU power spikes. But it's the cheaper, mid-range (or even worse, low-range) PSUs, that aren't able to cope with it. Resulting in PC shutting down, for the very least. And for the worst, frying the PSU and all what PSU is connected to.

--

TLDR: Reducing voltage will reduce amperage when watts also are reduced.

Yea well in my case in think i should be fine even without UV, but to have peace of mind i'd like to UV preciselly to lower the chances of ocp/opp to trigger due a transient spike...

My system is not power hungry at all but as i said it'd be just to have peace of mind...

My specs are the following:

8700k (stock) along with CM evo x212 cooler.
Asus strix z370e
2x8 hyperx 3200mhz
2x2.5 SSD
1x1tb 7200rpm HDD
Asus tuf rtx 3070 gaming non OC ver. (Supposedly it should draw a max of 240w and i've seen ppl UV the card and get about 150~170w depending of how aggressive the UV is.)

I did search in watts calculator sites and it gave me about 400w if everything is maxed out, with UV i could lower that number to ~330w?

My PSU is a Seasonic focus gold 650w 80gold+, however i think i have a unit from the early batches that had a very aggressive OCP and i've heard ppl having shut downs with power hungry GPUs like vegas and top end cards like 1080ti and 2080ti, tho idk if these users actually OCed something or how high wattage consumption was in relation to their PSU units...

I never had a problem with my PSU so far but just to be on the safer side, a small UV shouldn't hurt anything right?

 

[Aeacus]

My PSU is a Seasonic focus gold 650w 80gold+, however i think i have a unit from the early batches that had a very aggressive OCP and i've heard ppl having shut downs with power hungry GPUs like vegas and top end cards like 1080ti and 2080ti, tho idk if these users actually OCed something or how high wattage consumption was in relation to their PSU units...

Your PSU is safe. The issue with Seasonic units was to do with PRIME series.

Here's what JonnyGuru said about it:

Seasonic PRIME based units experience shutdowns with RTX3080/3090 (and possibly RX6900 XT) GPUs, especially ones with unlocked power limit like FE and ASUS Strix. It is recommended, if going with such units, to overprovision wattage, 1kW for RTX3080 and 1.2kW for RTX3090. Units based on post-2018 revisions of Seasonic Focus platform and majority of units by other OEMs are not affected.

I did search in watts calculator sites and it gave me about 400w if everything is maxed out, with UV i could lower that number to ~330w?

400W for max power consumption for your system is about right. However, it is hard to tell if you can get ~70W reduction in overall power consumption with GPU undervolt. Or even if your GPU accepts any undervolt commands you send to it.

But in order to lower overall load on your PSU, you can always disable the Turbo Boost feature on your CPU (from BIOS). Not it only caps CPU at stock clocks, without additional power consumption during turbo, it also keeps your CPU temps at nice levels.

I never had a problem with my PSU so far but just to be on the safer side, a small UV shouldn't hurt anything right?

You should be fine. Btw, good picks on PSU. 👍 (All 3 of my PCs are also powered by Seasonic, full specs with pics in my sig.)

 

[Flayed]

I had that Seasonic issue on my old PSU a 660W Seasonic platinum, it was a pain in the proverbial.

 

[Aeacus]

I had that Seasonic issue on my old PSU a 660W Seasonic platinum, it was a pain in the proverbial.

Seasonic Platinum 660W unit was 1st released back in 2012 and back then, it was one of the best PSUs,
review: https://web.archive.org/web/2016081.../modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=326

However, you can not expect it to work fine with modern (RTX series) GPUs, which have been released a lot later with far different power demands.

It's like you have a car that meets Euro4 emission standards, but since latest is Euro6, you demand it to match Euro6 emission standards, which it just can not do (unless you replace the engine). Or on PC's case, replace the PSU with modern PSU.

 

[Flayed]

Seasonic Platinum 660W unit was 1st released back in 2012 and back then, it was one of the best PSUs,
review: https://web.archive.org/web/2016081.../modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=326

However, you can not expect it to work fine with modern (RTX series) GPUs, which have been released a lot later with far different power demands.

It's like you have a car that meets Euro4 emission standards, but since latest is Euro6, you demand it to match Euro6 emission standards, which it just can not do (unless you replace the engine). Or on PC's case, replace the PSU with modern PSU.

I know I bought because I thought it was one of the best PSU's. It was powering a Vega 56 at the time though not my new 3070.

 

[Aeacus]

I know I bought because I thought it was one of the best PSU's.

It was, back in 2012, when it was released. Not so much 10 years later though.

I don't have much experience with Seasonic Platinum series and can't tell if the issue you had, was isolated case or did it span whole series wide (e.g like Seasonic X-series PSUs were prone to coil whine).

 

[Flayed]

It was, back in 2012, when it was released. Not so much 10 years later though.

I don't have much experience with Seasonic Platinum series and can't tell if the issue you had, was isolated case or did it span whole series wide (e.g like Seasonic X-series PSUs were prone to coil whine).

It was a while ago, so not really 10 years later, more like 5. It was the same OCP issue as the pre-2018 focus platform units.