Undervolting sapphire r9 270x toxic oc edition

amarisbeast

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So i am trying to undervolt my card for playing video games to make the temps more stable when playing games. My problem is that while playing my card gets so hot it makes my room hot and even starts making artifacts after long game sessions to the point I cant play. I never undervolted so i need a step by step process of how to do it. Please help me thanks!
 
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I'd disagree in that undervolting is not necessarily a bad idea, and is even used sometimes in successful overclocking - or, even on this site, there was an article about undervolting Radeon cards (I want to say 290/390 specifically, can't recall) in order to achieve better fps/watts efficiency.

That aside, it really sounds like there's a major cooling problem going on here. Are the GPU's fans working fully? Heatsinks free of dust? Good airflow through the case?

Does it behave better if you have the case side panel off?

Can you get measurements with any of the various GPU tools to get what the temperature is at idle, when gaming, how quickly the temperatures ramp up, etc?

King_V

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I'd disagree in that undervolting is not necessarily a bad idea, and is even used sometimes in successful overclocking - or, even on this site, there was an article about undervolting Radeon cards (I want to say 290/390 specifically, can't recall) in order to achieve better fps/watts efficiency.

That aside, it really sounds like there's a major cooling problem going on here. Are the GPU's fans working fully? Heatsinks free of dust? Good airflow through the case?

Does it behave better if you have the case side panel off?

Can you get measurements with any of the various GPU tools to get what the temperature is at idle, when gaming, how quickly the temperatures ramp up, etc?
 
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if the gpu and case cooler wasn't working properly his room wouldn't warm up

and undervolting gpus is a BAD idea. I don't care what a subset of people around here thing of trying. Just because lemmings like jumping off cliffs doesn't mean I'm going to start doing it. I'm sure some people in the MINING craze might have a reason to save a few bucks a year on their gpu electric builds, typically, however the amount you can successfully undervolt a gpu (if you can) is miniscule, and won't affect temps or power drain more then a handful of degrees. In exchange you open yourself up to greater gpu instability, and possibly damaging the gpu itself (I know this sounds counter intuitive, but I recall back when mining first became a thing, people were killing their Kepler and first GCN cards via undervolting).
 

King_V

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That killing of the cards sounds anecdotal, though I don't know exactly what else they were doing besides undervolting to kill their cards. And, the article I'm talking about pre-dates the mining craze.

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/msi-afterburner-undervolt-radeon-r9-fury,4425.html


That aside, I don't think undervolting is the solution - things are running way too hot, enough that artifacting is occurring. This is a 180W card, and so cooling it shouldn't be that difficult (we're not talking Fury X or Vega 64 here). Something's wrong, but that's why temperature (and probably fan speed) measurements need to be taken.

And insufficient cooling can be the problem and still warm up the room - heat does diffuse, depending on the size of the room, of course. Further, some cooling, while not enough for the card, can still push heat out into the room enough to be noticed.

Get temperature measurements and fan speed measurements over time.

EDIT: also, what's the normal temperature in the room when the computer's not on?
 

TJ Hooker

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@ingtar33 undervolting really isn't any different than overclocking in terms of risk. Sure, if you go in and start wildly changing things you could maybe damage something (although I'm very skeptical you could cause permanent damage to your GPU via undervolting), but otherwise it's safe. Just because miners do it doesn't mean it isn't beneficial for non miners. I've undervolted both my previous R9 380 and my current RX 580 with great results.

Some GPUs (usually AMD) can be undervolted substantially, resulting in significant improvements to temperatures (and/or fan speeds) and power draw. Tomshardware was able to undervolt their Fury X by nearly 100 mV, reducing power draw by 24%. Here's their conclusion:

"Lowering the voltage target really doesn't have any drawbacks. It's good for the electric bill, the environment and your ears."

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/msi-afterburner-undervolt-radeon-r9-fury,4425-2.html
 

amarisbeast

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Normal temperature is around 70 - 75 f. Then my room gets so hot during long gaming sessions (keep in mind my gpu is max fan speed and all my other fans are too) that I feel uncomfortable and my pc to the touch feels like a warm grill.
 

King_V

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We'd still need to know via monitoring software what the GPU temperature and fan speed is during idle, during gameplay, etc.

You have the latest Adrenalin drivers, yes? In the WattMan section, it should allow you to track temperatures and fan speed.



Note: as far as I know temps are given in Celsius with the Adrenalin software, as well as most others I think - I haven't really used them much, though.
 

amarisbeast

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I do have the latest drivers and I will monitor this later when i get home with idle, gaming, and when it starts to artifact temps. It seems that once my gpu starts to overheat it starts to artifact bad. I have added extra 3 fans and it didnt do anything, i need a solution bad. I also have the fan speeds at max 24/7 and it still overheats.
 

budgetgamer12345

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Install the latest GPU drivers. Remove the cooler and heatsink and re-apply the thermal paste.
If that didn't work and undervolting also didn't work, get a aftermarket GPU cooler and heatsink.
You can also buy a GPU water cooler kit, that will significantly reduce your GPU temps.
 

amarisbeast

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I don't have money for that stuff. Will opening my side panel help at all? Also idk how to undervolt this card