GTX 280 Power Saving Issue

S

Sheganks

n00b
Joined
Jun 15, 2008
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21
Hi,

Hoping if another fellow owner of a GTX280 can confirm the issue of the card NOT underclocking while in Windows mode.

As stated by all the reviews out there now, this card should consume less power than a 8800GT while sitting idle in Windows. GPU goes down to 300MHz, Memory down to 100MHz, etc.

However in both the Nvidia System Tool and GPU-z 0.2.3, no underclocking as described above is observed. The clocks stay at default.

This is with an XFX GTX 280, on a Gigabyte X48 DQ6 motherboard. Happens on both the old 177.26 and 177.35 drivers.

And no, I'm not refering to Hybrid Power that only works on an Nvidia chipset whereby the GPU completely shuts down leaving 2D to the onboard IGP.

Thanks in advance.
 
the only way it would throttle down would be hybrid sli or hybrid power which only works on nvidia chipsets that support it
 
I'm afraid that's not true.

The downclocking is not a unique hybrid power feature.

Please share your thoughts if you own one of these cards.

Thanks.
 
http://www.gamespot.com/features/6192545/index.html?cpage=2

The GTX 200 GPUs also have smarter power management features that can automatically detect and throttle the chip's power depending on how much 3D-performance the system needs. According to Nvidia, the GeForce 280 GTX will only consume 25-35W when running in desktop mode or while playing a Blu-ray movie, but it can ramp up to full power, approximately 236W, when it's time to fire up Call of Duty 4. The GTX 200 GPUs also support Nvidia's HybridPower feature that can switch all graphics work over to the motherboard graphics chip for low-intensity, nongaming applications provided you have a motherboard with an nForce 780a or 790i chipset.
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okay i just seen that ..so.. on that information how do u know its not throttling down the programs could just be telling you its at default when its not although gpuz shouldnt.. have u checked NVcontrol panel? or you could try reinstalling the drivers they have a new revision out 177.39...hope that helps...other then that that u could try the hard way with a power usage meter on the outlet..
 
Just checked GPU-Z...

Although the main page lists my clock speeds as default, under the 'sensors' tab the clocks are listed as 300 and 100 for core and mem speeds. Have you checked the sensors tab, just above the temperature readings?
 
With ATi cards the power saving feature won't work with overclocking or factory overclocked cards.
 
GenBanks said:
Just checked GPU-Z...

Although the main page lists my clock speeds as default, under the 'sensors' tab the clocks are listed as 300 and 100 for core and mem speeds. Have you checked the sensors tab, just above the temperature readings?
Click to expand...

My sensors tab reports the same speed as the default found in the main page.

Looks like mine is definitely not downclocking. I can force it through with NVidia System Tools, but there wont be an option to down-volt which is what I'm after.

Can I ask what chipset is your motherboard using?

Thanks.
 
Hey there,
EDIT
Oops, should have payed attention to who started this thread... But yeah, looks like you discovered that it's only for nvidia chipsets.
 
That's very, very bad.. Doesn't this mean the card will consume hundreds of watts even when idle? I hope a BIOS or driver fix will add support for this power saving feature.
 
The power saving aspect of the GTX 280 was one main reasons I wanted this card. With power saving gone(I have a X38 chipset), customer service is the only real difference between Nvidia and ATi cards.
 
Hm, there is one guy with GTX280 and EX38-DS4 who says power management is working for him :

taktyus6.jpg


Maybe it is just X48 specific ? Or XFX specific ?
 
This is something I'm also interested in finding out so I sent Kyle a PM about it, lets see if he can find an answer for us.
 
With power saving gone(I have a X38 chipset), customer service is the only real difference between Nvidia and ATi cards.
Click to expand...

Yeah, ATI has better customer service with more frequent driver updates, bug reporting system etc. ;)
 
i'll check mine tonight. I got the BFG GTX 280 on a Maximus Formula x38. I'm willing to be it isn't downclocking because I've noticed my idle temps sitting kinda high, but I'll double check it tonight and report back
 
I use EVGA's Precision v1.2.0 and my cards do throttle down as intended.
 
it does not throttle down for me on my Maximus Formula x38 board. GPU-Z reports 615 MHz on the core and 1107 MHz on the memory. no wonder my idle temps are a bit high....sucks
 
I do not understand what this would have to do with the motherboard chipset. This sounds like a driver or hardware issue with the cards.
 
ZippZopp reported:

does not throttle down for me on my Maximus Formula x38 board. GPU-Z reports 615 MHz on the core and 1107 MHz on the memory. no wonder my idle temps are a bit high....sucks
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Kinda sucks. I'm considering cancelling my stepup to the GTX 280(I have a Asus P5E motherboard-X38 chipset). I still have awhile to go until my queue number comes up so I will study a bit more before making a final decision. :(
 
I have an Asus P5E (DDR2) X38 board, just got my GTX 280 today after stepping up from a 9800GTX

GPU-Z reports 300MHz GPU core, 100MHz GPU mem clock at desktop.

This is with Vista64 Aero enabled, 177.41 drivers. Actually when the computer boots to desktop it reports 400/300 but throttles down to 300/100 about a minute later.

With my Kill-A-Watt hooked up my system is drawing about 153-156 at desktop. This is just a tad (3-4W) higher than what my system with the 9800GTX was drawing. I was hoping for less but at least it seems to be throttling down.

Fired up Age of Conan and my system draws about ~307W vs ~228 with the 9800GTX.
 
Addy711 reported:



I have an Asus P5E (DDR2) X38 board, just got my GTX 280 today after stepping up from a 9800GTX

GPU-Z reports 300MHz GPU core, 100MHz GPU mem clock at desktop.

This is with Vista64 Aero enabled, 177.41 drivers. Actually when the computer boots to desktop it reports 400/300 but throttles down to 300/100 about a minute later.

With my Kill-A-Watt hooked up my system is drawing about 153-156 at desktop. This is just a tad (3-4W) higher than what my system with the 9800GTX was drawing. I was hoping for less but at least it seems to be throttling down.

Fired up Age of Conan and my system draws about ~307W vs ~228 with the 9800GTX.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the information. I am running a 8800GTS 512 (G92) with the Asus P5E now so maybe I was jumping the gun a bit. :) I am using XP 32 bit for now. Do you think Vista has anything to do with the downshifting performance?
 
it is a bit disappointing. it is somewhat hit and miss with where it works and where it doesn't. Could this be driver related or are we totally out of luck if it doesn't work? i'm generally idling at about 68c which is quite high!
 
ZippZopp said:

it is a bit disappointing. it is somewhat hit and miss with where it works and where it doesn't. Could this be driver related or are we totally out of luck if it doesn't work? i'm generally idling at about 68c which is quite high!
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hmmm. I haven't seen a trend yet. Could it be that the BFG OC card is not underclocking since it is overclocked?
 
WiLLiSTER said:
What? It's an nvidia chipset... Who said anything about it having an intel chipset?
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The author of this thread :
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1319753

2). The GTX 200 series power saving features do NOT work on an Intel platform. That’s right. I thought I was the odd one out when I saw countless other websites posting about the down-clocks and down-voltages, whereby the GPU settles at 300Mhz Memory to 100Mhz etc when no 3D app is running. What some of them failed to state was that they only achieved this on an Nvidia platform; while ALL the reviews out there failed to warn consumers that this does NOT work on an Intel platform at all. The writeups out there further confuse you by stating the downclocks are achieved in drivers, while only the full hybrid power features, i.e., shutting down the GPU and offloads 2D to the onboard IGP require an Nvidia platform. They just don’t know what they are talking about.

This was confirmed after a 30 minute phone conversation with an XFX engineer, the manufacturer of my GTX 280.

What this translates to is that all the idle power consumption graphs you saw on reviews over the GTX 200 series do NOT apply to an Intel platform. Again, out of the 15 odd reviews out there, not one, I repeat, NOT A SINGLE ONE, bothered to state this clearly. Whats the user footprint in the real world with an Nvidia platform? 0.1% of the PC population?
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Mine only goes down to 300 core, 600 shader, 1107 memory.

It does throttle. running games will make it run much higher but it doesn't go down as far as some of yours.

this is on XP-32 with 177.41 drivers.
 
I have an eVGA 280 GTX SC in both a P35 and X48 system and both do throttle down to 300 core, 600 shader and 1100 for memory. Memory will step down after running something 3D but I think at some point in the stepping down, it clocks back up as if to maintain some kind of ratio.

I DID notice something funky on my P35 system in that it wasn't stepping down and it was isolated down to Everest. With Everest running, the card would idle at 60C+ even if was merely minimized. I'd quit Everest and things would step down in a couple seconds.
 
..I DID notice something funky on my P35 system in that it wasn't stepping down and it was isolated down to Everest. With Everest running, the card would idle at 60C+ even if was merely minimized. I'd quit Everest and things would step down in a couple seconds.
Click to expand...

Thanks !

That seems to been the problem with my computer also. I use the Everest (4.50.1330) which outputs some sensor information to my Logitech G15 LCD. I pinpointed the cause to "Free Local Video Memory" on the External Applications (shared memory) tab which I had kept on even though it didn't even work correctly with the card. When I disabled it GTX280 stept down to 300MHz core and 100MHz memory. (Reading the GPU temperature didn't have any effect on this matter)

Now I can have even more quiet computer on idle. I have adjusted the GPU fan with the Rivatuner 2.09 and it now runs idle 25% (450 RPM) 80-85C and burn 70% (1250 RPM) 90-95C. (105C is the throttle temperature of GTX280)

If anyone is interested here is my Rivatuner Low-level Fan settings:

Duty cycle min 25
Duty cycle max 75
T min 84
T range 5
T operating 90
T low limit 0
T high limit 151

These settings keep the card very silent on idle and as quiet as possible on burn in a case with an almost nonexistent cooling. For example my X48 northbridge is 75-80C idle and 80-85C burn while 90C being the shutdown temperature. :)

[Asus Rampage Formula X48, Asus GTX280, Forceware 177.35 and Windows Vista Business 64-bit]
 
anime4u said:
ZippZopp said:



hmmm. I haven't seen a trend yet. Could it be that the BFG OC card is not underclocking since it is overclocked?
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could be, but i'm not really sure. anyone else have the BFG OC card? could you check it and see if it is downclocking?
 
My card does drop back to power saving mode however recently it was stuck in 3d mode and I had to reinstall the driver again although it's not related., but yes power saving mode is working on my GTX280 with a p35 chipset.
 
maybe it is isolated to the x38 chipset? anyone else here have an x38? seems like people with p35 and x48 are workin fine....
 
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