I suspect my GPU is a freak(in a good way), is it?

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RCguitarist

RCguitarist

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So I don't ever really check the MSI afterburner stats on my GTX 660 because it never gets above 52C and it runs everything I throw at it on ultra settings with ease. But I checked it just for fun tonight after about 2 hours of gaming on ultra settings with AA cranked all the way up.

What surprised me was the core Mhz max level read out at 1,137. This surprised me because MSI rates this card as having a core Mhz of 1,033 with a boost Mhz of 1,098. Is the extra 39 Mhz just a bonus for being lucky and getting a really good chip?
 
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Damn_Rookie

No, that's perfectly normal. It's just a feature of the GPU Boost. It's designed to let the clocks run higher depending on the load, temperature, and power usage. You have your base frequency and boost frequency, as set by the manufacturer (in this case 1,033 and 1,098 respectively); these will be the same for anyone with that particular model of card. What you also have is the frequency it normally runs at under load. Now, this can vary a little, depending on the particular...
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photonboy

photonboy

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Since we don't know his ambient room temperature, or case cooling details it's impossible to say whether this is "great" or not. However, I think it's extremely unlikely that a particular GPU would somehow run several degrees cooler than other GPU's of the same type under the exact same conditions.

Yes, there's a small variation in overclocking potential between cards, but I don't think there's much variation in temperature between identical GPU makes at the same frequency/cooling conditions.
 
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Damn_Rookie

Damn_Rookie

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No, that's perfectly normal. It's just a feature of the GPU Boost. It's designed to let the clocks run higher depending on the load, temperature, and power usage. You have your base frequency and boost frequency, as set by the manufacturer (in this case 1,033 and 1,098 respectively); these will be the same for anyone with that particular model of card. What you also have is the frequency it normally runs at under load. Now, this can vary a little, depending on the particular load being put on the GPU, but is almost always higher than the manufacturer's specified boost clock (in your case, 39 Mhz higher).

You can probably imagine that this variability makes things a little tricky when it comes to benchmarking these GPU Boost cards, which is why a lot of sites (such as [H]ard OCP) report the actual observed GPU core frequency during the tests, in addition to the card's base and boost specifications.

To give another example: I run a GTX 670 FTW. It's base clock is 1,006 Mhz, and its boost clock is 1,084 Mhz. The actual frequency it runs at however, and has done since the moment I installed it almost 2 years ago, is 1,241 Mhz (I think I got lucky :D).

So in summary, don't worry, it's perfectly normal :)
 
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RCguitarist

RCguitarist

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Thanks for the replies. I didn't realize that the ratings of core Mhz of 1,033 with a boost Mhz of 1,098 that are listed on newegg's page for the graphics card I have were just the reference speeds. I thought that those were supposed to be the factory overclock cards actual speeds. My card is an MSI 660 OC with a twin frozr 3 cooler. And my living room is usually in the low to mid 70's (Fahrenheit) temperature-wise.
 
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RCguitarist

RCguitarist

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My fan profile is 40% fan power until it hits 50C, then it jumps to 59% fan power and stays there until it hits 65C, then it jumps to 80% fan speed and steadily increases from there to hit 100% fan speed at 75C.
 
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Damn_Rookie

Damn_Rookie

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GPU Boost does make things more complicated, that's for sure! Be careful with the use of the word 'reference' though, as it normally has a fixed meaning when talking about graphic cards (reference referring to reference designed cards, and the specifications of those).

The 1,033 and 1,098 Mhz speeds listed for your particular model of GTX 660 are factory overclocked values (the reference design is set at 980 base clock and 1,033 boost clock). Unfortunately they can't list on Newegg how fast your particular example will actually run when you're using it, as GPU Boost is a dynamic system, and thus the clocks can vary depending on load, as well as the nature and efficiency of the specific GPU chip in the graphics card (which can vary a lot - it's the silicon lottery!). The best they can do is list the base and boost clocks, which give you a good idea how much faster, on average, the card will be compared to the reference design, and other factory overclocked designs.

Like I said, GPU Boost makes things complicated!

Oh, and nice temperatures by the way; I wish mine were that low! :lol:
 
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