Asus GTX780 SLI boost clock question

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wheneva14

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May 9, 2013
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Hello,

recently i added another 780 to my system, and i have a question about the boost clock.

First of all, should i put the better card in the primary slot, or the secondary slot? or its the same?

Second, my old card(2nd slot) is running at 1150mhz stable in games when doing 95% usage,
but the new card(1st slot) is jumping up and down from 1150 to 10xx. I did overclock them to get them at the same clock speed, but i dont understand why my second cards clock is jumping so much even at 95-100% usage .
Thank you
 
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wheneva14

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My Top card (New card) 58.6%
My bot card (Old Card) 82.1%,
i dont really understand these numbers, but my bottom card overclocks much better lol

temps are in the high 70s full load
 
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17seconds

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82% is an unusually high score and 58% is an unusually low score. Your GPUs are mismatched. ASIC quality basically tells how hot your GPU runs when overclocking. Lower ASIC chips need more voltage and run hotter with less headroom for overclocking. Higher ASIC chips are the opposite; use less voltage and run cooler.

Do you have any option to return your new card and try the GPU lottery again with another one?
 
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17seconds

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I just re-read your initial post. In addition to my thoughts on your ASIC score, which most people pay little attention, I think your fluctuating clock speeds may be due to a limitation with your Turbo Boost clocks. Your lower card is likely running cooler and able to maintain a stable boost clock. Your upper card is getting hotter and probably dialing down its boost clock to maintain within its temperature limit. Check your temp limits on each GPU and check your "Reasons" to see if you are hitting a '1' when the boost clock dials back. Afterburner is great for this type of monitoring.

You should have the new card in the lower slot so that it can run cooler.
 
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wheneva14

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Yes, my higher ASIC quality card runs a bit cooler even with higher clocks.
I think i passed the return date already, its from CanadaComputers, and they give you a hard time even if the item is defected in my experience.

The temps are around 78 max for one card, and 74 for the other on full load. Another thing is when i turn on my computer , and everything is cold, i run Heaven Benchmark, when full load the temps are around 60C and rise slowly, one of my cards still jumps its core clock around, but the other one stays at 1150mhz.
I apologize for being so novice, but how do i check the temp limits and what hitting '1'??
I do use afterburner , i only have FPS, cpu gpu usage and temps OSD turned on.

Much Thanks
 
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Open up Afterburner, right-click on the graph, select 'Properties', place a check mark next to: Temp Limit, Power Limit, Voltage Limit, OV Max Limit.

Now check the graph after gaming, those variables have a value of either '0' or '1'. Zero means that you did not reach a limit on that variable. A '1' means that is the variable in which you reached your limit, which caused your Turbo Boost clock to dial down to a lower number.

My theory is that your new card will show a '1' under Temp Limit when it dials down its speed. The other card will show a '0' at that time and will be maintaining a steady core clock speed. I realize that your temps are low, but this matches the behavior you are describing.

I believe you're probably getting very good performance, so this is more of a question because its a bit of a mystery. Again, you should have the new card below where it can maximize its potential in terms of cooling.
 
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wheneva14

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So i did all those, i even let it show it on my OSD so i could look at it real time.
I am going to try and make everything clear, ill explain what i see in two situations, on my OSD and on the graph

OSD:
GPU1: (New card, clock drops card)
temp limit = '0' Constant
voltage limit = '0' , sometimes '1' for a second then back to '0'
power limit = '0', half of the time '1'
OV max = '0' Constant
GPU2
temp limit='0' Constant
voltage limit='1' Constant
powerlimit='0' Constant
OV Max='0' Constant

Here is the interesting part, my OSD very different to the graph i monitor on my second screen
Graph:
GPU1
temp limit = '0' constant
voltage limit = jumps like a heartbeat graph '0' and '1', crazy jumps
power limit = jumps like a heartbeat graph '0' and '1', medium jumps
OV Max = '0' Constant
Utilization = jumps like a heartbeat graph '0' and '1' , mostly '0' ,less jumps
GPU 2
temp limit = '0' Constant
voltage limit = '1' Constant
power limit = '0' Constant
OV Max limit = '0' Constant
Utilization = '0' Constant

Hope this is very clear, to add some info
both cards are set at 110% power limit in after burner
First card +160mhz , max 1134mhz
Second card +100mhz , max 1150mhz

I do get much better performance than one card, sometimes even double.
but some random times i get this random freeze for less than a second and everything goes back to normal.
when it freezes, i see all my gpu usage and stuff dropped.

Thank you
 
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wheneva14

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So ive tried switching the cards , the normal card runs much hotter in the primary slots, but no signs of clock dropping. The other card(Problem card) runs much cooler , but the clock still jumps alot.

I dont know if this is the main reason, but the power of the first card is varying alot, i see it dips down to 30% and to 95% back a forth, witch my second card only varies around 60% to 99%.

Im starting to get random stutter in Ryse son of rome, and when it freezes , i see GPU1 usage goes way down, but GPU2 usage still staying at high usage, so my guess its this card making me freeze randomly. I really hope i could fix this problem soon

edit: i see OV Max limit on my gpu 1
 
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I would set all your clocks back to default and let them decide what speeds to run. You are getting some errors on your overclocking. OV Max Limit is supposed to be the bad one, where you're supposed to back off immediately. The big red flag for me is the Voltage reaching its limit, with a constant 1. That means your using too much voltage and the card is backing off elsewhere.

Try default settings and report back. I'm thinking its an issue with how the cards interact and how they're both trying to maintain a similar clock speed, but can't really accomplish that very well since they're so different with their ASIC scores and positioning within the case.
 
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wheneva14

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So i bench with both cards on stock.
The GPU1 still shows power limit jumping crazy '1' and '0'........
i dont understand... the total power consumption of that GPU is around 85% max
both still have voltage limit at '1' , and showing 1.162V
 
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wheneva14

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so what i think is that the card keeps thinking its reaching the power limit, thats why its down clocking. But problem is that card never exceeds 85% power, and it keeps saying its reaching max power limit. Even i raise the power limit to 110% its still only hitting 85% max and down clocking.
My second card is hitting 110% Max no problem without any down clocking itself.
So what will be the possible reasons that a card cannot exceed the 85% power limit? Temperatures are not the issue, ive tried switching the power cables on both card, didnt help.
 
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wheneva14

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Sadly, the problem card working alone is still under clocking.
The other card is working fine alone.

I notice it around 85% power limit, the voltage backs off to around 1.100v and thats when my core clock drops, some times it goes back up to 1.16v , but mostly 1.100v
The other working card is stable at 1.16v no any signs of drops.

Is it possible the card has problem itself?
 
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wheneva14

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Yes, at stock speed its at 980mhz, the clock does not drop, but the voltage still drops. And seeing afterburner reporting its hitting the power limit.

Side question, Why does the monitor software report different numbers? GPU-Z and HWINFO reports 85% power usage for card 1, but afterburner/Asus GPU tweak reports 10% more at all times only for card 1, very strange.

I clean installed the graphic drivers, but no help at all.

My second card only hit 98% max power , it used to hit 110% alone. Maybe its slowing down for the first card?

wish i picked another gpu beside this box.....sigh.......
 
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