GTX 1080 core clock goes up when i increase voltage

Vikerules · Jun 30, 2016

I've had my msi gtx 1080 for a couple of days now and i want to know something...

My core clock is basically hovering around 1880 when all msi afterburner sliders are default but when i increase the core voltage the core clock goes up and i have to turn voltage all they way to 100 to make the card hover at 1936-1949. Is this normal? is it safe to permanently keep the voltage slider at 100 day in and day out? without a manual overclock?

Chugalug_ · Jun 30, 2016

This is normal.
The additional voltage provided by afterburner allows GPU Boost 3.0 to push the GPU further within safe boundaries due to the fact that it has extra juice to work with. This means that under load, your GPU will automatically boost up to higher clock speeds to push more frames without you having to touch a thing.
This makes overclocking less effective with the newer cards than older generations due to the fact that the software now does most of the work for you.
It is safe to permanently keep the MAX voltage slider at 100 or 120% day in day out, as the GPU will not boost clock speeds to say 2GHz in an extreme case if all you are doing is watching youtube videos or using word. It will only take effect during gaming or high load tasks, so nothing to worry about.

As for boosting the core clock, I would not advise keeping it that high, as it will most likely be wasted unless you manually overclock the card.
GPU Boost 3.0 is best utilized with increased headroom through max voltage rather than manually increasing the base voltage where it is unnecessary, as this means the card will be using this power when it does not need to.

Vikerules · Jun 30, 2016

Chugalug_ :

im confused, are you talking about Core Voltage (%) or Power Limit (%)?

Vellinious · Jun 30, 2016

Yes, increasing core voltage will cause boost 3.0 to clock higher. Be careful, though, as increased voltage will also increase the heat...and the thermal barriers in pascal are even more prevalent than they were in Maxwell, so....more heat, means less boost clock. Keeping the voltage as low as possible, and overclocking the card as high as it can go on that voltage, is much better than just increasing the voltage, and letting boost 3.0 do it's auto clocking.

You'll also want to watch the GPUz sensors tab, as the stock bios on the 1080s has power limits that are pretty low. Increasing voltage will increase power draw, and may cause your card to power limit throttle. GPUz sensors tab, watch the "PerfCap Reason" line...if it power limit throttles, it'll have green in that line, and it'll read as "PWR".

Pascal is an even bigger balancing act than Maxwell was. Increase voltage to get higher clocks, and end up with lower clocks because of thermals. Have to match up your custom fan curve carefully.

Chugalug_ · Jun 30, 2016

Vikerules :

In this context i'm talking about Power Limit when I say max voltage(%), and core voltage (+) when I say base voltage.

Chugalug_ · Jun 30, 2016

Vellinious :

Thermals are typically only an issue with the founders edition cards and heavy overclocks on basic aftermarket cards this generation. The voltage limitation put in place is the same across all mid range cards afaik which seems to be the main limiting factor, not so much voltage. Custom BIOSes will most likely be limited to enthusiast cards in the price range of the EVGA FTW edition and Asus ROG Matrix lines of cards.
Thermal throttling is a pretty hard barrier to hit with GPU boost, and even if thermal barriers are hit, you can simply increase your fan curve as you mentioned.

Vellinious · Jun 30, 2016

I'm not talking about the "thermal barrier" or the "thermal limit", I'm talking about the points in the core temp, where core clocks drop. There are certain temps that the core will hit, and when they do, you lose clock speed. Those temps are just a little bit different on every card, but they are there. Just like with Maxwell.

Any bios can be flashed....the pascal bios editor hasn't released yet, but it will soon, and when it does....there will be a LOT of people flashing to custom bios versions because of the artificially lower power limits in the stock bios files.

Power limits are power limits and voltage is voltage....it's important to differentiate between the two. = )

Chugalug_ · Jun 30, 2016

Vellinious :

Ah I see what you mean.

Yeah, the core temp seems to be a bigger problem with the smaller process this generation. I'm interested to see how much this will impact the core temps of the RX480 especially due to the controversy surrounding the power draw.
In regards to flashing the GPU BIOS, I've never really recommended doing this due to the warranty void that comes with it, but perhaps with the prevalence of voltage limitations with the 1070/1080 it could become a more prominent method of overclocking. I suppose only time will tell.

Vellinious · Jun 30, 2016

It's really only going to be useful for those that run under water, or lower than ambient cooling....as increased voltages increase temps, which lower overclocking potential. So, the balancing act of overclocking Maxwell just got put on steroids for Pascal, because as you noted....the smaller process is even more prone to clock loss with additional heat. = )

Now, flashing for an increased power limit.....pretty sure you're going to see a whole lot of that.

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