Hi folks,
I've been paranoid about temperatures and cooling for a while now - in general; ever since my PSU fan failed a couple of years ago - otherwise I've not actually had problems with cooling, just worried I might (good ol' paranoia).
As a result, I'm a bit torn about what to do in certain games.
At max settings in most games, my GPU often reaches 83°C - especially if uncapped framerates - but performance isn't hit in the slightest. I do know that this is expected, especially for the FE.
At worst, I can see it goes from ~1850 Clock speed to ~1750 Clock speed, but it's not something I've noticed having a profound impact on performance, if any.
Since I worry about temps so much, however, I often use Precision XOC to cap the framerate, which in most cases keeps temperature lower (~65°C in Quake Champions @ 120FPS Ultra, ~65°C in Fortnite @ 60FPS Ultra, ~70°C in LawBreakers @ 90FPS High).
Again, not something that hugely impacts performance, but in the latter example with LawBreakers, I start to stress whether or not the FPS cap is causing some mouse lag (which might just be a placebo).
And of course I have tried setting a custom fan profile (40% @ 30-60°C, 60% @ 70°C, 90% @ 80°C), and it helps - in the short term, heat tends to still mount up over time, and I end up with the proverbial jet that is the reference blow-exhaust.
So, I'm left pondering, which option should I go for?
1. Stop worrying about temps, go for best settings I can get without performance hits, and if the card reaches 83°C, so be it.
2. Try to limit heat build-up by capping FPS, and hope I reach an equilibrium before the cap impacts performance (or at least user experience) negatively.
3. Bite the auditorial bullet and open an in-door airport when I play.
Of course I could mix them a bit, as I have in Quake Champions (Menu isn't FPS capped, so churning out 300-500 FPS causes quite a bit of heat build-up), so capping it actually keeps temps at the aforementioned 65°C (in-game as well, not just on the menu).
But in other cases, it doesn't seem as straight forward. Sub 100 FPS I begin to notice visual micro-stutter or mouse input issues, yet if I go above the limits mentioned above, temps go back up to at least 78°C-83°C.
Part of me rationalizes that nVidia has gone with the best compromise between noise, cooling, and performance, without jeopardizing stability or health of the card, but another part of me reads forums that mention 80°C+ is too high, and you should definitely set a custom profile to keep them sub-80 (which doens't always work anyway, I find).
Anyway, I'm rambling.
Do I worry too much about the temperature of my GPU?
Is it "safe"/"okay"/"preferable" to just let it run at factory settings?
Or should I try to limit heat production by capping FPS (potentially well below what I'd like), or reduce settings (which I feel is a bit.. wrong.. given the age of the GPU).
For reference:
MB: ASUS Z270E
CPU: i7-7700k @ base clock
Cooler: Noctua NH-D15, dual fan setting -- idle 36-38°C, load 63-67°C, spike (very rare, only seen once) 70°C.
RAM: 16GB CL14 DDR4, 2133MHz
GPU: (EVGA) GTX 1080 FE @ base clock -- slight coil-whine at high FPS; i.e. uncapped menus, but nothing major or ear-piercing -- idle 36-40°C.
PSU: Corsair RM850i (never seen the fan actually needing to start, and I run HWMonitor constantly)
Case: Fractal Design Define R5, 2x140mm front intake (1 Fractal, 1 Noctua), 1x140mm rear exhaust (1 Fractal) -- silent mode (no noticeable difference between silent and performance setting on the case fan controller).
Monitor: ASUS VG236H, 1920x1080 @ 120 FPS
I've been paranoid about temperatures and cooling for a while now - in general; ever since my PSU fan failed a couple of years ago - otherwise I've not actually had problems with cooling, just worried I might (good ol' paranoia).
As a result, I'm a bit torn about what to do in certain games.
At max settings in most games, my GPU often reaches 83°C - especially if uncapped framerates - but performance isn't hit in the slightest. I do know that this is expected, especially for the FE.
At worst, I can see it goes from ~1850 Clock speed to ~1750 Clock speed, but it's not something I've noticed having a profound impact on performance, if any.
Since I worry about temps so much, however, I often use Precision XOC to cap the framerate, which in most cases keeps temperature lower (~65°C in Quake Champions @ 120FPS Ultra, ~65°C in Fortnite @ 60FPS Ultra, ~70°C in LawBreakers @ 90FPS High).
Again, not something that hugely impacts performance, but in the latter example with LawBreakers, I start to stress whether or not the FPS cap is causing some mouse lag (which might just be a placebo).
And of course I have tried setting a custom fan profile (40% @ 30-60°C, 60% @ 70°C, 90% @ 80°C), and it helps - in the short term, heat tends to still mount up over time, and I end up with the proverbial jet that is the reference blow-exhaust.
So, I'm left pondering, which option should I go for?
1. Stop worrying about temps, go for best settings I can get without performance hits, and if the card reaches 83°C, so be it.
2. Try to limit heat build-up by capping FPS, and hope I reach an equilibrium before the cap impacts performance (or at least user experience) negatively.
3. Bite the auditorial bullet and open an in-door airport when I play.
Of course I could mix them a bit, as I have in Quake Champions (Menu isn't FPS capped, so churning out 300-500 FPS causes quite a bit of heat build-up), so capping it actually keeps temps at the aforementioned 65°C (in-game as well, not just on the menu).
But in other cases, it doesn't seem as straight forward. Sub 100 FPS I begin to notice visual micro-stutter or mouse input issues, yet if I go above the limits mentioned above, temps go back up to at least 78°C-83°C.
Part of me rationalizes that nVidia has gone with the best compromise between noise, cooling, and performance, without jeopardizing stability or health of the card, but another part of me reads forums that mention 80°C+ is too high, and you should definitely set a custom profile to keep them sub-80 (which doens't always work anyway, I find).
Anyway, I'm rambling.
Do I worry too much about the temperature of my GPU?
Is it "safe"/"okay"/"preferable" to just let it run at factory settings?
Or should I try to limit heat production by capping FPS (potentially well below what I'd like), or reduce settings (which I feel is a bit.. wrong.. given the age of the GPU).
For reference:
MB: ASUS Z270E
CPU: i7-7700k @ base clock
Cooler: Noctua NH-D15, dual fan setting -- idle 36-38°C, load 63-67°C, spike (very rare, only seen once) 70°C.
RAM: 16GB CL14 DDR4, 2133MHz
GPU: (EVGA) GTX 1080 FE @ base clock -- slight coil-whine at high FPS; i.e. uncapped menus, but nothing major or ear-piercing -- idle 36-40°C.
PSU: Corsair RM850i (never seen the fan actually needing to start, and I run HWMonitor constantly)
Case: Fractal Design Define R5, 2x140mm front intake (1 Fractal, 1 Noctua), 1x140mm rear exhaust (1 Fractal) -- silent mode (no noticeable difference between silent and performance setting on the case fan controller).
Monitor: ASUS VG236H, 1920x1080 @ 120 FPS
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