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GPU Boost And Overclocking

GeForce GTX 750 Ti Review: Maxwell Adds Performance Using Less Power
By , Don Woligroski, And Igor Wallossek

Factory Clock Rates and GPU Boost

We already know that the base clock rate of Nvidia's GPUs isn't indicative of what those processors can run at under load thanks to the company's GPU Boost technology, so long as certain conditions are met.

Base and GPU Boost frequencies can be set in firmware by board partners. So, depending on the card and its cooler, you might see varying Boost ceilings, even between products with the same base clock. In the following chart, Gigabyte posts the most conservative ceiling. However, it's able to sustain a frequency that does not fluctuate. The other three boards, lacking auxiliary power connectors, do bounce around more.

Overclocking? Yes, But Only A Little

After long stability tests using the partner cards, we settled on ~1.3 GHz as the highest usable GPU Boost clock rate. At that point, the power limit was intervening fairly restrictively. Unfortunately, this limit is set to 100%. Until Nvidia fixes whatever is preventing higher power targets, it won't be possible to push the board harder (up to the PCI Express slot's 75 W ceiling).

In terms of performance, the Gigabyte and MSI boards fare similarly. The GTX 750 Ti Gaming OC does manage to push higher peak clock rates, but then has to dial back more often due to the TDP limit. Gigabyte's offering delivers more rounded behavior. It also operates at an incredibly-cool 46 °C, despite our overclocked settings.

First, we'll compare base clock rate settings to observed GPU Boost frequencies:

It's clear that as you push overclocked frequencies higher, the card steps in more often to dial back down. In reality, this means you don't get a ton of benefit in real-world gaming. Let's compare the increased frequencies to the corresponding frame rates in Metro: Last Light and Crysis 3, which we normalize and average together.

Roughly 14%-higher base clock rate (11% GPU Boost) yields about 7% more gaming performance. Power consumption barely budges though, and the GeForce GTX 750 Ti continues respecting its TDP limit. Short-term peaks (102%) are countered immediately with a clock rate reduction. But by capping the power limit to 100%, we end up with fairly modest gains, regardless of whether more power is available through a six-pin connector or not. Nvidia needs to fix its software-imposed ceiling before we're able to push higher.

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Top Comments
  • 17 Hide
    Sangeet Khatri , February 18, 2014 6:21 AM
    Well.. there is not a lot of performance in it, but I love it for a reason that it is a 60W card. I mean for 60W Nvidia has seriously nailed it. The only competition is way behind, the 7750 performs a lot less for similar wattage.Let's see how AMD replies to this because after the launch of 750Ti, the 7750 is no longer the best card for upgrading for people who have a 350W PSU.I don't generally say this, but Nvidia well done! Take a bow.
  • 12 Hide
    meluvcookies , February 18, 2014 6:08 AM
    on performance, I'll take the extra frames of the 265, but damn, for 60w, I'm totally impressed by this card. both the 750Ti and the R7 265 would be decent upgrades from my aging GTX460.
  • 11 Hide
    cangelini , February 18, 2014 6:18 AM
    Quote:
    Quote:
    But without the big cooler, GTX 750 Ti is daintier than a lot of sound cards we've tested.
    I'm pretty sure you meant to type "video cards" on page one there. Cheers.
    Actually meant sound card :)  It's definitely smaller than a small video card, but I even have sound cards here that are larger.
Other Comments
  • 12 Hide
    meluvcookies , February 18, 2014 6:08 AM
    on performance, I'll take the extra frames of the 265, but damn, for 60w, I'm totally impressed by this card. both the 750Ti and the R7 265 would be decent upgrades from my aging GTX460.
  • -5 Hide
    s3anister , February 18, 2014 6:11 AM
    Quote:
    But without the big cooler, GTX 750 Ti is daintier than a lot of sound cards we've tested.


    I'm pretty sure you meant to type "video cards" on page one there. Cheers.
  • 0 Hide
    Bloob , February 18, 2014 6:17 AM
    Ah, I just love some healthy competition.
  • 0 Hide
    Bloob , February 18, 2014 6:18 AM
    Also
    Quote:
    It’s difficult to make this story all about frame rates when we’re comparing a 60 W GPU to a 150 W processor
    Is a bit confusing.
  • 11 Hide
    cangelini , February 18, 2014 6:18 AM
    Quote:
    Quote:
    But without the big cooler, GTX 750 Ti is daintier than a lot of sound cards we've tested.
    I'm pretty sure you meant to type "video cards" on page one there. Cheers.
    Actually meant sound card :)  It's definitely smaller than a small video card, but I even have sound cards here that are larger.
  • 17 Hide
    Sangeet Khatri , February 18, 2014 6:21 AM
    Well.. there is not a lot of performance in it, but I love it for a reason that it is a 60W card. I mean for 60W Nvidia has seriously nailed it. The only competition is way behind, the 7750 performs a lot less for similar wattage.Let's see how AMD replies to this because after the launch of 750Ti, the 7750 is no longer the best card for upgrading for people who have a 350W PSU.I don't generally say this, but Nvidia well done! Take a bow.
  • 0 Hide
    houldendub , February 18, 2014 6:30 AM
    Nice little card, awesome! I feel like this would be an absolutely awesome test bed for a dual chip version, great performance with minimal power usage.
  • 0 Hide
    Randy David , February 18, 2014 6:32 AM
    Anybody else notice the lesser shaders and TMUs on the Zotac card in GPU-Z?
  • 4 Hide
    thdarkshadow , February 18, 2014 6:34 AM
    The whole time I was reading the review I was like it isn't beating the 650ti boost... :(  but then I remembered it uses less than half the power lol. I am impressed nvidia. While I make purchases more on performance than power consumption I can still appreciate what nvidia is doing
  • 0 Hide
    houldendub , February 18, 2014 6:42 AM
    Quote:
    Anybody else notice the lesser shaders and TMUs on the Zotac card in GPU-Z?


    Don't take this as fact, but the drivers look newer for the Zotac card than the others, possibly just a bug with the older drivers? The cards are advertised as having 640 shaders anyway.

    Also weird, the GPU-Z screenshot is taken with Windows 8, whereas the Gigabyte and MSI cards are on Windows 7. The mystery continues...
  • 1 Hide
    jeraldtapz , February 18, 2014 6:45 AM
    As an AMD Fan, I'm impressed. Currently thinking in buying one.
  • 1 Hide
    logainofhades , February 18, 2014 6:49 AM
    I wonder how well these little guys fold? With such crazy low power consumption, these might just work for my file server. It can fold at night and game well enough, since that system doesn't play anything other than WoW most of the time. Wouldn't mind them as an upgrade for my HD 5850's and 4870's in my extra rigs. Less heat and power but still plenty capable is a win win. The first Nv card I have seriously considered in quite some time. :D 
  • 1 Hide
    09mlb86 , February 18, 2014 6:52 AM
    Why does GPU-Z report 960 Stream Processors for MSI and Gigabyte?
  • 6 Hide
    DryCreamer , February 18, 2014 6:55 AM
    who would have thought? 1080p gaming with a 300 watt power supply? I can't wait to see what laptops will do with Maxwell... shame they will only sell with 768p screens :/ Dry
  • 0 Hide
    Gman450 , February 18, 2014 6:57 AM
    I'm impressed. Nvidia doesn't usually pull it off with most of their mid range cards, but this is just amazing performance for that wattage. Well done!
  • 0 Hide
    GAMER4000 , February 18, 2014 6:59 AM
    How can this be practically as fast as a R7 265 when it is 25% faster in BF4??
  • 3 Hide
    GAMER4000 , February 18, 2014 7:04 AM
    Also,the reviewer goes on about the R7 265 being a 150W GPU and the GTX750TI being a 60W one??However,it seems he has not read his own article:http://media.bestofmicro.com/3/3/422607/original/06-Power-Consumption-Gaming.pngThe R9 270X and HD7870 are consuming under 130W,and the R7 265 is likely to consume less power if the HD7850 is anything to go by.Yes,the GTX750TI has decent performance for a bus powered card,but the reviewer seems to be overstating the power consumption of the R7 265 and understating its performance at the same time. Why??
  • 8 Hide
    keyrock , February 18, 2014 7:07 AM
    That's thoroughly impressive performance for just 60W. This makes me quite excited to both see what Maxwell will bring to the laptop market, where power consumption is a much bigger issue than on desktops, and what a 200W Maxwell card will bring to the high-end gaming market.
  • 0 Hide
    farky84 , February 18, 2014 7:07 AM
    Maybe I have missed something but why don't we see the GTX 760 in the comparison?
  • 0 Hide
    cangelini , February 18, 2014 7:07 AM
    Quote:
    Quote:
    Anybody else notice the lesser shaders and TMUs on the Zotac card in GPU-Z?
    Don't take this as fact, but the drivers look newer for the Zotac card than the others, possibly just a bug with the older drivers? The cards are advertised as having 640 shaders anyway.Also weird, the GPU-Z screenshot is taken with Windows 8, whereas the Gigabyte and MSI cards are on Windows 7. The mystery continues...
    Igor took his screenshots using an older driver. They're now updated with the correct driver installed!
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