Checking Voltage and Power Constraints When Loaded After a Mild Overload
Checking Voltage and Power Constraints When Loaded After a Mild Overload
So I'm dealing with a bit of a puzzle. I'm using KFA2 1080 ExOc and decided to experiment with some overclocking, after getting a decent setup on my older MSI 970. For reference, I have an EVGA G3 550W PSU and a Ryzen 2700X that I got really cheap for. Cheers to eager sellers!
While I was running the Time Spy benchmark yesterday, I noticed that even though the initial gains were promising, the scores dropped sharply once I hit +70 on core and +100 on memory. The temperature is normal at 78°C, but according to MSI Afterburner, the power and voltage limits are being reached at the same time as the card is being pushed to its maximum during the test. This usually happens when it turbo-charges to around 1960-1970 MHz on core. Given this, could it be that I didn’t lose the silicon lottery, but instead hit the PSU’s maximum capacity?
This seems to align with what I see when I enter my configuration and the increased frequencies (especially in turbo mode) into a PSU calculator—it puts me right at the edge of what the PSU can deliver. Of course, when I bought the PSU, it was specifically for the Intel platform I had with a 4770 and MSI 970...
Anyone else have faced this issue? Is this card limited, or should I be considering a minimum 650 PSU just in case? I’d love to have that as an excuse.
Hi, voltage and power aren't directly related to the PSU. Your PSU might be struggling under heavy load, but the real constraint is the GPU PCB design. It supports 1x6pin and 1x8pin PCI-E connectors, with 75 watts from the PCI-E x16 slot, 75 watts from the 1x6pin, and up to 150 watts from the 1x8pin—totaling around 300 watts. These are maximum ratings, and usually they don't exceed their thermal or current limits. Your GPU's firmware plays a role too; you could push it to 250 watts with an MSI afterburner once you adjust the power settings. To reach 300 watts, you'd need to replace the GPU BIOS, which could damage your GPU.
I tend to be very sensitive to voltage issues, yet it seems odd that the voltage limit was surpassed before reaching the thermal limit.
the voltage limit is when your gpu retains a bit of overclocking capacity (power constraints not exceeded), but it can no longer be boosted beyond that point due to voltage restrictions. it might be possible to increase it up to 1.2 volts on good boards, though doing so will raise power consumption and could lead to performance drops if you're already near the power ceiling.
And given that i am running a 550W PSU i don't really have much headroom to play with here...so overclocking is on hold until later. Thanks for the response and some insight into voltage, kerberos!