Does the 12GB 3080 model consume a lot of power?
Does the 12GB 3080 model consume a lot of power?
Hello fellow users, I own an RTX 3080 with 12GB RAM and after numerous trials, discovered a stable UV+OC setup using MSI Afterburner. The settings are 825mv core clock, 1815mhz for the core and +800mhz to memory. There were no crashes or unusual artifacts. I’ve picked up tips from a YouTube video about undervolting and found it helpful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqpfYTi43TE. I also observed that the founder edition 3080, which has a power limit of 320W, when undervolted to 850mv with a 1850mhz core clock only used 231W. I’m curious—am I missing something or not grasping the concept properly? Someone experienced should clarify this for me.
The current readings from the photos correspond to a Dying Light 2 session at 1440p maxed out with RTX on, using native resolution. At 825mv, I could only shave off about 26W, which seems quite low. With the 370W limit, achieving 344W under those conditions is impressive, but I’m still puzzled as to how this was possible.
Was that the maximum sustained for a long time? The screenshot seems from post-testing, making it hard to judge. If the card can still deliver 344W at 825mV then it’s an extremely stable chip—truly a golden sample. It would have been better if it had been categorized for mobile use. On the other hand, it might be too leaky and cause power loss. Either way, start reducing the power until the clock speed starts dropping quickly. I’d say my 3080 Ti prefers around 2100Mhz, but it’s been a while since I worked with it.
I recorded a brief clip after several minutes of use; it appears the safe zone uses the most energy there, dropping to about 310W when outside, yet staying around 345W even after hours. I’m puzzled by this behavior despite being undervolted to 825mV. The test video is available here: https://jumpshare.com/share/174YJHqPyAkh6LF5Xnig. I don’t mind the GPU temperatures—I kept the fan at 68% for a quieter experience. These settings have been stable since last year; I own this GPU second-hand and haven’t faced any issues. Still, I’m concerned about the high power draw even after undervolting, as it could affect core performance if I push beyond 300W.
Consider adjusting the power limit and observing the clock speeds. As a used card, it's likely you have a modified vBIOS displaying incorrect values. You should check this or update it to the most recent version available.
I limited the card to 80% of its power and my core clock settled around 1600mhz... I verified the vbios version matches exactly what gpuZ states.
This is the original BIOS from the factory.
https://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/2427...288-211123
I also ran a test in Unigine Heaven Benchmark and confirmed with undervolt that the card draws only 260W, though I’m unsure why it doesn’t increase further if I use Furmark. With Furmark, it reaches up to 360W even at 825mV, which contradicts my belief that once you undervolt it it caps at a certain draw.
Dying Light 2 with maximum settings at 1440p native is very demanding and causes significant stress on the card, hitting nearly the same power usage even when undervolted to 825mV. It’s really confusing—I’m either missing something or not fully understanding the behavior.
I tested two BIOS versions for performance checks.
The first one was gigabyte eagle, set at 350W target and 370W limit.
The second was asus strix oc, with a 390W target and 450W limit.
My original BIOS is gigabyte gaming oc, also targeting 370W with the same restrictions.
After swapping to the eagle BIOS, it only lowered the power cap to 350W. When it reached about 340W, it began downclocking from 1800MHz to roughly 1700MHz, but kept drawing 340W even at 825mV. The strix oc BIOS caused inconsistent behavior—core clocks ranged from 1400 to 1600 and power use stayed at 380W. It didn’t allow undervolting or M-SI afterburner adjustments.
In short, changing the BIOS messed with your card’s power limits and fans. The power draw was similar or even higher with the strix oc version.
I’m giving up; I’ll just accept it until I upgrade to a more efficient card. For now, I’ll just manage my electricity costs. Thanks for the attempt.
Running at 175 watts with 0.825 volts indicates the card is drawing about 212.12 amps. Looks like you found a solid sample. Try using a standard MSI setup and cap power usage to 75%. Check the output to see what it delivers.
I created another clip demonstrating the following setup:
https://jumpshare.com/share/f5zT4GiyOciKnz4vizxh
The stock profile operates at 75% power, as shown in the video:
voltage fluctuates between 800mv and 825mv
core clock ranges from 1500 to 1600 MHz
power output is between 270 and 280W
Stock profile voltage: 893mv-912mv
core clock: 1700-1800 MHz
power: 340-350W
My UV+OC profile uses 825mv (static)
core clock: 1815 MHz (static)
power: around 328W
From the clip, it’s clear that with my 825mv UV+OC setup, I managed to save about 22W compared to the stock profile. In this specific test, the stock profile ran between 893mv-912mv. My goal is to keep the core clock at 1800 MHz while staying under 300W, ensuring I don’t lose any further FPS.
It appears your specific example requires the power level you wish to avoid for your clocks. Reducing the voltage even more may not help and could cause instability; consider decreasing it gradually in 10mV steps.