To undervolt an NVIDIA GPU, there are 2 methods:
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Locking the card to specific voltage via the V/F card.
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Manually adjusting the V/F curve by flattening points on the curve.
These methods have a couple of problems, namely:
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GPU Boost might result in card instability.
- The card detects potential headroom but the lack of voltage results in instability.
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Effective clocks might not match target clocks.
- A misconfigured V/F curve might result in lower effective clocks which should be avoided.
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Locking clocks might result in increased temperatures & power usage.
- Some might find this undesirable & want to avoid locking voltages.
You may learn more here:
MSI Afterburner 4.6.6 allows for frequency locking which greatly simplifies undervolting.
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GPU Boost can't bump clocks, the specified lock frequency.
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The card can still downclock as required but will cap at a specified voltage.
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Undervolting is achieved by offsetting the V/F graph via the core clock offset.
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Download the latest version of MSI Afterburner via Guru3D's or MSI's website.
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Reset your settings within MSI Afterburner to defaults or stock.
You want to first assess what max clock, your GPU can reach.
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Download UNIGINE Superposition from their website.
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Start the benchmark & dial in settings, your system can handle.
Run the benchmark & see what your max clock are.
Start MSI Afterburner & open the V/F curve.
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Find your max clock on the V/F curve.
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Press Ctrl + L until you see frequency lock indicator.
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A horizontal dotted line indicates a frequency lock.
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A vertical dotted line indicates a voltage lock which we don't want.
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Now verify if your GPU caps at the desired frequency.
To undervolt the GPU, you must alter the core clock offset in MSI Afterburner.
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Ensure voltage monitoring is enabled in MSI Afterburner.
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Start the benchmark & monitor the voltage of the GPU.
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Increase the core clock offset to reduce the voltage used.
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Keep testing until the undervolt is unstable.