Power Limit slider: what is this thing?

[Alex780]

Hi everybody!

 

I've recently tried to overclock my msi hd 7950 twin frozr via msi afterburner and I discovered that there is a power limit slider in addition to the well known ones like core clock, memory clock, etc... I simply don't know what it does and if should use it or not. I guess it has something to do with adjusting the boost clocks but it's weird how there is no actual boost on my 7950. It's stuck at 960 MHz core all the time. If I had a gtx 680 for example I would have understood what this does right away. AMD cards don't have gpu boost right?...

If someone can explain me it would be cool. Thanks! 

[BCMods]

The slider allows it to draw more power than the stock TDP.

[Alex780]

The slider allows it to draw more power than the stock TDP.

 

Alright so it's kind of an auto overclocking feature then

[BCMods]

Alright so it's kind of an auto overclocking feature then

No. The TDP is the maximum wattage the GPU can pull from your PSU. This slider will increase that limit.

[Alex780]

No. The TDP is the maximum wattage the GPU can pull from your PSU. This slider will increase that limit.

 

If I Oc my card to 1300 core 1700 mem for instance, do I need to touch it? Or will I be fine leaving it on the default setting (0%). I mean is it required to set it according to your oc settings? Thanks again for your help

[Janne]

If I Oc my card to 1300 core 1700 mem for instance, do I need to touch it? Or will I be fine leaving it on the default setting (0%). I mean is it required to set it according to your oc settings? Thanks again for your help

You should, you could also overvolt it but it's more dangerous. I always just slide the power limit to the max. (and by max i mean 106%, i use MSI afterburner)

[Alex780]

You should, you could also overvolt it but it's more dangerous. I always just slide the power limit to the max. (and by max i mean 106%, i use MSI afterburner)

 

My power limit slider is stuck to 20% max. Don't know if it's normal for my card. I bypassed the overdrive limits though...

[Janne]

It probably means +20%, same as 120%

[Alex780]

Makes sense. I don't know why I didn't get it at first. lol

 

I've seen some dudes on youtube having the power limit slider disabled. If anyone knows how to do it please tell me! I would like to get rid of this power limit thing in case it might interfere with my oc.

[BCMods]

Makes sense. I don't know why I didn't get it at first. lol

 

I've seen some dudes on youtube having the power limit slider disabled. If anyone knows how to do it please tell me! I would like to get rid of this power limit thing in case it might interfere with my oc.

Won't make a difference, I'd leave it as it is.

[Janne]

Usually i get throttling if i don't adjust the power limit.

[Alex780]

Interesting. I guess I'll set it to 120% and I should be fine.

[Janne]

Just play around with the settings and every time you change something run a good GPU benchmark for stress testing. And of course remember to watch temperatures.

[Wolfur]

No. The TDP is the maximum wattage the GPU can pull from your PSU. This slider will increase that limit.

 

What if i have old power supply and i didnt replace it yet, and i want to prevent the GPU from drawing too much powah from my old 500w power supply... can i use that slider and what else do i have to do to limit the TDP let's say from 200w to 150?

[BCMods]

What if i have old power supply and i didnt replace it yet, and i want to prevent the GPU from drawing too much powah from my old 500w power supply... can i use that slider and what else do i have to do to limit the TDP let's say from 200w to 150?

Fairly sure that's not possible. Don't quote me on that though.

[SkilledRebuilds]

Yes you can limit your cards TDP using -20, you can ALSO on top of that, declock your card and save/load the profile on windows startup.

I have not done this, but have read about others doing so with no ill effects, however they were power users and I didnt have all the info or details...

 

Think of your 20+ being the ACTUAL 100% Baseline that the card can offer, while at 0-+ its running at 80% power, @ -20 its running at 60% power

If your overclocking (hell, even staying stock) 20+ This is pretty much the setting to use if your overclocking, if not used, the TDP limit gets hit earlier, and declocking happens (whether you OC or not)

It does not push the card harder than intended, its built to stay at +20, that would be its "I can use 100% of myself" if needed...

 

Make more or less sense?

You could just go to AMD's site and get them to explain it in their blog/posts/faq

[Alex780]

Yep looks like + 20% means no power restrictions