GPU Throttling/Downclocking Question

[HungryHamster]

Hey everyone,

 

I've been kind of curious about thermal throttling and how much it actually has an impact on performance (FPS).

 

I run SLI with two GTX 1080s with no overclocking, but I've still been hitting my temp target (82c) on my top card. I've recently been monitoring the correlation between my GPU temps and my GPU clocks. Here is what I've noticed:

 

1936MHZ @ 60-65c

1924MHZ @ 70-75c

1911MHZ @ 75-80c

1898MHZ @ 80-82c

 

So it looks like for about every 5c increase, the GPU "downclocks" roughly 13MHZ.

 

I haven't noticed any change in game performance at higher temps/lower GPU clock, but am I missing something? Like would it really make a big difference if I liquid cooled both cards and OC'd them to 2000MHZ? Or, should I just increase my temperature target to like 90c? I've tried all kinds of airflow fixes including fan curves and removing the side panel of the case, but it still was sitting at 82c at 95% load so I don't have many other options to reduce temps besides switching thermal paste. Also, I should note that the only game that pushes my top card to 82c is The Witcher 3 so it's not a huge concern. Most games run in the low 70s.

 

Any help would be appreciated.

 

Thanks.

[Techicolors]

it's lowering clocks because of gpu boost 3.0 and partly due to your temps slowly rising. raising your temp limit will help somewhat 

 

watercooling will help maintain a higher clock for far longer period of time but it won't magically let you overclock to a million mhz. 

[HungryHamster]

4 minutes ago, Technicolors said:

it's lowering clocks because of gpu boost 3.0 and partly due to your temps slowly rising. raising your temp limit will help somewhat 

 

watercooling will help maintain a higher clock for far longer period of time but it won't magically let you overclock to a million mhz. 

Thanks for the response. I guess what I'm wondering is how big of a performance difference there is between 2000MHZ and 1900MHZ? Do you know if +1000MHZ is equal to like +10FPS in game or something like that?

[Energycore]

You won't really notice a difference at all between 1900 and 2000. Maybe if you hit 2150. Generally overclocking scales less than fully, but close.

[Techicolors]

3 minutes ago, HungryHamster said:

Thanks for the response. I guess what I'm wondering is how big of a performance difference there is between 2000MHZ and 1900MHZ? Do you know if +1000MHZ is equal to like +10FPS in game or something like that?

actually, in response to the bit about raising temp limit. there is some risk there since your top card is already hitting what i would call an uncomfortable temperature range. just do at your own discretion

 

in theory you should see some gains with that sort of overclock. but it depends on the game 

[Morgan Everett]

13 minutes ago, HungryHamster said:

Thanks for the response. I guess what I'm wondering is how big of a performance difference there is between 2000MHZ and 1900MHZ? Do you know if +1000MHZ is equal to like +10FPS in game or something like that?

It varies, but it might be 3-5 FPS at 1440p, with an intensive game at very high or ultra settings.