Under-clocking a future graphics card

[Raptor Log]

Hello everybody in the forum! I am not exactly a PC owner right now, as I only have a laptop and a Mac, but this will change. I have been educating myself on the topic computers for the past year, and I will be building a PC near the end of this year. The planned build is going to be comprised of the modern equivalents of the i5 4690K, 8 GBs of RAM, and a GTX 970. Now my main question is, if I were to say, get a graphics card with the the best cooler on the market, how far could I underclock it, and what would the estimated temperatures be for the GPU on load?

My reasoning for underclocking and undervolting:

Better Temperatures (hopefully)

Less Power Consumption

Better for the GPU

Thank you, in advance, for all for your answers! Let your temps be low, and your frames high!

[Ssoele]

You are probably better off getting a cheaper card (eg. GTX 960).

[Peter Vaughan Truslow]

Hello everybody in the forum! I am not exactly a PC owner right now, as I only have a laptop and a Mac, but this will change. I have been educating myself on the topic computers for the past year, and I will be building a PC near the end of this year. The planned build is going to be comprised of the modern equivalents of the i5 4690K, 8 GBs of RAM, and a GTX 970. Now my main question is, if I were to say, get a graphics card with the the best cooler on the market, how far could I underclock it, and what would the estimated temperatures be for the GPU on load?

My reasoning for underclocking and undervolting:

Better Temperatures (hopefully)

Less Power Consumption

Better for the GPU

Thank you, in advance, for all for your answers! Let your temps be low, and your frames high!

why you shouldn't

low temperatures aren't necessary

power comsumption at idle is the same, as it always downclocks at idle, which is most of what your GPU does

it isn't better for the GPU. lower voltages are marginally better, but it should still last longer than you'll keep it

[Atmos]

Uhh, underclocking wont necessarily be better for the gpu unless you find it over heating constantly, it actually only hinders it's performance. If the card is running @ temperatures within safety limits for the card as listed by the manufactorer then there is no real reason to go and make it even colder (unless in the rare circumstance that it is some how within this range and causing other components to overheat)

The logic is right, but the reasoning behind it might need to be re-evaluated. The 900 series doesnt really need to be even more power eff. than it already is either, (easily the most power efficient design to date as compared to performance) So once again, might want to try and talk to some pals or someone who can help talk you in depth through this stuff. If you're feeling so inclined you can try PM'ing a helpful soul here on LTT even

 

EDIT: This post has fallen casualty to slow typing speeds and 2:30am thinking speeds, oh well

[Archangel1994]

Better temps - The 970 already has very low temps, pointless to decrease them further

Less power consumption - Again it's already very low and if cost is an issue when it comes to your power bill then you shouldn't really have a high-end gaming rig anyway and all cards downclock to about 7-15W power draw anyway at idle

Better for the GPU - Again negligible, Just don't overclock/overvolt manually and the card will go a long way

[QueenDemetria]

Better Temperatures (hopefully) You will see better temperatures, but nothing too spectacular. Not worth the performance loss IMO.

Less Power Consumption Unless if you drop the voltage the power consumption won't drop by much.

Better for the GPU Eh, they last a long time anyways. They are built to run at "full" speeds, so you aren't hurting it with regular usage.

I did some things up there^^^, but hopefully it answers some of your questions. I shouldn't be typing right now, so I'm off to La La Land...

[Geekazoid]

Let your temps be low, and your frames high!

Nah, you've got it all wrong, it's.....

May your temps be high and your frames be low!

[sgloux3470]

Hello everybody in the forum! I am not exactly a PC owner right now, as I only have a laptop and a Mac, but this will change. I have been educating myself on the topic computers for the past year, and I will be building a PC near the end of this year. The planned build is going to be comprised of the modern equivalents of the i5 4690K, 8 GBs of RAM, and a GTX 970. Now my main question is, if I were to say, get a graphics card with the the best cooler on the market, how far could I underclock it, and what would the estimated temperatures be for the GPU on load?

My reasoning for underclocking and undervolting:

Better Temperatures (hopefully)

Less Power Consumption

Better for the GPU

Thank you, in advance, for all for your answers! Let your temps be low, and your frames high!

 

Underclocking a GPU won't significantly benefit you in any of these categories.  

 

Everything idles around 70-90 W, Everything loads around 300-400W.  Minor differences in clock speed won't noticeably change that.

Everything idles around 30 degrees lower than load.  A small undervolt won't change that too much. (Ramping up your fans will do more.)

Everything is rated for stock speeds.  Reducing the voltage and clockspeeds won't prolong the lifespan of your GPU.  

 

 

You're just going to hurt performance significantly for marginally reduced temperature and power consumption.  At that point, just buy a lower end card that uses less power and generates less heat to begin with.

[Raptor Log]

Thanks for the feedback! Well, I have also fallen to the 3:00 AM curse, and forgot to mention that I will be building in a tiny case, and I wouldn't want hot air blowing onto the CPU, causing trouble there. But I understand your points, and I won't underclock. So my (maybe) last question, if I were to get the RVZ02, would it be better to get a blower cooler, or a standard cooler? Thank you all again for the help!

[sgloux3470]

Thanks for the feedback! Well, I have also fallen to the 3:00 AM curse, and forgot to mention that I will be building in a tiny case, and I wouldn't want hot air blowing onto the CPU, causing trouble there. But I understand your points, and I won't underclock. So my (maybe) last question, if I were to get the RVZ02, would it be better to get a blower cooler, or a standard cooler? Thank you all again for the help!

 

Blower will keep case temps lower, but quite frankly it shouldn't cause a huge issue for any stock CPU.