What is GPU base clock?

[AstroBenny]

So I understand that a graphics card can downclock when not being stressed and that it can go all the way up to the boost clock when under load right?

So what is the point of a base clock?.. Surely the card will either just be running at very little low clocks when not in use or running at 100% utilisation with its boost clock when under load..

What am I missing here?

[Godlygamer23]

Base clocks have kind of lost their meaning now since people can get differing boosts on the same card model. Under normal loads, the GPU will start off at the base clock while also analyzing certain things like temperatures, power limits, fan speeds, etc to determine how far it can actually boost.

[ExcitezR]

what he/she said ^^^^^

[AstroBenny]

Base clocks have kind of lost their meaning now since people can get differing boosts on the same card model. Under normal loads, the GPU will start off at the base clock while also analyzing certain things like temperatures, power limits, fan speeds, etc to determine how far it can actually boost.

So how does the card decide whether to run super downclocked or just at base clock.?

When overclocking are you increasing the boost clock or the base clock? When you see someone talk about their core clock on the forums are they generally talking abou the base or the boost clock they achieved.?

[Godlygamer23]

So how does the card decide whether to run super downclocked or just at base clock.?

When overclocking are you increasing the boost clock or the base clock? When you see someone talk about their core clock on the forums are they generally talking abou the base or the boost clock they achieved.?

It's dictated by the BIOS on the card. In theory, cards should run at idle speeds(say around 100Mhz) when just sitting at the desktop, but it doesn't always happen due to strange things. When overclocking, you are increasing the boost clock from my knowledge and people that talk about the overclock they're achieving are generally talking about the final boost clock.

[Glenwing]

So I understand that a graphics card can downclock when not being stressed and that it can go all the way up to the boost clock when under load right?

So what is the point of a base clock?.. Surely the card will either just be running at very little low clocks when not in use or running at 100% utilisation with its boost clock when under load..

What am I missing here?

 

It's just a marketing thing. It sounds better when you say the base clock is 800MHz but the card will automatically boost beyond its normal performance limits to 1GHz , than to just say it operates at up to 1GHz normally.

[AstroBenny]

It's dictated by the BIOS on the card. In theory, cards should run at idle speeds(say around 100Mhz) when just sitting at the desktop, but it doesn't always happen due to strange things. When overclocking, you are increasing the boost clock from my knowledge and people that talk about the overclock they're achieving are generally talking about the final boost clock.

Does the prefer maximum performance mode in the nvidia control panel impact this?

And how do I know if my boost clock has been applied. Say my GPU was at 100%usage would the boost clock definitely be active?

[Godlygamer23]

And how do I know if my boost clock has been applied. Say my GPU was at 100%usage would the boost clock definitely be active?

It should be.

[AstroBenny]

It should be.

Does the boost clock have a boost clock within it or something because looking at the specs of my card it says:

-Core base clock: 1050MHz

-Core Boost clock: 1178MHz ( Up to 1268MHz boost

[Godlygamer23]

Does the boost clock have a boost clock within it or something because looking at the specs of my card it says:

-Core base clock: 1050MHz

-Core Boost clock: 1178MHz ( Up to 1268MHz boost

The company is saying you could see boost clocks as high as 1268MHz assuming everything is fine.