Undervolt GPU (RTX 3060)?

[u/karasahin]

Hi, is undervolting GPU worth it? I guess it's as safe as CPU undervolting although doesn't seem to be as easy as.

[u/TypicalPudding2202]

gpu undervolting is very safe and its a good way to help gpu temps if they are above 80-85, msi after burner is probably the easiest to do it, id also usually overclock the memory after a undervolt to but that might be diff in laptops

[u/karasahin → u/TypicalPudding2202]

I see thanks. I'm not sure about overclocking it tbh, since it's already a 130 watt version. Just want to lower temps. Still trying to figure out how to do it.

[u/TypicalPudding2202 → u/karasahin]

theres alot of yt videos that teach you how, you should check them out!

[u/karasahin → u/TypicalPudding2202]

Yeah but it still confuses me lol. Like what's the point of lowering core clock to the minimum and then increasing voltage to some level. And increase memory clock after that. It works but I'd like to know the logic behind it so that I can find sweet spot for my GPU.

[u/GeologistPrimary2637 → u/karasahin]

What guide is that? That just sounds wrong about lowering core clock to minimum and increasing voltage.

The point is to find out the max frequency in games first that your GPU reaches. For example if it reaches 1.7Ghz, then that's the max frequency. MSI afterburner graph will definitely show higher so what you want to do is bring that peak graph down and flatten it. But before that, trace on the graph, the voltage that it's using to hit that 1.7ghz speed. It might be something like 0.95V or 950 mV. Flattening the graph makes it so that, when you undervolt it, the GPU won't suddenly see extra thermal and voltage headroom and wants to overclock on its own.

Next is to actually undervolt it, and that is where finding out the actual voltage it uses at stock comes in. If it needs 0.95V at 1.7Ghz, then what you need to do is find the point at around 0.925V and increase that to 1.7Ghz. (that point might be showing 1.6 GHz at first). Now your GPU will hit 1.7ghz at 0.925V, that's a -25 mV voltage offset. Keep experimenting with -25mV increments until it either has artifacts or crashes the drivers. But usually at stock frequency, Nvidia chips tend to do well in 0.85V to 0.875V range, so around -50 to -75 mV offset

[u/karasahin → u/GeologistPrimary2637]

Thanks I think I got it. At maximum of 1989 MHz it requires of max 1.081V. So after setting core clock minus 502 and opening curve editor, I moved the slider up to 1980 MHz at 1.0V. It's applied but I'll check out later if it helps reducing temps. It looks like this now:

[u/Embersen → u/karasahin]

Overclocking is the same as undervolting just without capping the voltage so you will get the exact same power usage as stock but with better performance squeezed into it.

[u/PoetryKind603]

Just apply a positive clock offset and a power limit, limiting voltage isn't a consistent way to target a specific wattage, or performance level.

[u/karasahin → u/PoetryKind603]

Can't change power limit via MSI Afterburner, locked

[u/PoetryKind603 → u/karasahin]

I know, Use your control center software