GPU GPU Undervolting/Overclocking for Dummies (like me)

ak3nji

Chassis Packer
Original poster
Aug 21, 2017
15
18
Hi Everyone,

I have just built this and i am wanting to undervolt the GPU to lower temperatures and maybe squeeze a few more drops of power out of the card i purchased; an XFX Vega 56.

Going from Wattman, currently my card sits around 36c at idle and averages about 75c at load. I've put it into Power Saver mode and the memory is at 800MHz and the Clock speed goes up to 1570MHz (This actually confuses me though, because according to the packaging it's meant to have a boost clock of 1471MHz, what am I missing here?!?).

I've searched online and I haven't found a step by step guide that explains the process in detail, I'm no wizkid and need the blanks filled in during explanation, cos from the videos i've watched, it's almost like you are expected to know what the hell they are doing...or maybe i'm just daft, but anyways any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!
 

ak3nji

Chassis Packer
Original poster
Aug 21, 2017
15
18
Forgot to mention, but would love a guide on fan curves as well, maintain good temps and sound.
 

ak3nji

Chassis Packer
Original poster
Aug 21, 2017
15
18
I didn't hear back from anyone in regards to this, so i had to go it alone.

This is what i was able to achieve after tinkering for a few days.


If you can't see the image i managed to flash my Vega 56 to have the 64 BIOS, This made a world of difference and i was able to achieve clocks and speeds i couldn't even do via the 56 BIOS.

I plan to tinker more and undervolt as much as i can.
 

ak3nji

Chassis Packer
Original poster
Aug 21, 2017
15
18
So i've played with the 64 BIOS a bit, but seeing as this is a SFF build, i feel the need to lower the power consumption, noise levels, whilst still maintaining as much performance as i can and unfortunately i believe the 64 BIOS whilst fun...wasn't sustainable for what i built.

I've now reverted back to 56 BIOS and updated my drivers to 17.9.1, i now have these new settings for my Vega 56;
  • Frequency percentage = 0%
  • Voltage control = P6 1025mV & P7 1025mV
  • HBM2 Frequency = 945MHz
  • HBM2 Voltage control = 800mV
  • Fan control = low 800rpm - 3000rpm
  • Temp Targets = high 85c - low 70c
  • Power Limit = +50%
I played PUBG on ultra settings for 1 hour and this is what i found;
  • Noise levels were not that high (IMO)
  • Fan speed peaked around 2400rpm
  • GPU Temps peaked at 77c, but on average was 70c
  • Firestrike GPU score was on average around 20500 (better than the power saver score which i believe was around 17k or 18k)
Any thoughts or anything else i should try to get the most performance, whilst maintaining acceptable levels of power, noise and temps?
 

McTeags

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Feb 18, 2017
130
148
I did this recently with my GTX 1080 and found this video fairly helpful:


I downloaded MSI afterburner, unlocked the voltage and played around with the curve until I finally got something that worked for me. I dropped the clock by about 13Mhz, dropped the voltage by about .135v and lowered by temperature and fan speed by about 6. Definitely worth playing around with in my opinion.
 

Biowarejak

Maker of Awesome | User 1615
Platinum Supporter
Mar 6, 2017
1,744
2,262
It's been discussed here several times :) maybe not dedicated, but we've had some interesting experiences doing it in small cases.
 
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ak3nji

Chassis Packer
Original poster
Aug 21, 2017
15
18
Thanks for the replies,

I guess I was hoping to hear people's experiences in big GPU's in small form factor PC's. Mainly as I can't go all out with regards to temps and noise... But I want it to game as best as it can.

On that note, I have been scouring other sites for advice and information. :)
 
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smitty2k1

King of Cable Management
Dec 3, 2016
967
492
Thanks for sharing. Waiting to pounce on the next Vega 56 I can find at MSRP to upgrade my again GTX 780. She was doing fine until I bought a 1440p ultrawide with freesync :)

Good inspiration for me!
 
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