The GTX 980 Ti owners thread.

tyler_jrb · 17 Oct 2015 at 11:34

I need some help if anyone has a similar issue? Basically my 980Ti's wont downclock they just run at a solid 38% and 34% on the desktop with nothing open what so ever. Tried putting into adaptive, nothing. All sorts of settings and nothing. tried 60hz and nothing.

Re-installed drivers using DDU and nothing. Only way it will do it if everytime i log into windows i disable and re-enable sli. But even then its only for a brief few minutes then goes back upto 38% again.

Works fine with games etc. Just either of them wont downclock on the desktop. No odd background applications running etc. I remember having it with my 980s at one point but completely forgot what was the problem.

tyler_jrb · 17 Oct 2015 at 11:39

AWPC said:
1920x1080 = 2073600 pixels
3840x2160 = 8294400 pixels

Thats not irrelevent at all 4K is a lot of pixels for a GPU to render/shade/light/manipulate AF, AA etc etc

if the GPU is maxed out and cant run 4k at 30fps thats it. its exactly the same as taking v-sync off on 1080p. It will stress the GPU to push as many frames as it can. At the end of the day. 4k at 30hz requires the same power as 1080p at 120 hz with the same settings.

your probably getting lower temps on 1080p because you have v-sync on and thus card isnt being used to full potential like it will be on 4k. The reason your getting such high temps is you have a single card and 4k. The card is going to be at 99% all the time. Without having the fans at a very high speed aswell temperatures are going to get higher and higher. If you dont want the card going over 80c set the fan speed to 100% on a custom curve when it hits 80c. not when it hits 92c.

You really should have just bought a hybrid...

delpy8 · 17 Oct 2015 at 11:42

Anyone using the stock fan on the evga 980ti hybrid? Ive just swapped mine for a corsair 120mm sp pwm as it was to noisy

rixx · 17 Oct 2015 at 11:52

Are there any suggestions on which 980ti is the best to go for?

I am thinking about the G1 gaming as you can update the bios with a stable custom one to get 1450+ on the cores 24/7.

Are there similar hacks for others?

IceWolf · 17 Oct 2015 at 12:00

tyler_jrb said:
I need some help if anyone has a similar issue? Basically my 980Ti's wont downclock they just run at a solid 38% and 34% on the desktop with nothing open what so ever. Tried putting into adaptive, nothing. All sorts of settings and nothing. tried 60hz and nothing.

Re-installed drivers using DDU and nothing. Only way it will do it if everytime i log into windows i disable and re-enable sli. But even then its only for a brief few minutes then goes back upto 38% again.

Works fine with games etc. Just either of them wont downclock on the desktop. No odd background applications running etc. I remember having it with my 980s at one point but completely forgot what was the problem.

Not sure what the problem is? Mine always runs at like 35% in windows at 1080p, but the fans are around 30% too so it is silent. Isn't that normal?

Joe! · 17 Oct 2015 at 12:02

rixx said:
Are there any suggestions on which 980ti is the best to go for?

I am thinking about the G1 gaming as you can update the bios with a stable custom one to get 1450+ on the cores 24/7.

Are there similar hacks for others?

1450MHz would be achievable on most 980Tis, you'd have to be pretty unlucky to not get such a clock to be honest. G1 Gaming is an absolute monster but you have the chance of coil whine - MSI 6G is also a custom PCB and has a quiet cooler, and thus massively popular.

You won't go wrong with either presuming you don't get one plagued with coil whine. I'd say get whichever is cheaper or which one matches the aesthetics of your build

momo56 · 17 Oct 2015 at 12:12

IceWolf said:
Not sure what the problem is? Mine always runs at like 35% in windows at 1080p, but the fans are around 30% too so it is silent. Isn't that normal?

No it's not. Should be around 5% at idle. Mine only started to happen with windows 10, reinstalling the drivers helped fix this.

Joe! · 17 Oct 2015 at 12:19

momo56 said:
No it's not. Should be around 5% at idle. Mine only started to happen with windows 10, reinstalling the drivers helped fix this.

It depends if you have hardware acceleration enabled. Playing YouTube videos at 1080p (at 4k quality) with GPU acceleration uses my GPU a fair amount.

It depends what you consider 'idle', as a lot of people think its synonymous with 'not gaming'.

Dirk Diggler · 17 Oct 2015 at 12:35

tyler_jrb said:
I need some help if anyone has a similar issue? Basically my 980Ti's wont downclock they just run at a solid 38% and 34% on the desktop with nothing open what so ever. Tried putting into adaptive, nothing. All sorts of settings and nothing. tried 60hz and nothing.

Re-installed drivers using DDU and nothing. Only way it will do it if everytime i log into windows i disable and re-enable sli. But even then its only for a brief few minutes then goes back upto 38% again.

Works fine with games etc. Just either of them wont downclock on the desktop. No odd background applications running etc. I remember having it with my 980s at one point but completely forgot what was the problem.

Are you using Chrome? If so, don't allow it to run in the taskbar (right-click disable).

Any application running could be the culprit, although it can be driver related but the latest driver is working fine for me on Win10.

P.S. Ignore the GPU usage in this case, it's the clock speeds you are interested in. It should drop from 1100-ish to around 200 when idle.

Dirk Diggler · 17 Oct 2015 at 12:41

tyler_jrb said:
...The reason your getting such high temps is you have a single card and 4k. The card is going to be at 99% all the time. Without having the fans at a very high speed aswell temperatures are going to get higher and higher...

I have the exact same card, and at 1440p with Witcher 3 maxed out I can leave it working away at 99% and the temperature won't rise more than 72C. The card is designed to work flat out for hours.

The reason his temperature keeps rising to the point of frying cards absolutely has to be down to the air not being extracted from his case at a high enough rate.

bimbleuk · 17 Oct 2015 at 14:06

I've seen this sort of behaviour (constant high clock speeds) setups so disconnect any secondary display if that's the case. You may have to re-install the drivers too. Mines 135 MHz GPU & 405 MHz for RAM at idle for reference.

AWPC · 17 Oct 2015 at 14:33

String said:
Try to think about what people are saying to you, we're genuinely trying to help.

If your card usage shows 99% at 1080p then do you think if you switch to 4k in the same game that the usage will increase?

If you're testing for temperature then you need the usage at 99%. The resolution is irrelevant.

I appreciate that people are trying to help:

1: With the card out of the case on the motherboard on its own the internal GPU temps are the same. With or without a 120mm case fan being held next to the backplate where all the heat gathers.

2: 3840x2160 @ 60FPS is what the card cannot handle in some games (Arkham Knight yes Mad Max no) without going to 100% fan mode. 1920x1080 @60 or even 2560x1440 @60 the card can handle in silence & temps rarely go above 70C its well within thermal tolerances.

3: I have looked at several reviews where they took thermal images (toms hardware even took video) of the backplate region. Within 30 mins its gone red hot around 101.C with no cooling to it either on an open bench test rig so within a case it will go a little higher. This seems to be the cards weak spot it needs a backplate to prevent board warping if its not the marginal reference cooler otherwise you need a backplate model which traps the heat even when they drill loads of little slots in it like the MSI has the entire backplate drilled out into little slots (they would not do that unless they knew it was too hot would they!).

4: Precision X does not help if you set a target temp the card stutters a little when it dials back the power/volts to keep it within parameters.

This tells me its not the case its the jump from 1080/1440 to 4K basically maxes out the GPU & entire PC producing more heat. I am just going to keep monitoring temps in games & keep an eye on things for now see how it goes.

rixx · 17 Oct 2015 at 14:40

Joe! said:
1450MHz would be achievable on most 980Tis, you'd have to be pretty unlucky to not get such a clock to be honest. G1 Gaming is an absolute monster but you have the chance of coil whine - MSI 6G is also a custom PCB and has a quiet cooler, and thus massively popular.

You won't go wrong with either presuming you don't get one plagued with coil whine. I'd say get whichever is cheaper or which one matches the aesthetics of your build

Thanks for the input

rixx · 17 Oct 2015 at 14:41

How does Overclockers address coil whine on 980ti's? Straight forward or are there hoops to jump through?

Joe! · 17 Oct 2015 at 14:46

Gibbo stated that if it's audible on an open test bench they will replace it without question - However a couple of people have been saying they were fobbed off lately by saying it's something that products come with and you 'just have to deal with it' (Not too sure if this is the case as it doesn't sound like any experience I have had with OcUK) - I had a replacement G1 Gaming at my door within 48 hours of sending it off - the issue was coil whine, but it was a pretty nice service tbh.

You have 14 days to return your item regardless of whether it is faulty or not, so don't be scared of purchasing.

Dirk Diggler · 17 Oct 2015 at 16:21

AWPC said:
I appreciate that people are trying to help:

1: With the card out of the case on the motherboard on its own the internal GPU temps are the same. With or without a 120mm case fan being held next to the backplate where all the heat gathers.

2: 3840x2160 @ 60FPS is what the card cannot handle in some games (Arkham Knight yes Mad Max no) without going to 100% fan mode. 1920x1080 @60 or even 2560x1440 @60 the card can handle in silence & temps rarely go above 70C its well within thermal tolerances.

3: I have looked at several reviews where they took thermal images (toms hardware even took video) of the backplate region. Within 30 mins its gone red hot around 101.C with no cooling to it either on an open bench test rig so within a case it will go a little higher. This seems to be the cards weak spot it needs a backplate to prevent board warping if its not the marginal reference cooler otherwise you need a backplate model which traps the heat even when they drill loads of little slots in it like the MSI has the entire backplate drilled out into little slots (they would not do that unless they knew it was too hot would they!).

4: Precision X does not help if you set a target temp the card stutters a little when it dials back the power/volts to keep it within parameters.

This tells me its not the case its the jump from 1080/1440 to 4K basically maxes out the GPU & entire PC producing more heat. I am just going to keep monitoring temps in games & keep an eye on things for now see how it goes.

You are far too focused on resolution, again. It does not matter.

If you run Arkham Knight at 1080 or 1440 @ 60fps then it will not push your card to full use. I run AK at 1440/90fps and it sits below 90% a lot of the time.

If you want to solve this heat issue, then you need to stress your card fully and monitor the results. To do this, run Witcher 3 at 1440p with everything maxed, vsync off, hairworks on, unlimited frame rate. Have the Rivatuner overlay on, and confirm that GPU usage is at 99% (as long as you are outdoors, it will be). Have the GPU temperature and fan speed % displayed in Rivatuner, and watch how high it goes. If your card goes over 75C, then note what the fan speed is.

The game should be able to run literally hours like this without the card overheating. Post back for advice here if this is not the case for you.

tyler_jrb · 17 Oct 2015 at 16:27

String said:
Are you using Chrome? If so, don't allow it to run in the taskbar (right-click disable).

Any application running could be the culprit, although it can be driver related but the latest driver is working fine for me on Win10.

P.S. Ignore the GPU usage in this case, it's the clock speeds you are interested in. It should drop from 1100-ish to around 200 when idle.

Manage to sort it now. Re-installed drivers again didnt do nothing. I dont have chrome either I use firefox personally.

Seems there was rivatuner wanting to update all the time. Kept coming up once a day but didnt seem to shut down properly. Updated it and problem went away. Dont use it so removed it now to prevent any future issues.

Also running 120hz aswell now for the desktop. 144hz seems to jump back to 30%+ power usage whereas 120hz uses 8-9% power usage which is a bit wierd.

Joe! · 17 Oct 2015 at 16:30

A lot of users have reported that 120 FPS on desktop means their card actually idles, rather than 144 FPS which means it never does idle.

Probably what you are experiencing.

rixx · 17 Oct 2015 at 18:05

Joe! said:
Gibbo stated that if it's audible on an open test bench they will replace it without question - However a couple of people have been saying they were fobbed off lately by saying it's something that products come with and you 'just have to deal with it' (Not too sure if this is the case as it doesn't sound like any experience I have had with OcUK) - I had a replacement G1 Gaming at my door within 48 hours of sending it off - the issue was coil whine, but it was a pretty nice service tbh.

You have 14 days to return your item regardless of whether it is faulty or not, so don't be scared of purchasing.

Sounds good!

jc0 · 17 Oct 2015 at 19:19

Arrived today but disappointed/surprised I'm only able to achieve a stable OC on the GPU of +75MHz (1440MHz). Anyone else think I'm being short changed there? It's running very cool at 47~ dog under load.