6870 dual screen idle speeds/temps [resolved]
Hi guys,
Been playing with my new toy (MSI Hawk 6870). All seems lovely, but I've noticed when I use 2 monitors it idles at 300MHz core and 1050 memory... Which pumps up the idle temps by a good 10-12 degrees and generally keeps my case warmer than it needs to be. Disabling a screen drops these to 100 and 150, which is much more sensible - but I'd rather keep the display on
Is there any way I can tell the card to calm down a bit under dual screen 2D, or is it genuinely necessary to run at those speeds to support a 2nd (small!) monitor?
Thanks!
*edit*
Answering my own query in case anyone's interested
2D/3D profiles
You can use MSI Afterburner to create 2D/3D profiles. Bringing the memory speed down to 700 in your 2D profile will allow the core to drop to 200MHz while running dual screens (there is an apparent link between core idle and memory speed - I don't think it can be less than a 1:4 ratio, and must be in 50 MHz increments.)
This should shave off about 5-6 degrees from the idle temps.
Lower than 700 mem/200 core will very likely do odd things to your display - but credit to AMD, it doesn't crash windows. If your system behaves like mine, only the primary monitor suffers, so keep afterburner on the secondary and just re-adjust the settings until they work.
In summary: yes, a higher core clock IS required to run 2 screens even in 2D mode, but depending on your monitor(s) you may not need the 300 MHz that AMD think you will.
2D, or not 2D
I've also been having annoyances with what I thought was AB not knowing when it was in 2D mode. If you press the oddly shaped (i) button to the right of your card/driver details in AB, you'll get a list of currently running applications that are forcing 3D mode. In my case, it was Photoshop - which I would never have expected. Of course now that I'm reminded of it, I do remember that it uses the graphics card to accelerate some filters.
Hi guys,
Been playing with my new toy (MSI Hawk 6870). All seems lovely, but I've noticed when I use 2 monitors it idles at 300MHz core and 1050 memory... Which pumps up the idle temps by a good 10-12 degrees and generally keeps my case warmer than it needs to be. Disabling a screen drops these to 100 and 150, which is much more sensible - but I'd rather keep the display on
Is there any way I can tell the card to calm down a bit under dual screen 2D, or is it genuinely necessary to run at those speeds to support a 2nd (small!) monitor?
Thanks!
*edit*
Answering my own query in case anyone's interested
2D/3D profiles
You can use MSI Afterburner to create 2D/3D profiles. Bringing the memory speed down to 700 in your 2D profile will allow the core to drop to 200MHz while running dual screens (there is an apparent link between core idle and memory speed - I don't think it can be less than a 1:4 ratio, and must be in 50 MHz increments.)
This should shave off about 5-6 degrees from the idle temps.
Lower than 700 mem/200 core will very likely do odd things to your display - but credit to AMD, it doesn't crash windows. If your system behaves like mine, only the primary monitor suffers, so keep afterburner on the secondary and just re-adjust the settings until they work.
In summary: yes, a higher core clock IS required to run 2 screens even in 2D mode, but depending on your monitor(s) you may not need the 300 MHz that AMD think you will.
2D, or not 2D
I've also been having annoyances with what I thought was AB not knowing when it was in 2D mode. If you press the oddly shaped (i) button to the right of your card/driver details in AB, you'll get a list of currently running applications that are forcing 3D mode. In my case, it was Photoshop - which I would never have expected. Of course now that I'm reminded of it, I do remember that it uses the graphics card to accelerate some filters.
Last edited:
