Will electricity prices influence your next gpu purchase?

Joxeon · 14 Jul 2022 at 11:28

I don't mind buying a higher power card providing it under volts to below 300w with minimal performance loss.

Quartz · 14 Jul 2022 at 11:36

Hedge said:
Have any of you actually worked out what a few hours of gaming is costing you on 3090s etc?

The electricity price is trivial. It's pennies per kWh. I don't game every day and a few hours of gaming costs me less than £1.

zola25 · 14 Jul 2022 at 11:48

Troezar said:
What is everyone using to undervolt?

MSI Afterburner for -100mv offset, plus Radeon Chill to limit framerate when little/no action on screen. Depending on the game my 6800XT averages ~180-190W vs 265W left at stock and uncapped. That will likely vary per game, the figures above are from when running God of War.

gpuerrilla · 14 Jul 2022 at 11:57

Can you use the Radeon software to offset? Adding MSI AB is another app to conflict.

zola25 · 14 Jul 2022 at 12:12

^ You can yes and that's probably a better recommendation for most people, but I personally prefer using the minimal-install AMD drivers.

gpuerrilla · 14 Jul 2022 at 12:13

Its when you mentioned Radeon Chill, I assumed you would need (already have it for the software then) it.

zola25 · 14 Jul 2022 at 12:24

It is a little odd (to me) which components are included in each install type. Radeon Chill is baked into the control panel along with frame rate caps, Freesync, FSR, colour settings ect.. But to use the voltage control there appears to be no option but to use a full install which includes all of the streaming services and overlays - none of which is useful to me personally. I've been pleasantly surprised by AMD's software, but it would benefit from the option to install each component seperately.

This is also my first AMD card in over 10 years, so am probably still clinging on to the nVidia ways of doing things

gpuerrilla · 14 Jul 2022 at 12:33

Agree spot on zola!

Alan McFall · 14 Jul 2022 at 12:44

Troezar said:
What is everyone using to undervolt?

MSI Afterburner.

Troezar · 14 Jul 2022 at 13:02

Alan McFall said:
MSI Afterburner.

I take it there's no Nvidia software to undervolt?

kola · 14 Jul 2022 at 13:25

I worked out that running a 3090 is about 13p per hour does that sound about right !

Quartz · 14 Jul 2022 at 13:36

kola said:
I worked out that running a 3090 is about 13p per hour does that sound about right !

Sounds like you're on a more expensive rate than me.

gpuerrilla · 14 Jul 2022 at 13:43

kola said:
I worked out that running a 3090 is about 13p per hour does that sound about right !

You have to account for the whole system including monitor. No point in trying to isolate just the GPU.

My system would be around 330w, then add another 70w for the display. So a gaming session would roughly be 400w or 0.4 kwh.

Quartz · 14 Jul 2022 at 13:54

gpuerrilla said:
You have to account for the whole system including monitor. No point in trying to isolate just the GPU.

Not if you would otherwise be using the PC - browsing etc.But the cost of running a gaming Pc is trivial uness you're running it at full blast all day every day.

FWIW 0.4 kWh is under 11p/hour for me. A whole day's gaming for under £1.

gpuerrilla · 14 Jul 2022 at 13:59

Which is why I left it at that, you just apply however many hours you game to that figure. For me its about 11p.

Dont forget the standing charge (if your the bill payer), there's another x pence a day to add on.

Some enthusiasts I imagine would be pumping out 5+ hours even if they work.

Quartz · 14 Jul 2022 at 14:02

gpuerrilla said:
Dont forget the standing charge (if your the bill payer), there's another x pence a day to add on.

actually, it isn't because you're paying that wherer or not you use the PC for gaming.

gpuerrilla · 14 Jul 2022 at 14:03

Quartz said:
actually, it isn't because you're paying that wherer or not you use the PC for gaming.

Ok so its free then. :rolleyes:

Alan McFall · 14 Jul 2022 at 14:44

Troezar said:
I take it there's no Nvidia software to undervolt?

No, I don't think so.

Twinz · 14 Jul 2022 at 15:13

Throught this generation, Nvidia has had an issue with random frame drops wihile running VR. My current work-around is not running *any* monitoring software while I'm in VR.

Unfortunately, Afterburner and Precision X bring back the frame drops, even if I tell them not to monitor. (I think they still monitor, but don't report)

VR is the most demanding thing I do with my 3080Ti and I can't overclock, undervolt or even just log temperatures if I want a smooth experience.

Nvidia may fix this bug with the next gen, but for now I will base my buying decisions on "stock" (Or at least "out of the box") performance.

Jay85 · 14 Jul 2022 at 15:16

Twinz said:
Throught this generation, Nvidia has had an issue with random frame drops wihile running VR. My current work-around is not running *any* monitoring software while I'm in VR.

Unfortunately, Afterburner and Precision X bring back the frame drops, even if I tell them not to monitor. (I think they still monitor, but don't report)

VR is the most demanding thing I do with my 3080Ti and I can't overclock, undervolt or even just log temperatures if I want a smooth experience.

Nvidia may fix this bug with the next gen, but for now I will base my buying decisions on "stock" (Or at least "out of the box") performance.

I never had this issue with frame drops on my 3090, playing games like Blade and sorcery, half life alyx etc run buttery smooth. My only limit really is my internet bandwidth i think.