GPU Idle Power
Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2014 2:04 pm
Hi All,
Not really a silent PC question but certainly the first place that I thought to ask.
Different review sites get quite different idle power consumption differences between competing cards - to give a few examples:
http://translate.google.co.uk/translate ... annel%3Dsb (http://ht4u.net/reviews/2014/nvidia_max ... ndex24.php)
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Pali ... am/23.html
http://hexus.net/tech/reviews/graphics/ ... am/?page=9
http://www.kitguru.net/components/graph ... review/20/
http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/ha ... iew-9.html
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS ... OC/23.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/nvi ... 41-12.html
I recognise that there are differences in the test PCs, test bench system, test methodologies; that there will be measurement error and variability plus that there sample variances between cards of the same model and that different designs even by the same manufacturer will introduce consistent differences in idle power consumption. However, especially comparing the techpowerup Palit 970 and hexus Palit 970 reviews these appear to suggest very wide sample variance. Am I missing something? If not, does anybody have suggestions about how to identify and ultimately buy a 970 with lower than average idle power without buying a number of cards and returning them until I get a good one. Does ASIC quality (http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threa ... ty.189077/) affect idle power significantly or just 3D load power consumption?
For context I am looking to upgrade a vanilla MSI GTX650 graphics card most likely to a GTX970. My key criteria is a low idle power but with a worthwhile improvement in frame rate of the 650 - I personally do not think that a GTX 750Ti is worth it. It will be installed in a DH77EB running a i3-2120 CPU @ 3.30GHz but I may change the processor at some point. A card any longer than 300mm will be difficult to fit in the case. I think the Strix will be too wide but hope that I can get a MSI Gaming 970 in - both should be fine for length. With the integrated graphics this system idles as low as 15W and with the GTX650 installed as low as 20W - so it appears the difference between a good GTX 970 and a bad one might be a difference of perhaps 20W idle and 25W. I would quite like a semi-passive card, especially as the card is just below my power supply (V450S) but this is not essential as I think nearly all 970s are quite at idle.
Not really a silent PC question but certainly the first place that I thought to ask.
Different review sites get quite different idle power consumption differences between competing cards - to give a few examples:
http://translate.google.co.uk/translate ... annel%3Dsb (http://ht4u.net/reviews/2014/nvidia_max ... ndex24.php)
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Pali ... am/23.html
http://hexus.net/tech/reviews/graphics/ ... am/?page=9
http://www.kitguru.net/components/graph ... review/20/
http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/ha ... iew-9.html
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS ... OC/23.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/nvi ... 41-12.html
I recognise that there are differences in the test PCs, test bench system, test methodologies; that there will be measurement error and variability plus that there sample variances between cards of the same model and that different designs even by the same manufacturer will introduce consistent differences in idle power consumption. However, especially comparing the techpowerup Palit 970 and hexus Palit 970 reviews these appear to suggest very wide sample variance. Am I missing something? If not, does anybody have suggestions about how to identify and ultimately buy a 970 with lower than average idle power without buying a number of cards and returning them until I get a good one. Does ASIC quality (http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threa ... ty.189077/) affect idle power significantly or just 3D load power consumption?
For context I am looking to upgrade a vanilla MSI GTX650 graphics card most likely to a GTX970. My key criteria is a low idle power but with a worthwhile improvement in frame rate of the 650 - I personally do not think that a GTX 750Ti is worth it. It will be installed in a DH77EB running a i3-2120 CPU @ 3.30GHz but I may change the processor at some point. A card any longer than 300mm will be difficult to fit in the case. I think the Strix will be too wide but hope that I can get a MSI Gaming 970 in - both should be fine for length. With the integrated graphics this system idles as low as 15W and with the GTX650 installed as low as 20W - so it appears the difference between a good GTX 970 and a bad one might be a difference of perhaps 20W idle and 25W. I would quite like a semi-passive card, especially as the card is just below my power supply (V450S) but this is not essential as I think nearly all 970s are quite at idle.