question about timings to lower heat output? w/ATItraytools.

vahagn · Post by **vahagn** » Sat Apr 08, 2006 6:09 pm

I'm curious if i can lower heat-output by altering the "timings" settings of my ATI x800xl gfx card?

I'm using ATI tray tools and have gone about setting up a balance between noise and performance. I've altered the overclock settings for the two profiles i'm using (one for desktop use, and one for gaming use which i left at default)...
Desktop Profile:
Core speed: i've lowered to 324
Memory Speed: i've matched to 392
Gaming Profile:
Core speed: 398
Memory Speed: 486

I think i've almost got my fan speeds just about right, setting the fan speed to sit at 35% until the card hits 50° when it then ramps the speed up to 50% ...

I would like to keep the card under 50°, but it sometimes goes over this, and of-course gets noisy... Which brings me to the "Timings" question that i have.

There is a tab in ATI tray tools called "timings" which has a few settings in it. I'm wondering if changing these settings can decrease some of the heat that the card is putting out? as this would assist in getting the fan to stay under 50°

I've done some searching for information about altering these settings but i can't find much info that really helps when it comes to lowering the overclock timings...

Perhaps someone here knows where i can read and learn about this, or has some advice for altering these timings settings *safely* ? ... (i noticed that in the timings tab there's an option that says "include in profile (Very Dangerous)" - this has made me fearful/hesitant of lowering the timings as i'm not sure if i could damage my card by altering them incorrectly?

Cheers for any feedback.

toNka · Post by **toNka** » Sun Apr 09, 2006 12:05 am

I use ATITool to manage my GPU.
I underclock it when I'm just using my desktop.
Default clock is 500/500.
I set mine for 250/500 for desktop and 550/580 for gaming.
I have an AIW X800XT so mine can probably overclock higher than yours.
But as far as underclocking goes, I have not noticed any change in temps from 500 to 250.
I just do it because it in theory should be wasting less electricity.
I think to really change the thermals of the video card you would have to lower the voltage as well.
It works that way for CPUs atleast.
If my A64 is running at 2GHz at 1.45v it runs hotter than at 2GHz at 1.1v.
Even though the clocks are the same.
But if I run it at 2GHz at 1.45v and the 1GHz at 1.45v the temps are the same.
See my point?
So I think we need a tool that will undervolt the card (if it doesn't do that by itself already) when it is idle or in 2d.
I get the feeling it might do that already though

jackylman · Post by **jackylman** » Sun Apr 09, 2006 5:53 am

toNka wrote:So I think we need a tool that will undervolt the card (if it doesn't do that by itself already) when it is idle or in 2d.
I get the feeling it might do that already though

The core voltage is determined by a resistor and cannot be changed in software. You may notice some sites that tell you how to do hardware mods for a voltage increase to help with overclocking. Unfortunately, it's not something that can be adjusted dynamically in software.

scara · Post by **scara** » Sun Apr 09, 2006 8:38 am

Hello vahagn, is there a specific reason you're aiming at 50°? Thats pretty low for such a GPU. Personally, I let mine top out at 70° and most of the time its 66°, I haven't had any problems. iirc the original 'fan profile' for this card aims at 60 or 65 and doesn't run the fan at full speed until it reaches 90°!
How hot does it get if you leave to fan at 35%? If it goes up to 55 or 60 its really not going to hurt the GPU.

Unfortunately I don't have any real idea about the timings' effect on temperature. My gut feeling however is that anything that has a noticeable positive effect in temp will have a noticeable negative effect on other things such as stability, fps and perhaps even the longevity of the card.

Please post about any success you have with this, and any major failures. As you've discovered, good info is hard to find.

psiu · Post by **psiu** » Sun Apr 09, 2006 11:29 am

I agree on the voltage being the primary limiting factor. I have the X800XT PE and my speed settings are from 120/250 (desktop), 180/300 (dual screen, TV), and 540/580 (games) -- though the limits on the card are higher, I can do 570/600 if I really want too!

That is with a ATI Silencer 4, rev 2 on the card, in a P180.

Temps are sub 40 with the fan at 19% and inaudible, after that I have it ramp up slowly, 26% up to 45, 33% up to 50 I believe.

It never hits 60 for me -- then again, this is NOT with the stock cooler, like I said. With the stock, 60 is an everyday kind of temp.

EDIT: as far as speeds vs temps go, generally if I leave it on the game setting, it WILL stay a few degrees warmer, between 40-45.

vahagn · Post by **vahagn** » Mon Apr 10, 2006 5:30 am

scara wrote:Hello vahagn, is there a specific reason you're aiming at 50°? Thats pretty low for such a GPU. Personally, I let mine top out at 70° and most of the time its 66°, I haven't had any problems. iirc the original 'fan profile' for this card aims at 60 or 65 and doesn't run the fan at full speed until it reaches 90°!
How hot does it get if you leave to fan at 35%? If it goes up to 55 or 60 its really not going to hurt the GPU.

Yeh, there's no particular reason, tho' mostly because the card does not get any hotter than 50° when i'm using it for internet and desktop related tasks. Occasionally if i have a heater in my room on or the ambient temp is higher than average it will go over 50° and that is when my fan settings cool it back down.

I've spent a few months monitoring this and changing fan speed settings around to pretty much keep it steady and almost silent most of the time. (However, when gaming i use headphones anyway and don't particularly care how noisy the fan is so i let the RPM's flow).

The reason that 50° seems about right is (at a guess) because reducing the core speed in the overclock tab has probably reduced the heat just slightly that the card would otherwise put out.

scara wrote:Please post about any success you have with this, and any major failures. As you've discovered, good info is hard to find.

"major failures", that sounds ominous

Lawrence Lee · Post by **Lawrence Lee** » Mon Apr 10, 2006 6:56 am

I have my X800XT set to 225/250 in 2D, stockn 520/560 in 3D. Zalman VF700CU @ 7V. 34 idle, 55-58C on load.

To those of you with AIW's, have you tried recording TV while underclocked? I'm wondering if lower core/memory speeds affects recording or if its more dependant on the the tuner chip and other hardware. My brother's 9800 Pro AIW gets really hot but he doesn't use it for for games (just watching TV and recording in XVID/DIVX format) so I figured if it was underclocked, he could turn down the fan (Vantec Iceberq4).