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Power control settings/power limit %?

post #1 of 9
Thread Starter 
Is the power control settings/power limit % supposed to make a difference in the overclockability of a card? I am new to the AMD 7000 series and so far, adjusting this figure doesn't seem to improve overclocking, yet all the reviews have this set to 20% when OCing. Would anyone care to explain?
post #2 of 9
I never found a solid explanation. Some say it helps in stability and some not. Personally, when I give max OC ( 1100Mhz ) with the slider at 0%, BF3 for instance, is running smoothly. When the slider is at +20%, I get stuttering on the same game, same voltage etc. I think if it throttles a little at 0%, it has its purpose... Don't take anything seriously, BF is a pain generally in every aspect and furthermore, I'm not expert. It's my first time I own AMD card.

Maybe the fact that my ASIC is like... broken, 71%, breaks the deal... I don't know.
Edited by Deo Domuique - 6/18/12 at 12:02am
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post #3 of 9
Power Control raises the TDP to increase the amount of voltage the card can use when under load. This allows for more headroom when overclocking before the card throttles the core voltage due to hitting a limit. Specific to my setup only (2x6950's unlocked), I find it very useful during benchmarking competitions, however during gameplay the stress is not high enough. Your cards/system may act differently. the purpose is again to feed more voltage to improve stability.

Found this to show what I mean: http://www.geeks3d.com/20101224/tested-radeon-hd-6970-powertune-technology/

Edit: and more stuff: http://www.overclock.net/t/1210643/powertune-and-gaming/0_20
Edited by ryan w - 6/18/12 at 12:18am
 
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post #4 of 9
This is how I set my power limiter setting when overcloking:

1. Run a benchmark at the maximum power limit setting your board allows
2. Write down how many fps you got
3. Lower power limiter setting until you see the benchmark fps result drop below the fps you got when you had power limiter at maximum.

** I use Unigine Heaven 3.0 as a benchmark, works well.

Personally having power limiter at maximum is useless and makes your card go crazy in applications like furmark and such, which is NOT necessary. Just set it for your card power limiter setting high enough not to throttle in games. thumb.gif
Edited by Bartouille - 6/18/12 at 6:14am
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post #5 of 9
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the response guys. For some reason, I think setting the power limiter at 0% is actually more stable than when it's at 20%.
post #6 of 9
Quote:
Originally Posted by winkyeye View Post

Thanks for the response guys. For some reason, I think setting the power limiter at 0% is actually more stable than when it's at 20%.

You have misunderstood. Setting the power limit to +20% is the first step in overclocking. that allows the card to draw Max TDP, which means you can draw the maximum power for which the chip and board is designed. When you overclock the card power drawn by the card will increase and the +20% power limit will allow the card to run overclocked without any throttling of clock speed. If you keep it at 0% the card will throttle the clocks to remain within the ordinary TDP which is lower than max TDP. so really you will be hampering your overclock speeds and performance.

Eg: Radeon HD 7970 comes at 925 Mhz . In AMD CCC it allows overclocking to 1125 Mhz. to do that first set the power limit to +20% and then set GPU clock speeds to 1125 Mhz and test for stability. If its not stable reduce clocks by 25 Mhz and test again. repeat till your clocks are stable. This is stock voltage overclocking.
You can also overclock by increasing core voltage. Overclocking with voltage increase will increase power draw and heat much more than stock voltage overclocking. Increasing core clocks beyond 1125 - 1150 Mhz will involve increasing voltages. So its upto you to choose how much overclocking you want to do and which method to use.
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post #7 of 9
Quote:
Originally Posted by tyukjmdfh View Post

I get stuttering on the same game, same voltage etc. I think if it throttles a little at 0%, it has its purpose... Don't take anything seriously, BF is a pain generally in every aspect and furthermore, I'm not expert. It's my first time I own AMD card.g.gif

stuttering could be due to a variety of reasons. When you card runs out of VRAM swapping data happens between video card memory and hard disk. so those could manifest as stuttering. It depends on what settings you are running BF3 and at what resolution you rmonitor is. and how much VRAM your card has. Sometimes trying very high settings when your card does havenot the processing power to handle it will also will result in frames skipping which could feel laggy and stuttering.
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post #8 of 9
My Sapphire 7850 is running stable at 1050/1450. I tested it using 3DMark11 and scored 5893 on the graphics score, stable and cool, never reaching above 55C. I have heard that this card can go higher but CCC will not allow me to overclock any more and I have not attempted to research ways to overclock it further. For now it is stable and just plain nasty. It just eats everything i throw at it, max or ultra settings. Good luck!
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post #9 of 9
I OC'd my 7950 to 1100/1575 in CCC and forgot to set the +20% power limiter.

When I booted up Sleeping Dogs (extreme graphics, everything maxed) the game chugged and chugged hard. Once I upped the limiter from 0 to 20 the game ran smooth as butter.

That's my real world example of how it affected my game play. It may not be required in your OC, but it was in mine.
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