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You must have a GPU on your PC if you are an avid game. However, if you want to get the best out of your GPU performance, consider undervolt the GPU. Undervoltng GPU can bring many benefits to your system performance, such as lower power needs and minimum heat and noise levels of the GPU. Moreover, undervloting GPU can improve performance as well.
If you want to understand all the ins and out of undervolting GPU, read this guide till the end!
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What is undervolting GPU?
Lowering a graphics card’s operating voltage to the ideal level while not disturbing the core clock speed is undervolting the GPU. When you first get the GPU working, it comes pre-fitted to consume maximum power voltage regardless of the core speed. However, with a little tweaking, you can make your GPU more power efficient while not disturbing its core clock speed.
Picture this. Your GPU has a boost clock speed of 2010 MHz, where it uses 800mV of power. But when you undervolt your GPU, you will attempt to reduce the power consumption to 875 or 850 mV. Note that while lowering power consumption, you are not disturbing the boost clock speed of the GPU. This process is GPU undervolting.
So this will let your GPU last longer because your graphics card will be cooler since it generates low heat.
Moreover, if you are irritated by the GPU fan noise and want your GPU to consume less power, you can try undervolting GPU.
You can also undervolt a graphics card if the core clock frequency and voltage do not go hand in hand and fluctuate.
Why Should You Undervolte your GPU?
It’s acceptable to keep your GPU’s configurations at default and use it pleasantly.
The following are the main benefits and drawbacks to be aware of if you decide to experiment with undervolting
Lower Heat
Since undervolting makes your GPU consume less power, it emits less heat while working. Moreover, it also helps you cut your electricity cost.
Besides, the lower heat also means the neighboring components of your PC will perform better as they will remain cool. In simple terms, your PC’s overall health will be better with lower heat emission of your contemporary GPUs gain power. There will also be less strain on your power supply.
It is Easy to Undervolt GPU
You can easily undervolt GPU safely and without spending a penny owing to well-known software such as MSI Afterburner. In fact, you can stretch your GPU’s life span with undervolting GPU since it will encounter less thermal stress over time. Moreover, you can also enjoy better performance on your PC.
Better Heat Levels in Small Cases
If you want to install a powerful GPU in a Mini-ITX enclosure, you will have a problem since it will emit more heat, and your system will need more space to dissipate it. But with an undervolting GPU, you can do it easily. Since heat dissipation is often more restricted in tiny cases, your PC will benefit from superior thermals in these smaller places while maintaining performance.
Reduced Noise
Reduced noise is another pro of undervolting GPU. With undervolting, GPU gains less voltage, enabling the GPU fans to spin at lower RPMs. Result? Less heat. Moreover, lower power consumption also entails less energy to run the fans, which is why you will have less noise level in the system.
Why Should You Not Undervolte your GPU?
Although undervolting GPU is a good shot, you should not be doing it!
Need Skill to Undervolt GPU
Since a GPU is an expensive investment, you might be worried about changing its settings. Although undervolting is usually a safer alternative than overclocking, you need to have some knowledge of the PCs, and also, you have to be brave enough to do some experiments.
Require Regular Tweaking
If you are more of a “Set it and forget” person, we recommend not undervolting GPU. You need to tweak your GPU settings once in a while constantly. Since new drivers and environmental change also impact the GPU performance, you have to twerk the undervolting settings.
Your PC performance might Suffer.
Applying the wrong settings while the undervolting GPU can lead to poor performance, despite your GPU functioning properly physically. You can encounter problems like lower frame rates and instability while playing games from improper or too low a voltage to the GPU.
So, keeping a close eye on your GPU or RX 480 undervolt performance is crucial to ensure it improves with voltage modifications.
How Is Undervolting Done?
You can undervolt your GPU in one of two ways: undervolting at the firmware level and undervolting using the software utility!
You can use the BIOS or UEFI menu if you want to undervolt GPU at the firmware level. And beyond that, You can also leverage a utility of your operating system, like the Intel Extreme Tuning Utility or ThrottleStop. These are not very practical ways to do it since you need to restart your PC, again and again, to check if it’s working.
Moreover, you can also use MSI Afterburner for firmware level undervolting. Moreover, you will need to reset the PC after every firmware level configuration.
The software method is a good way to balance your GPU performance and optimum voltage. Without restarting your system now and then, you can find perfect voltage, although after seeing it, you can set it n firmware level.
Should You Undervolt Your Computer?
The solution to the question of whether you need to undervolt two methods determine your GPU.
First, you need to weigh the risks and benefits. Although there is little to no chance of harming your PC by undervloting by passing too many volts across a GPU, it can get damaged. However, since undervolting involves lowering the voltage, there is no chance it will damage the GPU.
On the other hand, if you set the GPU voltage too low, you might have an unstable system leading to data corruption. So make a backup of your PC data before commencing undervolting.
In short, you should be bold and undervolt GPU as long as you have the time and patience. Moreover, before undervolting you should also know how to reset your motherboard settings to default if it won’t boot or how to boot into Safe Mode.
Conclusion
Ultimately, undervolting is a fantastic approach to lower your computer system’s power, heat, and noise. Additionally, you can better keep the clock performance at the best level. Moreover, this makes it possible to house powerful GPUs in more compact cases. But you need a little bit of skill to do it!
