(cache) Undervolting GTX280 - The Way To Be Cool!

Tomsen78 · 06-29-08, 08:48 AM

Undervolting GTX280 - The Way To Be Cool!

Be careful, you are loosing your guarantee!
Everytime use your own original Bios for modding!
If the flashing is going wrong and you have a black screen, you can use a pci-graphic card for flashing the GTX280 again or keep the steps in mind and blind-type the commands!

What u need:
Download: Nibitor 4.2
Download: nvflash
Download: GPU-Z 0.2.4
Floppy Disk
coolness

If You cant read out the Bios of your card with Nibitor, use GPU-Z and save the file then open it with nibitor.

Change the "EXTRA" voltage (in the pic below) from 1.18v down to 1.06v and save the file. I recommend to use 1.06v cause 1.03v could not be good in overclocking the card. With 1.03v the system freezes over 665MHz.
The "3D" clock ist 1.06v at stock, you can set it down to 1.03v.

Anytime, if you´re getting freezes, raise the EXTRA voltage from 1.03v to 1.06v for example.

Save nvflash.exe, the original and modded biosfile on the dos-start-disk and boot from the floppy disk.
Type during the dos screen "nvflash.exe -5 -6 biosfile.rom" - confirm with "y" and the flashing is done.

With my Point of View GTX280@ 1.03v, only 655/1410/2430 are stable instead of 700MHz with 1.18v, but its much cooler and more quiet.

stock-modded bios
1.03v (2D)
1.06v (3D) – now 1.03v
1.18v (Extra) – now 1.03v
380Watt vs. 320 Watt!!! > ~60Watt

I need only 320W at maximum, witch was 380W bevore flashing, thats incredible.

Test (25° celsius room temperature)

30min Furmark
GTX280 - 1.18v
88° - 100% fan

GTX280 – 1.03v
78° - 61% fan (down to 68° Grad with 100%)

1h Crysis
GTX280 - 1.18v
~82° - ~80% Lüfter

GTX280 – 1.03v
~72° - ~51% Lüfter

It doesnt matter which game, the fan is not faster than 1080rpm/61%!!
In Crysis, Age of Conan, Assassins Creed, Jericho the Fan is mostly about 50%, 72-76°, and ~280W, thats amazing!

The Card is absolutely silent in 2D with the Fan at 25%. Rivatuner is managing the Fan by itself and only if the GPU Temp is getting over 65° celsius the fan ist moving from 25% to auto. (you have to create oc and fan profiles in rivatuner!)

In idle, the GPU is about 55° celsius and 25% fan (25° room temperature)

OC with less Volt? SURE!!

With 1.03v under load, i can manage 655/1410/2430

I played Crysis, Age of Conan, Assassins Creed, Jericho for about 12h and the card was absolutely stabel, even in Benchmarks (3Dmark/Furmark)

Stay cool!

Lfctony · 06-29-08, 09:00 AM

It's the 6800GT all over again... Soon the threads will begin "Is my card dead" and "Major artifacting"...

Dreamingawake · 06-29-08, 11:56 AM

haha yeah, wow, i'd be careful with this.

a little patience never hurt anyone..

Uberpwnage · 06-29-08, 01:21 PM

I'd rather lower the temp in my room and oc more, but that's just me.

Madpistol · 06-29-08, 03:11 PM

Oh my god.... no. I would kill myself if I bricked my video card.

luigimita · 06-29-08, 03:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tomsen78

Undervolting GTX280 - The Way To Be Cool!

Be careful, you are loosing your guarantee!
Everytime use your own original Bios for modding!
If the flashing is going wrong and you have a black screen, you can use a pci-graphic card for flashing the GTX280 again or keep the steps in mind and blind-type the commands!

What u need:
Download: Nibitor 4.2
Download: nvflash
Download: GPU-Z 0.2.4
Floppy Disk
coolness

If You cant read out the Bios of your card with Nibitor, use GPU-Z and save the file then open it with nibitor.

Change the "EXTRA" voltage (in the pic below) from 1.18v down to 1.06v and save the file. I recommend to use 1.06v cause 1.03v could not be good in overclocking the card. With 1.03v the system freezes over 665MHz.
The "3D" clock ist 1.06v at stock, you can set it down to 1.03v.

Anytime, if you´re getting freezes, raise the EXTRA voltage from 1.03v to 1.06v for example.

Save nvflash.exe, the original and modded biosfile on the dos-start-disk and boot from the floppy disk.
Type during the dos screen "nvflash.exe -5 -6 biosfile.rom" - confirm with "y" and the flashing is done.

With my Point of View GTX280@ 1.03v, only 655/1410/2430 are stable instead of 700MHz with 1.18v, but its much cooler and more quiet.

stock-modded bios
1.03v (2D)
1.06v (3D) – now 1.03v
1.18v (Extra) – now 1.03v
380Watt vs. 320 Watt!!! > ~60Watt

I need only 320W at maximum, witch was 380W bevore flashing, thats incredible.

Test (25° celsius room temperature)

30min Furmark
GTX280 - 1.18v
88° - 100% fan

GTX280 – 1.03v
78° - 61% fan (down to 68° Grad with 100%)

1h Crysis
GTX280 - 1.18v
~82° - ~80% Lüfter

GTX280 – 1.03v
~72° - ~51% Lüfter

It doesnt matter which game, the fan is not faster than 1080rpm/61%!!
In Crysis, Age of Conan, Assassins Creed, Jericho the Fan is mostly about 50%, 72-76°, and ~280W, thats amazing!

The Card is absolutely silent in 2D with the Fan at 25%. Rivatuner is managing the Fan by itself and only if the GPU Temp is getting over 65° celsius the fan ist moving from 25% to auto. (you have to create oc and fan profiles in rivatuner!)

In idle, the GPU is about 55° celsius and 25% fan (25° room temperature)

OC with less Volt? SURE!!

With 1.03v under load, i can manage 655/1410/2430

I played Crysis, Age of Conan, Assassins Creed, Jericho for about 12h and the card was absolutely stabel, even in Benchmarks (3Dmark/Furmark)

Stay cool!

fantastic idea, I made the change and loaded the new modded bios. Everything works perfectly and now the fan does not exceed 60% in full load! WOW!!!

one question..... if i have problems and i must send my card in assistence, loading the original bios I would be warranted?

Tomsen78 · 06-29-08, 05:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by luigimita

fantastic idea, I made the change and loaded the new modded bios. Everything works perfectly and now the fan does not exceed 60% in full load! WOW!!!

one question..... if i have problems and i must send my card in assistence, loading the original bios I would be warranted?

Its more dangerous to change the cooler than to flash the bios!

The garantuee is gone if you flash the Bios. But I dont think its easy to proove this that you have flashed the bios.

I flashed the bios to 1.06v in Extra and 676/1411/2428 are stable!
The maximum fan was 61%! Thats amazing!

Xion X2 · 06-29-08, 06:39 PM

Why anyone would buy a high-performance card that costs over 600$ and want to "undervolt" it is beyond me.

Don't do drugs.

Tomsen78 · 06-29-08, 06:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by luigimita

fantastic idea, I made the change and loaded the new modded bios. Everything works perfectly and now the fan does not exceed 60% in full load! WOW!!!

one question..... if i have problems and i must send my card in assistence, loading the original bios I would be warranted?

Lol! Are you serious?

Cause the 80%-100% Fan is annoying!

I know about 30 people who own a GTX280 and 10 are getting a watercooler for the GTX280 and 10 are flashing their bios.
What you do is your choice - my choice is the silence (less heat, less power consumption)

Ninja Prime · 06-29-08, 06:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xion X2

Why anyone would buy a high-performance card that costs over 600$ and want to "undervolt" it is beyond me.

Don't do drugs.

lol I was thinking the same thing.

Xion X2 · 06-29-08, 07:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tomsen78

Lol! Are you serious?

Cause the 80%-100% Fan is annoying!

I know about 30 people who own a GTX280 and 10 are getting a watercooler for the GTX280 and 10 are flashing their bios.
What you do is your choice - my choice is the silence (less heat, less power consumption)

Undervolting the card is not the way to go, though. If you undervolt it, then when the card is under full load and needs that extra voltage and can't find it, then it's going to either fizzle out or die. Perhaps both.

There's an easier solution for a buzzing fan. It's called "case airflow." Either get a case that has vents on the side or buy a couple of high CFM fans to place around the card to suck in cool air through. Voila. The extra loud fan on the card won't have to spin as fast because the temps inside the case won't be like a sahara desert.

But no one should undervolt their video card; that's just asking for trouble. If the voltage is set at spec, it's because the card will eventually need it to perform. I'm always amused by forum gurus who think they know more than MIT engineers up at Nvidia.

Bman212121 · 06-29-08, 08:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xion X2

Undervolting the card is not the way to go, though. If you undervolt it, then when the card is under full load and needs that extra voltage and can't find it, then it's going to either fizzle out or die. Perhaps both.

There's an easier solution for a buzzing fan. It's called "case airflow." Either get a case that has vents on the side or buy a couple of high CFM fans to place around the card to suck in cool air through. Voila. The extra loud fan on the card won't have to spin as fast because the temps inside the case won't be like a sahara desert.

But no one should undervolt their video card; that's just asking for trouble. If the voltage is set at spec, it's because the card will eventually need it to perform. I'm always amused by forum gurus who think they know more than MIT engineers up at Nvidia.

QFT.

The people who designed the card didn't pull the stock voltage number out of thin air. They rigorously tested the card to make sure it was perform correctly without errors. The card may run with a lower voltage, but it will likely have worse performance and causing more issues such as BSODs or display driver stopped responding.

Feyy · 06-29-08, 08:39 PM

paying over 600 USD to have to undervolt and possibly underperform a card....

Oh hai ATI 4 series you're more appealing by the minute.

nekrosoft13 · 06-29-08, 08:40 PM

great idea, kiss your warranty goodbye.

my card after a small change doesn't exceed 80c, and i kept my warranty.

screwing with bios on something that cost over $600 is never a good idea.

turdhat · 06-29-08, 11:56 PM

Man I dont get all this noise/heat crap that people are talking about and I am running 691/1404/1250 (lame shader clock artifacts at 1435 so I backed it way off) with no fan mods etc.. I use Rivatuner and fan is auto in drivers and Rivatuner.

This card is not loud (for me) and only went above 80c when I used that furmark program. Even in Crysis with max settings and 16xaa it never gets above 75c. My ambient is around 72-75c and the card idles around 43-46 in low power 2d mode. I have an antec full tower case with a zalman 9700. Two normal sized case fans pull in the front and two blow out the back. Nothing too fancy here. Maybe I got lucky with this card.

My 8800 GTX Oc edition was louder and hotter.

06-29-08, 08:48 AM	#1
Tomsen78 Registered User Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 9	Undervolting GTX280 - The Way To Be Cool! Undervolting GTX280 - The Way To Be Cool! Be careful, you are loosing your guarantee! Everytime use your own original Bios for modding! If the flashing is going wrong and you have a black screen, you can use a pci-graphic card for flashing the GTX280 again or keep the steps in mind and blind-type the commands! What u need: Download: Nibitor 4.2 Download: nvflash Download: GPU-Z 0.2.4 Floppy Disk coolness If You cant read out the Bios of your card with Nibitor, use GPU-Z and save the file then open it with nibitor. Change the "EXTRA" voltage (in the pic below) from 1.18v down to 1.06v and save the file. I recommend to use 1.06v cause 1.03v could not be good in overclocking the card. With 1.03v the system freezes over 665MHz. The "3D" clock ist 1.06v at stock, you can set it down to 1.03v. Anytime, if you´re getting freezes, raise the EXTRA voltage from 1.03v to 1.06v for example. Save nvflash.exe, the original and modded biosfile on the dos-start-disk and boot from the floppy disk. Type during the dos screen "nvflash.exe -5 -6 biosfile.rom" - confirm with "y" and the flashing is done. With my Point of View GTX280@ 1.03v, only 655/1410/2430 are stable instead of 700MHz with 1.18v, but its much cooler and more quiet. stock-modded bios 1.03v (2D) 1.06v (3D) – now 1.03v 1.18v (Extra) – now 1.03v 380Watt vs. 320 Watt!!! > ~60Watt I need only 320W at maximum, witch was 380W bevore flashing, thats incredible. Test (25° celsius room temperature) 30min Furmark GTX280 - 1.18v 88° - 100% fan GTX280 – 1.03v 78° - 61% fan (down to 68° Grad with 100%) 1h Crysis GTX280 - 1.18v ~82° - ~80% Lüfter GTX280 – 1.03v ~72° - ~51% Lüfter It doesnt matter which game, the fan is not faster than 1080rpm/61%!! In Crysis, Age of Conan, Assassins Creed, Jericho the Fan is mostly about 50%, 72-76°, and ~280W, thats amazing! The Card is absolutely silent in 2D with the Fan at 25%. Rivatuner is managing the Fan by itself and only if the GPU Temp is getting over 65° celsius the fan ist moving from 25% to auto. (you have to create oc and fan profiles in rivatuner!) In idle, the GPU is about 55° celsius and 25% fan (25° room temperature) OC with less Volt? SURE!! With 1.03v under load, i can manage 655/1410/2430 I played Crysis, Age of Conan, Assassins Creed, Jericho for about 12h and the card was absolutely stabel, even in Benchmarks (3Dmark/Furmark) Stay cool! __________________ E8500 @ 4.2GHz l Gigabyte X38-DS5 l GTX 280 4GB DDR2 Corsair Dominator l Corsair HX520W l X-Fi Xtreme Music Eizo S2231W l Lian Li PC-A71B l Vista 64bit Business SP1 1TB Samsung HD103UJ + 320GB Hitachi T7K500 Logitech G5/G15 Refresh

06-29-08, 09:00 AM	#2
Lfctony Registered User Join Date: May 2003 Location: Larnaca, Cyprus Posts: 3,888	Re: Undervolting GTX280 - The Way To Be Cool! It's the 6800GT all over again... Soon the threads will begin "Is my card dead" and "Major artifacting"... __________________ Fafnir: Intel Core 2 Quad 6600@3.2Ghz\|eVGA 780i SLI\|eVGA GTX280 SC \|Kingston DDR667 4096MB\|Seagate SATA 250GB\|Seagate SATA 200GB\| Seagate SATA 160GB\|OptiArc AD-7173S DVDRW\|Nec 3351 DVDRW\|Creative X-FI XM\|Viewsonic VX2235\|Logitech X-530\|Thermaltake Armor\|Amptac 850W SLI PSU\|Logitech Logitech G9 Mouse\|Xigmatek HDT S-1283 CPU Cooler\|Windows Vista x64 SP1/FW 180.48 PS2 - Wii - Xbox - Xbox360 - PSP - GC - PS3 Owner Boycott Starforce... Quis Custodiet Ipsos Custodes?

06-29-08, 11:56 AM	#3
Dreamingawake BANNED Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 812	Re: Undervolting GTX280 - The Way To Be Cool! haha yeah, wow, i'd be careful with this. a little patience never hurt anyone..

06-29-08, 01:21 PM	#4
Uberpwnage Registered User Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 854	Re: Undervolting GTX280 - The Way To Be Cool! I'd rather lower the temp in my room and oc more, but that's just me. __________________ Core i7 965 Extreme @ 4.14GHz (1.4v) - TRUE w/ STG1 - Rampage II Extreme BIOS 804 - EVGA GTX 280 - Corsair Dominator 3x2GB DDR3 1600 - Creative X-Fi Xtrememusic - 2 x 1TB Samsung F1 RAID 0 - ASUS 20x SATA DVD Burner - Dell 2407WFP - Silverstone Zeus 1200w PSU - SilverStone TJ09-BW - Razer Lachesis - Logitech G15 v2 Vista Ultimate x64 SP1, 3DMark06: 21186 (Vista), 3DMark Vantage: P16000 Eurocom M860TU: X9100 - 9800M GT - 2x2GB OCZ DDR3 1333 - 320GB 7200rpm - 15.4in 1920x1200

06-29-08, 03:11 PM	#5
Madpistol It's a wittle baby! Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Jacksonville, Alabama Posts: 3,568	Re: Undervolting GTX280 - The Way To Be Cool! Oh my god.... no. I would kill myself if I bricked my video card. __________________ =(eG)= Mad Pistol Edge Gamers Organization: The best gaming organization on the net! MadPistol's Rig Core 2 Duo E6600 @ 3.2Ghz (1.29V) Zalman CNPS9700 LED EVGA 680i SLI EVGA 9800 GTX+ Corsair XMS2 2 x 1GB PC2 6400 @ 711mhz Soundblaster X-Fi Platinum Western Digital 500GB SATA 2.0 Samsung DVD burner OCZ GameXStream 700watt Antec Nine Hundred case Windows XP MCE 2k5 ACER 24" LCD

06-29-08, 06:39 PM	#8
Xion X2 finger picking good.. Join Date: May 2006 Location: U.S. Posts: 6,091	Re: Undervolting GTX280 - The Way To Be Cool! Why anyone would buy a high-performance card that costs over 600$ and want to "undervolt" it is beyond me. Don't do drugs.

06-29-08, 08:39 PM	#13
Feyy Babe Thread Provider Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: University Of Limerick Posts: 1,502	Re: Undervolting GTX280 - The Way To Be Cool! paying over 600 USD to have to undervolt and possibly underperform a card.... Oh hai ATI 4 series you're more appealing by the minute. __________________ ________________________________ \| CPU: Intel Q6600 B3 @ 3Ghz \| Cooler: Zalman CNPS9700 LED \| Mobo: Intel D975XBX2 \| GFX: Inno 3D 8800 GTS 640MB \| PhysX: EVGA 8400 GS 256MB \| Memory: 2x1GB OCZ Platinum Rev2 PC6400 \| PSU: OCZ StealthXtreme 600W PSU \| Monitor: Acer G24 \| HDD: 320GB Seagate Barracuda \| Case: NZXT Lexa Blackline [Blue] ________________________________

06-29-08, 08:40 PM	#14
nekrosoft13 I'm Geralt Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Chicagoland, once a year in Poland Posts: 18,765	Re: Undervolting GTX280 - The Way To Be Cool! great idea, kiss your warranty goodbye. my card after a small change doesn't exceed 80c, and i kept my warranty. screwing with bios on something that cost over $600 is never a good idea. __________________ Igitur qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum 182.50 = NeKro Certified driver, thats better than WHQL 185 series brings more performance, but also brings many bugs. Xbox LIVE on Windows needs to FAIL! Say no to ketchup, use mustard

06-29-08, 11:56 PM	#15
turdhat Registered User Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 285	Re: Undervolting GTX280 - The Way To Be Cool! Man I dont get all this noise/heat crap that people are talking about and I am running 691/1404/1250 (lame shader clock artifacts at 1435 so I backed it way off) with no fan mods etc.. I use Rivatuner and fan is auto in drivers and Rivatuner. This card is not loud (for me) and only went above 80c when I used that furmark program. Even in Crysis with max settings and 16xaa it never gets above 75c. My ambient is around 72-75c and the card idles around 43-46 in low power 2d mode. I have an antec full tower case with a zalman 9700. Two normal sized case fans pull in the front and two blow out the back. Nothing too fancy here. Maybe I got lucky with this card. My 8800 GTX Oc edition was louder and hotter. __________________ Asus P5K Deluxe WIFI Intel Q6600@3.65ghz 1.45v Zalman 9700 Evga Geforce GTX 280 SC Edition @ 702/1404/2600 2 Gigs of OZC Platinum pc8000 @1126 4-4-4-12 2.2v A Partridge in a pear tree.

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