GPU Temperatures While Folding is Paused

[TemurAmir]

I seem to have a coil whine problem with my GTX 460 when folding is started so I tried pausing just the GPU slot while I'm actually at the computer under the FAH control panel by right clicking and then selecting pause. However, after monitoring my temperatures under GPU-Z, it appears that my temperatures are almost at the same levels (70°C). Did the folding actually stop and if so, why are my GPU temperatures still high up? The whine disappears, however after pausing the client this way.

[P5-133XL]

My suggestion is to download an OC'ing utility like EVGA precision so you can monitor your vital GPU statistics real-time in your system tray. Keeping track of %GPU usage, Temperature, Clock rates, ... etc. will give you real useful data to work upon.

Your video card's temperature is highly regulated by its cooling system. When the GPU starts folding, then the temp goes up and the fan speed increases to compensate. The reverse also occurs so your cooling system for the most part will determine GPU temps regardless of the work the GPU does.

[dawhippersnapper]

If Precision works with your card properly, you should also be able to change the fan curve. I have a pretty good curve on my card, and under full load from FAH I run at about 62C. I don't like my card to get over 70C. You might check on your fan and heatsink on the card too. It might have some buildup causing the heat to not dissipate properly or be moved away. I keep my room at about 21 to 23C for ambient temps.

When I pause FAH, Precision shows that within about 15 seconds the GPU power usage falls off.

[TemurAmir]

Thanks for the replies; I don't think I can use Precision since my GPU is made by MSi. I also don't think it's a problem with the cooling system of the card because when the card usually isn't at load, the temperatures are around 30°C. GPU-z only shows these high temperatures after I start folding even after GPU folding is paused. Since the folding has stopped, I expected the card temperatures to return to those when it's not under load. I cleaned out the heatsink/fans of my CPU and GPU yesterday.

[k1wi]

Are you using the v6 client?

[Rel25917]

Does GPU-Z show the gpu load dropping to 0 when you pause FaH? Does the fan speed drop as soon as the load is gone? How long after stopping folding have you watched? My graphics cards all start dropping in seconds once the load is gone. They only drop a few degrees every few seconds but they do drop. MSI has their own program called afterburner that does the same as EVGA Precision.

[P5-133XL]

Thanks for the replies; I don't think I can use Precision since my GPU is made by MSi.

Then use MSI afterburner. Precision and afterburner are functionally similar, just with different interfaces.

[Leonardo]

Thanks for the replies; I don't think I can use Precision since my GPU is made by MSi.

All the Nvidia cards in a class, such as ~450, ~650, et cetera, have essentially the same components, just different layouts, sometimes slightly different tuning, and differing quantities and speeds of video memory. P5-133XL's reply to you above is spot on.

[codysluder]

Then use MSI afterburner. Precision and afterburner are functionally similar, just with different interfaces.

I've use ether one interchangeably on GPUs from any manufacturer.

[k1wi]

Are you using the v6 client?

I found that pausing on v6 didn't stop my GTX570 from dropping temperature, utilization etc. It seemed like it was in some sort of infinite loop.

The solution I chose was to update to v7 = resolved. Unless there is a pretty good reason why you can't update I would recommend you do.