GPU Temperatures While Folding is Paused

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TemurAmir
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun Dec 02, 2012 7:05 am

GPU Temperatures While Folding is Paused

Post by 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.
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P5-133XL
Posts: 2948
Joined: Sun Dec 02, 2007 4:36 am
Hardware configuration: Machine #1:

Intel Q9450; 2x2GB=8GB Ram; Gigabyte GA-X48-DS4 Motherboard; PC Power and Cooling Q750 PS; 2x GTX 460; Windows Server 2008 X64 (SP1).

Machine #2:

Intel Q6600; 2x2GB=4GB Ram; Gigabyte GA-X48-DS4 Motherboard; PC Power and Cooling Q750 PS; 2x GTX 460 video card; Windows 7 X64.

Machine 3:

Dell Dimension 8400, 3.2GHz P4 4x512GB Ram, Video card GTX 460, Windows 7 X32

I am currently folding just on the 5x GTX 460's for aprox. 70K PPD
Location: Salem. OR USA

Re: GPU Temperatures While Folding is Paused

Post by 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.
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dawhippersnapper
Posts: 17
Joined: Wed Nov 21, 2012 5:51 pm
Hardware configuration: i7 3770, 2 x i7 2600k, gtx 680 SC+, 2x E7-4830, 4 x Xeon L5520, other random hardware
Location: Oklahoma

Re: GPU Temperatures While Folding is Paused

Post by 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
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun Dec 02, 2012 7:05 am

Re: GPU Temperatures While Folding is Paused

Post by 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.
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k1wi
Posts: 909
Joined: Tue Sep 22, 2009 10:48 pm

Re: GPU Temperatures While Folding is Paused

Post by k1wi »

Are you using the v6 client?
Rel25917
Posts: 303
Joined: Wed Aug 15, 2012 2:31 am

Re: GPU Temperatures While Folding is Paused

Post by 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
Posts: 2948
Joined: Sun Dec 02, 2007 4:36 am
Hardware configuration: Machine #1:

Intel Q9450; 2x2GB=8GB Ram; Gigabyte GA-X48-DS4 Motherboard; PC Power and Cooling Q750 PS; 2x GTX 460; Windows Server 2008 X64 (SP1).

Machine #2:

Intel Q6600; 2x2GB=4GB Ram; Gigabyte GA-X48-DS4 Motherboard; PC Power and Cooling Q750 PS; 2x GTX 460 video card; Windows 7 X64.

Machine 3:

Dell Dimension 8400, 3.2GHz P4 4x512GB Ram, Video card GTX 460, Windows 7 X32

I am currently folding just on the 5x GTX 460's for aprox. 70K PPD
Location: Salem. OR USA

Re: GPU Temperatures While Folding is Paused

Post by P5-133XL »

TemurAmir wrote: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.
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Leonardo
Posts: 260
Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2007 5:09 am
Hardware configuration: GPU slots on home-built, purpose-built PCs.
Location: Eagle River, Alaska

Re: GPU Temperatures While Folding is Paused

Post by 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.
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codysluder
Posts: 1024
Joined: Sun Dec 02, 2007 12:43 pm

Re: GPU Temperatures While Folding is Paused

Post by codysluder »

P5-133XL wrote: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
Posts: 909
Joined: Tue Sep 22, 2009 10:48 pm

Re: GPU Temperatures While Folding is Paused

Post by k1wi »

k1wi wrote: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.
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