Folding Forum

Trying to dial in slot usage to keep temps down. Have read a ton of posts about Advanced Control>Config and understand that. With Config set to default values, my temps bump 90C. I'd like to get temps to mid 70's. If I pause GPU and run on max CPU slots, the temps are perfect. With GPU folding, temps are still in the high 80's no matter if change CPU slots to 2, 4, 6, or 12. I assumed using 2 slots would be cooler than 12, but I see no difference in temps. I notice when using 2 slots, only one core at a time has a high temp, but the fan still wails. All of this is with the slider on Full.

I could just not use the GPU, but that's not getting much work processed. Any ideas here?

WIndows 10 Pro 64 bit
CPU: Intel Core i9-9900 CPU @ 3.10GHz
GPU: 4095MB NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070

You can try to lower the GPU's temp using MSI Afterburner: https://www.msi.com/page/afterburner
Direct download: http://download.msi.com/uti_exe/vga/MSI ... rSetup.zip

For example, you can directly choose a max. temp. that suits you, and Afterburner will do the rest.

The ppd from your GPU should significantly exceed that from your CPU ... Your GPU will be full utilising one thread all of the time and will occasionally use more when checkpointing/sanity checking so a 2core slot may actually see 3/4 core load - but that still shouldn't run as hot as you are reporting ... I would suspect that the heat from the GPU is significantly impacting the cooling of the CPU to a marked degree (preheating the airflow into the CPU cooler) and that airflow may be an issue and may need looking into.

Welcome to Folding@Home!

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en ... -9900.html

In theory, the CPU only draws 65 Watts.

https://www.techpowerup.com/gpu-specs/g ... 2070.c3252

The GTX 2070 draws 175 watts, which you will want to get out of your case, look into fans.

I use speccy to monitor temps, many utilities do

https://www.ccleaner.com/speccy

It should show several temps so you can see each device and the PC as a whole. Frequently, F@H makes a better stress test than a real stress test does.

does the heat from the GPU blow out the back of the case or does it heat the device in the next slot?

Search for undervolting and underclocking your card with MSI Afterburner. The daily loss in PPD won't be very significant, but the decrease of power usage and heat will be.
Simply you an set the power limit to 50%. Your PPD will only decrease like 20%.
And forget about using the CPU, it is not worth the power.

I use Speccy and Core Temp. I should have said that the high temps are for CPU, which runs about 86-90C, GPU in mid 70's.

Neil-B & Bruce, very relevant point, thanks. I will pull the case and look at airflow this weekend.

Ichbin3 and AJM, I'm hesitant to use MSI Afterburner. I'm not knowledgeable enough to be comfortable making those kinds of adjustments. I would like to use FAH Controls, if possible.

Jimbo, thanks for the links!!

I just changed CPU slots from 15 to 6 and no change in CPU temp. Why doesn't lowering slots make a difference?

I appreciate all the replies!!!

VinceMH wrote:I just set CPU slots to 6 and no change in CPU temp. Why doesn't lowering slots make a difference?

It can depend on the BIOS settings for power management, and how many cores are in use. With fewer cores the i9 can boost the clock above what can be done for all cores in use, the total power used may be limited by the hardware to a maximum temperature or power draw.

MSI Afterburner is super easy to use. It’s just a slider that you move, it takes care of the details. Easier that FAH and worth the minimal time.

Joe_H wrote:

VinceMH wrote:I just set CPU slots to 6 and no change in CPU temp. Why doesn't lowering slots make a difference?

It can depend on the BIOS settings for power management, and how many cores are in use. With fewer cores the i9 can boost the clock above what can be done for all cores in use, the total power used may be limited by the hardware to a maximum temperature or power draw.

It can also depend on how the threads share the FPUs. When a pair of threads make use of a shared FPU, they are less productive than when the have full use of an independent FPU. The power consumption doesn't change much.

What you also can do is disable the boost for the i9. If you have Windows 10, the best way is to activate that function in the Advanced Power Settings. Then, under "Processor power management" (Power & sleep settings -> Additional power settings -> Change plan settings -> Change advanced power settings -> Processor power management), you will have a new item called "Processor performance boost mode". If you choose "Disabled", your CPU will only run at base speed and the temps will get much better. You can try the other options, too:



Now, by default, the Processor performance boost mode is not active (visible). In order to activate it, you have to change a value in the registry. Specifically, you have to change
"Attributes"=dword:00000001
to
"Attributes"=dword:00000002
in
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Power\PowerSettings\54533251-82be-4824-96c1-47b60b740d00\be337238-0d82-4146-a960-4f3749d470c7]

If you are not familiar with the registry and its editor (Regedit), you can use this file: https://www.geeks3d.com/dl/show/10060
It will do the job automatically. If you are uncertain about it, you can open the downloaded file in a text processor to see (almost) in clear text what it is doing.

Mxyzptlk wrote:MSI Afterburner is super easy to use. It’s just a slider that you move, it takes care of the details. Easier that FAH and worth the minimal time.

Thanks, I will give this a try.

bruce wrote:

Joe_H wrote:

VinceMH wrote:I just set CPU slots to 6 and no change in CPU temp. Why doesn't lowering slots make a difference?

It can depend on the BIOS settings for power management, and how many cores are in use. With fewer cores the i9 can boost the clock above what can be done for all cores in use, the total power used may be limited by the hardware to a maximum temperature or power draw.

It can also depend on how the threads share the FPUs. When a pair of threads make use of a shared FPU, they are less productive than when the have full use of an independent FPU. The power consumption doesn't change much.

Thanks for that explanation!!

Yes, a 2070 has a tdp of 225W.
They usually do well with several less watts.
I run mine at 127-135W, but you don't have to go that low in power.
Somewhere halfway will make a lot of difference.
Also optimizing airflow will help.
You can open the lid, so half of your case is open.

VinceMH wrote:If I pause GPU and run on max CPU slots, the temps are perfect. With GPU folding, temps are still in the high 80's no matter if change CPU slots to 2, 4, 6, or 12.

WIndows 10 Pro 64 bit
CPU: Intel Core i9-9900 CPU @ 3.10GHz
GPU: 4095MB NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070

It is likely that most of the hot air from the GPU is exhausted to the case.

First, ensure your case cooling is "positive pressure" - more intake airflow (in total CFM rating for all fans) than exhaust airflow. Don't forget the PSU fan. This will allow excess air to exit the case via the nearest slot, rather than being sucked toward an exhaust fan. If needed/possible, add intake airflow via more, bigger, and/or more efficient fans. I use Noctua fans for their combination of low noise and high air flow. If intake fans are obstructed by a HDD cage, reposition the HDDs to allow cleaner air flow if feasible.

Open the case and ensure the backplane slots on either side of the GPU card are slotted instead of solid. This will help ensure more of the hot air from the GPU is exhausted immediately, instead of migrating up toward the CPU cooler.

Point the CPU cooler fan directly at the rear or top case exhaust fan if possible.