Are these temps OK? (PowerColor PCS+ Radeon R9 380 4GB)

[DrDiesel]

Personally, I'd leave it alone. The temps aren't great but they're acceptable so long as you're okay with the sound. Changing TIM is as likely to make it worse than make it better. The high idle temp could be caused by the fans running really slow (or off) when idle.

It looks like my idle GPU clock rate is set at 755MHz. After doing some quick research, that seems a bit high for idle and might be the reason why the temps are so high. Do you think that might be the case? Is there a way for me to adjust that and would you recommend it?

 

[FordGT90Concept]

My R9 390 and R7 360 both idle at 300 MHz GPU and 150 MHz VRAM. 755 MHz is high. That said, if there's anything being displayed, those quickly jump up.

At idle the fan RPMs were logged at 435 RPM...that's barely spinning. If you want it to run cooler at idle, you could change the fan profile to run faster at lower load. It conserves power by not running the fan so hard and the temperature is not dangerous in any way so I don't really see a reason to do that.

 

[Vya Domus]

Sometimes the GPU gets stuck in various power states without an obvious reason , this seems to be your case. Is that idle frequency always the same or it does in fact go down sometimes ? Some program might prevent it from going to it's lowest power state.

 

[DrDiesel]

Sometimes the GPU gets stuck in various power states without an obvious reason , this seems to be your case. Is that idle frequency always the same or it does in fact go down sometimes ?

It's always at 755 MHz at idle. I'm looking at the Radeon Settings app and it looks like the graphics card has 6 clock rate states. The lowest being 755 MHz while the highest is 980 MHz. The lowest I can set it to within the Radeon Settings appears to be 755 MHz

 

[Vya Domus]

It's always at 755 MHz at idle. I'm looking at the Radeon Settings app and it looks like the graphics card has 6 clock rate states. The lowest being 755 MHz while the highest is 980 MHz

I don't have a AMD card anymore so I don't know how or if you can change them , see if a complete settings reset brings them back to what they should be. But that's definitely the reason you get those temps at idle.

 

[eidairaman1]

It looks like my idle GPU clock rate is set at 755MHz. After doing some quick research, that seems a bit high for idle and might be the reason why the temps are so high. Do you think that might be the case? Is there a way for me to adjust that and would you recommend it?

The bios is preprogrammed on the gpu for its lowest clocks. On the subject do not modify the bios or try to install another, my signayure explains why. You have not used any other software such as Afterburner or Trixx, or even the default driver to tweak any settings for a slower fan or higher base clock have you?

 

[DrDiesel]

The bios is preprogrammed on the gpu for its lowest clocks. On the subject do not modify the bios or try to install another, my signayure explains why. You have not used any other software such as Afterburner or Trixx, or even the default driver to tweak any settings for a slower fan or higher base clock have you?

No, I haven't used any other software to tweak any settings for anything. I'm interested in lowering the base clock while idling to reduce temps however. Is there a safe and easy way to do that?

 

[revin]

What % GPU load is this 755mhz having at idle?
Could it be something is in background running?
I know it don't make sense given the Radeon setting only show a lowest of 755mhz for 2D clocks?

 

[DrDiesel]

What % GPU load is this 755mhz having at idle?
Could it be something is in background running?
I know it don't make sense given the Radeon setting only show a lowest of 755mhz for 2D clocks?

It's at 0% or close to it while at 755 MHz. The settings list that as the lowest possible clock rate.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

You could contact PowerColor/Tul but I suspect they'll tell you that's normal and there's nothing you can (more precisely, should) do about it, sadly. If that's what the BIOS says for idle clock, that's what you get.

 

[eidairaman1]

No, I haven't used any other software to tweak any settings for anything. I'm interested in lowering the base clock while idling to reduce temps however. Is there a safe and easy way to do that?

MSI Afterburner I'd suggest, @fullinfusion should know more about that program

It's at 0% or close to it while at 755 MHz. The settings list that as the lowest possible clock rate.

as I said before- Pre-programed by the card manufacturer, do not screw with a bios mod for it otherwise you can cripple the card. that is the lowest it goes with a preset voltage too- it is set to avoid artifacts/lockups.

As @FordGT90Concept concept said, you might be better off leaving it alone until the warranty expires, then take the card apart and reapply thermal compound, the card manufacturer won't replace the card unless if it is totally dead, don't even think about physically damaging the card as that is not covered by any of them.

To me if a card isn't having corruption/artifacting or locking up or random blue screens it is fine.

 

[DrDiesel]

Just an update:

I reached out to PowerColor support and they replied saying that 755 MHz is the clock speed it is supposed to be idling at and that my card is fine. The clock speed cannot be changed and that doing so might actually damage the card. They suggested that having a PSU at 750W might reduce the idle temps (I have no clue if this actually would work. Anyone know?). In addition, they suggested that I add additional fans and open up the case for additional ventilation to reduce the idle temps. So I don't know if this is just a standard response that they tell everyone or if my card is actually ok. I am leaning towards just accepting the fact that the clock rate is meant to be that high and hopefully having such a high idle clock rate won't effect the health and lifespan of my card.

On a seperate topic, does anyone know if it's possible to adjust the speed of the case fans attached to the Motherboard through the 3-pronged hookups? I have a MSI Z97 PCMate motherboard and I can't seem to find anywhere in the BIOS that lets you adjust the speed at which the fans run. I found the settings that let you adjust the CPU fan speed, but nothing for the case fans. I'm interested in increasing the fan speed to help with airflow in hopes that this will help cool my GPU

 

[BiggieShady]

They suggested that having a PSU at 750W might reduce the idle temps

Nope, that's bogus suggestion - it doesn't work like that. The fact the card runs at 755 MHz at idle is the reason of high idle temps ... it should go down to 300 MHz on core and 150 MHz on memory

I have a MSI Z97 PCMate motherboard and I can't seem to find anywhere in the BIOS that lets you adjust the speed at which the fans run.

Don't know if you have full control there, or maybe you need to use their software msi command center

 

[eidairaman1]

Just an update:

I reached out to PowerColor support and they replied saying that 755 MHz is the clock speed it is supposed to be idling at and that my card is fine. The clock speed cannot be changed and that doing so might actually damage the card. They suggested that having a PSU at 750W might reduce the idle temps (I have no clue if this actually would work. Anyone know?). In addition, they suggested that I add additional fans and open up the case for additional ventilation to reduce the idle temps. So I don't know if this is just a standard response that they tell everyone or if my card is actually ok. I am leaning towards just accepting the fact that the clock rate is meant to be that high and hopefully having such a high idle clock rate won't effect the health and lifespan of my card.

On a seperate topic, does anyone know if it's possible to adjust the speed of the case fans attached to the Motherboard through the 3-pronged hookups? I have a MSI Z97 PCMate motherboard and I can't seem to find anywhere in the BIOS that lets you adjust the speed at which the fans run. I found the settings that let you adjust the CPU fan speed, but nothing for the case fans. I'm interested in increasing the fan speed to help with airflow in hopes that this will help cool my GPU

Dude if they told you your card is ok, It is ok. Leave it alone. Ventilation does have play too. Airflow obstruction causes certain parts of a case to not get proper air to components.

Idle 2D clocks wont affect the life span of it. It is only when you oc above its 3D clocks and add voltages that it can't handle it does.

Make sure you have no cables obstructing the airflow in the case, raise the hdd above the gpu if possible so its heat isn't blown onto it.

By the way BiggieShady every card is programmed differently, I was correct about it being hard coded by them, as power color had said.

On the psu bit. The 380 is a Tweaked 285 from last few years, however out of the box Sapphire suggested a 750W for my vaporX 290. That is for run of the mill/generic psus as a quality 500W will run them fine.

 

[Caring1]

Looking at the clock rates of the two Bios's listed in our database, it seems low.
If anything, the fan needs to be ramped up at idle.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

True, most PowerColor cards I seen peak at about 70C. That should inadvertently lower the idle temp too since it moves as a curve. The noise might be a problem though.