Weird problem with GTX 275

[N.E.A]

I was playing a game this morning and everything was OK ... the GPU ran on its specified Frequencies with no problem at all. Then I started the same game again after about 4 or 5 hours, the gpu ran on much lower frequencies.

Instead of running at 633 1404 1200 it ran at 400 800 740 or something like that.

The game is Blacklight Retribution. I thought maybe its because of the game, so I fired up furmark and it did the same thing.

Am running on 280.26 drivers and asked a friend of mine and he said he had the same problem with newer drivers.

Is there a way of fixing this ?! Except for restarting the PC every time it runs on lower frequencies !!!

 

 

Edit : I am using MSI afterburner 2.1 to adjust the clocks.

Edited July 16, 2012 by N.E.A

[Jenova69]

Had the same problem with my 570 and my old 560ti. It's just afterburner reading them wrong, go check your clocks with gpu-z and see if your having the same issue.

[N.E.A]

Had the same problem with my 570 and my old 560ti. It's just afterburner reading them wrong, go check your clocks with gpu-z and see if your having the same issue.

 

Its not afterburner ..... I was using a desktop gadget and the readings provided in the furMark and GPU-Z showed the same.

[Shurman292]

I had the same issue a while back with my 470. It was fixed by doing a clean install of the newest drivers available. Also, you may want to exclude any of the features you do not need in the new drivers, such as 3D vision or HD audio.

 

The problem was also helped by increasing the IOH voltage in my motherboard's BIOS. See this thread for reference.

[wevsspot]

NEA - not sure if it is causing the issue, but open up the nVidia control panel.

 

Click "Manage 3D Settings"

Scroll down to Power Management Mode - default value is "Adaptive" change the setting to "Prefer Maximum Performance"

 

If you're running Vista or Windows 7 open up the Power Control Panel and change power settings from Balanced to High Performance. Save changes, reboot and check gpu frequency again.

[Shurman292]

NEA - not sure if it is causing the issue, but open up the nVidia control panel.

 

Click "Manage 3D Settings"

Scroll down to Power Management Mode - default value is "Adaptive" change the setting to "Prefer Maximum Performance"

 

If you're running Vista or Windows 7 open up the Power Control Panel and change power settings from Balanced to High Performance. Save changes, reboot and check gpu frequency again.

+1 This is the first thing I tried, and it makes perfect sense (though sadly it didn't work for me).

[wevsspot]

Guess if that doesn't work fire up the MSI Afterburner temp log or GPUz temp log and start pounding the GPU and see what your temperatures are doing. Maybe there is a lot of dust, grime or dirt build up in the vga cooler and it's causing it to overheat. Or maybe thermal paste is dried out or wasted away and needs reapplication.

 

If it's not a power distribution problem, or the card isn't fixing to quit it could be a thermal issue.

[N.E.A]

well I did the prefer performance thing and it worked well but the GPU was constantly on its max clocks and it was getting hotter than usual under 1 or 2 percent load. So I reset the settings of that and it worked well afterwards. Until it happens again I will update the drivers and keep you guys informed ... Thanks for the help everyone.

[wevsspot]

You're very welcome. Hopefully it's sorted for good.