GTX 660M 2GB, FurMark, and "Throttling" - WTF?

[dogfart]

Hello all. I have an Asus G75VW with GTX 660M 2GB. I was trying out FurMark to see how my gpu temps were behaving. Temps look good but I noticed that FurMark states something like "GTX 660M 950 Mhz - throttling 815 Mhz" so my question is this...and exuse me but here goes: WTF? Why is my gpu being "throttled" in FurMark? Is it being throttled in my apps and games as well? thanx

[zltippett]

dogfart wrote:
Hello all. I have an Asus G75VW with GTX 660M 2GB. I was trying out FurMark to see how my gpu temps were behaving. Temps look good but I noticed that FurMark states something like "GTX 660M 950 Mhz - throttling 815 Mhz" so my question is this...and exuse me but here goes: WTF? Why is my gpu being "throttled" in FurMark? Is it being throttled in my apps and games as well? thanx

I noticed this also when I ran this on my G55VW. This could be related to what we're seeing.

[xeromist]

660M is based on a Kepler core which is designed to throttle as temperatures rise. Even desktop Keplers do this so it's not a surprise that the mobile would.

[dogfart]

xeromist wrote:
660M is based on a Kepler core which is designed to throttle as temperatures rise. Even desktop Keplers do this so it's not a surprise that the mobile would.

OK thats all well and good but FurMark says it is being throttled as soon as I start the test. If it throttles back because it is too hot thats OK but I want it to run full speed otherwise.

[xeromist]

Not sure. It's possible that it's hitting a power ceiling because Furmark pushes parts really hard. That wouldn't require heating up because the power draw would be instantaneous. The good news is that no game is going to push as hard as artificial benchmarks so you probably don't have throttling in games.

[dogfart]

xeromist wrote:
Not sure. It's possible that it's hitting a power ceiling because Furmark pushes parts really hard. That wouldn't require heating up because the power draw would be instantaneous. The good news is that no game is going to push as hard as artificial benchmarks so you probably don't have throttling in games.

I think you are correct. I logged my GPU activity while running 3D Mark 11. GPU-Z's log file reported GPU at 99% running at 950 Mhz during benchmarking. BTW I got what I think is a respectable score considering everything at stock speeds.
Games run very smooth as well so I guess Im good here. Thanks for your input.

[Dreamonic]

It's just Furmark detecting your "throttling" frequency, which will be with no boost (810-835Mhz) which varies with older to newer drivers used, and when thermal limits have been reached (throttling will then occur.)

At stock clocks on your 660M, idle temps should be around 35-39°C, while on load anywhere from 62-75°C. Once it reaches the mid 80's in games (not stress tests) something is wrong (high ambient temp, poor paste job, back vent ports blocked or inadequate space around NB.)

Good luck!

[dogfart]

Dreamonic wrote:
It's just Furmark detecting your "throttling" frequency, which will be with no boost (810-835Mhz) which varies with older to newer drivers used, and when thermal limits have been reached (throttling will then occur.)

At stock clocks on your 660M, idle temps should be around 35-39°C, while on load anywhere from 62-75°C. Once it reaches the mid 80's in games (not stress tests) something is wrong (high ambient temp, poor paste job, back vent ports blocked or inadequate space around NB.)

Good luck!

I just ran the "Burn-in benchmark 1920x1080 15min" in FurMark. Highest temp logged was 70C. My computer room is 73F(appx 23C). I,m more than happy with that.

[dogfart]

Dreamonic wrote:
It's just Furmark detecting your "throttling" frequency, which will be with no boost (810-835Mhz) which varies with older to newer drivers used, and when thermal limits have been reached (throttling will then occur.)

At stock clocks on your 660M, idle temps should be around 35-39°C, while on load anywhere from 62-75°C. Once it reaches the mid 80's in games (not stress tests) something is wrong (high ambient temp, poor paste job, back vent ports blocked or inadequate space around NB.)

Good luck!

I just ran the "Burn-in benchmark 1920x1080 15min" in FurMark. The card did indeed run at 950Mhz. Highest temp logged was 70C. My computer room is 73F(appx 23C). I'm more than happy with that.