580M SLI throttling Discussion Thread

UPDATE: Dell has posted an updated VBIOS for the 580M and 580M SLI, you can get it here.
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Has there ever been a definitive answer as to why this is happening? I'm pretty much noticing fairly awesome performance in all of my games, but in furmark and 3dmark runs, I'm getting what I would called sub-par performance.

20,000 points in 3dmark 06? I'm pretty sure my 285m's did better than that...

Whilst in furmark with gpuz running, I can see my clocks going from 620/750/1240 to 73.6/162/147. This occurs when the GPU temp exceeds 80.

the clocks stay low until the temp reaches down to 65, then they go back up. They stay up again until the core reaches 80... repeat.

 

First of all, if your cards are getting 80c then you got bigger problems than throttling.... Your cards should not go over 76/76 under extreme stress testing.... my cards in games have always been around 73 and with these new drivers 71.....

I'm sure the throttling we are all experiencing is NOT temperature driven but rather power perhaps...

And lastly.. yes it sucks that we get to be throttled in benchmarks, but in games we sure don't.

Seriously, if you are seeing 80c, you should repaste your GPU's.... My cards can run OC at 724/1610 and they are barely hitting 72/72.

 

72/72 in furmark extreme burn test?

 

No but I don't run that..... just like I don't run WinPrime.....

I get 72's under Vantage for instance and Metro 2033... BUt frankly I don't blame Nvidia for implementing a throttling with Furmark...

 

The throttling is quite surely driver-dependent, and neither BIOS or EC related.

Firstly, there is a bunch of benchmarking and stress applications blacklisted by name in the drivers. This is why the cards keep downclocking while running Furmark or 3DMark Vantage.

Secondly, there is a mechanism in the drivers that when the cards run at full load too long they downclock. The throttle is thus neither temperature nor power related. All of this has already been tested. So basically, if you run the cards at full load for x seconds, they will eventually downclock.

Good reading there:
DELL M18X A03 BIOS THROTTLE REMOVAL GTX580M SLI

See the beginning of the discussion and the more recent posts. The story hasn't finished yet.

edit: BTW, the 80*C figure is coincidental with the card running at full load. It may very much seem like there is some temperature threshold, but there isn't.

 

Try the throttling fix I developed for the M15x back in the day. It used an nVidia GPU as well. If you can force the clocks, then it should stop throttling. This is one reason nVidia sucks on a mobile platform.

 

I actually have throttling in Left for Dead 2 and BC2 anyone else?

 

at stock, no OC at all? which drivers are you using?

 

At stock I think no throttling but OC'ed throttling in most demanding games even older ones like lfd2 at high settings.

 

You have to be having another issue... I have never seen throttling in game and running 740M/1625!!! and Benchmark throttling only kicks in afrer 724mhz for me.

 

So, if we try to install gtx580m from p150hm driver it will be ok? i think its the vbios, or the bios or just dell..

 

Are you experiencing any throttling? I mean we all are but very differently, for me it only kicks in at higher OC and only on 3DMark Vantage/3DMark11, havent seen it at all in Heaven 2.5, 3DMark 2006 or any games.

 

It's Dell and the system bios. The Clevo's don't have the same issues. The new bios from Dell even states that it controls the throttles.

 

what new bios?

 

I take it A08 for the M17x.

 

Sorry, not the newest. A02 bios for the M18x:
Drivers and Downloads
If you see under Fixes and Enhancements, it says:
"Modify NV GTX2 card portection function for P1 state when system is over loading."
Right there is your throttling for the M18x.

 

Well, Widezu69 i am on A00, i don't know if this makes any difference. But i am waiting for our good friends to finally unlock the A03 Bios then i'm updating.

I experience throttling on 3Dmarkvantage, Furmark, i havent tried Heaven.

I dont think i get throtling on Crysis 2, but i got pretty laggy like 20 or 30 fps on highest setting of Metro 2033 on standard clock. Haven't tried metro 2033 on my overclock yet 740/1760. That's my highest without artifacts.

over that i got artifacts.. plus i'm not on stock gtx580m dell driver, i got a modified 280.26 running right now.

I am wondering how's our 6990m brothers holding up, are they got throttled too?

 

The 6990m's don't get throttled.

 

That's so unfair so so unfair!

so they can get double the performance of gtx580m when OCed properly? ..

 

We don't get throttled but we are voltage limited. We can crank our clocks as high as possible with the voltage we have ... but thats is. We have to physically mod the cards to over volt.

 

No way.. lol the performance is about equal even with throttling.... It depends on the game, Nvidia does better on some game, ATI better on other games.

The key thing here to note is that Dell does throttle it and if it's ever removed, then the 580M have far greater potential as far as OC due to their flash enabled BIOS, we can increase voltage to reach a much higher clock % than ATI cards can.

Stock performance is actually better on Nvidia by about 5% overall according to reviewers.... From what we've seen here as a joint effort between both group of users, it's about even.

 

No, not even close to double (if you mean 580m in SLI that is). From what I have read stock vs stock, overall, across many games the 580’s are a little faster (5%ish??). You can overclock the 6690’s (15%ish??) to be faster than the stock 580’s, and about the same as a mildly overclocked 580.

If they get the throttling under control the 580’s should pull ahead of what the 6990’s can do without a physical volt mod.

Of course from game to game one may be better than the other, same with benchmarks, I am just speaking generalities.

I myself will never do a physical volt mod, but will overclock as much as I can and still play games comfortably. I chose the 6990’s due to no throttling and the possibility of using eyefinity, and the better bang for the buck. If the 580's were the same price and could do eyefinity, and had no throttling issues, I would have chosen them for sure (not afraid to admit that I prefer NVidia).

 

I agree, anyhow i got 20% more already i am pretty happy wiith it

 

hey guys! i want to share with you that somehow i didnt get throttled with EVGA precision On screen display on

 

Hey Xeneize,

I am impressed with your 3dmarkvantage score!

how did you get your CPU score soo high? kill all running background application?

does memory clock isn't really important? how come u get GPU score better than mine when u only use 1615 when i'm on 1760 ?

do u get any artifacts with atitool at your OC?

 

I had my CPU Overclocked to 44x (i believe) and a stable OC. My GPU's were OC and I have not gone to a point where I experienced artifacts at all... I picked 1610 just as a max, but I'll try higher.

CPU for sure pushes the score.

 

BTW, for all interested parties, I've been in contact with Nvidia for a yer days now and the 'throttle' issue is being professionally researched. I don't want to say anything at this point as I don't know much more, yet apparently the issue is m17x and m18x specific (what does not mean Dell cards are faulty, the problem can lay at the line specific card-drivers). This explains why Clevo overclockers did not face this problem.

I will keep you posted if only I know more. You will prolly end up reading the whole thing, if only Nvidia people won't mind that.

 

+rep 02x9a I hope you come witha follow up on this stupid throttle issue

Xeneize, do u use the a03 unlocked bios to OC your 2920xm? Mind sharing some magic mate? And why ur driver is not FM approved ?

Btw I managed to get 755/1760 without artifact and without throttle at all
That evga precision OSD really give some boost I think

 

Thanks for the update and your continued follow ups in sorting this matter out 0x29a, but from my dealings with nvidia and Dell it would seem this has/is a mutual agreement between the two parties to protect its products, (lower warrenty repairs/ blown cards etc)
This throttle if we can call it that has been around for a while now even back in the early days pre 260m era, but not heavly controlled.

Some Vendors are using the protection in place to enforce this and other vendors are not. I have contacted Dell as well and they offered to replace my cards saying they were faulty! (Woot).

I have ordered a barebone 580m single card system which i should be recieving shortly to confirm this.
I will install the same gpu drivers as my m18x system to confirm if it's driver related nvidia or dell.

As the cards get faster and hotter we are seeing a more balanced controlled power management taking place to manage the cards in a safer optimised operating levels to stop overheating blown cards etc.

Yes i hate this as well as the full potienal of the cards is being limited, and in any event the is wrong.

A clear warning should be marked somewhere on the laptop or cards to advise consumers that this is/will occur.

But Nvidia refuses to acknowledge there is a problem or its being throttled and therefore mark it as it's the way our product operates.

Good luck and i'm sure you will update us, but dont get disappointed when you never get an answer or you will be waiting a long time.

 

sorry OT but are the GTX580M heatsinks the same as the HD6970's? if its not the same, may i know the P/N?

and does it use the same sli cable as the 460s?

 

I want to have your babies! +rep

 

Hey Xeneize these drivers are sick! Scores have been boosted dramatically even at stocks speeds 3dvantage 1000 points :0)

 

Yeah and I was reading when the official ones come out expect an even bigger boost.

 

EVGA | Software | EVGA Precision

there it is xeneize! OSD = On Screen Display, just some temps and usage overlay on fullscreen and assigned application. be sure to run it in stealth mode so punkbuster doesnt kick u

i'm going to try the Nvidia Driver from ur link

 

thx, I use Afterburner looks alike like it but without voltage control.

 

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580M video card benchmark result - Intel Core i7-2920XM Processor,Alienware M18xR1 score: P26468 3DMarks P26468 3DMarks
My new highscore without throttling, I do experience throttling in the last scene of new calico it happens when my temps hit 75
this is valid though, i use my new Notepal U3 cooler
http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m18x/599545-notebook-coolers-m18x-11.html#post7935645
Thanks again Xeneize

Edit:
Msi afterburner? any problem with it? does it also have OSD?

 

Yes it does have OSD. Your scores are pretty good GPU wise, hopefully we'll get rid of throttling.

 

awesome i just ordered an m18x with 580m sli so this sounds promising.

 

Your 75c throttling may be fixed if you do a repaste, and you put the fans on full before you start your bench. That's how I do it.

 

Let's see what they say. In a way they already confirmed that such aggressive throttling isn't okay. My guess is Dell's design has a lot do to here too. In the end Nvidia just supplies the chips and Dell does the rest. Let's give 'em some time to properly respond.

 

Thanks for the tip widezu69 I will repaste in a couple of months I think.. And I will also clean the exhaust copper

 

so basically, we're supposed to rage, because we have uber-expensive systems that are being held back by nothing more than software...

 

Sad thing is: squeaky wheel gets the grease.

Amazing how nothing has changed since these "wheels" were in fashion!

 

Anyone here already tried to flash their m18x gtx580m vbios to 0,92 ? how's the performance?

 

Performance is hindered by throttling.... we need throttling out before we can go over 750ish.

 

bad news.. on 740/1760 Battlefield 3 runs on 97-98% GPU all the time, plus the temps going from 75 - 78, i already used my notepal u3 for this. FPS is not really great either, 40- 45 average, sometimes i get 60, but vsync isnt working.

I GOT THROTTLED IN CASPIAN BORDER, somehow at some points where theres alot of shooting and destruction going on, BOOM, 12 -15 fps in 2 seconds, then back ..

PS: without OC BF3 only runs on 30-35

 

what drivers are you running? Try anything above 285.27

 

285.38 NO THROTLING AT ALL TEMPS GOES AS HIGH AS 85c

 

85C with laptop pad is an overkill for 580M SLI, did you try repasting? does your laptop gets noisy during gameplay?