Is it safe to power limit GPU

[Deners]

So i have GPU R9 390 and am using it to mine ETH+SmartCash but the GPU is using to much power and it heats quite a bit, so am asking is it safe to limit gpu power limit in afterburner by say 20% ?? I have already undervolted core voltage in afterburner by 0.1V .

[Vann]

Yes. If the power is too low, as far as to the hardware, the worst that can happen is it's unstable and crashes. Lowering the power limit too much will also limit the hash rate.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28YfTL0titc&t=135s

[Deners]

Yes. If the power is too low, as far as to the hardware, the worst that can happen is it's unstable and crashes. Lowering the power limit too much will also limit the hash rate.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28YfTL0titc&t=135s

I didnt quite understand him on that youtube video was he only speaking about core voltage undervolting or he was speaking aswell for the power limit of the GPUs.

[Vann]

Yes. If the power is too low, as far as to the hardware, the worst that can happen is it's unstable and crashes. Lowering the power limit too much will also limit the hash rate.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28YfTL0titc&t=135s

I didnt quite understand him on that youtube video was he only speaking about core voltage undervolting or he was speaking aswell for the power limit of the GPUs.

They are both pretty much the same. The max power limit just adjusts the voltage dynamically according to a percentage of TDP. The bottom line is if the card is not getting enough power for what it's doing, it will either ignore the setting or become unstable and crash. Neither of which hurts the hardware.

[mindrust]

While undervolting directly lowers the current which your card draws from the wall, Power Limit as its name says, puts a hard cap (limits) on the power consumption. They both do the same thing in the end and I think "power limit" is a bit more popular among miners.

And no, you can't harm a GPU as long as you stay below 100%.

[QuintLeo]

Many miners run our cards at 60-70% of the "factory TDP" - without issues.
Some very high TDP cards end up at closer to 50% and sometimes less - but not all cards will let you set the power limit THAT low.

Worst case is generally that the card throttles the core clockrate a LOT and you lost a lot of hashrate as a result.