this post was submitted on 05 Aug 2025
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airflow issues and undervolting an nvidia gpu on linux (feddit.it)
submitted 1 day ago by brokenlcd@feddit.it to c/pcmasterrace@lemmy.world
7 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

i managed to build my first proper pc in the most hacky way, and it works wonderfully(the one of the previous post).

the only problem i have left now is that during the heavyest workload i need it to run; the card reaches 77°C and i'm not sure if it's dangerous for the card to be cycled between 77°C and 51°C while it writes to the hdd. due to thermal stress.

the problem isn't the air flow of the case, but the fact that the pc is placed in an under desk shelf, the heat is pushed backwards and outwards by the gpu and psu fans, but the hot air still rises toward the top, where the card intakes air.

i'm already seeing if i can put fans in the cubby under the desk, but i'm also seeing if i can undervolt the gpu to have it heat less, since from what i could understand the performance loss is minimal up to a certain point.

the problem with that is that nvidia doesn't expose the core voltage in the drivers for linux (... torvalds was right in this front). i found that there is a workaround to do that with LACT but i'm afraid it's going to mess the card's warranty or the card itself. what do you think?

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[–] PalmTreeIsBestTree@lemmy.world 2 points 13 hours ago* (last edited 13 hours ago) (1 children)

It sounds good to me. You might consider repasting the card to get even better temperatures. My 4080 Super can get that hot when playing really hard to run games and mine is undervolted as well. They are meant to get hot anyways. I wouldn’t worry about temperatures unless it’s over 80 C all the time.

[–] brokenlcd@feddit.it 1 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

I think repasting is a little too far. Since i just bought the card and don't really want to risk breaking it + losing the warranty. It's for the warranty that i asked as well. Since on linux it's hacky to undervolt.you basically have to overclock while throttling the max wattage iirc. And i feel like overclocking is a bit iffy for the warranty's integrity.

[–] PalmTreeIsBestTree@lemmy.world 2 points 8 hours ago

If it’s new, then it’s all good. I assumed it was a used card.

[–] KennyBell@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

77°C is perfectly fine for the card. It is not dangerous at all. I wouldn't worry about it other than monitoring temps every now and then.

[–] brokenlcd@feddit.it 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Ok, that's good to hear. Though i think i'm still going to go through and at put 2 pc fans under the desk. Since at 5v they manage to keep it at 75 even when running for a whole day with 30°c outside; just as a peace of mind thing.

Do you know how mutch of a problem the thermal cycling is? Since it has 22°C swings every 2 minutes during it's typical workload. And i'm a bit worried about thermal stress making the card die earlier.

[–] KennyBell@lemmy.world 2 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

Go for it if it's simple to do, additional airflow is good.

The swings are not ideal of course. An alternative would be to modify the fan curve to stop the GPU fans at 60-65, reducing the swing from the lower end.

[–] brokenlcd@feddit.it 1 points 8 hours ago

You know. I really didn't think about going the other way around and upping the lowest temperature instead of trying to lower the maximum. It's also way easier to do with LACT... I think i'll try this+ under desk fans before having a go at undervolting.