Thursday, February 12th 2015
NVIDIA Disables GeForce GTX 900M Mobile GPU Overclocking with Driver Update
With GeForce R347 drivers (version 347.29), NVIDIA disabled overclocking on its GeForce GTX 900M series mobile GPUs. Buyers of new notebooks, and using older drivers, with the chips fell under the impression that like their desktop counterparts, the GTX 900M series support overclocking, until they updated their drivers to 347.29, to find that their overclocks were wiped back to reference clocks, and overclocking using third-party tools was disabled.
When angry users took to the official GeForce forums to report the bug, NVIDIA explained that overclocking on the GTX 900M series was enabled by accident, and has since been disabled with the recent driver updates. This explanation was met by angry reactions by users who argued that they should be allowed to use the hardware as they want, even if it voids their warranties. Historically, overclocking was allowed on NVIDIA GPUs.
Source:
NVIDIA GeForce Forums
When angry users took to the official GeForce forums to report the bug, NVIDIA explained that overclocking on the GTX 900M series was enabled by accident, and has since been disabled with the recent driver updates. This explanation was met by angry reactions by users who argued that they should be allowed to use the hardware as they want, even if it voids their warranties. Historically, overclocking was allowed on NVIDIA GPUs.
160 Comments on NVIDIA Disables GeForce GTX 900M Mobile GPU Overclocking with Driver Update
I have overclocked my GTX 765m +100 core / +500 memory, and it netted me a 25% performance increase. That is a BIG DEAL! The same difference between a 780 and 980!
Oh and what temperature is it hitting? Never goes over 80c, and that is in a compact 13.3" netbook.
If I can't overclock future Nvidia cards, I will not buy them - it is that simple.
"Unfortunately GeForce notebooks were not designed to support overclocking. Overclocking is by no means a trivial feature, and depends on thoughtful design of thermal, electrical, and other considerations. By overclocking a notebook, a user risks serious damage to the system that could result in non-functional systems, reduced notebook life, or many other effects.
There was a bug introduced into our drivers which enabled some systems to overclock. This was fixed in a recent update. Our intent was not to remove features from GeForce notebooks, but rather to safeguard systems from operating outside design limits."
They can't use that excuse for desktop GPUs as an owner can add case fans/after market coolers ect to reduce thermal issues. They're coming for our shaders next. Will they leave us nothing? :cry:
They have taken away overvolting on the desktop before...
I have to agree...
Some ASUS 7970 cards were voltage locked too. Maybe not an AMD prerogative but nonetheless, an issue.
If you want to overvolt a card, it's your choice but it's not a right. It's amusing such a petty issue has the salivating masses up in arms. What's that saying about sense of entitlement?
They are changing features sets already paid for.
If you are having instability yes... but for gaming you want to be on the driver that has the latest game patches in it... being forever stuck on an old driver is a ridiculous suggestion.
Not buy games anymore?
Besides there are bound to be work arounds, but go ahead and get upset. Yes, you stop playing games and become a farmer instead.
You're only option.
Glad we found which side you are on. ;)
OK. But your clearly a l33t overclocker, you dump the laptop in LN2 and enjoy!
And yes, I'm on the successful side. Will coo be mine? :P
All it means is less Nvidia cards bought by me and some other people...
You're/Your... you used the wrong one.
It's only the difference between knowing you're shit and knowing your shit. :P
And if you could previously overclock and gain performance... and now you can't... Yes, that is very clearly a downgrade of performance.
Especially on the mobile side where the "next gen" chips are often just overclocked old ones.
Let me resell you the same thing you have for more... is the message given.
Nice Gif though, I'll nick it and use as required. Unless the driver update yields suitable performance gains that flat out overclocking just can't deliver.
I'd still suggest that if your in the market for the best performance you can get, these gaming laptops probably aren't the best option for you.
Companies resell and rebrand products all the time BTW, welcome to the big mean world of business.
The majority of enthusiast/gaming laptops are meant to be long-term, mobile "pre-built desktop replacements", so overclocking isn't exactly a supported or marketed feature of most OEMs.