3080 Ti clock speed dropping under load

[theokoles]

Specs:

• Ryzen 5950X
• Gigabyte 3080 Ti Gaming OC
• 32GB DDR4
• MSI X570 Unify
• Seasonic Focus 1000 W
• Windows 11

Last week my desktop suddenly shut down while listening to Spotify and then refused to POST. There was no warning and nothing notable in Event Viewer other than the typical 'unexpected shutdown' logs.

I reset the CMOS and was able to boot successfully. I enabled XMP and adjusted a few other minor settings in the BIOS. I haven't had any more crashes.

However, I noticed that I'm getting about half of my usual FPS in various games (Insurgency: Sandstorm, Doom Eternal, RDR2). Using the 3DMark TimeSpy benchmark, my score is ~6000 less than the average of other comparable systems:

Overall score

Detailed monitoring

The detailed monitoring shows that my GPU downclocks as soon as it hits 100% load. At idle, it returns to its base clock speed. I've compared my 3DMark results to others with similar specs, and this downclocking doesn't seem to be occurring. Unfortunately, I don't have results prior to the system crash for comparison. You can see that my temperatures for both CPU/GPU hover around 55°C, so I doubt it's a thermal issue.

Troubleshooting:

• Clean installed latest NVidia driver
• Upgraded BIOS to latest iteration
• Reseated GPU and RAM
• Verified that CPU Pump is running at full tilt
• Toggled GPU BIOS (no effect)
• Verified that GPU power limit is 100% (Afterburner)
• Replaced power supply

Any other items to test before moving forward with a GPU RMA? Thanks for reading!

 

[GerKNG]

i've heard about this issue from a review (private review on a retailer website)

i am not sure but it may be on amazon italy. his GPU dropped clocks by up to a Ghz under load (just like yours)
he said that a replacement fixed the issue.
i currently have the same GPU (Gigabyte 3080 Ti Gaming OC) in my Rig and never had this problem.

i'd RMA the Card.

 

[theokoles]

Thanks for the quick reply. For my sanity, could you compare your GPU-Z readout to mine here? I'm particularly interested in the '8-Pin #2 Power' - this was all at idle.

 

[GerKNG]

looks like you have set your power settings to "max performance" in the nvidia control panel

Here is idle and load (overclocked)

 

[Deleted member 202104]

If you have a spare drive, and if you haven't already, I'd do a fresh install of Windows before an RMA to rule out something borked with the install.

 

[TheRealJCole]

Hello,
I just registered an account to say that I am experiencing the exact same issues.
I am using the Gigabyte 3080ti Eagle, and under 100% GPU load, it will reduce the gpu frequency to 950 - 1150mhz. Total board wattage sits around 210watts total.
Also of note, my 8-pin wattage draw readouts are exactly the same. I do have troubles getting a video output sometimes. I'll have to kill power to the tower, wait a moment and then plug the power cord back into the power supply and boot. It still posts and windows loads, but no output to the monitors.
One thing I have noticed that is unusual, my idle temperatures sit around 50 - 53c. I'm at a loss. It's a 5 hour drive to the retailer (I'm in very northern Canada) so im trying to avoid a warranty return with them.
Have you had any luck since ? I'm considering doing a fresh OS install just to rule that out.

 

[theokoles]

Hello,
I just registered an account to say that I am experiencing the exact same issues.
I am using the Gigabyte 3080ti Eagle, and under 100% GPU load, it will reduce the gpu frequency to 950 - 1150mhz. Total board wattage sits around 210watts total.
Also of note, my 8-pin wattage draw readouts are exactly the same. I do have troubles getting a video output sometimes. I'll have to kill power to the tower, wait a moment and then plug the power cord back into the power supply and boot. It still posts and windows loads, but no output to the monitors.
One thing I have noticed that is unusual, my idle temperatures sit around 50 - 53c. I'm at a loss. It's a 5 hour drive to the retailer (I'm in very northern Canada) so im trying to avoid a warranty return with them.
Have you had any luck since ? I'm considering doing a fresh OS install just to rule that out.

I tried it in a different PC and the issue persisted. I couldn't think of anything else to try so I sent it in for RMA. That was just a few days ago so it hasn't made it to Gigabyte yet. I'll update this thread once I get it back. I honestly don't have high hopes for the lifespan of this card though. I've only had it for ~3 months.

Did your issue start suddenly or has it been that way since you've had the card? My issue started after my PC crashed.

 

[TheRealJCole]

Did your issue start suddenly or has it been that way since you've had the card? My issue started after my PC crashed.

I didn't have time to evaluate the card properly before it crashed. I ran 3dmark with factory settings and it glitched out partway through with artifacts and a frozen screen. After that I jumped back in and removed the gigabyte utility thinking maybe it was doing some weird overclock. It hasn't worked properly since (and im not sure it worked properly before)
My 3d mark score is around 12000 when the average is up around 18000.

 

[theokoles]

I didn't have time to evaluate the card properly before it crashed. I ran 3dmark with factory settings and it glitched out partway through with artifacts and a frozen screen. After that I jumped back in and removed the gigabyte utility thinking maybe it was doing some weird overclock. It hasn't worked properly since (and im not sure it worked properly before)
My 3d mark score is around 12000 when the average is up around 18000.

Are you still troubleshooting?

Gigabyte's RMA tool shows a repair date of January 6th and they've been radio-silent since. I've tried contacting their support a few times but haven't received any response.

 

[TheRealJCole]

Nope, I mailed my card into Gigabyte's California RMA address. It arrived on the 19th and as of today they've acknowledged that it's under repair.
What way are you contacting their support ? I've been using https://esupport.gigabyte.com/ but it seems flaky.

 

[eidairaman1]

Are you still troubleshooting?

Gigabyte's RMA tool shows a repair date of January 6th and they've been radio-silent since. I've tried contacting their support a few times but haven't received any response.

This is why I avoid them

 

[theokoles]

Nope, I mailed my card into Gigabyte's California RMA address. It arrived on the 19th and as of today they've acknowledged that it's under repair.
What way are you contacting their support ? I've been using https://esupport.gigabyte.com/ but it seems flaky.

Yeah, that's how I've contacted them. It's been about a week without a reply. Let me know when you get yours back and I'll do the same.

This is why I avoid them

I don't think I'll be purchasing from Gigabyte anymore. I've had issues with their monitors and motherboards as well. Poor QA it seems.

 

[GerKNG]

I don't think I'll be purchasing from Gigabyte anymore. I've had issues with their monitors and motherboards as well. Poor QA it seems.

after buying a z690 gaming x from gigabyte that was so broken that it was basically non functional i gave them one last chance with the M32U.

it's the best monitor i've ever had. now 6 weeks later the panel completely died.

 

[eidairaman1]

Yeah, that's how I've contacted them. It's been about a week without a reply. Let me know when you get yours back and I'll do the same.

I don't think I'll be purchasing from Gigabyte anymore. I've had issues with their monitors and motherboards as well. Poor QA it seems.

You will notice how many board revisions they have.

They havent had anything good since Socket AM3

 

[TheRealJCole]

according to the gigabyte helpdesk, mine changed from "received" to "Being replaced or replacement is being tested"
so that's a good sign. I was worried they'd just check if it boots and runs a game without really paying attention to wattage or benchmarking.

 

[theokoles]

according to the gigabyte helpdesk, mine changed from "received" to "Being replaced or replacement is being tested"
so that's a good sign. I was worried they'd just check if it boots and runs a game without really paying attention to wattage or benchmarking.

Yeah, that's what mine's been at since January 6th. I tried calling their help desk but was on hold for ~2 hours. I opted for the voicemail prompt eventually but their mailbox is full. What a joke.

 

[TheRealJCole]

Have you tried https://esupport.gigabyte.com ? I've used this and seem to have about a 3 day turnaround.

 

[Cutechri]

I don't think I'll be purchasing from Gigabyte anymore. I've had issues with their monitors and motherboards as well. Poor QA it seems.

Their B550 Aorus Pro died three times on me. The first time, it was because I set a DRAM timing improperly - a sane board would fail to boot three times and revert, but this one wasn't sane. The replacement randomly died while I was gaming and the BIOS corrupted itself, CPU was not being detected - someone else had this issue too. The third replacement was DOA.

At that point I decided against buying anything Gigabyte ever again and bought a ROG Strix B550-F. This board has been through countless CMOS resets, DRAM timing changes, and has been solid since.

 

[FreedomEclipse]

Just a PSA -- Its currently Chinese New Year over there so they are busy partying down and getting drunk with family for an entire week. You might encounter some delays in terms of response to emails and updates to your RMA status due to this because there just isnt anyone in the office to return your emails.

Not that they'll reply to your emails anyway (as other posts have mentioned) but nobody is working, so just be patient

 

[theokoles]

Have you tried https://esupport.gigabyte.com ? I've used this and seem to have about a 3 day turnaround.

Yes, they told me they don't have visibility into the RMA system. It is what it is. I can't do anything other than wait.

 

[TheRealJCole]

Just a PSA -- Its currently Chinese New Year over there

Strange, I didn't know California placed a big importance on chinese newyear.

 

[FreedomEclipse]

Strange, I didn't know California placed a big importance on chinese newyear.

Ah yes. I had no idea that Gigabyte was an American company from Cali. Deepest apologies

 

[Telmo78]

only Gigabyte over 3080 Ti have this "problem" ?

 

[theokoles]

@TheRealJCole
Good news: I got "my" card back yesterday. It has a different serial number but they might have swapped backplates. There was a memo included in the RMA that states: "U6 PCB BURNOUT/Y"

Bad news: It doesn't work! There's no display output at all now. Getting a d6 trouble code on my motherboard.

I'm going to spend the day troubleshooting before deciding whether or not I want to go through with another RMA. I hope your experience is better, but I'm feeling really defeated at this point.

EDIT: I managed to get it working after a BIOS reset. TimeSpy score is improved and above average now. It's no longer dropping clock speed under load. I hope this is a good sign but I'll need to use it for a while before I'm confident it's fixed. Thanks to everyone in this thread that offered assistance.

 

[Cowboystrekk]

You use 2 different power cables and not same cable with 2x8-pin?