Detailed view of gaming in WQHD
In Cyberpunk 2077, the graphics card reaches peak values of up to 168 watts in WQHD and maximum settings. This high load is due to the immense computing requirements without AI-supported scaling and requires a stable power supply. Although the 12V2X6 design is not fully utilized, it still places high demands on power supply stability. The power consumption and current levels are measured in 20 ms intervals to capture even fast load changes. The first graph shows the real-time consumption as a product of current and voltage, which allows conclusions to be drawn about peak values and compliance with the PCIe specifications. The distribution between the 12V2X6 connection and the mainboard slot can be seen very clearly here:
The combination of both analyses provides a comprehensive view of the graphics card’s energy flows. While the power consumption evaluates the overall efficiency, the power distribution shows possible load peaks. This data is essential for developers and enthusiasts to precisely understand the power management of the card. The second graph therefore focuses on the power distribution between the PEG slot and external connections such as 12V2X6. It provides information on how heavily the mainboard slot is used and in which situations external connections should provide more power.
The next graphs analyze a single 20 ms interval with a resolution of 10 µs and show in detail the behavior of the power supply during short-term load changes. These are caused by sudden GPU requirements, such as render spikes or frame changes. The first graph visualizes the power consumption in this extremely short period of time and reveals short-term peaks of up to 210 watts, which do not place too high demands on the stability and response speed of the power supply unit.
The second graph shows the current flow through the supply cables and reveals abrupt changes under dynamic loads:
Load behavior in the Torture test
Furmark is an extreme load test for graphics cards that generates an atypically constant maximum load, far above what occurs in real applications or games. Through intensive calculations, both the shader and memory controllers are fully utilized, which leads to extreme thermal and electrical stress. This worst-case test checks the stability of the GPU and the power supply, whereby the power consumption can significantly exceed the specified TDP of 180 watts in the peaks and reach peak values of up to 250 watts.
As Furmark generates a permanent maximum load, the test is not representative for everyday use, but it is extremely useful for uncovering weak points in the cooling or power supply. Furmark thus serves as a stress test to ensure that the entire system remains stable even under extreme conditions. Here, too, it is remarkable that the current never falls below 2.2 amps at the slot, which is due to the fact that constant loads for other voltage converters (e.g. 5 volts, fans, MCU) are also permanently applied here.
The high-resolution measurements during a Furmark test provide precise insights into the behavior of the power supply and power consumption under extreme load. The continuous maximum load on the GPU results in constant thermal and electrical stress, which is analyzed at microsecond intervals. Particularly noticeable are short-term load peaks that far exceed the average power consumption and are caused by sudden changes in the load of individual GPU components.
These measurements are particularly relevant with regard to the ATX 3.1 standard, which requires power supply units to compensate for short-term peaks of up to 200% of the nominal load for up to 1 millisecond. The data shows that such peaks are not only theoretically possible, but actually occur and can severely stress the limits of power supply designs.
Summary of the load peaks and a power supply recommendation
A power supply unit with a rated output of at least 400 to preferably 500 watts, which does not necessarily have to meet the requirements of the ATX 3.1 standard, is a suitable and rather inexpensive choice to reliably cover the power consumption values and load scenarios described. The maximum peak loads of the graphics card, which can reach up to almost 250 watts in extreme situations such as Furmark or in very demanding games, do not require a particularly high power reserve. Together with the load of the rest of the system, such as the CPU, RAM and other components, this results in a requirement that can be up to around 450 to 500 watts in very short peak times.
A decent 500 watt power supply unit not only offers sufficient headroom, but also safely absorbs short-term load peaks on this card. The slight oversizing also ensures that the power supply operates in an efficient load range between 50 and 70 %, which optimizes energy efficiency and longevity.
- 1 - Technische Daten und wichtige Einführung zum Speicherausbau
- 2 - Testsystem und Equipment
- 3 - Teardown: Platine und Kühler
- 4 - Materialanalyse und Wärmeleitmaterialien
- 5 - Gaming: Full-HD 1920x1080 Pixels (Rasterization Only)
- 6 - Gaming: WQHD 2560x1440 Pixels (Rasterization Only)
- 7 - Gaming: WQHD 2560x1440 Pixels, Supersampling, RT & FG
- 8 - DLSS4 und MFG: Cyberpunk 2077 im Detail
- 9 - DLSS4 und MFG: Alan Wake 2 im Detail
- 10 - Leistungsaufnahme über alle Einsatzbereiche und Effizienz
- 11 - Lastspitzen und Netzteilempfehlung
- 12 - Takraten und OC, Temperaturen, Geräuschentwicklung
- 13 - Zusammenfassung und Fazit
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