I noticed especially in the so-called MSRP cards of NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 4070 that NVIDIA still does intensive binning and here two quality gradations (“buckets”) are again quite restrictive selected in bin 0 (worse) and bin 1 (better). We still know this from the so-called “Non-A” and “A” chips in NVIDIA’s higher-class Turing cards. Different name, same topic. Whereby now with this article really the question arises, with which I should start best: the practice and how I found it or the not less exciting theory behind it, which one needs for the better understanding.
After some deliberation, I decided to start with the examination as an introduction, because tomorrow’s test of an “affected” card needs today’s article for a better understanding of the circumstances. In the end, NVIDIA has scored a kind of brute own goal and some board partners have, quite legally, been able to turn the board partner cards, which are actually equipped with a restrictive power limit, into OC cards in disguise. The customer is happy, of course, but the other parties involved, up to NVIDIA, probably not so much.
Two-class society for the AD104-250-A1
Actually, I’m a bit surprised that nobody has noticed so far that so-called MSRP cards (i.e. the cheap entry-level models of the respective manufacturers) are available with a fixed power limit (default/enforced and maximum) of 200 watts as well as with 215 watts. All OC cards, on the other hand, have a much higher maximum value, but it has to be exhausted manually. But why do the non-OC cards have different power limits? Let’s first look at two MSRP cards with different fixed values (sliders):
But what I could find out from my sources is that there is (of course) the usual binning of the chips, although you can’t see this determination externally by now. NVIDIA has of course learned from the last shitstorm with the “A-chips”. You need NVIDIA’s own programs like MODS (NVIDIA Modular diagnostic software), which then output the so-called binning value bin with a hidden command line call. But since these things are classified as “Confidential”, for legal and collegial reasons I will neither offer a download of the actual software, nor disclose the parameter. It is enough to know that such a thing exists.
Now I don’t want to anticipate the next paragraphs on the following page, of course, but the binned chips usually fulfill a certain function. Each chip model has a maximum power specification, which is called TGP (also known as Total GPU Power), i.e. the value that the GPU is allowed to consume as such. This is usually set as a fixed value. Depending on the chip quality, different high frequencies are then possible with the same power consumption and under identical conditions, such as the temperature, among others. Therefore, you will only be able to get an entry-level model from a manufacturer with the same power limit to the same clock frequencies in a few exceptional cases. This has been done for years and has never really been criticized. You get what you paid for. Very simple.
With the GeForce RTX 4070, NVIDIA initially counted on either significantly higher sales numbers or a lower yield (or maybe even both) and simply reversed that with the binning and clock! Ergo, all MSRP cards should achieve about the same clock under load, regardless of chip quality. My internal information (and counter tests) say that for clock rates around 2745 MHz under full load (gaming) at around 60 °C “edge” temperature you need between 195 watts and just under 212 watts, depending on chip grade. Hence, the separation into two groups up to 200 and 215 watts. So far, so unspectacular.
OC card against its will (the manufacturer)
And this is where it gets really funny. Some board partners, who finished very early with the cards, have to deal with the worse bin 0 Chips for the MSRP cards and used the 215 watt BIOS (and left it that way just in case). It’s just that NVIDIA has predominantly used bin 1 Chips, which could then have already reached the desired (preset) clock at 200 watts. I did this counter test with the KFA2 RTX 4070 EX Gamer from tomorrow’s test and set the power target to 200 watts with the Afterburner. Running…
In return, I was able to overclock the card quite a bit (which shouldn’t be intended this way). With a 250 MHz offset, the extremely well cooled card managed to reach the 3 GHz mark. Mind you: as an actual MSRP model! Who should then still buy all the expensive OC models, which have maybe one or two (actually unnecessary) voltage converters more instead of eight (Founders Edition six) and rely on the 12VHPWR connection? Now, of course, such a lucky find is not guaranteed and the next batch of delivered bundles of chip and memory could already look completely different. But at least I have not been told that NVIDIA would intentionally downgrade the binning flags, because then you would have to change a lot more. I’ll explain what that is in the second part in a moment.
But even OC cards use the 215 watts as a lower limit. I had the MSI GeForce RTX 4070 Gaming X Trio in review as well, and this card ultimately failed just as much at the stable 3 GHz (aside from momentary spikes), despite the maximum power limit of even 240 watts. The card came with the bin 1 Chip even at maximum clock only just over 215 watts. The 240 watts might have been needed to get a worse bin 0 Chip into similar regions.
And what is the result of all the BIOS limits now? MSRP cards with a 215 watt power limit currently have a great chance of being used as real OC cards as long as the bin 1 chips are installed! But of course there is no guarantee for that, how could there be? NVIDIA’s yield seems to be much better than expected and there are probably too many chips still on stock to select for binning. That was part one of today’s article and tomorrow you can see how such a “non-OC card” with the normal overclocking on the level of the usual, much more expensive OC cards performs! The next page will be a bit more technical, but certainly not less interesting. So please turn the page and read on!
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About the author
Igor Wallossek
Editor-in-chief and name-giver of igor'sLAB as the content successor of Tom's Hardware Germany, whose license was returned in June 2019 in order to better meet the qualitative demands of web content and challenges of new media such as YouTube with its own channel.
Computer nerd since 1983, audio freak since 1979 and pretty much open to anything with a plug or battery for over 50 years.
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