Graphic Cards Possible to switch off GPU?

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puppeteerX

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All,

I've done my bit of searching on google, havent found anything about this, but I thought some of you may know some tricks.

As per tests, most modern GPUs consume anywhere between 60-80 W during idle. Me, i'm always downloading something or the other, so comp is permanently on (all night) - usually shuts it down once in 100 hours or so. Now, i keep the screen turned off, however, i believe i can save significantly on electricity if i can also switch off the GPU while the rest of windows/applications continue to run.

Is this possible?
 
I must confess, I had a laugh reading your post. But then, your need makes sense. However I don't see thats happening cause manufacturers make gpu for gaming masses and believe me switching off did never come back as a request to them.

So yeah, I know, not much help, but thought I should make your expectation clear.

+LT
 
I must confess, I had a laugh reading your post. But then, your need makes sense. However I don't see thats happening cause manufacturers make gpu for gaming masses and believe me switching off did never come back as a request to them.

So yeah, I know, not much help, but thought I should make your expectation clear.

+LT
 
I don't think any GPU made so far allows you to shut it off entirely. The ATI 5xxx series GPUs have an amazing idle power consumption but are yet capable of extreme 3D performance. Other than that, you can try underclocking your existing GPU for some tiny power savings too.
 
^ Yes there are GPU's that you can turn off completely like the Nvidia 9800GX2 which supports Hybrid SLI.. Couple that with ASUS Crosshair II Formula & you have the control to turn the GPU ON or OFF Depending upon your needs..

also,newer cards doesn't support this feature like the 200 series in Nvidia but the older cards did supported..

i know this coz i've got ASUS Crosshair II Formula & i was looking to buy a new 9800GX2 but unfortunately i was unable to find it out.
 
A whole bunch of new laptops are starting to get the option of switching off a heavy duty GPU and switch to integrated graphics.

While not available at present, the feature OP is talking about might be available on desktop machines a few years down the line.
 
the alienware m17 has 2 260 gtx in sli , but when idling it shuts down the cards in sli and uses the onboard graphics of the motherboard , prettty cool
 
Thanks for your replies.

@stalker: exactly what I'm leaning towards.

Like i said in my op, in an average 100 hour span, I'm gaming for 10 hours, using the comp for another 20 hours for other stuff. However, for 70 hours, it's just on and doing its business, something that has absolutely no use of a graphics card consuming 70W of power. It cant be the hardest thing to give us a software controlled "Switch off GPU" option!

@nav33n: that's the bridge which allows for this option? or is the card itself which can be powered off? Because i've been through the gforce 7x and 8x series, and i don't remember being able to this.
 
@OP

In simple words

No you cannot switch off your gfx card.However downclocking will reduce power consumption to some extent.
 
Oh, and btw.. a GPU does not consume the same amount of power while running at peak performance and while running regular desktop stuff.

GPU drivers come with throttling controls which dial down the speeds and reduce power consumption when idling.

Also, like I mentioned earlier.. the switch of gpu thingy is a newish technology that exists ONLY on laptops
 
yeah even I've been thinking of the same, as I've a power hungry 260GTX sitting with me. Gets hot real fast. Another comp just for downloading actually makes sense but then the added cost + 2nd comp will consume more than 60W power certainly! So ur setup by itself makes sense.
 
Switching off GPU is neither impossible nor a new technology AFAIK...

my Laptop is almost 2 years old, and i can switch between the dedicated card and intel integrated one easily.
Although it is not done on the fly.

It is all handled through the bios.

when i actually use the shortcut in windows to switch between the 2 said cards , the system restarts and the BIOS switches off the power supply to the dedicated card and the intel one comes into action by default and when i use the OSD utility to switch again, then it restarts and the BIOS resupplies the dedicated card with juice and it comes back to action over-riding the intel one.

And these days you do not even need to restart to make the switch with hybrid SLI i suppose.

well the above scenario, as some one pointed out, is right now only on a laptop with a custom made manufacturer BIOS.
No idea if they will implement the same in desktops though.
But it is not impossible.

Peace~
 
puppeteerX said:
It cant be the hardest thing to give us a software controlled "Switch off GPU" option!
Click to expand...

It might not be hard at all to implement a software to turn off the GPU but the question is how do you plan to turn it back on without a display :)

[edit] PS:- not talking about switching GPU to another one or turning off one GPU in a SLI or crossfire setup
 
codereverser said:
It might not be hard at all to implement a software to turn off the GPU but the question is how do you plan to turn it back on without a display :)
Click to expand...

The display would be from the integrated intel or AMD Graphics IC on the motherboard.

Peace~
 
The display would be from the integrated intel or AMD Graphics IC on the motherboard.
Click to expand...

I totally agree it is a different matter when there are multiple GPUs in the system, be it integrated or a SLI/crossfire setup.

But I think what OP wanted was to turn off the display entirely instead of just turning off the monitor, to save the power. just wanted to point out the flaw in logic in such a case.
 
the technology is indeed older but i never have seen it in use practically.

namely PowerXpress from AMD and i think HybridPower from nV..

these things are available in mobile platform at present but i have not seen it happen for desktop yet.

this would be really helpful if it works well.
 
Well, turning on could be as simple as "come back from hibernate".

I mean, the GPU can turn back on in any one of the following situations:

1. Key press / Mouse press / Mouse move.

2. Particular keyboard shortcut (combination of keys)

Yes, i am talking of a situation where there is no other video output, it just goes off. None of the nvidia cards idle very well, so this could be a real deal clincher.
 
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