The next version of the HWiNFO utility will show the honest temperatures of GeForce RTX 3000 video cards
The GPU’s actual temperature on GeForce RTX 3000 video cards in the hottest areas of the chip can be 11-14 degrees higher than the value shown by the available monitoring programs. According to the authoritative resource Igor’s Lab, the HWiNFO program will soon provide access to the value of the true maximum temperature.
Unfortunately, the temperature monitoring tools of modern video cards cannot fully satisfy enthusiasts and overclockers. Therefore, advanced users have to resort to additional software tools. For example, recently, the popular HWiNFO utility learned how to measure the temperatures of memory chips. It turned out that GDDR6X memory on NVIDIA flagship video cards often runs at temperatures above 100 degrees. Now developer HWiNFO is preparing to add another important temperature value to the GeForce RTX 3000 – the GPU’s hottest spot temperature.
As a rule, several dozen thermal sensors are installed on each GPU crystal, each of which reads the temperature in its own area. However, in practice, the GPU temperature is displayed by monitoring programs as a certain average value (Junction Temp). Meanwhile, the temperature in different areas of the chip can vary significantly. It depends on the computational load on a particular region of the crystal, the flatness of the crystal surface, the efficiency of the cooling system used, and even the correctness of the thermal paste applied to the chip. Thus, the average temperature indicator does not always reflect the real picture.
The HWiNFO monitoring program can already read the temperature of the hottest point (HotSpot) of the GPUs of the Radeon RX 6000 series graphics cards since AMD. In this regard, it was more transparent. In NVIDIA, apparently, they thought that this information would not be useful for the user. In fact, it turns out that the temperature that NVIDIA proposes to focus on does not describe the real state of affairs with heating.
For example, the average GPU temperature of the MSI Radeon RX 6800 XT Gaming X video card (shown as Edge in the graph below and highlighted in green) is about 65 degrees Celsius under load. Meanwhile, the hottest point temperature (HotSpot) can differ by 12-20 degrees upwards and reach 90 degrees Celsius.
The upcoming new version of the HWiNFO program will make similar measurements for NVIDIA video cards. The resource Igor’s Lab has already tested it and found that the difference between the average GPU temperature of the GeForce RTX 3090 Founders Edition video card, which users usually see, may differ from the temperature the hottest spot by an average of 11-14 degrees Celsius.
For most users who use video cards for their intended purpose, that is, for work and play, this information really has almost no practical value. However, this information can be handy for overclocking enthusiasts since they directly or indirectly indicate a particular cooling system’s effectiveness. Using the example of the same measurements for the GeForce RTX 3090 Founders Edition, it can be noted that the CO of the video card copes with cooling the GPU much better than the cooling system of the MSI RX 6800 XT Gaming X, even despite the difference in the level of power consumption of video cards. In the first, it is declared at around 350 W, and in the second, at 300 W. At the same time, the memory chips on the flagship NVIDIA card are much worse cooled, since this video card uses two sets of modules, located on both sides of the board. Fortunately, this operating temperature is quite normal for GDDR6X memory.
