hybrid power (nvidia): does it really work?

[jarthel]

I've come across only 1 article (legitreviews).

can some give feedback on the subject?

also do you really need a the "special" PSU to make it work? (http://www.nvidia.com/object/geforce_9800gx2_pwr_supply.html) I do not see how a specific PSU make a difference if there are no special connectors coming from the PSU to the motherboard.

thank you!

 

[Dangman]

From this [H]ardOCP review:

Hybrid Power works, and works well for those of you looking to power down a hot video card while you are not using it for 3D gaming. The catch is that of course, you have to have a newer 9800 or GT200 series video card. The bigger catch is that the newer GT200 series cards idle in a comparatively “cool” state compared to the 50 watt do-nothing beasts of the past so NVIDIA has pretty much nullified Hybrid Power for the enthusiast in my eyes. For comparison though, the full system tested here used 227 watts of idle power without Hybrid Power savings turned on and only 109 watts with it. Hybrid Power savings works very well…if you need it. The system also did well in our stock speed Torture Testing as it powered through with flying colors to the 95 hour mark at 40C.

 

[jarthel]

from the linked article:

The bigger catch is that the newer GT200 series cards idle in a comparatively “cool” state compared to the 50 watt do-nothing beasts of the past so NVIDIA has pretty much nullified Hybrid Power for the enthusiast in my eyes.

I am unclear on what that meant. Does it mean that with the newest Nvidia GPUs, the card isn't really "off" compared to a 9800-based one?

thanks again

 

[Dangman]

He's referring to the temperatures. Older cards tended to use up power and output a ton of heat for doing nothing. The newer GT200 series use up power but no longer output a ton of heat for doing nothing.

 

[bigdogchris]

I think the idea of powering down your main GPU and using onboard for just clicking around is a sweet idea.

 

[jarthel]

He's referring to the temperatures. Older cards tended to use up power and output a ton of heat for doing nothing. The newer GT200 series use up power but no longer output a ton of heat for doing nothing.

after rereading what Kyle has said and your reply, I begin to get it now. thank you!

 

[Everett1]

"The system also did well in our stock speed Torture Testing as it powered through with flying colors to the 95 hour mark at 40C"

Damn impressive

 

[jarthel]

another question on hybrid power: does the discrete card's fan turn itself off during off-peak periods?

thanks again