How to Undervolt Your GPU for Lower Temperatures and Higher Boost Clocks
Learn how to undervolt Nvidia RTX 40-series and AMD Radeon RX 7000 graphics cards. Lower temperatures by up to 12°C, cut fan noise, and maintain higher sustained GPU clocks.
Lab Hardware Spec Snapshot
Why Factory GPU Voltage is Excessively High
Graphics card manufacturers (Nvidia, AMD, ASUS, MSI, Gigabyte) apply broad factory voltage margins to ensure stability on even the worst silicon in the manufacturing lottery. For 95% of retail GPUs, this means your card is receiving far more voltage than necessary, generating excess heat and triggering thermal throttling that lowers your actual in-game boost clocks.
The 4-Step MSI Afterburner Undervolting Method
- Download and install MSI Afterburner and Heaven Benchmark or 3DMark Time Spy.
- Open Afterburner and press
Ctrl + Fto open the Voltage/Frequency Curve Editor. - Find your target frequency (e.g., 2750 MHz on an RTX 4070) and identify the voltage point (e.g., 950 mV instead of the factory 1075 mV).
- Hold Shift, select all points to the right of 950 mV, and drag them down flat so the curve caps at your target frequency.
- Click the checkmark to apply the profile and test for 30 minutes in a demanding game.
Lab Results: Before vs After Undervolt (RTX 4070 Super)
| Metric | Factory Default Settings | Lab Undervolt (950 mV @ 2760 MHz) | Net Improvement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peak Core Temperature | 73°C | 62°C | -11°C Cooler |
| Hotspot Temperature | 87°C | 74°C | -13°C Cooler |
| Total Board Power (TBP) | 220 Watts | 172 Watts | -48 Watts Less Power |
| Sustained Boost Clock | 2,680 MHz (Throttled) | 2,760 MHz (Locked) | +80 MHz Faster Clocks |
By undervolting, you reduce coil whine, eliminate acoustic fan noise, and extend the lifespan of your graphics card-all while gaming with higher, more stable frame rates.
Marcus Thorne
Senior Systems Engineer Lab Bench VerifiedAll benchmarks and crash reproductions are conducted in our controlled hardware lab across standardized AMD AM5 and Intel LGA1700 test benches using clean Windows 11 installs.