MSI Afterburner 4.6.7 Beta 3 improves NVIDIA V/F curve editing
MSI Afterburner 4.6.7 Beta 3 is now available with several changes for the voltage/frequency curve editor. This part of the app is mainly used for GPU undervolting and manual curve tuning. The beta does not add a new overclocking mode. Instead, it exposes more of the tools that were already hidden behind keyboard shortcuts. The editor now has a dedicated Help button next to OC Scanner, which lists the supported shortcuts directly from the toolbar.
Undervolting tools are easier to find
The update adds several shortcuts for selecting curve points. Users can now jump to a voltage or frequency point, select a voltage range, select the first or last node, or select the curve head or tail from the current node.
Source: Unwinder
MSI Afterburner also adds shortcuts for flattening the curve tail. This is one of the common steps when undervolting NVIDIA GPUs. “Ctrl + T” and “Shift + T” automate two existing manual methods, depending on whether the user wants fixed negative offsets or variable offsets for the selected curve tail.
Source: Uniko’s Hardware
The beta also makes NVIDIA GPU Boost behavior easier to track. Afterburner now stores and displays the reference temperature for the currently shown V/F curve. This is important because NVIDIA curves are not static. GPU Boost can adjust the curve depending on GPU temperature.
There is also a new “Ctrl + F5” mode for temperature-based curve analysis. It can track thermal curve changes and save readable “.vfc” files for each 1°C step. These files can later be checked manually or loaded back into the editor for comparison.
MSI Afterburner 4.6.7 Beta 3 Build 17255 is available now. The release is aimed more at usability than performance tuning, but it should make undervolting less dependent on forum guides and hidden shortcuts.
MSI Afterburner v4.6.7 Beta 3 Build 17255 is online:
- Added “Help” button to voltage/frequency editor’s toolbar. Since introducing it in 2016, the editor supports rich set of useful keyboard shortcuts, which drastically simplify the process of editing voltage/frequency curve. Unfortunately new users frequently ignore built-in context sensitive help system and application’s release notes containing detailed info about supported keyboard shortcuts. New dedicated “Help” button is aimed to provide one more alternate way of informing new users about editor’s possibilities. It is strongly recommended to peek into the message displayed by “Help” button even if you’re experienced user and if you’re familiar with the editor, most likely even in this case you’ll discover a few new shortcuts you never used before.
- Reference temperature is now embedded into voltage/frequency curve and stored inside application’s profiles. New users frequently do not understand that the curve’s clock frequencies are not static by design of NVIDIA and GPU Boost firmware is dynamically reshaping the curve and shifting it up/down depending on GPU temperature. The reference temperature is the temperature, at which currently displayed curve was built and reported to software by GPU Boost. The reference temperature is displayed in voltage/frequency editor now, it automatically changes when you apply new curve, import a curve from the file or manually refresh and reread curve from GPU with <F5> keyboard shortcut.
- Added new <Ctrl> + <F5> keyboard shortcut, which is automating the process of manual curve refresh and may help you to analyze and understand background thermal curve adjustment performed by GPU Boost firmware. When you press <Ctrl> + <F5>, MSI Afterburner starts tracking temperature related curve changes and dumping curve states to easily readable text files for each temperature step with 1C resolution. Once the process of dumping is finished, you’ll see the collection of text <temperature>.vfc (. V oltage F requency C urve) files inside VFCDump folder, containing easily readable curve states for each tracked temperature. You may either manually analyze such curve text dump files later or open them into the editor to compare thermal changes visually.
- Added new <Ctrl> + <I> keyboard shortcut for importing curve from text exchange file. This feature was initially intended to be used in conjunction with new <Ctrl> + <F5> for analyzing thermal dumps of curves, however you may also use it for manual curve import purposes if necessary.
- Added new <Ctrl> + <E> keyboard shortcut for exporting voltage/frequency curve to text exchange file. In addition to curve nodes, the export file contains hardware GUID, driver version, reference temperature and optional voltage/max frequency locks.
- Added new <G> and <Shift> + <G> keyboard shortcuts for GOTO-styled curve nodes selection. <G> allows you to type in desired voltage and select the nearest node, <Shift>+<G> allows you to type in desired frequency and select the nearest node.
- Added new <R> keyboard shortcut for selecting voltage range from keyboard. You may press it to type in two voltage limits and select the nodes inside this range.
- Added new <Home> and <End> keyboard shortcuts for selecting the first or the last node either inside current range or globally
- Added new <H> and <T> keyboard shortcuts for selecting curve head or tail starting from currently selected node
- Added new <Ctrl> + <T> and <Shift> + <T> for flattening the curve starting from currently selected node. The shortcuts do not provide new functionality but simplify and automate two most frequently used manual curve flattening strategies – <Shift> + <T> is generating variable offsets to desired target frequency for all tail nodes, <Ctrl> + <T> is generating fixed negative offsets for all tail nodes. <Shift> + <T> pressed on target node is a shortcut for pressing <T> to select the tail starting from this node, pressing <Shift> + <Enter> then pressing <Enter>. <Ctrl> + <T> pressed on target node is a shortcut for pressing <Tab> to move to the next node after selected, pressing <T> to select the tail starting from this node then dragging all selected nodes down.
Source & Download: Unwinder , Uniko’s Hardware
