Arc B580 - weird idle behavior

[nertog]

Hi there!

My new system has annoyingly high idle power consumption, clearly coming from erratic behavior of the Acer B580.

After a fresh restart, the whole PC consumes about 45W sitting idle, monitor connected through the motherboard's Thunderbolt port (so through the iGPU to save power). After about 30 seconds, power consumption goes up to 70W and stays high. This coincides with the Intel Graphics Software showing "NaN" under GPU power. Polling the B580 through e.g., HWinfo puts it back into its normal low power idle mode for about 30 seconds.

System specs:

• Asrock Z890i nova

• Intel 265K

• Acer B580 Nitro

• Fresh W11 install, newest drivers 32.0.101.6458

• Windows PCIE settings to maximum power savings

• BIOS PCIE ASPM set to L1

Solutions tried: different GPU drivers, different BIOS ASPM settings

What's going on here? I thought that connecting your monitor through the iGPU would allow Windows to switch off the dGPU when not needed? Why does my B580 "switch on" after 30 seconds of idling?

Many thanks in advance!

[Earl_Intel]

Hi nertog,

Thank you for posting in the communities!

I'm sorry to learn that you are experiencing issues with your Intel Arc B580. To better assist you and determine the most appropriate resolution, could you please provide the needed details listed below:

• Could you please confirm that the wattage you are referring to is specific to your Intel Arc B580?
• Which application do you use to keep an eye on the wattage?
• Can you provide screenshots of the exact issue?

You can also check our public article regarding to the issue you're experiencing.

Here's the link: High Power Consumption when Intel® Arc™ Graphics Card is...

Once we have this information, we will be able to proceed with the next course of action and work towards resolving the issue you are facing. Your cooperation is invaluable in helping us provide you with the best possible support.

Best regards,

Earl E.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[nertog]

Hi Earl,

* The wattage I am referring to is the power consumption of my complete system (minus the monitor) measured with a power meter at the wall outlet. 

* HWiNFO + Intel Arc Control center

* I attached 2 screenshots:

1. B580_normalIdle.jpg shows what happens in the first 30 seconds if the B580 idling. All is good, HWiNFO shows a reduced idle board power draw of about 12W. The Arc Control Center shows all values are recorded properly as well. System wall-power consumption is about 55-60W. This is reduced by another 10W when I switch of my monitor.

2. B580_abnormalIdle.jpg shows what happens after idling for more than 30 seconds: the Arc Control Software shows NaN for GPU power and some other values, HWiNFO records a spike in power consumption (not real, I think) and some greyed-out values. The system power consumption now increases to 75-80W and stays there until I touch either Arc Control Center or HWiNFO, which basically polls the GPU for another readout. 

* I can also confirm that I have all BIOS and OS power management settings set as recommended in the article you linked to.

Could it be that Windows directs a shutdown of the B580 GPU after 30s, and that instead of properly shutting down in a low-power state, it shuts down in a high-power state?

In any case, this behavior is not correct and increases the standby energy consumption of my system by a factor of 2.

Could you please look into this and find out what might be the cause?

All the best,

Wim

[Mike_Intel]

Hello nertog,

Thank you for the update.

Let me share this link and check if this will help you with the wattage.

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000092564/graphics.html

If you have questions, please let us know. Thank you.

Best regards,

Michael L.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[nertog]

Hi Mike,

That solution was already suggested by your colleague in the first reply to my post. I explained that both my bios and windows power management settings are done as described in the article. 

The problem here is not the bios ASPM or windows PCIE power management settings. They do work as intended when the card idles down...for about 30 seconds. After that, the B580 GPU goes into some kind of high-power state. 

To recap:

* The problem happens when my monitor is connected to the iGPU, and both the iGPU and B580 card have to work in tandem

* When the B580 idles down, everything is normal for about 30 seconds. After 30 seconds, power consumption rises by a factor of 2 and stays high. See the attachments in my earlier post for details.

And yes, I do wish to use the B580 in tandem with the iGPU as this should drastically lower power consumption for normal 2D workloads such as browsing or media consumption.

Thanks,

W.

[Earl_Intel]

Hello nertog,

Thanks for sharing this update with us.

No worries, I will further check on the information you provided internally, I'll provide an update on this case as soon as possible.

Best regards,

Earl E.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[nertog]

Hello,

Any updates on this? 

Thanks,

W.

[Earl_Intel]

Hi nertog,

Thank you for patiently waiting on us.

We tried testing this and was unable to see this high-power consumption when pairing the B580 with the integrated graphics (display connected to it via DisplayPort)

• You can check our testing here: Intel Arc B580 LE + iGfx power consumption test

The test system is an Z790 Pro RS Wifi + Core i5-14400 + Intel Arc B580 LE with latest driver 32.0.101.6262.

For diagnostic purposes, try to test it by connecting the display to the integrated graphics through DP or HDMI to see if it makes any difference.

Best regards,

Earl E.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Earl_Intel]

Hi nertog,

Just wondering if you had a chance to look over the recommendations I posted. In order to decide on the appropriate course of action to address this issue, kindly inform me as soon as possible.

Best regards,

Earl E.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[nertog]

Hi Earl,

Thanks for testing this out for me. I checked the video you uploaded and can confirm that I use the exact same settings, but of course a different motherboard and CPU. Do you keep seeing these numbers in HWinfo after let's say a minute of not touching anything?

The only thing that is not clear to me is whether the power consumption of your system is actually reflected correctly in HWinfo. I measured at the power outlet with a hardware device...

Anyway, it seems the culprit here is the motherboard. Changing to an HDMI connection for the iGPU made no difference...

Again, thanks for all the effort!

Wim

[Earl_Intel]

Hello nertog,

I see, thanks for trying out the troubleshooting I recommended.

Rest assured that I'll further check on this internally and will send an update on this thread as soon as possible.

Best regards,

Earl E.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[RandyT_Intel]

Hello nertog,

I wanted to follow up on recent discussion regarding the ASPM capabilities and optimized settings for your system.

To gain additional insights and recommendations, I suggest reaching out to your motherboard manufacturer. They can provide specific information and guidance on the ASPM capabilities and the best settings for your particular motherboard model.

Additionally, I will leave this thread open to allow other users of the Arc GPU to share their experiences and results using a similar configuration. If new data or insights become available, we can revisit this report and explore further solutions.

Thank you for your patience and cooperation.

Best regards, 

Randy T. 

Intel Customer Support Technician

[nertog]

Update: Windows 11 update KB5051987 broke idle states for normal, direct Displayport output of the B580 as well!

Immediately after the update, I noticed the exact same behavior I reported for the iGPU + dGPU combination where the card goes into idle state when the monitor switches off. 30 seconds later, idle power increases by about 30W and stays high. Reverting the update restores proper idle behavior of the B580.

* Correct ASPM and PCIE setting in BIOS and W11

* Latest Intel Arc drivers

What's happening here?

W.