Great news for AMD GPU owners – the latest graphics driver seems to have fixed those high idle power issues with RDNA 3 cards!
Our pals at Tom’s Hardware tested the new driver 23.12.1 and found big drops in idle power draw compared to before.
Previous drivers helped a bit, but RDNA 3 cards were still sucking a ton of power when just sitting at the desktop. We’re talking up to 90 watts on the top flagship card! Crazy high.
Tom’s testing shows the new driver reduced idle power across RX 7900, 7800, and 7700 cards on a system with a 144Hz 4K monitor. Success!
The pricier 7900 XTX and 7900 XT were already improved in the last driver. But now the more mainstream cards are fixed too.
The RX 7800 XT for example dropped from a nuts 33 watts idle to a reasonable 12.9 watts. Huge difference!
Some folks say multi-monitor systems still have high idle draw. But most single monitor users look cured. I’ll take it!
This is big for your energy bill. Extra idle watts add up over time. Make sure to update and let AMD know if you have lingering issues.
Overall though, great progress after months of outrage over power hungry RDNA 3 cards. Lower idle usage is a win for your GPU, wallet, and the planet.
