Ok, so something I realized I could do to lower my temperatures is to Overclock AND Undervolt. Apparently, this is a tactic used in CPUs.
Voltage seems to be the most vital component in the power/heat formula.
At stock configurations, I see the following:
1206mV = 1418MHz
1187mV = 1405MHz
1168mV = 1392MHz
........
1106mV = 1354MHz (this is the lowest value I hit after 20+minutes of stress testing under load)
With a +110 core overclock applied, I see the following: [I can probably overclock even more, but didn't want to try it just yet]
1206mV = 1527MHz
1187mV = 1515MHz
.......
1106mV = 1455MHz
1093mV = 1433MHz (this is the lowest value I hit after 20+minutes of stress testing under load)
So, as you can see, if I were to undervolt to 1106mV or even 1093mV, I should be able to get very much cooler temps, AND maintain higher minimum clockspeeds compared to the maximum clockspeed at stock configurations.
I hate the fact that the first few levels of boost are practically useless and all they do is heat up my card in the first minute or so. I have a feeling as well that each time the boost level drops lower, there is like a slight stutter in-game.
MSI AB doesn't seem to let me move the slider to negative values. How do you suggest I undervolt?
Thanks!