Downclocking
Downclocking means running the chips below their factory frequency. Hashrate drops, so do heat and noise, while efficiency on its own barely moves.
What downclocking is
Frequency sets the chip's pace. Cut it by a fifth and you get roughly a fifth fewer terahashes and watts. Joules per terahash stay about the same: pure downclocking saves heat, not money.
The gain appears when voltage comes down together with frequency. At a lower frequency the chip is stable on fewer volts, and power grows with the square of voltage. Firmware eco modes do exactly this, which is why they win in J/TH while downclocking alone does not.
So why use it by itself. In summer, when the cooling can't keep up and the ASIC throttles: a steady 80 percent beats a sawtooth. At night, when noise is a problem. On weak wiring, when the outlet is at its limit. It is a tool for circumstances, not a permanent mode.
The flip side: terahashes are income, and every percent of frequency you shave takes a percent of revenue with it. If the miner has to stay strangled all year, the problem is not the settings, it is the cooling or the choice of model.
The short version
| What goes down | chip frequency, hashrate follows |
| What it gives by itself | less heat and noise, J/TH about the same |
| When savings appear | together with a voltage cut |
| When it makes sense | heat, noise, weak wiring |
| Sign of a deeper problem | the ASIC is strangled all year long |
How to apply it
Take a ready firmware profile where frequency moves together with voltage: it saves power instead of only cooling things down.
Step down gradually and watch the temperatures and the hashrate sawtooth: the goal is a flat chart, not a specific frequency number.
Remember the seasons: a summer profile and a winter profile are normal practice, not a crutch.
Count in money: the terahashes you shave off versus the ones throttling eats. A steady reduced mode usually earns more than a jerky nominal.
Example in numbers
An ASIC rated at 100 TH/s holds an average of 82 in the heat because of throttling, the chart looks like a saw. Downclocking to 85 TH/s gives a steady 85 with no dips: below the spec sheet, but above the actual 82, and without the heat cycles that kill solder joints. In fall the profile goes back to nominal.
Related terms
Where to go next on the site
Software
- Software firmware
- HashCore Toolkit firmware
Numbers
Questions and answers
How is downclocking different from undervolting
Downclocking lowers frequency, undervolting lowers voltage. The first removes heat and noise, the second improves J/TH. Eco modes use both together.
Does downclocking harm the ASIC
No, the mode is gentler than factory settings: less heat, fewer throttling cycles. It never causes damage, only income you did not collect.
Why doesn't frequency alone improve efficiency
At a fixed voltage, chip power tracks frequency: 20 percent less frequency means 20 percent less hashrate and watts alike. J/TH only shifts with voltage.
How the terms connect
Every link in the chain is clickable. Orange marks where you are now.
Looking for an ASIC miner
The catalog holds 212 models. You can compare them by hashrate and by joules per terahash, then plug your own rate into the calculator and see what stays in your pocket.
Page written and checked by Denys Klimchuk. Updated .