Undervolting is a process which reduces the excess "voltage" given to the CPU using a software. This is widely used as a cooling solution and in my opinion more effective than any other cooling solution available (thermal paste, cooling pad, etc) at NO cost. Results can vary from 5c up to 30c drop in temperature, most will achieve an average of 10c.
Undervolting will NOT compromise performance at all. Underclocking and Overclocking (clock speeds) is whats responsible in regards to performance. Benchmarks will also prove that performance remains the same. Most beginners usually think and assume undervolting will sacrifice performance but they are wrong.
So you’re probably wondering how this works out and why Intel/AMD didn’t do this before hand..WHY? HOW?
Not all processor chips are built equally. Each individual processor have different voltage tolerances. Instead of Intel tuning each chip's voltage individually for the lowest voltage possible and risking instability, they made a fully stable standard voltage for all chips to run on. The problem is this standard factory voltage they put is quite high. Undervolting takes advantage of this by reducing it to the right amount.
This is also why some people can undervolt more than others even with the exact same model processor. It’s like the same concept for overclocking, some can go higher, some cant. Unlike overclocking, Undervolting will not void your warranty or damage your hardware.
Bottom line is.. There is no catch to undervolting.
Firstly, We need to find out how hot your CPU gets when under load to compare what undervolting can achieve.
i) Open HWmonitor. It will show the CPU/GPU/HDD's maximum, minimum and current temps. Today we are only going to be looking at the CPU core temps. I recommend using HWmonitor because its one of the best temp programs and its accurate but others will work too.
ii) Run ORTHOS CPU Loader. This handy program will simulate full cpu load for both cores.
iii) Click on the Start button and let it run for 10mins. Watch the temps shoot up to about 70-90c.
iv) Once its done stressing the CPU for 10mins, stop the program and record the maximum temp.
-I managed to get a scorching temperature of 79c.
This all download here..
download
Note: Vista x64 users will need to download the signed 64bit drivers down below to make RMclock work.
i) Unzip/Install RMclock into your notebook
ii) Run RMclock
iii) Click on the "Advanced CPU Settings" tab. The latest version of RMclock should automatically detect your CPU. If it doesn’t then click on the "Mobile" radio button near the bottom and tick "Apply these settings at startup". Now hit the Apply button
*AMD users need to tick P-State Transistors for a better undervolt
If it asks you to restart the program, do so. After it has restarted go to the "CPU info" tab. Double check its showing the correct processor you have. On this page you will also see alot of digits moving up and down about your CPU.
i) Double click on the Profile tab then click on "Performance on Demand" sub-profile.
- Tick "Use P-State Transitions" for both AC Power and Battery
- Tick all the index boxes possible, Make sure to scroll down and click the others
- Click Apply when all done.
Now we head back to the Main Profile page....
ii) Change the current profile in the drop down box to "Performance on Demand" for both AC Power and Battery
-Make sure all the index boxes are ticked. If you have SuperLFM or IDA i suggest leaving this out for the meantime. See down below later on for what these features do.
iii) Untick "Auto Adjust intermediate-states VID" near the bottom and hit the Default button. Your factory voltages should now show up. Click Apply.
In the main profile page, you will see different multipliers and voltages. What are multipliers?
Multipliers are incorporated with Intel SpeedStep Technology (see down below for full definition). Instead of the CPU running at full power all the time, multipliers are used to dynamically lower the clock speeds to make the CPU run more efficiently.
The more CPU power you need, the higher the multiplier your CPU will use. The higher the multiplier, the higher the corresponding clock speed will be. The higher the clockspeed, the more voltage it requires to run (vice versa)
i) First, We are going to start lowering the highest multiplier's voltage which is the 11x multiplier for me.
-Most people should be able to lower it by at least .100v to begin with the initial testing then slowly decreasing it from there on
ii) Always click Apply so the new voltage can take effect then do the stability test below. Keep doing this everytime you lower the voltage
i) Open ORTHOS and HWMonitor again. (we will now see how much cooler it is)
ii) Go to the "CPU info" tab of RMclock (you can also watch the temps and stats here).
iii) Set the test type to "Small FFTs - stress cpu" to concentrate the test to the cpu.
iv) Run ORTHOS stress test for 45mins or more
- If it doesn’t crash when the stability test is done then you can go lower. I suggest lowering by .025v at a time till it BSOD or gives a warning error.
*If you get a bluescreen - then you have reached your limit and the voltage is too low. Once it restarts from the BSOD, it should revert to the last stable voltages. Keep a record of the good/bad voltages on paper.
*If you get a warning or hardware error from ORTHOS - Your voltage is also too low. Raise your voltage and try again.
-Once you have found your unstable voltage, i suggest raising the voltage up by 2 steps. This will put a safe margin away from your unstable voltage to ensure stability
**Its normal to get a BSOD or error at some point so dont freak out. It wont do any hardware damage.
**Most people are able to achieve .150v to .250v less than their default voltages for the highest multiplier. Again, it all depends on your processors tolerances.
6) ***Results***
After several changes and stability tests i was able to lower it to 1.100v that’s .150 volts less than my standard voltage (1.250v). My undervolt isn’t as great compared to how low others can achieve but it has made a significant difference.
My max temps before undervolting was a scorching 79c now it is only 67c! That’s a big 12c shaved off at the cost of nothing.
I cannot accurately calculate how much extra battery life this will give cause of too many variables. I can only estimate about 15-25mins by perception as i havent got proper benchmarking programs and monitors. From what other users have posted, they saw an average of 10watt difference which should reduce the strain on your hot power adapters.
When you have found your optimum voltage settings, I suggest doing a further 3 hour stress test (when you have spare time) to make sure it is 100% stable.
Once you have made sure this voltage stable, you can now choose to make these settings run at startup:
Go to the Main Profile page > On the drop down box for startup choose "Performance on Demand" > Hit Apply
Now go to Settings page > Tick "Start Minimized in Windows Tray" and "Run at windows startup" > Hit Apply
To show your CPU temps in the Taskbar/System Tray > Right click the RMclock wheel icon and click "Show CPU Temperature"
TA-DA! Enjoy! Watch your notebook run significantly cooler
No comments:
Post a Comment