The "Undervolting" Guide

Thanks guys, I may try pushing the 11x and 12x multipliers a little lower tomorrow, but I'm going to bed now. Thanks!

 

My CPU (AMD Turion X2 Ultra) runs extremely hot under the 10 minute load test (89C max temp), so I definitely feel that I need to undervolt. However, before I undertake this task, I would like to ask a bit about the process. Namely, I have some concerns about compatibility with the programs used.

Under sensors, I told ORTHOS to report fan data. It did not. Under HWMonitor, all I get are temperatures, and even then only for the ACPI (TZ01, whatever that means) and the two cores of my processor. No fans, voltages, HD, or GPU data are recognized - but according to the system informatino my HD does have S.M.A.R.T. technology. I even tried the program SpeedFan, but ended up uninstalling it because (judging by HWMonitor) the temp reading was way off, saying 55C even under load - which can't be since the fan was running loudly. SpeedFan also did not detect that my system even has fans. I'm not planning to install the other program until I actually start the undervolting process, but I have a suspicion that it might encounter issues as well.

Would anyone happen to know why such a miniscule amount of system data is being fed to these programs? Could it be a strange issue with the AMD-based HP computers? And most importantly, will there be any risk of hardware or CPU damage trying to undervolt when only the bare minimum of system information is detected?

 

Don't have the technical knowledge to address your other questions, but I was also extremely concerned about possible damage to my new hp8510 when going into undervolting. I now have no fear of fiddling with undervolting settings whatsoever, at least when using the Rightmark CPU Clock utility. It seems perfectly safe.

The only thing that may happen is a BSOD when stress testing your lower voltage settings, in which case you reboot and change the settings.

I was more concerned when altering my fan settings but that turned out great too. Nevertheless, I have CPU temperature appearing in my system tray all the time, just so I can spot any problems, but it's been fantastic with no issues at all.

 

It wont work for your CPU im afraid. RMclock doesnt support newer AMD processors

Another word for undervolting is Dynamic Voltage Scaling

 

Well, that's most unfortunate.
I'm guessing there's no other failsafe method of undervolting that's newbie-compatible?

 

Thanks a lot for this guide. Was able to get my T8300 down to .9625v @ the 12x multiplier. Went from 67 degrees C to 53 degrees! Stress tested for 8 hours.

Now I'm working on the other multipliers.

 

after dropping my voltages i didn't see much improvement in temps. can i at least say that my machine uses less power ?

 

do processors wear out?

surely running the stress test several times for hours is going to decrease the laptop life isnt it?

 

unless you work the machine 24x7 for the next several years, it's going to outlive you.

 

CPU Temperature vs Life Expectancy (Old)
Overclocking's Impact on CPU Life

 

Been tweaking it a little more guys..

Dell XPS M1530, Intel Core 2 Duo T8300.



Whatcha think? Where should I go lower? the x12 multiplier is stable after an hour of Orthos, going to be running it longer. Think I can do .9375v? Or is .9500 probably the lowest?

 

question: my RMClock only goes down to .95v. is that a processor specific thing or because i have to upgrade RMClock to a paid version ?

 

enabling slfm would be a good start. and you could certainly try for that .9375V for your max multiplier. hopefully that will work out for ya

 

its a processor specific thing. i have the T9300 as well.

 

Just check that top box??

What does that do, though? It has a multiplier of 8.0x, so how would that benefit anything? Will I see performance loss of any sort? I also play games on this thing.

 

taken from the first page.

its basically a lower idle speed. [email protected] versus [email protected]

 

Is it true that the current version of RMClock does not function correctly with the new P series processors (P9500 in particular)?

 

RMClock development has stopped, so it doesn't have built-in support for newer processors. It may work with the newer processors, but I would expect... oddities.

 

isn't there a new version that has just come out 3-4 days ago?

 

Nope, you must be thinking of another of another program.

 

yep rivatuner

 

Just an update... all other multipliers are stable at the lowest voltage (.9250)!

 

!!! I know my voltages are different, but I can see the potentials with my T8300... Well done.

 

I've just done a sweet undervolt on my 2 days old Q210, which is a beauty may I add XD

I ran Orthos for 30mins at standard 1.125V and the CPU was 65C and the GPU was 61C.
I have managed to get it all down to 0.925V and cant go any lower (no option to) and the temps are now: CPU 48C and GPU 51C
Thats a whopping 17C :O and it also helps keep the GPU cool

RMclock prtsc

EDIT: The only problem Ive got when using RMclock with my P8400 is that it reads the CPU temperatures wrong (about 7C less than it should), otherwise it all seems to be working as usual

EDIT EDIT: Because the setting for 0 SuperLFM and 1 Normal have the same multiplier and voltage do the both need to be selected?

 

omg i don't understand why im not getting them same results as everyone else... my T8100 only had like a 2 degree drop...am i even doing this right?

 

It might be due to BIOS fan configuration (ie. fan wants to come on at higher temp and keep it steady at that temp) or your cooling config is so good that there isn't much room left for improvement.

 

how do i optimize fan configuration on my BIOS

 

you dont HAVE to have SLFM and regular 6x multiplier both checked. you could uncheck the SLFM box, but general consensus is to leave SLFM checked as it provides a lower idle speed and thus cooler idle temperatures.

and manic, what is that sidebar gadget that has the matrix background?

 

Tempted to lower my T8300. Ran ORTHOS for 18 hours (went to my girlfriends house and spent the night, haha) and it was 100% stable. I really think I can go lower. I'm aiming for 7.5hours of battery life (of course, completely idle).

 

18 hours...wow. im suprised you didnt kill your fans. what are your temps like with the current UV you have? i'm UV'd with an NZXT cryo notebook cooler and artic silver 5 on the cpu and have not seen 50C except for one time.

 

The link for the x64 signed driver isn't working for me...

 

Did you overwrite the old one?

and what error does it give you?

 

same with me, the x64 signed driver isin't working either

 

Can you provide more details?

What OS? etc.

Have you tried restarting and cleaning the registry?

 

Thats App Launcher, kinda like a mini desktop, it keeps my desktop tidy and I think it's a fairly good tool.
App Launcher

Thanks for the info

 

I followed a link I saw here over to overclockers.com and "lifted" a chart that sort of illustrates what we're trying to do here. The 3 lines are approximations for the same processor type and represent examples of a "good" one, an average one and a marginal one from the same batch.
The chart shows that heat is the enemy and if your cooling system is inadequate from the bios controls on down to the fan speed, then under-volting is a useful tool in controlling one of the few things you are allowed to control. It remains my firm belief that when Intel says Max. Operating Temp. (say 85C.) and Emergency Shutdown (100C.) they don't mean "Finish your game first.......)

 

Gr i don't think im doing this right...i followed all the directions and my CPU temps only dropped 68,68 to 64,64 (i have a m1530)...i have a T8100 CPU, can anyone give me their multipliers (i'm getting confused with this half multiplier stuff) and what they have checked with IDA and superflm...i know its different for everyone but i want to get an idea,

can anyone give me some advice

 

First of all, great guide. I've got a steady 1.15V at all settings on my T7500 (default 1.2375 on each), and will probably go lower once my XP SP3 stability-testing experiment is over. And 0.85, 600 MHz SLFM has done wonders to my battery life and idle temps - I'm at 50 C with no fans on compared to just barely under 70 C before when 1.2 GHz, 1.2375 V was the lowest it ever went. I've also been rather amazed by how well XP and even some games perform on 600 MHz of Core power - Halo is entirely playable at 600 MHz, even if it isn't VSync.

On battery I'm just using SLFM exlusively most of the time - hardly ever notice a delay. Once in awhile I'll up it to 2.2 GHz when I need it, but 600 MHz sure seems like a lot more than 450 MHz on a Pentium II did.

But now it's got me wondering what else can be undervolted. I've read that GPU undervolting likely requires a VBIOS flash, and while I've done that before to unlock overclocking, for now I'm fine just underclocking my GPU to the minimum to save power. But it occured to me that perhaps RAM could be undervolted, especially if it were underclocked to the minimum (400 MHz at DDR[2] in my case). The specific brand is Qimonda; it runs at 667 MHz at CAS 5, 533 at CAS 4, and 400 at CAS 3; all are operating at 1.8 V. Each DIMM is 1024 MB.

At this point all I need is to know whether there are any side effects more adverse than a Blue Screen of Death, and what software would be recommended (Google indicates perhaps memtestx86 or SiSoft Sandra - the latter of those didn't work on my computer the last time I tried to install it but I may have had Vista at that time). And of course whether it's possible on a Santa Rosa laptop would be useful, as well as other people's results if they're already tried it - not that a lack of that would dissuade me from lowering it by a small margin.

 

Hi,
Has anyone tried Undervolting on the Turion64 X2 (specifically TL 66 or 68). Do they undervolt marginally or siginficantly? Moreover, is the procedure exactly as shown in the first post, because I don't see the first and last UNCHECKED multiplier in my rm clock.

Anyway I went ahead reduced the voltage to 1.1v. It passed the Stress test for 55 minutes. However, once i reduced further, the stress test failed after about 4 minutes. I went back to 1.1v and the stress test again failed.

I will try tomorrow again, maybe the notebook needs some rest,.. lol, starting from one 1.1-.025v.

Lastly, do i need to change the power setting of the note book in vista (Performance, balanced or power saver).

Thanks

 

The first and last boxes (Super LFM and IDA) are not present because they are Intel features. The former allows halving of the front side bus (irrelevant on AMD processors since they don't have a front side bus), and the latter allows one core to go to one multiplier higher than usual while the other is downclocked to improve performance on single-threaded applications.

 

Turion screens will look different. I UV a TL-50. I believe you can tell RMC to use Vista's power management or use RMC's.

One thing on my Turion is I can choose to use AMD's P-States or RMC's. RMC has more than the 2 offered me by AMD. No big deal but one may work better than the other in some instances.

 

Anybody else get CPU whine when they undervolt? I'm between a rock and a hard place: undervolt and get CPU whine, or do nothing and get excessive heat and noise.

 

Need a RMClock release to get my 11.5 Multiplier..mine doesnt recognize the half, which makes it downclock slightly. *shrugs* Unless anyone has any ideas, which don't include enabling all multiplers/voltages with the .ini. And crystalcpuid likes to blue screen the computer, so that's out. Anyone?

 

The CPU whine is there irrespective of undervolting. It was probably masked by the fan noise.

To stop CPU whine, you may not use the lowest multiplier.

However, disabling the the lowest multiplier would prevent your CPU entering C*E.

 

Would a stable underclock give me any worse performance while gaming? Should underclocking have any impact on performance whatsoever?

Thank you!

 

It should only affect stability not speed or performance.

 

Okay cool... I'm having difficulty finding a "bottom" right now. I have a Gateway P-6831 with 1.66ghz C2D, and haven't encountered any problems even with 1.000 volts at all multipliers. My temps are over 20*C below stock speeds, and Ortho's been running for 50 minutes so far.

This guide is amazing.

 

I believe the CPU whine may be caused by frequent voltage shifting at least in part, thus if you've got different voltages for every multiplier when you undervolt, that may be the cause. If this isn't the case, you may be out of luck.

Under volting should not affect gaming performance, so long as it's stable. Under clocking will reduce performance in games that are CPU bottlenecked. You might not notice it on a small underclock, but if you underclock as much as you can you'll notice it even on most games that usually are GPU-bound.

Having difficulty finding a limit to a good thing is always good .

 

is there any program or any way to determine which drivers are unsigned?
id rly like to undervolt my gpu but i cant run rm clock unless all the drivers are digitally signed. it seems that some arent but i cant figure which ones arent...

ive manually searched trhough all the drivers in device manager

 

True!

I'm running all multipliers one step up from the lowest possible setting in the RM software. My load temps are 24*C below stock. Wow.