13600k undervolt with B660

[veidas]

I use Win10. Xtu does not work, refuses to start due to my cpu.

Xtu should open no matter which intel cpu you have. It wont let you change much, but it should open no problem on 12400f. Must be different reason for it crashing

 

[Taraquin]

Xtu should open no matter which intel cpu you have. It wont let you change much, but it should open no problem on 12400f. Must be different reason for it crashing

I cant install it. It refused to install.

 

[veidas]

I cant install it. It refused to install.

Maybe need intel ME or bios update. Fact is it should install

 

[Taraquin]

Maybe need intel ME or bios update. Fact is it should install

I have tried it on all bioses now and it says unsupported product, install aborted :/

 

[pressing on]

Xtu should open no matter which intel cpu you have. It wont let you change much, but it should open no problem on 12400f. Must be different reason for it crashing

For Alder Lake/Raptor Lake desktop CPUs the later/latest versions of XTU only support the K, KS and KF processors, so won't work with a 12400F. The XTU product page does not say so specifically, you need to check the list of supported CPUs. This page also says "...Intel XTU may or may not work on unsupported processors." but in practice this still seems to be excluding all the 12th/13th gen non-K chips.

 

[veidas]

For Alder Lake/Raptor Lake desktop CPUs the later/latest versions of XTU only support the K, KS and KF processors, so won't work with a 12400F. The XTU product page does not say so specifically, you need to check the list of supported CPUs. This page also says "...Intel XTU may or may not work on unsupported processors." but in practice this still seems to be excluding all the 12th/13th gen non-K chips.

Newest xtu running fine on 13400f

 

[pressing on]

OK courtesy of Steve's Blog there is a way round the unsupported platform message/refusal to install XTU.

Attempt to install XTU to the point where the unsupported platform message comes up. Do not close the XTU installer. Create a new folder called for example Intel XTU. On your C drive go to ProgramData\Package Cache. Sort the folders in Package Cache on date modified. The most recent folder should have a file called Intel_XtuInstaller.msi - copy this file to the Intel XTU folder. Close the XTU installer. Open a command prompt window and change directory to Intel XTU. Type in msiexec /i Intel_XtuInstaller.msi DISABLEPLATFORMCHECK=1 and XTU should install. It is essential to restart after the install. XTU should then run.

From another source if you follow the above running XTU may result in an Unable to start window. This will say that you need the latest BIOS patch, latest Windows Updates and have UnderVolt Protection enabled in the BIOS. It also says that XTU will not run with Core Isolation enabled. Core Isolation is a Windows Security (Windows Defender) setting, go to the Security Dashboard and check for it under Device security. Turning Core Isolation off will require a reboot.

 

[Taraquin]

OK courtesy of Steve's Blog there is a way round the unsupported platform message/refusal to install XTU.

Attempt to install XTU to the point where the unsupported platform message comes up. Do not close the XTU installer. Create a new folder called for example Intel XTU. On your C drive go to ProgramData\Package Cache. Sort the folders in Package Cache on date modified. The most recent folder should have a file called Intel_XtuInstaller.msi - copy this file to the Intel XTU folder. Close the XTU installer. Open a command prompt window and change directory to Intel XTU. Type in msiexec /i Intel_XtuInstaller.msi DISABLEPLATFORMCHECK=1 and XTU should install. It is essential to restart after the install. XTU should then run.

From another source if you follow the above running XTU may result in an Unable to start window. This will say that you need the latest BIOS patch, latest Windows Updates and have UnderVolt Protection enabled in the BIOS. It also says that XTU will not run with Core Isolation enabled. Core Isolation is a Windows Security (Windows Defender) setting, go to the Security Dashboard and check for it under Device security. Turning Core Isolation off will require a reboot.

I got it to install, I have disabled UV protection in bios and CEP, but still greyed out in XTU. Guess the hardware lock is really strong :/

 

[veidas]

I got it to install, I have disabled UV protection in bios and CEP, but still greyed out in XTU. Guess the hardware lock is really strong :/

Its not really supposed to let you adjust voltages in xtu. Just check if undervolt protection says : no on first page. Then do undervolt with Throttlestop

 

[Taraquin]

Its not really supposed to let you adjust voltages in xtu. Just check if undervolt protection says : no on first page. Then do undervolt with Throttlestop

It says yes even thoigh I disabled CEP and UV in bios :/

 

[veidas]

It says yes even thoigh I disabled CEP and UV in bios :/

Then you need older bios. Try something from 2022-05 / 2022-08 range. It shouldnt have undervolt protection baked in yet

 

[Taraquin]

Then you need older bios. Try something from 2022-05 / 2022-08 range. It shouldnt have undervolt protection baked in yet

I tried when I had it, did not work. Now I can't go back to older bios after newest. But ram oc is superior on newest, can do 3700cl14 gear 1 at the locked 0.95v SA voltage vs some instability at 3600cl14 on older bioses.

 

[Gahujsb]

How did you manage to get back to oldest bios that supports 13th gen?

I tried to downgrade BIOS of Asus ROG Strix B660-I motherboard to the 1620 version (the oldest according to Asus website) but It tells me that "Selected file is not a proper BIOS!". I formated my USB drive well, file is not corrupt and all, I think there's a problem with the compatibility of the actual drivers and the old BIOS.
If you could explain what you did, that would be great!

 

[unclewebb]

@Gahujsb

Look in the BIOS of your Asus board. There should be an option to switch to the older microcode, version 0x104. Use HWiNFO to see what MCU microcode version you are using. The early microcode allows undervolting.

 

[Taraquin]

@Gahujsb

Look in the BIOS of your Asus board. There should be an option to switch to the older microcode, version 0x104. Use HWiNFO to see what MCU microcode version you are using. The early microcode allows undervolting.

This only applies for unlocked CPUs I guess? It should also enable avx 512 if I remember correctly?

 

[unclewebb]

This only applies for unlocked CPUs

Being able to undervolt should apply to all CPUs when using microcode 0x104.

avx 512

I am not sure if that is possible with 13th Gen.

 

[WhenMusicAttacks]

Thanks a lot for the hints. I had finally luck with bios undervolt on 2 gigabyte boards last week, and i really want to find a working bios for the b760m aorus AX now -

EDIT:

apparently, b760m aorus ax first F1 bios is from late dec 2022 and has no undervolt; while b760m gaming x ax (ddr4) has F1 from october 2022 that works

 

[WhenMusicAttacks]

How did you manage to get back to oldest bios that supports 13th gen?

I tried to downgrade BIOS of Asus ROG Strix B660-I motherboard to the 1620 version (the oldest according to Asus website) but It tells me that "Selected file is not a proper BIOS!". I formated my USB drive well, file is not corrupt and all, I think there's a problem with the compatibility of the actual drivers and the old BIOS.
If you could explain what you did, that would be great!

I have now tested that to be working - 1620 indeed let me undervolt fine. I had trashed this board before because it would not let me undervolt even K chips, thus making the whole itx size impossible. It laso automatically updated itself to 1620 with Windows Update, thus losing all the ram tuning profile i had made (lucky, i kept that in a spreadsheet to recover..). But i didn't bother tewting the undervolt again after that and just moved to a MSI b660m and itek Evoke case.

 

[frango jones]

I have an Asus H610m-A. I'm not one to update BIOS unless I actually have a problem and this time I was lucky. Undervolt on my 12600K works flawlessly. Offset use of 0.150mv and Full Load temperatures go from 85º to 64º using a Deepcool AG400...
I was wanting to get a B660M from MSI but many reports of problems. Upgrading to a Z690 increases the cost too much and I'm not going to overclock. It seems to me that I am lucky to have my H610m A... I wish I could use a high speed SSD and my other 2 DDR4 modules that are stopped due to lack of available slots on the Motherboard but it is difficult to define which card to go with so many limitations of these new BIOSes.

 

[Ghostlu]

I have an Asus H610m-A. I'm not one to update BIOS unless I actually have a problem and this time I was lucky. Undervolt on my 12600K works flawlessly. Offset use of 0.150mv and Full Load temperatures go from 85º to 64º using a Deepcool AG400...
I was wanting to get a B660M from MSI but many reports of problems. Upgrading to a Z690 increases the cost too much and I'm not going to overclock. It seems to me that I am lucky to have my H610m A... I wish I could use a high speed SSD and my other 2 DDR4 modules that are stopped due to lack of available slots on the Motherboard but it is difficult to define which card to go with so many limitations of these new BIOSes.

Which BIOS version do you have?

 

[frango jones]

Which BIOS version do you have?

0601
11/22/2021

 

[WhenMusicAttacks]

Which BIOS version do you have?

h610 ram speed is so slow, your 12600k is very limited by that

 

[frango jones]

h610 ram speed is so slow, your 12600k is very limited by that

when I decided to buy the H610 more than 1 year ago, the B660 and Z690 boards were very expensive here in Brazil, so paying less, if you have less... in XMP at 3200 Mhz, anything above that is over via platform and memory too because it is natively 3200 Mhz so I don't understand where the limitation you mentioned exists.

 

[Taraquin]

when I decided to buy the H610 more than 1 year ago, the B660 and Z690 boards were very expensive here in Brazil, so paying less, if you have less... in XMP at 3200 Mhz, anything above that is over via platform and memory too because it is natively 3200 Mhz so I don't understand where the limitation you mentioned exists.

On b660 or z690 you can overclock your ram to 3800-4200 with 12600K. You can still lower timings at 3200 and improve performance

 

[frango jones]

On b660 or z690 you can overclock your ram to 3800-4200 with 12600K. You can still lower timings at 3200 and improve performance

I can change the timing on the H610 if I'm not mistaken, but not the frequency. The choice for the H610 was precisely to use the 12600K, it was that or nothing at the time. As I have 2 more memory modules totaling 64 gb and I bought an SSD Gen 4, I felt the need to upgrade to a B660... I would go with a Z690/Z790 but the thermals would not help me since I use an Air Cooler... I closed on MSI Pro B660m Wifi I still prefer the Asus power system but the set of this MSI made me decide for it. I hope I don't regret it.