# Advice on results from Undervolting I5-9300H



## Shane ting (May 14, 2021)

Hi,

I have been reading post and threads on undervolting and finding people with similar setups with me. After a few tries, this is what i currently end up with.
I tried going lower than -125mV for CPU core but i get BSOD. Highest temperature was around 87-88 which i understand is of not much of a concern.

I would like to ask whether is there any other advices to further improve this? such as bringing down the temperature further?

Edit: I tried with -130.9mV on CPU Core and it is still up and running. Gonna a few more tries with cinebench.

I was 30minutes into a gaming session, Genshin Impact and i got BSOD. When the laptop restarted, i rerun throttlestop and did a cinebench test and this is for some odd reason, it starts to power throttle. PL1 and EDP showed up.


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## unclewebb (May 14, 2021)

The log file shows that you have PL1 power limit throttling at only 25W. What laptop model do you have? You probably have some software on your computer from the manufacturer that is controlling the power limits. Some laptops include fan control software. It might have a cool and quiet setting that lowers the power limits to only 25W. Get rid of this software and maybe your laptop will go back to using a 45W power limit.

You might have to remove the Intel Dynamic Platform and Thermal Framework driver. Search Google for how to remove this driver and how to block Windows from installing this driver. You have to take ownership of the folder this driver is in away from Windows. 

When undervolting the CPU, leave the Intel GPU and iGPU Unslice at +0.0000. It you do this, you can undervolt the CPU core more. Set the cache to -125 mV and try setting the core to -150 mV or -175 mV or -200 mV. If you have problems, undervolt the cache less. The cache undervolt is what causes stability problems. Try -120 mV or -115 mV for the cache offset if you have problems.


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## Shane ting (May 14, 2021)

unclewebb said:


> What laptop model do you have?


I have a MSI GF63 9SC, i5-9300H, GTX-1650. 



unclewebb said:


> The log file shows that you have PL1 power limit throttling at only 25W


The thing that confuses me is that, when i did the cinebench earlier, i did not enounter any power throtling issues. But after i got the BSOD, i redo the cinebench after restart the laptop and it started power throttling at 25w.



unclewebb said:


> manufacturer that is controlling the power limits. Some laptops include fan control software. It might have a cool and quiet setting that lowers the power limits to only 25W.


I have the MSI Dragon center running in the background, could this be causing it?




unclewebb said:


> When undervolting the CPU, leave the Intel GPU and iGPU Unslice at +0.0000. It you do this, you can undervolt the CPU core more. Set the cache to -125 mV and try setting the core to -150 mV or -175 mV or -200 mV. If you have problems, undervolt the cache less. The cache undervolt is what causes stability problems. Try -120 mV or -115 mV for the cache offset if you have problems.


I would give this a try.

If you check the log 18:57:33, you will see that i could run the cinebench at around 37w and it maintains at that during the whole duration. Why did my initial test differ so much from the test after i encountered the BSOD?


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## unclewebb (May 14, 2021)

Shane ting said:


> MSI Dragon center


Dragon Center has caused a lot of problems. Completely uninstall it and see if your power limits go back to normal.

45W is normal. 25W is not.

When running Cinebench, it is only using the CPU. When running a game or a benchmark that uses both the CPU and GPU, the power limit of the CPU might be lowered. I think Dragon Center might have this "feature".

In the early part of the log file, the CPU is at 37W or 38W when it is running at full speed using the full 40.00 multiplier. It is not being power limit throttled at all.


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## Shane ting (May 14, 2021)

unclewebb said:


> Dragon Center has caused a lot of problems. Completely uninstall it and see if your power limits go back to normal.


Wow. I uninstalled it and the power limit throttled stopped showing up.

My 1st attempt, i tried -200mV core and -120mv cache and i ran cinebench 3 times, it blue screen on my 3rd attempt.

I am currently trying -170mV core and -110mV cache. Ran Cinebench 3 times and so far no issues. I will keep monitor it and try to play some games on it.

Without MSI dragon center, i would be unable to control the fan speed should I need to in the future, is that ok?


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## unclewebb (May 14, 2021)

Shane ting said:


> fan speed


Try finding another program to control your fan speed. MSI Dragon Center is trouble.

Your first screenshot shows that Speed Shift (SST) is not enabled but then your second and third screenshots show that Speed Shift is enabled. It is a good idea to leave Speed Shift enabled. If Speed Shift is enabled, either Windows 10 will set the Speed Shift EPP variable to control your CPU speed when lightly loaded or you can try using ThrottleStop to control the Speed Shift EPP variable. I prefer to let Windows 10 control this if it is capable. Just look in the FIVR monitoring table to see what EPP value the CPU is using while you adjust the power plans. When using the Windows Balanced power plan, there should be a slider in the system try. Move that back and forth to Best Performance and look in the monitoring table to see if the Speed Shift EPP value changes. Do not check the Speed Shift EPP box in ThrottleStop if Windows can control this for you. It is not good to have ThrottleStop and Windows fighting over control of EPP so set ThrottleStop so that does not happen.


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## Shane ting (May 15, 2021)

Thanks unclewebb for the advice so far.
I tried to adjust the power plans but it seems like the speed shift EPP values in the FIVR monitoring table doesnt change.

I am still testing the  -170mV core and -110mV cache, so far i havent had any issues yet.

Do you suggest that i try to reduce the core values slightly lower or just maintain it? Is the max temp at 87 degrees during multiple cinebench testing consider an acceptable value?
Previously i tried -200mV core and -120mv cache and it BSOD.


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## unclewebb (May 15, 2021)

Shane ting said:


> so far i haven't had any issues


That is the important thing. Do not waste your time chasing after perfect voltage settings. You are close enough to perfect as is. Stability is more important than a CPU running 1°C cooler.

Your temps during stress testing are fine. They will likely be less during normal use.

If the BIOS does not have Speed Shift enabled when Windows is installed then Windows might not be able to control EPP. When Speed Shift is enabled and Speed Shift EPP is not checked in ThrottleStop, if changing the Windows power plans or Windows power slider does not change the Speed Shift EPP value in the FIVR monitoring table, then you will need to check the Speed Shift EPP option in ThrottleStop. You will have to use ThrottleStop to control EPP because Windows has no control over EPP.


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