# is it ok to undervolt as much as possible?



## enigoke (Nov 1, 2022)

so i undervolted my cpu core to -189mv and core to -125 mv. i also undervolted my igpu unslice,intel gpu and system agent by -70 mv. is this ok? my pc doesn't crash. i did cinebench 23 benchmarking tests,played lots of games but nothing happened. i also undervolted my gpu by -250mv. 
i am asking this because most videos and articles i see online tell that they only undervolt up to -100mv most of the times. does -189 mv  looks absurt in this case? will it cause unstability? because i am having lots of stutterings on my laptop. but i had these issues before i even found out i could undervolt to reduce temps which reduced temps from 90 celsius degrees to around 60-70. the stutterring issue is still there but my laptop is much cooler atleast.


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## The red spirit (Nov 1, 2022)

If it's stable then it's fine, sounds like you just got some good silicon or simply haven't found more stressing task. I would run Prime95's small FFTs test if I were you, but if that doesn't throw errors or doesn't crash, then you have really great chips.


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## rethcirE (Nov 1, 2022)

What is the specific laptop or CPU/GPU combination? Each chip is different and while "most" X CPU's may only function up to -100mV there will be some outliers that do well at more and others that won't be able to perform at all.

System Agent undervolt can affect the Memory Controller which greatly affects stability. There will always be a limit here just like the CPU cache/core.

In some cases the undervolt saves but the voltage does not actually change. If you're seeing a reduction in temps then surely this is not the case. IF though, for example, you were at 70C with -125mV and then you're still at 70C with -182mV you've reached a point of diminishing returns there and may be trading potential errors for no reduction in temperature or performance. It's all a bit case by case and no one can really say when you'll experience issues, if ever. 

The stuttering could be a GPU specific problem. Would need more details about when it occurs. Is it only stuttering in game or under load? IS it also while at desktop or under light loads like internet browsing or watching videos? Is it a "felt" stutter or does the actual game FPS drop as well?


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## unclewebb (Nov 2, 2022)

If you had stuttering issues before you did any undervolting then it seems like stuttering and voltage are not related.

Let your computer sit idle and turn on the Log File option in ThrottleStop. Is you idle C0% usually under 1.0%? Do you see any regular and significant changes? One bad driver can interfere with the smoothness of your computer. I have seen some poorly written mouse pad drivers that can put a huge load on the CPU for no particular reason. You really need to watch the Task Manager - Details tab while your computer is idle to see if anything is loading your CPU on a regular basis. There is usually a cause of stuttering.

The core and the cache voltages are linked. If the cache is at an offset of -125 mV, you can probably set the core to an offset of -1000 mV. Your computer will probably not crash because most of that will simply be ignored by the CPU. Most CPUs that are stable with the cache at -125 mV get their best overall results with the core offset set to approximately -200 mV. This trick works best on 8th and 9th Gen mobile CPUs. It seems to give the CPU less voltage when running lots of AVX instructions. The Cinebench test is perfect when trying to prove if different voltages work or not. You should see either an improvement in performance or a decrease in temperatures or maybe a little of both when setting the core offset to a much bigger number compared to the cache.

Do you have a Nvidia GPU that is used for games? If so, undervolting the Intel GPU and iGPU unslice might not make much of a difference. Only undervolt the Intel GPU and unslice or the System Agent if you can verify that it does something productive. No point in risking stability just because you like undervolting.

Edit - You can also run a log file while gaming. It might show that your CPU is getting maxed out.


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## enigoke (Nov 2, 2022)

The red spirit said:


> If it's stable then it's fine, sounds like you just got some good silicon or simply haven't found more stressing task. I would run Prime95's small FFTs test if I were you, but if that doesn't throw errors or doesn't crash, then you have really great chips.


ok ill try that one ty for the reply 



rethcirE said:


> What is the specific laptop or CPU/GPU combination? Each chip is different and while "most" X CPU's may only function up to -100mV there will be some outliers that do well at more and others that won't be able to perform at all.
> 
> System Agent undervolt can affect the Memory Controller which greatly affects stability. There will always be a limit here just like the CPU cache/core.
> 
> ...


asus rog gl 553vd intel i7 7700hq and nvidia gtx 1050 (not ti). i honestly feel like temperatures do decrease whenever i undervolt more but i ofc cant undervolt more than -189mv. 
i too think the stutering is probly gpu dependent because i benchmarked both my cpu and gpu and the gpu seems to be underperofrming mostly. 
i also noticed that whenever nvidia takes over the control the screen goes blueish which makes it look better and brighter. but that only happens sometimes which i still could not figure out how or when. it usually changes when i change settings in the nvidia control panel and vsync. 
sometimes my laptop is so fast that i have ltierally no problems and everything feels smooth but then sometimes my gpu keeps crashing and not even be able to open the game before rebooting. oh and when i try to reboot it wont let me reboot fast as normal. it just stays at black screen for about 2-3 minutes which is very very longer than usual which only should take second normally. i just hard reset by pressing the power button for 15 seconds because it takes so long. when i reboot the problem is mostly solved. can this be caused because of the settings of speed shift you think? i sometimes set it to 255 which is the highest but these things happen even if i just dont do anything and that is why i still could not find any answers because i don't even know where the problem is.

tl;dr it sometime is smooth and sometimes only games stutter and SOMETİMES even just normal applications which require small gpu usage dont even upen so i have to reboot and wait 3-4 mins to even be able to use my laptop because the secreen goes black for some reason. hard resetting solves the long waiting but i dont think thats a healthy solution.


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## Nike_486DX (Nov 2, 2022)

Undervolt to the max stable but then back off a bit, just for the peace oif mind. Because real time loads sometimes cause bsods, even if you tested your voltage in prime95 / occt for stability.


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## enigoke (Nov 2, 2022)

unclewebb said:


> If you had stuttering issues before you did any undervolting then it seems like stuttering and voltage are not related.
> 
> Let your computer sit idle and turn on the Log File option in ThrottleStop. Is you idle C0% usually under 1.0%? Do you see any regular and significant changes? One bad driver can interfere with the smoothness of your computer. I have seen some poorly written mouse pad drivers that can put a huge load on the CPU for no particular reason. You really need to watch the Task Manager - Details tab while your computer is idle to see if anything is loading your CPU on a regular basis. There is usually a cause of stuttering.
> 
> ...


this is my log file for one minute at idle (only task manager,msi afterburner and throttlestop are running in the background.)  
i do have an nvidia gpu with gtx 1050 (not ti) and my cpu is intel i7 7700hq. 
one thing that might be important is sometimes my laptop feels smooth as butter and sometimes its stutterring regularly and a bit uncommonly i experience this issue where i think my gpu crashes which makes my laptop not work correctly,very slow and it can't even open games because there was an error . the only solution for that i found was to just reboot the laptop. which is weird too becuase my laptop has ssd only and it only takes somewhere between 15 secs to 30 seconds max but when this uncommon gpu crash thing happens the laptop doesn't even shut down properly. it just sits and wait. the power putton etc are still on and the fans are working i hear it. the screen is just pure black and i can't do anything but to just wait till it shuts down which takes somwehere between 3 to 4 minutes on its own. so i found out that i can do it faster by just hard reseetting my laptop by pressing my power button for longer which makes it shut down immediatly. after rebooting everything seems to be ok but this problem always made me uncomfortable .


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## unclewebb (Nov 2, 2022)

enigoke said:


> nvidia gtx 1050


Those GPUs were near the bottom of the barrel 5 years ago when they were introduced. Some of the stuttering might be because the GPU is overloaded. Asus might have released a GPU BIOS update that reduced the power limits so the GPU throttles excessively. You can turn on Nvidia GPU monitoring in the ThrottleStop Options window or you can run a GPU-Z log file to see if your Nvidia GPU is dropping its MHz excessively while gaming. 

When a Nvidia GPU is 5 years old, it might require some extra voltage to be 100% stable. Black screens and stuttering can be a sign that the GPU can no longer run reliably at default voltage. If you cannot increase the GPU voltage then I would sell this laptop and move on. 

Do not set Speed Shift EPP any higher than 84. 

Post some ThrottleStop log files and screenshots if you need help. 

Your log file only shows 1 minute of data. You need to play a game for at least 15 minutes.


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## enigoke (Nov 2, 2022)

unclewebb said:


> Those GPUs were near the bottom of the barrel 5 years ago when they were introduced. Some of the stuttering might be because the GPU is overloaded. Asus might have released a GPU BIOS update that reduced the power limits so the GPU throttles excessively. You can turn on Nvidia GPU monitoring in the ThrottleStop Options window or you can run a GPU-Z log file to see if your Nvidia GPU is dropping its MHz excessively while gaming.
> 
> When a Nvidia GPU is 5 years old, it might require some extra voltage to be 100% stable. Black screens and stuttering can be a sign that the GPU can no longer run reliably at default voltage. If you cannot increase the GPU voltage then I would sell this laptop and move on.
> 
> ...


ok heres a longer version where i played a game called runescape on mid graphics which is the game i care about the most since i play it the most. gpu clocks seem fine i think but i dont know how to read cpu information correctly. do you see any problem here?


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## unclewebb (Nov 2, 2022)

Your GPU performance looks consistent overall. Have you tried using ThrottleStop to switch to the Windows High Performance power plan? That might help smooth out game play a little. Where are some ThrottleStop screenshots including the FIVR and TPL windows? It is easier to make recommendations if I can see how you have ThrottleStop setup.

The log file does not show any major issues. Just a laptop computer that is showing its age. Nvidia GPU performance progresses significantly from one year to the next and from one generation to the next. A mobile GTX1050 is getting near the end of its useful life.


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## enigoke (Nov 3, 2022)

unclewebb said:


> Your GPU performance looks consistent overall. Have you tried using ThrottleStop to switch to the Windows High Performance power plan? That might help smooth out game play a little. Where are some ThrottleStop screenshots including the FIVR and TPL windows? It is easier to make recommendations if I can see how you have ThrottleStop setup.
> 
> The log file does not show any major issues. Just a laptop computer that is showing its age. Nvidia GPU performance progresses significantly from one year to the next and from one generation to the next. A mobile GTX1050 is getting near the end of its useful life.


i don' know how to switch to the windows high performance power plan tbh. is that the option where it saysa ''high performance'' in the main window? never used that because no guide about throttlestop said anything about it. (or the ones that i read/watched) 

here are the screenshots of my throttlestop settings.


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## Space Lynx (Nov 3, 2022)

enigoke said:


> i don' know how to switch to the windows high performance power plan tbh. is that the option where it saysa ''high performance'' in the main window? never used that because no guide about throttlestop said anything about it. (or the ones that i read/watched)
> 
> here are the screenshots of my throttlestop settings.



go to power options, create custom power plan, and then pick high performance.

you can also go to control panel and find it through power options there.

it uses more electricity, will produce more heat. just be aware your cooler is good enough.


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## unclewebb (Nov 3, 2022)

enigoke said:


> i don' know how to switch to the windows high performance power plan


The High Performance power plan is hidden in the Windows Power Options settings. It is easy to access this in ThrottleStop. Check the High Performance box on the main ThrottleStop screen. When you want to go back to the default Balanced power plan, select it here to go back. After you select High Performance, set the Speed Shift EPP value to 0 instead of 84.


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## enigoke (Nov 4, 2022)

ok thank you all so much for helping me out!


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