# Undervolt CPU all the time or only when gaming



## pythonemail369 (Aug 1, 2022)

I have Lenovo IdeaPad L340 Gaming Laptop with a Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-9300H @ 2.40GHz CPU. When I play games, I undervolt it to 159.2 and game normally. After I am done, I shutdown(I have quick start up off in the control center so my CPU resets) my laptop. Then I open it again and find the CPU not undervolted, but I have a custom Task in the Task scheduler to run ThrottleStop to undervolt the CPU at user log in(so ever time I open that laptop from a shutdown).

So my question is, Should I have my CPU undervolted every time I close my laptop and open it again (I work on site at an IT company so I shutdown twice a day and reopen and work and home) even for a small task like opening a word document to check something then close it again. Or only undervolt the CPU when I do more demanding thing like gaming, running a VM, opening many tabs in a browser, etc...

Any advice would help
thanks


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## maxx2575 (Aug 1, 2022)

this seems like a lot of work for vary little/no payback, why are you un-doing the undervolt at all? if it works fine when gaming then it'll work fine for everything else.


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## pythonemail369 (Aug 1, 2022)

maxx2575 said:


> this seems like a lot of work for vary little/no payback, why are you un-doing the undervolt at all? if it works fine when gaming then it'll work fine for everything else.


It's not that I *u*_*ndo* _the undervolt, it's that after a shutdown my CPU resets it's voltage so that is why I have the Task to undervolt it again. Cus I disabled _quick startup_ in my Windows Control Center so my laptop now fully shutsdown and so will the CPU reseting the up time.


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## Bill_Bright (Aug 1, 2022)

Why do you under-volt in the first place?


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## unclewebb (Aug 1, 2022)

Bill_Bright said:


> Why do you under-volt in the first place?


Most laptop owners that undervolt do so to reduce power consumption. This reduces the CPU temperature and this also allows the CPU to turbo boost more before being power limit throttled. Modern laptops live right on the edge of thermal throttling and power limit throttling so a little less voltage can make a big difference to the overall user experience. 



pythonemail369 said:


> Should I have my CPU undervolted every time


I like to find one voltage that is 100% stable and then I use that voltage all of the time. If you are undervolting your core and your cache to -159 mV then your CPU might not always be 100% stable. I would either reduce that or I would not use an undervolt at all when working on something important that requires 100% stability.


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## pythonemail369 (Aug 1, 2022)

unclewebb said:


> Most laptop owners that undervolt do so to reduce power consumption. This reduces the CPU temperature and this also allows the CPU to turbo boost more before being power limit throttled. Modern laptops live right on the edge of thermal throttling and power limit throttling so a little less voltage can make a big difference to the overall user experience.
> 
> 
> I like to find one voltage that is 100% stable and then I use that voltage all of the time. If you are undervolting your core and your cache to -159 mV then your CPU might not always be 100% stable. I would either reduce that or I would not use an undervolt at all when working on something important that requires 100% stability.



Thanks.

Also, I haven't had any unexpected shutdowns or crashing problems gaming on my laptop whilst the CPU core and cache being undervolted at -159mV. And with most games(Like GTA Online) I get temps averaging around 75 and when other task are using my CPU at 100%. it stays below 80 almost all the time. 

The thing I was hesitant about is Having the undervolting task enabled at the log on of any user

But it seems that it is not only fine, but I should keep it enabled

Thanks for the comments everyone


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## Bill_Bright (Aug 1, 2022)

unclewebb said:


> Most laptop owners that undervolt do so to reduce power consumption. This reduces the CPU temperature and this also allows the CPU to turbo boost more before being power limit throttled. Modern laptops live right on the edge of thermal throttling and power limit throttling so a little less voltage can make a big difference to the overall user experience.


I understand that. But I wanted to know why the OP undervolts. 

The point is, when a laptop is being marketed as a gaming laptop, users should not have to undervolt to play their games!

The problem is gamers are shooting themselves in the foot by constantly compensating for poor designs  and/or deceptive marketing   scams... err... schemes. Instead, gamers should be returning these products and demanding the manufacturers design in better cooling, or stop marketing a product that is not capable of meeting their marketing claims.

What if you bought a fancy new truck that was marketed with an 8,000lb towing capacity only to learn after you bought it that it won't tow your 5,000lb trailer without constantly overheating - unless you kept it under 45mph? Would you be okay with that? No.

So why put up with that with our laptops that are being marketed as "gaming" laptops (or "desktop replacements") when they cannot support popular games? 

Consumers are allowing, condoning, perhaps even encouraging these totally disgraceful and deceptive marketing practices. And by not returning these products demanding changes, the manufacturers (and the retailers - who have a lot of clout here) have no incentive to change.


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## pythonemail369 (Aug 1, 2022)

Bill_Bright said:


> I understand that. But I wanted to know why the OP undervolts.
> 
> The point is, when a laptop is being marketed as a gaming laptop, users should not have to undervolt to play their games!
> 
> ...


Well I originally undervolted because my temps were reaching 95C+ and a lot of FPS drops. Then my friend (which I will ask what he does with his laptop) told me undervolting will helps keep the temps down and have stable performance without fps drops. since my laptop is what I like to call* A school/work laptop with average gaming capabilities. *and it did solve these issues. I just didn't know if I should undervolt when doing heavg task or have it on all the time

"What if you bought a fancy new truck that was marketed with an 8,000lb towing capacity only to learn after you bought it that it won't tow your 5,000lb trailer without constantly overheating - unless you kept it under 45mph? Would you be okay with that? No."

Umm no, I knew that it was average and that I would have to cap all games at 60 FPS to run smoothly since most games max out at 90 FPS and there is no need to buy an expensive gaming monitor for just 30 extra frames. So I got what I paid for (I actually think it runs amazing considering its price) and am happy with it

Imma turn off the notifications for this post 

thanks everyone for the comments

good day to you all


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## Bill_Bright (Aug 1, 2022)

pythonemail369 said:


> told me undervolting will helps keep the temps down and have stable performance without fps drops.


And that is true.


> I just didn't know if I should undervolt when doing heavg task or have it on all the time


If me, I would leave it undervolted - unless it impacted performance in other areas too much. 





pythonemail369 said:


> I knew that it was average and that I would have to cap all games at 60 FPS


Ummm, not my point. And to be sure, I was NOT in any way criticizing your purchase decision or reasoning for buying that laptop. 

My criticism is 100% targeted at laptop marketing weenies who, IMO, falsely claim laptops make acceptable gaming computers. If you consider even quality tower cases are challenged to provide adequate cooling, how can a tiny (and thin) laptop case be expected to? They can pack the horsepower of a PC into those cases, but not the necessary cooling. So they should stop pretending (and lying to consumers) they can. 





pythonemail369 said:


> and am happy with it


And ultimately, that is what it is all about.


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