# Is Intel SpeedStep ok to use when OCing?



## Ozpa (Dec 19, 2011)

Hello everyone, since there's no "quick questions" thread I had to post a new thread 

If I oc 2500K to the usual ~4.4Ghz, let's say up to 1,35v, is it safe to use Intel SpeedStep? Does it affect stability? Lower electricity bills are always a plus


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## NdMk2o1o (Dec 19, 2011)

Ozpa said:


> Hello everyone, since there's no "quick questions" thread I had to post a new thread
> 
> If I oc 2500K to the usual ~4.4Ghz, let's say up to 1,35v, is it safe to use Intel SpeedStep? Does it affect stability? Lower electricity bills are always a plus



Speed step will lower your clocks to around 1.6ghz when idle/low power and there is no need to be running 4.5ghz 24/7 unless your PC is crunching/working 24/7. Make sure you set the voltage to offset so the vcore scales down with the clocks.


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## Ozpa (Dec 19, 2011)

Yep, right now Speedstep lowers the speed to 1,5Ghz and vcore is around ~1.000. I just read comments that Speedstep affects OCed CPU stability.


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## Frick (Dec 19, 2011)

Ozpa said:


> Yep, right now Speedstep lowers the speed to 1,5Ghz and vcore is around ~1.000. I just read comments that Speedstep affects OCed CPU stability.



It kinda depends, but if your system is stable under load it should work.


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## NdMk2o1o (Dec 19, 2011)

Ozpa said:


> Yep, right now Speedstep lowers the speed to 1,5Ghz and vcore is around ~1.000. I just read comments that Speedstep affects OCed CPU stability.





Frick said:


> It kinda depends, but if your system is stable under load it should work.



This was truer on LGA 775, since 1156/x58/1155 I haven't personally came across any issues with speedstep enabled and I have owned and overclokced each platform.


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## eidairaman1 (Dec 19, 2011)

tell you the truth i dont trust speed step or CNQ or anything that auto adjusts clock speeds because a machine can go idle at any time even if there is a demanding task. Id rather have total control overclock speed


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## zsolt_93 (Dec 19, 2011)

even on 775 it works great for me.. no stability issues whatsoever... and still the voltage is under the VID in idle too


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## Ozpa (Dec 19, 2011)

Oh cool, I'll definitely try it then since I monitor all the system info on my Logitech G15 LCDC window with a custom LCD app I made in AIDA64. I made it to show the CPU load, temp, clock speed, vcore, yet I cannot find where the CPU fan RPM option is. I can see the CPU fan rpms in my system's BIOS monitor page, but AID64 cannot find the sensor?

P.S. how much energy is really saved by SpeedStep? I mean if the CPU is on semi-idle mode (browsing, Word etc. office work).


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## cadaveca (Dec 19, 2011)

Idle can be just 3w, instead of like 125W of an overclocked CPU. SO sometimes you'll be saving 99% of CPU power. I did measure this using proper meters, as well. Highspeed idle can be 40-45w, so I guess it's not 99%, but 90%.


I use turbo to overclock, and speedstep has to be on for turbo to owrk. I cannot say I've had any real issues.


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## Wrigleyvillain (Dec 19, 2011)

Yes and I love it. Why the eff do I need 4GHz and 1.32v pumping through my CPU while I read a web page?


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## NdMk2o1o (Dec 19, 2011)

Ozpa said:


> Oh cool, I'll definitely try it then since I monitor all the system info on my Logitech G15 LCDC window with a custom LCD app I made in AIDA64. I made it to show the CPU load, temp, clock speed, vcore, yet I cannot find where the CPU fan RPM option is. I can see the CPU fan rpms in my system's BIOS monitor page, but AID64 cannot find the sensor?
> 
> P.S. how much energy is really saved by SpeedStep? I mean if the CPU is on semi-idle mode (browsing, Word etc. office work).



Fan options should be in "Power Options" 
Well even just browsing/office work you will find most of the time it is in low power mode except for the odd spike as general tasks really aren't that intensive at all, not quite sure on the numbers but seeing as the proc is a 95w chip and in low pwer mode it will be running around 1.5ghz / 1.0v then it could be using 20-40w in that kind of state? I am guessing and perhaps googling power consumption will give you a better idea.


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## Ozpa (Dec 19, 2011)

Oh one more thing! Is there a page that explains IN DETAIL about each of the BIOS settings on ASRock Z68 boards? Dunno if it's the brand or me, but never seen such vague BIOS.


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## Completely Bonkers (Dec 19, 2011)

I found speedstep to cause problems when OC'ing a dual s771 system. So your question is valid. I think the best thing to do is to run without speedstep for a few weeks. Once you are happy with stability, turn speedstep on.


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## NdMk2o1o (Dec 19, 2011)

Ozpa said:


> Oh one more thing! Is there a page that explains IN DETAIL about each of the BIOS settings on ASRock Z68 boards? Dunno if it's the brand or me, but never seen such vague BIOS.



Manual??


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## Frick (Dec 19, 2011)

eidairaman1 said:


> tell you the truth i dont trust speed step or CNQ or anything that auto adjusts clock speeds because a machine can go idle at any time even if there is a demanding task. Id rather have total control overclock speed



I don't know how those things work but I assume they don't kick in the nanosecond the CPU sits idle. Or maybe they do, all I know is that my temps and power consumptions are better because of it. And as someone said above, these techs have come a long way since introduction.


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## Ozpa (Dec 19, 2011)

NdMk2o1o said:


> Manual??



It's pretty bad :/


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## INSTG8R (Dec 19, 2011)

zsolt_93 said:


> even on 775 it works great for me.. no stability issues whatsoever... and still the voltage is under the VID in idle too



Yep I used Speed Step on my 775 rig with my OC E6600 and my Q6600 never had any stability issues at all(Maybe I was lucky with my sorely missed Abit board) 

But on the topic of 1155 yeah nothing wrong with running it. I have no issues at all with my 4.6 OC (1.35-36V) and 1.6(.99-1.0V) I do run an Offset Voltage tho, its a minor one(-0.01) but its the difference between it running at 1.41V or greater and the 1.35-36V it runs with the offset on.

Your the same as me running AIDA 64 on the G15. Very smart way to monitor I couldn't live without it.


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## Ozpa (Dec 19, 2011)

INSTG8R said:


> Your the same as me running AIDA 64 on the G15. Very smart way to monitor I couldn't live without it.



Yea man! I'll make a foto to show off mine, do the same and post it here if you can


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## Wrigleyvillain (Dec 19, 2011)

Yeah that's a nice use for the screen for sure...but I still couldn't justify the cost premium over my G110 which is essentially the same just no LCD for like $60.


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## INSTG8R (Dec 19, 2011)

Edit: Somehow double posted


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## INSTG8R (Dec 19, 2011)

Ozpa said:


> Yea man! I'll make a foto to show off mine, do the same and post it here if you can



Sure I use all 4 screens available. Main, GPU, Fans, and Voltages



Wrigleyvillain said:


> Yeah that's a nice use for the screen for sure...but I still couldn't justify the cost premium over my G110 which is essentially the same just no LCD for like $60.



I'm still rocking my original version and I will until it is dead 

Edit: Added a Pic of my G15 Main Screen


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## Wrigleyvillain (Dec 19, 2011)

Yeah, definitely a nice and very useful feature. Before this (and Afterburner support) I definitely thought that KB was overrated and overpriced. Sure, seeing frames per sec and such can be useful but not all the time.


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## INSTG8R (Dec 19, 2011)

Wrigleyvillain said:


> Yeah, definitely a nice and very useful feature. Before this (and Afterburner support) I definitely thought that KB was overrated and overpriced. Sure, seeing frames per sec and such can be useful but not all the time.



Yep FRAPS runs great on it too.


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## Ozpa (Dec 20, 2011)

INSTG8R said:


> Yep FRAPS runs great on it too.



But it only shows the fps graph during filming , what do you mean great?


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## INSTG8R (Dec 20, 2011)

Ozpa said:


> But it only shows the fps graph during filming , what do you mean great?



LOLWUT?

You might wanna look thru your FRAPS options. This is just a pic I happened to have handy when I was trying to prove to some idiot that the BF3 beta was in DX11...


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## Ozpa (Dec 20, 2011)

Oh ok! 
I tried the Fraps plugin once like 2 years ago and have it disabled ever since 

I'll post my LCD when I get home I promise (given my gf left me her camera)


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## INSTG8R (Dec 20, 2011)

Just wanted to add my other "pages"

GPU







Fans/Pump


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## Ozpa (Dec 21, 2011)

I was editing my LCD yesterday, trying to fit everything I need into 1 window 
But I swear I'll post mine anytime soon now! 

P.S. AIDA64 cannot detect my CPU fan's RPMs in windows  only the BIOS monitor shows the rpms.


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## eidairaman1 (Dec 21, 2011)

Frick said:


> I don't know how those things work but I assume they don't kick in the nanosecond the CPU sits idle. Or maybe they do, all I know is that my temps and power consumptions are better because of it. And as someone said above, these techs have come a long way since introduction.



Id Rather Control the Clock and Voltage Rates of the CPU and GPU, not let the stuff control itself because i dont trust it.


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## James1o1o (Dec 21, 2011)

Speedstep only works correct if you use offset voltage instead of fixed voltage, I notcied after finding my perfect voltage setting (-0.100v) it would downclock and undervolt to about 1.6ghz and 0.9v, and when in use would clock up to 4.5ghz at about 1.3v. Perfectly stable on an Asus P8Z68 motherboard.


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## INSTG8R (Dec 21, 2011)

Ozpa said:


> I was editing my LCD yesterday, trying to fit everything I need into 1 window
> But I swear I'll post mine anytime soon now!
> 
> P.S. AIDA64 cannot detect my CPU fan's RPMs in windows  only the BIOS monitor shows the rpms.



I am on water so that it not an issue  Hence why I have the "Asst" Fan there which is a 50mm to blow around where a CPU fan should be blowing.


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## Ozpa (Dec 21, 2011)

Ok here's my LCD:






It's kind of in a rework since I've added the CPU clock rate and voltage. Still working on spacing all the items but it's what I have right now. Top is all CPU stats, then RAM usage, then GPU and Video MC load, GPU temp, right to the GPU clock rate is the fan speed in RPM and below that is the Video memory usage (89MB used). Bottom row is Uptime, then motherboard temp, then local time


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