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Vcore worries...

N

n64man120

2[H]4U
Joined
Jan 11, 2004
Messages
3,498
In Bios I set the Vcore of my 2.8C to 1.6 however in windows running prime my software monitors give a reading of 1.66 to 1.68 generally. This is nearing the 1.7 mark and I want to keep my voltages as low as possible while overclocking. Which do you think is more accurate, what i told bios? or what the software is detecting?
 
your software monitor would be more accurate. your mobo is overvolting.

my mobo undervolts by 0.06V
 
Update: After staring at my Core voltages for a bit, its fluctuating alot (atleast while running Prime torture). CPUZ and MBM have roughly gone as low as 1.58 and as high as 1.68. That is a whole 0.10V change which seems to be something to worry about IMO. Oppinions?

Edit: It seems while running the RAM intensive Prime test or just idleing the system is around 1.66 to 1.68 V on the core. I ran the middle test that does alot of CPU and the Vcore installtly dropped to 1.58 to 1.60 and held around there while the test was running. Once again, seems wierd, oppinions?
 
The diodes that measure the voltage may be messed.

I've known Prime to stress the 5 and 12 volt rails, but never the CPU voltage.
 
Note the edit above if you didnt see it, my 5 and 12 rails are holding fine under Prime.

Final Edit: *Sigh* I tested Premiere with some filters running and task manager up. My conclusion is when the CPU is under load it holds very close to 1.6Volts, when it is idle the Voltage is 1.66 to 1.68 constantly. So that is my observations, is this a concern?
 
Yea i suppose your right but having the Vcore drop like that under load is something i've never seen before. Also when trying to get the most life out of the chip... i'd rather not have it at 1.68 when it can be at 1.6 ;)
 
Your being very cautious, which is very smart. I run my 2.4c w/ 1.7v all day (with water) and i have never had a problem with it. Been running this way for months....1.7v is the "warning" barrier for most Northwood chips, and unless you have really good cooling (greater water or phase) i would avoid 1.7v, especially on air (and yes, even the best air).
 
What i'm thinking is I can set my Vcore in bios to say 1.57 and then it should idle at 1.64ish which should be fine. However that somewhat limits my overclocking abilities because stabilty matters most under heavy load where unfortunatly my voltages are lowest. Is this a common problem everyone has to deal with or did I get screwed somehow?
 
No, i don't think you got screwed. I experience slight changes in voltage as do most people with this kind of stuff do...leave it high eough to remain stable but don't over-do it. You'll be fine....just stop when you reach your chips max...it won't go further until you have way better cooling to handle high voltage over 1.7v or more....this same chip i have now would do 3.2 solid all day on a decent copper heatsink i had....going to water added 200 MHz for 3.4 GHz overall and way way lower temps, which is must for long term "abuse" of any chip. Hope this helps
 
Might not be a bad idea to put some heatsinks on the mobo's MOSFETs. I would also try the PSU in another system and see if the CPU voltage varies to the same degree.
 
cgrant26 said:
Might not be a bad idea to put some heatsinks on the mobo's MOSFETs. I would also try the PSU in another system and see if the CPU voltage varies to the same degree.
Click to expand...

Alright, idk what MOSFETs are but i'm sure google will help me out. Testing the PSU isnt much of an option since wiring my case takes hours.

Edit: I looked up MOSFETS and I guess they are little black chips which could not regulate the voltage properly. How can I determine where they are on my board?

Here's my question: I know on air I should go above 1.7V at all with Northwood, so when I set 1.62 in BIOS the Vcore is 1.7 Idle and 1.62 Under Load... should this be my max Vcore since it idles unusually high?
 
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