After complaining about high temperatures on my new laptop while gaming on the notebookreview forums, I found out about undervolting thanks to user hmscott.
Since then my CPU temps have dropped under heavy load for +30mins from 98 degrees Celsius to 88 degrees Celsius.
Time to share my new knowledge.
Undervolting your CPU
Advantages
Downsides
Why it's possible
Intel builds a LOT of CPU's.. But not every CPU is the same. Actually most CPU's can run with a lower voltage, but Intel can not fine-tune every single CPU out there. And if they lowered the voltage for all CPU's, some customers would get CPU's that don't have enough voltage!
This is why they released a tool that allows you to do so yourself!
Tutorial: how to undervolt your CPU
Before you start this tutorial, it's useful to know how hot your CPU runs under heavy load.
Play your favorite performance-heavy game and leave HWmonitor open for the entire duration. Afterwards note your maximum CPU temperatures.
NOTE: Your system WILL give your a Blue Screen Of Death or freeze when the voltage is too low. But:
Don't panic! Every system crash, the changes will be undone automatically. This is built in in the XTU utility.
This is why I included the second step.
[list type=decimal]
[*]Download and install Intel Extreme Tuning Utility or XTU from https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/24075/Intel-Extreme-Tuning-Utility-Intel-XTU-
[*]Close important programs where you don't want to lose data (open office files etc)
[*]Open XTU, navigate to the Core tab under "Advanced Tuning"
[*]Look for the "Core Voltage Offset" and turn it down by -0.100V, then click Apply in the right column.
[*]Your system didn't crash (BSOD) or freeze? Continue to the next step
[*]Lower your offset by one clicks (0.005V), then click Apply in the right column.
[*]Your system didn't crash (BSOD) or freeze? Repeat the previous step
[*]Your system did crash (BSOD) or freeze? Go up +0.01V. You are now at a stable idle voltage offset.
[*]Test your system first doing casual things, like browsing web, music,.. whatever.
[*]Time to stress test. Navigate to "Stress Test" in XTU and stress test your system for 5 minutes.
[*]Your system still didn't crash (BSOD) or freeze? Great! Now try running that same game for the same period and monitor your temperatures again with HWmonitor
[*]If your system survived this last test, then great! You got yourself a cooler CPU now! Save the Offset and it will be applied automatically when you boot. (It will however get reset on every system crash as protection)
[*]If your system did crash, try going back up a few voltages and try again
[/list]
For me personally the sweet spot was -0.135V, -0.145 and -0.155 gave me BSOD or system freezes.
Testing -0.140 at the moment to see if that's an option as well.
Since then my CPU temps have dropped under heavy load for +30mins from 98 degrees Celsius to 88 degrees Celsius.
Time to share my new knowledge.
Undervolting your CPU
Advantages
- Bettery battery life (minimal difference, but still)
- Cooler temperatures (typically 10 degrees Celsius difference)
- Less fan noise (logical effect of cooler temperatures)
Downsides
- None, the performance does not suffer one bit, the only thing that affects performance is clock speed, not voltage
Why it's possible
Intel builds a LOT of CPU's.. But not every CPU is the same. Actually most CPU's can run with a lower voltage, but Intel can not fine-tune every single CPU out there. And if they lowered the voltage for all CPU's, some customers would get CPU's that don't have enough voltage!
This is why they released a tool that allows you to do so yourself!
Tutorial: how to undervolt your CPU
Before you start this tutorial, it's useful to know how hot your CPU runs under heavy load.
Play your favorite performance-heavy game and leave HWmonitor open for the entire duration. Afterwards note your maximum CPU temperatures.
NOTE: Your system WILL give your a Blue Screen Of Death or freeze when the voltage is too low. But:
Don't panic! Every system crash, the changes will be undone automatically. This is built in in the XTU utility.
This is why I included the second step.
[list type=decimal]
[*]Download and install Intel Extreme Tuning Utility or XTU from https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/24075/Intel-Extreme-Tuning-Utility-Intel-XTU-
[*]Close important programs where you don't want to lose data (open office files etc)
[*]Open XTU, navigate to the Core tab under "Advanced Tuning"
[*]Look for the "Core Voltage Offset" and turn it down by -0.100V, then click Apply in the right column.
[*]Your system didn't crash (BSOD) or freeze? Continue to the next step
[*]Lower your offset by one clicks (0.005V), then click Apply in the right column.
[*]Your system didn't crash (BSOD) or freeze? Repeat the previous step
[*]Your system did crash (BSOD) or freeze? Go up +0.01V. You are now at a stable idle voltage offset.
[*]Test your system first doing casual things, like browsing web, music,.. whatever.
[*]Time to stress test. Navigate to "Stress Test" in XTU and stress test your system for 5 minutes.
[*]Your system still didn't crash (BSOD) or freeze? Great! Now try running that same game for the same period and monitor your temperatures again with HWmonitor
[*]If your system survived this last test, then great! You got yourself a cooler CPU now! Save the Offset and it will be applied automatically when you boot. (It will however get reset on every system crash as protection)
[*]If your system did crash, try going back up a few voltages and try again
[/list]
For me personally the sweet spot was -0.135V, -0.145 and -0.155 gave me BSOD or system freezes.
Testing -0.140 at the moment to see if that's an option as well.
