Overclocking? for power efficiency [Ryzen 3100 on B550]

[K0S3K]

Hello guys,

This week I bought new PC which i intend to use for home NAS and stream server. The specs are:

MB: ASROCK B550M Pro4
CPU: AMD Ryzen 3 3100
RAM: 2x HyperX 8GB DDR4 3200 MHz CL16 FURY (HX432C16FB3)
System Disk: Patriot Burst SSD 480 GB (PBU480GS25SSDR)
ZFS Cache: HP EX900 250 GB (2YY43AA#ABB)
ZFS Raidz1: 4x Seagate IronWolf 6TB (ST6000VN001 )
GPU (only for system installtion): Old Asus GTX 660Ti
PSU: OCZ ZS Series 650W, 80 PLUS Bronze

I want to install an OpenMediaVault with ZFS Storage pool and Plex and Nextcloud Servers (probably also few accompanying VMs and Containers).
The problem is, that when I am not using it, I want it to draw as little power as possible. Currently when idling it at around 85W, which is quite a lot in my opinion.

So the question is. What should be the proper BIOS settings or some other (non-BIOS) options to decrease power consuption?

Thank you :)

[5x5]

The 3100 doesn't draw 85W at full load, let alone idle. Your application is broken. Use Ryzen Master or HWiNFO

[Aereldor]

What have you used to get a 65w chip to idle at 85w?

[Haro]

Just now, 5x5 said:

The 3100 doesn't draw 85W at full load

I think OP means the full system draws 85w. 

 

4 minutes ago, K0S3K said:

So the question is. What should be the proper BIOS settings or some other (non-BIOS) options to decrease power consuption?

Set the power limit to everything to low 

You can even undervolt. Though we don't know what the best undervolt is for your cpu because ever cpu has different capabilities. 

[K0S3K]

I am measuring the whole rig as I don't currently have an OS installed, i just plugged that in and POST-ed.

[Haro]

1 minute ago, K0S3K said:

as I don't currently have an OS installed, i just plugged that in and POST-ed.

I recommend Making a boot drive, setting up everything and then focus on lowering the power. For all we know this could be a wrong reading. 

[Biomecanoid]

You can not do much.

 

For low power applications. Such as Firewalls (pfSense ), NAS and similar you use Atom based mini-itx motherboard sthat have a very low power footprint.

 

Now the only thing you can do is downclock, not use too many HDs and fans and make Cron Jobs for the PC to turn off at desired times and wake up again from the bios.

 

Another thing is to use some home automation hardware to turn on and off the PC on demand from your mobile phone.

 

That's about it regarding saving electricity

[Eighjan]

7 minutes ago, K0S3K said:

I am measuring the whole rig as I don't currently have an OS installed, i just plugged that in and POST-ed.

JayzTwoCents posted a video last night about overclocking the latest Ryzen XT CPU's (which he generalised for all current parts); his conclusion was that "... for the man in the street, it ain't worth even trying, 'cos the CPU is more than capable of handling the job itself, with the likes of PBO."

[K0S3K]

I think, the old GPU is causing a lot of the power draw (measured in the power socket). So I am going to install OS, set these power caps (hopefully I will be able to find them in BIOS), and unplug the GPU. I will see then.

[Jurrunio]

Undervolting? Usually -0.1V to the core voltage works, but I prefer a proper stress test instead.

 

dropping power limit without undervolting will drop performance along with power draw.

[5x5]

1 hour ago, K0S3K said:

I am measuring the whole rig as I don't currently have an OS installed, i just plugged that in and POST-ed.

Your power draw us coming from other components and PSU efficiency loss, not the CPU lol

[K0S3K]

1 hour ago, 5x5 said:

Your power draw us coming from other components and PSU efficiency loss, not the CPU lol

I am completely aware of that it is not only CPU but whole system - and that is what was bothering me, as I pay for electricity for whole system as well

 

What I did, is that I measured the same rig with J1900Q Celeron Integrated Motherboard and it did draw around 35 Watts in idle, and up to 45 in stress test.

Then I managed to install OMV (Debian 10) on the Original Rig (550+R3100), then I set power limit on CPU to 45W (AMD power settings in bios), and underclocked it to 3000Mhz.
Then I unplugged that old godforsaken 660 Ti hoping it would post without GPU, and it did, and booted as well.

 

Current power draw is around 40W in idle and 50-55W when stress testing.

The thing is that I hope, that just setting frequency in BIOS is fine. Everything else is on auto. Should i adjust some other parameters? Systems seems stable for now.

[5x5]

2 minutes ago, K0S3K said:

I am completely aware of that it is not only CPU but whole system - and that is what was bothering me, as I pay for electricity for whole system as well

 

What I did, is that I measured the same rig with J1900Q Celeron Integrated Motherboard and it did draw around 35 Watts in idle, and up to 45 in stress test.

Then I managed to install OMV (Debian 10) on the Original Rig (550+R3100), then I set power limit on CPU to 45W (AMD power settings in bios), and underclocked it to 3000Mhz.
Then I unplugged that old godforsaken 660 Ti hoping it would post without GPU, and it did, and booted as well.

 

Current power draw is around 40W in idle and 50-55W when stress testing.

The thing is that I hope, that just setting frequency in BIOS is fine. Everything else is on auto. Should i adjust some other parameters? Systems seems stable for now.

You can't go much lowe than that. The board, ram, peripherals, fans, drives - everything needs power and everything carries and efficiency loss. Besides, 45W won't amount to anything in terms of money unless you plan for the system to idle 10 years in which case you may save 100$