I Can't Undervolt My i5-12400F CPU

[Muhlis]

Hi,

After having a good time using my laptop with i5-8250U and Throttlestop enabled, finally I built my first desktop PC. I have an Intel i5-12400F with an MSI H610M-E mobo. The case has a mesh design with 4 fans (no problem in air cooling). The CPU runs pretty cool when idle but in very demanding workloads (such as Cinebench benchmarks or 4K video rendering), the CPU can go up to 98C with the stock cooler. I already applied a good amount of MX-4 thermal paste, so that would not be a problem.

I tried to undervolt it but was unsuccessful. Intel XTU grays up the voltage parameter, Throttlestop says it's not available, and I can't undervolt it on BIOS too (but I'm not sure if I missed something). What should I do? I attached some screenshots from the BIOS, TS and XTU if it will be useful.

Thanks.

[_Omega_]

I dont thik intel lets you control the voltages at all with a H610 board so i guess you arer out of luck and maybe just need to get a cheapish aftermarket cooler

[SorryBella]

23 minutes ago, Muhlis said:

with the stock cooler. I already applied a good amount of MX-4 thermal paste, so that would not be a problem.

case? And what about your actual load temperature on other workload? Intel stock cooler is barely enough for bursty load like gaming, they cant handle sustained load.

[Muhlis]

7 hours ago, SorryBella said:

case? And what about your actual load temperature on other workload? Intel stock cooler is barely enough for bursty load like gaming, they cant handle sustained load.

The case is MSI M100A. On actual workload, generally it's around 70 to 85C. 40C on idle.

[PowerThrottle]

Can you change the CPU Core Offset Voltage in the BIOS? Can't you switch it from "Auto" mode and set it manually?

[Muhlis]

On 8/14/2023 at 10:38 PM, PowerThrottle said:

Can you change the CPU Core Offset Voltage in the BIOS? Can't you switch it from "Auto" mode and set it manually?

Turns out it works on BIOS (using - and + keys, not typing the value) but with a big caveat. The performance halved when I applied a -50 mV undervolt. They say Intel removed the undervolt feature over the Plundervolt bug.

[unclewebb]

29 minutes ago, Muhlis said:

They say Intel removed the undervolt feature over the Plundervolt bug.

Removing the undervolt feature from Intel's main stream processors allowed Intel to reserve the undervolt feature only for their K series desktop CPUs and unlocked HX mobile CPUs. If Plundervolt was really such a horrible thing to be afraid of, Intel would have removed CPU voltage control from all of their CPUs. Nope. Intel just wanted to make some more money. Forcing enthusiasts to spend more $$$$ on higher end CPUs accomplishes that goal. 

 

Undervolt Protection is another great feature from Intel engineering. Even a tiny 5 mV undervolt in the BIOS can reduce performance in half when Undervolt Protection is enabled. If Intel used their resources to make their CPUs better, maybe their share price would be up more than 1% during the last year.