Overclocking with no Adaptive Voltage options, alternatives and is it safe

[Nex Cube]

Hey guys just another quick question... I have a stable overclock with my i5 4670k @ 4.3 GHz, and the cache is stable @ 4.3 GHz as well. I can play games like Rise of the Tomb Raider maxed out with 60 fps and my CPU will top out at around 60 Celsius... so I'm pretty sure I'm safe in the temperature department. I'm just concerned about continuing to use my CPU like this without an adaptive voltage option (I have a Gigabyte Z87X-UD5H and apparently it doesn't have support for it). Are there any other ways to make my voltage go down when my CPU is not being stressed? I see the offset values, but I'm not sure how that works. To be honest though, I think my voltages are actually pretty low, at 1.19 for my Vcore and 1.24 for my Vring. If there isn't any way to do that, is it safe to just allow my CPU to run at these voltages 24/7? Thanks.

[VaynardX]

Most overclockers use manual/override and their PCs run just fine. In fact, I have a friend who still has the Sandy Bridge i5-2500K processor overclocked to 5GHz with high voltages and it is still running fine and dandy up to this day. Having that low voltage on a consistent basis is no problem at all (I guess the only problem you will run into is higher electricity bills, but I am sure that is not a concern for you). Other than that, you're pretty okay.

 

Offset works by adding/subtracting your set vcore. For example, if you have a vcore of 1.190 and your offset is (+) 0.20, it will add another 0.20 voltage when the computer is under load. When you use (-) it will do the opposite and actually reduce your Vcore -0.20 when your PC is idle. If you use the Auto offset voltage (+/- at the same time), it will add +0.20 when your computer is under load and it will subtract 0.20 when your computer is idle. 

 

It is kind of weird that your motherboard doesn't have adaptive settings as I am pretty sure most modern motherboards have that (especially the gaming motherboards). Still, manual/override is still pretty okay.

[Nex Cube]

16 hours ago, VaynardX said:

Most overclockers use manual/override and their PCs run just fine. In fact, I have a friend who still has the Sandy Bridge i5-2500K processor overclocked to 5GHz with high voltages and it is still running fine and dandy up to this day. Having that low voltage on a consistent basis is no problem at all (I guess the only problem you will run into is higher electricity bills, but I am sure that is not a concern for you). Other than that, you're pretty okay.

 

Offset works by adding/subtracting your set vcore. For example, if you have a vcore of 1.190 and your offset is (+) 0.20, it will add another 0.20 voltage when the computer is under load. When you use (-) it will do the opposite and actually reduce your Vcore -0.20 when your PC is idle. If you use the Auto offset voltage (+/- at the same time), it will add +0.20 when your computer is under load and it will subtract 0.20 when your computer is idle. 

 

It is kind of weird that your motherboard doesn't have adaptive settings as I am pretty sure most modern motherboards have that (especially the gaming motherboards). Still, manual/override is still pretty okay.

Awesome man, thank you very much for your help. I probably won't be buying another Gigabyte board due to not having that option, it's kinda stupid. I have the latest BIOS without downloading a beta BIOS as well. My voltages have been running at the static values so far but I guess I'll try to mess with the offset and see if I can't get something figured out. My overclock is still stable and running great though, so that's awesome =D

[MageTank]

18 hours ago, Nex Cube said:

Hey guys just another quick question... I have a stable overclock with my i5 4670k @ 4.3 GHz, and the cache is stable @ 4.3 GHz as well. I can play games like Rise of the Tomb Raider maxed out with 60 fps and my CPU will top out at around 60 Celsius... so I'm pretty sure I'm safe in the temperature department. I'm just concerned about continuing to use my CPU like this without an adaptive voltage option (I have a Gigabyte Z87X-UD5H and apparently it doesn't have support for it). Are there any other ways to make my voltage go down when my CPU is not being stressed? I see the offset values, but I'm not sure how that works. To be honest though, I think my voltages are actually pretty low, at 1.19 for my Vcore and 1.24 for my Vring. If there isn't any way to do that, is it safe to just allow my CPU to run at these voltages 24/7? Thanks.

Been talking to a group of overclockers for quite some time now about this subject, and basically, they came to this conclusion. Adapative was dangerous on original Haswell (4770k) but fine for Haswell-R (4790k) even under Prime95 AVX2/FMA3 load. It is perfectly safe on Skylake (no FIVR, which is linked to adaptive voltage causing issues under high load) and will not cause any issues. I personally cannot vouch for the Haswell parts, as I only ever had a G3258 and 4690k to test with, but I can tell you that neither of them died under adaptive voltage Prime95 AVX2/FMA3.

 

Most overclockers will tell you to avoid adaptive anyways and just stick with Offsets. It has all the perks of adaptive voltage (power saving, etc) but none of the consequences (too much voltage, not enough voltage, etc). 

[Nex Cube]

7 minutes ago, MageTank said:

Been talking to a group of overclockers for quite some time now about this subject, and basically, they came to this conclusion. Adapative was dangerous on original Haswell (4770k) but fine for Haswell-R (4790k) even under Prime95 AVX2/FMA3 load. It is perfectly safe on Skylake (no FIVR, which is linked to adaptive voltage causing issues under high load) and will not cause any issues. I personally cannot vouch for the Haswell parts, as I only ever had a G3258 and 4690k to test with, but I can tell you that neither of them died under adaptive voltage Prime95 AVX2/FMA3.

 

Most overclockers will tell you to avoid adaptive anyways and just stick with Offsets. It has all the perks of adaptive voltage (power saving, etc) but none of the consequences (too much voltage, not enough voltage, etc). 

Oh wow, see a lot of places have said differently so it can be pretty confusing. Thank you! This makes me feel a lot better about my current setup and using offset. Still not sure exactly what I should do with offset though... I'm thinking if my Vcore is 1.19, don't I want it to go down to around 0.7 when not under load like it used to? So would I go into offset and do something like -0.4?

[VaynardX]

When using offset, I would go for a modest offset first (0.20) as going too far at the start might render your computer unbootable. Go for 0.20 and slowly go up from there. Also, I am using adaptive voltage and it's been working for me really well. The only problem with adaptive voltage is that whenever your computer needs more voltage, it will actually increase voltage (which can be damaging). But, that only happens when using stress tests. So, get your stable voltage using manual and then set it to adaptive so you will know that the adaptive option will not overvolt your PC when doing stress tests.

[pedro69]

I am running my 4670k 24/7 at 4.4GHz without using offset or adaptive voltage for over a year. It's completely safe as long as you stay within save temperatures.

[VaynardX]

5 hours ago, pedro69 said:

I am running my 4670k 24/7 at 4.4GHz without using offset or adaptive voltage for over a year. It's completely safe as long as you stay within save temperatures.

My friend is still using his i5-2500K overclocked to 5GHz with manual voltages and until now, it is still alive and kicking.xD

[Nex Cube]

41 minutes ago, VaynardX said:

My friend is still using his i5-2500K overclocked to 5GHz with manual voltages and until now, it is still alive and kicking.xD

It's sounding more and more like there's no reason to even bother with the offset voltages. Maybe if I can get it overclocked a bit higher after cleaning out my H100 radiator and getting better static pressure fans. The only reason I stopped at 4.3 Ghz was because anything higher was giving me uncomfortable temperatures. At least during a stress test anyway. It was throttling.

[Nightfallen]

Hello there

I've been following your post since you've started the topic to see the results. I'm having actually pretty similar issues with a MSI M5 board and an 6700K, trying to undervolt it. Fixed voltage is ok, stable etc etc (actually Vdrooping on full load a bit from 1.7v to 1.38v----->which was the voltage that I really wanted to reach so i had to set the initial voltage a little bit higher).

BUT...the adaptive voltage isn't really working. From what I've heard, I could theoretically set an adaptive voltage WITH a voltage cap, like 1.5v to be the maximum and then throttle down when not using the CPU....but it's not working at all for me. All I get from setting adaptive voltage instead of auto is a fixed 1.25v (stock voltage for 6700k) on load and some random lower Vcore at lower speeds.

Running the cpu on auto literally kills it, with the Vcore boosting up to 1.35v on STOCK SPEEDS ***damn it MSI!!!!!***

 

Oh yeah, and I've tried using offsets and my system won't even boot.

Good luck with yours, mate!  

[VaynardX]

19 hours ago, Nightfallen said:

Hello there

I've been following your post since you've started the topic to see the results. I'm having actually pretty similar issues with a MSI M5 board and an 6700K, trying to undervolt it. Fixed voltage is ok, stable etc etc (actually Vdrooping on full load a bit from 1.7v to 1.38v----->which was the voltage that I really wanted to reach so i had to set the initial voltage a little bit higher).

BUT...the adaptive voltage isn't really working. From what I've heard, I could theoretically set an adaptive voltage WITH a voltage cap, like 1.5v to be the maximum and then throttle down when not using the CPU....but it's not working at all for me. All I get from setting adaptive voltage instead of auto is a fixed 1.25v (stock voltage for 6700k) on load and some random lower Vcore at lower speeds.

Running the cpu on auto literally kills it, with the Vcore boosting up to 1.35v on STOCK SPEEDS ***damn it MSI!!!!!***

 

Oh yeah, and I've tried using offsets and my system won't even boot.

Good luck with yours, mate!  

 

Use some LLC dude. That's some serious Vdrooping right there.

 

20 hours ago, Nex Cube said:

It's sounding more and more like there's no reason to even bother with the offset voltages. Maybe if I can get it overclocked a bit higher after cleaning out my H100 radiator and getting better static pressure fans. The only reason I stopped at 4.3 Ghz was because anything higher was giving me uncomfortable temperatures. At least during a stress test anyway. It was throttling.

Nah, still use offset if that makes you feel okay. Some people just love doing it in manual because they want it to be forever stable. Just make sure that the temperatures are in check and you should be good.