How Much Voltage Ripple Will Effect a High CPU OC?

[TSL]

I just bought a 6700k that's capable of 5Ghz given the correct voltages. Will have to tinker so I know what the voltages are specifically, but they'll be around 1.3 - 1.4v (maybe up to 1.45v). I currently own a EVGA nex650 (SuperNOVA G1). On review sites such as jonnyguru.com, it has fairly average ratings for voltage regulation and ripple (which I know can effect overclocking stability). I just want to know if the average/good (but by no means excellent) voltage ripple on my PSU will affect my overclock. What sort of numbers, in mV, does the voltage ripple have to be to actually be noticeable at this high end overclock? Thanks in advance!

[BubblyCharizard]

its 80plus gold rated, so it should be fairly stable at delivering the voltage/amperages required

 

If you are right on the lower threshold of the voltage requirements, then yes, you probably will see the CPU not be stable (bump it up a few mV and you probably will be fine), but most modern PSUs provide a fairly consistent power delivery.....a UPS could help offset the variance from the power delivered from the wall to allow it to be closer to what the CPU wants

 

bottom line is you will need to do some testing on your own to find what voltage it is most stable at

 

[TSL]

1 minute ago, BubblyCharizard said:

its 80plus gold rated, so it should be fairly stable at delivering the voltage/amperages required

 

If you are right on the lower threshold of the voltage requirements, then yes, you probably will see the CPU not be stable (bump it up a few mV and you probably will be fine), but most modern PSUs provide a fairly consistent power delivery.....a UPS could help offset the variance from the power delivered from the wall to allow it to be closer to what the CPU wants

 

bottom line is you will need to do some testing on your own to find what voltage it is most stable at

 

I'm not too concerned with the power delivery, as i know 650w sustained is plenty for my setup (including overclocked i7). its the voltage ripple within the delivered power. here's an article explaining: http://www.overclock.net/t/719397/on-ripple-and-its-effects-on-overclocking

 

Thanks for helping out though.

[Cyracus]

you should also consider your motherboard and it's power delivery components, but the pokefan is right there's no set amount that will cause issues, you basically have to just experiment and discover for yourself. You said it's capable of 5ghz (I'm guessing you bought a binned cpu) so start at 5ghz @1.45v and start backing the voltage down from there until you have stability issues

[TSL]

Just now, Cyracus said:

you should also consider your motherboard and it's power delivery components, but the pokefan is right there's no set amount that will cause issues, you basically have to just experiment and discover for yourself. You said it's capable of 5ghz (I'm guessing you bought a binned cpu) so start at 5ghz @1.45v and start backing the voltage down from there until you have stability issues

All-righty, thanks guys!

[Guest]

12 hours ago, BubblyCharizard said:

its 80plus gold rated, so it should be fairly stable at delivering the voltage/amperages required

 

JESUS CHRIST, NO!

 

Where did you get that information from?????

 

80 PLUS level has nothing to do with power delivery.  All 80 PLUS is is a degree of efficiency.  How much DC is converted from AC.  80 PLUS does NOT test voltage regulation.  80 PLUS does NOT measure amount of ripple/noise.  And 80 PLUS does NOT test at any temperature warmer than an air conditioned room. 

 

https://www.hardocp.com/article/2011/10/04/80_plus_irrelevant_to_you_when_buying_psu/

 

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/80-plus-psu-efficiency,4848.html

 

To answer the OP's question.....

 

The DC from the PSU does not directly effect the CPU.  As Cyracus pointed out, you should strongly consider your motherboard's capabilities/quality.  The core voltage of the CPU goes through phases of voltage regulation fed by the PSU's 12V.

 

That said, poor regulation and high ripple can cause problems... but with the motherboard.  Not the CPU directly.

 

[BubblyCharizard]

5 hours ago, jonnyGURU said:

18 hours ago, BubblyCharizard said:

 

JESUS CHRIST, NO!

 

Where did you get that information from?????

 

although technically correct, 80plus doesn't test current/voltage variances (besides 120/240VAC inputs), it is much more likely something with a higher efficiency should be able to regulate its power output much better than a lower efficiency one

 

Best way to get (as stable as possible) power delivery (all assuming that the load on the wall socket isn't too much)

 

UPS with inverter (to deliver constant voltage) --> High quality PSU --> components with high quality VRM

 

Most off the shelf UPS's don't have an inverter, so only switch to battery when the AC voltage drops below (or above) a certain threshold, thus allowing for a momentary (albeit really short as in a few ms) loss of power....not usually enough to cause serious harm

 

The other good piece of advice is to not go too high from the anticipated system load or too close to it either, I usually look for something that is ~30-40% more than anticipated at load to allow for variances.

[Stefan Payne]

2 hours ago, BubblyCharizard said:

although technically correct, 80plus doesn't test current/voltage variances (besides 120/240VAC inputs), it is much more likely something with a higher efficiency should be able to regulate its power output much better than a lower efficiency one

Yes but that is because nobody does good quality 80plus Bronze no more these days as you would get into an area where  Gold or better just sells better.

There was a time however where that wasn't the case.

So it doesn't directly have anything to do with 80plus, just indirectly, because of market and product restrictions.

 

2 hours ago, BubblyCharizard said:

The other good piece of advice is to not go too high from the anticipated system load or too close to it either, I usually look for something that is ~30-40% more than anticipated at load to allow for variances.

For modern PSU that is total bogus.

You don't need to do that these days as they (good quality 80plus Gold or better) are rated for 100% load 24/7 most of the times. Some Manufacturers also mention that on their Box. Like Bitfenix with their Whisper M Series. "100% Load 24/7" or something like that.

 

And the "Prime + Furmark Load" is something you barely see these days anyway. So its best to go with for something thats (barely) able to power the Prime + Furmark load of the System. Because that already is the worst case...

[TSL]

10 hours ago, jonnyGURU said:

To answer the OP's question.....

 

The DC from the PSU does not directly effect the CPU.  As Cyracus pointed out, you should strongly consider your motherboard's capabilities/quality.  The core voltage of the CPU goes through phases of voltage regulation fed by the PSU's 12V.

 

That said, poor regulation and high ripple can cause problems... but with the motherboard.  Not the CPU directly.

 

I have an Asus Z170-AR motherboard which is decent quality. So you're saying that the ripple in voltage supply from my power supply will affect my motherboard more than the CPU? I was under the impression that the motherboard cannot filter out entirely this ripple, hence it could have some impact. My reasoning is if I have a better PSU there is less voltage ripple arriving at the motherboard that could potentially affect my CPU's stability at high voltage/clocks.

[TSL]

4 hours ago, BubblyCharizard said:

although technically correct, 80plus doesn't test current/voltage variances (besides 120/240VAC inputs), it is much more likely something with a higher efficiency should be able to regulate its power output much better than a lower efficiency one

 

Best way to get (as stable as possible) power delivery (all assuming that the load on the wall socket isn't too much)

 

UPS with inverter (to deliver constant voltage) --> High quality PSU --> components with high quality VRM

 

Most off the shelf UPS's don't have an inverter, so only switch to battery when the AC voltage drops below (or above) a certain threshold, thus allowing for a momentary (albeit really short as in a few ms) loss of power....not usually enough to cause serious harm

 

The other good piece of advice is to not go too high from the anticipated system load or too close to it either, I usually look for something that is ~30-40% more than anticipated at load to allow for variances.

I don't want a UPS, I just want to know if the amount of ripple in a average PSU (like mine) will affect my CPU's stability at such speeds as I want to guarantee 5Ghz stability.

[Guest]

Certainly a better PSU can play a part, but the PSU would have to be pretty crappy to have a direct effect on the CPU.  ANYTHING "name brand" is going to be WELL UNDER 120 mV, which is defined by Intel.  Otherwise, you're only shortening the life of your motherboard with poorer quality power.

 

Unless you're using some generic PSU that advertises as a 700W when it's actually a 250W, you're fine.

[TSL]

@jonnyGURU Are you 'THE' Jonny GURU by any chance, haha?  

[TSL]

1 minute ago, jonnyGURU said:

Certainly a better PSU can play a part, but the PSU would have to be pretty crappy to have a direct effect on the CPU.  ANYTHING "name brand" is going to be WELL UNDER 120 mV, which is defined by Intel.  Otherwise, you're only shortening the life of your motherboard with poorer quality power.

 

Unless you're using some generic PSU that advertises as a 700W when it's actually a 250W, you're fine.

Ok thanks. I should be good then. (As stated above) I have the EVGA 650 G1, so no issues then I guess.

[Guest]

6 minutes ago, TSL said:

Ok thanks. I should be good then. (As stated above) I have the EVGA 650 G1, so no issues then I guess.

Yeah.  Certainly not a great PSU, but isn't going to keep you from overclocking your CPU.

 

[TSL]

3 minutes ago, jonnyGURU said:

Yeah.  Certainly not a great PSU, but isn't going to keep you from overclocking your CPU.

 

Cheers!