Question BIOS configuration with i5-13600kf ?

przemo1109

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Jan 22, 2016
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Hello, recently I bought:

  • B760M Steel Legend (I flashed the latest BIOS 4.07)
  • i5-13600kf CPU
  • DDR5 6000mhz 1.35v RAM
  • Fortis 5 dual air fan cooling

I'm a bit confused about the BIOS configuration:

1) Should PL1 be equal to PL2?

2) If PL1=PL2=181W, during CinebenchR23 stress test, I get 4.8GHz for p-core and 3.8GHz for e-core. The score is around 22700-22900. However, in all the reviews, they mention that by default, p-core should be 5.1GHz and e-core should be 3.9GHz, with scores around 23700/24000. Is there something wrong with my processor/motherboard?

3) I noticed that if I set PL1=PL2= at least 235W, then indeed, p-core reaches 5.1GHz and e-core reaches 3.9GHz, and CinebenchR23 scores around 23700-23900.

4) I tried experimenting with undervolting, but it doesn't work quite well on my B760M. I read that Intel blocked (limited?) undervolting, and it supposedly works with microcode 104, while mine is 115.

Setting vcore to fixed 1.2v significantly reduces performance in CinebenchR23. The best option seems to be Level 2 in CPU Core Voltage Compensation.

I also tried setting an offset of -100mv. During CinebenchR23, with PL1=PL2=265W and Base Freq Boost=180W, vcore dropped from 1.28v to 1.24v. The CPU Package Power result was 195W, and the temperatures were around 89 degrees. However, the performance was lowered because e-core dropped to around 3.7-3.8GHz.

I'll be completely honest: I haven't noticed any differences while gaming, maybe slight ones in Warzone 2 (built-in benchmark) when PL1=125W, PL2=181W compared to PL1=PL2=235W (around 2% difference in FPS).

Temperatures while gaming: Warzone 2 around 60-63 degrees, Cyberpunk around 70 degrees. Do you think it's worth replacing the air cooling with a water cooling system like Navis F280? Or maybe a better air cooler like dark rock 4 pro? As for temperatures during the test (CinebenchR23), for the configuration with PL1=PL2=181W, it doesn't seem too bad at 76-79 degrees with CPU Package Power around 145-150. However, for PL1=PL2=235W, the processor gets quite hot, around 95-98 degrees, unless I lower it by -100mv (which has minimal impact on performance).
 
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