New to OC, voltage wont drop at idle

[Reckoner97]

Hey guys, new to OC and I've run into an issue/question. Basically I can't get my cpu to drop voltage while idle, it constantly runs at my set 1.260v-1270v. I have a Gigabyte z170x G1 Gaming 7, I can't find any "adaptive" setting, am I blind? Is it not a gigabyte setting? Another question is what is the downside to running at this constant voltage, is that a thing? Do people do that? Anyways, thanks for answering any novice questions.

My rig:
i7 6700k @ 4.2ghz (Boost clock)
Noctua NH D15
Gigabyte z170x G1 Gaming 7
MSI 6gb 980 ti
16 gb ddr4 ram @ 2133hz

 

[Reckoner97]

Changing llc will drop your load voltage but maybe at the cost of stability, irregardless a constant voltage of under 1.3v isn't going to hurt your CPU in any way at all

Im glad to hear that, but do you now if I can control my fan speed even with a constant voltage? I cant find adaptive anywhere Ive seen it on other boards, and idk what offset is where would that be located under? Ive dug all over the bios for adaptive

 

[madmatt30]

CPU voltage has nothing to do with fan speed mate at all.

CPU load & temps are what will affect fan speeds.
At low loads even with that constant voltage your CPU temps are only going to be 1-2c highee than if it were auto undervolting to below 1v.

Your board vrm will run constantly warmer than on auto is all, on a quality board like you own that's of little importance though.

 

[Reckoner97]

As for fan speed the only thing I can tell is causing them is the increase in voltage, the temps arent much higher. Ill poke around for fan control but I don't want the fans to become damaged or anything but i suppose that's what they're meant for

 

[Ryan_78]

Download speed fan to control fan speeds. Just keep the CPU a t a respectable temperature. Also you can set fan curve and max speed

 

[Reckoner97]

OKAY! So I think I found the solution, guys! I set my cpu voltage from auto to normal, then used dynamic vcore I believe it was; to subtract .080v and now it can idle at a low 0.300v and the max I've seen the voltage hit is 1.260v, which should be enough to power the auto boost of 4.2ghz. I haven't ran a stress test but I'm pretty sure this is the solution.

 

[Ryan_78]

yea hopefully it works well!
cheers!

 

[madmatt30]

^ reckoner - that's what I meant by offset , obviously not called that in your bios though.

 

[Ryan_78]

"check if there is a setting for EIST or the speed stepping setting. Set any voltages and speed to dynamic?"

welp

 

[Reckoner97]

Very new to fiddling with the bios sorry for the misunderstanding and the consistent help both of you

 

[Reckoner97]

And I suppose I can OC this way too? If I need more voltage, I can just reduce the offset, correct?

 

[Ryan_78]

Yea probably. If changin the offset provides more voltage, then yes. And then OC until you need more than the voltage when offset is 0, then that's where you add voltage, but I doubt that you'll need that much.

 

[Reckoner97]

Yea probably. If changin the offset provides more voltage, then yes. And then OC until you need more than the voltage when offset is 0, then that's where you add voltage, but I doubt that you'll need that much.

Sorry to bother you again, what stress tests would you suggest using to ensure a stable OC? Should I have a consistent voltage or am I cool using an offset?

 

[Ryan_78]

For 4.2 you could probably live with offset, providing that your clock speed goes down when idle right?
So for stress testing use prime95, aida64, and Intel burn test, maybe occt. Test for one hour each, maybe more if you want to, but one hour is sufficient in my opinion. Even though some might say 24 hr stable, but really... Run one hour on each, if it errors then set to constant voltage and test, if it still errors, set the voltage little higher

 

[Reckoner97]

For 4.2 you could probably live with offset, providing that your clock speed goes down when idle right?
So for stress testing use prime95, aida64, and Intel burn test, maybe occt. Test for one hour each, maybe more if you want to, but one hour is sufficient in my opinion. Even though some might say 24 hr stable, but really... Run one hour on each, if it errors then set to constant voltage and test, if it still errors, set the voltage little higher

Yeah my voltage does drop on idle now. TLDR: Stress test, if errors, decrease the offset to give more voltage. Do I have to have a constant voltage to test it or am I good to keep it where it powers down on idle?

 

[Ryan_78]

I guess keep it o lower on idle for now. Since it is only at 4.2, doing so will not trigger the undercurrent protection switch on your PSU. If you were to do higher clocks and voltages though, set to constant. I guess it's fine for you right now.

 

[Reckoner97]

Just curious why I would want the constant voltage? It does underclock when I'm not using it right now and I like that is that not possible when I overclock it to like 4.6? Is it like unhealthy to down clock or something on Idle?

 

[madmatt30]

^ I think personally you're doing it exactly the right way mate.
All my rigs are overclocked & I wouldn't even consider keeping a constant load voltage even at idle or low usage.
If that dynamic vcore can be used to lower & raise the stock voltage incrementally there's no reason not to use it.

The only proviso is if pushing bigger overclocks its possible to get vdroop under heavy load.

You would normally use the llc setting in bios to counteract this although your board is quality & this shouldnt really be an issue.

 

[Ryan_78]

^ I think personally you're doing it exactly the right way mate.
All my rigs are overclocked & I wouldn't even consider keeping a constant load voltage even at idle or low usage.
If that dynamic vcore can be used to lower & raise the stock voltage incrementally there's no reason not to use it.

The only proviso is if pushing bigger overclocks its possible to get vdroop under heavy load.

You would normally use the llc setting in bios to counteract this although your board is quality & this shouldnt really be an issue.

Well the only thing is worrying about protection like undercurrent and stuff from the PSU, but it shouldn't be a problem. And yes even under my current 4.5 with 1.44 I get some vdroop to 1.428. But I mean it's not a big problem life/death

 

[madmatt30]

^ you'd be likely better off setting your voltage to 1.38 or thereabouts with llc to high or extreme.
I'd expect the ud3p to run a 4300@4.5ghz under 1.4v in all honesty.

 

[Ryan_78]

^ you'd be likely better off setting your voltage to 1.38 or thereabouts with llc to high or extreme.
I'd expect the ud3p to run a 4300@4.5ghz under 1.4v in all honesty.

well I don't think I got a good chip lol. it just errors on 4.3 with stock, even +2 increments 🙁

EDIT: well nvm. you even helped me. I realized that VCore LLC was set to normal for some reason. I remember changing it when oc, but never checked back. it must have set back when I had to reset CMOS when I was attempting to OC RAM. I'm doing some tests right now to see how it holds up at 1.39-1.39v. lets see.
well you d learn something new everyday.
edit 2: 1.38v with LLC extreme is looks pretty good right now