Underclocking my CPU made my PC faster?!

[Rafael Mestdag]

How is that possible? I did it because I wanted to reduce the cpu temperature which was going through the roof. Now the temps are fine across the 4 cores and even under stress(gaming) it never goes over 51.5 ºC(It used to reach up to 58-60 ºC)

Is this even possible?

Phenom II X4 945
nVidia GT630
Seagate 500GB 7200 Rpm SATA II
Asus M2N68-AM
4GB RAM DDR2
PSU: Generic 500 Watts

PS: The only downside I've seen so far to this underclocking is that the games lag a bit more, other than that they're performing just like before.

 

[synphul]

It would be possible if you were hitting high temps and causing your cpu to throttle or downclock itself to prevent overheating. When a cpu throttles it downclocks itself and it's possible that it was lowering the cpu frequency to a point lower than your current 'underclocked' status. Even though you underclocked your cpu may be allowed to run faster than it was while throttling accounting for better performance by comparison. If the cpu had been able to run full out at its original speeds then it would have performed faster than your current settings.

On a side note, do you know what case you have? I'm assuming you're using the stock cooler. Depending how much room your case has, how big of a cooler it will fit, you could try an aftermarket cooler like a 212 evo or cryorig h7 and see if you can't get your temps down under load. That way you may not have to underclock it and overcome the thermal throttling, get the full performance of your cpu.

 

[utroz]

You may need to change your thermal paste as sometimes it can get dried out and stop working well. Check to see if your heatsink is clogged, a good cleaning can help too. Your cpu should not throttle at factory settings...

 

[Chicano]

CPUs are designed to slow down when they heat up approaching the limit temperature they can withstand and can eventually shutdown if the temp gets high enough... but, 58-60ºC is not enough to make it slow down enough to even notice it, so if you're noticing it slowing down, it's possible the temp you're getting shown is not accurate.

Suggestions to be applied as necessary:

1. Start by trying different temp reading programs

2. Install a program such as Security Task Manager, run virus and malware scans to see if any hidden process or virus-malware is putting abnormal loads on the CPU.

3. Try configuring the Windows and BIOS Power Saving Options so the CPU slows down or increases frequency as needed.

4. Refresh the thermal grease. I'd sugggest a graphite based or silver based thermal grease.

5. Switch the CPU cooler

6. Get a cooler case

 

[maxalge]

CPUs are designed to slow down when they heat up approaching the limit temperature they can withstand and can eventually shutdown if the temp gets high enough... but, 58-60ºC is not enough to make it slow down enough to even notice it, so if you're noticing it slowing down, it's possible the temp you're getting shown is not accurate.

Suggestions to be applied as necessary:

1. Start by trying different temp reading programs

2. Install a program such as Security Task Manager, run virus and malware scans to see if any hidden process or virus-malware is putting abnormal loads on the CPU.

3. Try configuring the Windows and BIOS Power Saving Options so the CPU slows down or increases frequency as needed.

4. Refresh the thermal grease. I'd sugggest a graphite based or silver based thermal grease.

5. Switch the CPU cooler

6. Get a cooler case

on intel cpus you would be correct, however he has an amd cpu


those are the temps they begin to throttle at

 

[Chicano]

Are you saying AMD CPUs don't throttle down, or that that those temps don't correspond with AMD CPUs?...

 

[maxalge]

Are you saying AMD CPUs don't throttle down, or that that those temps don't correspond with AMD CPUs?...

i am saying amd cpu's begin to throttle at around those temperatures


intel cpu's have a higher throttle point

 

[Rafael Mestdag]

Are you saying AMD CPUs don't throttle down, or that that those temps don't correspond with AMD CPUs?...

i am saying amd cpu's begin to throttle at around those temperatures


intel cpu's have a higher throttle point

Does that explain why I'm not being able to successfuly OC? Because of the temperatures? Is that it?

 

[Chicano]

Well, my AMD motherboard BIOS has the CPU Temp Warning setting starting at 60ºC.... if that's to high for AMD CPUs, why would the motherboard manufacturer set the earliest warning above the temp when the CPU has throttled down?.. If that were the case the warning would never come on. The following temps to select are 70, 80, 90ºC... So why would the motherboard manufacturer (Gigabyte) provide a warning temp where the CPU has already fried?... There's no logic to it.

BTW.. I once had the setting on the lowest setting 60ºC, and the motherboard kept making an intermittent faint buzz... meaning probably that the CPU had reached 60ºC but it was not throttling down... I selected the 70ºC setting and the buzz stopped.. I had no issues before, during or after that. That was two or three summers ago.. The CPU always runs in the 30's and sometimes 40's... the most it has ever reached is low 50's though I don't recall what it was when it was buzzing but it was not throttling down for sure.

 

[maxalge]

Well, my AMD motherboard BIOS has the CPU Temp Warning setting starting at 60ºC.... if that's to high for AMD CPUs, why would the motherboard manufacturer set the earliest warning above the temp when the CPU has throttled down?.. If that were the case the warning would never come on. The following temps to select are 70, 80, 90ºC... So why would the motherboard manufacturer (Gigabyte) provide a warning temp where the CPU has already fried?... There's no logic to it.

BTW.. I once had the setting on the lowest setting 60ºC, and the motherboard kept making an intermittent faint buzz... meaning probably that the CPU had reached 60ºC but it was not throttling down... I selected the 70ºC setting and the buzz stopped.. I had no issues before, during or after that. That was two or three summers ago.. The CPU always runs in the 30's and sometimes 40's... the most it has ever reached is low 50's though I don't recall what it was when it was buzzing but it was not throttling down for sure.

because amd processors are notorious for not reporting temperatures properly


you are better off using amd overdrive to see your thermal overheads