Undervolting 4790K with Maximus VII Hero

[Homework_grind]

I built a PC that I'd like to stay as quiet as possible, with a 4790K cooled by a NH-D14.

I did not overclock due to the noise concerns. Turbo up to 4.4GHz is on.

Things I've done:
-flash BIOS to the latest version
-turn on XMP for 1866MHz 9-10-9-27 RAM
-change "CPU Core Voltage Override" from "Auto" to "Adaptive mode"
-change "Offset Mode Sign" from "+" to "-"
-change "CPU Core Voltage Offset" from "Auto" to "0.044" (0.045 crashes during Prime95)

Given the plethora of "power", "voltage", and such options in the BIOS, is there anything I can do to undervolt even more without affecting the CPU's clock speed and stability?

 

[i7Baby]

Install and use your mobo uefi and drop Vcore.

 

[Homework_grind]

Install and use your mobo uefi and drop Vcore.

Apologies if I didn't make it clear enough in the original post, but I already did that. I'm interested in finding out if I can do better.

 

[i7Baby]

I'd say - 0,045V is about it.

 

[DubbleClick]

You did pretty much everything you can do. The only thing left would be turning off LLC (Load Line Calibration), which will require you to increase the voltage a bit again. It's nevertheless preferable because LLC might kick in quite high voltages when going from load to idle.
Another note: If -0.045 crashes, I'd stay at about -0.040 at most. Just to be on the safe side. You won't gain anything from that 0.005v drop.

 

[Homework_grind]

...turning off LLC (Load Line Calibration)...

Maximus VII Hero doesn't have an "off" option for LLC. It just goes from "Level 1" to "Level 9", so I made it Level 1 (it was on Level 8 before). I noticed a drop of about 4°C under load after the change. Prime95 v26.6 (to avoid unrealistic temperatures with v28.5) small FFT test has been stable so far with no increase in Vcore (still -0.044).

Should I try to decrease voltage further, since the current voltage is stable?

 

[i7Baby]

Yes

 

[DubbleClick]

If -0.045 crashed, then don't push the voltage down further. It won't have any benefit for you but higher likelyhood of bsod's.

 

[Homework_grind]

Thank you for all the help. I decided to go for lower voltages anyway since as far as I know, undervolting is risk-free and won't damage my hardware any more than normal usage would. The original goal to reduce temperatures to achieve lower noise has been achieved.

 

[DubbleClick]

Great to hear. And yeah, as long as the system remains stable and doesn't crash, there is nothing to fear.