Voltage and TDP question

Solution


To be...
The TDP is a fixed number and is essentially what the CPU draws at stock settings. This is different from actual power draw which can be far above that... when OC'd with increased voltage, a 5960x can approach 300 watts .... the 4770k, 4790k, 6700k can reach 130 watts

You can track Power usage with HWiNFO (run sensors only)
 

theisrafil

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I have HWiNFO but it doesn't show how much TDP my cpu is using atm :( only shows my vcore.
 

theisrafil

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So when I increase the voltage, TDP stays the same or is it increasing too?
 

CompuTronix

Intel Master
Moderator
theisrafil,

As Jack has already stated, Thermal Design Power (TDP) is a fixed number because it's an Intel Specification which is expressed in Watts.

When you overclock, you change the amount of Power your processor dissipates, which is also expressed in Watts.

When you overclock and overvolt a 95 Watt TDP processor to 125 Watts, you will exceed Thermal Design Power (TDP) by nearly 32%.

Power = Watts

TDP is a Specification, not an active measurement. But in various monitoring utilities, Power or Watts is an active measurement.

Got it?

CT :sol:
 


Again, the TDP is a calculated number; it exists "on paper". The only way to change it is to get the spec sheet, put some "white out" on the number and type over it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_design_power

Use the mouse to scroll down in HWiNFO, scroll below the core temps section to the next section and look for the "power consumption" numbers that have a W next to them

 

theisrafil

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Okay, lets say you have a 120w max tdp mobo for cpu and you installed a 120w cpu. When you increase the voltage in bios, will it damage the mobo or not?
 

CompuTronix

Intel Master
Moderator
theisrafil,

Manufacturers of CPU's, GPU's motherboards and memory which are designed with the intent of overclocking, expect and anticipate that their products will be used for this purpose, and know that TDP values could be exceeded by perhaps 50% or more.

However, depending on the quality and durability of the product, overclocking typically won't damage these parts, IF cooling is at least adequate, and overclocking is approached in a responsible manner which involves a little research, some carefully applied knowledge and a healthy dose of common sense.

CT :sol:
 


If its a MoBo w/ a chipset which supports overclocking, can't say I have ever seen a MoBo with a TDP rating.

 

theisrafil

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Okay, lets say you have a 120w max tdp mobo for cpu and you installed a 120w cpu. When you increase the voltage in bios, will it damage the mobo or not?
 
I don't know that i can answer the same question differently a 2nd time. AFAIK, the term TDP has not been applied to any Intel MoBo design in this millenium

So I just don't know how to answer a question that begins with "Lets say you have a 120w max tdp mobo ... " when to the best of my knowledge, after 23 years of building PCs, such a thing does not exist, at least in this day and age and with Intel based designs.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_design_power

The thermal design power (TDP), sometimes called thermal design point, is the maximum amount of heat generated by a computer chip or component (often the CPU or GPU) that the cooling system in a computer is designed to dissipate in typical operation. Rather than specifying CPU's real power dissipation, TDP serves as the nominal value for designing CPU cooling systems

I do remember however that a small amount of AMD MoBo designs had a socket into which you **could** put an AMD CPU that **could** draw too much heat for that mobo. For example, very low end AM3+ boards might not be quite robust enough in their design for example to support high-wattage AMD CPU designs. But we have not been asked to build an AMD box in over 7 years so I'm not in a position to comment other than "Ask AMD". If such a thing exists, somebody made a big design oops.
 

oczdude8

Distinguished


What mobo and cpu do you have in mind exactly?
 

theisrafil

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I have an asrock n68c-gs fx mobo and a FX-4100 cpu. Mobo is max 95w max tdp for the cpu and the cpu is 95w. Let's say I bump the core voltage in bios a bit, will the pc explode?
 

oczdude8

Distinguished


To be honest, I've never done something like that (I've never overclocked on low-end boards), but realistically I don't think a little increase will have any issues with your mobo being damaged.

Your motherboard is pretty basic and thus has very simple power circuitry for the cpu. This has 2 implications for you:
1. (Dealbreaker) because the circuitry is so simple, it may not even give you a nice stable vcore, which means you will have an instable overclock.
2. When you ask for more power, it will get hotter then normal, requiring better cooling.

In any case, if you really want to try it, go ahead, but make sure the temperatures on your motherboard don't get excessively hot. Obviously proceed in very small increments, and observe the outcome. I think Jack posted some good guides on OCing your particular CPU.
 
Solution