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CPU Vcore Dropping under Load

ghop

ghop

ghop

Associate
Joined
23 May 2008
Posts
393
Location
Essex
I recently bought myself an AMD X6 setup and it's all great. The chip has a 1.275 Vcore and it's all really smooth and fast. However, my problem is there seems to be a lot of Vdroop on this board (Asus M4A89GTD Pro). I have it set to 1.275 in the BIOS, which drops down to about 1.24ish in Windows and then when I run Prime95 it drops to 1.2v exactly. I've had no stability issues as of yet. I ran Prime95 overnight and it was still going strong when I woke up in the morning so stablity isn't an issue, it's just it seems quite a big drop, especially from the voltage specified in the BIOS. It's also getting rather hot for a chip running at 1.2v. the CPU temp has gotten to about 50 today (very hot day admittedly) under full prime95 load. Last night when it was a bit cooler, it got to 45 under full load. This is all under an AC7 Pro V2 which is a pretty cheap cooler admittedly. I've never had AMD before so I don't know what to expect TBH. Someone put my mind at rest please :p
 
Hi ghop, most mobo's suffer VD, some worse than other's, as you say everthing is sound no prob's so no need to worry m8.:)

Don't forget summer's coming so temp's will rise, but you could check and see if the CPU Cooler is seated right. Also apply a good thermal paste MX2 or MX3, the AC7 Pro V2 is good upto 3.2GHZ. :)
 
OLDPHART said:
Hi ghop, most mobo's suffer VD, some worse than other's, as you say everthing is sound no prob's so no need to worry m8.:)

Don't forget summer's coming so temp's will rise, but you could check and see if the CPU Cooler is seated right. Also apply a good thermal paste MX2 or MX3, the AC7 Pro V2 is good upto 3.2GHZ. :)
Click to expand...

Thanks: So I should only be worrying if I have instability? It's not shortening the life of my CPU or anything? :) I'm running 3.4ghz atm but the lower volts offset it. Do my temps seem normal for a hot day running a AC7 Pro? (about 35 idle, 50 load) at 3.4ghz with 1.2ish volts?
 
VDrop and VDroop are entirely normal.

As said, some mobo's suffer more than others.


My X58-DS4 is currently running my i7 920 (C0) at 1.225V (BIOS), which drops to 1.184V in Windows and then droops to 1.168V loaded.


From a quick Google of your motherboard, you could (if you haven't already) enable Load Line Calibration. This can help to reduce VDroop, sometimes eliminating it altogether.

HOWEVER, it has been shown to cause voltage spikes (no source), and so many people recommend not enabling it.


I personally don't use it as after much testing I've found it to cause instabilities in a previously stable system.



Your temps (from the very little I know of AMD) seem fine. Your CPU's life won't be affected by VDrop/Droop at all. :)
 
That's good to hear. My Vdroop overall is .75v I think, from what's set in the mobo to fully loaded so only a bit more than yours. If this amount is normal then I can stop worrying and start enjoying my system :)
 
This is odd. I set it at 3.8ghz 1.3V and instead of dropping under load, it increases itself to 1.33v. Very odd :p Guessing my board gives the CPU more volts if it needs it and less if it doesn't need it. Very strange I must admit!
 
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