High VCore vs load line calibration 2500K

[AlfBaxter]

I'm running a 2500K on an AsRock Z68 Extreme4, with a Thermaltake toughpower 675W. My 2500K is prime stable at 4.4GHz with either 1.26V, LLC on lowest setting (level 5, max VDroop) or 1.165V, LLC on highest setting (level 1, no VDroop).

Without LLC and 1.26V in BIOS, VCore under load droops a lot on my setup, to around 1.16-1.17V. And with LLC on max and 1.165V in BIOS, VCore stays between 1.16-1.165V. Is there any reason to prefer high VCore and no LLC, or low VCore and high LLC?

 

[FrenchTart]

I'd have thought that low vcore and high LLC would be best as low LLC and high vcore just means that you're needlessly pumping in extra volts at times.

 

[Mr Krugga]

Choose setting with the lowest possible vdroop.

 

[AlfBaxter]

Choose setting with the lowest possible vdroop.

Thanks, but the question wasn't which LLC setting to use - I already know which has the lowest VDroop (level 1). The question was whether it's better to use a low VCore and a high LLC or a higher VCore, but lowest LLC. The two alternatives give the same stability and temperatures under load, because they result in the same VCore under load.

I was just wondering whether there's any real difference between the two options - and like FrenchTart says, one is that when idle, the high LLC option has a lower VCore. I keep reading that VDroop is a design feature, not a failure - is there a downside to disabling it?