WEBVTT 00:00:00.060 --> 00:00:08.700 did you know that you can increase your CPU's speed while also decreasing the 00:00:05.279 --> 00:00:10.740 energy it uses this is a common tactic 00:00:08.700 --> 00:00:13.340 called undervolting that's used by people who want to squeeze the most 00:00:12.179 --> 00:00:18.779 performance out of their system including while overclocking but how the 00:00:16.560 --> 00:00:23.100 heck is that possible and is it even a good idea to give your expensive CPU 00:00:20.939 --> 00:00:26.640 less power to find out and to get a better 00:00:24.660 --> 00:00:32.160 understanding of how CPU voltages work in general we spoke with Dan Ragland 00:00:29.340 --> 00:00:36.960 who's been the PC overclocking lead over at Intel for over five years and we'd 00:00:34.920 --> 00:00:40.440 like to thank him and Ben Benson for their contributions to this video and 00:00:39.000 --> 00:00:44.100 don't worry what we discuss in this video is relevant regardless of whether 00:00:42.360 --> 00:00:48.539 you have a team blue CPU or if you're more of an AMD person so let's get right 00:00:46.379 --> 00:00:52.140 to it the common wisdom is that if you really start pushing your CPU's clock 00:00:50.100 --> 00:00:57.180 speeds you'll probably need to increase voltages not decrease it but increasing 00:00:56.039 --> 00:01:01.379 the voltage carries some risks like you probably 00:00:59.340 --> 00:01:06.060 already know that it can increase your processor's temperature and shorten its 00:01:03.359 --> 00:01:10.799 lifespan but excessive voltages can also do this on their own even if you could 00:01:08.340 --> 00:01:16.020 somehow magically keep your CPU Cooler Than a popsicle you see both Intel and 00:01:13.320 --> 00:01:18.299 AMD processors have a reliability curve for their chips meaning there's a 00:01:17.100 --> 00:01:23.460 certain lifespan that they're expected to have at stock voltages and once you 00:01:20.759 --> 00:01:28.920 start raising that voltage you can start to expect a decrease in the lifespan 00:01:25.939 --> 00:01:33.180 exponentially a few tenths of a volt can cut years off of your CPU's life 00:01:31.439 --> 00:01:38.340 if you're constantly running at that higher voltage and another few tenths 00:01:35.640 --> 00:01:43.619 can reduce it down to Mere weeks or even days the exact curves themselves are 00:01:41.640 --> 00:01:48.420 trade secrets so they're generally not available to the public but given what 00:01:45.840 --> 00:01:52.979 we just said it's clearly better not to run your CPU at high voltages for too 00:01:50.939 --> 00:01:57.540 long hence the interest in undervalding which will save power and as put you as 00:01:55.979 --> 00:02:02.939 far on the safe side of the curve as you can be but how do you even do this 00:02:00.000 --> 00:02:07.500 properly well first you should figure out how much voltage your CPU is 00:02:04.740 --> 00:02:12.060 actually using right now under load at stock voltage settings download the free 00:02:09.479 --> 00:02:15.900 CPU-z utility open it up and run a program like cinebench or blender find 00:02:14.220 --> 00:02:19.800 the highest voltage value next to your cores on CPU-z and make a note of it 00:02:17.819 --> 00:02:24.900 afterwards head into your BIOS and find your CPU's core voltage and look for a 00:02:22.379 --> 00:02:28.860 setting labeled offset try moving that downwards make sure that you're using a 00:02:26.520 --> 00:02:32.819 negative offset in increments of 5 or 10 millivolts at a time 00:02:30.360 --> 00:02:35.340 save restart your PC and run your stress tests for a while to make sure your 00:02:34.020 --> 00:02:39.780 undervolt is stable at the frequency you're using if it is you can try to go 00:02:37.980 --> 00:02:43.200 lower and lower until you find that sweet spot where it's just basically 00:02:41.220 --> 00:02:47.400 about to get down to that crash point but you know maybe a notch or two above 00:02:45.000 --> 00:02:50.640 for maximum performance with minimal power and Heat 00:02:48.840 --> 00:02:53.400 oh it's cool but 00:02:51.840 --> 00:02:57.540 if you can get away with undervolting why do people set their voltages higher 00:02:55.440 --> 00:03:01.019 in the first place and how do they do it safely we'll tell you right after we 00:02:59.640 --> 00:03:06.060 thank grammarly for sponsoring this video grammarly is here to help you get 00:03:03.599 --> 00:03:09.060 your work done and be more productive it provides comprehensive spelling and 00:03:07.620 --> 00:03:13.560 grammar suggestions to ensure your writing is professional mistake free and 00:03:11.280 --> 00:03:17.879 Polished simply download the free desktop app log in and start typing 00:03:16.080 --> 00:03:21.420 there's also gramlock premium which provides more in-depth feedback on your 00:03:19.500 --> 00:03:24.360 writing such as tone adjustments that make you sound more confident and ensure 00:03:23.099 --> 00:03:27.959 that you're coming across the way you want to there's even a premium full 00:03:26.519 --> 00:03:32.640 sentence rewrite feature that helps you rephrase hard to read sentences for 00:03:29.519 --> 00:03:34.019 clarity go to grammarly.com techwiki to 00:03:32.640 --> 00:03:38.340 sign up for a free account and get 20 off grammarly premium today if you're 00:03:36.720 --> 00:03:43.620 really trying to push your clock speeds High you still might have to overvolt 00:03:40.860 --> 00:03:48.000 instead of undervolt and some users pushing for Max clocks also give their 00:03:45.599 --> 00:03:51.780 CPUs A Little More Voltage still just in case they hit a heavier workload than 00:03:49.440 --> 00:03:56.220 they expected as a general rule staying safe means you probably won't want to 00:03:53.819 --> 00:04:00.299 push your offset up by more than one tenth of a volt over what your stock 00:03:57.840 --> 00:04:02.879 value was from CPU-z and even then you might still be shortening your 00:04:01.379 --> 00:04:07.319 processor's lifespan if you're putting a load on it frequently of course using an 00:04:05.580 --> 00:04:11.879 offset or using adaptive mode will only push your CPU up to that maximum voltage 00:04:09.360 --> 00:04:14.159 anytime you enter a load however make sure you stay away from the override 00:04:13.200 --> 00:04:18.660 setting unless you know what you're doing because that will run your CPU at 00:04:16.380 --> 00:04:22.440 whatever voltage you set all the time that's there for folks who are into 00:04:20.579 --> 00:04:26.820 competitive overclocking or chasing some kind of Records so uh yeah probably 00:04:24.479 --> 00:04:29.699 don't use that for daily driving unless you really don't care what happens to 00:04:28.320 --> 00:04:34.380 your processor or the rest of your system oh and if you're curious adaptive mode 00:04:32.759 --> 00:04:37.699 is just an alternative to offset that allows you to define a new maximum boost 00:04:35.940 --> 00:04:41.040 frequency to go with your voltage Target but uh speaking of the rest of your 00:04:40.080 --> 00:04:48.720 system what about all those other voltage settings you see like vccsa or pmic 00:04:46.139 --> 00:04:53.340 those actually affect your memory and if you have an auto memory overclocking 00:04:50.040 --> 00:04:54.600 scheme like XMP or Expo turned on you 00:04:53.340 --> 00:04:58.979 really don't need to touch these this XMP and similar features optimize these 00:04:56.639 --> 00:05:01.860 voltages for you automatically now I know that you're watching this video 00:05:00.180 --> 00:05:06.300 because you love fiddling with the dials but sometimes 00:05:04.020 --> 00:05:08.340 that can be a really bad idea just try it in flight simulator if you don't 00:05:07.440 --> 00:05:11.880 believe me thanks for watching guys uh like dislike 00:05:10.740 --> 00:05:17.360 check out some of our other videos caught up with video suggestions down below and don't forget to subscribe and 00:05:15.120 --> 00:05:17.360 follow