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Intel-undervolt: CPU undervolting and throttling configuration tool for Linux

(github.com)
132 points cl3misch | 1 comments | 17 Jun 24 22:44 UTC | HN request time: 0.244s | source
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hu3 ◴[18 Jun 24 14:26 UTC] No.40718245[source]▶
I slightly undervolted an i7 11800H by -100mV.

That resulted in a -10C average CPU temperature. Massive!

I don't remember last time I heard the fans. Not even with Docker + Jetbrains IDEs.

I wonder why doesn't it come like this by default. It runs faster too because it's no longer frequently thermal throttled.

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Out_of_Characte ◴[18 Jun 24 15:19 UTC] No.40718806[source]▶
Because not all chips will be stable at -100mV Intel is providing the chip with warranty/guarantee that the chip performs 'up to' spec.

Is your chip completely stable in all workloads? Would it be stable at 90c? when all Dram slots are occupied? When driving all pcie lanes at max?

I bet that you could make any chip unstable with the right tools and knowledge.

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hu3 ◴[18 Jun 24 15:30 UTC] No.40718960[source]▶
At the time, I ran a CPU stress test which put all cores at full load for a couple of hours.

Then I ran RAM tests.

Then I ran NVMe stress tests.

Then I ran GPU stress tests (NVIDIA GPU is underclocked).

Then I ran all of these tests together.

Worked butter smooth. Not a crash to this day.

To be fair, -100mV is on the safe side according to the articles I read at the time. Some folks run at -200mV or less. I don't need that kind of tweak.

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1. RealStickman_ ◴[20 Jun 24 21:01 UTC] No.40743323[source]▶
When undervolting with an offset, most of the crashes I had were when the CPU state changed. Opening a browser and playing a video from idle, starting a transcode, stuff like that.

The only way to test is, unfortunately, to use it until it crashes.