Undervolt doesn't work?

[JJJ5579]

Hi,

I'm fairly new to the whole undervolting process, and i realised that undervolting doesn't seem to help that much. (11th Gen Intel Core i5 11400H) My temps are still high and I've even tried to disable the virtualisation settings in BIOS, but nothing really changed. My throttlestop settings below:

 

[unclewebb]

undervolting doesn't seem to help that much

That is true. If you are power limit throttling, reducing the voltage will allow you to run the CPU faster. Power consumption and heat stay pretty much the same. Any drop in temperatures is always far less than what users hope for.

Your undervolt appears to be working correctly. The 11400H has a 45W TDP power rating. When the turbo power limits are set to 70W and 85W, it is going to run hot. You can reduce the power limits but that is going to reduce maximum performance. Modern laptops with Intel CPUs are a no win situation.

 

[JJJ5579]

So is it even worth using throttlestop then? Should i just disable turbo boost instead?

 

[unclewebb]

So is it even worth using ThrottleStop then?

I would recommend that you keep using ThrottleStop. Undervolting helps a little but it might not completely solve your cooling problem.

If you want to slow your CPU down I would not use Disable Turbo. Keep adjusting the Speed Shift Max value in the TPL window like you are already doing.

Intel mobile CPUs are designed to run safely up to 100°C. How bad are your temperatures? Turn on the Log File option while playing a game. Everyone lives in fear that their CPU is going to have a melt down. The reality is that thermal throttling does a great job to protect Intel CPUs from any long term damage.

 

[JJJ5579]

Here's my log file. Is the turbo boost supposed to cool more than lowering the speed shift max value? Because so far it seems like it does by around 7-12 degrees.

I'm not certain that my temps are hot, but sometimes when I run less demanding games it can get rather hot. Around what temperature is considered even 'slightly bad' for my laptop cpu? I keep finding different answers online. I only had this gaming laptop for around 4 months.

I've tried to lower the speed shift max value to 20 but the difference was quite unnoticable.

 

[unclewebb]

The log file shows that your computer hits a peak temperature of 80°C for a couple of seconds and most of the time it is running a lot cooler than that. The default Intel thermal throttling temperature is set to 100°C and your laptop has reduced this to 95°C so the CPU will be extra safe.

Around what temperature is considered even 'slightly bad' for my laptop cpu?

No temperature is considered bad for your CPU. Intel thermal throttling slows the CPU down automatically before it has any chance of getting too hot. There is no need to monitor or micro manage your CPU. Let it run at its Intel rated speed.

 

[JJJ5579]

Thanks for the reply

I've decided that I'll only worry when my temps hit 85° C or above, since I don't get performance issues below that temp.

I have two more questions:

1. I was running a gpu intense game, therefore the CPU temps weren't so high. If I ran a more CPU intensive game would my temps go much higher?

2. Do my turbo power limits have any relation to my speed shift max whatsoever? If my speed shift max was at 30, can my PL2 be higher than 30?

 

[unclewebb]

You will need to test your computer to answer your questions. Speed Shift Max and the turbo power limits are two different and unrelated things.