Why not use speed-step..

[trog100]

it works 100% on my system.. ???

sweet and cool for 90% of up time.. why not..

trog

 

[Fitseries3]

i use it. it keeps your system running happy even when overclocked.

 

[Nitro-Max]

When just web browsing i do the same turn all my fans to low so its nice and quiet and save on my energy bill you dont need major overclocking just for that.

It does seem to effect benchmarks results though.

 

[Kreij]

Other than benching, the only reason I could see wanting to shut off SS is if you want to check idle power consumption with the processor at it's max frequency.

 

[vega22]

ss isnt any trouble on mine but the one that drops the volts as well is what kills my system. it used to run fine at 3ghz as that was only one 1.35v but as i need more now to run 3.2ghz 24/7 i turned it all off.

 

[mandelore]

hmm.. i dont even bother taking it off while benching, ive seen no difference between enabling/disabling speedstep

 

[Ripper3]

Frankly, when Speedstep is enabled, if it's stepping the processor speed down, it's because the processor can handle the work given to it at a lower speed, so it shouldn't affect benching at all, since the CPU will either be at 100%, or else if it's something not very CPU intensive, it can lower the speed, and keep up just fine.

 

[trog100]

curious to know how speed step works for different people.. it just works on my system..

the volts drop from what i have set them to with my overclock by a percentage amount.. 1.35 down to 1.27.. the multiplier jumps from 6 to 9 with about 8% cpu useage. it dosnt affect my benching scores or stability in the slightest..

i dont have any in between speeds just the two..

i think but aint sure it works differently for other mobos.. the volts might drop to a too low default level or more cpu usage is needed for it to speed up.. ????

it also seems standard clocking practise to advise it be turned off.. but being as mine works so sweetly i aint sure its good advice.. but is mine unusual.. dunno..

trog

 

[sneekypeet]

no issues with speed step here either...have booted to 4.0GHz with it enabled....Nothing like the old days of Cn'Q from AMD.

I run mine now at 3.6 24/7 with speed step, love it saves pennies while I talk to all of you , but in a millisecond I can be at full speed.

 

[Kreij]

The reason that I shut it off when benching is that I am usually tweaking the OCs at the time prior to benching. When the system is sitting idle, I can check everything to be sure it is a I think it should be before running the bench.

No really necessary, but it allows me to jump back into the BIOS to make an adjustment if I see something amiss without having to start a bench run.

When I am not OC'ing it's always on. No need to piddle away more money for electricity if I am just balancing my checkbook or something.

 

[Polaris573]

It can cause instability during high overclocking. Other than that there isn't really any reason to turn it off.

 

[W1zzard]

It can cause instability during high overclocking. Other than that there isn't really any reason to turn it off.

yep

 

[AsRock]

Been using it since i got this mobo. Clocks my CPU down to 1.8GHz. Shame it don't work as good in overclocking only goes too 3.15GHz.

 

[Mussels]

^ what those two said. It works on SOME systems fine, but dodgy on others.

Not all motherboards obey the rules and disable the voltage controls when OCing + speedstep.

Lets say it dropped to 1.2V with a 6x multi at stock, some board would drop you to 1.2v at idle no matter what settings you did - if you were 400MHz higher, 1.2v might not cut it.

 

[farlex85]

I turned on C1E and left speed step off. What is the difference between the two? Should I have both on? As far as I can tell, they both do the exact same thing.

 

[lowflyer]

I currently use it and I've often wondered if it hinders benchmarks...So you guys all think that it really makes no difference?

 

[Mussels]

it doesnt hinder benchmarks, only stability (possibly)
C1E is another setting that controls idle states.

http://www.techarp.com/showarticle.aspx?artno=407&pgno=1

this page has info on C1E and speedstep, and how they differ.
To be honest i've had stability issues with EIST (speedstep) and my temps went down 10c turning C1E off (when OC'd)

 

[trog100]

i think its likely to make a system thats right on the edge of stability less stable.. but not a stable one..

mine is okay at 4 gig.. vcore at 1.35.. speed-stepped down (most of my PC up time) its at 2.7 gig vcore at 1.27 volts..

stock setting is 3 gig vcore at 1.225.. speed-stepped down from my overlcock puts it at a lower core speed than default but still with a higher vcore..

its running a 33% overcock and is 100% stable with speed-step on.. but a 33% overlcock is a 24/7 stable overlcock..

i watched mine the other night while downloading several gigs of news group data.. just under every two seconds it blipped up and straight back down.. little quick bursts of 8% cpu usage.. lets say a speed change from 2.7 gig to 4 gig 40 odd times a minute..

2400 times an hour or 24000 times over a ten hour download.. remarkable but perfectly stable..

on my system it works.. but thats just my system.. i have put it to the test thow..

prior to that i "assumed" it would make the system unstable.. i was proved wrong..

trog

ps.. it dosnt make the slightest difference in "my " benchmarks.. it been on for the last month for me and its entirely transparent in use.. except when i look at cpu-z.. he he

 

[imperialreign]

I've noticed with my setup, when the cores clock down, it can take quite a bit longer opening up an application than when they're still running full speed.

If I leave it disabled, applications open in a snap, whereas with it enabled, it might take a good 10-15 seconds sometimes.

I think it's slightly related to running DDR3, also . . .

 

[trog100]

I've noticed with my setup, when the cores clock down, it can take quite a bit longer opening up an application than when they're still running full speed.

If I leave it disabled, applications open in a snap, whereas with it enabled, it might take a good 10-15 seconds sometimes.

I think it's slightly related to running DDR3, also . . .

sounds like something is wrong.. even if my cpu didnt step up from 2.7 gig to 4 gig i wouldnt notice the difference.. snap to 15 seconds shouldnt happen..

trog

ps.. but what triggers the in my case instant step up.. a very small call on the cpu seems the case for me.. as little as 8%.. praps for some it needs more..???

 

[imperialreign]

sounds like something is wrong.. even if my cpu didnt step up from 2.7 gig to 4 gig i wouldnt notice the difference.. snap to 15 seconds shouldnt happen..

trog

I agree - kinda why I'm thinking it might be partially related to running DDR3, though . . .

 

[Darknova]

I disable it because it HAS to be off to change the multi, and my chip (or board) doesn't like booting it at 3.3Ghz, so I have to reduce the multi to 9x to get the memory speed I desire.

Otherwise, I would have it on.

 

[Nitro-Max]

I helped a guy out the other day getting low 3dmark 06 results when overclocked i got him to dissable speedstep in the bios and his results were much much better.

 

[Megasty]

With my Q6600, when I OC'd it to 3.2, 3.4, & 3.6 & turned C1E & EIST it was fine but when OC'd to 3.8, 4.0, & 4.2 the sys couldn't handle either, crashing & BSOD at every corner of booting. The reason was mainly voltage. It needed that 1.5-1.6v to stay stable at those clocks with the lower multiplier, especially 6x. With them off, it was stable while booting & benching so go figure. I just turn it down to 3.6 to save some green.

 

[Kursah]

@ 3.5 @ 1.34, I idle at 3.0 @ 1.21v, at 3.36 @ 1.28, idle at 2.88 @ 1.16...haven't had any issues at all. Works like a charm, haven't had any issues. I do recommend disabling while OC-ing...but that's more my personal preference.

I did have some stability issues on my P5B Deluxe at higher OC's with EIST/C1E on, but my P35 DFI is rock solid stable with the same features enabled...I figure it doesn't hurt to run a little slower and cooler when not gaming.