Simply seeking some feedback on these voltage values.

[Squidmaster7]

Hi everyone, for years I had been running my processors and RAM at stock voltages but recently Ive tried to learn more about acceptable ranges in an effort to reduce temps etc. Id like to list out my voltage (getting these from hwinfo64) and gather everyone feedback.

System:

Mobo: Asus Maximus X Hero wifi
Processor: Intel 8700 non-k
RAM: GSKILL 3200mhz cl14

Voltages under load (in Windows, they differ from UEFI slighlty)

VCORE: 1.2v (In the UEFI its listed as like .850 or something, I have a negative offset of .170 in the UEFI)
VCCSA: 1.04 (value is 1.0125 in UEFI)
VCCIO: 1.04 (value is 1.0125 in UEFI)
DRAM: 1.32 (XMP default was 1.35, I was able to lower to 1.32 without memory errors. I ran memtest while I was at work and got no errors. Going to 1.31 gave errors very quickly)

I greatly appreciate y'all taking a look at these and providing feedback. Ive also gone in and upped the power limits (turbo boost duration I think?) in the BIOS. For now, temps are amazing and Im very pleased. It sucks that the default voltages are so high and that MCE is turned on by default!

[Silent_Scone]

VID can vary quite dramatically between CPU samples, but for a non K processor I wouldn't concern yourself too much with this. The rest really comes down to your own CPU, too.
Memtest86+ is not a good indication of memory stability on modern platforms. You want to be using Ramtest or HCI for this purpose.

That said, there's nothing wrong with 1.35v. When we start to lower voltages for the sake of lowering them is when it's easy to come unstuck.

[HiVizMan]

Hello there squid,

you state you want to better manage temperature but provided no indication of what your temps are like at idle or under any kind of load. When you do provide that detail please do include ambient temp and what kind of cooling you use.

Memtest+ is a very good tool to test memory stability before installing or connecting a OS drive to a system. It will give you a sense of what will work with a memory overclock, timings adjustment or what ever changes have been done to the dram.

However there is so much more at play when determining stability and stability means different stuff to different people. We can discuss that more if you like. But suffice to say that all passing any stress test does is show that at that particular moment your system was able to pass that test.

Will check back later and see if you have responded.

[Squidmaster7]

HiVizMan wrote:
Hello there squid,

you state you want to better manage temperature but provided no indication of what your temps are like at idle or under any kind of load. When you do provide that detail please do include ambient temp and what kind of cooling you use.

Memtest+ is a very good tool to test memory stability before installing or connecting a OS drive to a system. It will give you a sense of what will work with a memory overclock, timings adjustment or what ever changes have been done to the dram.

However there is so much more at play when determining stability and stability means different stuff to different people. We can discuss that more if you like. But suffice to say that all passing any stress test does is show that at that particular moment your system was able to pass that test.

Will check back later and see if you have responded.

Hi HiVizMan,

I am using a Cryorig H5 heatsink with a Noctua fan on it. All of my temps are fine (low 30s in idle, maybe low 60s to upper 60s in high load such as a Battlefield 1 or a benchmark). Case is a Meshify C. Two front intake 140mm Noctua fans. One exhaust Noctua fan in back by the IO ports.*

As far as what I consider stable, obviously not crashing at high loads is important but Im not going to be running benchmarks all day for the rest of my life. I just want to game with no problems.

Do you think there is any sense in not just sticking with the XMP DRAM voltage of 1.35? For now I ave manually input all of the XMP values and lowered voltage to 1.32 but Im not sure if that actually effects temperature or lifespan of anything. **

[gupsterg]

Personally I wouldn't bother down volting your DDR4 from 1.35V.

2 good reasons, 1st G.Skill specify 1.35V for that kit via XMP profile, so you are covered by lifetime warranty. JEDEC allow XMP certification for DDR4 with upto 1.5V, see this link.

All in all I think you are wasting your time under volting the RAM. I vote to spend your time either overclocking or playing games 😉 (or whatever else you enjoy 😉 ) .

[HiVizMan]

gupsterg has it spot on. Don't mess with what is working. Leave your ram as is and move on to other areas of interest.

Looking at the numbers (temp) I would say you have found your sweet spot. Yes you could maybe shave a half degree here or there by fine tuning voltages to the cpu - but those gains will be meaningless in my view. Nice work on tuning your system so efficiently.

Your best stress test is what you use your PC for. Play your games and enjoy buddy.

[Squidmaster7]

HiVizMan wrote:
gupsterg has it spot on. Don't mess with what is working. Leave your ram as is and move on to other areas of interest.

Looking at the numbers (temp) I would say you have found your sweet spot. Yes you could maybe shave a half degree here or there by fine tuning voltages to the cpu - but those gains will be meaningless in my view. Nice work on tuning your system so efficiently.

Your best stress test is what you use your PC for. Play your games and enjoy buddy.

Aweomse, thanks for the feedback all around, guys. Very much appreciated.