Undervolting/Overclocking Ivy Bridge

[skaker]

Along the idea of this article...

http://www.anandtech.com/show/5763/undervolting-and-overclocking-on-ivy-bridge

The core/temp curve for Ivy Bridge is quite a bit steeper than for SB.

For people interested in a very quiet, low energy system, it's quite possible to get very decent overclocks with minimal voltage.

I've built three 3770k systems, all designed to be as quiet as possible (using Fractal Design Define Mini cases). Each one is essentially silent (time capsule HD spin is much louder than the system).

Using 1.10 volts (less than stock voltage), I've been able to OC to 4.2 each time (Prime95 stable), one was able to do 4.3 at this voltage. Beyond 4.2(4.3) voltage requirements go up steeply (i.e. 1.165 for 4.4, 1.2 for 4.5, 1.25 for 4.6, 1.285 for 4.7...1.35 for 5.0). In addition, at 5.0 power draw (at the wall) almost doubled under prime, compared to 4.2.

At 1.10 volts I can run fans at very low rpm's, making them essentially inaudible, and still maintain temps below 60 (using Noctua C12 cooler) under Prime95.

At 4.2 (with 1866 ram), I get a Geekbench of 16,200. At 5.0 I got a Geekbench of 18,750. At that speed the system was still a very quiet system (case has 5x GentleTyphoon 1450 fans), but noticeable. In addition, at 5.0 power draw (at the wall) almost doubled compared to [email protected].

 

[jumpman25]

This is what i like to do. I find that stock voltages are almost always way overkill. My 2700K would use 1.280v @ stock settings when turbo boost was going (3.9Ghz) and downvolt to 1.1v @ 1.6Ghz while the computer was idling. Using manual voltage I have the processor running @ 4.00Ghz on only 1.175v and it's 12 hour prime95 blend stable. It idles in the 20's and never goes above 55 during stress testing. It has a lot more headroom for overclocking but I prefer the low noise and heat over a few hundred Mhz.