is Undervolting my Desktop possible and safe?

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HahnSolo

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I posted a question recently about my new desktop being too hot. It hasn't overheated so far, but whenever I run high-end games, the thing sounds like a jet engine, and if I play for more than an hour and a half, i get warning beeps that the cpu is too hot. I took the advice of my last post and changed out the thermal paste on the cpu. I let it run in BIOS for about 20 minutes after turning it on, and the max temperature it got to was 53C, which is slightly better than the previous 60C on idle, but not good enough, and still doesn't seem to handle games very well without overheating. I could just replace the <mod edit> stock heatsink, but my computer knowledge of replacing parts isn't the best and i'd rather not remove the motherboard. Plus there is very little room in my case due to the cpu being so close to the hardrive and psu for a decent heatsink.The voltage is currently around 1.33v, which seems high. If I could undervolt it to around 1.250 that would reduce the temperatures decently. Would undervolting it be a viable option for me?

Thanks!
 
Solution
USAFRet
Your CPU is getting warm under load. The stock cooler is spinning faster, trying to keep up. With a bad fan, faster = more noise.

Fix the problem, which is the noisy fan.
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hunter315

hunter315

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May 12, 2009
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Provide us details of what your system actually is. You haven't even said what kind of processor you have. If you have an OEM system you aren't going to be able to undervolt, but 53C at idle is indicative of a much greater problem than just the CPU being a bit more than the heatsink can handle, 53C means there is either zero airflow in your case, your heatsink is loosely applied, or your heatsink is grossly inadequate for your system.
 
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Rookie_MIB

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Jul 27, 2013
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I'm not sure undervolting the CPU is the best idea, believe it or not, replacing the CPU heatsink is the better of the two ideas. If you've changed the thermal paste before, then changing the heatsink should be a piece of cake. All you need to know is how much space you have to work with and most aftermarket coolers will give you the height of the unit installed. Plus, when changing the heatsink, you do NOT need to necessarily remove the motherboard, many times the motherboard tray will have a cutout to access a backing plate, or you can just get a better heatsink which doesn't require changing the mounting system or backplate. I did this on my AM3 system - had a simple, stock (tiny) AM3 cooler and upgraded to the heavy duty Phenom heatpipe style just by swapping it out.

Generally, if you have a full size case (ie: not a slim pc) most standard aftermarket coolers should fit with little to no problems.

Now, for more on undervolting, if you have a relatively modern computer to begin with (ie: something made in the past few years), it already has automatic voltage settings along with dynamic frequency settings. Since the heat generated is more dependent on the frequency that the processor is running at, I guess it would be safer to just set the clock multiplier - I think on even a locked multiplier, you can adjust the frequency clock down to take the maximum speed down without any issues and it would probably be easier than trying to undervolt the processor (as not enough voltage could cause stability issues).
 
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HahnSolo

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The Processor is an AMD A-10 APU with integrated graphics. I have checked the airflow of the case, and the cables are fine. The hardware of the pc I bought is total crap. The processor and RAM were decent, but the psu was a measly 350 Watts and the fan thats on the heatsink sells at best buy for $3.99. I replaced the psu with ease, and it has a built in fan to ventilate the heat, I think the reason its heating up is the <mod edited for language> stock heatsink along with the NVIDIA GeForce 650 graphics card I added in, which has pretty bad placement, and can't ventilate very easily. I also secured the case as best as possible after replacing the thermal paste, it was secured fine.

Its an AMD A-10 APU 3.7 GHz Quad Core, 8 Gigs of RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 650. I dont know the heatsink model.
 
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HahnSolo

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I apologize for any language, this computer has been giving me issues from the start due to the horrid stock hardware. I had coil whine issues and others from the psu before this. I guess thats what I get for buying a pre-built pc on only the processor and RAM. I'd prefer not having to underclock the processor since i'm trying to use this pc to run high-end games. As for replacing the stock heatsink, the wires and cables, and placement of the hard drive would make it very difficult to replace the heatsink, even without removing the motherboard. I've also had trouble finding smaller ones compatible with my processor. Bringing the voltage down to only 1.250v would't cause too many stability issues would it?

 
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