CPU Voltage Higher Than I Set It -- Why?

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Last response: April 15, 2008 5:47 AM in CPUs

April 14, 2008 3:26:23 AM

Hello,

I just built and OCed my new system, but I am noticing a troubling thing regarding the CPU core voltage. Note that this occurs both when my computer is overclocked and when it is not:

The CPU core voltage always reads higher than the default value (1.3V) which it is set to. For example, at idle, CPU-Z usually displays 1.360V - 1.367V, while EasyTune5 Pro displays 1.390V - 1.400V. Under heavy load, CPU-Z displays a core voltage of 1.424V, and EasyTune5 Pro displays 1.45V!

My questions are as follows:
(1) Why is Vcore higher than 1.3V (at which it is set) at idle?
(2) I do not know whether or not Vcore is supposed to vary with load -- is this "voltage throttling" intended? If so, is it acceptable to go as high as 1.45V under load?

Thanks for any help,
Paul

Setup: AMD 64 X2 5000+ Black Edition CPU, Gigabyte GA-M57SLI-S4 Mobo, 2x1GB G.Skill DDR2 800 RAM, Zalmon 92mm HSF, 320GB Samsung Spinpoint HDD, Thermaltake 430W PSU, MSI X1550 GPU

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Evilonigiri

April 14, 2008 4:37:35 AM

1.) It should be lower, not higher, unless you enabled some options that does so.
2.) Normally, the voltage would drop under load, and not increase, so something is off here.

My guess is that you have some sort of auto OCing option enabled in the bios. Turn it off.

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endyen

April 14, 2008 6:50:38 AM

Motherboards will increase the v-core applied to compensate for voltage drawdown under load.
Your chip doesn't seem to draw that much current.
If you can, go into the bios and lower the v-core.