8rdavcore/nf7vore: Software controlled undervolting!

The forum for non-component-related silent pc discussions.

Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Lawrence Lee

silvervarg
Posts: 1283
Joined: Wed Sep 03, 2003 1:35 am
Location: Sweden, Linkoping

Post by silvervarg » Thu Jan 08, 2004 6:45 am

I got slight problems with some settings when I boot or reenter from standby (S3) mode.
Some settings that work great normally in windows even when running prime95 extensively etc can fail during boot or reenter from S3.
If it was just a boot up setting I might be able to change settings with something from startup folder, but this is not possible if I suddenly go into S3.

So even if a setting is 100% stable I have to test lots of times if it is stable during boot. This kind of defeats most of the purpous of this great program.
I think I only get problems if a use settings that are rather close to the limits of my hardware when things fail, but since I pass 60+ minutes of prime95 it does not look like it is close to limit.

PorBleemo
Posts: 90
Joined: Fri Jan 09, 2004 11:23 am

Post by PorBleemo » Sat Jan 10, 2004 10:39 am

This looks to be a reallly promising program. Too bad I have an Asus A7N8X-X. :( What would be really cool is if SpeedFan was integrated into this. Then I could have it set my 3200's FSB to 100Mhz, lower the VCore and turn off the processor fan. :) Now that would be seriously impressive.

I don't know anything about programming but if there is something I can do to help please let me know!

I'll let the people on the Anandtech forums know since (no offense) they have a high traffic count and I could probably get more people to participate in this.

-Por

tino
Posts: 61
Joined: Fri May 16, 2003 11:21 am

Post by tino » Thu Jan 15, 2004 5:21 am

Is it possible to get this program to automatically work on bootup? I have an 8rda+, which naturally boots at 1.4V, otherwise the CPU won't start, but surely it's possible to execute the program on startup, so I don't have to manually change values whenever i want to use the computer.

silvervarg
Posts: 1283
Joined: Wed Sep 03, 2003 1:35 am
Location: Sweden, Linkoping

Post by silvervarg » Thu Jan 15, 2004 7:57 am

Sure, it works great to run from a batch file.
Then all you have to do is to put the batch file in the autostart folder.
One small problem is if you change FSB and Vcore quickly. This can cause my computer to crash (NF7).

tino
Posts: 61
Joined: Fri May 16, 2003 11:21 am

Post by tino » Thu Jan 15, 2004 8:06 am

Hi again,
I'm not too bright when it comes to batch files etc. I can't find an autostart folder in XP, and I thought batch files used to come up in msconfig, but i can't find them either. A basic walkthrough would me much appreciated!

jojo4u
Posts: 806
Joined: Sat Dec 14, 2002 7:00 am
Location: Germany

Post by jojo4u » Thu Jan 15, 2004 12:54 pm

tino wrote:A basic walkthrough would me much appreciated!
.. and a search on google would be the best for you.

jib
Posts: 24
Joined: Fri Jan 17, 2003 12:21 am

Post by jib » Fri Jan 16, 2004 3:17 am

I made a simple walkthrough earlier, its posted once before in this thread. Not a batch file specific walkthrough, but it might help you out a bit with the program.

jojo4u, I prefer the term "google is your friend" :wink:

tino
Posts: 61
Joined: Fri May 16, 2003 11:21 am

Post by tino » Mon Jan 19, 2004 4:32 am

Ok,
have managed to create a batch file with a utility and put it in the startup folder, and the program now begins at startup. I've come unstuch at the editing part in order to decrease vcore on startup. I understand i have to use: 8rdavcore -s 1.3 or whatever, but how do I manage this?
If I open my batch file to edit, it shows me:

@echo off
rem This batch file was created using Batch File Creation Utility!
rem You can get your own copy at www.chrissoftware.com
c:
cd C:\Program Files\vcore\8rdavcore-0.8.1b
8rdavcore.exe
exit

Could someone explain what to do now? I would be most grateful.

tino
Posts: 61
Joined: Fri May 16, 2003 11:21 am

Post by tino » Mon Jan 19, 2004 4:41 am

Scratch that, I've managed to do it now. Now running at 1.1v at startup. Just have to see what effect this has on temps now.

jojo4u
Posts: 806
Joined: Sat Dec 14, 2002 7:00 am
Location: Germany

Post by jojo4u » Mon Jan 19, 2004 5:25 am

One question, I see on your homepage a compatibility list. Are all those motherboards able to undervolt down to 1,1V?

silvervarg
Posts: 1283
Joined: Wed Sep 03, 2003 1:35 am
Location: Sweden, Linkoping

Post by silvervarg » Mon Jan 19, 2004 7:30 am


jojo4u
Posts: 806
Joined: Sat Dec 14, 2002 7:00 am
Location: Germany

Post by jojo4u » Mon Jan 19, 2004 7:37 am

No sign of the DFI Infinity Ultra Rev. A+ and the DFI Infinity Ultra Rev. A+ there....

earworm
Posts: 43
Joined: Sun Oct 24, 2004 3:07 am

Post by earworm » Tue Nov 02, 2004 1:36 pm

mhhh...question...
can anyone explain in simple language what happens if i change the FSB ? if i turn it up,,, my cpu works faster....turn it down and it works slower ? is that how it works...?
if so... then what's the use of turning it down, your cpu will produce less heat ?

thanx

silvervarg
Posts: 1283
Joined: Wed Sep 03, 2003 1:35 am
Location: Sweden, Linkoping

Post by silvervarg » Wed Nov 10, 2004 2:27 am

I have no idea why noone has answered this simple question yet.

CPU frequency is FSB*CPU multiplier. The FSB is used for controlling lots of other things as well. Most noticable is the memory speed.
The CPU heat is generated by voltage (vCore) and CPU frequency.

If you just want to lower the heat output from your CPU you want to lower vcore a bit. To allow further lowering of the vcore you need to lower CPU frequency. To get as much speed out of the computer at a certain CPU frequency you want to have a high FSB and a low CPU multiplier.

However the FSB is much more fine granular than the multiplier, so it is often usefull to change that as the last thing. If you have a CPU/motherboard with locked multiplier you might have to resort to lowering the FSB.

earworm
Posts: 43
Joined: Sun Oct 24, 2004 3:07 am

Post by earworm » Thu Nov 11, 2004 11:56 am

but ehm...as far as i know amd (and other) processors are locked, so you gotto "unlock" them before you can change the speedd at which they work, right? so how come you can change the speed of the processor with just an app....

sthayashi
*Lifetime Patron*
Posts: 3214
Joined: Wed Nov 12, 2003 10:06 am
Location: Pittsburgh, PA

Post by sthayashi » Thu Nov 11, 2004 12:01 pm

earworm wrote:but ehm...as far as i know amd (and other) processors are locked, so you gotto "unlock" them before you can change the speedd at which they work, right? so how come you can change the speed of the processor with just an app....
This application allows you to change the FSB speed.

silvervarg
Posts: 1283
Joined: Wed Sep 03, 2003 1:35 am
Location: Sweden, Linkoping

Post by silvervarg » Fri Nov 12, 2004 2:22 am

It depends on what CPU you have if it locked or not.
Older AMD CPU's are unlocked.
AMD XP mobile CPU's are unlocked.
Many other AMD CPU's can be modded to become unlocked.

If you don't have this option you just have to change the FSB, and that means that you will slow down everything related to the FSB. This is great for testing and works okey if you can't change the multiplier.
Lowering the FSB to very low values can cause strange things, so I generally recommend to keep it above 100.

Mats
Posts: 3044
Joined: Fri Dec 26, 2003 6:54 am
Location: Sweden

Post by Mats » Fri Nov 12, 2004 8:06 am

Which motherboard would you say is the best for this program? (Epox 8rda+?)

charlaph
Patron of SPCR
Posts: 32
Joined: Mon Jan 31, 2005 1:20 pm
Location: Dundee, Scotland

Post by charlaph » Thu Feb 17, 2005 1:57 pm

Late to the party as always, I just installed this tonight., but what a great utility!

Half an hours twiddling and I now have a lovely balance between quiet and performance. It's almost made my fanbus redundant. I had been using speedfan but it was sketchy at best, particularly at controlling fan speeds.

In 8rdavcore I can see why - the range for Pwm0 and Pwm1 goes from 0->255, yet the useful range for my coolermaster 80mm's is just 0-11, anything above that and they spin full speed! no wonder speedfan struggled to throttle them.

Using 8rdavcore I've got my idle temps down from ~46°C to 43°C and load temps down from a massive 59°C to just 53°C after an extended run of CPUBurnIn. Best of all is that the idle temp is achieved with the rear case fan off and the CPU fan down to a barely audible 1300rpm :D

The only problem is that undervolting seems to result in system lockups. Not sure why exactly, and I haven't worked through jib's guide or experimented enough to see if it's only for certain voltages, but if I can get that working then I'll consider 8rdavcore to be perfect!

ckolivas
Posts: 393
Joined: Thu Jan 27, 2005 7:16 am
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Contact:

Post by ckolivas » Thu Feb 17, 2005 6:42 pm

charlaph wrote:The only problem is that undervolting seems to result in system lockups. Not sure why exactly, and I haven't worked through jib's guide or experimented enough to see if it's only for certain voltages, but if I can get that working then I'll consider 8rdavcore to be perfect!
You've gone too low with the voltage.

charlaph
Patron of SPCR
Posts: 32
Joined: Mon Jan 31, 2005 1:20 pm
Location: Dundee, Scotland

Post by charlaph » Fri Feb 18, 2005 8:10 am

I think it was just funny about certain voltages. I tried 1.625V and 1.6V and both locked me up, then tried 1.5V (this was for my idle setting) and it works no problem. Searching t'internet I've read from several other people who had the same problem, but it's working great now.

Post Reply