First the configuration:
Motherboard: GA-EG45M-UD2H
Thermal paste: my beloved Shin-etzu microSI
Cooler: Scythe Ninja mini
Fan: Nexus 120mm (with resistor, currently at 900rpm)
The fan is not in vertical position, but oblique ~15° due to case space, but this way is cooling decently also the chipset and the memory.
I'm very satisfied with the cpu temp. Idle for 5 hours, temp is around +2 over ambient, that is 28°C (bios reading). Open case at the moment because i still have to connect the 2 HDDs, dvd and SSD.
Less so for the "system" temp, mainly due to NB and G45 chipset, which is 42°C (also bios reading, i dont have an OS installed yet).
What i'm looking for is advice on the voltages to put to undervolt the cpu while keeping the stability.
Undervolting my E5300
Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Lawrence Lee
My E5200 with Gigabyte G31 mobo is underclocked to 2Ghz (200 x 10) at 1.0V in BIOS (0.960V in CPU-Z) and is perfectly stable. Cooling is a Thermalright HR-01 Plus with Slipstream 800 at 5V (probably <400rpm). Idle 31/38 (yes, bit of a difference between the two cores) and 38/46 on full CPU load with Prime 95.
You'd have to experiment to see how low you can go either on stock clocks or with a little bit of underclocking. You didn't mention a discrete graphics card in your list of parts, so I'm guessing this isn't for a gaming PC. For normal internet use and video watching etc (including HD), 2ghz seems fine for me.
SPCR's motherboard tests usually take an E7200 down to 1.2Ghz for undervolting tests and it seems that HD video is still playable at this clock.
I just picked 2Ghz as a starting point and 1.0V to see if it would be stable. When my system passed a stress test with Prime 95 for an hour or so, I figured I was happy.
(You didn't say if you had any experience with undervolting in your post, so I'll add the following in case you haven't read a guide or something. Apologies if I'm teaching you to suck eggs ... better to be on the safe side though.)
You should really complete the set up and installation of your PC before experimenting with undervolting. You should do a full Windows install and download some stress testing programs, like Prime 95, Orthos and FurMark. You will need to run a full load stability test before settling on an undervolt.
Just because you can boot a motherboard with a low CPU voltage setting in BIOS doesn't mean it won't crash once you put a decent load on the CPU.
Anyway, try 2Ghz at 1.0V on your CPU - you might be able to get to 1.0V on stock speeds for your E5300.
You'd have to experiment to see how low you can go either on stock clocks or with a little bit of underclocking. You didn't mention a discrete graphics card in your list of parts, so I'm guessing this isn't for a gaming PC. For normal internet use and video watching etc (including HD), 2ghz seems fine for me.
SPCR's motherboard tests usually take an E7200 down to 1.2Ghz for undervolting tests and it seems that HD video is still playable at this clock.
I just picked 2Ghz as a starting point and 1.0V to see if it would be stable. When my system passed a stress test with Prime 95 for an hour or so, I figured I was happy.
(You didn't say if you had any experience with undervolting in your post, so I'll add the following in case you haven't read a guide or something. Apologies if I'm teaching you to suck eggs ... better to be on the safe side though.)
You should really complete the set up and installation of your PC before experimenting with undervolting. You should do a full Windows install and download some stress testing programs, like Prime 95, Orthos and FurMark. You will need to run a full load stability test before settling on an undervolt.
Just because you can boot a motherboard with a low CPU voltage setting in BIOS doesn't mean it won't crash once you put a decent load on the CPU.
Anyway, try 2Ghz at 1.0V on your CPU - you might be able to get to 1.0V on stock speeds for your E5300.
Hello,
Thanks for the reply. I know I have to install the OS and run some programs to check stability before doing any under/overclock.
But I'm planning ahead, trying to figure out which voltages should go, i.e. reducing vcore also do i need to change also cpu termination voltage and and cpu reference voltage in the bios.
It's good to know that i should aim for 1.0v at stock speed.
I also want to reduce the speed of the fan: at 900rpm is still too loud for me (at 1m open case - the case will be closed). I have a second resistor that i can put in series, it should bring the speed to 700-800rpm max. I also have a potentiometer somewhere else, to replace the resistors should that be not enough.
I dont want to underclock, and no, i didnt experiment anything yet, waiting to have the OS installed and stable.
Lastly, I'm planning of trying a pico-psu 150. The mini-atx power supply of my case (origenAE H5) is silent (more than the nexus at 900rpm), but runs a little hot after a few hours on. The air pulled out is roughly 45°C. That would also give more space in the case, allowing me for a second nexus 120 (which i already own) as exaust.
Thanks for the reply. I know I have to install the OS and run some programs to check stability before doing any under/overclock.
But I'm planning ahead, trying to figure out which voltages should go, i.e. reducing vcore also do i need to change also cpu termination voltage and and cpu reference voltage in the bios.
It's good to know that i should aim for 1.0v at stock speed.
I also want to reduce the speed of the fan: at 900rpm is still too loud for me (at 1m open case - the case will be closed). I have a second resistor that i can put in series, it should bring the speed to 700-800rpm max. I also have a potentiometer somewhere else, to replace the resistors should that be not enough.
I dont want to underclock, and no, i didnt experiment anything yet, waiting to have the OS installed and stable.
Lastly, I'm planning of trying a pico-psu 150. The mini-atx power supply of my case (origenAE H5) is silent (more than the nexus at 900rpm), but runs a little hot after a few hours on. The air pulled out is roughly 45°C. That would also give more space in the case, allowing me for a second nexus 120 (which i already own) as exaust.
I use 1.0v. 0.9-0.95 should work too. Min is much lower.graysky wrote:@telstar - I too am considering purchasing one of these (GA-EG45M-UD2H) but it must have the ability to undervolt in the BIOS. Does it for sure and how low can it go?
The board is rock solid and cool. Very recommended.Other than that how are you liking the board and have you tried using Linux?
Havent tried linux yet.