Adjusting voltage settings for Asrock Z490 boards.
Adjusting voltage settings for Asrock Z490 boards.
You're dealing with an Asrock z490m-ITX/AC & 10700kf board. It seems the CPU isn't benefiting much from voltage adjustments since setting -100mv on ratio points brings the voltage down to -20mV max. The ring V/F offset is auto, which is fine. You're also managing core ratios—6 cores at 46, 8 cores at 50, and 2 cores at 50—but when idle, the CPU caps at 4.2GHz instead of higher. No changes to core ratios have been made yet, as you prefer a more stable idle speed. Let me know if you'd like advice on tweaking these settings further.
This situation presents an issue because, with the C states turned on, idle CPU usage has little impact on overall power use. Contemporary processors are designed to balance performance and energy efficiency. They can operate quickly while still consuming minimal power—typically around 28 watts from the power supply for the whole system. Some devices lack this efficiency. The software you're using to check idle CPU speed might not be reliable. Most monitoring tools aren't precise. The way your CPU behaves when idle is controlled by the Windows power settings; if it's set to the Balanced plan, the processor can maintain higher speeds even under light load. Many machines rely on Speed Shift Technology that pushes the CPU to full capacity whenever possible. If background processes are constantly active, the CPU won't enter a low-power state. This behavior is intentional by design. A CPU that must handle tasks at 800 MHz when idle isn't optimal, as it wastes energy. For more details, see the referenced paper on power optimization.