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Does a question about a 10900k and manual voltages mean that I missed something?

Does a question about a 10900k and manual voltages mean that I missed something?

O
onska
Member
65
08-04-2026, 09:37 PM
#1
Hello everyone, So I bought a new i9 10900k processor and an ASUS Z490 Maximus XII Formula motherboard. I already had some problems popping up. I updated the BIOS to version 0607, but now I am having trouble setting a specific voltage for the CPU because the automatic settings are always too high (I've seen them hit almost 1.4 volts), even though ASUS says auto voltages shouldn't be an issue. Maybe I'm just being unlucky? My BIOS is mostly set to AUTO, except for the XMP profile, LLC which I set to 4, and MCE on ENABLED. The situation looks like this: I put a voltage of 1.25V manually and tried running some tests - prime95 failed with small FFTs tests. I increased the voltage all the way to 1.3V, but no matter what I do here, the vcore (or at least the one reported by HWINFO) is still pretty much around 1.23-1.24 volts. Am I missing something here? Shouldn't the vcore stay exactly as I put it? Or do I need to change some other settings too? Thank you!
O
onska
08-04-2026, 09:37 PM #1

Hello everyone, So I bought a new i9 10900k processor and an ASUS Z490 Maximus XII Formula motherboard. I already had some problems popping up. I updated the BIOS to version 0607, but now I am having trouble setting a specific voltage for the CPU because the automatic settings are always too high (I've seen them hit almost 1.4 volts), even though ASUS says auto voltages shouldn't be an issue. Maybe I'm just being unlucky? My BIOS is mostly set to AUTO, except for the XMP profile, LLC which I set to 4, and MCE on ENABLED. The situation looks like this: I put a voltage of 1.25V manually and tried running some tests - prime95 failed with small FFTs tests. I increased the voltage all the way to 1.3V, but no matter what I do here, the vcore (or at least the one reported by HWINFO) is still pretty much around 1.23-1.24 volts. Am I missing something here? Shouldn't the vcore stay exactly as I put it? Or do I need to change some other settings too? Thank you!

D
duta_
Member
161
08-04-2026, 10:36 PM
#2
eh... so when you start Windows 10, it's supposed to be a fresh clean install and not an old one from another PC. When you open that monitoring software, leave your mouse alone and keep the voltage on at exactly 1.4 volts right? It never goes down or does frequency drop? Have you tried turning MCE off just to see if things stay the same?
D
duta_
08-04-2026, 10:36 PM #2

eh... so when you start Windows 10, it's supposed to be a fresh clean install and not an old one from another PC. When you open that monitoring software, leave your mouse alone and keep the voltage on at exactly 1.4 volts right? It never goes down or does frequency drop? Have you tried turning MCE off just to see if things stay the same?

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NinuDK
Member
157
08-06-2026, 05:08 PM
#3
It's a clean install, yeah. Every time I change the hardware, I wipe everything and start fresh. The power goes up and down, but it won't match what I typed into BIOS. Since I set it to manual, why isn't it exactly what I put there? Like, I said 1.35V in BIOS, but on the monitoring software it looks like nothing is reaching more than 1.24V. Basically, my power seems to be always way lower than the number I typed in.
N
NinuDK
08-06-2026, 05:08 PM #3

It's a clean install, yeah. Every time I change the hardware, I wipe everything and start fresh. The power goes up and down, but it won't match what I typed into BIOS. Since I set it to manual, why isn't it exactly what I put there? Like, I said 1.35V in BIOS, but on the monitoring software it looks like nothing is reaching more than 1.24V. Basically, my power seems to be always way lower than the number I typed in.

E
ElLokito0324
Member
178
08-06-2026, 05:31 PM
#4
Did you mess up your own settings?
E
ElLokito0324
08-06-2026, 05:31 PM #4

Did you mess up your own settings?

W
wehhtam
Member
75
08-06-2026, 08:13 PM
#5
I made a mistake because I didn't explain myself well. I asked: if you turn all those settings back to Auto in the BIOS, does the voltage stay stuck at 1.4v when the computer is just sitting there?
W
wehhtam
08-06-2026, 08:13 PM #5

I made a mistake because I didn't explain myself well. I asked: if you turn all those settings back to Auto in the BIOS, does the voltage stay stuck at 1.4v when the computer is just sitting there?

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_RocketGoof_
Junior Member
40
08-06-2026, 09:00 PM
#6
So it turns out I misread everything too. I was checking the "VID" numbers which are way too high compared to what VCORE actually is. With all settings on auto, I'm getting about 1.26-1.27 volts when the machine is under load, but sometimes over 1.33 even while not in use, just for short periods of time. I wonder if that would be a problem? Thanks everyone for your replies!
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_RocketGoof_
08-06-2026, 09:00 PM #6

So it turns out I misread everything too. I was checking the "VID" numbers which are way too high compared to what VCORE actually is. With all settings on auto, I'm getting about 1.26-1.27 volts when the machine is under load, but sometimes over 1.33 even while not in use, just for short periods of time. I wonder if that would be a problem? Thanks everyone for your replies!

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Frosty352
Junior Member
12
08-07-2026, 05:00 AM
#7
I think that's true especially because you have the MCE option turned on.
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Frosty352
08-07-2026, 05:00 AM #7

I think that's true especially because you have the MCE option turned on.