Ryzen 5 3600 at 4.0GHz with 1.2V power supply
Ryzen 5 3600 at 4.0GHz with 1.2V power supply
Hello, your setup looks solid with the R5 3600 at 4.0Ghz and 1.2v running smoothly. The temperatures are much better than with PBO. Concern about CPU health is valid—make sure to monitor it closely. Your system includes a B450 Aorus Elite motherboard, 32GB Corsair 3200MHz RAM, and a CM V750 PSU.
Hi, your device passed the Aida64 full test for about 20 minutes at 1.1v and up to around 60°C. The next morning it wouldn’t boot. Using optimized defaults and re-seating the RAM helped. Once you increased it to 1.2v it works fine. However, monitoring software shows it stays at that voltage constantly, which shouldn’t happen during idle. You’re new to AMD—keep learning!
I’m checking the same details you mentioned. It seems the CPU voltage is hovering around the same level even when you change the clock speed to 4.1 and 1.2v or 1.25v. At idle I’m using 43-50V and at load 65-70V, but the voltage doesn’t change much. You’re running on a Aorus B450 WiFi with Hyper 212 cooler.
Lower voltage increases amperage and can harm or permanently damage your CPU or GPU. Experience shows that overestimating risks is far more dangerous than underestimating components. The stock voltage is designed this way—not lower—to balance power use, which would be a smart selling point for manufacturers. If they could safely undervolt the CPU without issues, they’d likely do it from the factory.
These points seem to clash, don't they? One suggests amperage must stay constant while wattage changes, or vice versa. I’m not beyond basic physics, so I think it’s best to skip the debate. The issue lies in manufacturers choosing a voltage that fits most silicon without causing problems. They aim for low voltage but can’t test every chip yet, so some variations remain. You might end up with chips that handle lower voltages and still function well. New CPUs like Ryzen 3rd gen are also quite inconsistent in their voltage settings. Their power-saving modes can cut the voltage to as little as 0.2V while running, which is unlikely if it would harm them.
In basic physics lessons, there shouldn't be any major problems, but school-level topics focus mainly on fundamental principles. The VRM acts like a buckconverter, which makes things more complex due to factors like phase, frequency, and pulse timing—not just simple calculations like W=V×A. In reality, the VRM tries to adjust its output by increasing current while keeping temperature in check. However, this can lead to overheating, damage to capacitors, reverse currents that harm MOSFETs, and potential data loss. While it's safer than overvoltage, it still poses risks like instability and corruption. Damage might not always be obvious, but it could affect components such as RAM or HDD, especially if the system is used heavily. The main concern is protecting data and ensuring reliability, which is why some people recommend undervolting with caution.