Ryzen 7 1700 vCore issues during proper application, Aorus x370 gaming K5
Ryzen 7 1700 vCore issues during proper application, Aorus x370 gaming K5
Before anyone criticizes it as a poor MOBO, I’m maintaining stable at 3.6GHz with normal voltages. Going higher than that is the real problem. Because the BIOS doesn’t offer a static vCore setting, I rely on the vCore offset. Setting it to +0.03v should bring it up to 3.7GHz (voltages around 1.18V). But the voltage never actually reaches the CPU—it appears in the BIOS as an offset value. Checking HWINFO shows the vCore still reads at 1.188V per core, even though BIOS registers say the offset is higher. Worse still, under load, the vCore drops to 1.144V on stock voltages. If I increase the offset, it falls further, making it nearly impossible to achieve a stable higher clock than 3.6GHz.
Gigabytes BIOS was quite problematic, pushing me to manually adjust the OC because leaving auto enabled caused vCore to jump above 1.4V when SCT was hit (3.7GHz). According to the BIOS, at an auto multiplier of 1.38V, I got around 1.38V—remarkably close to 3.2GHz on nearly 1.4V.
It could be related to the recent BIOS updates. I was using a 1700 in a gaming K3 for about a year, running on the F5 BIOS which was known to cause CPU overheating, though performance remained fairly normal. After switching to the F23d BIOS and installing a new CPU, the system started acting strangely. Many BIOS configurations have changed—names have been altered, removed, or moved to hard-to-find locations with unclear documentation. Voltages and temperatures have also fluctuated significantly with the new BIOS and CPU, ranging from 1.52+ up to over 60°C depending on settings like Auto mode or negative offset.
To achieve more stable behavior, I had to reset the BIOS back to defaults. While temperatures eventually dropped into the 40s during load, voltages remained high. When running a 1700, I reached nearly 1.4 for a steady 3.85 GHz on the K3 board. It seems the chip wasn’t performing well, but beyond that, I couldn’t increase speed or lower voltage further. The temperature never became a problem, and using the .5 multiplier for CPU speed helped prevent core frequency from locking. Clocking at even numbers like 3.8 caused cores to stay at overclocked speeds. I’m not certain if the half-step unlock was a BIOS issue, but it’s good that I could still reduce core speed when idle.
With the newer 2x00 series CPU, the system has been less reliable, even without CPU overclocking. Memory compatibility seems to have slipped, so if you have high-speed RAM that can’t boot with an XMP profile, consider this when planning future upgrades.
I anticipate more BIOS updates will resolve some of the issues between the 1x00 and 2x00 series. Until then, if you’re only using a 1700 and don’t need the features in the F23d BIOS, sticking with the version that gives you the best stability might be the better choice.
Are you certain you're using the maximum vCore offset? +0.03 will only provide a 30 mV shift, changing the base from 1.2 to 1.23. This won’t help much when trying to push your Ryzen overclock unless you're extremely close to the voltage limit for stability.
Additionally, you won’t notice full voltage plus offset unless you’ve turned off all power management settings, changed the default Windows power plan, or are actively loading the CPU.
The 1x00 Ryzen models have been grouped effectively, so you shouldn’t expect identical behavior from a 1700 CPU compared to higher-end variants like 1700x, 1800x, or Threadripper. Even 1800x CPUs aren’t guaranteed to reach 4 GHz.
If your CPU displays the right voltage and offset under load, you can relax about it.
I observed several problems with the BIOS after upgrading to f22 then to f23d, including voltage spikes reaching 1.42v and an unusually high auto VCore setting of 1.38v in BIOS. After reviewing the BIOS settings more closely, it seems there might be an issue with the new p-state OC feature. The default values indicate that the VCore remains at 1.188v across all states. I also confirmed that I'm using the correct additional voltage, such as +0.125v at 3.8 GHz, but the VCore in Ryzen Master still shows 1.188v instead of the expected 1.32v, and it drops significantly under load. It appears the chip itself isn't faulty, as it can reach stable speeds at 3.6GHz with 1.188v (1.144 under load), so 3.7/3.8 should work well. I suspect the BIOS might not be properly applying the extra voltage, especially when a small offset of +0.16v is used, making it less reliable. It seems unlikely that Gigabyte would fix this issue on this board, as they claim static VCore isn't allowed due to VRM design concerns, and they haven't implemented LLC support yet. In the past, I've used cheaper boards with poor VRMs but still had a VCore option.
The voltage remains consistent within the BIOS settings and is confirmed by HWMonitor.
theyeti87 :
I am using the F6 BIOS on the K7 board. Voltage is stable in BIOS and HWMonitor.
K7 board has a different BIOS, one thats actually suitable for operating a CPU.... since it has the vCore option, not just a vCore offset.
I see no reason why GB can't implement the majority of the k7 features on the k5, ok the VRMs are different, but EVERY other manufacturer manages to have the basic CPU settings. I can't understand why basic things like static vCore and LLC aren't in the BIOS.
Maybe unless i'm reading something wrong in HWINFO, surely the per-core cpu#n VID should be the same as the vcore reading from the BIOS? surely ryzen master should display the vcore set in the BIOS, not always 1.188v.
You can see in the image, under the 'GIGABYTE AX370 GAMING...' part, CPU vcore, see the highest value is 1.2v, but if you look at the part fro the CPU (above MOBO bit), CPU voltage never goes above 1.188v. This stays exactly the same if i increase the voltage offset, the vCore display for the MOBO will show the offset voltage, but CPU voltage will remain maxing out at 1.188v, no matter how big the offset.
I hope thats clear?
Pretty sure you're reading things correctly in HWiNFO. HWiNFO64 reads close to the same as HWMonitor, BIOS, and Ryzen Master on my system. I think differences between the different programs are in part due to different sampling intervals, and the high rate of speed at which the values are fluctuating.
I agree completely that having to fiddle with offset voltages is irritating, and think it would be nice if Gigabyte provides a logical, consistent solution across their entire product line. Once you get used to setting offsets, it does at least work but if you don't know what the initial reference point for the offset is, it's a right pain. You should be able to see the default voltage in the new P-State overclocking section, as it lists the voltage for each P-State when set to Custom. Not sure why one should have to dig for that information however. The engineers writing the UEFI interface must never have to actually use it much.
In your picture, your voltage looks to be about where I would expect it for stock settings.
Have you perhaps used Ryzen Master to do any overclocking, or used the new P-State overclocking method? I know those can lock the maximum voltage and clock speed. You might at least check the P-State section in BIOS to ensure things are set to Auto.
If you never loaded defaults or reset your BIOS after upgrading it, you might consider doing that. Don't forget to write down or take a picture of any custom RAM timings and other settings pages you might forget to re-customize.
The difference you see between VCore under the motherboard section and CPU Core Voltage under the CPU section is similar to what I see. Mine has a difference of .012 mV, yours screenshot looks to be .013 mV. I chalk the difference up to reading the value from different sensors, which obviously aren't perfectly calibrated to match one another. Heck, there's even a third chip with sensor readings, an ITE IT8792E, beneath the ITE IT8686E in HWiNFO, and it gives slightly different readings than the first two.
I think, at first glance, your voltage readings are probably correct. The question then becomes, what is preventing any voltage offset from being applied? It certainly wouldn't be the first time Gigabyte released a buggy BIOS for these boards.
i sent a thing to gigabyte support about it, who are as useless as you would expect, i would try and get a picture with a higher voltage offset set to better show my point, but i really cant be bothered to reboot my system as it takes ages (oh yes.... still booting off a HDD). I'll get one anyway.
i set a +0.084v offset, vcore changes, but core voltage remains exactly the same...
Don't think its a dodgy reading either, since the WRMs don't seem to get any hotter with a higher vcore.
--- update ---
did some more testing today, seems that setting vcore in ryzen master actually has the desired effect, the cpu per core voltage actually increases, as does the vcore reading from the BIOS. seems gigabyte messed up their BIOS somewhere, since it should have the same effect as ryzen master does.