Solving 4790K static versus adaptive voltage.
Solving 4790K static versus adaptive voltage.
I own a Core i7 4790k and a Gigabyte Z97 Gaming 3 motherboard.
By default, the CPU operates at 4.4 Ghz on all cores when turbo boost is active.
The issue lies in the CPU voltage being automatically changed in BIOS to 1.28V, which is significantly higher than necessary.
HWMonitor displays 1.30V under full load.
I manually adjusted the core voltage to 1.2V from BIOS. I ran Aida64 for several hours without any issues. HWMonitor reports 1.22V in full load.
Intel Extreme Tuning Utility offers an option to switch the core voltage from static to adaptive. When set to static, CPU-Z and HWinfo64 indicate 1.2V both in idle and full load, while HWMonitor shows 0.75-0.8V in idle and 1.22V in full load.
Which readings are accurate? Is the voltage still static or is it adaptive as HWMonitor claims?
If I choose adaptive mode, all devices display 0.75-0.8V in idle. In full load, CPU-Z and HWinfo show 1.28V, and HWMonitor reads 1.30V.
Regardless of the BIOS setting, when I manually adjust the voltage from BIOS, the CPU still runs at 1.3V during full load with adaptive settings, which is much higher than required for stability.
How To - Intel CPU Temperature Guide
Update: February 9th, 2025
The subject of processor temperatures can be quite perplexing. Misunderstandings about terms, specs, and testing often cause confusion, making it hard to know how to properly assess cooling performance. This Guide offers...
How To - Intel CPU Temperature Guide
Update: February 9th, 2025
The subject of processor temperatures can be quite perplexing. Misunderstandings about terms, specs, and testing often cause confusion, making it hard to know how to properly assess cooling performance. This Guide offers...
It's a Haswell. 1.3v is the limits considered safe for vcore. Keeping it down to @ 1.2v is advised. Just be aware of the differences in what is considered vcore, may or may not be listed as cpu voltage, VID, package voltage etc. There's no industry standard, although there should be.