undervolting or not?
undervolting or not?
Hi, setting up your first PC is exciting! For an Intel i7 12700K, you can consider undervolting the CPU to help with cooling if you're unsure. It’s a good idea to balance performance and heat management. Just start with a small adjustment and monitor how it affects stability.
Sure, I'll try a few games to check if it gets too hot. Looking for some good programs to start with! Thanks!
In games it should likely work just fine. If you need a program, XTU would probably be the best choice. I realize I overclocked an old CPU with throttling, but if you find something reliable, enter it into your UEFI/BIOS so it always applies. Search for clear instructions online and follow them at first. Afterward, run a stress test thoroughly—otherwise your PC might appear stable while still experiencing strange errors that are tough to fix.
Undervolting definitely helps performance if you're concerned about efficiency. For your R5 3600 with negative voltage offset and positive frequency offset, it ran extremely hot—around 80°C maximum—and consumed about 130W without it. With undervolt, it clocked much higher but stayed cooler, using the same 274W max as when undervolted. Your 3070 behaves similarly, though it cools more and matches its rated 274W even with undervolt applied.
That’s not quite the right range, is it? If we were talking 100°C or 115°C, 80°C would be a solid temperature. Reducing voltage basically means lowering power consumption, which cuts heat and allows better performance, especially when pushing the CPU to its maximum clock speed (100°C). It’s okay to hit those limits as long as you don’t exceed more than 1.3 volts, otherwise you risk voltage instability and thermal problems.
I didn't adjust the voltage at all, just a quick glance. But I guess it felt warm because it handled more power somehow—without that adjustment it was roughly ten degrees lower. As they say, my GPU acts the same but stays about 20°C cooler (around 10°C lower). P.S.: I think the 130W model was paired with P95 settings plus Superposition testing, which kept overall usage under 500W. With the 5800X3D it's a bit higher at 511W, but still not too much. My RMI readings seem pretty reliable.
Essentially, you modify the voltage and clock settings, and since power usage depends on both, you might get more power and heat when using UV compared to lower clocks.