Computer Underclocking ?

[Truthslayer]

It seems like now a days every where I read on about computers, everyone seems so hard pressed wanting to Overclock them.

I have an Omen hp with the i7-8750h processor with Nividia Gforce gpu. It's been a great laptop for the year and a half or so I have owned it. And my only complaint would be the darn fans. Most of the time they are pretty silent ( 3 speeds ). However when doing multiple tasks or watching something in 4k hdr in a short amount of time the fans ramp up and can be quite annoying. Also temperatures on this thing are pretty quick to rise.

Well two days ago I decided to try and underclock it to see how it would perform and any negative effects. I am so happy I did this. Temperatures have dropped 20c and the fans have yet to kick on medium or high. As far as performance goes, this is a very slight and I mean slight decrease. Almost non noticeable unless your looking for it. I have it (cpu) set to operate between 1GHz min and 2GHz max. Wish I had tried this long ago. It stays whisper quiet now.
So I was curious if anyone else has tried this and how it turned out for you.

 

[ryanosaur]

Never really played with it... overclocking, to me, was always about getting more performance than what the technology was supposed to deliver within parameters.
I do think it’s cool, but pointless...
... much like bi-amping.

 

[Truthslayer]

Never really played with it... overclocking, to me, was always about getting more performance than what the technology was supposed to deliver within parameters.
I do think it’s cool, but pointless...
... much like bi-amping.

Never really wanted to push my luck with overclocking. Didn't want to try and push the cpu beyond it's limits and burn down the computer. I know the gamers are big with doing that. But this underclocking for the average joe smo daily operations, is the sh....

 

[NINaudio]

I've been oc'ing my cpu's since I built my first computer, these days I usually go for a conservative 10-15% oc. I've never tried underclocking my cpu's but if you're looking for slower fan speeds and lower temps it makes sense to do that. You could also get a laptop tray/stand with built in fans that would keep it cooler without underclocking it. Those fans are larger than the internal ones and can spin slower thereby making less noise while supplying the internal fans with plenty of fresh cool air.

Did you just drop the multiplier or did you undervolt it too?

 

[Hamid Khan]

It seems like now a days every where I read on about computers, everyone seems so hard pressed wanting to Overclock them.

I have an Omen hp with the i7-8750h processor with Nividia Gforce gpu. It's been a great laptop for the year and a half or so I have owned it. And my only complaint would be the darn fans. Most of the time they are pretty silent ( 3 speeds ). However when doing multiple tasks or watching something in 4k hdr in a short amount of time the fans ramp up and can be quite annoying. Also temperatures on this thing are pretty quick to rise.

Well two days ago I decided to try and underclock it to see how it would perform and any negative effects. I am so happy I did this. Temperatures have dropped 20c and the fans have yet to kick on medium or high. As far as performance goes, this is a very slight and I mean slight decrease. Almost non noticeable unless your looking for it. I have it (cpu) set to operate between 1GHz min and 2GHz max. Wish I had tried this long ago. It stays whisper quiet now.
So I was curious if anyone else has tried this and how it turned out for you.

Sometimes cleaning the fans and the vents helps in the sonic resonance. Granted that you have been using it for approximately 1 year and a half. Accumulation of dust, especially if there are pets in the home would affect temperature to rise and have the fans to work harder. Also, how the laptop is used can affect the temperatures, for example not having enough air movement between the surface the laptop is laid and the base of the laptop. Another reasoning, would be maybe it's time to have the thermal paste change, for no longer it may be doing it job effectively in coupling the heat sink to the processor for dissipation of the heat. Just some things you can check if it is not under warranty.

 

[panteragstk]

It seems like now a days every where I read on about computers, everyone seems so hard pressed wanting to Overclock them.

I have an Omen hp with the i7-8750h processor with Nividia Gforce gpu. It's been a great laptop for the year and a half or so I have owned it. And my only complaint would be the darn fans. Most of the time they are pretty silent ( 3 speeds ). However when doing multiple tasks or watching something in 4k hdr in a short amount of time the fans ramp up and can be quite annoying. Also temperatures on this thing are pretty quick to rise.

Well two days ago I decided to try and underclock it to see how it would perform and any negative effects. I am so happy I did this. Temperatures have dropped 20c and the fans have yet to kick on medium or high. As far as performance goes, this is a very slight and I mean slight decrease. Almost non noticeable unless your looking for it. I have it (cpu) set to operate between 1GHz min and 2GHz max. Wish I had tried this long ago. It stays whisper quiet now.
So I was curious if anyone else has tried this and how it turned out for you.

First thing to look at is whether or not your GPU supports hardware decoding of hevc/4k streams. If it doesn't, then your CPU is doing all the work and underclocking it won't help since it's likely at 100% usage when you watch movies.

If you do have a GPU that supports decoding hevc/4k streams then something else is using resources. Find what it is and you may be able to kill the task to stop your CPU from heating up.

 

[panteragstk]

Never really played with it... overclocking, to me, was always about getting more performance than what the technology was supposed to deliver within parameters.
I do think it’s cool, but pointless...
... much like bi-amping.

Not pointless. My current CPU is rated at 3.5ghz and I'm running it at 4.5ghz. That is a pretty big jump in performance in quite a few applications.

Now, if your CPU requires a lot of voltage for the OC then you'll decrease it's life span, but it's not totally pointless unless you don't see a performance increase.

A comparison to audio would be like getting more wattage out of your amp, but it still operating without distortion.

 

[Truthslayer]

I've been oc'ing my cpu's since I built my first computer, these days I usually go for a conservative 10-15% oc. I've never tried underclocking my cpu's but if you're looking for slower fan speeds and lower temps it makes sense to do that. You could also get a laptop tray/stand with built in fans that would keep it cooler without underclocking it. Those fans are larger than the internal ones and can spin slower thereby making less noise while supplying the internal fans with plenty of fresh cool air.

Did you just drop the multiplier or did you undervolt it too?

Yes, both. And any lack of performance is almost unnoticeable. If I were to be using it for gaming, I think then there would be a noticeable lack of performance. But just for regular use, movies, music, surfing. It's just fine now. I know i could have added some more fan cooling, but the goal was just decrease energy use and noise. Adding more equipment would just defeat the goal i was after.

Sometimes cleaning the fans and the vents helps in the sonic resonance. Granted that you have been using it for approximately 1 year and a half. Accumulation of dust, especially if there are pets in the home would affect temperature to rise and have the fans to work harder. Also, how the laptop is used can affect the temperatures, for example not having enough air movement between the surface the laptop is laid and the base of the laptop. Another reasoning, would be maybe it's time to have the thermal paste change, for no longer it may be doing it job effectively in coupling the heat sink to the processor for dissipation of the heat. Just some things you can check if it is not under warranty.

Yes i am well aware of the heat and dust issues associated with a laptop. It gets cleaned on a regular basis. Every two months at the least ( pretty quick and easy on this Omen ) It also sit's on isolation pads raising it up another 1'1/2's' to 2'' for better circulation. I think these laptops that are kind of designed for gaming due to their processor just have a tendency to run hotter than normal. I use it mainly for movies, videos (youtube) and mainly music. So it sits on it's on stand and is really never touched, operated by an external keyboard with touchpad.
I just thought i would post my findings on making these changes as i am really pleased with the outcome. Nothing worse than trying to enjoy some tunes and hearing a fan during those quiet or silent passenges. Now happy to say, the changes made are keeping it dead quiet.

 

[Truthslayer]

First thing to look at is whether or not your GPU supports hardware decoding of hevc/4k streams. If it doesn't, then your CPU is doing all the work and underclocking it won't help since it's likely at 100% usage when you watch movies.

If you do have a GPU that supports decoding hevc/4k streams then something else is using resources. Find what it is and you may be able to kill the task to stop your CPU from heating up.

Even if im watching a 4k hdr movies or video clip. I never see more than 40% usage. It has the intel i7-8750h processor and the GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4 GB GPU, and I have 24Gb 2666 SDram. 128 Gb PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD. 1 TB 7200 RPM SATA HDD. I will eventually upgrade the SSD to 500Gb.
I think these darn gaming laptops just like to ram up with the fans to often. But I like the power (speed) and all the other features it has and the price I paid. Which is why I got it, but I am not a gamer. So underclocking has not hurt anything I use it for.
As I type this, I have amazon hd music going, this page were on and several others including the government tax office. It is continuing to operate fine and quietly and low heat.

 

[panteragstk]

Even if im watching a 4k hdr movies or video clip. I never see more than 40% usage. It has the intel i7-8750h processor and the GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4 GB GPU, and I have 24Gb 2666 SDram. 128 Gb PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD. 1 TB 7200 RPM SATA HDD. I will eventually upgrade the SSD to 500Gb.
I think these darn gaming laptops just like to ram up with the fans to often. But I like the power (speed) and all the other features it has and the price I paid. Which is why I got it, but I am not a gamer. So underclocking has not hurt anything I use it for.
As I type this, I have amazon hd music going, this page were on and several others including the government tax office. It is continuing to operate fine and quietly and low heat.

Yeah, those specs should be overkill for HEVC. You're probably right, laptops like yours are just noisy as there is a lot of heat to remove from it due to the high end CPU/GPU. Not much you can do about it.

 

[Truthslayer]

Yeah, those specs should be overkill for HEVC. You're probably right, laptops like yours are just noisy as there is a lot of heat to remove from it due to the high end CPU/GPU. Not much you can do about it.

Amen, that's why I thought to underclock. And I am very satisfied. She be cool and quiet now.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

What?

No way I'm paying for 4GHz to use as 1GHz.

 

[Hamid Khan]

Yes, both. And any lack of performance is almost unnoticeable. If I were to be using it for gaming, I think then there would be a noticeable lack of performance. But just for regular use, movies, music, surfing. It's just fine now. I know i could have added some more fan cooling, but the goal was just decrease energy use and noise. Adding more equipment would just defeat the goal i was after.



Yes i am well aware of the heat and dust issues associated with a laptop. It gets cleaned on a regular basis. Every two months at the least ( pretty quick and easy on this Omen ) It also sit's on isolation pads raising it up another 1'1/2's' to 2'' for better circulation. I think these laptops that are kind of designed for gaming due to their processor just have a tendency to run hotter than normal. I use it mainly for movies, videos (youtube) and mainly music. So it sits on it's on stand and is really never touched, operated by an external keyboard with touchpad.
I just thought i would post my findings on making these changes as i am really pleased with the outcome. Nothing worse than trying to enjoy some tunes and hearing a fan during those quiet or silent passenges. Now happy to say, the changes made are keeping it dead quiet.

There is not much I can say here, but you are paying attention to the situation and that is important. Keep an eye on the temperature of the gpu and processor even though you have lower the clock speed of the cpu.

I suspect you follow through with your updates regularly. I know you have stated your main issue is the loudness of your fans and power consumption or " decreasing energy". In the future, If there are any changes in temperature and fan speed at the lower clock speed, you may want to check the thermal compound and replace it, if you can't find the problem and the causes, or if it does persist. Just and option, sometimes this can be overlooked.

 

[ryanosaur]

Not pointless. My current CPU is rated at 3.5ghz and I'm running it at 4.5ghz. That is a pretty big jump in performance in quite a few applications.

Now, if your CPU requires a lot of voltage for the OC then you'll decrease it's life span, but it's not totally pointless unless you don't see a performance increase.

A comparison to audio would be like getting more wattage out of your amp, but it still operating without distortion.

I do understand, but when I built the pc oh so many moons ago, it was not a gaming machine, nor were we doing any processor intensive tasks, so for us there was no real purpose.

 

[Truthslayer]

What?

No way I'm paying for 4GHz to use as 1GHz.

I can see why it would make one think that. But with 6 cores and 12 threads and operating between 1ghz and 2ghz, it doesn't show any noticeable decrease in performance.

There is not much I can say here, but you are paying attention to the situation and that is important. Keep an eye on the temperature of the gpu and processor even though you have lower the clock speed of the cpu.

I suspect you follow through with your updates regularly. I know you have stated your main issue is the loudness of your fans and power consumption or " decreasing energy". In the future, If there are any changes in temperature and fan speed at the lower clock speed, you may want to check the thermal compound and replace it, if you can't find the problem and the causes, or if it does persist. Just and option, sometimes this can be overlooked.

I have kept an eye on the temps, before the underclocking my temps average was GPU 52c-56c Now 36c-40c
CPU was 56c-72c and sometimes higher, now 42c-46c. I think once when running tons of stuff, it got to (cpu) 51c
But, yes I will keep an eye on it. As long as it stays cool , im golden.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I guess this is similar to the "ECO" mode in some AVRs that reduces power and temp.

 

[slipperybidness]

Here is the thing with a rated clock speed--It is a nominal value that is generated from an average number of measurements. So, for example if your CPU is rated at 3GHz, then some of those CPU chips will operate just normal at a higher clock speed, while some of those chips will not.

The trade off for overclocking is more heat, and possibly lower reliability.

Now to underclocking, if it works for you, then great. I personally can't picture any scenario where I would underclock, and only a handful of scenarios where I would overclock a CPU.

 

[Truthslayer]

I guess this is similar to the "ECO" mode in some AVRs that reduces power and temp.

Yes, I would be willing to say, it works somewhat in the same manner of things.

 

[panteragstk]

I do understand, but when I built the pc oh so many moons ago, it was not a gaming machine, nor were we doing any processor intensive tasks, so for us there was no real purpose.

No, none at all. Unless you want word to open slightly faster.

 

[panteragstk]

Here is the thing with a rated clock speed--It is a nominal value that is generated from an average number of measurements. So, for example if your CPU is rated at 3GHz, then some of those CPU chips will operate just normal at a higher clock speed, while some of those chips will not.

The trade off for overclocking is more heat, and possibly lower reliability.

Now to underclocking, if it works for you, then great. I personally can't picture any scenario where I would underclock, and only a handful of scenarios where I would overclock a CPU.

This. I'm not sure if his laptop has the option, but you can set thermal limits to where if your CPU hits a certain target temp then it will throttle itself. No underclock needed.