Software to Under-Clock CPU and GPU?

[ithehappy]

I would like to know a software which will help me underclocking my CPU and GPU. I find it meaningless to run my rig at full when doing very light works. I would like it to have a default option to change back the values to default clock rates on the fly when I need it.
My system spec is in my signature.

Thanks.

 

[Fardringle]

The i7 will automatically underclock itself when it is not being used heavily as long as you have not disabled the Intel Cool-and-Quiet feature in the BIOS.

 

[ithehappy]

There is no such thing as 'Cool and Quiet' in my BIOS! I am noticing with CPU-Z that the CPU is running always at 3205 MHz or something. I was doing nothing.
Here is my BIOS settings,

 

[ninaholic37]

I believe "Cool & Quiet" is AMD, and Intel's is called "Enhanced Speedstep Technology".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpeedStep

If your frequency is always at high, you might have to change your power scheme in Windows Power Management from "Desktop" to "Max Battery" or something (some systems add their own power management tool in windows to control this).

 

[ithehappy]

Lol, yeah, Windows power management was the thing. Mine was set at 'high performance', when I set it to Power saver, clock rate came down to half, some 1600 MHz, however there's almost negligible power difference between full speed and half, just around 5 watts or so! Hmm.

 

[Batmeat]

There used to be a program called CPU Slow, that i used back in the day to run dos games. Don't know of one for gpu though.

 

[Ketchup]

I had one similar to what you are describing Batmeat. I don't remember the name. I could have sworn it was slowing me down until I got rid of it though.

ithehappy, your results actually sound about right. When the computer is idle, I don't believe the frequency of the CPU makes a huge difference. It would also depend on what the other components are doing while the CPU is 'idle.'

If you want your computer to save power, and maybe be a little faster at the same time, it may be time to upgrade to Haswell.

 

[ithehappy]

Thanks Ketchup, well I would like to see the CPU save more power, but it's not a necessity, so I will wait. I am eyeing 4930k, but later, not now.

 

[coffeejunkee]

You have your voltage set to 'manual', any reason? Voltage will only drop when using auto (or offset).

Also make sure c-states are enabled, should be somewhere under advanced cpu features.

For the gpu you can use Afterburner to lower the voltage (assuming it's unlocked on your card).

 

[ithehappy]

Yeah, I set it to manual to change the QPI/DRAM Core voltage, it was set to 1.4 V after selecting profile XMP, so I tuned it down to 1.20 V. Should I select Offset there? Won't that change and increase the voltage when needed?
And C State is disabled! However I have no idea what C State is. Should I turn it on? By default (default BIOS settings) it was set as Off. Please check the photos.

You have your voltage set to 'manual', any reason? Voltage will only drop when using auto (or offset).

Also make sure c-states are enabled, should be somewhere under advanced cpu features.

For the gpu you can use Afterburner to lower the voltage (assuming it's unlocked on your card).

 

[Ketchup]

To get the best power savings, CPU voltage should be set to Auto. C-state is for sleep. If you never put your computer to sleep, don't worry about it. If you do, go ahead and enable this for less power drain in that state.

 

[ithehappy]

I am changing both and will monitor power consumption and post results here.

 

[coffeejunkee]

Yeah, I set it to manual to change the QPI/DRAM Core voltage, it was set to 1.4 V after selecting profile XMP, so I tuned it down to 1.20 V. Should I select Offset there? Won't that change and increase the voltage when needed?
And C State is disabled! However I have no idea what C State is. Should I turn it on? By default (default BIOS settings) it was set as Off. Please check the photos.

I see now, that's only for manually taking control of voltages. CPU voltage itself is set to auto which is good for stock. The offset setting is meant to use while overclocking, it enables the voltage to drop during idle while fixed vcore is well, fixed.

To get the best power savings, CPU voltage should be set to Auto. C-state is for sleep. If you never put your computer to sleep, don't worry about it. If you do, go ahead and enable this for less power drain in that state.

It has nothing to do with putting the pc to sleep. They are like sleep states for the cpu only. More info here: http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/611

You should enable them. They lower idle power considerably and they also allow turbo boost to be fully functional. I have no idea why many X58 boards disable them by default.

 

[pw257008]

bleh missed that post about already using Windows power settings.

but you can manually edit Windows power settings to take down processor speed, I think, even below what the defulat states are (ie you can essentially create your own power states in Windows power management). on my SB mobile i5 I brought it down to 1Ghz or so by doing that. but i don't know if that really does much for power consumption, I didn't leave it long enough to check.