Underclock sandy bridge i5

[bmaamba]

Hi guys. I would like some help in underclocking/undervolting the cpu on GA-B75Mm-D3H (rev 1.0) for a friend’s PC (Win 7 on BIOS (no uefi)- Hibernation off). No PCI/PCIE/graphics cards- WD HDD, do not have RAM details as the 2 ram sticks are misplaced right now. PC connected to small UPS. Light use for word processing, internet, maybe some children’s games, watching vcd/dvd.

I5 2300 sandy bridge - no overclocking. 2 motherboards have gone bad. First one was the original Acer MB (from Acer Desktop) – maybe within 1 year. In this case, the Liteon PSU also went bad at same time.

So bought the Gigabyte MB and Antec VP-450W PS. After 1.5 years, Antec went bad. Antec replaced PS with a new one. After some more months ( 2 years), MB was down again - no boot (nothing on monitor), cpu fan starts (7 secs) and stops (cycle repeats) after a few seconds. As MB was having 3 years warranty, sent it to Gigabyte - my friend (on my instructons) emailed Gigabyte that he, after receiving the repaired MB, will run prime 95 v28.9 build 2 for 2 hours-

“Torture test - custom - select minimum FFT size=2048K, max FFT
size=4096K (Keep default unchecked "run FFT's in place") .
Use EasyTune (and coretemp/hwmonitor) to monitor temperature.”

Got the MB yesterday and not put it on yet (ram is misplaced). I am in 2 minds now whether to run prime 95 (after looking at the RMA sheet which stated the fault was “MB was starting and then stopping after few seconds – cycle continues”).

1. Should i test with prime 95?

2. I would like to underclock and/or undervolt the cpu- nothing extreme/complicated, something quick and stable (have read that 0.1v undervolt can easily be achieved). Would prefer Turbo Boost off (?) and the cpu to be run, if possible, on about minimum frequency – in win 7 power plan settings? EIST has to be ON/Enabled?

My suspicion for the hardware failures -

1. The small kids, while playing games, are pressing the on/off /reset buttons of the PC- high starting current is the culprit.

2. My friend’s stupidity- 4 months back, my friend brought the PC to me stating that there was a problem (I forgot exactly what it was). I saw that the Bios was corrupted and the 2nd(Dual Bios) was in use. My friend, after noticing the problem, had kept the PC “on” the full day- when asked why, he said he wanted to see if the problem corrected itself . I imaged the C partition back. After 1 month of use, the PC started restarting on its own (after a few minutes of use). My friend kept it on the whole night- the same excuse “lets see if PC corrects itself”.

This time, I will go to his house with a Digital Multimeter to check the voltage/voltage between ground and neutral.

Here are the Bios settings from the MB manual, where I would appreciate some help.

A)MIT/Advanced Freq. settings.

CPU/PCIe base Clock- Default is Auto.

Cpu Clock Ratio- Default is Auto.

CPU freq.

Advanced CPU Core features-

CPU Clock Ratio-

CPU Freq-

Real Time CPU Ratio Control in OS

Intel ® Turbo boost Technology

Turbo ratio (1 core active)

Turbo ratio (2 core active)

Turbo ratio (3 core active)

Turbo ratio (4 core active)

Turbo Power Limit (Watts)

Core current limit(Amps)

Hyper-Threading technology (Auto as the cpu does not have HT?)

Cpu core enabled

CPU Enhanced halt (C1E)

C3/C6 State support

CPU Thermal monitor

CPU EIST function

Extreme Memory Profile –

Disabled
Profile 1
Profile 2

(I think I will go for “Disabled” here)

System Memory Multiplier (SPD)

Memory Frequency (MHz)

Performance Enhance-

Normal
Turbo
Extreme

(I think I will go for “normal” here)

DRAM Timing Selectable (SPD)-

Auto
Quick
Expert

(I think I will go for “auto” here)

Profile DDR voltge- 1.5v
Profile VTT voltage
Channel Interleaving (will go for “auto” or “enabled”)
Rank Interleaving (will go for “auto” or “enabled”)

Channel A/B Timing Settings- (Not applicable as I will set DRAM Timing Selectable (SPD) as auto)

Dram Voltage and sub-menu-(No meddling here).

PC health Status

Vcore_-(If adjustable here, reduce it by 0.1v)

Thanks

 

[Ketchup]

The I5 2300 has Intel Speed Step, and supports C-states, so there is no reason to underclock it. The CPU will only run full speed (2.8 to 3.1 GHz) when under load. It will run at lower speed and consume lower voltage 90% of the time. Prime 95 will stress the CPU, not necessarily the motherboard, so there is no good reason to run it since you aren't overclocking anyway.

For the BIOS settings, just set it to select optimized defaults and be done with it.

 

[bmaamba]

Thanks Ketchup.

I feel that, as MB and psu have gone bad, something has to be done/tried (“do something!” ). I selected the MB for my friend; psu- I had also given him choice (albeit a 10usd expensive ) of another psu-oem seasonic. About Antec psu- it was recommended in whirlpool.net.au forums (I have come to know now that Antec still uses Fuhjyyu/Jun Fu caps in similar PS-http://www.hardwareinsights.com/wp/antec-vpa500p-power-supply-review/3/ - these caps may enable bad supply/voltage to the MB, which causes the MB to go bad).

I do not know if my assumption that high starting current maybe one of the factor in these failures.

Would be grateful if somebody answers this question-take the above system. Put a energy meter/ammeter in place -

a) With i5 2300, what is the starting current drawn.

b) Replace the cpu with a lowest rated Celeron. What is starting current drawn.

Are the 2 currents the same?

Ketchup, I thought the settings chosen for prime 95 were going to stress the chipset/MB more.


Thanks

 

[Ketchup]

This page has some info on power draw:
http://cpuboss.com/cpu/Intel-Core-i5-2300

Honestly, I feel like you are overthinking this. Get a new power supply. I like Antec just fine, but some people don't. Get a good brand with an 80+ rating. It will use less power at almost all power levels, and those are generally carrying better parts.

 

[Charlie98]

Honestly, I feel like you are overthinking this.

I agree... just drop the CPU back on the new/refurbed (I'm not clear on whether you got the same board back, or an exchange...) and get a decent PSU. I have that very same mobo in my HTPC, it's a very solid board. TBH, I'm not sure there are any BIOS settings to undervolt the CPU, but don't quote me on that, and in any event, not necessary except for CPU overheating or something like that.

If I were to hazard a guess, it sounds like the PSU took out the first board, and quite possibly the second one (although not at the same time as the PSU failure.)

 

[bmaamba]

Thanks charlie ...its the same board(no exchane)....acer board and acer (liteon) psu went bad at same time....then antec+present board were bought- antec went bad first, then the MB.

Found the misplaced 2+2GB ram. Disconnected the “reset” switch (removed wires connecting the reset button of the case to the pins on the MB).
Bios- reduced the multiplier from 26 to 16; disabled Turbo (all 4 cores). Changed an advanced memory setting - “ performance enhance” to ‘Normal’ from ‘Turbo’. Cpu Fan speed-Silent (cpu HS and fan is of coolermaster which came with acer system). Could not find a setting in Bios to reduce Vcore. Vcore shown in Bios-1.020v /1.008v.

Checked the PSU voltages on a molex connector/24 pin MB connector (-ve of multimeter on –ve/ground of molex connector) with my new UNI-T UT 139C DMM on win 7 x64 desktop (did not check -5v). They are as follows:

12.46v
4.986v
3.442v
5.062v ( 5vsb)
-11.72v

Opened 10 programs (openoffice (5.x) writer and calc, ms office 2007 word and excel, foxit pdf reader, coreldraw 11, winrar, Vivaldi and opera browsers, etc.) , the readings in hwmonitor 1.3 are as follows (ambient Temp. maybe @27-28 deg. C; case open 1 side with ceiling fan on):

Hardware monitor ITE IT8728
Voltage 0 1.07 Volts [0x59] (CPU VTT)
Voltage 1 3.42 Volts [0xAD] (VCC3)
Voltage 2 12.46 Volts [0xAD] (+12V)
Voltage 4 2.22 Volts [0xB9] (vAXG)
Voltage 5 0.84 Volts [0x46] (CPU VCORE)
Voltage 6 1.51 Volts [0x7E] (DRAM)
Voltage 7 3.38 Volts [0x8D] (+3.3V)
Temperature 0 32 degC (89 degF) [0x20] (TMPIN0)
Temperature 2 23 degC (73 degF) [0x17] (TMPIN2)
Fan 0 1592 RPM [0x1A8] (FANIN0)
Fan PWM 0 0 pc [0x0] (FANPWM0)
Fan PWM 1 0 pc [0x0] (FANPWM1)
Fan PWM 2 0 pc [0x0] (FANPWM2)

(HWMonitor version 1.3.0.0
Monitoring
Mainboard Model B75M-D3H (0x000001E7 - 0x009DE5F6)
LPCIO
LPCIO Vendor ITE
LPCIO Model IT8728
LPCIO Vendor ID 0x90
LPCIO Chip ID 0x8728
LPCIO Revision ID 0x1
Config Mode I/O address 0x2E
Config Mode LDN 0x4 )

Some other readings:
Temperature 0 29 degC (84 degF) (Core #0)
Temperature 1 28 degC (82 degF) (Core #1)
Temperature 2 32 degC (89 degF) (Core #2)
Temperature 3 37 degC (98 degF) (Core #3)
Temperature 4 29 degC (84 degF) (Package)
Voltage 0 1.03 Volts (VID)
Power 0 4.12 W (Package)
Power 1 0.73 W (IA Cores)
Power 2 0.17 W (GT)
Power 3 3.22 W (Uncore)
Clock Speed 0 1596.42 MHz (Core #0)
Clock Speed 1 1596.42 MHz (Core #1)
Clock Speed 2 1596.42 MHz (Core #2)
Clock Speed 3 1596.42 MHz (Core #3)

Closed the 10 programs. Fired prime95 with (mentioned) settings. Hwmonitor readings are as follows (after about 8 min. run of prime95) :

Voltage 0 1.07 Volts [0x59] (CPU VTT)
Voltage 1 3.42 Volts [0xAD] (VCC3)
Voltage 2 12.38 Volts [0xAC] (+12V)
Voltage 4 2.22 Volts [0xB9] (vAXG)
Voltage 5 1.02 Volts [0x55] (CPU VCORE)
Voltage 6 1.51 Volts [0x7E] (DRAM)
Voltage 7 3.38 Volts [0x8D] (+3.3V)
Temperature 0 33 degC (91 degF) [0x21] (TMPIN0)
Temperature 2 39 degC (102 degF) [0x27] (TMPIN2)
Fan 0 1854 RPM [0x16C] (FANIN0)
Fan PWM 0 0 pc [0x0] (FANPWM0)
Fan PWM 1 0 pc [0x0] (FANPWM1)
Fan PWM 2 0 pc [0x0] (FANPWM2)
Hardware monitor Intel I/O
Clock Speed 0 848.06 MHz [0x350] (Graphics)
Processors
Number of processors 1
Number of threads 4
APICs
Processor 0
-- Core 0
-- Thread 0 0
-- Core 1
-- Thread 0 2
-- Core 2
-- Thread 0 4
-- Core 3
-- Thread 0 6
Timers
Perf timer 2.728 MHz
Sys timer 1.000 KHz
Processors Information
Processor 1 ID = 0
Number of cores 4 (max 4)
Number of threads 4 (max 4)
Name Intel Core i5 2300
Codename Sandy Bridge
Specification Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-2300 CPU @ 2.80GHz
Package (platform ID) Socket 1155 LGA (0x1)
CPUID 6.A.7
Extended CPUID 6.2A
Core Stepping D2
Technology 32 nm
TDP Limit 95.0 Watts
Tjmax 99.0 °C
Core Speed 1596.3 MHz
Multiplier x Bus Speed 16.0 x 99.8 MHz
Stock frequency 2800 MHz
Instructions sets MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, EM64T, VT-x, AES, AVX
L1 Data cache 4 x 32 KBytes, 8-way set associative, 64-byte line size
L1 Instruction cache 4 x 32 KBytes, 8-way set associative, 64-byte line size
L2 cache 4 x 256 KBytes, 8-way set associative, 64-byte line size
L3 cache 6 MBytes, 12-way set associative, 64-byte line size
FID/VID Control yes
Turbo Mode supported, disabled
Max non-turbo ratio 28x
Max turbo ratio 31x
Max efficiency ratio 16x
Max Power 120 Watts
Min Power 60 Watts
O/C bins +4
Ratio 1 core 31x
Ratio 2 cores 30x
Ratio 3 cores 30x
Ratio 4 cores 29x
TSC 2793.0 MHz
APERF 1596.0 MHz
MPERF 2793.0 MHz
Temperature 0 47 degC (116 degF) (Core #0)
Temperature 1 47 degC (116 degF) (Core #1)
Temperature 2 47 degC (116 degF) (Core #2)
Temperature 3 47 degC (116 degF) (Core #3)
Temperature 4 48 degC (118 degF) (Package)
Voltage 0 1.05 Volts (VID)
Power 0 29.27 W (Package)
Power 1 24.27 W (IA Cores)
Power 2 0.18 W (GT)
Power 3 4.82 W (Uncore)
Clock Speed 0 1596.34 MHz (Core #0)
Clock Speed 1 1596.34 MHz (Core #1)
Clock Speed 2 1596.34 MHz (Core #2)
Clock Speed 3 1596.34 MHz (Core #3)

Hope somebody finds this information useful.

Will try to update this thread (if anandtech allows it and if i can find it) after 3 years to report if the MB (and PSU) survive/s or not.

 

[bmaamba]

Made a major goofup….the Liteon (acer) psu (PE-5221- O8AF) is OK…sorry guys (can the moderator or myself correct the above posts?) ….A new psu was purchased because of the extremely short wires of the Liteon and its unusual shape.

I and my friend were discussing as to how to explain to his nephews the pressing the Power Button (PB) only once during starting the PC ( and showing them how to properly shut down the PC) and he asked if the old Acer MB could be repaired so that the kids do not touch this PC –when I told him that he would have to buy a psu, he mentioned that I had told him the Acer psu was fine . He brought the Liteon psu to-day - the voltages check out OK.


Found a sort of anamoly (is it?) ( was trying to see as to how the kids managed to corrupt the bios; Bios has the setting – “Soft Power off by Button” - Instant off)…

Shutdown from:

a) inside win7/winxp (start-shutdown),

b) shutdown by pressing power button (i) from win7/xp desktop. (ii) login screen of win7/xp. (iii) when win7 is booting (time before the login screen),

is smooth/normal (it takes some time to shutdown and there is no restart).

But when I try to shutdown the system at the time of “initialization” (“pre-boot OS time” may be the term?) by pressing the Power button of the case/cabinet, it shuts down. But the system mostly restarts itself – does not matter if the finger on the power button is removed swiftly or slowly.

(I had managed to shut it down only twice properly (without restart) in about 10-15 tries).

Also, 2 times (out of those 10-15 tries) the system opened to a pre-bios screen giving 3 options with foll. Screen (did not write it down):

“There was a booting failure…….

a)

b)

c) Enter the Bios.”

Option c seems to be correct – Press option c - press F10 (save and exit) and you are done.

I think the kids are messing about here after getting this screen (by pressing the PB rapidly in succession) and hence the usage of the secondary Bios, as stated by me earlier.

 

[bmaamba]

Well, the MB apparently packed up (same symptoms as before) after a few days use. 2 days before it went kaput, my friend's brother, who had come from abroad, put the PC on - i think, sometime afterwards, he fiddled (purposely?) with the Bios and pressed F7 (load optimised defaults). BSOD.
Next day, i saw that sata mode had changed to ide (from ahci), cpu was running at full speed with turbo on, etc. PC booted fine after sata mode setting was changed to ahci (other bios settings were then changed by me). My friend took the pc back and used it for 1 day. Next day PC was dead again (cpu fan cycling problem).
Checked the MB with my Seasonic PS. Same symptoms - cpu fan runs, stops, cycle continues with nothing shown on monitor.
Removed 1 stick of Ram from slot 2. No change in symptoms.
Sent MB back to Gigabyte; the shop (collection centre) employee checked the MB socket with a magnifying glass (email was also sent by my friend warning that he intends to go to a Consumer Forum if repairs are not done properly). Collection centre sends the MB to another city for repairs.
Well, soon afterwards, Gigabyte gets back to my friend on the phone- he is told that the MB is fine –“ Please check CPU, RAM, Psu”.
(1st time the MB was sent to Gigabyte - the bios battery was removed and then put back and MB re-checked. There was no change in symptoms. Also, the ram sticks were exchanged/juggled in their slots with 1/2 sticks used- no change.)

We then connected the Acer MB (cpu is installed in the Acer MB socket when Gigabyte MB is sent for repairs). Holy cow- PC started. Connected an old Hard disk (of a laptop) having win 7. System booted fully – at the end came a BSOD.
Made a few attempts to boot from a (burned) boot dvd- it booted but the software I wanted to run (savepart) did not work – I think I did not burn the compilation/boot disk properly.
So tried booting from a 64GB pen drive in which Easy2Boot and win 7 install iso (Imgptn files) (among others) are installed. Somehow was not able to boot Easy2Boot usb pendrive (boots fine on other pc’s). Have a 2GB pen drive which has some tools (savepart, live winxp, etc.) on it – it booted, but soon the cpu fan stopped (system shut down). Tried once again – did not work.
Meanwhile, the Gigabyte MB arrived. Boxed it up. Booted fine. Bios - changed the settings as before; Integrated Graphics standby and Integrated Graphics Deep Standby are Disabled now and ErP is also disabled (am not sure what the earlier configuration was) ; as usual “waking up” settings are disabled. Password protected the Bios.

We are running the system now everyday for 30 minutes -1 hr - at my residence. No problems whatsoever – he is using the internet using a mobile phone LTE connection.
Will check it for 1 month at my place with the PC cabinet closed.

So my Question: 1. Is the cpu bad?
My opinion – When the system is abnormally shut down, maybe repeatedly, somehow the cpu goes into that cycling state (cpu fan starts/stops). This cycling state is reset after the cpu is removed from the socket.

Am I talking BS here ? (experts, please comment)

Meanwhile my friend’s bro in UK has been unsuccessful is bidding for a cheap sandybridge/ivybridge cpu (used) on ebay.co.uk
Voltage between Neutral and earth (my friends place/socket; 220vac) - 12v.