Asus X99-A CPU voltage settings, need an experienced user.

[Oldschool_OC]

*Edit* I have solved the problem. See the 4th post in this thread for details.

Hi guys. Long time system builder and OC'er (nearly two thousand under my belt), so not a newb.

However with this X99-A I seem to be a little stuck when it comes to CPU voltages. I do not use the OC software, I am old school and software OC seems, I don't know, sac-religious I guess.

Anyways, to start with the system I am currently working with is:

Asus X99-A
HyperX 16GB DDR4 3000 Model HX430C15PB2K4/16 @ 3GHz (BCLK @125MHz)
i7 5820K @4.375 GHZ (idle @ 30 degrees C, 2 hours Prime 95 small FFT 80 degrees C)
Cooler Master Nepton 240 watercooler
EVGA 04G-P4-3975-KR GeForce GTX 970 4GB
Creative Sound Blaster Zx
SAMSUNG 850 Pro 256GB SSD
CORSAIR HX650 PSU
Cooler Master HAF XB EVO Case
Multiple Terabytes of SATA HDD's

Rock solid stable!

I built this system last week, and it runs flawless.

However, when letting the motherboard "auto" control the CPU voltage (VID) it runs at 1.28v (a little high for my taste). I also have a Maximus VII Hero with 4790k @4.6 and was able to get it running that way with only 1.20V (motherboard auto).

The problem:
I was unable to find any way to limit the maximum CPU VID on the X99-A. So instead, by trial and error, I figured out the minimum voltage that this overclock would run stable with and set it there manually in the BIOS. The obvious downside it that even at system idle the CPU is running 1.15V, when it COULD be running at about 0.95V.

So, here goes the question:

Is there a way to manually set a "range" of voltages for the CPU (and CPU Cache) on the X99-A?
Example: I would like to have the CPU VID and Cache run between 0.95V (idle) and 1.15V (full load).

The obvious reason I would like it this way is heat. While the water block does keep it at 30C idle, it has the fans (and pump) running faster than necessary to do so.

What I have tried:
1: Using the offsets - invariably causes no-POST. I believe this is because offsets do not offer +- simultaneously, it is either + or -
2: Tuning the LLC (External). It runs at 1.27V even on Level 1.

A bunch of other stuff, I do not recall everything, but what I am looking for is someone who can tell me how to set a usable "range" of CPU voltages (without causing it to drop too low and crash).

Thanks for any help you can offer.

 

[Woomack]

to the OCF

Just set CPU voltage in BIOS and that's all. It won't go much above that value.
LLC on X99 is not working in the same way as on 1155/1150 platforms. LLC generally affects PLL/Internal CPU voltage ( sometimes marked as internal VRM ), not vcore so changing LLC is almost not helping to stabilize vcore.
If you want voltage to drop when CPU is in idle then best is to enable power saving features ( C stages and EIST ) and set manually CPU voltage. Then voltage and CPU ratio will drop but max voltage will be limited to what you set in BIOS.

Here is screenshot with voltages which I needed for 4.6GHz on my last 5820K. It's kinda good chip and I don't know what you have so your voltages can be higher.



I'm usually setting 800kHz CPU frequency, fast response VRM, LLC to 9 ( it stabilizes higher clocks and I just leave it like that at low clocks too ).
VCCIO can be at auto or ~1V if you are not overclocking cache much.
VCCSA can be at auto or ~1V if you are not using all memory slots or if you are not using 3200+ memory.
Internal PLL overvoltage is not required on X99 so can be enabled, disabled or auto and it won't change anything.

I don't know if you have all above options in your BIOS. I'm using Rampage V Extreme but ASUS has many the same options in other boards too.

 

[Oldschool_OC]

Thank you for the excellent reply Woomack! That information is helpful. Nice overclock too btw!

I had this one running @ 4.5GHz and it is stable their, didn't try for 4.6. Honestly @4.375 the thing is a beast.

I do have the CPU set to 1.15v in the BIOS and in the OS it never budges from 1.156 actual (according to software). EIST is also enabled (idles @1500MHz).

I thought I had all the C states enabled, maybe I missed a couple. I will look into that this coming weekend probably.

I did not mess with the internal LLC at all (because of FIVR) but I did play around a bit with the one labeled "External Digi+ Power Control" with absolutely no results that I could see. Maybe FIVR is controlling that as well, I have no idea really.

If you want to see this systems Passmark score you can look up ID# 347781 (if you know how to look up passmark scores).

Again, thank you for the reply, I will look into implementing some of those fine tuning points when I have the time.

 

[Oldschool_OC]

I FOUND THE SOLUTION!

I got up a couple hours early this morning and SOLVED THE PROBLEM!

My 5820K now idles @1.5GHz with 0.94v and goes to full load @4.375GHz with 1.151V (almost EXACTLY what I was looking to do)!

The key to setting a CPU voltage range in the X99-A is in the {CPU Core Voltage}->[Adaptive Mode]. Apparently, [Adaptive Mode] does not use the same voltage set as [AUTO] mode does. [Adaptive Mode] uses a lower voltage set, thus (for overclocking at least) you will have to set a positive offset to keep the voltage within the stability range for your particular overclock.

For those of you with the X99-A looking to do this, here is what I did (knowing that my overclock was stable @1.15v at full load):

* Please keep in mind that every chip is different so your CPU will probably require different voltage offsets than mine, meaning that this is just a "model" of how to do get it working.

In BIOS->Advanced Mode->Ai Tweaker->

1) {CPU Core Voltage}-----------------------------> [Adaptive Mode]
2) {CPU Core Offset Mode Sign}------------------> [+]
3) {CPU Core Voltage Offset}---------------------> [0.18] (*This value will be specfic to your system)
4) {Additional Turbo Mode CPU Core Voltage}---> [Auto]
5) {CPU Cache Voltage}---------------------------> [Adaptive Mode]
6) {CPU Cache Offset Mode Sign}----------------> [+]
7) {CPU Cache Voltage Offset}--------------------> [0.05] (*This value will be specfic to your system)
8) {Additional Turbo Mode CPU Cache Voltage}--> [Auto]

Thats it, now the system auto-ranges the voltage on my 4.375GHz CPU overclock from 0.94V to 1.151v as needed.

If you find other settings that are required in order for this to work please post them as I did not have to investigate such possibilities. This just worked for me.

Please also note that it took a little "trial and error" to get the voltage offset tuned just right. Don't expect to hit your target range on the first try. I believe it took me 3 or 4 tries to get mine just right.

Hope that helps someone at least.

 

[joncas]

In BIOS->Advanced Mode->Ai Tweaker->

1) {CPU Core Voltage}-----------------------------> [Adaptive Mode]
2) {CPU Core Offset Mode Sign}------------------> [+]
3) {CPU Core Voltage Offset}---------------------> [0.18] (*This value will be specfic to your system)
4) {Additional Turbo Mode CPU Core Voltage}---> [Auto]
5) {CPU Cache Voltage}---------------------------> [Adaptive Mode]
6) {CPU Cache Offset Mode Sign}----------------> [+]
7) {CPU Cache Voltage Offset}--------------------> [0.05] (*This value will be specfic to your system)
8) {Additional Turbo Mode CPU Cache Voltage}--> [Auto]

Thats it, now the system auto-ranges the voltage on my 4.375GHz CPU overclock from 0.94V to 1.151v as needed.

.

Hi and many thanks for this very helpful information -- I was struggling with the same problem: to be able to overclock when more performance is needed, but have as silent as possible a system when idling.

Your settings helped me get 4.4 GHz and yet keep idle power down to 57 watts.
I wasn't able to use the XMP memory profile because it sets the BCLK to 125 which caused the computer to crash when waking up from sleep, so the ddr4 frequency stays at 1066 MHz.

One question: which Cache multipliers did you use with your system?

 

[Oldschool_OC]

One question: which Cache multipliers did you use with your system?

Hi Joncas, glad to hear someone else found it useful.

I left my cache multipliers at auto.

What is the brand and model of RAM you have? Also, what is your BIOS rev (should be latest).

 

[joncas]

What is the brand and model of RAM you have? Also, what is your BIOS rev (should be latest).

Hi, and thanks for replying !
I have a completely different mainboard: ASRock X99X "Fatality" with G.skill F4-3000C15Q-16GRR DDR4. Afterwards I found that the wake-up crashes may have been due to the Corsair H110i aio watercooling controller hooked up to the USB, but it has a rather audible pump even in "silent" mode so I'm changing it anyway.
In any case, all the other overclocking guides that I found talk of getting maximum performance "full blast" all the time, whereas your settings were much more helpful for a real-world application (3d rendering of architectural designs), since one prefers to have silence when not rendering!
This way the CPU uses around 18 watts when idling and 185 at maximum 4.4 GHz (the reading given by "OpenHWMonitor") and the whole PC including a GTX980 video card when measured at the wall plug uses around 57 watts idle with Vcore ca 0.9v and 360 W at max power with Vcore 1.27V.
The idle consumption is pretty much the same as the default non-OC settings, so I'm quite happy, even if one could probably manage to overclock a bit higher with more fiddling.

 

[Vellinious]

I have the same motherboard and was having issues with getting the voltages set manually. I came across this thread while researching and this helped out quite a bit.

I ended up using the same setting you did, except I lowered the core offset a tad. I ended up at 4.5ghz with an offset at .176v on the core and .05 on the cache offset. It ends up bouncing between 1.26 and 1.27 during the stress testing @ 4.5. I was wondering...at the clock you're running, and those volts, what kind of temps are you seeing? At those settings, running IBT, it spikes to 69c, but usually sticks around 65c. That's with an ambient room temp around 24c. I'm trying to gauge how that compares to other 5820k out there... I'll likely push it harder in the next few days, I'd like to see it run 4.7....just for kicks. As it stands, I found my daily clock.

 

[Oldschool_OC]

I was wondering...at the clock you're running, and those volts, what kind of temps are you seeing?

Hi Vellinious, that looks like a nice overclock to me. Your CPU cooler must be a good deal better than mine.
My ambient temp is 72 F (22.2 C) and after a few days running folding@home the highest temp recorded is 66 C. I forget what the prime temps were, but not much higher than that, if any, as I recall.

I have yet to play around with any of the fan speed settings (control over pump activity vs temp) but I don't imagine it could do too much for lowering max temps anyways.

Looks like you got a nice CPU, mine would not go above 4.375 no matter how liberal I tried getting with voltages, always crashed after a couple of hours at anything above 4.375.

 

[Vellinious]

Hi Vellinious, that looks like a nice overclock to me. Your CPU cooler must be a good deal better than mine.
My ambient temp is 72 F (22.2 C) and after a few days running folding@home the highest temp recorded is 66 C. I forget what the prime temps were, but not much higher than that, if any, as I recall.

I have yet to play around with any of the fan speed settings (control over pump activity vs temp) but I don't imagine it could do too much for lowering max temps anyways.

Looks like you got a nice CPU, mine would not go above 4.375 no matter how liberal I tried getting with voltages, always crashed after a couple of hours at anything above 4.375.

Thanks for responding. The stability tests with IBT were just to get my voltages close...I had to raise them at 4.5. I ended up at 1.285v to get it stable in OCCT. It ran last night for about 6 hours while I slept and temps peaked at 65c. I'll take that...and call it stable.

I did manage to get it to 4.6, but to get OCCT stable on a 3 hour run, it took 1.39v to get there. It was peaking at 73c in OCCT. I won't be using that clock much, unless it's just to run a benchmark or something. Pretty sure I'll use the 4.5 for the daily clock.

I might play around with running in full manual mode, turn off c states and all that, see if I can get it stable at a little less voltage.

I'm using a raystorm block in a custom loop. I'm going to try the EK Supremacy EVO in the next couple of weeks. I'm hoping it'll yield a little lower temps.

 

[EarthDog]

You may want to update your signature Vell....

Your temps are also fine for your voltage.

 

[Oldschool_OC]

The stability tests with IBT were just to get my voltages close...I had to raise them at 4.5. I ended up at 1.285v to get it stable in OCCT.

After I first put mine together I did have it running at 4.5GHz for about a day, however the voltages were still set to auto at that time so it was jumping up into the 1.3x voltage range and subsequently causing more heat than I am comfortable with. Looking over my old notes it appears that I had a max of 1.25v in mind (to keep it under 70 C), and it would not run stable at anything above 4.375 GHz even at 1.25v so I figured that was all it was capable of.

Looking at your numbers I started thinking about building a custom loop in order to hit 4.5 GHz while maintaining temps under 70 C, unfortunately my bank account does not currently support such a plan. Maybe I will see if it will go 4.5 at 1.285v like yours does and see what temps it puts out.

Thanks for the response, that info got me fired up about hitting 4.5 again!

 

[kameozero]

*Edit* I have solved the problem. See the 4th post in this thread for details.

Hi guys. Long time system builder and OC'er (nearly two thousand under my belt), so not a newb.

However with this X99-A I seem to be a little stuck when it comes to CPU voltages. I do not use the OC software, I am old school and software OC seems, I don't know, sac-religious I guess.

Anyways, to start with the system I am currently working with is:

Asus X99-A
HyperX 16GB DDR4 3000 Model HX430C15PB2K4/16 @ 3GHz (BCLK @125MHz)
i7 5820K @4.375 GHZ (idle @ 30 degrees C, 2 hours Prime 95 small FFT 80 degrees C)
Cooler Master Nepton 240 watercooler
EVGA 04G-P4-3975-KR GeForce GTX 970 4GB
Creative Sound Blaster Zx
SAMSUNG 850 Pro 256GB SSD
CORSAIR HX650 PSU
Cooler Master HAF XB EVO Case
Multiple Terabytes of SATA HDD's

Rock solid stable!

I built this system last week, and it runs flawless.

However, when letting the motherboard "auto" control the CPU voltage (VID) it runs at 1.28v (a little high for my taste). I also have a Maximus VII Hero with 4790k @4.6 and was able to get it running that way with only 1.20V (motherboard auto).

The problem:
I was unable to find any way to limit the maximum CPU VID on the X99-A. So instead, by trial and error, I figured out the minimum voltage that this overclock would run stable with and set it there manually in the BIOS. The obvious downside it that even at system idle the CPU is running 1.15V, when it COULD be running at about 0.95V.

So, here goes the question:

Is there a way to manually set a "range" of voltages for the CPU (and CPU Cache) on the X99-A?
Example: I would like to have the CPU VID and Cache run between 0.95V (idle) and 1.15V (full load).

The obvious reason I would like it this way is heat. While the water block does keep it at 30C idle, it has the fans (and pump) running faster than necessary to do so.

What I have tried:
1: Using the offsets - invariably causes no-POST. I believe this is because offsets do not offer +- simultaneously, it is either + or -
2: Tuning the LLC (External). It runs at 1.27V even on Level 1.

A bunch of other stuff, I do not recall everything, but what I am looking for is someone who can tell me how to set a usable "range" of CPU voltages (without causing it to drop too low and crash).

Thanks for any help you can offer.

i know you said your not a newb but its newb to use prime with haswell e..... it can damage and overvolt the cpu pulling near 300 through it in prime ur ment to use aida 64... for haswell e ur lucky uve not recked your cpu

prime 95 and haswell e are very bad they can cause ur cpu to pull so much power when overvolted and overclocked that it can pull nearly 300% more power through the cpu causing burnt cpus or massive degradation

 

[Oldschool_OC]

i know you said your not a newb but its newb to use prime with haswell e..... it can damage and overvolt the cpu pulling near 300 through it in prime ur ment to use aida 64... for haswell e ur lucky uve not recked your cpu

I was aware of this, however your statement is only partially correct. If you are interested in educating yourself on the subject check out this thread I started back in February concerning prime95.

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php/755222-Prime-95-Rev-Question

There are quite a number of replies from some knowledgeable members with accurate information on the subject.

And while you may like aida 64, it is not for everyone.

 

[Woomack]

prime 95 and haswell e are very bad they can cause ur cpu to pull so much power when overvolted and overclocked that it can pull nearly 300% more power through the cpu causing burnt cpus or massive degradation

Now think how many users already repeated this false info and how many already think it's true because it's popular statement on the forums.
Prime 95 is not killing CPUs, it's not degrading if you use it to test stability ... not couple of days full load on stock cooler.
Prime 95 is a tool which used right won't cause any harm ... like every tool, not all know how to use it. Overclocking is not for all too.

 

[EarthDog]

Only under ln2 could Haswell e cpu pull 300% of it's power... you need to raise voltage and clocks a ton to do that. P95 won't cone remotely close.

 

[p_anicca]

I got up a couple hours early this morning and SOLVED THE PROBLEM!

My 5820K now idles @1.5GHz with 0.94v and goes to full load @4.375GHz with 1.151V (almost EXACTLY what I was looking to do)!

The key to setting a CPU voltage range in the X99-A is in the {CPU Core Voltage}->[Adaptive Mode]. Apparently, [Adaptive Mode] does not use the same voltage set as [AUTO] mode does. [Adaptive Mode] uses a lower voltage set, thus (for overclocking at least) you will have to set a positive offset to keep the voltage within the stability range for your particular overclock.

For those of you with the X99-A looking to do this, here is what I did (knowing that my overclock was stable @1.15v at full load):

* Please keep in mind that every chip is different so your CPU will probably require different voltage offsets than mine, meaning that this is just a "model" of how to do get it working.

In BIOS->Advanced Mode->Ai Tweaker->

1) {CPU Core Voltage}-----------------------------> [Adaptive Mode]
2) {CPU Core Offset Mode Sign}------------------> [+]
3) {CPU Core Voltage Offset}---------------------> [0.18] (*This value will be specfic to your system)
4) {Additional Turbo Mode CPU Core Voltage}---> [Auto]
5) {CPU Cache Voltage}---------------------------> [Adaptive Mode]
6) {CPU Cache Offset Mode Sign}----------------> [+]
7) {CPU Cache Voltage Offset}--------------------> [0.05] (*This value will be specfic to your system)
8) {Additional Turbo Mode CPU Cache Voltage}--> [Auto]

Thats it, now the system auto-ranges the voltage on my 4.375GHz CPU overclock from 0.94V to 1.151v as needed.

If you find other settings that are required in order for this to work please post them as I did not have to investigate such possibilities. This just worked for me.

Please also note that it took a little "trial and error" to get the voltage offset tuned just right. Don't expect to hit your target range on the first try. I believe it took me 3 or 4 tries to get mine just right.

Hope that helps someone at least.

Thank you so much! Have created an account purely because of your solution/findings since it seems impossible to find anyone who can explain how to use adaptive voltages properly.

I have been running a 5820k for a short while now on constant voltage and temperatures weren't great (granted, I had not had time yet to find the lowest sustained voltage)...

I imagine I may be able to lower the adaptive voltage even further but am currently enjoying a huge temperature reduction and my 4.5Ghz OC remains unchanged!

1.124-1.129v (CPU-Z / XTU stress test) @ 4.5ghz, <3

That being said I had read that adaptive may produce an overshoot of 0.1v; is this still the case with these settings (if it were indeed the case) and is CPU-Z an accurate display of the voltage? Thanks <3

 

[casperbaby]

In BIOS->Advanced Mode->Ai Tweaker->

1) {CPU Core Voltage}-----------------------------> [Adaptive Mode]
2) {CPU Core Offset Mode Sign}------------------> [+]
3) {CPU Core Voltage Offset}---------------------> [0.18] (*This value will be specfic to your system)
4) {Additional Turbo Mode CPU Core Voltage}---> [Auto]
5) {CPU Cache Voltage}---------------------------> [Adaptive Mode]
6) {CPU Cache Offset Mode Sign}----------------> [+]
7) {CPU Cache Voltage Offset}--------------------> [0.05] (*This value will be specfic to your system)
8) {Additional Turbo Mode CPU Cache Voltage}--> [Auto]

Hi,

My PC is having problem with sleep mode. The PC sleeps for ~5 hours and can not resume after that. Q-Code is 30, the PC is running but the screen is blank with blinking light of the monitor. This problem happens only when i overclock. My clock speed is 4.5 Mhz with BCLK 100 and ratio 45. Dram is running at 2800 Mhz. Please see my signature for PC specs.

 

[Vellinious]

Sounds like your overclock isn't stable. What kind of offsets did you set to run at 4.5?

 

[EarthDog]

Hi,

My PC is having problem with sleep mode. The PC sleeps for ~5 hours and can not resume after that. Q-Code is 30, the PC is running but the screen is blank with blinking light of the monitor. This problem happens only when i overclock. My clock speed is 4.5 Mhz with BCLK 100 and ratio 45. Dram is running at 2800 Mhz. Please see my signature for PC specs.

This is someone else's thread... it is best to start your own to get the best help for you and to not hijack another's.

But to answer quickly, not resuming from sleep/hibernation is a known issue with some intel systems... assuming your O/C is stable. The answer, don't sleep or hibernate. You have an SSD so Im sure you are up and running around 30s anyway.