What is undervolting? Everything you need to know.

Excessively high temperatures while gaming are common and I am sure you face them too. If that is the case then you might have come across the term Undervolting while looking for solutions to bring those temperatures down. Undervolting can be very handy for gamers tight on budget as they can’t afford high-end cooling for their computers. It can not only bring down the heat output but also improve the battery life for laptop users. Despite it being quite a common and important solution, there aren’t enough well-detailed guides available on the internet. So, here we bring to you everything you need to know about undervolting.

What is Undervolting? The Only definition you’ll ever need

Undervolting is the process through which the voltage directed to the Computer component is decreased at runtime while maintaining the stock clock speeds. It dynamically scales down the voltage to reduce the electric voltage passing to the processor or other components and ultimately reducing the overall heat output.

In simple words, your Cpu (or GPU)can work without problems at slightly lower voltages than it is manufactured at. Now, this is only applicable to a certain limit. Reducing the voltage too much can lead to the component acting unstable. You can bring down the voltage to a certain extent while keeping the system stable and barely losing any framerates while gaming. The lesser quantity of voltage supplied results in a slight cutback on processing power. Moreover, undervolting a system too much can result in system crashes. However, that shouldn’t scare you as undervolting is extremely easy to perform with little caution and research.

How is undervolting performed?

Undervolting is performed through software-based management utilities provided by the manufacturers. Undervolting your CPU or GPU isn’t quite that hard to perform, one can easily undervolt their components safely with little research and caution.

• AMD provides the Ryzen Master software which is a very safe way to undervolt processors as it resets the changes upon restarting the computer. (Read how to undervolt any Ryzen CPU safely here.)
• While on the other hand intel provides the Intel® Extreme Tuning Utility tool.
• A GPU can be easily undervolted with the MSI Afterburner. Read how to undervolt any GPU safely here.

Is undervolting safe?

Yes, in the sense that you cannot end up harming or frying up your components. Reducing the voltage in no way can lead to burning or harming the processor you can cause it to become unstable and maybe crash at worst. Although, it will not affect the health of your computer in any way but might actually make the processor’s life better as it will run more stable.

Also, It is extremely important to test the performance of your computer after applying the changes. Running some stress tests for long hours is highly advised to make sure your system is stable at the current settings.

Should you undervolt? Conclusion.

Undervolting your CPU or GPU safely can greatly benefit you. It is highly advised if your temperatures are anywhere around the 90-degree mark especially for laptop users as it greatly promotes a healthier battery life and more efficient performance! It gets crucial to bring those temperatures down as high temperatures can lead to throttling as a result reducing performance and shortening the life of your computer.

Undervolting advantages

• A more stable system
• Lower temperatures
• Efficient power consumption
• Optimum performance
• No thermal throttling

Undervolting provides more Pros than cons(if any); the best part is that it can be easily reversed if anything goes out ever goes wrong! A lot of users have a sense of fearfulness among them when undervolting but there isn’t much that can go wrong.

Read our step-by-step guide to undervolting here and learn to undervolt safely like a pro.