On Tue, 18 Dec 2018 11:43:52 -0600, VanguardLH wrote:

I was looking through the data spec sheet at:

https://www.intel.com/content/dam/ww...heet-vol-1.pdf

to see what was the recommended normal operating voltage for Vcore or
Vcc. It says 1.52V maximum. Minimum is 0V (zero). Well, yeah, that
means unpowered. But you'd think they would list a recommended, normal,
typical, or optimal voltage.

At 1.1v, I guess I'm within that range. But yeah, why not just come
out with a recommended operating range so that a person would have a
starting point.

Apparently there is some ambiguity regarding what is getting measured.
CPU-z looks to report Vcc but some users are saying the BIOS is report
VID. VID is the nominal voltage assigned to the cores in the BIOS where
Vcore/Vcc is the resulting voltage on the cores after regulation of VID.
If the BIOS uses the programmed voltages vs frequency coded in the CPU
at manufacture time, it uses VID when using the preset values or use
Vcore if you alter to a different voltage than VID.

https://www.anandtech.com/show/13468...aichi-review/3

That shows screen captures of the BIOS screens. Ugh, what a bunch of
noise in the UI. Lots of fluff instead of just grouped text of black
text on a white background. The OC Tweaker tab panel seems to be where
you set the voltage but their pic obliterated the CPU Core voltage
setting with them showing the popup dialog for selecting voltage mode.
With some BIOSes showing VID instead of Vcc, I'm not sure if "CPU
Core/Cache Voltage" is showing VID or Vcc.

According to the above data sheet:

Each processor is programmed with a maximum valid voltage identification
value (VID) that is set at manufacturing and cannot be altered.
Individual maximum VID values are calibrated during manufacturing such
that two processors at the same frequency may have different settings
within the VID range.

Okay, so I guess VID is something that is query-able so the BIOS knows
what voltage to use by default. If the BIOS was not configured for
overclocking, the expectation is that CPU is operable at the VID it
reports to the BIOS. At different frequencies, the CPU is programmed
for a different VID. I suppose the data sheet indicates the variance in
Vcc based on clock frequency but I got lost in that document. Since
you're not overriding the default settings with overclocking, the
expection is the programmed VID is what the CPU should work with.

https://www.overclock.net/forum/5-in...t-cpu-vid.html

That has some overclockers discussing VID and Vcore. I have to wonder
why the CPU has a failure when it is running at it programmed
non-overclocked (non-adjusted VID) values that it says it should work
at. Makes me wonder if there's a failing in the CPU or in the
regulation on the mobo to the CPU (BIOS specifies the VID but the CPU
doesn't get the expect Vdrop to have adequate Vcore).

I don't know either, and I specifically don't know why the shortcoming
isn't more widely reported. With two boards now acting the same way,
maybe you're right that the CPU isn't holding up its end of the
negotiation. A person shouldn't have to make any BIOS changes just to
achieve a standard POST and boot. I may have to ask ASRock about that.

Thanks for the research.