how do you underclock an intel CPU?

[goontron]

i have found a few online but there either non-intel bioses or using windows. this machine is a beast, its ran windows 2000, xp, vista, 7, 8/blue blazing fast but its a linux box now and i want to underclock it.
here is the system:
kernel 3.8.0-19
mobo D945GCNL
CPU Intel Pentium Dual CPU E2200 @ 2.20GHz x2
PC powerspec-B613
BIOS Intel. NL94510J.86A.0036.2009.1231.1407
OS ubuntu based

how can i underclock it?

[Mad_Professor]

Re: how do you underclock an intel CPU?

drop the multiplier and you'll underclock it. When you underclock it, drop the voltage as well, it will create less heat, that will be vcore.

[Uranium-235]

Re: how do you underclock an intel CPU?

WHY do you want to underclock it?

[shovenose]

Re: how do you underclock an intel CPU?

Speedstep will underclock it automatically when it's not being utilized. No need to underclock it.

[c_hegge]

Re: how do you underclock an intel CPU?

It's an Intel board. They don't let you change the clock speed.

[y_not]

Re: how do you underclock an intel CPU?

You'll have to use a pll soft oc' app to do it. May not be able to, as a non-oc'able BIOS can be difficult to accomplish this on. It's hit and miss from board to board, have a go though.

To another poster, underclocking a CPU is beneficial because it generates less heat and consumes less power. Great for applications where you just don't need all that horsepower and power draw.
Now undervolting is even more interesting, as it allows for the same speed @ less heat and power, not to mention It's beneficial for "training" the silicon and transistors to like a lower power requirement. This allows, after successive burn-ins, for a higher overclock at lower temps and less voltage. At the very minimum, simply the same OC' as normal, but with lower heat and less voltage, hence more stable.
It opens up a whole world of possibilities.

I know quite a bit about it, but have never taken the time to do it. Any undervolt masters here?

[y_not]

Re: how do you underclock an intel CPU?

It's an Intel board. They don't let you change the clock speed.

Since Skulltrail, a i975 board, premium Intel boards allow for this and do it quite well.
But yes, otherwise they do not.

[JingYing]

Re: how do you underclock an intel CPU?

For linux undervolting: http://www.linux-phc.org/
I'm using the AMD version (kernel 3.2.46 and 2.6.32 against K10) but I guess the Intel one is pretty much the same.

[eccerr0r]

Re: how do you underclock an intel CPU?

You can't train silicon for "liking" a lower power requirement. It is what it is and won't get better - it can only get worse as time goes on.

Burn-in happens at a high voltage, high heat situation to reduce of infant mortality.

And yes, modern Intel CPUs with appropriate OS will automatically reduce clock rate. But in technicality, if you measure actual overall system power consumption, a lower clock rate running HLT instructions (what an idle OS should be doing) versus a high clock rate, the difference is not as significant as one would expect.

Really for the most part people should be running their computers as fast as they can and return it to the idle state when it's "done" as fast as it can - overall it will produce the best user experience with reasonable power. This is unless your power source cannot keep up with it or you "like" waiting for your apps to finish.

[cheapie]

Re: how do you underclock an intel CPU?

On Linux, at least, you can set cpufreq to the "powersave" governor, which will lock the CPU*to the lowest speed supported by CPU*frequency scaling ("SpeedStep" on Intel, "Cool n' Quiet" on AMD).

[ratdude747]

Re: how do you underclock an intel CPU?

Buy a PDC/Celeron

Joking!