Hi all! I recently just dabbled with overclocking for the first time, and have got my i5 4690k up to a healthy 4.4GHz (I wanted 4.5GHz, but it meant a large jump up in VCORE from 1.165 to 1.200 to even get it remotely stable, and with that voltage the temps were too high!)

So, now that I'm happy with my overclock and it is seemingly stable (runs Cinebench fine, ran Prime95 for just under ten hours overnight with no errors or BSOD) I read that I can reduce my power usage while idle by enabling "Adaptive Mode" instead of using "Manual" for VCORE. However, I have no idea how "Adaptive Mode" works, and apparently no-one on the internet does either! A quick google showed a bunch of forum threads with people stating different things, and I'm a bit confused.

The Gamespot overclocking article says it is an offset from your stock VCORE, and I should want the Turbo Offset plus stock to equal my overclocked VCORE (1.165V), but - apart from not being sure what my stock VCORE even is - I just get BSOD every time I try that. Another thread I saw said that the Turbo value should be equal to my overclocked VCORE, but if it really is an offset I don't want to be adding 1.165V to my stock VCORE!

If anyone has either an explanation to how "Adaptive Mode" works, and how I can convert my "Manual" value to it, or a link to a thorough article that can do the same, I'd be really grateful! Or even if anyone can just reassure me that leaving it on "Manual" will probably be fine.

For reference, before overclocking at stock settings my Core Voltage was 0.722V while idle and 1.081V when it was at 100% load.

Nobody on the good ship GiantBomb able to help here?

I used some more extensive Google search as I was curious:

While running a system in power-saving (“Adaptive”) mode, as explained below, Intel SpeedStep® technology reduces power consumption on the platform and enhances battery life on laptop computers. The SpeedStep technology allows a processor’s core voltage and clock frequency to be reduced when CPU utilization is low, in order to save power without user intervention. Note that the SpeedStep technology is effective only when the system runs in the power saving (Adaptive) mode on Microsoft Windows* XP.

Source: https://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/maximizing-power-savings-on-mobile-platforms

So I assume it works the same way on desktop processors, reducing voltage and clock frequency when the cpu is idle. That's about all I can say. Personally I would say leave it as is but I'm anything but an overclock expert.

@nictel: Thanks for doing a bit of digging. I'm pretty sure I understand what I'm aiming to achieve with Adaptive mode, just not what voltage settings I need to input for the Idle/Turbo voltages to actually get it to function correctly, knowing my Manual voltage. Cheers though!

@bollard: My advice would be to keep it between 1.2 and 1.3. But it may vary depending on the stability of your overclock.

Adaptive Mode refers to how some modern motherboards are able to reduce the core voltage going to the CPU when it is idle. Thus, saving you energy and unnecessary heat. Some overclockers like to keep the voltage at a stable Manual level so it is always giving 100%, but that is generally inefficient. Sometimes you're just browsing online or doing nothing. Setting it to Adaptive Mode allows for the voltage to be scaled depending on need, and for the sake of efficiency, you only need an initial voltage high enough for the OS to post.

Sounds like maybe you're getting away with 1.165v, but if you are having issues, you may need to bump it up a little. Some people go to 1.55, but 1.2 is the best to start with and then move up.

I would also recommend checking your power settings to make sure the computer is set to "Balanced" power management. On some systems, High Power management will keep it high, but Balanced will take advantage of your Adaptive setting.

This video about overclocking mentions and explains the Adaptive Mode function of an Asus motherboard:

@truthtellah: Thank you very much for that comprehensive post! Yep, I am 99.9% sure my machine is stable at 1.165V on Manual. At 1.2V I can reach a 4.5GHz overclock, but the temps get too high for me to be happy. The real thing I need to know is what values I need to put in the Adaptive settings to keep the machine stable. Anything I've tried so far just gives me crashes!

I will give that video a watch for sure.

EDIT: Looking at that video it seems I want to let CPU Core Voltage Offset be "Auto" and then set Turbo to be my Manual value (or 1.165V). That is what the forum thread suggested, but now I've seen it in action I'll give that a go and hopefully it'll work!

@truthtellah: At a quick glance those settings appear to have worked perfectly for me! Thank you very much for clarifying that, much happier to see 0.722V going through my CPU at idle again :)

@bollard: Glad to hear it worked for you. Enjoy your new overclock. :)