I need help undervolting an old laptop (Core 2 Duo P8700)

luiskeniosis

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I've been using an old Dell Precision M4400 (Windows 7) to play light games like league of legends, and it works fine for it, but recently i've noticed that my laptop gets uncomfortably hot. After installing HWMonitor i found out that my CPU runs at almost 95 degree Celsius while playing league of legends!

After doing a bit of research on how to cool off my laptop, i purchased a cooling mat, and i've replaced the thermal paste of the laptop with some Arctic Silver 5. The new temperature is slightly lower at around 80 degrees.

However, I would like for it to be cooler, and started learning about undervolting. I tried using Intel XTU, but it refused to install on my laptop as it was a "unsupported platform". I tried using throttlestop, but every throttlestop undervolting guide i've searched up requires the use of the "FIVR" option within throttlestop, which my version of throttlestop dosent have.

So my questions are:
1. How can i install Intel XTU on my system?
2. How can i undervolt my system with Throttlestop?/How can i get the "FIVR" Option?
3. If questions 1 and 2 are impossible, is there an alternative program i can use to undervolt my system?
If you could answer any one of those questions i'd be sincerely grateful.

Thanks in advance!!

Laptop Specs if needed:
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo p8700
GPU: NVIDIA Quadro FX 770M
Windows 7 64 Bit
 
Solution
Did you click on the Turn On button yet? Go do some gaming and then upload a log file to www.pastebin.com and post a link here so I can have a look.

If your laptop is not throttling, changing the voltage is not going to change the FPS any. Some laptops automatically adjust the CPU fan speed so you might not see any significant temperature difference. What voltage have you tried so far?

Your Quadro FX is probably going to be the main heat contributor in your system.

luiskeniosis

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Yes i did that while i was replacing the thermal paste, and also i just played another game of league of legends and my temperatures were much lower this time at 72 degrees. I would still like to undervolt my CPU though.
 

luiskeniosis

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Aw so there's no other way to undervolt?

Update: I just checked the bios there is nothing there regarding voltage.
 

unclewebb

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You can use ThrottleStop to under volt your Core 2 Duo CPU. The older CPUs like you have do not use FIVR so ignore those guides you found on the internet.

To under volt using ThrottleStop, on the left side, set the multiplier to the maximum, set your maximum voltage, check the Set Multiplier option and click on the Turn On button. Make sure SpeedStep is also checked. My T8100 ran fine with the voltage set to 1.05V so maybe start with 1.10 V and see if your CPU is stable. For ThrottleStop to work correctly, you must be using the Windows High performance power profile with the Minimum processor state set to 100%.

Post a screenshot of ThrottleStop so I can see how you have it setup.
 

luiskeniosis

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https://snag.gy/sDuPQj.jpg
Ok here's a screenshot, is it set up right?
 

unclewebb

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ThrottleStop is setup OK but you need to click on the Turn On button if you want it to do anything. The problem I see is that your screenshot shows there is hardly any load on your CPU but your CPU temperatures are up in the 70°C range. That is too hot for idle.

I just read your first post and I see that you are using AS5. Some Dell laptops use thermal pads. If you remove a thermal pad and replace it with AS5, it is possible that your CPU heatsink will no longer be making proper contact with the CPU. You will end up with high CPU temperatures when this happens. You are probably going to have to take your laptop apart again and have a good look at this. You need to make sure the heatsink is snug with the CPU. You might have to do some engineering with washers, etc., to make sure it is snug.

Many Dell laptops have problems with either Clock Modulation throttling or Chipset Clock Modulation throttling. Turn on the Log File option while you are gaming and make sure the log file shows that both of these are always at 100.0%. If you experience throttling, check off whatever type of clock modulation throttling that your laptop uses and make sure this is set to 100% in ThrottleStop. Fix your heat problems first.
 

luiskeniosis

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The temps shown in the screenshot are from about 15 minutes after a gaming load, on idle it usualy sits around 40-50 degrees, which may still be a little hot but the fans aren't loud. When i replaced the thermal paste i did not touch the thermal pads, and using AIDA64 it showed 0% throttling while under a 30 minute cpu stress test. Is all of this ok or do i still need to do more? Also, thank you for your help, i really appreciate this.
 

unclewebb

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Did you try doing some gaming with the voltage set to 1.10 V? Did you try going a little lower to see if you could do that without any crashes.

I am not sure if AIDA64 reports both types of clock modulation throttling that Dell likes to use. I would run a ThrottleStop log file and check those 2 columns in the log just to be sure that neither one is dropping below 100, the multiplier is staying high and the temps are not going too high.
 

luiskeniosis

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Ok so before i undervolted, my max CPU temp was 86 degrees under load, and i was getting around 77 fps in game. After doing this, my temperature was still at 86 degrees, and i was still getting around 77 fps. In the ThrottleStop log file both columns stay at 100. Am i doing something wrong?
 

unclewebb

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Did you click on the Turn On button yet? Go do some gaming and then upload a log file to www.pastebin.com and post a link here so I can have a look.

If your laptop is not throttling, changing the voltage is not going to change the FPS any. Some laptops automatically adjust the CPU fan speed so you might not see any significant temperature difference. What voltage have you tried so far?

Your Quadro FX is probably going to be the main heat contributor in your system.
 
Solution