Why Voltage is So Important to Overclock the CPU

The VCore or core voltage is the voltage that is supplied to the processor in order for it to function. You may have noticed that when it comes to overclocking the CPU, the voltage is always a parameter to take into account, and it is that the amount of energy used by the processor and the amount of heat generated depend largely on it.

There are several factors that limit the overclocking -and, in fact, the general operation- of a processor: on the one hand we have the energy consumption since its circuits have a maximum, on the other we have the heat generated since there are certain limits that they cannot be passed over to avoid damaging the device, and the third factor is stability, as the CPU needs a certain amount of voltage to maintain stability at configured operating speeds.

Overclock CPU

These three factors depend in one way or another on the voltage, which is why it is so important when it comes to overclocking, and then we will see why.

Voltage, the most important factor for CPU overclocking

All processors have a voltage identification definition or VID , which determines how much voltage the processor needs to maintain the manufacturer’s predetermined clock speeds.

CPU VID BIOS

This voltage may be different for each processor, but in all it is the base established by the manufacturer so that the processor can operate at the speed for which it has been designed. By overclocking we are increasing that operating speed, so if we do not increase the voltage that we supply to the processor we could create instability by not having enough power.

Imagine that the processor is a car and that the voltage is the gasoline, while the operating speed is the distance we want to travel. If the car is capable of traveling 100 km with 5 liters of gasoline, everything will be fine; However, if we want to travel 150 km without supplying more gasoline to the car, we will surely be stranded without being able to reach the destination. The same thing happens with processors: if you raise the speed without supplying more “gasoline” (voltage), the processor will not be able to function properly.

The problem comes from the other limiting factors, starting with the heat: if we supply more voltage to the processor so that it is able to operate at a higher speed, the processor will generate more heat and at the same time have a higher consumption . We have thermal solutions of all kinds to alleviate this rise in temperature, as long as we stay within the margins, but the maximum consumption is limited and we cannot go from there in any case. This limit is not imposed by the manufacturer, it is imposed by the section and amperage supported by the internal circuits of the device.

overclock automático ryzen

For this same reason, there is also the opposite technique to overclocking: underclocking, which consists of lowering the operating speed of the processor precisely to undervolting. In other words, we can reduce the speed of the processor and in turn lower the voltage that we supply, reducing consumption and generated heat (and of course performance).

Going back to the example of the car that we have put before, if we only want to travel 50 km with the car then we could supply it with a lesser amount of gasoline and we would also be able to reach the destination without problems, maintaining stability.

So in summary, the voltage is so extremely important when overclocking the CPU because the three limiting factors of its operation depend on it: heat, consumption and stability .