Undervolting - what is it? Easily explained

The term undervolting is often used in connection with laptops and PCs. You can find out exactly what that is and what risks it entails in this article.

Undervolting - saving electricity for advanced users

• If you want to permanently save energy without foregoing the use of an end user device, you can use undervolting. Here, the processor supply voltage is specifically reduced.
• The logical consequence is a significantly lower power consumption. With laptops, not only the battery life is extended, but also the battery life. The reason for this is that the laptop does not heat up as much and therefore does not wear out the electronic components as much.
• Both PC and laptop need less cooling. As a result, the noises that cooling normally causes are reduced or disappear entirely.
• Commands can no longer be processed and executed as quickly, i.e. the performance drops to a certain degree. Simple areas of application, such as word processing, are normally not affected. More complex programs that place high demands on the CPU, but very well.

Undervolting - These dangers and risks exist

• Undervolting is not entirely without risk. Because lowering the tension too far can have far-reaching consequences:
• A computer keeps crashing with too little processor power. If you want to lower the supply voltage, this should be done in the minimum range.
• If the voltage is too low, calculation errors can also occur. These do not cause much damage, but lead to instability of the entire system.
• Nothing can happen to the processor itself. The hardware is also safe from failed undervolting attempts. The precautions can be easily undone.

In the next practical tip you will find out whether it is useful in your case to undervolt the CPU.