• steal_your_face
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    6
    ·
    7 months ago

    Am I reading this right? The games performed better with less power? Why?

    • kadu@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      14
      ·
      7 months ago

      Undervolting aims to keep the same performance at a lower power draw. But because modern SOCs scale their frequency dynamically based on temperature, a lower voltage means slightly better performance

      • steal_your_face
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        4
        ·
        7 months ago

        Oh interesting. Makes sense. Any idea why they don’t tune it like this from the factory? Stability?

        • kadu@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          9
          ·
          7 months ago

          Yes. Essentially, every chip coming out of the fab will be slightly different, so you need to find a voltage curve that works for all of them. Some will be able to work with - 50mv, some -15, some won’t work at all unless they’re right at that factory defined voltage.

    • ylaiOPM
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      9
      ·
      7 months ago

      Undervolting provides the chip with additional power and thermal headroom, and can improved situations where otherwise throttling sets in.

    • David_Eight@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      3
      ·
      7 months ago

      Think of amps and volts like a hose and water. If you put your thumb over the hose the water shoots out faster. Undervolting works in a similar way. So the goal is to lower the volts but maintain or even increase the amps to improve performance.