Gigabyte Motherboards & Load-Line Calibration...

[SugarJ]

What's your concern about not using it? Idle temps? Because those don't matter. If it runs full load at the same vCore in both settings, I'd leave LLC off.

[somecanadianguy]

I guess my only concerns would be the extra voltage needed while idle, and the instable Vcore under load.
With it disabled Vcore jumps from 1.312 to 1.296 under load...
If I have Vcore set to use 1.296 it drops to 1.280 and I'll get BSOD's.
With it enabled Vcore will stay at 1.296 under load.
I suppose it's not really a big deal with my settings, but I have the feature and I want to learn about it.

[HuttFuzz]

Well for me , if you need less voltage in the Bios for it to be stable, then it's good. I don't see a point of leaving LLC off if it gives you a higher Vcore at idle.

[sheepdogexpress]

Man the gigabyte is holding me back those, I can't get the computer to boot at 222bclk.

I looked on forums and the only thing I can imagine helping this thing is a new bios.

[sswilson]

I don't remember where I read it, but my understanding of the feature is that it helps protect your system from spikes when it switches from full load to idle. Basically the system is throwing a ton of Amperage at the chip to sustain full load, but when it suddenly drops to idle, a slow (relative) reaction time to stop trying to feed the CPU at those levels will result in a very high momentary spike in Voltage.

I could be completely off base here, but that's what sticks in my mind.

[rjbarker]

You are on the right track Mr Wilson....on Evga Boards its referred to as "with VDroop" and "without VDroop"
"Without VDroop" will require less vCore set in BIOS, but under full load the VCore wil rise substantially....
"With VDroop" will require more Vcore in BIOS, but the vCore will "Droop" or reduce substantially under load....

Thier has been a ton of discussion on the issue....for longevity of the CPU and to protect against Voltage Spikes it is recomended to keep "VDroop" enabled....as Enaberif stated "VDroop" is good....

[somecanadianguy]

I don't see Vcore go up under load with LLC enabled.

LLC Disabled:



LLC Enabled:

[MpG]

Originally Posted by sswilson

I don't remember where I read it, but my understanding of the feature is that it helps protect your system from spikes when it switches from full load to idle. Basically the system is throwing a ton of Amperage at the chip to sustain full load, but when it suddenly drops to idle, a slow (relative) reaction time to stop trying to feed the CPU at those levels will result in a very high momentary spike in Voltage.

I could be completely off base here, but that's what sticks in my mind.

One of the main proponents of that argument was Anand's Kris, as laid out in this article.

Personally, I'm in favour of Vdroop. I have yet to see it conclusively demonstrated that LLC does anything to lessen Vcore ripple under load. And by the time LLC matters either way, I think I care more about the quality and cleanness of the given voltage than the average reading that shows up on a DMM. If benching at X volts doesn't kill the processor, idling at X+0.02 volts will probably be just fine.

[Chilly]

VDroop is good, m'kay?

Here's a couple past posts from me, filled with good information, on the matter.

Originally Posted by Chilly

To the people asking, vDroop(called "Load-Line Calibration" in this case) is an often time misunderstood feature that's mandated by Intel. It was introduced with the Core 2 Duo, but its implementation wasn't too tightly interwoven then, with the i7 that's changed.

I forget the specifics right now but long story short, turning "off" vDroop causes the change from idle to load to be alot more harsh to the CPU then leaving it "on". The reason I put it in quotations is because the motherboard is actually doing more work when its "off" than when its "on".

Originally Posted by Chilly

By turning vDroop off, it makes the motherboard PWM's work MUCH harder, as well as being a bit harsh on the CPU. Personally, and this is just my opinion, your better off leaving the voltage higher with vDroop on, than the other way around.

Originally Posted by Chilly

Don't be parinoid, just find what works best for you. vDroop being off or on isn't gonna damage your CPU. Worse case scenario? It might make your overclock unstable.

When it comes to overclocking, due to the fact vDroop is more interwoven with the i7's than before(C2D), more often than not your better off leaving vDroop on than off and setting the voltage 0.02v higher. While it hasn't been proven to cause instability one way or the other(and I do stress this), the reasoning is simple, with vDroop "off" the changes between various loads are alot more harsh and resulting "voltage spikes" could destabilize the CPU for a split second causing instability, crashes, and errors.

As an example, when you have vDroop "off", you'll notice that sometimes(not always) when you go from idle to load your vcore will actually go UP by an ever so slight amount. The reason this happens is when you turn vDroop "off" the motherboard monitors the vcore line, and whenever the CPU's vcore drops, even if only for a split second, it will "spikes/increase" the voltage to keep it as close as possible to your set value. Thats also why some vendors don't call it "vDroop off" but rather "loadline calibration" or some other variation.

Saaya explains it best! More detailed info about vDroop on i7

[rjbarker]

Thanks Chilly...I remember you providing me with those Posts a number of months ago! Presently I OC "with VDroop".....
that is one of the factors that could be a little "mis-leading" when Posting OC's and vCore:
1. Is the Posted vCore under load "with VDroop"...obviously that will indicate a much lower vCore
2. If VDroop "disabled", the vCore entered into BIOS is hardly representative of what your VCore is under load...as it will go up substantially.

I always tend to Post what the vCore value is that I set in BIOS "with VDroop" enabled. If anything, it will always go "down" from this value under full Prime load.