Intel Haswell 4670k + 4770K Overclocking guide

[iamjustme]

Hey thanks for the compliment and welcome to the LTT community!

 

When trying to find the best ring voltage heres what i personally do

 

set ring voltage to 1.4V

 

start at a 1:1 ring ratio

 

begin reducing ring multiplier until im stable for 20 hours

 

begin reducing voltage until stable for 20 hours

 

it really does not matter how you approach finding the best voltage. you can start "high" or start "low" its up to you, so long as you get the lowest possible voltage whilst maintaining stability.

This is where I'm at right now:

4.5ghz @ 1.31V

4300mhz @ 1.27V <--- voltage stable for 8 hrs now, should I go down or let it continue for a few more hours?

vccin 1.9V

 

also, is it okay to use handbrake while stress testing?

[ProKoN]

This is where I'm at right now:

4.5ghz @ 1.31V

4300mhz @ 1.27V <--- voltage stable for 8 hrs now, should I go down or let it continue for a few more hours?

vccin 1.9V

 

also, is it okay to use handbrake while stress testing?

 

I recommend a minimum of 8 hours.  if you only ran 8 hours to determine your 1.31V was sufficient for your cpu vcore. keep all your tests at 8 hours.

 

i dont suggest stress testing and running handbrake at the same time, although in theory by running both your pushing the CPU extremely hard so it should be quicker to weed out unstable settings..

 

handbrake is actually a great stress test for the cpu, it really pushes AVX instructions. If your "handbrake" stable and able to stress test for 8 or more hours I would have to say thats fairly stable.

[iamjustme]

I recommend a minimum of 8 hours.  if you only ran 8 hours to determine your 1.31V was sufficient for your cpu vcore. keep all your tests at 8 hours.

 

i dont suggest stress testing and running handbrake at the same time, although in theory by running both your pushing the CPU extremely hard so it should be quicker to weed out unstable settings..

 

handbrake is actually a great stress test for the cpu, it really pushes AVX instructions. If your "handbrake" stable and able to stress test for 8 or more hours I would have to say thats fairly stable

Great!! thanks for the help. now gotta get back to more testing. probably going to push 4.6ghz.

[BMO]

Yes, just leave the TIM there is no tangible performance increase.

i dropped 15C by replacing stock tim with CLU. Use noctua between ihs and cooler.

[fillerplayer]

Hi everyone! First time posting here and I was searching for a good 4770K OCing guide and found this to be a great help. I Would just like to ask some questions to make sure I am doing it right.. First, my setup below:

 

CPU: i7-4770K

Cooler: Hyper 212 Evo

Mobo: Gigabyte Z87-UD4H-CF (BIOS version F7)

RAM: Crucial Ballistix 8GB (2x4GB)

No Graphics Card yet

 

First question is, I cannot seem to find the VCCIN voltage on my BIOS settings. I did find something that was 1.800V which was the first option under CPU Voltage settings. Is this the same thing? - Just checked and it is called CPU VRIN External Override.

 

Second is, should I keep running the stress tool by itself without doing anything else? I had noticed that it seemed to be working fine when I just left it and it was working properly even though I was reading the guide online but every time I played a video (ironically, the youtube overclocking one) my screen will just freeze after a couple of minutes and then BSOD. Happened at 1.25V, 1.26V and 1.27V. What's funny is 1.27V was running fine for 5 hours because I had to sleep but the minute I started playing the video it happened. Should I just keep the IETU running by itself to check? 

 

Thank you very much!

Edited November 30, 2013 by fillerplayer

[meneervent]

Is 1,355v core bad? People seem to freak out with anything over 1,3. However with Prim95 my highest temp (core1) is about 80C. Core 4 however is around 70. Is this normal or did I mess up the Thermal paste? I used the pea method convinced by logan's vid. And why does CPU-Z or even AIsuite show that the core clock is getting 1,376 volt however in the bios I clearly set it to 1,355. AI suite shows both, I have no idea why. Some other settings: 1,8v input voltage (VCCIN I believe) and 100,1 BCLK. I'm running 2400Mhz RAM, does that have influence on the overclocking potential? This clock is 99% stable though, I did about 16 hours of Aida, 12 hours of Prime95 (with custom memory settings to use 90%) some hours of Realbench (including it's stress test), some games (BF1942, CSGO)  and one week normal use. I also did about one hour of AIDA64, Prime95 and BF3 all at the same time, while watching a youtube video. I also don't care what temperature my CPU is running at, as long as the lifetime or performace doesn't decrease. Does anyone now the max temperature and voltage before this things will happen? I still wan't 4,5ghz actually.

[AMD Lover]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zotLLNmduJI

dat video

[ProKoN]

Is 1,355v core bad? People seem to freak out with anything over 1,3. However with Prim95 my highest temp (core1) is about 80C. Core 4 however is around 70. Is this normal or did I mess up the Thermal paste? I used the pea method convinced by logan's vid. And why does CPU-Z or even AIsuite show that the core clock is getting 1,376 volt however in the bios I clearly set it to 1,355. AI suite shows both, I have no idea why. Some other settings: 1,8v input voltage (VCCIN I believe) and 100,1 BCLK. I'm running 2400Mhz RAM, does that have influence on the overclocking potential? This clock is 99% stable though, I did about 16 hours of Aida, 12 hours of Prime95 (with custom memory settings to use 90%) some hours of Realbench (including it's stress test), some games (BF1942, CSGO)  and one week normal use. I also did about one hour of AIDA64, Prime95 and BF3 all at the same time, while watching a youtube video. I also don't care what temperature my CPU is running at, as long as the lifetime or performace doesn't decrease. Does anyone now the max temperature and voltage before this things will happen? I still wan't 4,5ghz actually.

1.355 Vcore is fine. i think its a little much for 4.4GHZ tho.  Dont believe people when they say over 1.3V is bad. for 24\7 overclock I recommend keeping it below 1.45V.

 

i have tested 3 haswell chips. on all of them the fourth core runs cooler about 9-10c cooler...your fine. this will be the case unless you delid your chip.

 

if using manual voltage for your vcore and not using an offset theres is no reason for it to go above 1.355V. I would personally measure the cpu vcore at the board with a digital multimeter before and compare the actual voltage to what the software says. only use manual voltage mode if stress testing with aida64 or prime95. neither of these programs can cope with an adaptive voltage and will in turn overvolt the cpu. thats why i use the xtu stress test, it can cope with adaptive voltage proper.

 

the PIV will effect your OC potential. my recommended PIV voltages are 1.9V-2.2V. Your 1.8V might be holding you back and requiring you to push 1.355V for your 4.4GHz OC. try to set your PIV higher and work your way down.

[meneervent]

1.355 Vcore is fine. i think its a little much for 4.4GHZ tho.  Dont believe people when they say over 1.3V is bad. for 24\7 overclock I recommend keeping it below 1.45V.

 

i have tested 3 haswell chips. on all of them the fourth core runs cooler about 9-10c cooler...your fine. this will be the case unless you delid your chip.

 

if using manual voltage for your vcore and not using an offset theres is no reason for it to go above 1.355V. I would personally measure the cpu vcore at the board with a digital multimeter before and compare the actual voltage to what the software says. only use manual voltage mode if stress testing with aida64 or prime95. neither of these programs can cope with an adaptive voltage and will in turn overvolt the cpu. thats why i use the xtu stress test, it can cope with adaptive voltage proper.

 

the PIV will effect your OC potential. my recommended PIV voltages are 1.9V-2.2V. Your 1.8V might be holding you back and requiring you to push 1.355V for your 4.4GHz OC. try to set your PIV higher and work your way down.

Sadly my motherboard doesn't have voltage measuring points. I should have gotten a UD4H than I guess. And I thought only IBT overvolts the CPU on adaptive? 

[ProKoN]

Sadly my motherboard doesn't have voltage measuring points. I should have gotten a UD4H than I guess. And I thought only IBT overvolts the CPU on adaptive? 

you should have got an MSI board.

 

Most synthetic stress tests will overvolt the cpu if set to "adaptive" mode. just use xtu and save yourself the headache

[jak3z]

Hello, I've reading your guide and following other guides as well as I'm new to Haswell, but I got experience in overclocking since the first Pentium 4 and AMD Athlon K7 came out.

 

So far I've read all the guides I found on the internet from reliable sources and I managed to achieve the following:

 

4.4 Ghz at 1.136v Adaptive. (Results in a 1.152v/1.168v at full load or so CPU-Z says. Aida reports 1.144) Cache Ratio: 40 x, and RAM running 1600Mhz@9-9-9-24 1T 1.5v

 

Stock voltage of my chip according to my Rampage VI Hero under stock settings: 1.008V

 

Temps with Intel Extreme Tuning Ultity doesn't go above 60ºC with fan on a personal curve profile runs at 50% speed at the temp.

 

I'm using adaptive voltage because I want to try and save some power, but I've noticed that playing Battlefield 4, I get overvolting sometimes to 1.252v (maybe BF4 uses AVX2 instructions? I could not find data about it)

 

So how big is the power saving when using manual vs adaptive? Also temps during Battlefield 4 didn't increase a lot, it was on a comfy 50-51ºC under 1 hour gaming.

 

Also I've tested this overclocking for 10 hours overnight with Intel Extreme Utility, so it looks like it's "stable".

 

Any suggestions? Thanks for your time

 

 

 

EDIT: Forgot screenshots and some stuff.

[ProKoN]

hello

 

thanks for sharing your results and welcome to the LTT forum!

 

i think you got great 4.4GHz result. what chip 4670k or 4770k?

 

I am running adaptive voltage and do not get any overvolting with bf4. i will test later to see if i get any overvolting. what board do you have?

 

you system will consume 40-60 less watts if your power saving features work properlly. so basically like turning off a light in your house

 

im not sure what to suggest with bf4 overvolting. i will run some tests and see what i come up with . as far as i know bf3 + bf4 use AVX instruction sets.

[jak3z]

hello

 

thanks for sharing your results and welcome to the LTT forum!

 

i think you got great 4.4GHz result. what chip 4670k or 4770k?

 

I am running adaptive voltage and do not get any overvolting with bf4. i will test later to see if i get any overvolting. what board do you have?

 

you system will consume 40-60 less watts if your power saving features work properlly. so basically like turning off a light in your house

 

im not sure what to suggest with bf4 overvolting. i will run some tests and see what i come up with . as far as i know bf3 + bf4 use AVX instruction sets.

I attached some screenshots and it's a 4770k. Is it possible to have such a low stock Vcore? Maybe I'm reading it wrong, but with Lynnfield I did it that way, the other way that I know is to disable all power saving features leave everything on auto, no turbo no nothing and read CPUZ Core Voltage value.

 

As for the BF4 I've noticed it very slightly but I was running cpuz on the seconds screen and while dead I noticed it a couple of times.

[ProKoN]

I attached some screenshots and it's a 4770k. Is it possible to have such a low stock Vcore? Maybe I'm reading it wrong, but with Lynnfield I did it that way, the other way that I know is to disable all power saving features leave everything on auto, no turbo no nothing and read CPUZ Core Voltage value.

 

As for the BF4 I've noticed it very slightly but I was running cpuz on the seconds screen and while dead I noticed it a couple of times.

 

yes it is very possible to have such a low vcore. to be sure you need to read the voltage with a digital multimeter if your board has Vcheck points

 

have you tried to get your uncore at a 1:1 ratio?

[jak3z]

yes it is very possible to have such a low vcore. to be sure you need to read the voltage with a digital multimeter if your board has Vcheck points

 

have you tried to get your uncore at a 1:1 ratio?

I know I can't run 44 with this voltage/settings, I got a system lockup while trying, I was a hurry though, was just random quick testing possible start points, I will try 41 today and so on.

[ProKoN]

I know I can't run 44 with this voltage/settings, I got a system lockup while trying, I was a hurry though, was just random quick testing possible start points, I will try 41 today and so on.

 a good place to start for uncore

 

PIV-2.1V

 

ring bus voltage 1.45V

 

ring bus multi- 44

 

please report back with your best uncore results. I have had bad luck getting any decent stable results on a ASUS board.

[jak3z]

 a good place to start for uncore

 

PIV-2.1V

 

ring bus voltage 1.45V

 

ring bus multi- 44

 

please report back with your best uncore results. I have had bad luck getting any decent stable results on a ASUS board.

So far I'm using:

Ring bus voltage (Cache voltage): 1.25v

Ring bus mult (Cache ratio): 44x

PIV (Processor Input Voltage): 1.9v

 

So far it's been running IXTU for 10 minutes.Temps are only 1ºC higher.

[jak3z]

So far I'm using:

Ring bus voltage (Cache voltage): 1.25v

Ring bus mult (Cache ratio): 44x

PIV (Processor Input Voltage): 1.9v

 

So far it's been running IXTU for 10 minutes.Temps are only 1ºC higher.

Ok ran 1 hour of IXTU CPU Stress Test and those values, Test Passed. Temp Maxed at 59-66ºC. (Probably due to the FAN on silent mode, as it starts running faster at 65ºC)

 

Ran 1 20 minute test and 1 40 minutes test. 

 

[ProKoN]

Ok ran 1 hour of IXTU CPU Stress Test and those values, Test Passed. Temp Maxed at 59-66ºC. (Probably due to the FAN on silent mode, as it starts running faster at 65ºC)

 

Ran 1 20 minute test and 1 40 minutes test. 

 

 

 

i require minimum 8 hours to consider anything stable.

 

ran bf4 for 1.5 hours on multiplayer. no overvoltage occurred.

[jak3z]

i require minimum 8 hours to consider anything stable.

 

ran bf4 for 1.5 hours on multiplayer. no overvoltage occurred.

I will leave it running IXTU while I sleep, should be 9 hours straight, I will report back tomorrow with results. As for BF4 I will run tomorrow more tests and see if I can replice it. Keep in mind I'm using adaptive with BF4.

 

Thanks for your time

[xxmoney96xx]

Good cooler for a 4.0 Ghz Intel 4770k overclock? I would prefer something that does not have a reservoir. Silence would be nice but please don't break the bank lol.

[ProKoN]

Good cooler for a 4.0 Ghz Intel 4770k overclock? I would prefer something that does not have a reservoir. Silence would be nice but please don't break the bank lol.

how much do you want to spend.

 

im a big fan of saving up for a good cooler.

 

4.0GHz can prolly be done on the stock cooler, but is not recommended

[jak3z]

Good cooler for a 4.0 Ghz Intel 4770k overclock? I would prefer something that does not have a reservoir. Silence would be nice but please don't break the bank lol.

Your best bet is to find something from the Cooler Master Hyper lineup, Hyper 212X or the 412 Slim would do the job even for 4.4 Ghz (if it doesnt need absurd voltage)

 

 

how much do you want to spend.

 

im a big fan of saving up for a good cooler.

 

4.0GHz can prolly be done on the stock cooler, but is not recommended

I ran the stress test overnight 9 hours, I guess it's stable.

 

 

Now I will try to decrease cache voltage below 1.25v

[ProKoN]

Your best bet is to find something from the Cooler Master Hyper lineup, Hyper 212X or the 412 Slim would do the job even for 4.4 Ghz (if it doesnt need absurd voltage)

 

 

I ran the stress test overnight 9 hours, I guess it's stable.

 

 

Now I will try to decrease cache voltage below 1.25v

when your all done make sure to set your cache voltage mode to "adaptive"

 

monitor processor cache to make sure it is actually throttling down while your idle.

[xxmoney96xx]

how much do you want to spend.

 

im a big fan of saving up for a good cooler.

 

4.0GHz can prolly be done on the stock cooler, but is not recommended

 

I was thinking around $30 (USD), but I understand that for some water coolers you need to spend at least $50; but since I just bought my system, I don't have much to spend.

 

The Corsair Hyper 212 EVO looked good but I've heard that It can get pretty loud, but with a fan controller and some good thermal paste, it might be able to cool an OC like that relatively quietly.

 

Thanks for the reply.