Overclocking i9-9900K

[Kenny427]

Hello,
I am very new to overclocking and computer parts in general, but I game and do alot of producing so I wanted to upgrade my hardware. 
I was looking at i7 8700k and i9 9900k and decided to go for the i9 as it was only about 90-100 usd more expensive here in Norway.

 

My question is in regards to overclocking which I am very new to. Ive heard this is what most people do and I just wonder how high should I overclock my new CPU without having to worry about it getting bad very fast or over-heating. I am in no need to overclock it to the max, but if I can get free speed without any risks or merely any temperature changes, why not right? Oh and I will be using the Noctua NH-D15 air cooler to cool the CPU down,

Please bare with me as I said I am very new to all this and therefore seek some help on this forum.

[Jurrunio]

just straight undervolt and keep the frequency as is. 9900k is hot enough at stock. Overclock after the undervolt if temperature turns out ok.

[Kenny427]

5 minutes ago, Jurrunio said:

just straight undervolt and keep the frequency as is. 9900k is hot enough at stock. Overclock after the undervolt if temperature turns out ok.

 

So with undervolting that would be the exact opposite of overclocking right? Would it not be better to let it be on stock settings instead and keep a look at the temperature, or am I missing the point? Again, sorry im I am being ignorant, completely new to this and all the terms.

[Jurrunio]

26 minutes ago, Kenny427 said:

 

So with undervolting that would be the exact opposite of overclocking right? Would it not be better to let it be on stock settings instead and keep a look at the temperature, or am I missing the point? Again, sorry im I am being ignorant, completely new to this and all the terms.

the opposite of overclocking is underclocking. Undervolting reduces voltage but doesnt change the operating frequency and hence performance. This helps reduce heat output as voltage change has a roughly exponential effect on heat output.

[Kenny427]

Thanks for the reply.

Another question - I currently have the GTX 1070 - will it work sufficient enough with the CPU, if not, what should I upgrade to?

[BigTabsAKAKyle]

13 minutes ago, Kenny427 said:

Thanks for the reply.

Another question - I currently have the GTX 1070 - will it work sufficient enough with the CPU, if not, what should I upgrade to?

if you mean will the CPU bottleneck the GPU then the Answer Is no

[Kenny427]

32 minutes ago, BigTabsAKAKyle said:

if you mean will the CPU bottleneck the GPU then the Answer Is no

OK so no big reason to upgrade GPU in your opinion?

[HoneyBadger84]

Your GPU won't have any problems in the setup, I wouldn't upgrade unless you notice low performance in games you play. 

 

There are a few very helpful guides on YouTube that I used to learn, as I came from an i7 3930K to the i9 9900K and pretty much everything from the generation of 6+ years ago to now is different except for what cpu voltages are "safe". 

 

With the cooler you have, I would do testing first to see how much "thermal headroom" you have at stock. Download "Hardware Info 64" to keep an eye on temperatures, and get some benchmarks/stress tests to throw at the system and see what it gets up to. Personally I use 3DMark, AIDA64 & Prime 95. If you use Prime 95 keep in mind that the temps you see using that are higher than you'll see in most "normal" day to day loads. 

 

Once you know your starting load Temps, report back. 

[Kenny427]

1 minute ago, HoneyBadger84 said:

Your GPU won't have any problems in the setup, I wouldn't upgrade unless you notice low performance in games you play. 

 

There are a few very helpful guides on YouTube that I used to learn, as I came from an i7 3930K to the i9 9900K and pretty much everything from the generation of 6+ years ago to now is different except for what cpu voltages are "safe". 

 

With the cooler you have, I would do testing first to see how much "thermal headroom" you have at stock. Download "Hardware Info 64" to keep an eye on temperatures, and get some benchmarks/stress tests to throw at the system and see what it gets up to. Personally I use 3DMark, AIDA64 & Prime 95. If you use Prime 95 keep in mind that the temps you see using that are higher than you'll see in most "normal" day to day loads. 

 

Once you know your starting load Temps, report back. 

Thanks for the extensive reply, I appreciate that. My plan initially was to check how the temperature is on stock settings, and if they look good, then I wanted to try to OC it a tad. What temperatures are OK in ur opinion?

[HoneyBadger84]

Just now, Kenny427 said:

Thanks for the extensive reply, I appreciate that. My plan initially was to check how the temperature is on stock settings, and if they look good, then I wanted to try to OC it a tad. What temperatures are OK in ur opinion?

In regular testing at stock I only see Temps in the 50s & 60s Celsius, but I also have an AIO 280mm cooler. As long as you're under 90C max load temps, your temperatures aren't "bad", ideally at stock you'd want to see something in the 70s at most. But I don't know how temperatures scale with an air cooler. 

[aezakmi]

18 hours ago, Kenny427 said:

I just wonder how high should I overclock my new CPU

not by a single MHz, come on, it's new, what graphics configuration could even bottleneck it? not even a 2080Ti SLI could since its PCI-E lanes aren't enough to run both cards at the same time at 16x

 

overclock should only be done when 

• The CPU is too old and struggles to keep up on daily basic tasks
• A graphics card bottlenecks it
• Special scenarios where you need to increase the IPC rate, like professional picture/video editing, heavy workloads ie file compression, model processing, real time analysis (scientific stuff)

There's simply no way that CPU needs to be overclocked to play games, maybe in 10 years, but now? Of course not.

 

All of this gamer trend started to mess up with overclocking and users just started recommending it for every problem related to games, it got out of hand and they believe new processors need to be overclocked in order to be useful for games while they don't, you only overclock when your CPU is like 7 years old, like a 3770k or an FX-8300.

[BigTabsAKAKyle]

25 minutes ago, Kenny427 said:

OK so no big reason to upgrade GPU in your opinion?

The GTX 1070 is still a fantastic GPU.. i normaly skip a gen for example if i was you and had a gtx 1070 i would skip the RTX 2070 and only buy after that.. Unless you need a New GPU there is no point in my opinion.. if your hitting your desired FrameRate and your still happy with the GTX 1070 I would just keep it. Hope That Helps Answer Your Question

 

Any Question Just Ask i will try and help the best i can

[BigTabsAKAKyle]

As for overclocking the I9 9900K i think the limit intel have pushed is already high enough overclocking the I9 900K will just push up temps more.

[Princess Luna]

1 hour ago, Kenny427 said:

Thanks for the reply.

Another question - I currently have the GTX 1070 - will it work sufficient enough with the CPU, if not, what should I upgrade to?

Gee... even an i5 8400 will fully drive a GTX 1070

 

It is not the highest end GPU at all, overclocking will give you no benefits as you'll be GPU limited always either ways. At least in the matters of gaming.

[_Hustler_One_]

After reading all that i9-9900KFC posts, now everytime I see "overclocking i9-9900K" I read it as "overcooking i9-9900KFC"