O/C Advice please

[alexisvx]

Hi,

I upgraded my mobo and CPU to an i-7 9700k. 

I get a stable O/C at 5.1ghz with 1.2 voltage and 70C package temps. 

 

When I try to go to 5.2ghz I keep getting the blue screen. I've gone up to 1.215 voltage. 

 

Does this mean that I have reached the end of my O/C or I should continue to increase the voltage?

 

This is only the second computer that I'm overclocking and I'm not sure when one should 'give up'. 

 

Thanks

 

 

 

 

 

My Rig:
CPU: i7-9700k 
GPU: GTX 1080FTW2 Gaming iCX
Motherboard: Z390 Aorus Ultra
CPU cooler: Noctua NH-D14
PSU: EVGA 750W ATX12V
RAM: Corsair Vengence LPX - 16GB (DDR4 3000)
Monitor: 34 inch @ 3440x1440 Asus ROG PG348Q
Case: Fractal Design Define R4
Windows 10

[Gohardgrandpa]

I’d leave it where it’s at honestly. You can do 1.35 volts but then your wattage and heat will go up a lot

[badreg]

19 minutes ago, alexisvx said:

I'm not sure when one should 'give up'. 

You stop overclocking when you reach your performance target, or run out of thermal headroom, or hit a voltage limit.

 

That said, 5.1ghz at 1.2v is a golden sample of golden samples, so most likely the voltage reading is off or you are not stress testing correctly.

[pstarlord]

I'm skeptical about the stability of the overclock, that performance at that voltage and temps seems like one in a billion.  You might be able to boot into Windows, and do basic tasks at that, but once you put a full load, or a sustained load I'd be willing to bet that it crashes.

 

What are you doing for stress tests? 

[alexisvx]

1 hour ago, pstarlord said:

I'm skeptical about the stability of the overclock, that performance at that voltage and temps seems like one in a billion.  You might be able to boot into Windows, and do basic tasks at that, but once you put a full load, or a sustained load I'd be willing to bet that it crashes.

  

What are you doing for stress tests? 

I first did MemTest86. Then I did a 15m thermal testing on Prime 95 followed by a 1h Realbench test. I'll run a full 8h Realbench test to fully test stability next. I wanted to reach a certain O/C level before doing the full 8h test. For what it's worth, I've been playing a few games on that setting with no issues. Now I'll run a full 8h on Realbench and see what happens. 

But still, I was just curious as to what is custom in terms of when does one stop to keep increasing voltage when the last previous configuration in stable? 

[Gohardgrandpa]

What are you hoping to get overclock wise?  5.1 at that voltage is great, if it’s not crashing I’d leave it there instead of pushing it harder

[alexisvx]

Just now, Gohardgrandpa said:

What are you hoping to get overclock wise?  5.1 at that voltage is great, if it’s not crashing I’d leave it there instead of pushing it harder

LOL, I probably will - but you know it's the tinkering pleasure that one gets from this. I also like to learn and experiment. Curious to hear what more experienced people do as this is only the second CPU that I've O/C. 

[alexisvx]

I stress tested with Realbench for 4h with no errors but I think the 8h test restarted my computer. I'll have to re-run the test. 

 

Do you think that the 4h test is enough if it crashes at 8? 

 

I have been playing games with no issues.

 

[pstarlord]

On 6/3/2019 at 10:35 AM, alexisvx said:

I stress tested with Realbench for 4h with no errors but I think the 8h test restarted my computer. I'll have to re-run the test. 

 

Do you think that the 4h test is enough if it crashes at 8? 

 

I have been playing games with no issues.

 

 

For me, to kind of reference a quote earlier, you have to weigh the risk to reward aspect.  Is the performance boost pushing it farther worth the risk of crashing?  At a certain point it does just become an ego thing and you're overclocking for the sake of overclocking.  Nothing wrong with that, its super fun to see people do that, and I used to try and push my OC as far as absolute possible because it's just fun.  But, in a day to application, is that extra .1 going to really be useful to you?  Is that extra frame going to be worth the risk of your system crashing mid game?  That's just kind of up to you I suppose.