Raid ? Overclocking ?

[Fideluser]

Hi everyone!!

 

I need some help regarding some stuff, I know almost nothing about. 

 

I just bought a new gaming PC and I set it up like I would set up any random PC. Meaning I just installed Win 10 Pro, and drivers, apps and games I wanted. Done. Keep in mind this is my first encounter with something like this, this specs, this hardware and options.

 

Since I believe I could have set it up better I have this questions about that:

 

1. Should I set up RAID ? Right now it's AHCI or SATA. (if I'm not mistaken the terminology)

2. If so, which RAID ? I see there are many and not sure which one is best..

3. I have a 512GB SSD and a 2TB HDD. Should only one be made RAID, or both ?

4. Can I transform SATA to RAID without reinstalling Windows? 

5. In BIOS I see many overclocking stuff which is new to me also.. like fan control, cpu, gpu, etc. Is there a software that you can recommend ? And should I mess with it or just leave it alone ?

 

Also.. if you have any tips or advice that would be welcomed. 

 

I'll post my specs below maybe that will help with answering my questions and/or recommending stuff.

 

Asus PRIME Z390-A

Intel Core i9 9900KF @3.60GHz

NVIDIA GeForce ASUS ROG Strix RTX 2080Ti 11GB

2x 16GB DDR4 @3.2 MHz 

850W Power Supply 80 Plus Gold

1x 512GB SDD

1x 2TB HDD SATA3

 

Thank you!

[boggy77]

raid is connecting multiple drives of the same type and size together to get increased reliability and speed. in your case, with a ssd and a hdd, you can't set up raid.

as for overclocking, it's definitely worth it and you should follow an online tutorial on how to do it. I would recommend to do it in bios and not through software.

[BetteBalterZen]

9 minutes ago, boggy77 said:

raid is connecting multiple drives of the same type and size together to get increased reliability and speed. in your case, with a ssd and a hdd, you can't set up raid.

as for overclocking, it's definitely worth it and you should follow an online tutorial on how to do it. I would recommend to do it in bios and not through software.

+1

Also please remember to have good cooling. An overclocked i9 will produce a good amount of heat. 

[Fideluser]

10 minutes ago, boggy77 said:

raid is connecting multiple drives of the same type and size together to get increased reliability and speed. in your case, with a ssd and a hdd, you can't set up raid.

as for overclocking, it's definitely worth it and you should follow an online tutorial on how to do it. I would recommend to do it in bios and not through software.

Thank you!!

[Fideluser]

Just now, BetteBalterZen said:

+1

Also please remember to have good cooling. An overclocked i9 will produce a good amount of heat. 

Thank you!!

[BetteBalterZen]

I have some general tips for overclocking though, here goes: 

1. Go online and research what others have their Vcore set to, using the same CPU as you have - fx it could be 1.3v

2. Set your CPU multiplier at 48 on all cores // 4.8GHz (I assume you have good enough cooling for general overclocking)

3. In Windows, download Cinebench R20, HWMonitor and (ASUS) Realbench

4. Start HWMonitor and do a Cinebench R20 run - just to see if it crashes or not, and also to see what you're temps are spiking to. 

 

5a. If your temps are good and you did a Cinebench R20 run without problems, go back into the BIOS and increase the multiplier to 49 or 50 on all cores // 4.9GHz or 5.0GHz - redo this step until you're happy with where you are - remember to be realistic though; don't aim for +5.5GHz or something like that...

5b. If your temps are bad, consider lowering your Vcore and/or consider better cooling. Too low Vcore though (in relation to high multiplier) will make your CPU unstable, which will cause programs or the PC itself to crash / BSOD - redo this step until your PC is stable and have acceptable temp - now go back to step 5a

5c. If your PC instantly crashes, try giving your CPU more Vcore; give it +0.10 Vcore more until it doesn't crash. Then go back to step 5a. 

 

6. Lets say you hit 5.0GHz at 1.35v (not saying this is possible, just an example) and you can do Cinebench R20 runs without problems (no crashes and acceptable temps), now start (ASUS) Realbench and do a 15 minute stresstest as a minimum. If you complete this test without crashing and with acceptable temps, I'd say your PC / overclock is stable and you're good to go with your new overclock. If your PC crashes during Realbench, you're system IS NOT 100% stable. Then give your CPU more Vcore (or lower the Vcore and multiplier (GHz)) until you're able to complete a Realbench run.

REMEMBER TO WATCH YOUR TEMPS! 

It's about finding that sweet spot between multiplier (GHz) and Vcore with the cooling you have for your CPU;

Higher GHz means more speed/performance but higher GHz means more Vcore is needed because too low Vcore will make the CPU unstable at higher GHz, but more Vcore means more heat. Again, it's about finding the sweet spot with the amount of CPU cooling you have. 

Another thing; I've found that it's easier to enable XMP for the RAM first before making any manual overclocking to the CPU. 

 

 

[Fideluser]

2 minutes ago, BetteBalterZen said:

I have some general tips for overclocking though, here goes: 

1. Go online and research what others have their Vcore set to - fx it could be 1.3v - using the same CPU as you have

2. Set your CPU multiplier at 48 on all cores // 4.8GHz (I assume you have good enough cooling for general overclocking)

3. In Windows, download Cinebench R20, HWMonitor and (ASUS) Realbench

4. Start HWMonitor and do a Cinebench R20 run - just to see if it crashes or not, and also to see what you're temps are spiking to. 

 

5a. If your temps are good and you did a Cinebench R20 run without problems, go back into the BIOS and increase the multiplier to 49 or 50 on all cores // 4.9GHz or 5.0GHz

5b. If your temps are bad - consider lowering your Vcore or consider better cooling - too low Vcore will make your CPU unstable, which will cause programs or the PC to crash. 

5c. If your PC instantly crashes, try giving your CPU more Vcore - give it 0.10 Vcore more until it doesn't crash - remember to watch CPU temps. 

 

6. Lets say you hit 5.0GHz at 1.35v (not saying this is possible, just an example) and you can do Cinebench R20 runs without problems (no crashes and acceptable temps)

now start (ASUS) Realbench and do a 15 minutes stresstest as a minimum. If you complete this test without crashing and with acceptable temps, I'd say your PC / overclock is stable and you're good to go with your new overclock. If your PC crashes during Realbench, you're system IS NOT 100% stable. Then give your CPU more Vcore or lower the Vcore and multiplier (GHz) until you're able to do a Realbench run. 

It's about finding that sweet spot between multiplier (GHz) and Vcore with the cooling you have for your CPU;

Higher GHz means more speed/performance but higher GHz means more Vcore is needed because too low Vcore will make the CPU unstable at higher GHz, but more Vcore means more heat. Again, it's about finding the sweet spot with the amount of CPU cooling you have. 

Another thing; I've found that it's easier to enable XMP for the RAM first before making any manual overclocking to the CPU. 

 

 

Wow! Thank you very much! The step by step helps!!

[BetteBalterZen]

12 minutes ago, Fideluser said:

Wow! Thank you very much! The step by step helps!!

You're welcome