i9-10900k Overclocking

[Duranu]

So I've made this post on a few other forums but got no replies or input so figured I would try making an account here, This is my post/question:

 

Im using it with a Gigabyte Z490 Gaming X board and would like some input and advice on how to safely overclock as I have never done it for a CPU before just GPUs. Have it running all cores at 5.1 right now hwinfo64 says it is running at 1.405v to 1.415 at the highest, I don't know if this is safe, what changes I should make and the best way to do this, I know virtually nothing when it comes to CPU overclocking, pretty much just looked at a few videos and then set up the pc for 5.1, Highest temp I saw it hit was 80c playing FS2020, I tried 5.2 for giggles but that shot to 91c on fs2020 so I bumped it back down to 5.1

 

Also, with all this talk of the 3000 series from nvidia, what is the highest wattage this cpu will pull? I want to make sure ill have enough power, I think I'll need a new power supply though if I get a 3080 and keep the oc on the 10900k, I currently have a 750bq from Evga

[Mateyyy]

Have you checked VRM temps at all while testing your overclocks?

[Duranu]

2 minutes ago, Mateyyy said:

Have you checked VRM temps at all while testing your overclocks?

Would that be VRM MOS in hwinfo64? I had not looked at that but I can start up FS2020 (since its a pig) and see what the temp on that hits

[Duranu]

Not sure what a good test program would be, but so far highest VRM MOS has hit in FS2020 is 49c

[Mateyyy]

Just now, Duranu said:

Not sure what I good test program would be, but so far highest VRM MOS has hit in FS2020 is 48c

Any stress/stability test - Prime95, Linpack, OCCT. How have you been testing your overclocks for stability so far..?

48C is very surprising, though tbf I don't know how much current FS2020 draws through the CPU - it's certainly not as much as a stress test. Do you have any airflow around the VRM heatsinks?

[Duranu]

1 minute ago, Mateyyy said:

Any stress/stability test - Prime95, Linpack, OCCT. How have you been testing your overclocks for stability so far..?

48C is very surprising, though tbf I don't know how much current FS2020 draws through the CPU - it's certainly not as much as a stress test. Do you have any airflow around the VRM heatsinks?

I've heard of prime95, I used to have OCCT, cant remember what I was using it to test, maybe my GPU. The only so called Benchmark I have done is on the Intel Extreme Tuning program.

For air flow, yes and no? I have a case fan on the front to pull in air, then on the back I have the intel liquid cooler in a push pull, and my gpu is a gigabyte 1080 waterforce in a push pull out the top vent.

 

What is the max safe temp on VRM?

[Duranu]

I just downloaded OCCT again, what kind of test should I pick and how long should I run it?

[Mateyyy]

2 minutes ago, Duranu said:

What is the max safe temp on VRM?

I'd say you'll want to under 100C, preferably lower than that. They will (or should) shut down when they reach 120-125C, or something around that ballpark.

Just now, Duranu said:

I just downloaded OCCT again, what kind of test should I pick and how long should I run it?

I don't personally use OCCT but you should have something along the lines of a CPU/FPU/cache stress test.

[Duranu]

12 minutes ago, Mateyyy said:

I'd say you'll want to under 100C, preferably lower than that. They will (or should) shut down when they reach 120-125C, or something around that ballpark.

I don't personally use OCCT but you should have something along the lines of a CPU/FPU/cache stress test.

Ran Prime95 somewhere around 5-10 min on max temp settings, CPU instantly shot to 90-100c, VRM got up to 78c before I stopped the test, Don't know how safe it is to keep the test running while im thermal throttling at pegged temps so I shut it off

 

After shutting it off, CPU temp dropped back to idle temps almost instantly, vrm has dropped down to 57c and is still trying to cool off

[Mateyyy]

7 minutes ago, Duranu said:

Ran Prime95 somewhere around 5-10 min on max temp settings, CPU instantly shot to 90-100c, VRM got up to 78c before I stopped the test, Don't know how safe it is to keep the test running while im thermal throttling at pegged temps so I shut it off

 

After shutting it off, CPU temp dropped back to idle temps almost instantly, vrm has dropped down to 57c and is still trying to cool off

So Small FFT with AVX? As unrealistic of a workload as that is, I still wouldn't consider thermal throttling passable. Keep in mind that thermal throttling could even impact stability, not just performance.

Ideally I'd suggest trying to stay under ~95C while running Prime95 Small FFT, and ~85C or lower sustained in real-world workloads.

[Duranu]

2 minutes ago, Mateyyy said:

So Small FFT with AVX? As unrealistic of a workload as that is, I still wouldn't consider thermal throttling passable. Keep in mind that thermal throttling could even impact stability, not just performance.

Ideally I'd suggest trying to stay under ~95C while running Prime95 Small FFT, and ~85C or lower sustained in real-world workloads.

I've never seen it throttle at 5.1 on any games I've played, seems to stay at reasonable temps when I play games, Is downclocking it the only way to adjust the temps or are there other changes I can make in the Bios? Im completely new at cpu overclocking and have no clue what settings I should aim for in bios

[Mateyyy]

1 minute ago, Duranu said:

I've never seen it throttle at 5.1 on any games I've played, seems to stay at reasonable temps when I play games, Is downclocking it the only way to adjust the temps or are there other changes I can make in the Bios? Im completely new at cpu overclocking and have no clue what settings I should aim for in bios

If you want to reduce temps, drop the voltage.

 

If you're looking for a very thorough guide on overclocking Comet Lake-S, especially since you're using a Gigabyte motherboard, I'd suggest checking out this video:

 

[Duranu]

2 minutes ago, Mateyyy said:

If you want to reduce temps, drop the voltage.

 

If you're looking for a very thorough guide on overclocking Comet Lake-S, especially since you're using a Gigabyte motherboard, I'd suggest checking out this video:

 

Okay thanks I appreciate the help so far, Guess I need to play around with the voltages then, I just don't know how low I can drop volts before making it impossible for the cpu to hit the 5.1 I have it clocked at right now

 

I have to run a quick errand right now but I should be back soon If you are around to give more advice

[Duranu]

14 hours ago, Mateyyy said:

So Small FFT with AVX? As unrealistic of a workload as that is, I still wouldn't consider thermal throttling passable. Keep in mind that thermal throttling could even impact stability, not just performance.

Ideally I'd suggest trying to stay under ~95C while running Prime95 Small FFT, and ~85C or lower sustained in real-world workloads.

So I have not tried with 5.0ghz, but for 5.1 or 5.2, No matter my voltage I cannot get the small fft test to not thermal throttle me. After extensive testing with 5.1, the lowest I can drop my volts without crashing is to 1.32 on ultra extreme llc, so that my volts dont change, but I still throttle on small fft.

If I do a "standard" prime95 test of "blend of all settings", I hit 87c at the highest ive seen (on its first test) running at 5.2ghz, 1.393 volts (don't know If I can eek this voltage any lower at 5.2 without crashing, which I dont understand the huge volt jump between the two 1.32 to 1.393) and VRM at 73c. If the small fft is such a "unrealistic" workload can I just throw that test out the window If I can pass other stress tests without throttling or crashing?

 

In the video, he uses Linpackxtreme for testing which does not crash me and I only ever see one-two cores throttle during that test (at 5.2 never happened at 5.1) and its only briefly when it does

 

Also as far as VID voltages being high, I've read that I don't have to worry about that, it's just what the cpu is asking for, doesn't mean it is getting it though because of VR VOUT, is that true?