Can't overclock a 4770k

[veimiK]

You can find the full specs of my system in the signature.

 

I remember overclocking my CPU to 4.2GHz @ 1.2V back when I first got it, which was around 2013. I recently realised that the CPU performance is really bad, so I launched CPU-Z only to realise that it runs at stock speeds. Off to the BIOS I went, in order to change it back to what I used to have. And here's where the issues start.

No matter what I change or what I do, the clocks don't stick. The multiplier still shows up as 42 in the BIOS, however, both my CPU-Z and Task Manager read it as the stock turbo speed.

Spoiler

So, I tried disabling C-States, Intel Speedstep, Turbo (which resets my multiplier by the way, so I can't overclock with turbo off) and it still did nothing. I also tried downloading Intel Extreme Tuning Utility, but I couldn't change the clocks in there at all. I went back to the BIOS to change the multiplier to 40, still nothing.

 

My BIOS is up to date with the newest version. My temps are okay-ish, they go up to 90 degrees while running a prime95 stress test and up to 70 degrees in games.

 

What could be causing this and how do I fix it?

[Radium_Angel]

2 minutes ago, veimiK said:

What could be causing this and how do I fix it?

That's an old chip, perhaps it's worn out?

[veimiK]

1 minute ago, Radium_Angel said:

That's an old chip, perhaps it's worn out?

I can see that the temps are not as good as they used to be, but they're still fine. Could it really be the reason the multiplier doesn't stick in Windows? Doesn't really sound right to me to be honest.

[Radium_Angel]

1 minute ago, veimiK said:

I can see that the temps are not as good as they used to be, but they're still fine. Could it really be the reason the multiplier doesn't stick in Windows? Doesn't really sound right to me to be honest.

I don't OC anything, so I'm taking a guess here, but if the temps are going up, perhaps time to clean out the old thermal paste and re-apply?

 

[veimiK]

1 minute ago, Radium_Angel said:

I don't OC anything, so I'm taking a guess here, but if the temps are going up, perhaps time to clean out the old thermal paste and re-apply?

 

Yes, I've already ordered some new thermal paste and will reapply it once it gets here. It still sucks that I can't OC the chip though.

[Radium_Angel]

Just now, veimiK said:

Yes, I've already ordered some new thermal paste and will reapply it once it gets here. It still sucks that I can't OC the chip though.

If Intel's own program won't let it hold, it seems to me something physical has gone south, the VRMs, PSU can't push the voltage, motherboard can't provide stable power, but I'd start with cooling the CPU down with fresh paste, and see what's what. Also, wait a bit, more folk will reply, those who are more knowledgeable about OCing than I am.

[Fasauceome]

If the settings just don't stick, a BIOS problem could be the cause.

[Moonzy]

I would clear cmos and give it another go, sometimes bios can be wonky

[Levent]

17 minutes ago, Radium_Angel said:

That's an old chip, perhaps it's worn out?

Thats impossible. I have run a 3570K at "not safe" voltages all its life and it still ran perfectly. 

OP your issue is with your BIOS, clear your cmos couple of times.

[veimiK]

39 minutes ago, Fasauceome said:

If the settings just don't stick, a BIOS problem could be the cause.

 

38 minutes ago, Moonzy said:

I would clear cmos and give it another go, sometimes bios can be wonky

 

38 minutes ago, Levent said:

Thats impossible. I have run a 3570K at "not safe" voltages all its life and it still ran perfectly. 

OP your issue is with your BIOS, clear your cmos couple of times.

 

The CMOS reset didn't help. Still looking at stock speeds.

[Moonzy]

10 minutes ago, veimiK said:

 

 

 

The CMOS reset didn't help. Still looking at stock speeds.

Could you try older bios?

[Guest]

Looks like you're changing the turbo multi.

You want to set "all cores" to w/e multi you want and save that. Leave turbo on auto.

 

 

[veimiK]

6 minutes ago, Moonzy said:

Could you try older bios?

Yeah, that's my thought too. I'll give it a shot.

Just now, ShrimpBrime said:

Looks like you're changing the turbo multi.

You want to set "all cores" to w/e multi you want and save that. Leave turbo on auto.

 

 

Turbo is on auto, I change the the multipliers, it doesn't have an effect in Windows. Doesn't work with neither turbo off or on.

 

I tried using using the EZ Asus Overclocking thing, CPU still shows stock speeds even though the EZ thing set the multiplier to 44. Funnily enough, it also boosed BCLK by 2MHz and it did actually boost my clocks a bit.

[Guest]

12 minutes ago, veimiK said:

Yeah, that's my thought too. I'll give it a shot.

Turbo is on auto, I change the the multipliers, it doesn't have an effect in Windows. Doesn't work with neither turbo off or on.

 

I tried using using the EZ Asus Overclocking thing, CPU still shows stock speeds even though the EZ thing set the multiplier to 44. Funnily enough, it also boosed BCLK by 2MHz and it did actually boost my clocks a bit.

Cpu-Z shows a 40x multi.....

The only thing that would prevent F10 save, would be a corrupted bios. 

 

I think EZ tune is messing with you. 

 

Maybe try a fresh windows install on a partition to differentiate between bios and software creating this issue. Don't install the OC software though.

 

 

[veimiK]

1 hour ago, Moonzy said:

Could you try older bios?

Older BIOS didn't work. Still locked at stock.

41 minutes ago, ShrimpBrime said:

Cpu-Z shows a 40x multi.....

The only thing that would prevent F10 save, would be a corrupted bios. 

 

I think EZ tune is messing with you. 

 

Maybe try a fresh windows install on a partition to differentiate between bios and software creating this issue. Don't install the OC software though.

 

 

The issue is, I never installed the software. I used EZ tune in BIOS.

[Moonzy]

1 minute ago, veimiK said:

Older BIOS didn't work. Still locked at stock.

literally no idea... i would suggest re-seating the cpu, not sure if that'll help

probably not but im out of ideas

[Guest]

Just now, veimiK said:

Older BIOS didn't work. Still locked at stock.

The issue is, I never installed the software. I used EZ tune in BIOS.

Well, not sure about all that. You cleared cmos, so rule that out.

 

I dunno. Cpu-Z reports a max multi of 40. Generally if it's not running that speed, you have only increased the turbo frequency. Even if you changed every core, it'll throttle in windows if using normal or power saving modes. 

 

I want to believe the changes are saved. Just not being implemented on Core 0 that Cpu-Z reports. Right click the box that Cpu-Z reports the frequency in and view what the other cores are running.

[veimiK]

10 minutes ago, ShrimpBrime said:

Well, not sure about all that. You cleared cmos, so rule that out.

 

I dunno. Cpu-Z reports a max multi of 40. Generally if it's not running that speed, you have only increased the turbo frequency. Even if you changed every core, it'll throttle in windows if using normal or power saving modes. 

 

I want to believe the changes are saved. Just not being implemented on Core 0 that Cpu-Z reports. Right click the box that Cpu-Z reports the frequency in and view what the other cores are running.

I'm using the high performance mode in Windows. All the cores run at the same frequency:

 

 

Honestly, I feel like I've tried everything but re-installing Windows, so I guess I'll have to do that soon...

[Guest]

8 minutes ago, veimiK said:

I'm using the high performance mode in Windows. All the cores run at the same frequency:

 

Honestly, I feel like I've tried everything but re-installing Windows, so I guess I'll have to do that soon...

Yeah, it's worth a shot to try it. Read the thread below, the answer is the last post created by the original poster.

 

 

[veimiK]

Bump, I don't want to reinstall Windows just yet. Anyone has any more ideas?

[unclewebb]

@veimiK At default settings when the C states are disabled, the maximum multiplier is 37. Leave SpeedStep and Intel Turbo Boost enabled in the BIOS. I would leave the Core C states enabled too but that is up to you. In the BIOS, make sure you have adjusted the turbo ratio limits accordingly. Set them to 42, 42, 42, 42 whether 1, 2, 3 or 4 cores are active.

 

If you are still having problems, give ThrottleStop a try. Post screenshots of its main window, the FIVR and TPL windows as well as the Limit Reasons window and I should be able to see what is not set up correctly in your BIOS. 

 

Avoid reinstalling Windows. It will not solve this problem if your BIOS is not set correctly.

[veimiK]

20 hours ago, unclewebb said:

@veimiK At default settings when the C states are disabled, the maximum multiplier is 37. Leave SpeedStep and Intel Turbo Boost enabled in the BIOS. I would leave the Core C states enabled too but that is up to you. In the BIOS, make sure you have adjusted the turbo ratio limits accordingly. Set them to 42, 42, 42, 42 whether 1, 2, 3 or 4 cores are active.

 

If you are still having problems, give ThrottleStop a try. Post screenshots of its main window, the FIVR and TPL windows as well as the Limit Reasons window and I should be able to see what is not set up correctly in your BIOS. 

 

Avoid reinstalling Windows. It will not solve this problem if your BIOS is not set correctly.

Turbo and SpeedStep are on, C states are off, multiplier sets to 42 on all cores.

Main window:

Spoiler

 

FIVR:

Spoiler

TPL:

Spoiler

Limit reasons:

Spoiler

 

[unclewebb]

In the Advanced BIOS in the Ai Tweaker section, set ASUS Multicore Enhancement to disabled. Enter 42 for the core ratio and then select the Sync All Cores option. You can also try using the Per Core option. That should allow you to set each Core Ratio Limit to 42. Boot up and see if this makes any difference.

 

If the above does not work, in ThrottleStop on the left side of the FIVR window, check the Overclock box and change all of the turbo ratios from 39 to 42. Press OK and back on the main screen, check the Set Multiplier option and adjust this from 63 to 42. Now press the Turn On button. The word Monitoring should disappear from the title bar after pressing Turn On.

 

If you are still being limited, open the FIVR window and on the right hand side check the Disable and Lock Turbo Power Limits box.

 

Your motherboard is not setting your CPU up correctly. I am not sure if it is something you have set incorrectly or if it is a bug in your BIOS. Let me know if any of the above helps solve this problem. 

[veimiK]

26 minutes ago, unclewebb said:

In the Advanced BIOS in the Ai Tweaker section, set ASUS Multicore Enhancement to disabled. Enter 42 for the core ratio and then select the Sync All Cores option. You can also try using the Per Core option. That should allow you to set each Core Ratio Limit to 42. Boot up and see if this makes any difference.

 

If the above does not work, in ThrottleStop on the left side of the FIVR window, check the Overclock box and change all of the turbo ratios from 39 to 42. Press OK and back on the main screen, check the Set Multiplier option and adjust this from 63 to 42. Now press the Turn On button. The word Monitoring should disappear from the title bar after pressing Turn On.

 

If you are still being limited, open the FIVR window and on the right hand side check the Disable and Lock Turbo Power Limits box.

 

Your motherboard is not setting your CPU up correctly. I am not sure if it is something you have set incorrectly or if it is a bug in your BIOS. Let me know if any of the above helps solve this problem. 

So, uhh... I can't go above 39 in the Overclock box:

Spoiler

Edit:

Forgot to mention. Disabling Multicore Enhancement and changing it to Per Core from All Cores didn't have any effect. Disabling and locking turbo power limits also didn't work.

[veimiK]

Bump, still looking for a solution that doesn't involve reinstalling Windows.