Safe voltage for Intel Graphics 4600 (4770k)

BradBoiii · July 24, 2014

I Recently built my gaming rig, due to all the money I spent I couldn't afford a graphics card

So because of this at the moment, I am being forced into using the built in Intel Graphics, in particular the 4600.

Obviously because I game I want the best performance which means basically having both my CPU and GPU overclocked.

I have an Intel 4770k, If the mobo and PSU makes a difference for this particular topic I have a MSi Z87-GD65 and a Corsair RM750W Gold.

I haven't had a problem with overclocking the graphics, but I would like to know what is a safe voltage and what not to go over. I am currently clocked at 1500Mhz at about 1.21v. Could I squeeze abit more out of it, or am I running bleeding edge. Basically what is safe and what isn't. I've checked all over the internet and haven't got an exact answer, so I wanted to ask the wuestion myself and get a proper asnwer

Thanks, Brad.

KeltonDSMer · July 24, 2014

http://semiaccurate.com/2012/04/23/overclocking-intels-hd-4000/

That is the best I could find and is for HD4000, but most of the major talking points should be relevant in your situation. It looks like overclocking the CPU would likely limit the OC potential of the GPU. The stock cpu speeds will not "bottleneck" the iGPU, so you might as well leave that thermal headroom for the iGPU portion. I would be hesitant to push that much extra voltage they needed for the highest clock speeds.

I did find a post at OCnet where someone quoted a "safe" voltage as 1.5v being the official Intel described limit, but that seems quite high and there was no source to back up that claim. The SA article I posted is using almost a .5v offset which I assume is even higher than 1.5v, but I still am wary of using this high of voltage considering the very diminishing returns in game performance and the fact that this was also for HD4000.

As you OC, benchmark the chip with a game or GPU test to make sure the clock increases are translating to actual improvements. No reason to pump a buch of voltage into the iGPU just to get it stable for +1fps improvement. Good luck!