Help with overclocking results

[IrshaadH]

Hey guys, I have my 3570K overclocking using the OC genie tool on my MSI motherboard.  I just wanted some help interpreting the results I'm getting.  I have been running Small FFTs in Prime95 for about half an hour.  My CPU is being cooled by a BeQuiet! Dark Rock 3 (not pro).

 

Thanks!

[xNeon]

That looks pretty good to me. You might be able to go into the BIOS and push it a little more? Possibly 4.3, or 4.4 of you wanna push it kinda hard. If you wanna do this, up the voltage a little bit.

[IrshaadH]

Actually, I was hoping to decrease the voltage a bit to get better temps.

[CowsGoRoar]

I leave it on auto and run for 24 hours and don't let the CPU reach 100C. 

 

 

Actually, I was hoping to decrease the voltage a bit to get better temps.

 

I decrease the voltage as much as I can until it gets unstable, and then pop it back a notch and stress test.

[Faceman]

I hope you're using manual voltage to stress test.

[IrshaadH]

I leave it on auto and run for 24 hours and don't let the CPU reach 100C. 

 

 

 

 

I decrease the voltage as much as I can until it gets unstable, and then pop it back a notch and stress test.

 

Should I use 1.16V or 1.241V as a starting point?

 

I hope you're using manual voltage to stress test.

 

I believe I'm using auto.  What difference does it make?

[Faceman]

Should I use 1.16V or 1.241V as a starting point?

 

 

I believe I'm using auto.  What difference does it make?

When stress testing, you always want to set voltage to manual.  Leaving it on auto or adaptive can over-volt your CPU which causes overheating and potentially death of the processor.

[CowsGoRoar]

Should I use 1.16V or 1.241V as a starting point?

 

 

I believe I'm using auto.  What difference does it make?

Auto is usually a lot higher than what you need. 1.16V is a little too low, but I'm using a bad 4770K, so I'm not sure either.

 

Start at 1.17V and go down little by little. Stress test every 5 mV offset.

 

Also, when you're stress testing, watch out for your clock speeds when you're undervolting. Let's say if you're trying to get 4 GHz and the highest it can go is 3.9 GHz, it's a warning sign that it's undervolted and it'll crash any second, so force stop and pop up a mV.

[IrshaadH]

When stress testing, you always want to set voltage to manual.  Leaving it on auto or adaptive can over-volt your CPU which causes overheating and potentially death of the processor.

 

 

Auto is usually a lot higher than what you need. 1.16V is a little too low, but I'm using a bad 4770K, so I'm not sure either.

 

Start at 1.17V and go down little by little. Stress test every 5 mV offset.

 

Also, when you're stress testing, watch out for your clock speeds when you're undervolting. Let's say if you're trying to get 4 GHz and the highest it can go is 3.9 GHz, it's a warning sign that it's undervolted and it'll crash any second, so force stop and pop up a mV.

 

I set the Vcore to 1.17V and have been stress testing for about 20 minutes.  Compared to the same amount of time on auto voltage, the temps are slightly lower on load.  However, they are a bit higher on idle.  Here's a screenshot:

[CowsGoRoar]

Idle is nothing to worry about. I worry more about load. I get 40C (peak) on idle anyway, so you're good. You can aim for a higher overclock too.

[Faceman]

I set the Vcore to 1.17V and have been stress testing for about 20 minutes.  Compared to the same amount of time on auto voltage, the temps are slightly lower on load.  However, they are a bit higher on idle.  Here's a screenshot:

     Of course, that is to be expected.  Manual voltage means the voltage is being forced at 1.17 at all times, even if the computer isn't being stressed.  When you have voltage on auto/adaptive, the voltage and Mhz will fluctuate as the load on the processor goes up and down. 

 

     The reason why you set voltage to manual before stress testing is so that you avoid a problem where adaptive/auto voltage will send more voltages than is safe for the processor.  A stress test is designed to push the CPU to 100%, when you leave adaptive voltage on during a stress test, unsafe amounts of voltage will be pushed through your processor.  This is when you use manual for stress testing, you get a nice, constant voltage level.

 

  When stress testing, you use manual voltage, once you have found an overclock setting that you are pleased with, then revert back to auto/adaptive.

[IrshaadH]

     Of course, that is to be expected.  Manual voltage means the voltage is being forced at 1.17 at all times, even if the computer isn't being stressed.  When you have voltage on auto/adaptive, the voltage and Mhz will fluctuate as the load on the processor goes up and down. 

 

     The reason why you set voltage to manual before stress testing is so that you avoid a problem where adaptive/auto voltage will send more voltages than is safe for the processor.  When stress testing, you use manual voltage, once you have found an overclock setting that you are pleased with, then revert back to auto/adaptive.

 

If I decide to raise my clock speed, though, should I keep it on manual at all times?

[Faceman]

If I decide to raise my clock speed, though, should I keep it on manual at all times?

No, you want it on auto/adaptive for day-to-day tasks.  The only time you put it to manual is when you are stress testing, otherwise, adaptive voltage it is.