Best Overclocking Parameters/Max Limits?

[TroubleKlef]

Been watching Linus's Haswell overclocking guides, both the Devil's canyon and 4770k videos, multiple times through but I still have some lingering questions that can't seem to be answered through a Google search.

 

In the videos, Linus mentions that the general "safe voltage" for Haswell based CPUs is 1.3v. Should this be the maximum amount of voltage I should be applying to a 4790k?

 

Another grey area that was covered was temperatures. Linus said that you shouldn't go over any temperatures you aren't comfortable with but as a novice overclocker, I don't know what temperatures I should be comfortable with. I've read that 70 degrees celsius is a good maximum temperature to work with?

 

I realize that ultimately I get to choose the voltage and temperatures that I settle with and what the chip can offer. But at the same time I need some help on what I should generally aim for so I don't do anything stupid.

 

 

EDIT: Forgot I had more questions.

 

1. If my memory is rated at 1600mhz does that mean that is stock speed or does that mean I can overclock the memory through XMP to reach that 1600mhz?

2. Also what does the CPU voltage offset do? 

[Scouten]

i run my 4670k on 1.35v max temps around 80 real load is like 70s

 

what linus means is that you will be far limited by heat before voltage becomes an issue

[TroubleKlef]

i run my 4670k on 1.35v max temps around 80 real load is like 70s

 

what linus means is that you will be far limited by heat before voltage becomes an issue

That also brings me to another question.

 

I realize that stress testers like Prime95 are extremely unrealistic and no regular application will ever put some extreme load on the CPU.

 

So should I overclock based on heat generated from Prime95 or more realistic load such as a 1hr video render through Premiere?

 

I'm worried that at overclock Prime95 will make my CPU reach my thermal limit at such and such voltage/frequency but in reality I would never hit those temperatures in a real world application and thus would lose out on some extra performance. Or should I still overclock based on Prime95 so that gives me peace of mind that my system will stay stable regardless of the load?

[Razzaa]

That also brings me to another question.

I realize that stress testers like Prime95 are extremely unrealistic and no regular application will ever put some extreme load on the CPU.

So should I overclock based on heat generated from Prime95 or more realistic load such as a 1hr video render through Premiere?

I'm worried that at overclock Prime95 will make my CPU reach my thermal limit at such and such voltage/frequency but in reality I would never hit those temperatures in a real world application and thus would lose out on some extra performance. Or should I still overclock based on Prime95 so that gives me peace of mind that my system will stay stable regardless of the load?

Use OCCT or Aida or IXT. Dont use prime95 for intel. Gets to hot imo. As far as temps go I hit low 80s during stressing 4.8ghz @ 1.33v

[Scouten]

That also brings me to another question.

 

I realize that stress testers like Prime95 are extremely unrealistic and no regular application will ever put some extreme load on the CPU.

 

So should I overclock based on heat generated from Prime95 or more realistic load such as a 1hr video render through Premiere?

 

I'm worried that at overclock Prime95 will make my CPU reach my thermal limit at such and such voltage/frequency but in reality I would never hit those temperatures in a real world application and thus would lose out on some extra performance. Or should I still overclock based on Prime95 so that gives me peace of mind that my system will stay stable regardless of the load?

dont use prime 95 use aida 64 its a much better benchmark for haswell

[TroubleKlef]

Use OCCT or Aida or IXT. Dont use prime95 for intel. Gets to hot imo.

I have heard of Aida before but I'd rather not spend the money for it.

 

I found the OCCT utility on Google but I don't know what IXT stands for nor can I find it from a Google search. Could you tell me the full name please?

 

dont use prime 95 use aida 64 its a much better benchmark for haswell

 

Thanks for the tip. I read on some other websites that Prime95 is way too harsh on the CPU. 

 

Will these other programs give me safe headroom when under real loads? I don't want a 2hr video render to crash if these stress testers are too weak.

[Scouten]

I have heard of Aida before but I'd rather not spend the money for it.

 

I found the OCCT utility on Google but I don't know what IXT stands for nor can I find it from a Google search. Could you tell me the full name please?

 

 

Thanks for the tip. I read on some other websites that Prime95 is way too harsh on the CPU. 

 

Will these other programs give me safe headroom when under real loads? I don't want a 2hr video render to crash if these stress testers are too weak.

 

now i cant speak for the i7 being hyper threaded but my 4670k @ 1.35v 4.3ghz on core0 4.2ghz core1,2,3  when rendering @ 720 h.264 max temps i saw were closer to 60-65

 

if you are really worried about that 2hr video render you can always just clock back a little

[TroubleKlef]

now i cant speak for the i7 being hyper threaded but my 4670k @ 1.35v 4.3ghz on core0 4.2ghz core1,2,3  when rendering @ 720 h.264 max temps i saw were closer to 60-65

 

if you are really worried about that 2hr video render you can always just clock back a little

alright thank you.

 

By any chance do you know the answers in my original post regarding memory overclocks and CPU voltage offsets?

[Razzaa]

alright thank you.

By any chance do you know the answers in my original post regarding memory overclocks and CPU voltage offsets?

IXT is Intel Extreme Tuning Utility. Overclocking the memory will makebit harder to get the cpu overclock stable and isnt worth it anyway.

Edit: Your memory should be 1600mhz at default settings. Check CPUZ to make sure.

[TroubleKlef]

IXT is Intel Extreme Tuning Utility. Overclocking the memory will makebit harder to get the cpu overclock stable and isnt worth it anyway.

 

Is 1600mhz considered overclocked? I have 4 sticks of Corsair DDR3 1600mhz memory so is that the rated speed or the stock speed?

 

Alright I don't plan on going any faster than 1600mhz. Thank you very much.

[Scouten]

alright thank you.

 

By any chance do you know the answers in my original post regarding memory overclocks and CPU voltage offsets?

 

 

1. yeah whatever your memory is rated at you can call your stock speed i dont really do a whole lot with memory cant help you there

2. voltage offset is what it sounds like  say your cpu runs at 1.1v you set an offset of +.1v the cpu can use up to 1.2v that's essentially how it should work i don't bother with it personally i like to tweak things to the wire.

[Razzaa]

Is 1600mhz considered overclocked? I have 4 sticks of Corsair DDR3 1600mhz memory so is that the rated speed or the stock speed?

See my edit above.

[TroubleKlef]

1. yeah whatever your memory is rated at you can call your stock speed i dont really do a whole lot with memory cant help you there

2. voltage offset is what it sounds like  say your cpu runs at 1.1v you set an offset of +.1v the cpu can use up to 1.2v that's essentially how it should work i don't bother with it personally i like to tweak things to the wire.

Ahhh I see. So its like turboboost but for voltage so that the computer can decide to take more juice or not.

 

I'll most likely do it your way where I overclock it down to a T. Thank you very much.

[TroubleKlef]

See my edit above.

Yes I barely saw it! Thanks for the information. It really does help a newbie like me.

[Chronos5618]

I did much the same research when I came to overclocking my 4690K. General rule of thumb I found is a max voltage of 1.3V, if you don't want to run the risk of reducing the life of the chip. However, we are talking the difference between it failing after 10 years or 9 years and 5 months. Anything beyond 1.4v for any length of time, and you are looking at damaging the chip permanently. Also note, when running your stress-tests, always set your voltage to manual as otherwise you can expect so very nasty voltage spikes that can fry the chip if not managed.

 

I use Aida64, because it is specifically set-up for Haswell (unlike many others, which are not). If you only want to dial in the overclock once and aren't going to be doing it all the time, download the trial and use that. I also use Intel Burn Test (10 passes, max setting) to confirm the stability of an overclock as it usually finds the fault very quickly. However, I wouldn't use that all the time- far too intensive on the CPU and doesn't emulate real life situations at all. I use it more for peace of mind on stability.

 

Lastly, temperatures is a balance of heat and noise. You can overclock higher, with decent temperatures but it may well get your fans going at a rate that is too loud for you. While you aren't going to burn out your chip (they cut off at 100 degrees), I personally wouldn't want anything above 80 for max usage all the time, with 70 being what I would normally expect doing intensive work.

 

So, to sum up- absolute max voltage= 1.4V (don't recommend going that high), set voltage to manual while testing (then to adaptive once finished), use Aida64 if possible to confirm stability and possibly Intel Burn Test if you really are a stickler for stability (though running Aida for 12 hours+ should give the same peace of mind and I would usually stick to this) and stay below 90 degrees but find a balance between noise and temperature that you feel is sensible and comfortable...usually around the 70 degree mark.