Pentium-K Overclocking Help

[cooljoe30]

Sup LTT.

 

I've ordered my new gaming rig and it should be here next week. One of the main things i am anxious about is overclocking the Pentium. The way i see it i have a couple of options:

1.Do nothing

Safe but potencially disspointating

2.Use MSI's OC genie button

Workis in theory but i am told that it doesnt give you too much of a boost and it tents to overvolt the CPU more than it should/needs to and thus potencially dangerous BUT.....easy...quite easy.

and finally 3.Manual OC

Time consuming

 

 

Method(As i understand it):

1.Run stress tests at baseclock to determine stability of system(4+hrs)

2.All the Pentium-Ks should be able to handle a 4.0Ghz OC so up the muliplier and then stress test(4+hrs)

3.If all ok bump up the multiplier one level at a time(4+hrs per level). If not, up the voltage by 0.025v until you pass the stress test or hit your self defined voltage roof(ideally 1.3v with the stock cooler and 1.4v with a good after market one)

4. Continue until you reach desired clock speed(in my case 4.4-4.6Ghz)

5.??????????

6.Profit

 

Did i miss anything? Can i up the initial jump to maybe 4.2Ghz? Any input welcome.

 

[Lord Pantaloons]

Just put the voltage to 1.3v and the multiplier to 45. If it doesn't crash after an hour then you can leave it or tinker with it to get the voltage down or the clocks up. The 3258's average OC is 4.4-4.7Ghz with 1.25-1.38v from what I've seen(about 40 diff chips), my own chip does 4.6Ghz @1.24v. Keep the voltage below 1.3v for 24hr use and you're fine.

[harrynowl]

I would do something more like this. Haswell tells you very quickly if it's unstable.

 

Check stock voltage in CPU-Z & BIOS. Lower means the chip is better (generally).

 

Now set voltage to 1.3v (if not using stock cooler) and multiplier to 45x.

 

Stress test for 15 mins. If it doesn't crash in XTU stress test try 46x etc.

[cooljoe30]

Just put the voltage to 1.3v and the multiplier to 45. If it doesn't crash after an hour then you can leave it or tinker with it to get the voltage down or the clocks up. The 3258's average OC is 4.4-4.7Ghz with 1.25-1.38v from what I've seen(about 40 diff chips), my own chip does 4.6Ghz @1.24v. Keep the voltage below 1.3v for 24hr use and you're fine.

What do you mean by 24hr use? I usually never turn off my current PC because its a bitch to wait 4-6min for it to boot up but most 7200rpm drives seem to boot in less than a minute and load all startup programs in 30secs or less so i am cool with having to turn off my PC/hibernate every night.

 

 

I would do something more like this. Haswell tells you very quickly if it's unstable.

 

Check stock voltage in CPU-Z & BIOS. Lower means the chip is better (generally).

 

Now set voltage to 1.3v (if not using stock cooler) and multiplier to 45x.

 

Stress test for 15 mins. If it doesn't crash in XTU stress test try 46x etc.

 

I am using stock cooler. What voltage should i leave it at? Also what is this XTU you speak of?

[Lotus]

Well, what CPU cooler did you get?

Overclocking with an unlocked multiplier, even manually, is very easy. You only have to change two settings.

 

Get software to stress test the system (I use Prime95), and software to monitor the CPU temps (I use CPUID HWMonitor). You also usually want software to double check that the clock speeds are in effect (I use CPUID CPU-Z).

 

#1) Stress test system, if you can go 5 minutes without a crash, go to step #3, if crash, go to step #2

#2) If VCore is less than 1.3, increase VCore by a tiny bit (like 0.025) and go back to step #1. Otherwise if VCore is already high, go back to last known good VCore/Multiplier at safe temps and you're done. (lowest stable VCore for that multiplier is best, Just make sure it's actually stable)

#3) Check your temperatures, if you're over 70°C under load, go back to the last known safe temperature VCore and Multiplier and you're done. If under, raise your multiplier and go back to step #1

 

When you hit your final settings, stress test again for longer to make sure that you're completely stable. Overnight testing is not unheard of, just make sure you aren't too hot.

 

edit: with the stock cooler, you really don't want to push it that high. You could easily go too hot and hit thermal throttling and end up with a reduced lifespan for your chip.

[Lord Pantaloons]

What do you mean by 24hr use? I usually never turn off my current PC because its a bitch to wait 4-6min for it to boot up but most 7200rpm drives seem to boot in less than a minute and load all startup programs in 30secs or less so i am cool with having to turn off my PC/hibernate every night.

 

 

By 24hr use I mean regular use, every day. 1.35v is a lot of voltage for Haswell based chips you can of course run it at that or more but excessive voltage for long periods of time can reduce the life span of the chip.

[cooljoe30]

By 24hr use I mean regular use, every day. 1.35v is a lot of voltage for Haswell based chips you can of course run it at that or more but excessive voltage for long periods of time can reduce the life span of the chip.

so ill set multiplier to 45 and power to 1.3v and work my way down on voltage. When is the soonest i sould see signs of me underpowering my chip? i'd imagine not long after i start the stress test.

[Lord Pantaloons]

so ill set multiplier to 45 and power to 1.3v and work my way down on voltage. When is the soonest i sould see signs of me underpowering my chip? i'd imagine not long after i start the stress test.

When you're undervolting if there isn't enough voltage you will bluescreen just like when you're overclocking. If you bluescreen up the voltage back up a bit and try again, you should shoot for a full 12hr stress test to ensure stability. Once you're able to run for a full 12hrs on a stress test then I would call it stable and then you can leave it or go for more voltage and a higher OC by repeating the process.