Cache Overclocking, Is It Really Needed ?

[Dicehunter]

So I've asked many people this question and the only answer I ever seem to get is either "Yes" or "You should overclock your cache" which both aren't helpful at all.

Now upon a little research I've found that overclocking the CPU cache improves things like unzipping by 1 or 2 seconds but not much else.

Can someone please shed some light on this ?

[WhatComesAround]

Its not a need but is any overclocking much of a need? Its just a want. I personally wouldn't go for it, I would rather spend money on overclocked GPU's, but that's me

[Dicehunter]

Its not a need but is any overclocking much of a need? Its just a want. I personally wouldn't go for it, I would rather spend money on overclocked GPU's, but that's me

 

Sorry but your reply kind of doesn't make any sense, Money has nothing to do with cache overclocking, it's part of any CPU on the market from single core chips all the way up to Haswell-E.

[WhatComesAround]

If you want some basic info (in case you don't know though I doubt it) Cache is one of the three main memory types. There is RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Contains BIOS), and then there is cache. I would be more concerned with RAM than any other memory type, ROM can make booting time faster but I wouldn't spend money on that.

[runit3]

So I've asked many people this question and the only answer I ever seem to get is either "Yes" or "You should overclock your cache" which both aren't helpful at all.

Now upon a little research I've found that overclocking the CPU cache improves things like unzipping by 1 or 2 seconds but not much else.

Can someone please shed some light on this ?

Depends on the CPU and application. On all of the 4---K Haswell's I've OC'd bumping the cache hasn't really improved any real world performance, or even benchmarks by a decent margin. However, on my 5960X with it's monster 20mb cache I've cranked my Cinebench score up past a 4.5Ghz 5960X while I'm down at a lowly 4.375   Now does a 1744 Cinebench score mean anything in comparison to a 1721? No, not really at all -it's just a benchmark, not real world.

 

If you wanted a concrete real world test I could run a x264 pass w/cache OC'd and another without, but I doubt I'll see any difference past margin of error (a few seconds). Most people specifically recommend not OCing the cache because it can cause instability at a lower core clock, thereby eliminating the possibility of getting a higher core clock, which is what really matters.

 

My advice, get your maximum core OC, then try bumping your cache. It's not going to hurt anything and you'll be able to find your maximum cache OC rather quickly.

[Dicehunter]

If you want some basic info (in case you don't know though I doubt it) Cache is one of the three main memory types. There is RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Contains BIOS), and then there is cache. I would be more concerned with RAM than any other memory type, ROM can make booting time faster but I wouldn't spend money on that.

 

You must be new to the world of PC's as you can't really spend money on faster ROM's

[Dicehunter]

Depends on the CPU and application. On all of the 4---K Haswell's I've OC'd bumping the cache hasn't really improved any real world performance, or even benchmarks by a decent margin. However, on my 5960X with it's monster 20mb cache I've cranked my Cinebench score up past a 4.5Ghz 5960X while I'm down at a lowly 4.375   Now does a 1744 Cinebench score mean anything in comparison to a 1721? No, not really at all -it's just a benchmark, not real world.

 

If you wanted a concrete real world test I could run a x264 pass w/cache OC'd and another without, but I doubt I'll see any difference past margin of error (a few seconds). Most people specifically recommend not OCing the cache because it can cause instability at a lower core clock, thereby eliminating the possibility of getting a higher core clock, which is what really matters.

 

My advice, get your maximum core OC, then try bumping your cache. It's not going to hurt anything and you'll be able to find your maximum cache OC rather quickly.

 

I got 44x on my cache and it's stable but I haven't noticed any difference, Might put it back to default clocks and volts.

 

Thanks for the reply

[WhatComesAround]

Sorry but your reply kind of doesn't make any sense, Money has nothing to do with cache overclocking, it's part of any CPU on the market from single core chips all the way up to Haswell-E.

What I meant by this is that I wouldn't buy a CPU that has overclocked cache, its just not worth it, I just don't spend too much money on CPU's , don't take it like it's coming from an expert, for as I have said I don't really look up on what CPU is best.

[i_build_nanosuits]

don't waste your time trying to clock the cache ratio it will make your core frequencie more unstable for absolutely no noticeable gains.

[WhatComesAround]

You must be new to the world of PC's as you can't really spend money on faster ROM's

I am, but I am try to help you out, hope I sort of did, forget the ROM part

[runit3]

I got 44x on my cache and it's stable but I haven't noticed any difference, Might put it back to default clocks and volts.

 

Thanks for the reply

np, if you're @ max OC you can just leave the cache and core where they're at and set it to adaptive (I'm not really a fan of adaptive, but to each their own). You can run a few  stress tests just to see where your ΔT falls between the cache multipliers and the voltage you've set. There will be a diminishing return point just like with the core, and cache voltage can give you a HUGE ΔT. Set it to whatever you're comfortable with as far as ΔT goes, and enjoy the theoretical increase in benchmarks :lol:

[Dicehunter]

What I meant by this is that I wouldn't buy a CPU that has overclocked cache, its just not worth it, I just don't spend too much money on CPU's , don't take it like it's coming from an expert, for as I have said I don't really look up on what CPU is best.

 

You cannot buy a CPU which has it's cache overclocked, All overclocking is done via the motherboard

 

But I get what you mean

[Queek]

So I've asked many people this question and the only answer I ever seem to get is either "Yes" or "You should overclock your cache" which both aren't helpful at all.

Now upon a little research I've found that overclocking the CPU cache improves things like unzipping by 1 or 2 seconds but not much else.

Can someone please shed some light on this ?

In terms of performance, I'm not sure how much it practically improves that.  

However, in terms of stability, if your cache multiplier is drastically different than your core ratio, it can lead to system instability.  As I understand it, this is why it is recommend to overclock your cache in addition to your core.  It is not necessary to get it to the same multiplier as your core, but getting it closer (as in doing a moderate overclock on your cache) should improve stability and may even allow you to go higher with the core itself.  Going too high will destabilize your system (that is why core and uncore {cache} multipliers are separate in the latest cpus).  

[Faceman]

Overclocking your Cache/Uncore/RingBus has been proven to not impact performance.

 

When I was overclocking, I was trying to incorporate a cache OC.  Once I finally gave up and set it to minimum=38 maximum=38, adaptive voltage = 1.050 my overclocking TOOK OFF.  4.5Ghz @ 1.160v on an i5-4670k.

 

Of course, every chip is different, and this is just my experience, but you wont know until you give it a try.  Give it a try and see if it helps.  If you can gain even .1 on the core, it is worth it.