4690k overclocking questions.

[Dark_Fuzzy]

So after having my new build for a few weeks now I'm looking into overclocking but have a few questions i cant find answers for.

I'm running the next to latest bios on my board,do i really need to update it to the latest before trying to overclock (latest update only lists "Better system compatibility for Intel^® 5^th Generation Core™ Processors")

Secondly I'm seeing alot of differing opinions on overclocking settings (ie. to disable turbo or not, power saving settings and if i should change anything other than the multiplier and voltage(vcore i believe)).

Any answers and suggestions would be appreciated.

 

Specs

I5 4690k (Cryorig h7 for cooling)

Gigabyte z97x-sli

8gb of some pny ram thats getting replaced soon

Asus gtx 960 strix

evga 500b (atleast i believe its a 500b)

[Swndlr]

1. No, it wouldnt affect you since you dont have a 5th generation chip, you have a 4th.

2. I left everything as is except for voltage and multiplier when overclocking my chip.

Side note - I got mine to a stable 4.6GHz @ 1.185V for synthetic tests, it didnt work for much else tho

[Goat]

No, a bios update is not required for overclocking. Turbo Boost can interfere with overclocking by not allowing you configure the multiplier and voltage settings correctly, resulting in an unstable overclock, so turn that off.

 

There isn't a need for power saving when overclocking, as you will most likely be increasing the voltage anyway, so turn power settings like SpeedStep and what not off. Power savings can also affect overclocking, as they can underclock the processor when you are not doing anything intensive.

[Dark_Fuzzy]

7 minutes ago, Swndlr said:

1. No, it wouldnt affect you since you dont have a 5th generation chip, you have a 4th.

2. I left everything as is except for voltage and multiplier when overclocking my chip.

Side note - I got mine to a stable 4.6GHz @ 1.185V for synthetic tests, it didnt work for much else tho

Now that i think about it why would my z97 board even get an update for 5th get.....

 

 

 

[Swndlr]

Just now, Dark_Fuzzy said:

Now that i think about it why would my z97 board even get an update for 5th get.....

 

 

 

The two Broadwell 5th gen chips that Intel released for desktop (5675C and 5775C) both are Z97 chips

[Dark_Fuzzy]

31 minutes ago, Swndlr said:

The two Broadwell 5th gen chips that Intel released for desktop (5675C and 5775C) both are Z97 chips

Oh haven't seen them.

 

After a quick test it seems to be holding stable at 4.2ghz with 1.100v barely breaking 55c,did nothing but disable turbo and set the voltage and multiplier.

[incarnate]

When first overclocking, you should disable turbo and speed stepping. This makes stress testing a bit easier since it locks your cpu to full speed. You can enable them again when you get a stable oc.

 

For the settings, there is the quick and dirty way, and there is the methodical way. Quick and dirty is setting the voltage to a much higher value like 1.25 or 1.3, then seeing what multiplier is stable in your preferred stress test.

 

, manually set the voltage to the stock value listed in the bios. Set the multiplier to 40. Boot into Windows and run a stress test for about 15-20 mins. Keep increasing the multiplier by one until you get a blue screen. Then add a bit of voltage (anywhere from 0.01-0.03v is good, you want to keep this small) then stress test for a bit longer like 30 mins. Then repeat the process, stress testing longer as you go on. This gets you the lowest voltage for your overclock.

 

Most people use a mix of the two. A good place to start since you have a good cooler is 4.5 ghz with 1.2 or 1.25v. Once that is stable then you can keep pushing slowly, one mullet at a time, adding voltage only when you get a blue screen. Doing this, make sure to stress test for 1-2 hours on the first test to make sure you are starting stable to make the rest of the overclocking easier.

 

Once you are done (be sure to do a long 3-4 hour stress test) you can enable turbo, speed stepping, and adaptive voltage to make the cpu behave like a stock cpu with a turbo up to what your overclock is set to. Or you can leave it locked at 100% 24/7. Your call. Personally I prefer it to downclock when I'm not doing anything intensive.

[Dark_Fuzzy]

4 minutes ago, incarnate said:

snip

Currently sitting at 4.3ghz with 1.138v,seems to be stable so far.

Also when does vrm heat become an issue(or at all)?

[incarnate]

Just now, Dark_Fuzzy said:

Currently sitting at 4.3ghz with 1.138v,seems to be stable so far.

Also when does vrm heat become an issue(or at all)?

It's not usually a limiting factor unless you got a real sketchy board (you don't).

[incarnate]

2 minutes ago, Dark_Fuzzy said:

Currently sitting at 4.3ghz with 1.138v,seems to be stable so far.

Also when does vrm heat become an issue(or at all)?

And yeah, seems like your i5 is right in line with mine. I had 4.4 @ 1.165 and 4.5 @ 1.2. Hopefully you don't hit a wall at 4.7 like I did

[Dark_Fuzzy]

8 minutes ago, incarnate said:

And yeah, seems like your i5 is right in line with mine. I had 4.4 @ 1.165 and 4.5 @ 1.2. Hopefully you don't hit a wall at 4.7 like I did

I just noticed my bios shows vcore at 1.152v even though i have it set to 1.138v.

Which number should i go off of?

(Edit: numbers)

[incarnate]

42 minutes ago, Dark_Fuzzy said:

I just noticed my bios shows vcore at 1.152v even though i have it set to 1.138v.

Which number should i go off of?

(Edit: numbers)

Are you using a program to overclock? If so, don't. Make all changes in the bios.

 

If you are in bios, make sure voltage is set to manual mode and ensure that no offset is set. If none of these things is the cause, it might be the LLC setting adding a bit of voltage to combat vdroop (a drop in voltage that occurs when you're cpu is at heavy loads)

[Dark_Fuzzy]

2 minutes ago, incarnate said:

Are you using a program to overclock? If so, don't. Make all changes in the bios.

 

If you are in bios, make sure voltage is set to manual mode and ensure that no offset is set. If none of these things is the cause, it might be the LLC setting adding a bit of voltage to combat vdroop (a drop in voltage that occurs when you're cpu is at heavy loads)

Voltage is set to manual with no offset,all changes made in bios.

It seems i may have hit a bit of a wall at 4.3 sadly anything from 1.138 to 1.180v bluescreened after a few minutes of testing.

Tomorrow i'll look into it a bit more as i cant see it completely stopping at 4.3 but who knows.

 

Also thanks loads for the help.

[incarnate]

18 minutes ago, Dark_Fuzzy said:

Voltage is set to manual with no offset,all changes made in bios.

It seems i may have hit a bit of a wall at 4.3 sadly anything from 1.138 to 1.180v bluescreened after a few minutes of testing.

Tomorrow i'll look into it a bit more as i cant see it completely stopping at 4.3 but who knows.

 

Also thanks loads for the help.

No problem at all, helping people is why I'm here lol. Check your llc settings. Try setting it to a lowish level. For example, I have mine set to level 3 (out of 9 levels) for my 4.4 ghz oc. Keep in mind that llc settings are different from manufacturer to manufacturer. Set it about 1/3 of max or so. Setting this too high can cause way too much voltage to be applied, not so much a problem at 1.18v, but at 1.25-1.3 it can add enough to be dangerous at higher levels. It is usually found in the advanced voltage controls.

 

You still have lots of voltage headroom left so you'll be good to keep going.