What to Expect When Overclocking

[hhamama66]

I built my PC just last year with the intention of just gaming and doing school related tasks like word processing and possibly 3D design once I get to the appropriate class. When I picked my components, I didn't even think twice about overclocking, I just picked the CPU with the highest frequency that would suit my needs (i7 4790k) and picked what ever motherboard was cheap, had a good design, came with plenty of I/O and had good reviews (MSI Z97S SLI Krait Edition). Now, I'm looking into going with a full custom loop by purchasing one of EK's prepackaged kits, buying a new graphics card within the coming months (I previously owned a 970) and overclocking them both to get as much for my money as possible without frying them. Is my current MSI board going to be a good overclocker or will I have to look into a different board with better power delivers? I was looking at the Asock Z97X Fatal1ty as a replacement option.

[Franpadi]

5 minutes ago, hhamama66 said:

I built my PC just last year with the intention of just gaming and doing school related tasks like word processing and possibly 3D design once I get to the appropriate class. When I picked my components, I didn't even think twice about overclocking, I just picked the CPU with the highest frequency that would suit my needs (i7 4790k) and picked what ever motherboard was cheap, had a good design, came with plenty of I/O and had good reviews (MSI Z97S SLI Krait Edition). Now, I'm looking into going with a full custom loop by purchasing one of EK's prepackaged kits, buying a new graphics card within the coming months (I previously owned a 970) and overclocking them both to get as much for my money as possible without frying them. Is my current MSI board going to be a good overclocker or will I have to look into a different board with better power delivers? I was looking at the Asock Z97X Fatal1ty as a replacement option.

You should check if your psu can handle both cpu and gpu overclocking

[manikyath]

afaik on Z97 the motherboard doesnt matter enough in OCing to care about getting a new board.

 

as well as the kraits honestly being a decent board.

[aisle9]

It's a mid-tier Z97 board, so set your expectations accordingly. I own one and have used it with a 4790K, and never had any complaints about its overclocking performance compared to any other board. My current Gigabyte board is a marginally better overclocker, but the Krait was very close to it in terms of performance.

[hhamama66]

24 minutes ago, Franpadi said:

You should check if your psu can handle both cpu and gpu overclocking

I have a cx750, which I'm gonna replace with an EVGA Supernova g2 750w because of how tight my Corsair 400c is in the basement area.

[hhamama66]

22 minutes ago, aisle9 said:

It's a mid-tier Z97 board, so set your expectations accordingly. I own one and have used it with a 4790K, and never had any complaints about its overclocking performance compared to any other board. My current Gigabyte board is a marginally better overclocker, but the Krait was very close to it in terms of performance.

I've heard that the fact that it only has 6 phase power delivery will limit it's performance compared to an 8 phase. Would I at least be able to expect a respectable 4.5ghz?

[Imakuni]

2 hours ago, hhamama66 said:

I've heard that the fact that it only has 6 phase power delivery will limit it's performance compared to an 8 phase.

Not a problem. Not with Haswell anyway...

 

2 hours ago, hhamama66 said:

Would I at least be able to expect a respectable 4.5ghz?

No.

 

Always expect to get a shjty overclock that's 500mhz lower than everyone else's. If you do, you won't be disappointed once that actually happens, while being super happy if you get decent increases.

[hhamama66]

1 hour ago, Imakuni said:

Not a problem. Not with Haswell anyway...

 

No.

 

Always expect to get a shjty overclock that's 500mhz lower than everyone else's. If you do, you won't be disappointed once that actually happens, while being super happy if you get decent increases.

So it would be best if I get a motherboard with 8 phases than? I was thinking about the Asrock z97x Fatal1ty (8 phases) or the Asrock z97 extreme 6 (12 phase) they both cost about the same.

[Imakuni]

1 minute ago, hhamama66 said:

So it would be best if I get a motherboard with 8 phases than? I was thinking about the Asrock z97x Fatal1ty (8 phases) or the Asrock z97 extreme 6 (12 phase) they both cost about the same.

I just told you that it doesn't matter. You'd be fine with your current board, no need to change it unless there's some other feature you want.

[aisle9]

6 hours ago, hhamama66 said:

[aisle9]

6 hours ago, hhamama66 said:

I've heard that the fact that it only has 6 phase power delivery will limit it's performance compared to an 8 phase. Would I at least be able to expect a respectable 4.5ghz?

My Krait with its six power phases couldn't stabilize my 4790K above 4.6GHz. My Gigabyte board with four phases stabilizes it at 4.7. The extra power phases won't make a whole lot of difference with a Haswell.