Overclocking Non-K CPUs?!?!?!

[cantalOPe]

I just found this video on youtube, and it seems legit; what do you guys think about this? Would you do this? Do you think this is safe? I think this is very interesting, and I am considering doing this on my build to save a bit of money.

 

Video Link:

 

[DarkBlade2117]

Known about it, not hard to flash an older bios to a mobo.

[Guest]

Yes its still possible.

http://overclocking.guide/intel-skylake-non-k-overclocking-bios-list

This is a list of /boards/ BIOS's that you can still overclock on, You need to download it and flash your bios back.

[cantalOPe]

2 minutes ago, Ronnie76 said:

Yes its still possible.

http://overclocking.guide/intel-skylake-non-k-overclocking-bios-list

This is a list of /boards/ BIOS's that you can still overclock on, You need to download it and flash your bios back.

That's so cool! The only thing I'm worried about is that with the older versions of the BIOS, it might be more unstable, or is that not an issue?

[MageTank]

2 minutes ago, cantalOPe said:

I just found this video on youtube, and it seems legit; what do you guys think about this? Would you do this? Do you think this is safe? I think this is very interesting, and I am considering doing this on my build to save a bit of money.

 

Video Link:

 

I've done it with 2 different Skylake CPU's. The Pentium G4400 and the Core i5 6600T. Personally, I would avoid doing it on any i5's or higher. Only on Pentiums and i3's. The reason I say this, is because there are too many drawbacks to overclocking non-K CPU's. 

 

Loss of AVX, loss of C states, loss of iGPU, loss of thermal sensors for individual cores, loss of 75% cache speed, and the paranoia of waiting for microcode 0x76 being added to Windows Update, and breaking your overclocks. Not to mention you will be stuck with a specific BIOS forever, as newer BIOS's will automatically update the microcode and ruin the overclock. So if any BIOS updates come out, with features that you want/need, you are out of luck.

 

On Pentiums and i3's, that 75% cache speed loss does not apply. Same with the loss of AVX (The i3 has AVX, but who in the world needs AVX in an i3?).

 

If you are fine with the aforementioned downsides to non-K overclocking, then by all means, give it a shot. Just know that it is quite complicated, and you will have to pay extra attention to your ram speeds and even the BCLK itself. If you use a Core i5 6400, with a base multiplier of 27, you will only be able to hit 4590mhz unless you invest in a board with an external clock generator, because the internal clock generator is limited to 170 BCLK (27 x 170 = 4590). 

 

So if you want to go higher than 4.6ghz, invest in a CPU with a higher base multiplier, or a board with an external clock gen. 

[cantalOPe]

1 minute ago, MageTank said:

I've done it with 2 different Skylake CPU's. The Pentium G4400 and the Core i5 6600T. Personally, I would avoid doing it on any i5's or higher. Only on Pentiums and i3's. The reason I say this, is because there are too many drawbacks to overclocking non-K CPU's. 

 

Loss of AVX, loss of C states, loss of iGPU, loss of thermal sensors for individual cores, loss of 75% cache speed, and the paranoia of waiting for microcode 0x76 being added to Windows Update, and breaking your overclocks. Not to mention you will be stuck with a specific BIOS forever, as newer BIOS's will automatically update the microcode and ruin the overclock. So if any BIOS updates come out, with features that you want/need, you are out of luck.

 

On Pentiums and i3's, that 75% cache speed loss does not apply. Same with the loss of AVX (The i3 has AVX, but who in the world needs AVX in an i3?).

 

If you are fine with the aforementioned downsides to non-K overclocking, then by all means, give it a shot. Just know that it is quite complicated, and you will have to pay extra attention to your ram speeds and even the BCLK itself. If you use a Core i5 6400, with a base multiplier of 27, you will only be able to hit 4590mhz unless you invest in a board with an external clock generator, because the internal clock generator is limited to 170 BCLK (27 x 170 = 4590). 

 

So if you want to go higher than 4.6ghz, invest in a CPU with a higher base multiplier, or a board with an external clock gen. 

I understood only some of those words, but I take it that it's not worth the $20 saved to get an i5 6500 instead of a 6600k is not worth it?

[MageTank]

1 minute ago, cantalOPe said:

I understood only some of those words, but I take it that it's not worth the $20 saved to get an i5 6500 instead of a 6600k is not worth it?

The $20 for better overclocking and less headaches is well worth it in my eyes. Trust me. I had my 6600T at 4590mhz and my ram at 3500 C14-14-14-28-1. Upgrading to a 6700k allowed me to put my ram at 3600, and gave me my cache speed back. For benching, cache speed is important, so my numbers look way better on the 6700k.

 

The only way I would recommend non-K overclocking, is on the aforementioned i3's and Pentiums, or if you already have a locked CPU from say, an OEM computer, and was going to get an $80 Z170 board. If you do not already have the CPU, then investing on a K series is pretty much the only logical choice for anyone intending on overclocking in my eyes. Again, you can still make the decision to overclock a non-K CPU, but after owning one myself, I personally would avoid it. 

[cantalOPe]

3 minutes ago, MageTank said:

The $20 for better overclocking and less headaches is well worth it in my eyes. Trust me. I had my 6600T at 4590mhz and my ram at 3500 C14-14-14-28-1. Upgrading to a 6700k allowed me to put my ram at 3600, and gave me my cache speed back. For benching, cache speed is important, so my numbers look way better on the 6700k.

 

The only way I would recommend non-K overclocking, is on the aforementioned i3's and Pentiums, or if you already have a locked CPU from say, an OEM computer, and was going to get an $80 Z170 board. If you do not already have the CPU, then investing on a K series is pretty much the only logical choice for anyone intending on overclocking in my eyes. Again, you can still make the decision to overclock a non-K CPU, but after owning one myself, I personally would avoid it. 

Thanks for the advice, I'm learning new things about PC building everyday thanks to people like you

[manikyath]

honestly, while its a very possible thing, theres so many downsides you should just toss the extra money for a K part. the little money you'll save will go right back out the door in the shape of frustrations and time spent.

[Guest]

7 hours ago, cantalOPe said:

That's so cool! The only thing I'm worried about is that with the older versions of the BIOS, it might be more unstable, or is that not an issue?

Not an issue. One of the worlds best overclcokers made the bios's 

well modified 

[Jumper118]

i would say it works well

my locked i5 6500

 

my unlocked 6600k........

 

and that was on a mid ranged msi board. asrock are best for bclk overclocking.