How far can I overclock my CPU?

[CampbellSoup1013]

Hello, I just recently bought an I5 8600k with a new motherboard and I started looking into overclocking, of course I looked to see if my motherboard would be good to overclock and I’ve found mixed feelings about it. I was just wondering if anyone had a definite answer.

 

This is my PC - https://pcpartpicker.com/list/MMR8QZ

[Mio85]

4.8-5.2 GHz is a pretty common overclock with the 8600k. Although I would recommend a watercooler or a good aircooler for this.

In your case, maybe try 4.6-4.9 to check for stability.

[r2724r16]

I'd swap out that motherboard for something like an Asus Prime z370-A or Strix z370-E (which is pretty pricey) and get a better cooler. Something like a Dark Rock Pro 4, NH-D15, or H100i v2. 

 

BTW, why don't you have a SSD in your build, it's 2018 and HDDs ain't that fast. 

[CampbellSoup1013]

Just now, Rasbir Singh said:

I'd swap out that motherboard for something like an Asus Prime z370-A or Strix z370-E (which is pretty pricey) and get a better cooler. Something like a Dark Rock Pro 4, NH-D15, or H100i v2. 

 

BTW, why don't you have a SSD in your build, it's 2018 and HDDs ain't that fast. 

Yeah I figured that there were better parts to get I was just wondering if it would be good to overclock with these parts or just keep it stock. Oh and I’m planning on getting an ssd soon

[Jurrunio]

What a sad set of VRMs.

 

If you have a thermal probe then you can overclock while keeping VRM heatsink temps in 5 min stress test below 80C (if you can somehow put the probe on the mosfets, then it's 110C).

 

If you dont have a thermal probe, then better leave it at stock. 8600k can easily draw enough power to cook the VRMs with no mercy.

[CampbellSoup1013]

14 minutes ago, Jurrunio said:

What a sad set of VRMs.

 

If you have a thermal probe then you can overclock while keeping VRM heatsink temps in 5 min stress test below 80C (if you can somehow put the probe on the mosfets, then it's 110C).

 

If you dont have a thermal probe, then better leave it at stock. 8600k can easily draw enough power to cook the VRMs with no mercy.

So don’t overclock it without doing anything special or getting another motherboard?

[Jurrunio]

7 minutes ago, CampbellSoup1013 said:

So don’t overclock it without doing anything special or getting another motherboard?

no thermal probe, then dont overclock with the Z370XP SLI. You can (and I encourage you to) undervolt the CPU, which increases its efficiency, lowers power draw and makes it better for the VRMs. Temps should also go lower.

 

If you want to overclock, it's time for another (and better) motherboard.

[chckovsky]

45 minutes ago, Rasbir Singh said:

I'd swap out that motherboard for something like an Asus Prime z370-A or Strix z370-E (which is pretty pricey) and get a better cooler. Something like a Dark Rock Pro 4, NH-D15, or H100i v2. 

 

BTW, why don't you have a SSD in your build, it's 2018 and HDDs ain't that fast. 

In my country the Strix Z370F is much cheaper than the Z370E, and it has basically the same VRM and power delivery system. As should the Prime Z370-A. Just remember to update BIOS as the launch BIOSes had disfunctional LLC.

[CampbellSoup1013]

8 minutes ago, Jurrunio said:

no thermal probe, then dont overclock with the Z370XP SLI. You can (and I encourage you to) undervolt the CPU, which increases its efficiency, lowers power draw and makes it better for the VRMs. Temps should also go lower.

 

If you want to overclock, it's time for another (and better) motherboard.

How would you undervolt the CPU? Sorry if I seem like a noob to this I’ve just never dealt with the whole overclocking genre 

[Jurrunio]

Just now, CampbellSoup1013 said:

How would you undervolt the CPU? Sorry if I seem like a noob to this I’ve just never dealt with the whole overclocking genre 

in the bios, there will be a CPU voltage option that defaults to auto. Change that to offset as you will want to reduce that value further. Then either 1 box or two boxes will appear.

 

If there's one, set a negative value say -0.05V, then save your settings, leave the BIOS and do stress test in Windows (Prime95's in-place large FFTs work best for me). If it doesnt crash after a 2-3min stress test, restart the PC and enter the BIOS again. Reduce the voltage offset by another -0.05v, and do the above again. Repeat till it finally crashes (or anything abnormal happens), enter the BIOS a final time and increase the offset by 0.15V. That should be stable for long term use.

 

If there's two, one of the boxes should let you choose between a + sign or a - sign. Use the negative sign. It simply means you have to enter the negative sign here rather than the box with numbers. For example, a negative sign in the first box and 0.05V in the second box is the same as entering -0.05V when there's only 1 box. The rest of the procedures are the same as the above.

[CampbellSoup1013]

25 minutes ago, Jurrunio said:

in the bios, there will be a CPU voltage option that defaults to auto. Change that to offset as you will want to reduce that value further. Then either 1 box or two boxes will appear.

 

If there's one, set a negative value say -0.05V, then save your settings, leave the BIOS and do stress test in Windows (Prime95's in-place large FFTs work best for me). If it doesnt crash after a 2-3min stress test, restart the PC and enter the BIOS again. Reduce the voltage offset by another -0.05v, and do the above again. Repeat till it finally crashes (or anything abnormal happens), enter the BIOS a final time and increase the offset by 0.15V. That should be stable for long term use.

 

If there's two, one of the boxes should let you choose between a + sign or a - sign. Use the negative sign. It simply means you have to enter the negative sign here rather than the box with numbers. For example, a negative sign in the first box and 0.05V in the second box is the same as entering -0.05V when there's only 1 box. The rest of the procedures are the same as the above.

I will definitely try it out. Thank you