A Question About My Overclock: Intel Core i7-7700K

[DrumsXO]

Hey, everyone.

I have my Intel Core i7-7700K overclocked to 4.8GHz from the stock 4.2GHz using the "OC Genie" built into my MSI Z270 SLI Plus motherboard.

The question is two-pronged.

1) Do I REALLY see a difference in gaming performance, or do I just THINK I do? I play a variety of games from Fallout 4 and Skyrim (both heavily modded) to Ghost Recon: Wildlands and Battlefield 4.

2) I've been getting mixed readings from Corsair Link and Core Temp; one will say I hit 82 Celsius and the other says 73 Celsius. If I am really hitting 82 Celsius; why?! I don't get why it'd be getting so hot! How do I fix this?

Here are the specs of my build.

Case: Corsair Crystal Series 460X RGB Mid-Tower
CPU: Intel Core i7-7700K OC'd to 4.8GHz
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i V2 w/ fans at max (2,700 RPM)
GPU: EVGA GTX 1070 SC
RAM: Corsair Vengeance RGB DDR4 3,000MHz OC'd to 3,200MHz
PSU: EVGA 850W Bronze
Thermal Paste: Arctic Silver 5, horizontal line method
Airflow Pattern: 3x 120mm front intake, 1x 120mm rear exhaust, 2x 120mm radiator fans top exhaust

I'm worried that I'm going to damage my CPU by having it OC'd, and not even actually seeing any actual performance boost. But, I've heard that open-world games like Skyrim, Fallout 4 and Wildlands really do see a boost when the CPU is OC'd. At the same time, I don't see why my CPU would be getting so warm... It's got plenty of cooling, right?

Grr. I don't know what to think here!

 

[n0ns3ns3]

yes. pay attention to programs crashes/hangs as well.

 

[DrumsXO]

yes. pay attention to programs crashes/hangs as well.

Okay. I'm not sure what to set them to initially though, since 1.3 on the SATA Voltage was highlighted in red.

 

[n0ns3ns3]

start at core +0.1 or

 

[DrumsXO]

start at core +0.1 or

Alright. I'll do that when I get home and fiddle around, then report back.

 

[DrumsXO]

start at core +0.1 or

So, I think this has been a resounding success thus far!

I went into the BIOS, and just for the hell of it, I adjusted the SA Voltage and IO Voltage to their default values; 1.050 and 0.950 respectively. Then, I played a few hours worth of Ghost Recon: Wildlands with a couple of friends, and I didn't experience any lagging, no crashing or freezing, no big frame drops or stutters that would be CPU related... And, best of all, my highest recorded CPU temperature was 54 Celsius, and the rest came in at 52 and 53 Celsius!

Granted, that could also be because it's in the very low 60's Fahrenheit in my room right now, so once the heater kicks in and warms the room back up a bit, those temps could potentially go up a tiny bit, but that's still awesome!

 

[n0ns3ns3]

even if your room temp goes up 10-15C, you will still be well under 70C for CPU which is more than fine.
though remember, gaming is not the "ultimate" load on the CPU even if it is 100% utilized. So temperatures can go higher with other software.

 

[DrumsXO]

even if your room temp goes up 10-15C, you will still be well under 70C for CPU which is more than fine.
though remember, gaming is not the "ultimate" load on the CPU even if it is 100% utilized. So temperatures can go higher with other software.

I normally run my room about 70-72 Fahrenheit, so the low 60's in here tonight were most likely a factor. I'm sure it'll heat up the CPU a bit, but not by much I imagine. If I can still stay in the low 60's on the CPU then I'll be very happy.

 

[samuele_1]

auto overclock is bad as it pushes way more voltage than needed as the manufacturers want to ensure that even worst CPU will be able to work without crashing. Most CPUs can reach those frequencies at much lower voltage. that results in unnecessarily high temps.
in addition, intel's 7th gen is known for thermal issues due to the TIM used under the IHS.
so you can do the following (any or all of them):
1. overclock your CPU manually. do not use voltage higher than 1.3v (even this is a bit too much).
2. delid your CPU.

as a side note, temp spikes are not important.

Not use voltage higher than 1.3v??, not all cpu are lucky, my cpu need 1.36v for 4.8ghz , less than this voltage i get blue screen, i delided and full load 75c with kraken x62

 

[DrumsXO]

auto overclock is bad as it pushes way more voltage than needed as the manufacturers want to ensure that even worst CPU will be able to work without crashing. Most CPUs can reach those frequencies at much lower voltage. that results in unnecessarily high temps.
in addition, intel's 7th gen is known for thermal issues due to the TIM used under the IHS.
so you can do the following (any or all of them):
1. overclock your CPU manually. do not use voltage higher than 1.3v (even this is a bit too much).
2. delid your CPU.

as a side note, temp spikes are not important.

Not use voltage higher than 1.3v??, not all cpu are lucky, my cpu need 1.36v for 4.8ghz , less than this voltage i get blue screen, i delided and full load 75c with kraken x62

Every CPU is different, unfortunately. Even two of the exact same CPU will have different upper and lower voltage limits. It's why they call it "The Silicone Lottery."

My CPU, fortunately for me, can function (so far, at least) with 1.155 volts at 4.8GHz. If yours needs at least 1.3 volts at 4.8GHz, then that's just what it needs.

 

[n0ns3ns3]

Not use voltage higher than 1.3v??, not all cpu are lucky, my cpu need 1.36v for 4.8ghz , less than this voltage i get blue screen, i delided and full load 75c with kraken x62

for fun, you can set 1.5v as well. the thing is that it's not really healthy to blast silicon with high voltages. what will eventually happen is that the silicon will degrade and you will need even more voltage/current to operate on the same frequency. It's true that silicon will degrade with any voltage given enough time, but with low voltages it takes practically forever. However, the relation between voltage and life span is not linear. So instead of decades at 1.0v, you get couple of month on 1.5v at best. Numbers are kinda fictional and are here just to illustrate proportions.
Also, I have no idea what CPU you are using. for older parts like my 4770K, 1.3v is nothing to worry about. but newer intel CPUs on finer process nodes are more sensitive to voltage.
Bottom line, you can do whatever you think is right if you know what you are doing and what are the implications of your actions.
I will not recommend to a neophyte to do something beyond 100% safe limits.

 

[DrumsXO]

for fun, you can set 1.5v as well. the thing is that it's not really healthy to blast silicon with high voltages. what will eventually happen is that the silicon will degrade and you will need even more voltage/current to operate on the same frequency. It's true that silicon will degrade with any voltage given enough time, but with low voltages it takes practically forever. However, the relation between voltage and life span is not linear. So instead of decades at 1.0v, you get couple of month on 1.5v at best. Numbers are kinda fictional and are here just to illustrate proportions.
Also, I have no idea what CPU you are using. for older parts like my 4770K, 1.3v is nothing to worry about. but newer intel CPUs on finer process nodes are more sensitive to voltage.
Bottom line, you can do whatever you think is right if you know what you are doing and what are the implications of your actions.
I will not recommend to a neophyte to do something beyond 100% safe limits.

I really wish CPU manufacturers would either be more consistent with silicon, or use an entirely different material altogether.

Isn't that what people are replacing when they delid and use Liquid Metal; they're replacing the Silicon?

 

[n0ns3ns3]

I really wish CPU manufacturers would either be more consistent with silicon, or use an entirely different material altogether.

Isn't that what people are replacing when they delid and use Liquid Metal; they're replacing the Silicon?

silicon is what in short the CPU made of.
what you talking about is TIM - or thermal interface material that is placed between the CPU die (made of silicon) and the IHS (integrated heat spreader) - that metal thing that you see.
http://www.overclock.net/content/type/61/id/1433351/width/500/height/1000/flags/LL
the answer to the question in picture is YES and on the right is the backside of the IHS.

 

[DrumsXO]

I really wish CPU manufacturers would either be more consistent with silicon, or use an entirely different material altogether.

Isn't that what people are replacing when they delid and use Liquid Metal; they're replacing the Silicon?

silicon is what in short the CPU made of.
what you talking about is TIM - or thermal interface material that is placed between the CPU die (made of silicon) and the IHS (integrated heat spreader) - that metal thing that you see.
http://www.overclock.net/content/type/61/id/1433351/width/500/height/1000/flags/LL
the answer to the question in picture is YES and on the right is the backside of the IHS.

Ah, okay. They need to be more consistent with the silicon then.