BSOD after overclocking CPU

[Fazuras]

Hi there!

A few weeks ago I overclocked my cpu (2.8 GHz > 3.33 GHz). At the time, I tested my system with Prime95 (20 minutes) and IntelBurnTestV2 (20 runs). Everything seemed stable and relatively cool after a few hours of tweaking.

But since then, I have encoured a BSOD two times while playing BF4. Two times isn't a lot, but it's too much in my opinion (I play for an hour a day on average). Does anyone know what the problem is, and how I can cure my pc? 🙂

Thanks in advance!

 

[bootcher]

testing for 20 minutes is hardly testing it. You should leave it on for the night and check in the morning if it is still running or it has errors and/or crashed.

 

[13thmonkey]

back off the OC or increase the voltage if your temps and voltage allows

 

[thor220]

Your cpu isn't completely stable. Up the voltage one tick to see if that fixes the issue. Otherwise lower the overclock a bit.

 

[Fazuras]

Thanks for your replies!

@13thmonkey & Thor220: My temps are at Idle ~39C, and while using IntelBurnTest ~60C. Do you think it can take more?

@Bootcher: I will test it for some longer after the tweaks. What kind of Prime95 test do you recommend? Is Blend-testing good, for example?

 

[bootcher]

Any test that puts the cpu at 100% is good.

 

[Eggz]

Run Prime95 on SmallFFT mode (most CPU intensive) over night, but be sure you check heat first. Temperatures usually continue to rise for more than 30 minutes, so you won't even know how hot things get until running SmallFFT for about 45 minutes. Once you hit that temperature plateau, make sure it's within 10 C of your CPU's Tcase. To find that just Google the name of your CPU, followed by "ARK." Since my CPU is the 4930k, I would Google "4930k ARK," and then I'd go to the first link from Intel's website.

The website will list a temperature called "Tcase." Try to limit your max temperature to Tcase + 10 C (as a rough guide). If you get crashes or blue screens, then do as thor220 said and raise your VCORE up one tick to see if you can survive a long Prime95 run on SmallFFT. Keep repeating that process until you get stable AND remain within a good temperature range. Give that you're only going from 2.8 Ghz to 3.3 Ghz, that should not be an issue for an unlocked CPU, but it might be for a locked CPU.

Is your CPU unlocked?

If not, you have to overclock with the base frequency, which changes things other than the CPU frequency. That can cause instability that is trick to track down.

 

[thor220]

Your cpu temps are very good so a voltage increase would work. I would recommend they you play the game that crashed before as a stress test. Prime95 only tests a portion of the system compared to a game that gets all components involved.

 

[Fazuras]

Thanks for your time, guys! Good information!

My PC was crashing more often, and after I increased the voltage it became worse. So I just changed all the settings back to Auto. But I really loved the experience, and I am eager to try it again. What do you guys advice?

In my last try I used a guide, but didn't really stick with it (http://www.ocfreaks.com/overclocking-guide-for-intel-lga1156-platform-cpus/). Do you recon that this guide contains right information, and I should stick with it? So leaving the Multiplier at the lowest value possible (6x) and only overclock via the Base Clock?

 

[Eggz]

Adjust only the multiplier and Vcore if you can. You're not going high enough to need more than that.

 

[thor220]

Adjust only the multiplier and Vcore if you can. You're not going high enough to need more than that.

Agree with Eggz. You should follow this pattern

-> increase multiplier until system is unstable
-> Increase Vcore by one step. (usually .05)
-> Check if system is stable and temps are good. If so continue from step one again if desired.

If you have to step the voltage by 2 without a multiplier increase it probably means you've hit max.

 

[Fazuras]

Hmm, I can't get the multiplier past 21. So I this pattern doesn't work for me I'm afraid.

Will it work it I leave the multiplier at 21, and increase the baseclock and Vcore?

 

[thor220]

You shouldn't really be touching the base clocks, it overclocks your motherboard and RAM. It should be left at default until you are more experienced. My pattern above should apply to your vcore. If 2 raises in Vcore results in instability you should then lower the multiplier until the system is stable.

 

[Eggz]

Hmm, I can't get the multiplier past 21. So I this pattern doesn't work for me I'm afraid.

Will it work it I leave the multiplier at 21, and increase the baseclock and Vcore?

What CPU model do you have, exactly? Most processors are locked and don't allow adjusting the multiplier. For the most part, you should avoid over clocking them on your primarily computer unless you're confident about what you're doing.

 

[Fazuras]

Good to know.

CPU is an Intel Core i7 860

 

[Eggz]

Yeah, the multiplier is locked on that CPU. It has a high heat tolerance, though.

http://ark.intel.com/products/41316/Intel-Core-i7-860-Processor-8M-Cache-2_80-GHz