CPU Overclocking Help For A Beginner

[Ryan Parker]

Hello everyone!

I just built my first gaming desktop as of yesterday and, having purchased a 3570K, I was wondering how to go about overclocking it.

I am entirely new to this and I have no idea how to proceed. It seems fairly straight forward as it only requires BIOS adjustments and stress tests, however, that is the limit of my knowledge on the matter.

This is my rig:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($209.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Phanteks PH-TC12DX_RD 68.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($44.25 @ TigerDirect)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($84.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($259.99 @ Microcenter)
Wireless Network Adapter: Rosewill RNX-N250PCe 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($20.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master Storm Enforcer ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ TigerDirect)
Case Fan: Cooler Master Megaflow 110.0 CFM 200mm Fan ($14.97 @ OutletPC)
Power Supply: Antec HCG M 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($103.37 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($97.98 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Asus VH238H 23.0" Monitor ($158.98 @ Amazon)
Total: $1285.45
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-01 23:42 EST-0500)

Could someone please explain to me like I'm 5 on how to proceed about safely overclocking my CPU?

 

[Ashwin kolkar]

ok first you will need prime 95 and cpuid speedfan etc tools.
set cpu voltage at auto or defalt. the you can oc your cpu to 4.0Ghz or more! more voltage more frqnsy causes more heat! prime 95 is stress test tool. test your cpu with FFF test.

 

[Ryan Parker]

ok first you will need prime 95 and cpuid speedfan etc tools.
set cpu voltage at auto or defalt. the you can oc your cpu to 4.0Ghz or more! more voltage more frqnsy causes more heat! prime 95 is stress test tool. test your cpu with FFF test.

Thank you! Though, do you think you could be a bit more specific as to the step by step process?
Keep in mind I'm totally new to this.

 

[Ryan Parker]

Also, what would you consider safe temperatures for my GPU? And for my CPU in its current state and when overclocked?

 

[jnewegger23]

First find a good guide that goes into detail on how to oc your specific board with your specific cpu. Follow it to a "T". You will learn more about your chip. Be methodical. If you are impatient then overclocking may not be for you. Taking your time yields the best results.
A lot of guides will recommend you start at a certain vcore (voltage for your cpu) and clock speed ie 42x1000=4.2Ghz. Turbo boost doesn't count. That comes as default. So you are effectively raising your cieling to 4.2Ghz and trying to run it at a vcore of 1.2V for ex. If it crashes you aren't stable and try again now at 1.25v. Crashes, hangs, bsod again go up to 1.3v. If it is now stable but runs a little hot now you start decreasing in smaller increments like go down to 1.28, if that works go down to 1.275. 1.270, 1.265 and so on till it crashes again or not. Let's say you are stable at 1.255 with an llc (load line calibration) of 6 or extreme or whatever your board calls it. Try disabiling now and see if your system is stable. It most likely is not. You now try manually to set the "offset" and this calculation is in your guide and may be positive or negative.
I for example run at 4.4Ghz vcore 1.145 offset +.0085 . This is the lowest vcore I can run stable. The lower your vcore at the higher Ghz the lower your temps. I could run the same 4.4 at say 1.4vcore but my system would run way too hot. If I put my vcore lower it will crash. If I put my offset lower it will crash. I have found my optimal settings for THIS chip. You cannot simply copy what someone else has done because each chip behaves differently in each different rig/system that is built. It takes some time to find that sweet spot but it can be very fun and you will learn a ton. I know this is quite verbose but I am very passionate and have a lot of enthusiasm when it comes to this. Hopefully you found some of the information in my "little" rant her useful! Please let me know if you have any further questions! Best of luck to you and have fun!

UPDATE:
Here's a link to a good looking guide for your mobo and cpu:
http://www.overclock.net/t/1198504/complete-overclocking-guide-sandy-bridge-ivy-bridge-asrock-edition

I used a similar one (by a different author on the same website) myself a while back. It addresses everything, from safe temps, to what stress test programs to run, what measurement tools to download etc.

Off hand, you will probably run hot at first when you find a stable setting and go down. You may hit over 90c and that's pretty normal when trying to find your oc but obviously not where you want things to stay. Once you get closer to your target vcore you will be seeing sub 80c to sub 70c and depending on how good your chip and cooling solutions are may see sub 60c under load.

For stress testing I agree with the above poster that prime95 is a common and good one but I also like intel burn test as it has a finite time frame and stress levels. For gaming you will want unigine heaven among others but that's more for overclocking your gpu and I always recommend making sure you know your cpu oc is stable FIRST! Wait a week or so because you may think your oc is stable and when you play a movie it crashes. If you mess with your ram and your gpu too how do you know which of the three (cpu, gpu, ram) is the issue? Make sure your cpu oc is rock solid first so you know that it couldn't be that. Then play with the gpu. I tend to just buy the better stick of ram as ram is finicky enough.

This is all I can think of for now. Again, have fun!

Thanks,

Justin S.

 

[Ryan Parker]

First find a good guide that goes into detail on how to oc your specific board with your specific cpu. Follow it to a "T". You will learn more about your chip. Be methodical. If you are impatient then overclocking may not be for you. Taking your time yields the best results.
A lot of guides will recommend you start at a certain vcore (voltage for your cpu) and clock speed ie 42x1000=4.2Ghz. Turbo boost doesn't count. That comes as default. So you are effectively raising your cieling to 4.2Ghz and trying to run it at a vcore of 1.2V for ex. If it crashes you aren't stable and try again now at 1.25v. Crashes, hangs, bsod again go up to 1.3v. If it is now stable but runs a little hot now you start decreasing in smaller increments like go down to 1.28, if that works go down to 1.275. 1.270, 1.265 and so on till it crashes again or not. Let's say you are stable at 1.255 with an llc (load line calibration) of 6 or extreme or whatever your board calls it. Try disabiling now and see if your system is stable. It most likely is not. You now try manually to set the "offset" and this calculation is in your guide and may be positive or negative.
I for example run at 4.4Ghz vcore 1.145 offset +.0085 . This is the lowest vcore I can run stable. The lower your vcore at the higher Ghz the lower your temps. I could run the same 4.4 at say 1.4vcore but my system would run way too hot. If I put my vcore lower it will crash. If I put my offset lower it will crash. I have found my optimal settings for THIS chip. You cannot simply copy what someone else has done because each chip behaves differently in each different rig/system that is built. It takes some time to find that sweet spot but it can be very fun and you will learn a ton. I know this is quite verbose but I am very passionate and have a lot of enthusiasm when it comes to this. Hopefully you found some of the information in my "little" rant her useful! Please let me know if you have any further questions! Best of luck to you and have fun!

UPDATE:
Here's a link to a good looking guide for your mobo and cpu:
http://www.overclock.net/t/1198504/complete-overclocking-guide-sandy-bridge-ivy-bridge-asrock-edition

I used a similar one (by a different author on the same website) myself a while back. It addresses everything, from safe temps, to what stress test programs to run, what measurement tools to download etc.

Off hand, you will probably run hot at first when you find a stable setting and go down. You may hit over 90c and that's pretty normal when trying to find your oc but obviously not where you want things to stay. Once you get closer to your target vcore you will be seeing sub 80c to sub 70c and depending on how good your chip and cooling solutions are may see sub 60c under load.

For stress testing I agree with the above poster that prime95 is a common and good one but I also like intel burn test as it has a finite time frame and stress levels. For gaming you will want unigine heaven among others but that's more for overclocking your gpu and I always recommend making sure you know your cpu oc is stable FIRST! Wait a week or so because you may think your oc is stable and when you play a movie it crashes. If you mess with your ram and your gpu too how do you know which of the three (cpu, gpu, ram) is the issue? Make sure your cpu oc is rock solid first so you know that it couldn't be that. Then play with the gpu. I tend to just buy the better stick of ram as ram is finicky enough.

This is all I can think of for now. Again, have fun!

Thanks,

Justin S.

A bit verbose indeed but I think I got the gist of it.
The link is very helpful. Overall tips and advice are extremely helpful.
Thank you very much!

 

[jnewegger23]

Glad to help! You're welcome! See, I can be concise! ha! Have fun!