Extremely new to OC'ing need some advice.

[Hcollett]

Hello everybody. I recently completed my FIRST PC build! I came here for all of the suggestions and was repeatedly told that the parts I chose are prime for overclocking. So out of curiosity I would love to know where to begin and what to look for, for instance, do i need any software? I know that OC'ing can void warranties and such, I'm a little worried about that but I think it will be okay.

SO the build Is as follows.
Intel 4690k I5 Devils canyon 3.5ghz
Zalman CNPS10x heat sink (Thing is freaking massive.)
Gigabite Z97 GD35
8GB Gskill ram (I did the dual channel stuff and set them to 1866mhz)
Zotac GTX 970 4gb
EVGA 750W PSU
Phanteks case. (Alot of airflow.)

I downloaded HWmonitor and have been monitoring my temps and everything is checking out fine 7 days into the build.

 

[majic2]

With that cooler you can overclock your cpu to easily 4.2 without alot of knowladge. Yes youll need some software. There are plenty of tutorials online for overclocking cpu gpu, then just google what you can easily overclock and what other peiple have achieved and run it etween 3.5Ghz and what they have reached

 

[majic2]

Also forgot to include its not just the frequency youll need to adopt voltage etc too but like i said should be able to find the recommended stuff easily

 

[Cons29]

a few things.
read, read read.
research max voltage and max temperature <-- this is very important
take it slow, don't just jump to 5ghz
test, test and test.
limit the factors (don't oc the ram and/or gpu) while OC'ing the cpu (so you know which one is failing the oc)

 

[Hcollett]

I guess it comes factory at 4ghz already overclocked. In the bios it says its at 3910.45 mhz.

 

[panikattak]

Gigabyte has an auto OC software that comes with the boards. You could use that to OC but it is not recommended because it pumps a lot of voltage into the chips to achieve stable Overclocks. Your temps would sky rocket if you were to use it depending on how far you want it to OC. You would have to monitor your temps very carefully.

The 4ghz you see in the bios is the turbo boost frequency of the chip. Depending on work load it will automatically jump from the base 3.5 to 4.

I have the same processor you have but I am at work right now. When I get home in about 30 minutes or so I will send you all my specs and what I have set right now for my OC and give you an idea where to start and some other things you can use to test with.

 

[panikattak]

Ok, sorry for taking longer than the 30 minutes previously stated. My keyboard kind of tried to get drunk with glass of beer before I could. Now that its dried up and sober here's what I have.

Intel I5-4690k
Corsair H100i AIO Liquid Cooler (240mm Radiator w/ 2x 120 Fans)
Gelid GC Extreme Thermal Paste - 4th on the list after potentially dangerous liquid metal solutions (http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/thermal-paste-performance-benchmark,review-32804-17.html)
Gigabyte Z97-UD5H(rev1.0)
8GB GSkill Sniper 1600 (OCd to 1866)
Sapphire HD7950 3GB Boost
Corsair GS800 PSU
CoolerMaster HAF XB Evo (http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/cooler-master-haf-xb-review,review-32761.html)

Monitoring
HWinfo64 - When you start it, check the sensors only box then click run - Easy way to see temps and usage of all devices in your system
CPUZ - Used to use this but the HWiNFO64 gives you everything you need IMHO

Testing:
Intel Burn test - Be careful with this one. It loads the CPU 100% and temps can get high really fast. I start with a Normal test then bump it up 1 level and test again. If I get all the way through Very High my system is usually set well.
AIDA 64 Extreme - Stability Tester - Long run time for best results
OCCT - Couple different test options - Long run time

Now before I begin, your results on air will not be as high as mine. You still can get a decent overclock out of it though as long as you are monitoring your temperatures.

Please do not jump straight to the 4.6ghz since you are on air cooling. Start with a lower Vcore and multiplier and go from there. Below are my setting and down to the point just before I change the Vcore setting and multiplier you should be able to use. Once you have done that then start with the CPU OC.

Start by Leaving the Vcore at stock and up the multiplier to say 40. Save the settings as a separate profile and give it a name you'll recognize and then save and exit. If you are able to boot, restart, go into bios and up the multiplier by 1. Save, Exit, if it boots, increase again. Do this until it cant boot. Once you hit that wall, up the Vcore by .05v so 1.150v. Try again. Repeat until you boot. When you do boot, open the HWinfo and look at your temps. Mine vary anywhere from 25-30c at idle. You can maybe reach 4.2 or 4.3 before your temps start to get high. I haven't tested this CPU with an air cooler so do a quick google search and you should be able to find something.

So on to the settings. Start from the top of the list and work your way down. Again, your Vcore and multiplier are going to be lower so start at stock and slowly work up. If you do need to increase voltage, increase first, then set the multiplier or else you risk locking up your system and having to hard reset.

Anything with the ** after it is something I'm still tweaking to try to get the best stability and speed. Currently with the vcore 1.325v I can run tests and encode movies without BSOD but anything lower, I can pass stress tests but BSOD when I try to convert MKVs with Handbrake for some reason. Games are good though as well.

Voltage Tab (Advanced Power Settings)
Option 1: CPU VRIN Loaline Calibration -> Extreme
Option 4&5: CPU/DDR Current Protection -> Extreme
Option 10: PWM Phase Control -> eXm Perf

Voltage Tab(Chipset Voltage Control)
PCH Core -> 1.100v (1.090v stock) **

Memory Tab(Memory)
X.M.P -> Profile 1
System Memory Multiplier -> 18.66

Frequency Tab(Advanced CPU Core Settings)
Uncore Ratio -> 35 **
Intel Turbo Boost -> Disabled
Hyper Threading -> Disabled

Voltage Tab(CPU Core Voltage Control)
CPU VRIN External Override -> 2.000v (1.800v stock)
CPU Vcore -> 1.325v (1.100v stock) **
CPU Ring Voltage -> 1.100v (1.050v stock)

Frequency Tab(Frequency)
CPU Clock Ratio -> 46 **
Extreme memory Profile -> Profile 1

Test this out. Give me some feedback or results if you get a chance to test it. If anyone else has any pointers please post. I'd like to be able to get mine up to 4.7 or 4.8 stable and would love advice.