Has ASUS Auto Tune given me a safe OC?

[TalonX273]

I recently build my first "from scratch" gaming build, and I wanted to overclock it a little bit. However, I know VERY little about doing an overclock. All I know is to never go over 1.4V on the CPU Vcore voltage, avoid CPU temperatures of over 85C, and play with the multiplier and base-clock until the preferred OC is achieved. After each tweak/change, run Prime95 for at least an hour (24hr preferred) to check stability.

But instead, I took the easier route, and used my ASUS board's Auto Tuning feature (the "Fast" option, not "Extreme"). It was successful, and its given me a 24% CPU boost, and iGPU got a 13% boost. After testing with Prime 95 for a little over an 1 hour, and monitoring the temperatures and frequencies with ASUS AI suite, CPU-z, and CoreTemp, there were no errors.

Even with a successful test, I'm still not sure if it's okay because of all the bad comments I saw about the Auto Tuning software. So my question is, did ASUS give me a safe OC, and should I tune it a little more? Please note, I'm not looking to overclock any higher than 4.5GHz. I would be happy with 4.3GHz actually.

Here are the parts of my computer, applicable to overclocking only:
Motherboard: ASUS P8Z77-V LK
CPU: Intel Core i5 3570K
CPU Heatsink: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO (single fan only, intake)
RAM: 2x4GB Kingston Hyper X, 1600MHz, CL9, Dual-Channel
PSU: OCZ ModXstream 700W
Case Fans: Total of 5. 2 front/side intakes, 3 top/back exhaust.

Here are the test results and settings:
Tested for 1 hour+
Max Frequency: 4224 MHz
BCLK: 103 MHz
Multiplier: x41
CPU Voltage/Vcore: Set to 1.185V [Maxed at 1.232V]
DDR Voltage: 1.65V
+12V: 12.192V
+5V: 5.08V
+3.3V: 3.392V
All Fans Maxed out.
Core 0 @ 100%: 73C max
Core 1 @ 100%: 80C max
Core 2 @ 100%: 77C max
Core 3 @ 100%: 75C max
Motherboard Temperature: 32C

Thanks in advance far all helpful comments!

EDIT: I screwed up on the Vcore. It was actually set to 1.185V, NOT 1.85!

 

[inzone]

The thing with the auto overclock is that the settings can be overdone by the auto setting and you would be much better off doing the overclock yourself. Asus also has the AI or cpu level up in the bios which I think is better then the auto tune program in windows.
But if you set the option in the bios to manual , you can then just increase the multiplier sourself and add voltage only when you need to and not even touch the BCLK. You can get the same 4.2 ghz over clock witout as much voltage. Now that you see what the settings are for the auto overclock and that your cpu will run at that clock you should try the manual overclock and see if you can get there with less voltage.

 

[nna2]

try lowering the voltage it gave you to the lowest stable you can get

edit: should have read closer, was already covered, sorry 😛

 

[TalonX273]

Thanks for the replies!

I understand that the Auto Tuner gave me a good OC. So I decided to try my hand at doing it manually. I managed to get 4.3GHz at 1.15V Vcore. I only tested it for 10-15 minutes, but there were no problems. Temperatures maxed out at around 77-78C, and Vcore maxed at 1.195V. While we're here, can anyone confirm if this was a good, safe, overclock?

Note: I found out that Vcore ramps up from the set voltage to prevent undervolting.

 

[amuffin]

Here are the test results and settings:
Tested for 1 hour+
Max Frequency: 4224 MHz
BCLK: 103 MHz
Multiplier: x41
CPU Voltage/Vcore: Set to 1.185V [Maxed at 1.232V]
DDR Voltage: 1.65V
+12V: 12.192V
+5V: 5.08V
+3.3V: 3.392V
All Fans Maxed out.
Core 0 @ 100%: 73C max
Core 1 @ 100%: 80C max
Core 2 @ 100%: 77C max
Core 3 @ 100%: 75C max
Motherboard Temperature: 32C

Thanks in advance far all helpful comments!

EDIT: I screwed up on the Vcore. It was actually set to 1.185V, NOT 1.85!

BCLK=100
DDR Voltage=1.5v

 

[inzone]

Thanks for the replies!

I understand that the Auto Tuner gave me a good OC. So I decided to try my hand at doing it manually. I managed to get 4.3GHz at 1.15V Vcore. I only tested it for 10-15 minutes, but there were no problems. Temperatures maxed out at around 77-78C, and Vcore maxed at 1.195V. While we're here, can anyone confirm if this was a good, safe, overclock?

Note: I found out that Vcore ramps up from the set voltage to prevent undervolting.

What did you end up with on the BCLK , did you leave it at 100? If you got this overclock with out increasing the BCLK then it is much better and safer , also the ram voltage should still be at 1.5v. If your temps are MAXXED OUT then that would be the highest temps you would see and those would be very acceptable since in everyday use you will see about 60% to 75% of thse tempsand those will be perfectly acceptable.

 

[amuffin]

^^

That's JJ from ROG!

 

[TalonX273]

Thank you all for the replies! Unfortunately, my OC knowledge is still very limited. But I did manage to make a stable 4.3GHz OC, albeit a little nooby. Here are the settings/results:

Tested for 8 hours 15 minutes w/ Prime95
Max Frequency: 4300.4 MHz
BCLK: 100 MHz
Multiplier: x43
CPU Voltage/Vcore: 1.15V [Maxed at 1.192-1.208V]
DDR Voltage: 1.5V
Power Phase Control set to "ASUS Optimized"
EPU is Active
Voltage Tweaking done through "TurboV EVO" software.
All other OC settings are on default or "Auto"
+12V: 12.288V
+5V: 5.08V
+3.3V: 3.408V
Core 0: 73C
Core 1: 79c
Core 2: 77C
Core 3: 75C
Motherboard Temp.: 33C
All Fans Maxed Out, room is at around 27-29C
Used RealTemp, CPU-Z, and ASUS AI Suite to monitor temps and voltages.

I don't know how to set the voltage in a way that it's at 1.15v, but still in offset mode for power saving. So, I have to load the TurboV EVO profile every OS boot. -_- If anyone can give me directions on how to do this better, here are my target settings: 4.3GHz, retain ability to be at a lower clock when idle (automatically), Virtue MVP enabled, and lowest temps/power consumption is preferred. Thanks!

 

[JustGetOwned]

I think it is best to uninstall and delete everything that had to do with AI suite and manually overclock your components. I used AI suite and got some massive hard-to-fix problems and later saw on the internet that many people had them. I will include a link with a youtube video where the guy explains a lot about how to overclock your CPU. This will certainly help you get a great overclock. Good luck!

Link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qcta3RStYSM&index=1&list=WL

PS: subscribe to this dude, he makes very useful videos.

 

[buggerlugs_52]

I agree with the above. Unless you have awesome cooling its not worth locking the CPU speed higher, its far better to allow it to boost when required. If you use Asus AutoOC at all, it does not automatically ramp up the clock speed any longer. I'd steer well clear of it.