Have questions before I really start OC'ing 4470k

[Spindoc]

Have a few questions before I start oc'ing my i7-4770k on a Asus Max VI Hero:

1. It seems like every cpu has a listed 'turbo' clock speed. What is that? Maybe the speed its safest to oc to?

2.Do, whats considered, 'dangerous temps' change depending on cpu? If so, what temperatures should I be avoiding and which ones should I feel pretty comfortable at?

3. With pumping that much voltage through the MB, it seems like you can use high speed ram, how do you know what 'higher speed' ram you can put in based on your new voltage?

4. Should I update my bios? I heard there was a newer version out but it seemed like you really only needed it if you had Devil's Cannyon cpu?

5. I hear, as far as helpful programs go, CPU-Z is a pretty good one. Is there any other software that I should PROBABLY have, before I start?

Lastly, How do I check what's bottlenecking my system? And is it worth it to OC graphics cards?

Thanks for the help guys. Also sorry for the paragraph

 

[geofelt]

1. Turbo is an automatic raising of the clock speed of a single core when the demand is there and the other cores are not so much used.
2. Do not worry about dangerous temperatures. A 4770K will down clock or even shut off if it senses a dangerous temperature. That might be as high as 100c. What you need to monitor is the cpu core voltage or VCORE. A safe limit is perhaps 1.25v, not more than 1.30v. It is the high vcore that drives up temperatures. 85c. under load is a good target.
3. There is little value in ram faster than 1866. That will run at 1.5v. Faster ram is normal ram that is overclocked and will be running at 1.65v.
It really is not worth it since faster ram comes with higher latencies(cas numbers) which negate the benefit. You are looking at a real app difference in the 1-3% range between 1600 and 2400 ram.
4. DO NOT update your bios unless it will fix a problem important to you. A failed bios update can permanently brick your motherboard.
5. I like OSST as a stress tester.
On graphics cards, my take is to spend a bit more for a factory overclocked version and then leave it alone.

 

[Spindoc]

1. Turbo is an automatic raising of the clock speed of a single core when the demand is there and the other cores are not so much used.
2. Do not worry about dangerous temperatures. A 4770K will down clock or even shut off if it senses a dangerous temperature. That might be as high as 100c. What you need to monitor is the cpu core voltage or VCORE. A safe limit is perhaps 1.25v, not more than 1.30v. It is the high vcore that drives up temperatures. 85c. under load is a good target.
3. There is little value in ram faster than 1866. That will run at 1.5v. Faster ram is normal ram that is overclocked and will be running at 1.65v.
It really is not worth it since faster ram comes with higher latencies(cas numbers) which negate the benefit. You are looking at a real app difference in the 1-3% range between 1600 and 2400 ram.
4. DO NOT update your bios unless it will fix a problem important to you. A failed bios update can permanently brick your motherboard.
5. I like OSST as a stress tester.
On graphics cards, my take is to spend a bit more for a factory overclocked version and then leave it alone.

Thanks for such a thorough reply! That really helps a lot. Though follow up question: If my ram is running at close to 1.5V shouldn't that then mean EVERYTHING is running at 1.5V, bc voltage is constant everywhere? Why, or better yet how, is my CPU not already running at 1.5 when my ram and possibly GPU are?
As well as: So the Higher speed ram such as 2400mhz has already been "pre-overclocked"? I kind of figured I wouldnt need much of a performance increase but as I get deeper into the know-how its turned into somewhat of a hobby, so even though Knowing I'd only get a 3% increase its still quite fun to mess around with it and install new things. That being the case, if I WERE to install higher RAM (which tbh is probably a long way off)...WHICH Voltage would I use to calculate what speed RAM to get if I'm not going off of the CPU voltage?

 

[Sergeant_Sneaky]

1. Turbo is an automatic raising of the clock speed of a single core when the demand is there and the other cores are not so much used.
2. Do not worry about dangerous temperatures. A 4770K will down clock or even shut off if it senses a dangerous temperature. That might be as high as 100c. What you need to monitor is the cpu core voltage or VCORE. A safe limit is perhaps 1.25v, not more than 1.30v. It is the high vcore that drives up temperatures. 85c. under load is a good target.
3. There is little value in ram faster than 1866. That will run at 1.5v. Faster ram is normal ram that is overclocked and will be running at 1.65v.
It really is not worth it since faster ram comes with higher latencies(cas numbers) which negate the benefit. You are looking at a real app difference in the 1-3% range between 1600 and 2400 ram.
4. DO NOT update your bios unless it will fix a problem important to you. A failed bios update can permanently brick your motherboard.
5. I like OSST as a stress tester.
On graphics cards, my take is to spend a bit more for a factory overclocked version and then leave it alone.

Thanks for such a thorough reply! That really helps a lot. Though follow up question: If my ram is running at close to 1.5V shouldn't that then mean EVERYTHING is running at 1.5V, bc voltage is constant everywhere? Why, or better yet how, is my CPU not already running at 1.5 when my ram and possibly GPU are?

Everything runs at a different voltage, the memory can run at 1.65v if needed and the cpu would stay at 1.2v or whatever yours runs at, if that makes sense?

 

[Spindoc]

1. Turbo is an automatic raising of the clock speed of a single core when the demand is there and the other cores are not so much used.
2. Do not worry about dangerous temperatures. A 4770K will down clock or even shut off if it senses a dangerous temperature. That might be as high as 100c. What you need to monitor is the cpu core voltage or VCORE. A safe limit is perhaps 1.25v, not more than 1.30v. It is the high vcore that drives up temperatures. 85c. under load is a good target.
3. There is little value in ram faster than 1866. That will run at 1.5v. Faster ram is normal ram that is overclocked and will be running at 1.65v.
It really is not worth it since faster ram comes with higher latencies(cas numbers) which negate the benefit. You are looking at a real app difference in the 1-3% range between 1600 and 2400 ram.
4. DO NOT update your bios unless it will fix a problem important to you. A failed bios update can permanently brick your motherboard.
5. I like OSST as a stress tester.
On graphics cards, my take is to spend a bit more for a factory overclocked version and then leave it alone.

Thanks for such a thorough reply! That really helps a lot. Though follow up question: If my ram is running at close to 1.5V shouldn't that then mean EVERYTHING is running at 1.5V, bc voltage is constant everywhere? Why, or better yet how, is my CPU not already running at 1.5 when my ram and possibly GPU are?

Everything runs at a different voltage, the memory can run at 1.65v if needed and the cpu would stay at 1.2v or whatever yours runs at, if that makes sense?

yes absolutely, just needed clearing up, again thanks for answering question, Though albeit I eddited my last post after you had answered my next question. If you have the time, could you address my addition question from that earlier post (Question regarded how to pick higher speed ram after youve found a stable OC?