Help: How do I overclock my i7-6800k (noob here)

[jomsjoms]

Hi,

I am a total noob in overclocking. I want to overclock my i7-6800k to around 4Ghz. I've read and watched youtube but I am still uncertain. Can you guys give me a step by step things to do? I kept reading that I need to increase the multiplier then test then increase again until i get an error, then i increase the voltage until the error goes away then increase again the multiplier, etc.

Anyway here is my computer setup:
i7-6800k
Noctua NH-D15s (single fan only)
Corsair 780T case (stock fans)
Asus X99 Deluxe U3.1 (version 1 only - BIOS updated to latest)
Gskill ripjaws 32GB RAM (4x8GB)
Geforce GTX 760 (soon to be GTX1070 or 1080)
Corsair AX860i power supply
Samsung 950 Pro M.2 SSD - 512GB
Samsung 850 Pro SSD - 512GB
WD Black 4TB HDD
WD RE 6TB HDD
Windows 10 Pro 64bit

My usage = Photoshop / Lightroom / Light premiere (to study it this year) / Light after effects (to study it next year) / Light gaming (Starcraft 2 - once or 2x a week)

Questions:

1) I've seen others set the multiplier to 4.2x then voltage to 1.22v (to give them 4.2Ghz) but I only want 4Ghz (for mild overclock) so maybe I should set my voltage to 1.1v or 1.2v first?

2) Some said to use stock setting for Ram while others say to set it to XMP before overclocking. Which is right?

3) What program should I use to test? Some say to avoid prime as it will destroy your computer. Should I use Aida64, XTU, Prime, etc? (I prefer the free version but I can pay if it is really that much better). How long do I need to run it?

A step-by-step guide would be really good.

Thanks.

 

[scuzzycard]

1) I would try 1.1V first and then increase if needed.
2) I would overclock the core before enabling XMP because high speed memory can sometimes limit the CPU OC
3) I recommend the ASUS RealBench stress test. AIDA FPU test and XTU are dangerous in the same way that Prime95, though a tad milder.

More info: http://edgeup.asus.com/2016/06/17/broadwell-e-overclocking-guide/

 

[jomsjoms]

scuzzy - thank you very much! The link you gave me is superb! very very valuable info.

 

[jomsjoms]

I have installed CPU-Z and just to test it. I am on my home computer i7-3820 on Asus Sabertooth X79 (my new computer is in the office).

The core voltage keeps jumping around from 1.056 to 1.072 to 1.064 to 1.144 to 1.248 to 1.112 to etc. Is this normal? I thought all along that the voltage doesn't change. Why is mine jumping?

Note: I did not overclock my home computer. Everything is in default (stock) settings.

Thanks.