I need a guide to right spot to overclock my I7 CPU

ravndal15

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Oct 4, 2012
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Hello guys ,
Its amazing I built my first computer myself but overclocking is something I never actually even considered until now after resently learning my CPU was bottlenecking my system . I dont have a cooler yet but decided to get one now and start overclocking for the first time . I am consulting you gentlement who understand overclocking more in depth just to direct me in the right direction . My system is as follows

G1.Sniper M3 (rev. 1.0)
http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4168#ov

Corsair 16 GB (4x4GB) DDR3 1600 MHz CL9 ( 9-9-9-24)
Intel i7 3770k 3.5 GHz CPU
Corsair 750W HZ 750 PSU
2 x GTX 580 overclocked editions

I was looking at this cooler as choice Noctua NH-D14 CPU All-In-One Cooler
http://www.ddcomputer.com.au/prod-NH-D14-proddes_Noctua_NH-D14_CPU_All-In-One_Cooler.html

Will this be fine with my system . I heard that if memory has big heatsink there can be provlems or something . Although I am not sure on that . Maybe someone will recommend another cooler.

So I know lots about computer and have used them for over 10 years so learning shouldnt be a problem . Can someone direct me to the right tutorial for overclocking my CPU with this setup. Any advice you wish to add will be most welcome as well to guys . I have CPU monitoring software on my PC .

Just might I add I overclocked with Easy tunne6 just to see what would happen . Temps reached 69 degrees celcius. But thing is it seemed to pause my system for a moment on desktop when right clicking something or shrinking and making larger already open files. Or trying to do most things from the desktop . I am guessing that software OC'ing is not a good option correct ? Manually in the bios is better ? Anyway guys I hope you can help me out on this one and am looking forward to your responses :)

Cheers Adam .



 
Yes BIOS OCing is much better. Allows much more control, and control is what gets you the best OC possible. YOu should be very happy with that Noctua.

Now here is a guide : http://www.thinkcomputers.org/intel-ivy-bridge-overclocking-guide/

OK there is a guide, its not really for beginners, so it boils down to...

1. Disable all power saving adn turbo boost features and pick a load calibration, 1 being very stiff and one voltage constantly, 2 being a little more relax(easier to achieve stability), i prefer level 2.
2. Set voltage to fixed at first and drop it to 0.9v. (You can do this with stock cooling as it reduces heat generation)
3. Boot into windows and run prime 95 or similar stresstest to test for stability for atleast half an hour. This will give you an idea of how sensitive your specific CPU is to voltage change. (You can do this with stock cooling as it reduces heat generation)
4. Increase your voltage to 1.2v and multiplyer to 4.2GHz. Test thoroughly for an hour. Keep a close eye on temps with real temp or HWmonitor.

After that you can increase Multiplier one at a time testing for half an hour between each bump. When stability is lost, add 0.05v and try again.

Repeat process until you reach your desired OC or unacceptable temps(drop one clock and/or Voltage) and viola you have your OC...

DO NOT EXCEED 1.3V! Also keep temps under 90C under max load. Although if it touches over it its still fine. It will shut of automatically if it gets TOO hot(103C).

 
What are you using the cpu for to bottleneck an Intel i7 3770k @ 3.5 gigahertz?

The 2 x GTX 580 make me think you use it for gaming ...

The vast majority of games won't be hindered by your cpu. They are limited by the graphics card.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-680-review-benchmark,3161-13.html

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-680-review-benchmark,3161-10.html

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-680-review-benchmark,3161-9.html

The way to tell if the CPU is bottle-necking the game is to see if the fps are the same across a broad range of different model cards.

Hypothetically, if you were to see a hard cap of 44 fps no matter which graphics card you use then you could say the CPU is bottle-necking it.

Your games would gain a much higher FPS improvement if you overclocked the graphics sub-system than the CPU.