i5 4670k Voltage Question

AJScott755

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Mar 11, 2014
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Hi all

I have an i5-4670k which I have just OC'd (First time doing it)

have a Coolermaster 212 EVO cooler over it (does pretty good job)

I have just overclocked it. I set the ratio at 41 and the CPU core voltage to adaptive. It runs at 4.1Ghz at about 30C idle (seemingly fine).

However upon doing some reading I've seen how inportant the CPU Core voltage is and I seem to be getting different readings.

Using the software CPUID HWMonitor my "VCORE" voltage idle is 1.776v. Under my BIOS (Asus Z87-A mobo) in CPU information the voltage is 1.104v and under CPU-Z it is reading core voltage as fluctuating between 0.75v-0.85v. This is all at idle with very stable temperatures.

Is this safe? What do I need to change if anything?

Regards
 
Personally, I wouldn't mess with adaptive. Set it to manual and find the most stable, lowest voltage for your overclock. You don't want to go over 1.3 volts, especially with air cooling.

You put yourself at greater risk of ruining your parts with adaptive. Certain programs can make it fluxuate out of its usual parameters and it's just not something you want to think about.
 

AJScott755

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Update:
Under HWMonitor the Vcore stayed at 1.7v however under CPUID it kind of maxed out at 1.095V. (I have 2 monitors so can see changes in real time while under load)

Which of these do I follow? And TheConsiderateIlliterate which voltage would you start with at 4.1Ghz?


2nd update: Did some research and apparently on HWMonitor your CPU voltage is not located under "VCore" but actually under "VIN4". I have now set to manual, however I could not see a way in my bios to actually type in a number? Idle it is fluctuating between 0.75V and 1V. Will test under load.
 
1.776v doesn't seem realistic and is likely inaccurate. What are your temps? You don't want to really mess with anything over 72 - 75 (although the thermal shutdown temp is much higher).

I have my i5-4670k running @4.3 Ghz @1.183

I'd recommend going back to BIOS and going back to stock voltage. Quite frankly I forget what that is so if you're running 4.1 Ghz - switch to manual voltage and set it at 1.15v. If for whatever reason your computer does not boot, bump it to maybe 1.16v (or start here, doesn't matter because it's still definitely in the safe zone).

There are a few "stress testing" programs out there and I prefer Aida64. It's free for like 30 days. You'll hear a lot of people talk about Prime95, but you'll also see a lot of people mention that Prime95 is not a good choice for Haswell chips. Personally, I think it heats the chips up too much which far exceeds the normal realm of what you'll be actually doing with your computer.

If your computer boots at 1.15v and 4.1Ghz run Aida64 - here is a link to how to use Aida64 for stress testing: http://forums.aida64.com/topic/481-stress-test-help/

If it's stable then you are good to go. Now if you want to continue to squeeze more performance out of your chip then you need to bump it up to 4.2 Ghz - stress test - and if it's stable - congrats! If not, you may need to bump your voltage up a notch. Personally, I only go 0.02 - 0.04 volts a time. Test and re-test. Just don't go over 1.3v - that's for people watercooling and are trying to go for 4.5+. It's more of a hobby at that point.

Lots of guides on how to overclock out there. Personally I just did a youtube search "overclocking i5-4670k" and followed that. It's nice to have a visual reference, especially when working with BIOS. Some videos will tell you to use adaptive mode, but again, the generally OC community will tell you to stick with manual.
 

AJScott755

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Mar 11, 2014
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Thanks. Did some quick tinkering and seem to have found something stable with good temps. Currenty at 4.1Ghz at 1.104V.

Question, in my ASUS BIOS when I go to manual it brings up a voltage which I do not seem to be able to change? I did some searching and it seems possible to do it under the adaptive settings, however I don't want that. Any thoughts? It's the ASUS UEFI BIOS on an Z87-A.
 
Here is my BIOS. The only thing you'll need to change is CPU Core Voltage Override. Mine is set at 1.184 because that's what is stable for me at 4.3. Everything else should be left alone / on Auto. Hope that helps.

C7Z6KVM.jpg

X9byBzT.jpg
 

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