i5 4670k with corsair vengeance pro 16gb 1600mhz CL9

Anthony AKA Salmon

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Jan 26, 2014
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Hey guys tommorow I am probably gonna do my first OC I am gonna start around 4.6GHz so 100mhz x 46 with around 1.2-1.3v and then maybe even up to 4.8 but I am wondering if I have to lower my RAM speed cause linus from linustechtips says that you'll have tune down the RAM speed for stability. Is that true and by how much should please comment some settings would be helpful and some tips :)

Also how long should I run stress tests for.

Thx in advance Anthony!
 
Solution


clr_cmos does nothing more then reset your bios to stock settings.

it's safe.
there are dozens of good guides online for overclocking haswell cpus. some basics. (btw: overclocking haswell cpus is childishly simple, though i wouldn't just jump straight to 4.6, here is how i would do it)

1) reset your bios to stock settings (clr_cmos) this will reset your ram to it's SMP profile, not the xmp profile, which is what you'll need to do before you overclock and what Linus was talking about.

2) change your cache speed from auto to 3.3 or 3.5 (depending on what motherboard you have, basically the slowest setting there is)

3) change you cache voltage to 1.8V

Now we're going to take a small sneak peak at how good of an overclocker you have. this will help you dial it in faster

-turn your cpu multiplier to 45
-change your vcore to 1.25V

save your bios settings and exit the bios.

NOW - if your computer fails to boot into windows you'll probably never clock that cpu over 4.5ghz. frankly you'll probably be stuck in the 4.2-4.4 range in the end

If the pc boots into windows you can start to stress it with prime95 or occt, or IBT. if it bluescreens, or crashes or fails the stress test you'll need to bump vcore a little bit. download HWMonitor and keep an eye on temps, haswell cpus alter their clock speed faster then most monitoring software can keep up, so if it's thermal throttling you'll never know unless you watch the temps. at 90C haswell typically starts to thermal throttle. So if your cpu hits 90C and seems to never get hotter it's highly likely your cpu is throttling, you just can't see it. Stop the test and dial the vcore back a little bit. and try again

if it passes a stress test at 4.5ghz and 1.25V on the vcore without temp throttling you can bump the ghz up to 4.6, and try again. keep bumping the clock speed and stressing until the computer won't boot into windows or starts to fail stress tests. at which point you're at the end of your overclocking (mostly), it will just be a question of whether you can put enough vcore in the cpu at that ghz number to stabilize it without overheating and temp throttling when you stress test it. If you can, you can always try one more step up, but in my experience you only really get +1 on the multiplier at the most once you need to add vcore past 1.25V. typically temps and voltages will spiral out of control first.

there are two things that will limit you with a haswell, and only one of them is in your control.
1) temps - this is in your control. you can delid the chip to help, get a better cpu cooler, or alter the airflow in your case. if you're temp limited in your overclock then there is hope you can go further
2) luck - this is out of your control, every chip is different, some cpus are horrible overclockers. you'll know if delidding will help if you're having issues with temps, unfortunately if your cpu temps aren't breaking 70c and you blue screen no matter what voltage you set the cpu to, you've got a chip limitation, and you've hit the end of your overclocking.

basically the idea is this. around 1.25 haswell cpus start to get VERY hot. so if your cpu can't boot at 4.5ghz and 1.25V on the vcore you'll probably never see 4.5ghz or higher on that cpu. this can help you cut through the BS, and help you dial in your overclocking. Now then what do you do if you fail that quick test?

back the clock speed down without touching the vcore, until it WILL boot into windows. at that point you can start to stress test and playing with your vcore to your heart's pleasure. you'll probably have your overclock pinned down within 95% of the max possible overclock on that cpu in less then 2 hours. do a long stability test of your choice. Personally i like prime95 and 12+hours, but the choice is up to you.

Either way you should be good to go.

once you reach this point you can safely bump your ram back up to it's XMP numbers. do another stress test to make sure you're ok and presto!


BTW: don't get too discouraged if you don't have a great overclocker. on the whole most of the "average -to-poor" overclockers are the i5s... intel clearly binned the i7s to be better overclockers. it's not uncommon for i5-4670k to top out in the 4.0ghz-4.4ghz range.

Heck even in DC, my own i5-4690k topped out at 4.2ghz, and that's a refresh chip with better TIM and supposedly higher overclocking potential.
 

Anthony AKA Salmon

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Jan 26, 2014
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Just watched jayztwocents oc guide also he said that you just wanna turn it down during the overclocking to see the stability of the cpu. Keep in mind I am 14 but I have been watching pc tech vids since like 11 :) is it true what I just said? Please confirm
 


if you read what i just typed then you'll know the answer.

-yes- though just resetting your bios with a CLR_CMOS is enough. typically overclockers like to minimize all "other" issues when overclocking, and haswell is a bit sensitive to ram so it's solid advise, still stock settings for the ram after a CLR_CMOS is fine on it's own. You don't need to do more.
 

Anthony AKA Salmon

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Jan 26, 2014
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Thx man for the quick answer. Forgot to say I have a corsair h80i and h440w with stockcoolers. Just wanted to OC to deel it abit cause buying an i7 probably like a couple of months but if the oc goes fine and it perfoms well I willl just switch the cooling as planned (nzxt kraken x61) but the thing where I set the ram to SMP what does SMP mean and how do I do it. Do you have skype ts or anything wheere we could chat and where are you from. Thx tho
 

Anthony AKA Salmon

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Jan 26, 2014
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Eehm 1 question as to why I should press clear_cmos button instead of just resetting the ram through bios? Read a bit on clear_cmos they say it is when you fail oc often. Not saying I am not trusting your word but I just dont wanna get my "hands dirty" opening my pc and maybe not br grounded then there the pc goes..
 


clr_cmos does nothing more then reset your bios to stock settings.

it's safe.
 
Solution
touch the frame of your case will ground you just fine. skin contact is all you need.

as for clr_cmos, if you tell me which motherboard you have i can tell you where to find it. as will your motherboard's instruction manual. in the bios there might even be a "reset to defaults" option which effectively does the same thing. depends on the motherboard.
 

Anthony AKA Salmon

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Jan 26, 2014
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went to my store where I bought my parts from they said current mbo's I shouldnt need to do smp mode or lower frquency. I have the msi z87 g45 gaming. I overclocked it ywsterday to 3.9ghz at stresstests IBP maximum max 82C I think it is cant check in school. But in idle 30 and on games gta v h1z1 and arma3 50c is that good? I think I have 1.050volt vCore
 

Anthony AKA Salmon

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Jan 26, 2014
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Corsair h80i. Tried to go 4ghz with higher vcore did not work. Got a few crashes before on 3.9 with low vcore. Trying now 1.150 I belivqe it says in cpuz it is 1.200 but I have the mode so it is overrride not adaptivE. Which should I have. linus said adaptive after oc. Msi z87 g45 does not have manual would have used it otherwise
 

Anthony AKA Salmon

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Jan 26, 2014
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got done overclocking had high temps on 4 ghz so went to 3.9 instead, with a vcore cpu of 1.135 and vcore ring 1.110 (ring frequency 100mhz less) thanks for all the help guys! got a good 20fps more on h1z1 gta v and arma 3, only games I've checked cause they are cpu intensive!