i5-4690k overclocking on ASUS B85M-G

[supermanu15]

The prices from where I am fluctuate a lot, I managed to find an i5-4690k thats cheaper than an i5-4690 non-K, so I am leaning now to buying the K variant but no plans to overclock but is it worth it? I dont want to pay for something that I cannot use but I managed to see somewhere online that someone was able to overclock 4th gen i5's and i7's on an ASUS B85M-G, so I wanna ask the community for inputs as this is tempting for me.

 

[rhysiam]

I don't think you can OC on that board, but even if someone hacked/found a way, you'd be putting significant extra pressure on the entry level power delivery circuitry on that motherboard. Not a good idea even if possible.

Having said that, there's no reason not to get a "K" CPU if it's cheaper. You won't be able to overclock it, but it'll still work, and if it's cheaper then who cares.

The only caveat I'd add is that if you're buying second hand, "K" series CPUs could have been heavily OC'd their entire lives... you really don't know. CPUs rarely fail/die of old age, even if they've been overclocked, but if you're buying one that has run on high voltages its whole life the chance is much higher. That might be why the non-K versions are a little cheaper.

Finally, you need to make sure that the motherboard has an up-to date BIOS. It was released before the Haswell Refresh CPUs (like the 4690K you're considering) existed, so if it's an original/second hand version, it might need a new BIOS before it can boot with a 4690K. The problem is that it'll need a working CPU to upgrade the BIOS. So you can get stuck having to find a cheap+old+compatible CPU to upgrade the BIOS before you can use the CPU you want.

CPU compatibility list for that mobo is here: https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/B85MG/HelpDesk_CPU/
You want BIOS version 2001 or later for the 4690K.

 

[supermanu15]

I don't think you can OC on that board, but even if someone hacked/found a way, you'd be putting significant extra pressure on the entry level power delivery circuitry on that motherboard. Not a good idea even if possible.

Having said that, there's no reason not to get a "K" CPU if it's cheaper. You won't be able to overclock it, but it'll still work, and if it's cheaper then who cares.

The only caveat I'd add is that if you're buying second hand, "K" series CPUs could have been heavily OC'd their entire lives... you really don't know. CPUs rarely fail/die of old age, even if they've been overclocked, but if you're buying one that has run on high voltages its whole life the chance is much higher. That might be why the non-K versions are a little cheaper.

Finally, you need to make sure that the motherboard has an up-to date BIOS. It was released before the Haswell Refresh CPUs (like the 4690K you're considering) existed, so if it's an original/second hand version, it might need a new BIOS before it can boot with a 4690K. The problem is that it'll need a working CPU to upgrade the BIOS. So you can get stuck having to find a cheap+old+compatible CPU to upgrade the BIOS before you can use the CPU you want.

CPU compatibility list for that mobo is here: https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/B85MG/HelpDesk_CPU/
You want BIOS version 2001 or later for the 4690K.

Thanks! But I am pretty sure this is updated as I am using an i5-4460 from work to get this up and running, I will be returning it immediately as I am just borrowing it to check, which is why I am buying the i5-4690 K or non-K

 

[rhysiam]

Thanks! But I am pretty sure this is updated as I am using an i5-4460 from work to get this up and running, I will be returning it immediately as I am just borrowing it to check, which is why I am buying the i5-4690 K or non-K

The 4460 was a Haswell Refresh CPU so you're probably fine.

However, if you look at the CPU support list I linked above, you'll see that the 4460 will run on BIOS 0904 or later, while the 4690K requires version 2001 or later. So you should absolutely take the opportunity to update to the latest BIOS while you still have that 4460. You'd be unlucky, but there's a chance it's sitting on the a BIOS version which supports the 4460, but not the 4690K, which would be very sad to discover once the 4460 has been returned.

 

[supermanu15]

Thanks! But I am pretty sure this is updated as I am using an i5-4460 from work to get this up and running, I will be returning it immediately as I am just borrowing it to check, which is why I am buying the i5-4690 K or non-K

The 4460 was a Haswell Refresh CPU so you're probably fine.

However, if you look at the CPU support list I linked above, you'll see that the 4460 will run on BIOS 0904 or later, while the 4690K requires version 2001 or later. So you should absolutely take the opportunity to update to the latest BIOS while you still have that 4460. You'd be unlucky, but there's a chance it's sitting on the a BIOS version which supports the 4460, but not the 4690K, which would be very sad to discover once the 4460 has been returned.

i actually posted here a long while back regarding the haswell refresh, it can be found here:
http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-3317947/asus-b85m-requires-bios-update-4690.html

seems i said my bios was > 0905, but i want to make sure, thank you for pointing this out! I thought that they require the same bios as the 4460

 

[supermanu15]

After much research I found these online:

https://www.techpowerup.com/187213/asus-brings-haswell-processor-overclocking-to-h87-and-b85-motherboards

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u380jWhRXTI

😀

 

[supermanu15]

Thanks! But I am pretty sure this is updated as I am using an i5-4460 from work to get this up and running, I will be returning it immediately as I am just borrowing it to check, which is why I am buying the i5-4690 K or non-K

The 4460 was a Haswell Refresh CPU so you're probably fine.

However, if you look at the CPU support list I linked above, you'll see that the 4460 will run on BIOS 0904 or later, while the 4690K requires version 2001 or later. So you should absolutely take the opportunity to update to the latest BIOS while you still have that 4460. You'd be unlucky, but there's a chance it's sitting on the a BIOS version which supports the 4460, but not the 4690K, which would be very sad to discover once the 4460 has been returned.

Just checked. My bios version is 2501, which means I'm good to go right? 😀

 

[rhysiam]

Just checked. My bios version is 2501, which means I'm good to go right? 😀

Yep - should be good to go. Have fun.

 

[supermanu15]

Just checked. My bios version is 2501, which means I'm good to go right? 😀

Yep - should be good to go. Have fun.

Can you basically tell me what adaptive mode does? There are different answers on the net, I didnt see that option in my BIOS but saw it on most of the videos that I watched on youtube. I had a hunch that it might be specific to CPU's only and I was right, because my 4460 isnt unlocked. So I might see that option if I put in the 4690K.

 

[rhysiam]

I think this answers your question: https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?52719-Offset-Mode-and-Adaptive-Mode

Best to find a detailed OC guide if you can though.

 

[supermanu15]

I think this answers your question: https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?52719-Offset-Mode-and-Adaptive-Mode

Best to find a detailed OC guide if you can though.

thank you! i consider this closed.