i7-4770k BSOD at 4.4GHz :(

absarc

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Hey guys! I'm a novice at overclocking and tonight I finally decided two overclock my chip.

So I started easy with the overclock. 4.2GHz 30 min Prime95. No issues. I ran some other bits and did some googling on how to proceed from here. At this point I only adjusted the multiplier and the core voltage. Both set to fixed with the multiplier at 42 and the core voltage at 1.200 volts.

So I'm watching a Linus video on overclocking the 4770k and he says to do a quick dirty overclock at 4.6GHz at 1.25 volts to see what the chip is like. So I proceed to enter the values and snap. No post. The motherboard displays a messaging saying the overclock failed. So I think damn, maybe 4.5 will work with the voltage at 1.25. Nope. Get into windows followed by a BSOD. This happens over and over till I restore all settings to default.

Currently I'm sat at 4.3GHz with a fixed voltage of 1.200 volts. Nothing else changed. Currently running Aida64 and temps from 50 degrees on the coolest core to 65 degrees on the hottest core.

What is find odd is when I tried to run Aida64 at 4.3GHz last time, 5 minutes in I got a BSOD. This time I'm 15 minutes in and fine.

So is it that I've got a bad CPU that doesn't overclock? Or am I doing something fundamentally wrong and I don't know?

Oh for reference, I'm using the MSI Z87-GD65 motherboard. Other hardware is in my sig. Any help is greatly appreciated! Thank you.
 
Solution

CaptainTom

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What's your problem? If it isn't stable...Up voltage! My i7-4770K at 4.5 GHz uses about 1.312v if I remember correctly...
 
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absarc

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Holy crap. That much voltage? Lol guess I'm scared haha.i just set it to 4.4GHz at 1.2 volts with a BSOD in minutes into windows. Trying 1.25 volts now. Any tips on the voltage and how I go about adjusting them?
 

CaptainTom

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Yep but I use a 92mm closed loop cooler (Badass for my small case!) so I don't know if temperature is a problem for you, but it doesn't sound like it is. Yeah 4.6GHz is basically my limit at 1.4v...

P.S. I have done a ton of research on what OC's people can achieve with this chip, and it seems mine is about average...
 

absarc

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We'll temperature shouldn't be I hope as I'm using a custom loop I built a few weeks ago. I've only just got round to overclocking my components so yeh.ah what temps do you get with your voltage at 1.4?

At the moment this PC seems hit and miss lol. 10 minutes into Aida64 at 4.4GHz at 1.25v stable. Might bump it up another notch and see how it goes.

Edit: I've done a lot of research into what people are getting and what temps etc. at the moment mine seems to be one of the below average with the way it's behaving at the moment lol.
 

CaptainTom

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My temps are fine gaming (80-87c), but remember I am using a 92mm radiator. It is nearly as small as a console! Just keep on going man and see where you get. 1.25v at 4.4 sounds par for the course to me... 1.4v is really my safety limit though, and I really don't even feel comfortable with it past 1.35v.
 

absarc

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Ah thanks for the help! Just curious, how far were you able to get before you couldn't post? And what temp should I stop at? 80 degrees?

Edit: quick update, BSOD at 4.5GHz with my voltage at 1.26v. Trying 1.27v now.
 

CaptainTom

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Stress testing runs a CPU past what any game will ever get close to. If it stays stable under 100c; it is good in my book. And as long as it stays in the low 80's while gaming I am happy. I didn't bother with checking how high it will post but I have heard Haswell posts crazy high, but stability is another thing. Glad I could help, don't forget to pick a solution!

P.S. For stress testing I have 3 stages: 1) 5 x Intel Burn Test Runs, 2) 10 passes of Prime 95, 3) a few rounds of Battlefield!!!
 

absarc

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Thank you for the help! I've just downloaded intel burn test so will give that a run in a minute if I can get stable on 4.5GHz. Currently had to up the voltage to 1.275v. Well only time will tell!
 
use hwmonitor to see what your min/max vcore is. under load its going to be lower than what it is at idle. if its dropping too far down then thats probably your problem. i too use intel burn test at maximum stress level. for me if you can make it though one pass… about 25-35min, 9 times out of 10 you will pass a 12 hour prime95 small fft test. but IBT fluctuates voltages much more than prime95 and you can quickly get an idea of voltage ranges and temps. once you hit 80c you need better cooling so back down a notch if your getting that high.
 

absarc

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Thank you for the response. After 10 hours I finally managed to stabilise a 4.5GHz with a voltage at 1.285 volts. My current Processor Cache Ratio is at 4300MHz with the voltage at 1.250 volts. I'm in he process of lowering the voltage step by step now. I can't raise the cache multiplier anymore as it becomes unstable and I don't fancy raising the voltage more either due to the heat output. On IBT I hit 90 degrees so yeh. I've managed to do 10 runs on high stress level so that should be stable right? At the current settings I'm maxing at 88 degrees.

Oh by the way, the voltage is current set to fixed so I have yet to test on adaptive.
 

absarc

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I've managed to get the overclock survive 10 runs on IBT on high but when I setup the Intel Extreme Tuning Utility for a CPU stress test, 8 hours at some point it BSOD. So I'm confused. How come it survives the IBT but not the IXTU test?
 
this is the way overclocking goes. ibt tests pass while prime fails, prime passes and ibt fails. at a certain point you have to call it a day and figure if i bsod once every few months gaming or whatever, as long as it isn't a cad project or something, it isn't a real big deal. but get your temps down or get a better cooler because you don't wanna be above 80c. take it down a .1ghz, the performance isn't that much of a difference at all compared to having stability and good temps.
 

absarc

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Sorry about the late reply. Yeh we'll I read 80 odd percent of 4770s should be stable at 4.5 hence why I wanted to hit it. But I have delid ding on my agenda right now. That along with the EK Supremacy Naked mounting kit. When I can get this done I hope I can hit higher clocks.

Just a fun fact, I've been trying to hit the top 100 on 3DMark 2013 First Strike Extreme. But I'm so close. I managed to get within 600 points of the top 100 only looking at 2 gps set ups.