[SOLVED] i9700k - 5ghz tuning help request

[Bjzor]

Hi all,

I'd like to ask for your expertise to tune my overclock settings, I am only using the PC for gaming and to stream (+10% CPU usage) with it which I am trying to optimize for. I have watched the youtube guide and managed to set as per below.

Spec:
i7 9700k
Asus TUF Z390M-Pro Gaming (Wi-Fi)
16gb 3200mhz ram
Noctua dh-15 with 1 fan only and had to put it in vertically as it didn't fit the case => is set on turbo where it goes 100% after 65C
Zalman i3 black case

BIOS settings: (based on thes guide)
Ai Overclock Tuner: XMP
Avx instruction core negative offset: 0
Asus multi core enhancement: Auto - lets BIOS Optimize
BCLK aware voltage disabled
SVID Behavior: Typical
Core Ratio Limit: 48
DRAM Frequency: DDR4-3200mhz
Power-Saving & performance mode: Auto

Loadline Calbiration: 5
CPU current capacity: auto
CPU power management settings as per the video, except IA loadlines are 0.01
Uncore ratio: auto (43x)

Settings / results - where load means Apex Legends + stream is running simulteanously
4.8ghz - adaptive voltage target is set as 1,30v
Idle temp / voltage: 31C, 0.625V
Load temp / voltage: 70-75, jump between 1.295v and 1.33v as maximum
MOBO voltage 1,3v as per HWINFO

5.ghz - adaptive voltage target is set as 1,35v
Idle temp / voltage: 31C, 0.625V
Load temp / voltage: 75-82, jump between 1,335v and 1.385v as maximum
5.ghz - MANUAL voltage target is set as 1,35v - this didn't seem stable, had random BSOD crashes
Idle temp / voltage: 31C, 0.625V
Load temp / voltage: 70-80, jump between 1,30v and 1.34v as maximum

I haven't yet managed to understand is that either with manual/adaptive voltage setting, why the target and actual voltage is different, meaning I have it set for 1.30 adaptive voltage and it allows it to run on 1.33v max. In my BIOS there is no option to enable/disable CPU svid support which I have seen in the youtube even though I have the latest BIOS (2606) installed, could this be the reason?

Could you please advise what I could tune to reach 5ghz without making the cooler go crazier and what I am missing on the target/actual voltage?

Regards,
Bjzor

 

[alceryes]

First off, what metric are you reading for the voltages? There is a difference between VID and Vcore.

Second, if LLC 5 means that your board gives a LOT more voltage under load (LLC levels mean different things depending on the board), take that down to only a very slight boost or the one that just keeps it from dropping lower.

 

[Bjzor]

Thanks for the quick reply @alceryes. The voltages are from HWinfo from CPU's VID; Mobo voltage was from Vcore from MOBO part. Regarding LLC it has 7 levels where higher means minimum vdrop, I wll try lowering it one by one.

 

[zx128k]

The top LLC setting is often just for LN2 overclocking.

 

[alceryes]

1.35v may be a little too high for your current cooling scheme. How stable do you want it? Are you looking for Prime95 small FFT w/AVX stable? Don't use games as stability tests. There are too many variables.

A good stress test tool is RealBench. Run the RealBench stress test, at stock speeds/settings for everything, for 30 mins, selecting half your RAM, and see if that passes. Also take note of what your temps get up to. Maybe run HWiNFO64 in the background (sensors only) and see if the stress test trips any items in the 'performance limit reasons,' section.

 

[Bjzor]

1.35v may be a little too high for your current cooling scheme. How stable do you want it? Are you looking for Prime95 small FFT w/AVX stable? Don't use games as stability tests. There are too many variables.

A good stress test tool is RealBench. Run the RealBench stress test, at stock speeds/settings for everything, for 30 mins, selecting half your RAM, and see if that passes. Also take note of what your temps get up to. Maybe run HWiNFO64 in the background (sensors only) and see if the stress test trips any items in the 'performance limit reasons,' section.

Not quite sure on the how stable, the highlest load I'd put on it is streaming with 13% cpu utilization + Apex Legends which uses AVX AFAIK. Other games I play are less CPU heavy, I don't mind if it doesn't pass the benchmark tests. No matter what I have done, Prime95 has always failed with the small one.

I have managed to lower LLC to 2 with the 4.8ghz adaptive and runs smooth however it BSOD on the benchmark 8gb ram test after a minute. With the 5ghz adaptive setting it crashed with lvl4 when opening firefox after boot.

Update: LLC 2 with 4.8ghz adaptive BSODs.

Update: LLC 3 with 4.8ghz runs smooth, changed SVID behaviour to best-case, disabled multicore enhancement, target voltage 1,28; Vcore is about 1,27 and spikes up to 1,288/1,296 on load as max.

 

[Bjzor]

1.35v may be a little too high for your current cooling scheme. How stable do you want it? Are you looking for Prime95 small FFT w/AVX stable? Don't use games as stability tests. There are too many variables.

A good stress test tool is RealBench. Run the RealBench stress test, at stock speeds/settings for everything, for 30 mins, selecting half your RAM, and see if that passes. Also take note of what your temps get up to. Maybe run HWiNFO64 in the background (sensors only) and see if the stress test trips any items in the 'performance limit reasons,' section.

Used version HWBOT_RealBench_v.243; set everything to default with F5 in BIOS, left XMP disabled. Stress test passed with 8gb ram. Temps min 37, max 82, average 76C. In the performance limit reasons only utilization was "yes", others all no at the end. Attaching the full log with HWinfo during it: https://easyupload.io/qbhkkc In the spreadsheet other parts of the performance limit had "yes" as well.

 

[alceryes]

Test with XMP enabled. Technically, it's an overclock but that's where I usually like to start. It will stress the CPU (memory controller) and memory more. Go through a 30 min RealBench and do some gaming and streaming (or recording) to check on stability.

Proper overclocking takes time, testing, and patience. The number one cause of frustration with overclocking is impatience. You seem to be willing to take the necessary steps and do proper testing. Once you get a stable baseline you should be able to SLIGHTLY increase your CPU frequency and then test, to find a happy medium.

Here's a good guide to go through - https://forums.tomshardware.com/faq/cpu-overclocking-guide-and-tutorial-for-beginners.3347428/

 

[Bjzor]

Test with XMP enabled. Technically, it's an overclock but that's where I usually like to start. It will stress the CPU (memory controller) and memory more. Go through a 30 min RealBench and do some gaming and streaming (or recording) to check on stability.

Proper overclocking takes time, testing, and patience. The number one cause of frustration with overclocking is impatience. You seem to be willing to take the necessary steps and do proper testing. Once you get a stable baseline you should be able to SLIGHTLY increase your CPU frequency and then test, to find a happy medium.

Here's a good guide to go through - https://forums.tomshardware.com/faq/cpu-overclocking-guide-and-tutorial-for-beginners.3347428/

Thank you for the guidance @alceryes - just wanted to get back: managed to find a 4.8 all core with maximum of 1.296v usage and maximum 70C temperature while streaming AND playing. While it does crash on benchmark stress test, I am pretty with the reduced temperature & cooler noise as for my use case it works perfectly.