[SOLVED] is it ok if cpu throttles in stress tests, and other oc questions.

[Pc6777]

so I have my i7 6700k at 4.5 ghz and ram at 2925 mhz, the problem is I cant get cpu oc stable with manual voltage while running the ram oc because i guess that puts extra stress on the cpu, and I would rather have a high ram oc and a mild cpu oc than a slightly higher cpu oc and no ram oc because in my mind 30 percent faster ram is better than a 6 or 8 percent faster cpu in most situations. so voltage is set to auto.

My motherboard is an asus z170k. anyway in prime 95 my cpu stays under 89 c for a good while and runs it fine but eventually gets overwhelmed and hits 89 c then throttles a lot and is completely stable but slower. Anyway if my cpu is stable but throttles in prime 95, is it an ok oc because even the most cpu demanding title will most likely not push my cpu that hard and wort case senerio it throttles?

Also my cpu cooler is the arctic freezer 13, not a super amazing top of the line cooler but wayyy better than stock coolers, then again this chip didnt come with a stock cooler because those little things coudn't even cool it at stock speeds.

Also when set to auto cpu voltage gets pretty high like 1.47 volts, im guessing it is only so high at this clock speed because the ram. also is 89 c too high for this chip? at 1.35 volts I coundt run 4.4 ghz without problems like I would run prime 95 fine then when i reebooted the pc would be in this weird state and not reeboot then I would get an overclocking has failed message.

should I just set cpu to like 4.3 ghz at auto voltage and call it a day to improve longevity? or if I really play with voltage could I find a sweet spot?

 

[Darkbreeze]

What motherboard are you running?

 

[Pc6777]

What motherboard are you running?

Asus z170 k

 

[Pc6777]

I got cpu stable at 1.38 volts 4.3 ghz im debating on weather its worth going to 1.42 and 4.4 ghz because all the extra heat. Still a lot of volts for that clock speed but i guess my chip isnt silicon lottery plus ram oc.

 

[Darkbreeze]

It's doubtful that it's your CPU. The Z170-K is one of the lowest quality motherboards you can get in the Z170 chipset series.

Overclocking your memory, and running it at the XMP profile is not what we consider "overclocking" even though "technically" is is an overclock, is a bad idea unless you REALLY know what you are doing. You would be much better off to simply set it to the XMP profile and forget about it.

If you can get a 4.4Ghz OC out of your CPU on that motherboard, I'd be happy with it. In fact, on that board, my recommendation would be to simply run it at the default settings and then enable XMP and go on with life. That board is not going to give you much leeway in terms of overclocking, which is exactly why you don't see ANY professional reviews of that board from reviewers in any of the English speaking countries. It's just not worth their time. It's entry level, and that's it.

 

[Pc6777]

I didn't enable xmp because when I tired to I coudnt overlclok the cpu so I did asus autoune and kept the auto-tune settings for ram then manually adjusted cpu. so you saying on a lower end motherboard the cpu requires more voltage to be stable? what about the motherboard hurts the oc and raises temps?

 

[Darkbreeze]

The auto configurations are poor, at best.

No, I am not saying that the lower end motherboards require more voltage to be stable, although that is certainly PROBABLY true in most cases. What I am saying is, that on lower end motherboards you will NOT be ABLE to achieve the same overclock settings and often won't be able to achieve the same memory configuration, as you can with a higher quality motherboard because cheaper boards have cheaper components, weaker VRM configurations, less stable power delivery and so on.

Also, if you don't have the MOST recent motherboard BIOS version installed, then you are really just wasting your own time. You should also check to see that you are running the latest chipset driver from your motherboard product page as well.

 

[Pc6777]

oh i didn't know a bios update would help, no idea what bios im running, makes sense on the lower motherboard part, im still happy I can run my ram faster that probably has just as much as an impact as a heavy cpu oc for memory intensive tasks. I assumed this was a mid or high end motherboard because it has 2 x16 slots and I have never had a motherboard like that haha.

 

[Darkbreeze]

It's not a dirt merchant board, but among the rest of the Z series boards for that chipset, it's at the lower end of the quality spectrum.

Update the BIOS, and then start again. That would be my advice. Often simply updating the BIOS resolves ALL of the problems involved with memory compatibility and CPU overclocking, among other things.

 

[Pc6777]

I did get an msi pro z270 sli board with massive heatsinks on letgo, I didn't spend money on I traded for it for another build, how much better is that board?

 

[Pc6777]

https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/z270-sli-plus.html

 

[Pc6777]

My ram is rated for 3000 MHz in xmp would it oc any better on a better board?

 

[Darkbreeze]

For a budget board, it's fairly decent, and it's certainly better than the Z170-K.

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/msi-z270-sli-plus-kaby-lake-atx-motherboard,4886-3.html

Yes, it's a lot more likely your memory will work at the XMP profile more easily on a better board, like that. But keep in mind, that board, while compatible, uses entirely different storage controllers and has an entirely different chipset, being Z270 rather than Z170, so while you MIGHT be able to simply swap boards and not have to reinstall Windows, most of the time when you change motherboards and it's a different chipset, you will have to unless you want problems.

And, if you have to reinstall Windows because of a change of motherboard, it's going to deactivate your Windows installation UNLESS you are running Windows 10 and have it attached to YOU through a Microsoft account. I'd recommend reading these and if necessary, doing this, before you do anything else with swapping out boards, or even if you don't, in case you ever have to, which eventually, you will, even if it's just to upgrade.

How to associate your windows 10 license with a Microsoft account

Reactivating Windows 10 after a hardware change

Windows build 1607 (Or newer) and activation after a hardware change



and in case you should ever need to do a CLEAN install of Windows, this guide will help to ensure it gets done properly.

How to do a CLEAN installation of Windows 10, the RIGHT way​

 

[Pc6777]

I mean, if i had super fast ram that I coudnt get the full potential out of on my z170k I would def do it, like a 3800 or 4200 mhz kit, my ram runs fine at rated speeds on my z170, and yes its on my microsoft account so that wouldn't be an issue although I just transferred a licence to a z170-k board and i know Microsoft dosnt allow unlimited hardware changes like that haha. its a maybe tbh, my i5 6500 is in the msi z270 board seems like a waste but if my z170k ever dies I have a better board as backup, and yea if I did it I would activate my windows then reformat/factory reset windows and do fresh install on ssd and attempt to keep my games on hard drives and get steam to recolonize it and use ddu just in case. I just did a hardware change and went from my old motherboard to the z170k I got for dirt cheap so I could run ram faster plus I broke the usb 3 on my old crappy board I reinstalled all games and started with new hard drives cuz I was running out of space, took days of downloading with Ethernet connection. Could i get 4.6 or 4.7 ghz with less heat and voltage on the msi board? Like everything is set up and works great so i wound want to switch unless I saw a massive gain in thermels and required voltage for a certain clock speed.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Actually, so long as the Windows 10 digital entitlement is attached to you, you can change boards every day if you want. There aren't any limits. It's not the old days.

What is the cost of the Z270 board, because in truth it's probably money that would do you a lot more good being saved to put towards a much newer CPU and motherboard. I mean, you can get into a much better performing system with a new Ryzen CPU and motherboard with the memory you already have, for about 300 bucks. So at some point you have to say putting money towards the platform you have now which is five years old, is just a waste of money.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor ($159.97 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock B550 Pro4 ATX AM4 Motherboard ($134.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $294.96
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-07-27 01:02 EDT-0400

 

[Pc6777]

I already have the z270 board and I traded stuff I didn't want for it on letgo, I didn't put any money into it, I got it for another system I have a cpu for, I have the z170k and z270 msi sli plus. I know ryzen is better, but I can still probably get through 2-4 years with my i7 and my rtx 2060 then I will invest in the ddr5 platform.

 

[Darkbreeze]

I'd run the i5 on the Z170 and the i7 on the Z270 board, no question about it. Makes no sense to run the i7 on a cheaper board. It's completely bassackwards. Since you have it already, I'd use it, with the CPU it SHOULD be used with. It will likely solve some of your problems but again, make sure to update the BIOS as soon as you are able. That too will be important.

 

[Pc6777]

Yes that's what I thought haha, I asked it it would be worth it because I didn't feel like switching them lol. It's a nice board back in the 7700ks glory days it was a 150 dollar motherboard.