Overclock CPU i3470

[Matthew Sandford]

Hey guys,

I was stupid enough to buy an i3470 and not an i3470k, now the problem is I'm running Kingston RAM at 1333mhz and can't raise that to 1600mhz in the bios even though my motherboard supports it (my pc just won't boot if I do).

Is there any safe way for me to clock my RAM to 1600 mhz?
Also, if possible would it be worth overclocking my CPU to 3.6 ghz?

My motherboard is an Intel DZ75ML, win 64 bit, i3470, 8gb Kingston blu 1333/1600.

 

[prit87]

you cannot OC the processor (i5 3470) at all and for RAM you can oc it by raising the voltage but you will not see any performance difference by overclocking the ram to 1600mhz so its a waste of time and effort to oc your ram.

 

[RobCrezz]

you cannot OC the processor at all and for RAM you can oc it by raising the voltage but you will not see any performance difference by overclocking the ram to 1600.

Actually, non K sandybridge and Ivybridge can be overclocked 4 bins.

OP: try running the XMP profile.

What voltage is your ram? You might need to raise it slightly for 1600mhz.

 

[Matthew Sandford]

Thank you for the response.

I tried running the XMP profile but my PC just won't boot, it keeps restarting until it gives me an option to change BIOS settings.

RAM is currently running at 1.5v, as I understand it the Kingston chip I use defaults at 1333 and has to be set to 1600 which my system doesn't seem to allow. I'll try increase the voltage to 1.65 and see if that helps.

As for the CPU I downloaded Intel XTU, do you think it's wise to try overclock my CPU to 3.6 ghz? Or will it be risky / make the system unstable?

Edit: Ok increasing the voltage didn't help.

I have 2 x 2gb chips that default at 1333 mhz but should be able to run at 1600 mhz (which is stupid, they advertise it as 1600 which is why I bought them in the first place - I mean, why not advertise them as 1333 with the possibility of 1600) and 1 x 4gb chip that runs at 1600 mhz by default.

I haven't had any performance issues per se apart from minor lag spikes from time to time, do you think its better to have 4gb at 1600mhz or 8gb at 1333mhz?

 

[RobCrezz]

8gb at 1333 would be better.

 

[Matthew Sandford]

Ty again for all the help, I guess at some point I'll just replace the 2 smaller chips...

 

[Payne501]

I'm running a 3470 with a 1600MHz HyperX at XMP.
Actually there's not really any improvement in performance especially gaming related.
Even at 1600 there's not even increase in FPS.
Though I overclocked the CPU at 4GHz setting voltage at offset mode and it still runs stable ever since.
You just had to enter the advance mode and input the multiplier at 40.
A higher OC might need you to increase the base clock (usually up to 103-105) depends on your temps.
You might be able to reach higher with manual voltage settings but I still don't know what is the stable one for mine.
As for 3.6GHz is actually the turbo boost frequency for the CPU.
So no problem setting it at that.

 

[Matthew Sandford]

Thanks Payne501 I will try it

Final Update:

I actually got my memory to run at 1600mhz. The weird thing is I had to switch my bios to classic mode to do it. I'm not sure if it's a problem with the motherboard or what (and I'm running the latest bios version).

Anyway so if anyone stumbles across this and is having the same problem using an intel board - switch to the classic bios, don't use the XMP profile (whether in classic or the new bios UI it will not boot with either) and don't change the voltage, just adjust the frequency in the classic bios to 1600 and it should work if your ram supports it.