[SOLVED] Overclock i5-6600K Or Just Upgrade to i7-6700K?

[Prahsper]

Hello,
I have an Intel i5-6600K that I want to OC to 4.6ghz. I'm @4.3 as of right now. But for some reason it wasn't running stable. Kept getting the BSOD. I tried different Vcore voltage between 1.320-1.450. Kept crashing. Following different Youtubers who all had different settings but none worked for me. So I put it back to 4.3ghz.
Is there anyone out there who is real good with OC settings that can help me get this CPU to 4.6 with the board below? Or should I just go ahead and upgrade to the i7-6700K?

My Specs:
Asus Z170-A motherboard.
Intel i5-6600K processor
16GB Ram DDR4 @2600
EVGA GTX 1060 6GB-No OC
600w EVGA PSU

 

[Barty1884]

Depends what you're trying to achieve.
In gaming, for example, a 4c/8t i7-6700/6700K/7700/7700K (even at stock) is going to be the better route to go, vs a higher clocked 4c/4t i5, for anything modern.

Older titles will always prefer the higher clocked single core, so the i5 could be beneficial in some situations.

In a basic one or the other, the upgrade to an i7 is the way to go -- of course, price needs to be considered.


In terms of why you're seeing BSOD's, your memory could play a part here. Getting a 6600K >4.3GHz and higher clocked RAM is usually a difficult ask, without excessive voltage.

 

[Prahsper]

Depends what you're trying to achieve.
In gaming, for example, a 4c/8t i7-6700/6700K/7700/7700K (even at stock) is going to be the better route to go, vs a higher clocked 4c/4t i5, for anything modern.

Older titles will always prefer the higher clocked single core, so the i5 could be beneficial in some situations.

In a basic one or the other, the upgrade to an i7 is the way to go -- of course, price needs to be considered.


In terms of why you're seeing BSOD's, your memory could play a part here. Getting a 6600K >4.3GHz and higher clocked RAM is usually a difficult ask, without excessive voltage.

OK..so what should my settings be for the CPU@4.6 and the settings for the Ram and voltage for both. I'm achieving this for gaming.

 

[Barty1884]

On most 6600k's you should be able to dial in ~4.5GHz at <1.35V, but it depends on the luck of the draw.
Some users saw 6600Ks hitting 4.6 or even as high as 4.7GHz or 4.8GHz and not hitting 1.35V, others couldn't couldn't get past 4.5GHz @ 1.35V.

In terms of RAM, get your CPU stable & locked in first. If you try to do both at once, you're asking for trouble.
Set your RAM to the basic 2133MHz and work on the CPU. Only once that's stable, should you even consider touching your RAM.

 

[Prahsper]

On most 6600k's you should be able to dial in ~4.5GHz at <1.35V, but it depends on the luck of the draw.
Some users saw 6600Ks hitting 4.6 or even as high as 4.7GHz or 4.8GHz and not hitting 1.35V, others couldn't couldn't get past 4.5GHz @ 1.35V.

In terms of RAM, get your CPU stable & locked in first. If you try to do both at once, you're asking for trouble.
Set your RAM to the basic 2133MHz and work on the CPU. Only once that's stable, should you even consider touching your RAM.

OK...I managed to get it to 4.5ghz with a 1.350 voltage. So far everything is cool. No BSOD. Booted up fine.
Only thing is with CPUID and CPUID hardware monitor, the cores are jumping around at like 700-4500 repeatedly. I know that can't be normal. Shouldn't it be a steady 4500?

 

[geofelt]

How high you can go will depend on your luck in getting a good chip.

As of 12/04/2016
What percent can get an overclock at a somewhat sane 1.40v Vcore.

I5-6600K

4.9 14%
4.8 38%
4.7 67%
4.6 87%

As I recall when I was trying to OC a 6600K, there was an interaction with ram speed.
Max XMP ram speed seemed to lower my max multiplier.

Intel performance in games and apps does not depend much on ram speed.

Leave it be at 4.5 if you are stable.

Jumping around is good.
That means that you have implemented speedstep/adaptive voltage.
It lowers your multiplier and associated voltage when the processor momentarily has little to do.
If you try a simple stress test with cpu-Z you should see the multiplier hold steady.

 

[Prahsper]

How high you can go will depend on your luck in getting a good chip.

As of 12/04/2016
What percent can get an overclock at a somewhat sane 1.40v Vcore.

I5-6600K

4.9 14%
4.8 38%
4.7 67%
4.6 87%

As I recall when I was trying to OC a 6600K, there was an interaction with ram speed.
Max XMP ram speed seemed to lower my max multiplier.

Intel performance in games and apps does not depend much on ram speed.

Leave it be at 4.5 if you are stable.

Jumping around is good.
That means that you have implemented speedstep/adaptive voltage.
It lowers your multiplier and associated voltage when the processor momentarily has little to do.
If you try a simple stress test with cpu-Z you should see the multiplier hold steady.

Gotcha. CPU stable @4.5 and ram set @2133. Thanks all for the assistance.

 

[Karadjgne]

My i5-3570k would not go beyond 4.3GHz for any setting, even with voltages pushed as high as 1.55v. But was perfectly stable at 4.3GHz @ 1.108v. My i7-3770K (same cpu as i5-3570k but adds hyperthreading) would hit 4.9GHz at 1.32v and 5.0GHz at 1.404v. With very little need for tinkering.

It's called the Silicon Lottery. Intel only guarantees that the cpu will run stable at turbo/boost clocks if cooling is sufficient. Any non-factory implemented OC is a total gamble as to height and voltage. There's nothing saying you can actually get over 4.3GHz as the max turbo is 3.9GHz.

With those cpus, LLC shouldn't be over 50-70%, and vcore and VID should be as close to 0.05v difference as possible, use + and - offsets to accomplish that. Vcore should be set at idle speeds, not load.

 

[Barty1884]

OK...I managed to get it to 4.5ghz with a 1.350 voltage. So far everything is cool. No BSOD. Booted up fine.
Only thing is with CPUID and CPUID hardware monitor, the cores are jumping around at like 700-4500 repeatedly. I know that can't be normal. Shouldn't it be a steady 4500?

You could then try 4.6GHz, same voltage and see. If you're not stable at 4.6GHz with 1.35V, 4.5GHz is your realistic upper end, and you should start to lower voltage and test, see how far you can bring the voltage down.

As for the cores jumping around, you're seeing SpeedStep operating as it should - when the CPU is not being stressed, clocks will lower to conserve energy and it'll sit at 4.5GHz when under load (assuming no throttling, temps are in check etc, of course). You can pin it to 100% clock speed at all times if you want, by disabling SpeedStep, but it's not necessary.

 

[Prahsper]

OH and by the way....my question was just for setting the CPU for just simple gaming. Campaigns only. No online MP gaming. Just campaigns to play at 1080p without issues. Thnx.

 

[Karadjgne]

Then a i7 of any sort will be better. The additional threads simply meaning greater versatility and less hangups vrs the old quad core/thread cpus.

But only you can say if the price is good value, and that'll depend on if you get a deal on a used cpu or if spending stupid cash on brand new.

 

[daniel12331]

Hello,
I have an Intel i5-6600K that I want to OC to 4.6ghz. I'm @4.3 as of right now. But for some reason it wasn't running stable. Kept getting the BSOD. I tried different Vcore voltage between 1.320-1.450. Kept crashing. Following different Youtubers who all had different settings but none worked for me. So I put it back to 4.3ghz.
Is there anyone out there who is real good with OC settings that can help me get this CPU to 4.6 with the board below? Or should I just go ahead and upgrade to the i7-6700K?

My Specs:
Asus Z170-A motherboard.
Intel i5-6600K processor
16GB Ram DDR4 @2600
EVGA GTX 1060 6GB-No OC
600w EVGA PSU

If money is not a problem go ahead and upgrade it. But asking me, spending money on an entire new cpu when you have one especially when you can overclock. As long as you have the cooler for it that is.