[SOLVED] Overclocking 9600K

Sep 17, 2020
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I’m trying to overclock my 9600K. This is my first time overclocking a CPU. So I changed my CPU ratio to 50 so it hits 5.00 GHz. I watched a video saying I should start with “Auto” for voltage and then if that doesn’t work, change it to 1.35 for the lowest possible choice and gradually move up. Maximum being 1.43 for voltage. Am I doing this right because I’m confused? When I put it on “Auto” the first time and it failed to boot... I went back into BIOS and it said that the voltage was like 1.45? So does that mean that even at 1.45 voltage, it wouldn’t boot?

Build:
MB: MSI Z390-A Pro
CPU: i5-9600K
Cooler: Scythe Mugen 5 Rev.B
RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX 2x16 3200MHz
GPU: NVIDIA 2060 Super
SSD: Samsung 970 Evo Plus 1 TB
PSU: Corsair RM 750W
 
Solution
Temper your expectations.
Not all 9600K can run at 5.0

Starting with auto is fine, but start with a small multiplier increase.
Stress test while monitoring temperatures and voltage.
Keep temperatures under 85c. and voltages under 1.35
CPU-Z can show you the vcore voltage, and HWmonitor can show you the temperature.

Some stress testers are nasty and will not be representative of a typical workload.
For example the use of avx instructions which are uncommon in actual use, but will cost you two multipliers.
CPU-Z has a stress tester tab, but I don't see many recommending that. Still, it is so easy to use that I would try it.
Sep 17, 2020
12
0
10
I watched another video and he left his voltage on “Auto” and put his offset at 30. I tried it and it finally booted. I ran a CPU stress test for a minute or 2 and it crashed.
 
I did it again. It said the core voltage was at 1.440 V. And my temps were mid 70s. Sadly, I crashed for a 2nd time.

What CPU stress test are you running?
All CPUs are made differently, so you can't really copy what others are doing... your chip may not even be capable of reaching 5 GHz at all. That's binning in a nutshell... some chips end up better than others.

I'd go down to something like 4.7 GHz and manually setting VCORE to 1.35V. If it's stable you should lower the voltage until it becomes unstable again and leave it at the last working number.

For everyday use I wouldn't go past 1.3V VCORE... even though 1.4V is deemed as safe.
 
Temper your expectations.
Not all 9600K can run at 5.0

Starting with auto is fine, but start with a small multiplier increase.
Stress test while monitoring temperatures and voltage.
Keep temperatures under 85c. and voltages under 1.35
CPU-Z can show you the vcore voltage, and HWmonitor can show you the temperature.

Some stress testers are nasty and will not be representative of a typical workload.
For example the use of avx instructions which are uncommon in actual use, but will cost you two multipliers.
CPU-Z has a stress tester tab, but I don't see many recommending that. Still, it is so easy to use that I would try it.
 
Solution
Sep 17, 2020
12
0
10
Temper your expectations.
Not all 9600K can run at 5.0

Starting with auto is fine, but start with a small multiplier increase.
Stress test while monitoring temperatures and voltage.
Keep temperatures under 85c. and voltages under 1.35
CPU-Z can show you the vcore voltage, and HWmonitor can show you the temperature.

Some stress testers are nasty and will not be representative of a typical workload.
For example the use of avx instructions which are uncommon in actual use, but will cost you two multipliers.
CPU-Z has a stress tester tab, but I don't see many recommending that. Still, it is so easy to use that I would try it.
If 1.35V is recommended then should I leave it there and decrease my multiplier from 50? Right now my CPU’s full load turbos to 4.3 all cores.
 
Sep 17, 2020
12
0
10
Temper your expectations.
Not all 9600K can run at 5.0

Starting with auto is fine, but start with a small multiplier increase.
Stress test while monitoring temperatures and voltage.
Keep temperatures under 85c. and voltages under 1.35
CPU-Z can show you the vcore voltage, and HWmonitor can show you the temperature.

Some stress testers are nasty and will not be representative of a typical workload.
For example the use of avx instructions which are uncommon in actual use, but will cost you two multipliers.
CPU-Z has a stress tester tab, but I don't see many recommending that. Still, it is so easy to use that I would try it.
Should I just leave the offset on “Auto”?
 
Should I just leave the offset on “Auto”?
I am no guru on maximum overclocking, There are some more sophisticated bios options to get the most our of your motherboard and chip. The knobs will differ by motherboard.
I am suggesting that you start at say a all core multiplier of 43 which is almost certainly good.
Then test and increase one multiplier at a time and see how far you can go with stability.
When you reach that limit be happy.

You may find that fast ram xmp settings might lower your max oc by a multiplier.
If your apps could be severely impacted by a abnormal shutdown, then do extensive stress testing.
Otherwise, stress test until your temperatures reach a steady peak and call it a day.
If you get a failure after that, back off the oc a notch.
One multiplier will not be noticed in actual usage.


Lastly, implement adaptive voltage and speedstep.
That will reduce the multiplier and associated voltage when the cpu has little to do.