Overclocking an Intel i5 4960k, Ghz going higher than I aimed for?

[yanukan]

(Newb to overclocking - first time BTW)

So I have an Intel i5 4960k, in my BIOS i've set the CPU Ratio to 42, disabled Enhanced Turbo and set the CPU voltage to 1.2. I was aiming to get a 4.2ghz as I've seen people say its a safe overclock.

I tried these exact settings in the past and got it to 4.2ghz stable. But trying today when my PC is up and running the clock speed is now displayed at 5ghz.

I was suprised and it's running stable, but I don't feel comfortable having it at 5ghz as I am unsure that it would be a healthy speed for the longevity of the CPU.
I changed the ratio to 41 and the speed is now at 4.56ghz.

My temperatures for the CPU went up to 50°C under 100% load whilst doing a benchmark, and idled at around 28°C - 31°C

I have an MSI Z97 Gaming 3 motherboard, but I have no clue why it's bumped up higher than what I aimed for - my motherboard has a feature called Overclock genie but that isn't enabled, and as far as I'm aware I don't have any other applications on my computer that would affect it.

If anyone could anyone drop some knowledge so I could understand this a little that would be awesome, also is 5ghz healthy for this kind of CPU? Is it ok for me to be running 5ghz at idle temps of around 28°C?

 

[Barty1884]

If you're somehow stable @ 5GHz with reasonably temps/voltages,.... then sure, there's no "harm".

I haven't heard of 'regular' implementations of a 4690K running stable @ 5GHz though (regular being normal ambient, consumer-grade cooling etc).


You likely have Intel's Turbo Boost enabled still. "Enhanced Turbo" is essentially MSI's auto-OC type thing. It'll run all cores at the max turbo for 1 core.

Turbo Boost is what you want to disable to stop it boosting beyond your manually defined clocks.

 

[yanukan]

If you're somehow stable @ 5GHz with reasonably temps/voltages,.... then sure, there's no "harm".

I haven't heard of 'regular' implementations of a 4690K running stable @ 5GHz though (regular being normal ambient, consumer-grade cooling etc).


You likely have Intel's Turbo Boost enabled still. "Enhanced Turbo" is essentially MSI's auto-OC type thing. It'll run all cores at the max turbo for 1 core.

Turbo Boost is what you want to disable to stop it boosting beyond your manually defined clocks.

I have Enhanced Turbo disabled, that's why I'm confused haha.
My cooler is a Corsair H100i v2, it's liquid cooling and has a radiator with two fans.

Do you have any idea if it would affect the lifetime of the CPU?

 

[Barty1884]

"Enhanced Turbo" is not "Turbo Boost". Those are two, separate functions (well, sort of).

Just because MSI's "enhanced turbo" is disabled, does not mean the standard Intel "Turbo Boost" is also.


What kind of voltage are you running? A combination of temps, voltage & the motherboard itself will determine a best guess at impact on lifetime.
Assuming voltage is in safe territory (1.3V or less), the VRMs have decent cooling on the motherboard & CPU temps are <80'C under 100% load.... there shouldn't be any real impact to lifespan.

 

[yanukan]

"Enhanced Turbo" is not "Turbo Boost". Those are two, separate functions (well, sort of).

Just because MSI's "enhanced turbo" is disabled, does not mean the standard Intel "Turbo Boost" is also.


What kind of voltage are you running? A combination of temps, voltage & the motherboard itself will determine a best guess at impact on lifetime.
Assuming voltage is in safe territory (1.3V or less), the VRMs have decent cooling on the motherboard & CPU temps are <80'C under 100% load.... there shouldn't be any real impact to lifespan.

Ah okay thank you for clarifying on the difference.

I just double checked - Enhanced turbo is off and Turbo boost is still on.

The voltage is at 1.2V, at 100% load the CPU sits at around 50'c.

 

[Barty1884]

Have you actually stress-tested this overclock? At 100% load, 1.2V... that's likely barely sufficient for 4.2GHz - if you're currently set to turbo higher, I'd be very, very surprised if that's stable.

With Turbo Boost still on, that's why you're seeing clocks much higher than expected.

 

[yanukan]

Have you actually stress-tested this overclock? At 100% load, 1.2V... that's likely barely sufficient for 4.2GHz - if you're currently set to turbo higher, I'd be very, very surprised if that's stable.

With Turbo Boost still on, that's why you're seeing clocks much higher than expected.

I ran a CineBench test and it was at 100% and completed it fine.
Not sure if that's the best test. I also ran DOOM on Ultra and it went to 100% if that is of relevance.

But so far it seems completely stable at 1.2v

 

[Barty1884]

I wouldn't determine an OC to be fully "stable" with one complete Cinebench, personally.

A combination of OCCT, AIDA64 or older versions of Prime95..... but would need to be for some significant duration

 

[yanukan]

I wouldn't determine an OC to be fully "stable" with one complete Cinebench, personally.

A combination of OCCT, AIDA64 or older versions of Prime95..... but would need to be for some significant duration

Alright. I'll give those benchmarks a go.
What voltage do you think would be more suitable to set?

 

[Barty1884]

Test at 1.2V for now. You want the lowest possible, stable voltage.
Less voltage = less heat.

Most 4690K's should be able to do 4.5GHz at 1.3V or less. Any more on clocks, or lesser on voltage is a "win".

 

[yanukan]

I wouldn't determine an OC to be fully "stable" with one complete Cinebench, personally.

A combination of OCCT, AIDA64 or older versions of Prime95..... but would need to be for some significant duration

I have just noticed that Task Manager displays my CPUs speed as 5ghz whilst OCCT displays it as 4.2ghz. On task manager it displays the base speed as 4.20ghz.
Could Turbo Boost be affecting this? I am a little confused

Screenshot of my task manager
https://gyazo.com/bf91b1a2b7b60e08a396d0f4b9bcd720

 

[Barty1884]

It's just a difference in how each program interprets the info.

TaskManager is showing your "max" speed (ie with Turbo Boost), but does state the base clock speed is 4.2GHz.

 

[yanukan]

It's just a difference in how each program interprets the info.

TaskManager is showing your "max" speed (ie with Turbo Boost), but does state the base clock speed is 4.2GHz.

Alright, cool thank you for clarifying.