Overclocking i7 3770K to >4.5GHz

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Iglesias

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Sep 20, 2013
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Specs:
CPU: i7 3770K
MOTHERBOARD: Z77A-GD65 Gaming
COOLING: H60 Closed Liquid
PSU: TR2 600 Watt
GPU: Sapphire ATI Radeon 6970
RAM: 16GB DDR3-2400MHz

I defaulted everything in BIOS and I will only change the CPU Core Voltage, CPU Ratio Limit, and CPU Ratio. Is this a safe method to overclock?

Are there any settings I'm missing that's recommended with overclocking? If so can you list what I'm missing that'll help my temperature, voltage, etc.

Thank you for looking and posting, if you did!
 


as far as helping temperature, you can either reduce the voltage, cpu frequency or get a better aftermarket cooler.

what are your temperatures @ 4.5? id recommend staying under 90C to prevent any possible throttling on the CPU.

if you can list what voltages and CPU frequencies you've tried so far, i might be able to give you a little more insight but, in the end, it's going to depend on your chip itself.
 


So I assume only changing those 3 things will be a good stable overclocking experience?

I'm currently testing at the moment and none of them has passed 85C. I will scan this chart that I made and post it online after I hit a stable 4.5GHz.

EDIT: If a program starts to crash, does that mean I either have to higher voltage or lower CPU ratio?
 


i mean, if it was just a simple crash than you're probably looking to raise voltage (use increments of 0.010v) but, blue screens usually spit out a code which can help narrow down what's causing problems.

in the end, it's a lot of trial and error :)
 


Yeah, it was a voltage error.
Here's the grid that I made:

KRZnSES.jpg
 
looks like a great start

one thing id say you can add to the chart is the LLC (load-line calibration) settings you're currently using so that you can test other settings without having to worry about what previous settings worked.

1.248v for 4.5 is not bad at all but, if you're aiming for higher overclocks, the difference of voltages needed @ 4.5 and 4.6ghz could be very drastic so watch those temps. good luck :)
 


I don't think I have that LLC. And can you explain more on what it does?

So you would read the official voltage core from the max voltage at 0% loaded from CPUID?

Is it better to have it downclock on its own while it's on idle? Or stay max at all times

And yeah temps are rising pretty quickly from 44-45-46. I am getting a x60 kraken soon, will that change my temps?
 


if you want max voltage, just make sure you look at the voltage when your CPU is @ the overclocked speed AND under some load (like gaming, BF3 would be a good one). so if you
have an overclock of 4.5ghz and you want to check the max voltage, open up a game or heavy program and check CPU-Z's Vcore when its running @ 4.5ghz (you can also just check CPU-Z's vcore when you're running a stress test).

as for LLC (you should definitely have a setting for it in the BIOS, although it may be called something different), its a bit difficult to explain (and very long too) but, it effects both idle AND load voltages. for example, if you set it to lets say a setting of "Ultra High," on my motherboard it tries to keep the voltage very close to the specified CPU voltage while at the same time it'll reduce or raise the voltage if it feels that the CPU requires more or less power.

the kraken x60 should be better than the H60 from corsair, so id say you should see temperature drops but, i wouldn't expect any big differences.
 


Do you think I should turn it on? If so on what? High?
 


if you're still looking for a higher final overclock, then use a fixed CPU voltage and keep the setting on whichever keeps the voltage at what you set it to for CPU voltage.

if you've already found your final overclock, id probably use the same setting (or the setting that'll try to keep your voltage slightly LOWER than your specified CPU voltage) along with a OFFSET CPU voltage.

but, like i said, every motherboard probably has different names/settings and will probably also have differences in how they work; so you just gotta keep playing around with it and see the differences in each one.

 


Oh wait, it's called Offset something something?

Cause I have that but it's in percentages.
 


wait, sorry, as a matter of fact, do not use that offset voltage control.

there should be a setting called Vdroop in the BIOS and that one should be it. if you see a setting called Intel speedstep or EIST in the BIOS as well as Vdroop, then im quite confident that your BIOS calls it Vdroop. :)

should be called exactly "Vdroop Control"
 


Okay, yes I do have a Vdroop.

So once again, if I lower my BIOS CPU voltage by 10%, then I should put the Vdroop on 10%? Right?

And once the CPU needs more voltage, then it'll use the extra 10% from the Vdroop? Right?
 


im not exactly sure how that motherboards Vdroop functions, for me Ultra High gives me the setting i want and going to a higher setting will give it a voltage then what i had specified in the BIOS.

for you, it may be the complete opposite. you just have to try it :)

but, what you are saying now sounds pretty close. if you lower your voltage by 10% then you'll need to find a Vdroop setting that can compensate the loss of that 10% (if your CPU needs that extra 10%) and that setting can be either 100% or 50%, just depends on the motherboard.
 



Mmm, is using that better than leaving the voltage high?
 


Okay, this is what I did...

My CPU Core Voltage is currently set at 1.25.
I multiplied that by .125 = 12.5%
And got to about 1.094, I set the Core Voltage back down to 1.1

I enabled Vdroop and selected +12.5%, hoping it would use that to get back up to 1.25.

Let's see if it works.
 


sounds like a plan
 


No, crashed within seconds.
 
have you tried raising your vdroop instead of just choosing 12.5%? and what are the voltages you're seeing in CPUZ?

what about creating a chart for Vdroop? so that you can reference back to it and quickly check how each setting functioned.
 


Oh no, so I should double it?
Or you think it's different values for each motherboard.
 


yeah try an double it if you crashed within seconds but, u need to keep watching your voltage, so you can confirm what vdroop is actually going to do to your load and idle voltages.
 
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