[SOLVED] Overclocking newbie - help is needed!

[Lycanious]

Hi, so I'm in a little bit of a confused pickle state. . .

I'm under the impression I have a decently built computer that cost me a pretty penny and it was custom built, bought all the parts and took it to a shop to have built and whatnot and everything seemed/was fine. But I'm a dumbarse and I don't know anything but supposedly I'm not up to standards based on my specs.

http://prntscr.com/1y4ojzb

Intel i7 8700k (Coffee Lake).

http://prntscr.com/1y4or5q

Z370 Gaming MS Motherboard

http://prntscr.com/1y4otel

DDR 4 RAM

http://prntscr.com/1y4ou5t

GTX 1080 Ti

with 1000i wattage and M.2 drives for important games and ssds for everything else.

I started playing Minecraft modded with a friend and bought a server and was doing great.... Until he mentioned he was getting 300fps+ and his specs.... are not the best. WITH all his graphics set to max. I was getting 20. . . .20!!!! I've installed Optifine and got it to 50 to 80 but.... my ego is so hurt. Then I started to realize ALL My games has been less than 80fps. I'm so confused and concerned now. So I tried overclocking the GPU first.

I tried to use MSI Afterburner and Kombustor to overclock - which I watched a video (of course I need them tuts!) But I literally changed the core clock by 20..... and it crashed the kombustor, and then checkered my screen every time I moved something.

I didn't change the Memory clock, all I did was put the power limit, temp limit to max and fan speed to 70. http://prntscr.com/1y4pbh8

(I'm not running kombustor since I don't wanna checker my screen again). It's not even an intensive stress test either.... wasn't even 1080, it was 720!

Please please please can I get some help in figuring out what is wrong? I have liquid cooling, I have five fans, I even took out my elgato card to maybe boost air flow.


PS: I do wanna overclock my PC - Unless I can get it to running smooth with decent FPS, I don't need 10,000 FPS or anything. I'd be happy with 144 to 200 fps for my monitors refreshrate being 144.

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

Hey there,

What windows power profile have you got running? Try high performance if not already on that, and see if it makes a difference.

Your system is pretty decent still by all measures. You should be hitting high FPS on minecraft at 1080p, even modded.

If your system is not running well at stock (standard setup) then there isn't much point in thinking about OC'ing right now, as it will just introduce more things that could potentially confuse the issue.

 

[geofelt]

The 8700K can be overclocked.
It may be as simple as raising the cpu multiplier in the bios.
There should be some 25% cpu performance available.
Read up on the process.

 

[Lycanious]

Hey there,

What windows power profile have you got running? Try high performance if not already on that, and see if it makes a difference.

Your system is pretty decent still by all measures. You should be hitting high FPS on minecraft at 1080p, even modded.

If your system is not running well at stock (standard setup) then there isn't much point in thinking about OC'ing right now, as it will just introduce more things that could potentially confuse the issue.

Yeah, I've messed with all those settings before and I don't see any noticeable difference honestly.

I agree, I am hoping somebody will have an answer I can try to remedy this issue so I can consider overclocking.

The 8700K can be overclocked.
It may be as simple as raising the cpu multiplier in the bios.
There should be some 25% cpu performance available.
Read up on the process.

Yeah I've read up on it but if I'm getting issues with just trying to OC my GPU by a mere 20 and it crashes, I'm nervous to mess with bios at this moment until I find out what is wrong in general.

 

[Lycanious]

anybody else have any idea as to what my problem may be?

 

[Zerk2012]

anybody else have any idea as to what my problem may be?

Run this and post a link to the results.

Home - UserBenchmark

 

[Lycanious]

Run this and post a link to the results.

Home - UserBenchmark

UserBenchmarks: Game 101%, Desk 82%, Work 87%
CPU: Intel Core i7-8700K - 72.9%
GPU: Nvidia GTX 1080-Ti - 137.2%
SSD: Samsung 840 Evo 250GB - 93.1%
SSD: Samsung 850 Evo 500GB - 125.7%
SSD: Samsung 860 Evo 1TB - 125.8%
SSD: Corsair Force NVMe PCIe M.2 960GB - 168.2%
HDD: WD WD4005FZBX-00K5WB0 4TB - 74.1%
RAM: G.SKILL F4 DDR4 4000 C18 4x8GB - 71.3%
MBD: MSI Z370 GAMING M5 (MS-7B58)

https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/47690029



I do have lots of chrome tabs open btw but figured it'd not effect it that much.


Edit:

These are with all tabs/games/anything in the background closed.

UserBenchmarks: Game 106%, Desk 85%, Work 93%
CPU: Intel Core i7-8700K - 77.2%
GPU: Nvidia GTX 1080-Ti - 136.7%
SSD: Samsung 840 Evo 250GB - 95%
SSD: Samsung 850 Evo 500GB - 128.4%
SSD: Samsung 860 Evo 1TB - 127.6%
SSD: Corsair Force NVMe PCIe M.2 960GB - 173.7%
HDD: WD WD4005FZBX-00K5WB0 4TB - 88.5%
RAM: G.SKILL F4 DDR4 4000 C18 4x8GB - 72.4%
MBD: MSI Z370 GAMING M5 (MS-7B58)

 

[Zerk2012]

UserBenchmarks: Game 101%, Desk 82%, Work 87%
CPU: Intel Core i7-8700K - 72.9%
GPU: Nvidia GTX 1080-Ti - 137.2%
SSD: Samsung 840 Evo 250GB - 93.1%
SSD: Samsung 850 Evo 500GB - 125.7%
SSD: Samsung 860 Evo 1TB - 125.8%
SSD: Corsair Force NVMe PCIe M.2 960GB - 168.2%
HDD: WD WD4005FZBX-00K5WB0 4TB - 74.1%
RAM: G.SKILL F4 DDR4 4000 C18 4x8GB - 71.3%
MBD: MSI Z370 GAMING M5 (MS-7B58)

https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/47690029



I do have lots of chrome tabs open btw but figured it'd not effect it that much.


Edit:

These are with all tabs/games/anything in the background closed.

UserBenchmarks: Game 106%, Desk 85%, Work 93%
CPU: Intel Core i7-8700K - 77.2%
GPU: Nvidia GTX 1080-Ti - 136.7%
SSD: Samsung 840 Evo 250GB - 95%
SSD: Samsung 850 Evo 500GB - 128.4%
SSD: Samsung 860 Evo 1TB - 127.6%
SSD: Corsair Force NVMe PCIe M.2 960GB - 173.7%
HDD: WD WD4005FZBX-00K5WB0 4TB - 88.5%
RAM: G.SKILL F4 DDR4 4000 C18 4x8GB - 72.4%
MBD: MSI Z370 GAMING M5 (MS-7B58)

Your processor is not boosting probably overheating and your memory is just running 2133.

 

[geofelt]

Somewhere along the line, your attempts on overclocking cpu or gpu have gone awry.
I suspect the gpu part.
Your first image shows the 8700K capable of running at 4.4.
That is reasonable for the 8700K.

Run the cpu-Z bench test.
What do you get?

Start up a monitor for temperature. HWmonitor, realtemp or such.
What is your idle temperature.
After running the game, what is your max temperature?
Idle > 10-15c. over ambient indicates a cooler issue.
Reaching 100c. indicates cpu throttling.

More likely fiddling with the graphics oc has resulted in unanticipated issues.

 

[Lycanious]

I've only tried to overclock once and I resetted everything back to normal within like 10mins. That was years ago though.

Somewhere along the line, your attempts on overclocking cpu or gpu have gone awry.
I suspect the gpu part.
Your first image shows the 8700K capable of running at 4.4.
That is reasonable for the 8700K.

Run the cpu-Z bench test.
What do you get?

Start up a monitor for temperature. HWmonitor, realtemp or such.
What is your idle temperature.
After running the game, what is your max temperature?
Idle > 10-15c. over ambient indicates a cooler issue.
Reaching 100c. indicates cpu throttling.

More likely fiddling with the graphics oc has resulted in unanticipated issues.

So I ran a cpu-z Bench test like ya asked, not sure on what i'm looking at. Somehow I feel like my cpu is too hot? correct me if I'm wrong, I'm not too educated in this department lol.

Also the cpu runs anywhere from 68 to 90 during gameplay.

Before
http://prntscr.com/1yp7lz2

After
http://prntscr.com/1yp7y5m


Also note I think this problem has been around for awhile and I'm now concerned because base on this information, there is something wrong with my CPU?

Your processor is not boosting probably overheating and your memory is just running 2133.

any ideas how to remedy this??



Edit:

http://prntscr.com/1ypaw2t

Is it just me or is hitting 100c while on ROBLOX of all things kind of high for the temp?

 

[Zerk2012]

I've only tried to overclock once and I resetted everything back to normal within like 10mins. That was years ago though.


So I ran a cpu-z Bench test like ya asked, not sure on what i'm looking at. Somehow I feel like my cpu is too hot? correct me if I'm wrong, I'm not too educated in this department lol.

Also the cpu runs anywhere from 68 to 90 during gameplay.

Before
http://prntscr.com/1yp7lz2

After
http://prntscr.com/1yp7y5m


Also note I think this problem has been around for awhile and I'm now concerned because base on this information, there is something wrong with my CPU?



any ideas how to remedy this??



Edit:

http://prntscr.com/1ypaw2t

Is it just me or is hitting 100c while on ROBLOX of all things kind of high for the temp?

You never listed the cooler for the CPU either it's inadequate or not working.

 

[geofelt]

There is something wrong with your cooler.
The minimum temperature which should be at idle should be in the area of 10-15c. over ambient, or 30-35c.
What is the make/model of your cooler?

What is the make/model of your case and fan arrangement?
If your case does not supply fresh air to the cooler, that can hurt also.

 

[Lycanious]

You never listed the cooler for the CPU either it's inadequate or not working.

There is something wrong with your cooler.
The minimum temperature which should be at idle should be in the area of 10-15c. over ambient, or 30-35c.
What is the make/model of your cooler?

What is the make/model of your case and fan arrangement?
If your case does not supply fresh air to the cooler, that can hurt also.

My bad, I completely forgot.

https://www.newegg.com/corsair-liquid-cooling-system/p/N82E16835181103?Item=N82E16835181103

This is the one I have. Also I think the top is covered with small air holes where the fans are. I think the cooler fans has an OUT only, not any IN.

but I do have 3fans + gpu fan going as well inside.

edit: https://www.newegg.com/black-azza-s...-tower/p/N82E16811517044?Item=N82E16811517044

This is the case I got.

 

[Karadjgne]

Take it back to the shop who built it. You should not be reaching anywhere close to those temps with that cpu and that cooler combo. Even overclocked to 4.9GHz on a 3770k with a similar cooler, Prime95 cpu stress only got as high as 70°C.

The shop failed to install the cooler correctly.

 

[Lycanious]

Ouch.... Sadly I can't because I don't live there anymore and Hurricane Michael destroyed the building anyways. =/

So now I'm concerned and confused on what to do, and that was years ago so how did my computer survive all this time? So in that regard, doesn't that mean I'm either lucky or it just recently begun to get hotter? I remember seeing my temps at 70 a yearish or a little less ago. But I didn't do anything different since then other than just game.

Take it back to the shop who built it. You should not be reaching anywhere close to those temps with that cpu and that cooler combo. Even overclocked to 4.9GHz on a 3770k with a similar cooler, Prime95 cpu stress only got as high as 70°C.

The shop failed to install the cooler correctly.

 

[geofelt]

AIO coolers do not last forever.
In time, air enters the system and it needs to be replaced.
Or, the pump which is a mechanical device fails.
For best performance, buy a noctua NH-D15s. about $90.
It is easy to install. https://www.newegg.com/noctua-nh-d15s/p/N82E16835608072
At half the price, the NH-U12s redux will do most of the job if budget is truly tight:

https://www.newegg.com/noctua-nf-p12-redux-1700-pwm/p/13C-0005-001N1

 

[mamasan2000]

Ouch.... Sadly I can't because I don't live there anymore and Hurricane Michael destroyed the building anyways. =/

So now I'm concerned and confused on what to do, and that was years ago so how did my computer survive all this time? So in that regard, doesn't that mean I'm either lucky or it just recently begun to get hotter? I remember seeing my temps at 70 a yearish or a little less ago. But I didn't do anything different since then other than just game.

I didn't read everything so sorry if I missed it. Thermal paste should be replaced every 2-3 years. It becomes a cake, not much help in cooling anything.
If you have an AIO, expect it to last 3-5 years. Unless there is a manufacturing fault or similar. My Corsair 240mm lasted 5 years, started gurgling and temps shot up to kingdom come. 70-90 C at idle.

 

[Karadjgne]

I do have lots of chrome tabs open btw but figured it'd not effect it that much.

Just the opposite. Each one of those tabs requires cpu resources, and especially ram, because each is a background task that's constantly monitored, updated, refreshed etc. Generally for a decent pc, 10 tabs has little affect, by 20 its felt, by 100 the pc is crawling.

Ok. The V2 has 3 wires at the pump head. 1 wire needs to go to the cpu_fan (preferable) or cpu_alt header. 1 wire (its the splittered) goes to the fans. 1 wire goes to the Sata power connector from the psu.

There's a 4th wire you must have attached, it's a mini-USB that plugs into the pump head, usually at the bottom. That gets routed to the USB2 port at the bottom of the mobo.

1st wire does nothing but tell the cpu how fast the pump is running and avoids unpleasant temp security warnings. 2nd wire powers the fans. 3rd wire powers the pump. 4th wire uses Corsair software to Control the amount of power/speed the pump/fans use.

Imho, I'd pull off the pump head, and replace the paste. Before putting back on, I'd verify 2 things. First, the protective plastic was removed from the cold plate on the underside of the pump. Second, the standoff riser screws used are the silvery dark chrome standoffs, and Not the shiny black painted standoffs. The chrome is for Intel, the black for AMD cpus. They are different lengths. They should only require hand snug to the backplate, no tools necessary.

When replacing the pump head after dab of paste, get a barely start on all 4 corners. Then use an X pattern, corner to corner, repeating multiple circuits to slowly snug down the retention bracket. Again, hand snug, no screwdriver. Do not tighten fully one corner at a time, X or not. Use stages.

How you route the wiring is upto you, but all 4 must be installed. After windows loads, you'd then use the Corsair software to setup pump/fan curves according to temp or usage etc.

Very simple procedure, often simpler to do than many aircoolers.

 

[Lycanious]

Just the opposite. Each one of those tabs requires cpu resources, and especially ram, because each is a background task that's constantly monitored, updated, refreshed etc. Generally for a decent pc, 10 tabs has little affect, by 20 its felt, by 100 the pc is crawling.

Ok. The V2 has 3 wires at the pump head. 1 wire needs to go to the cpu_fan (preferable) or cpu_alt header. 1 wire (its the splittered) goes to the fans. 1 wire goes to the Sata power connector from the psu.

There's a 4th wire you must have attached, it's a mini-USB that plugs into the pump head, usually at the bottom. That gets routed to the USB2 port at the bottom of the mobo.

1st wire does nothing but tell the cpu how fast the pump is running and avoids unpleasant temp security warnings. 2nd wire powers the fans. 3rd wire powers the pump. 4th wire uses Corsair software to Control the amount of power/speed the pump/fans use.

Imho, I'd pull off the pump head, and replace the paste. Before putting back on, I'd verify 2 things. First, the protective plastic was removed from the cold plate on the underside of the pump. Second, the standoff riser screws used are the silvery dark chrome standoffs, and Not the shiny black painted standoffs. The chrome is for Intel, the black for AMD cpus. They are different lengths. They should only require hand snug to the backplate, no tools necessary.

When replacing the pump head after dab of paste, get a barely start on all 4 corners. Then use an X pattern, corner to corner, repeating multiple circuits to slowly snug down the retention bracket. Again, hand snug, no screwdriver. Do not tighten fully one corner at a time, X or not. Use stages.

How you route the wiring is upto you, but all 4 must be installed. After windows loads, you'd then use the Corsair software to setup pump/fan curves according to temp or usage etc.

Very simple procedure, often simpler to do than many aircoolers.

Yeah... Simple.

I feel like I've just read how to arm a nuke. lol

I bought some new Thermal paste and that is coming so I'll see if that works, I'm still debating on just getting a new liquid cooler.

but i'll double check what was mentioned and hopefully not screw anything up myself lol. I was too scared to build my computer myself at the time but I really should of just done it or hired somebody to build it WITH me rather than me watching from the side.

as of right now the comp hits 100 from just idle and watching youtube. So I'm guessing its the pump or thermal so far I can't see anything else effected.

I didn't read everything so sorry if I missed it. Thermal paste should be replaced every 2-3 years. It becomes a cake, not much help in cooling anything.
If you have an AIO, expect it to last 3-5 years. Unless there is a manufacturing fault or similar. My Corsair 240mm lasted 5 years, started gurgling and temps shot up to kingdom come. 70-90 C at idle.

I'm about at the 3yr mark based on the dates of buying everything. I don't hear any sounds at all from my pump, it's pretty quiet and has always been so I don't know if its even dead yet lol.

But I do think it may be the case is just inadequate for air flow. Any recommendations on nice clean good airflow cases?

 

[Lycanious]

So, I'm deciding to get a new cooler.

I have one suggestion for it so far but I need to ask, is my motherboard okay?

https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16813144106?Item=N82E16813144106

I was suggested https://www.newegg.com/noctua-nh-d15s/p/35-608-072

I went cheaper on the motherboard when I had my comp built, I literally bought the first thing my friend suggested which was probably stupid of me.

So what do you guys suggest my steps to be?

A: Buy a new motherboard with a new cooler

B: Get a new cooler that fits/works (Be it liquid or even just the normal fan type)

C: Add thermal and see if that just fixes the problem?


Any suggestions would be helpful and thanked! I'm always gaming and I like to have everything maxed out especially since I liked streaming on Twitch. But it's just been laggy for a year so I just haven't done it. I'd love to get back into it.

 

[geofelt]

What is your budget?

Nothing wrong with your motherboard; save your money.

Your case is not great for airflow.
Look for a case with good front air intake capabilities.
CM H500:
https://www.newegg.com/gunmetal-coo...tx-mid-tower/p/N82E16811119350?quicklink=true
CM HAF XB EVO :
https://www.newegg.com/black-cooler-master-haf-series-atx-desktop/p/N82E16811119265

I have not found old paste to be a huge problem, but, you could try repasting; paste is cheap.

To importantly improve your cpu capability will require both a new motherboard and a new cpu.

A good case and a good cooler can be carried forward to such an upgrade.

 

[Lycanious]

What is your budget?

Nothing wrong with your motherboard; save your money.

Your case is not great for airflow.
Look for a case with good front air intake capabilities.
CM H500:
https://www.newegg.com/gunmetal-coo...tx-mid-tower/p/N82E16811119350?quicklink=true
CM HAF XB EVO :
https://www.newegg.com/black-cooler-master-haf-series-atx-desktop/p/N82E16811119265

I have not found old paste to be a huge problem, but, you could try repasting; paste is cheap.

To importantly improve your cpu capability will require both a new motherboard and a new cpu.

A good case and a good cooler can be carried forward to such an upgrade.

Don't honestly have a budget, I can get whatever.


I ended up buying a cooler (not liquid), thermal paste, and some air cans to clean the pc out even though its not dirty. just waiting for the mailman lol. Afterwards if my problem is fixed I'll be back here for help on overclocking

 

[Lycanious]

Okay so thankfully I fixed the temp, its steady at 36 to 46 when I'm not doin anything and doesn't go up to 79ish even during a bench test.

So now all I need to figure out is how to curv the fans and then overclock and get my system running the way it should be, the beast it was meant to be! lol Any suggestions on overclocking everything? Even if it's just a LITTLE bit of OC, it doesn't have to be a MASSIVE boost to power or anything

 

[Lycanious]

Okay! SOOOOO My temps are finally under control. So the first thing I do is go set the fan curvs in the msi afterburner and the bios for the cpu.

Noticed the XMP button so I click it! hit save and everything and boom. Says it can't work so revert to working settings... I went back into bios and turned off XMP Only (Leaving the fan control setup I did as I did it) and restarted, computer works again.

So why is xmp not working? Do I even need it?

I'll patiently wait for some guidance before I try anything else. But If I can yap at somebody on discord with a more hands on approach that'd be lovely! It'd be nice to be able to get help Right there and then when something goes wrong. lol

Lycanious#3046

Thanks peeps and have an awesome day!