Overclocking non-K LGA1151 CPUs...

[Silverec]

I was looking at picking up a Gigabyte gaming z170 mobo ( http://www.gigabyte.us/products/product-page.aspx?pid=5530 ). It looks like the BCLK is adjustable...does this apply to non-k chips?

 

[DonkeyOatie]

Yes. (Depending on exact BIOS version) Check with Gigabyte.

Read this http://www.anandtech.com/show/9848/bclk-overclocking-intels-non-k-skylake-processors-coming-soon


and this http://overclocking.guide/gigabyte-z170-non-k-overclocking-guide/

 

[Silverec]

Yes. (Depending on exact BIOS version) Check with Gigabyte.

Read this http://www.anandtech.com/show/9848/bclk-overclocking-intels-non-k-skylake-processors-coming-soon


and this http://overclocking.guide/gigabyte-z170-non-k-overclocking-guide/

Ya, I've seen that. I guess I wasn't sure since most articles are mentioning manufacturers that are specifically supporting it like Asrock...but they just removed their SkyOC feature so it looks like that is over. I guess the question is if Intel will put a stop to it. I'm not sure if going for a K processor is worth it or not.

 

[DonkeyOatie]

A similar thing happened with Haswell. The older BIOS is still available and still works. Same with Skylake. That's why I specified 'depending on exact BIOS'.

Z grade motherboards have some value with locked chips, they typically have better parts, allow for significant memory overclocking and SLI (and better doo-dads) I ran memory at 2566 Mhz on a Haswell i3 with my Z97M OC Formula board, for a decent and cheap performance gain.

I can't tell if it is worth it unless I know what you want it for. Overclocking is of very limited value in gaming, for example, but is nearly always worth it if you use your system for making money.

 

[Silverec]

A similar thing happened with Haswell. The older BIOS is still available and still works. Same with Skylake. That's why I specified 'depending on exact BIOS'.

Z grade motherboards have some value with locked chips, they typically have better parts, allow for significant memory overclocking and SLI (and better doo-dads) I ran memory at 2566 Mhz on a Haswell i3 with my Z97M OC Formula board, for a decent and cheap performance gain.

I can't tell if it is worth it unless I know what you want it for. Overclocking is of very limited value in gaming, for example, but is nearly always worth it if you use your system for making money.

Thanks, I'm aware overclocking doesn't do much for games although I do play Guild Wars 2 and I've seen it benefit a lot from faster CPU speeds. But my GPU is only a 760 so it's not like the processor is going to hold me back with that. I do work in Photoshop, video encoding and occasional 3d work (lightwave, blender) which definitely benefit from better CPU speeds.

Right now I'm considering an i5 6500 vs a 6600k. If I could overclock the 6500 when needed that's pretty appealing. My other options are to just go for the 6600k now or get the 6500 now and then in a year or so see what Kabylake prices are. I'm generally not a rabid upgrader anymore-- my system as it is now is like 6 years old.

 

[DonkeyOatie]

The cost is a hit now, but you get the goodie for the next five years. What's that worth to you? Fast memory will certainly help you. I'd investigate the coast of that. Can you post a possible build for you and we can see how to make it a bit faster. I would also recommend a NVMe SSD at x4 for blazing fast primary storage.