[SOLVED] Should I keep trying to overclock my i5 6600k higher?

[andrew.s.omalley]

I have an i5 6600k with a cooler master 212 evo cooler. I am running my cpu at 4.6ghz @ 1.32v (I haven’t tried any lower voltages, I went from 1.275 @ 4.5ghz). What I’m trying to find out is if I should:

1. Try using less voltage on my cpu currently
2. Try and reach 4.8ghz and see if I have gotten lucky with the ‘silicon lottery’

P.S my current OC of 4.6 is stable (even while streaming, recording, stress tests, playing Fortnite) at around 50-55*C

 

[Eximo]

All of the above. Each CPU is a little different, so no one can be exact here. If you want to target 4.8Ghz, give it a try, see if the voltage and temperature will allow for it. If you want to optimize for 4.6Ghz, lower the voltage until it becomes unstable and go back up a notch, or add some LLC to compensate for sag under load.

With air cooling you probably shouldn't exceed 1.35 volts though.

If you aren't stress testing though, you might find a sudden heavy load will cause a crash. Typically people test under more extreme conditions so they know the system can handle it. Plenty of games out there now that can saturate a quad core.

 

[andrew.s.omalley]

All of the above. Each CPU is a little different, so no one can be exact here. If you want to target 4.8Ghz, give it a try, see if the voltage and temperature will allow for it. If you want to optimize for 4.6Ghz, lower the voltage until it becomes unstable and go back up a notch, or add some LLC to compensate for sag under load.

With air cooling you probably shouldn't exceed 1.35 volts though.

If you aren't stress testing though, you might find a sudden heavy load will cause a crash. Typically people test under more extreme conditions so they know the system can handle it. Plenty of games out there now that can saturate a quad core.

Thanks, I’ll probably let you know if I’ve hit ‘the lottery.’