Should I overlock my CPU?

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wonderin

Jan 13, 2019
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Hi.

I'm using 6850K i7 @4.0Ghz via XMP profile for HyperX Predator 2x16 @3000Mhz
The mobo is Asus Strix X99 Gaming, NZXT Kraken x62 for cooling, Strix 1080 ti oc @2015 mhz.

I'm wondering if I should overclock my CPU a bit more over the XMP profile and will it bring any performance boost for games?

Xmp profile changes bclk size to 125 (it's the case with x99 boards):
cDJ4q2t.jpg


And are there any specific overclocking setting that are best specifically for gaming?
 
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XMP is a RAM profile and sets the RAM speed and timings, it's not related to the CPU speed at all.

Personally I have come to the conclusion that there is rarely any reason to overclock for most users. Do you find you are maxing out CPU cores to 100% very often? and when you do are game framerates dropping to unplayable levels?

It will only benefit game performance if you set the graphics settings low enough for the CPU to become the limiting factor which might be the case if you are gaming at 1080P on a 120 or 144hz monitor and are trying for very high framerates. If you are using a QHD or 4K display with a refresh rate under 120hz there probably is not much point.
 
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I agree with most of what you said except for the "maxing out the CPU cores to 100%". The are plenty of games that won't make full use of his 6 core/12 thread CPU but rather make use of less cores with a higher clock speed.

As far as overclocking, it really depends on what resolution you're playing at, what games your playing and what GPU you currently have.
 
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I said cores not the whole CPU - meaning some of the cores maxing out not necessarily all of them. Maybe that wasn't clear how I worded it.

But yes games will not often load up all available threads so if any single core or group of cores hit's 100% (or close to it) and the framerate drops too low as a result then overclocking might be worth trying.

You can use a tool like MSI afterburner to overlay the usage on top of games to see what the CPU / GPU loading is like while gaming.
 
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How comes that XMP is not related to the CPU speed? in my case, it changes the bclk size to 125 and maybe some other stats as seen on screenshot.
Default for 6850k is 3.2 Ghz. now it's running 4 Ghz all cores. I did 0 overclocking manually at the moment, it's only XMP.

and yes, I'm playing at 1440p resolution with 165 hz monitor, so i guess any performance boost is a profit in my case
 
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Somehow you are overclocking, maybe there's an auto overclock feature in your BIOS or something that you have enabled without realising, or maybe it has a name similar to XMP, I don't know.

But XMP is extreme memory profile and it's a factory setting built into RAM that should never affect the Bclk https://www.intel.com.au/content/www/au/en/gaming/extreme-memory-profile-xmp.html

Also the default for a 6850K is 3.6-3.8 not 3.2 https://ark.intel.com/products/94188/Intel-Core-i7-6850K-Processor-15M-Cache-up-to-3-80-GHz-
Your settings are weird, but if it's stable then I guess it's not a problem.
 
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from the intel data from the link you gave:

"XMP features: Easy overclocking (novice) Enables end users to easily overclock their platforms by selecting the appropriate profile instead of adjusting individual parameters in BIOS. Reselecting the default profile resets the platform to default setting."

So YES, specific XMP profile overclocks the whole system in my strix x99 case via bclk size so you are not right.

and yes, default is 3.6, 3.2 is just the TM shows me after applying the profile and is not reliable.
 
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Sorry that link is misleading, XMP really is just a memory setting - it does not overclock your CPU. Look it up yourself if you don't believe me.
What it's referring to is the fact that XMP is technically a RAM overclock even though the RAM is rated at that speed.

Anyway it's not helping you at all here to debate how your overclock happened, the main point is you are overclocked already. You sure you never ran the Ez tune overclock utility your motherboard has?

It's not my area really, I always play it safe and just up the multiplier a few steps with everything else at stock. I would not have adjusted the Bclk myself.
If you want to push it harder than it is already you need better advice than mine.
 
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I've given you a wide info on how XMP can overclock cpu - through the bclk size of motherboard that changes both cpu and menory frequency.
it's needed to speed up bus clock so the cpu will work good with that RAM frequency.

i'm new to this, but that's just the way it is. Do you research if you don't believe my objective data (go see the screenshot mate) :) there are people here on the forum with the same effects, i've not been applying any auto overclocking, trust me, i've been using my pc for 18 month without any additional overcllock (just that xmp)

anyway, i was just asking if it's ok to overclock over xmp profile considering that it does change the bclk size. and if there is a point of overclocking it +300-400 mhz more for my purposes. I'm not encoding/rendering data that much, using my pc as a gaming rig and for "live" adobe PS/AE action :)

note: i'm having pretty constant over 120 fps in games with my resolution, but yes, my cpu in some cases hits 100% load in the heat gaming moments (fe pubg landing/parachuting moment, when the fps drops down to low 60s and it's very noticieble, though it lasts for a few seconds.
 
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https://www.pcgamer.com/what-are-xmp-profiles-and-how-do-i-use-them/
https://www.howtogeek.com/257766/how-to-enable-intel-xmp-to-make-your-ram-run-at-its-advertised-speeds/
https://www.anandtech.com/show/7364/memory-scaling-on-haswell/2

It doesn't matter but you are just wrong. If your particular motherboard overclocks the CPU when you enable XMP it's the exception and I'm sorry but I just don't believe it. I even read through your motherboards manual to see, and there's nothing there to suggest it will do what you say. My guess is there's an overclock profile stored in your BIOS you are enabling and calling XMP but I don't really care at this point.

As for whether to overclock more or not, up to you but I wouldn't
 
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