What is CPU Voltage?

[Lawk Duski]

What is CPU Voltage? and how is it related to overclocking? how do i change the voltage? and whats the standard Voltage without overclocking? and how is it related to CPU's temperature? and is it risky when changing it?
If anyone has anytime to help a new PC gamer guy that plans to overclock i would appreciate it.
my CPU is i5 4690k on ASUS Z97-E Motherboard and i want to overclock it to 4.3 - 4.5 Ghz with a decent cooler. perhaps Cooler Master EVO 212 air cooling or Corsair liquid Cooling.
Thanks

 

[i7Baby]

CPU voltage is the voltage applied to the CPU = Vcore

You can change it in bios or with your motherboard utility software

The standard depends on your CPU. Intel current i5 is 1.0 volt. AMD FX 1.2v

The i5 4690k - http://www.anandtech.com/show/8227/devils-canyon-review-intel-core-i7-4790k-and-i5-4690k/2 would get to about 4.4GHz before getting too hot with the evo cooler. They use a H80 and can get to 4.5. With a H100 you could get to 4.6GHz before ts started to get too hot.

But you can overclcok them out of curiosity. Not really for 24/7 usage. If you 'need' it 24/7 then you should've bought an i7.

 

[MeteorsRaining]

The Voltage supplied to the CPU is, well, CPU Voltage.

Increasing the voltage allows more potential for higher clock speeds.

You can normally change the voltage of an appropriate CPU via BIOS.

Standard voltage depends from one CPU to another, but anything below 1.3V is expected w/o OC from an Intel.

More voltage generally increase CPU's TDP and therefore it will heat up more.

If done without knowledge about why it's being done, yes it can result in BSOD and in extreme cases shortening the life of CPU.

The air cooler you're considering is decent enough for the mentioned OC, but, every chip is different. Some are so good that you can reach 4.4Ghz without changing voltage. Some will struggle on 4.4Ghz even with the best setup.

Now, download: Prime95 and HWInfo.

Use only BIOS for OCing. Set up the multiplier by 1 to increase the core clock by 100Mhz, check for stability using Prime95, where temps shouldn't exceed 70C, and move the multiplier higher by 1 again. Do this until you suffer from BSOD while stress testing.

There, increase the voltage by 0.05V and test again, do this until you get stability.

Increase the multiplier and test again.

Follow the above steps as long as Voltage doesn't exceed 1.35V and temps, 75C. There, you have your highest standard OC.

 

[Lawk Duski]

CPU voltage is the voltage applied to the CPU = Vcore

You can change it in bios or with your motherboard utility software

The standard depends on your CPU. Intel current i5 is 1.0 volt. AMD FX 1.2v

The i5 4690k - http://www.anandtech.com/show/8227/devils-canyon-review-intel-core-i7-4790k-and-i5-4690k/2 would get to about 4.4GHz before getting too hot with the evo cooler. They use a H80 and can get to 4.5. With a H100 you could get to 4.6GHz before ts started to get too hot.

But you can overclcok them out of curiosity. Not really for 24/7 usage. If you 'need' it 24/7 then you should've bought an i7.

im only into gaming. also what do you mean by 24/7 usage? if i overclock the CPU and when i shut down the computer will i have to do all that again when i turn it on again?

 

[Lawk Duski]

The Voltage supplied to the CPU is, well, CPU Voltage.

Increasing the voltage allows more potential for higher clock speeds.

You can normally change the voltage of an appropriate CPU via BIOS.

Standard voltage depends from one CPU to another, but anything below 1.3V is expected w/o OC from an Intel.

More voltage generally increase CPU's TDP and therefore it will heat up more.

If done without knowledge about why it's being done, yes it can result in BSOD and in extreme cases shortening the life of CPU.

The air cooler you're considering is decent enough for the mentioned OC, but, every chip is different. Some are so good that you can reach 4.4Ghz without changing voltage. Some will struggle on 4.4Ghz even with the best setup.

Now, download: Prime95 and HWInfo.

Use only BIOS for OCing. Set up the multiplier by 1 to increase the core clock by 100Mhz, check for stability using Prime95, where temps shouldn't exceed 70C, and move the multiplier higher by 1 again. Do this until you suffer from BSOD while stress testing.

There, increase the voltage by 0.05V and test again, do this until you get stability.

Increase the multiplier and test again.

Follow the above steps as long as Voltage doesn't exceed 1.35V and temps, 75C. There, you have your highest standard OC.

Do i do this all From the UEFI BIOS that is with the motherboard or the BIOS Menu which you get to it before windows starts?

 

[i7Baby]

"
im only into gaming. also what do you mean by 24/7 usage? if i overclock the CPU and when i shut down the computer will i have to do all that again when i turn it on again?"


If you 'need' to OC the CPU 24/7 (24 hours a day, 7 days a week) then you've chosen a too weak CPU.

 

[MeteorsRaining]

You find it in UEFI BIOS, in the Advanced section IIRC.

 

[Lawk Duski]

"
im only into gaming. also what do you mean by 24/7 usage? if i overclock the CPU and when i shut down the computer will i have to do all that again when i turn it on again?"


If you 'need' to OC the CPU 24/7 (24 hours a day, 7 days a week) then you've chosen a too weak CPU.

then what do you suggest me to do? should i overclock it?

 

[Lawk Duski]

You find it in UEFI BIOS, in the Advanced section IIRC.

alright thank you. and you know intel i5 processors come with a stock fan/heatsink. and there is a Pre-Applied thermal paste on the heatsink. is that enough? or should i apply some Paste on the CPU?

 

[i7Baby]

"
im only into gaming. also what do you mean by 24/7 usage? if i overclock the CPU and when i shut down the computer will i have to do all that again when i turn it on again?"


If you 'need' to OC the CPU 24/7 (24 hours a day, 7 days a week) then you've chosen a too weak CPU.

then what do you suggest me to do? should i overclock it?

For an experiment - yeah that's OK. But not for 24/7.

 

[Lawk Duski]

"
im only into gaming. also what do you mean by 24/7 usage? if i overclock the CPU and when i shut down the computer will i have to do all that again when i turn it on again?"


If you 'need' to OC the CPU 24/7 (24 hours a day, 7 days a week) then you've chosen a too weak CPU.

then what do you suggest me to do? should i overclock it?

For an experiment - yeah that's OK. But not for 24/7.

not for an experiment lol. i want to overclock it to have better performance in gaming. isnt it possible to overclock it to 4.3 Ghz with any of the coolers i mentioned. for like everytime i play on it?

 

[i7Baby]

It just means you chose the wrong CPU. Do you really need to OC the CPU to play those games?

 

[Lawk Duski]

It just means you chose the wrong CPU. Do you really need to OC the CPU to play those games?

not really but i want to get as much performance i could get out of it

 

[i7Baby]

Do you drive your car at 80mph an hour in first gear? It would accelerate like heck if you only drove it in first gear. But it wouldn't be good for it. Same with overclocking. The CPU gets hot, your fans speed up. So you end up with a hot noisy PC that will have a short life. You can do it if you want. Its just that I don't recommend it.

 

[Lawk Duski]

Do you drive your car at 80mph an hour in first gear? It would accelerate like heck if you only drove it in first gear. But it wouldn't be good for it. Same with overclocking. The CPU gets hot, your fans speed up. So you end up with a hot noisy PC that will have a short life. You can do it if you want. Its just that I don't recommend it.

thanks mate

 

[MeteorsRaining]

My opinion: If done properly, OCing is safe both for the short and long run. You just need the right setup (which you have) and the right chip (lottery!). I personally have an OCed CPU which's used vigorously for video editing and I don't have any issues. Good luck.

 

[Lawk Duski]

My opinion: If done properly, OCing is safe both for the short and long run. You just need the right setup (which you have) and the right chip (lottery!). I personally have an OCed CPU which's used vigorously for video editing and I don't have any issues. Good luck.

a bit of a noob question but..
intel CPUs come with Heatsink/fan. and it has Thermal paste pre applied on the heatsink. is it enough? or should i apply some extra Paste on the CPU itself?

 

[MeteorsRaining]

It is enough as long as you don't OC.