XMP Overclock Profile

mowzeh

Prominent
Oct 22, 2017
12
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510
I recently had a surge ruin my motherboard and have had to replace it which meant a new CPU and new memory. I don't overclock anything in my system except for enabling XMP overclock profiles on memory so I purchased the following:

Motherboard - Gigabyte Z370 HD3
Memory - G.Skill 16gb (8x2) 3200Mhz Trident Z
CPU - i7 8700

Now I am aware that the motherboard is capable of overclocking but will the system be able to handle the XMP profile at 3200Mhz for the memory? It is hard to find an answer on the internet regarding this as many will say you need a k unlocked CPU for it because the memory controller on the CPU will need added voltage to handle the memory overclock. Is this really the case or will the 8700 handle the 3200Mhz overclock at stock?
 


Well since I am waiting for the CPU to come into stock, I guess I could upgrade to an unlocked version but I can't justify the extra $100 when the turbo boost on both CPU's is only 100Mhz difference. Not to mention I don't OC anything other than my memory. Let's assume that the XMP overclock isn't stable, I should be able to manually OC the memory to 2666Mhz correct? This is what intel claims their 8th gen CPU's support. Also at 2666 what timings should I be aiming for?
 


OK, so if the system boots at 3200Mhz profile, can I assume it is fine/stable? Sorry I am not experienced with overclocking at all, the only reason I overclock memory is because it's literally choosing a profile in the BIOS.