Poor overclocking on i5-4670k :(

First post here,

Followed the 3 steps guide to overclock haswell here (http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=732646) and I've not had very good luck. I am willing to accept I have a 'bad' chip, but maybe I'm just doing something wrong.

I have the Z97-based ASUS Maximus VII Hero and (again) the i5-4670K. Got both from Newegg.

I tried right off the bat 44x (which I thought was conservative), at 1.25v, cache at 1.2v, and tried adding 0.1 to system agent... bsod'd almost immediately.

I've played around with a lot of settings and the only thing that has been stable for me is:

CPU:
41x100.0BCLK @ 1.25
3.8GHz cache @ 1.20v
VCCIN initial/eventual @ 1.850v
Load Line Calibration @ Level 8
EIST - OFF
Turbo - ON
C States - OFF

RAM:
VTTDDR @ 1.150v
XMP (2000Mhz) @ 1.650v
9-11-10-28-1T

Tried 4.2GHz as well, and it crashes 5-10 minutes or so into playing Arma 2 OA multiplayer. IBT passes no problem at 4.2GHz.

The BSOD error codes I get are almost always 0x124 and occasionally 0x101 (if i'm messing with a lot of settings). I got 0x7E on cgs.sys but that was definitely some bad voltage settings (had to reset CMOS for that, I forget which voltage it was) but havent gotten it since.

I understand that 0x101 and 0x124 say to increase vcore and/or QPI/VTT, but I'm reluctant to raise vcore to 1.3v or higher... is this fear unfounded? I've got an H110 and temps at 1.25v never go above 75-80c on the cores. "CPU" never goes above 65-70C.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated. I don't think the ram is causing the instability based on the BSOD codes, but please let me know if that's wrong to assume.

Thanks in advance!

That guide...it needs... evolving... LOL!

for giggles, leave everything on auto and set the multiplier to 42 and voltage to 1.3v and see what happens. For most, there is no need to touch ANY other voltage for such clocks.

brpc said:

I understand that 0x101 and 0x124 say to increase vcore and/or QPI/VTT, but I'm reluctant to raise vcore to 1.3v or higher... is this fear unfounded? I

Click to expand...

IIRC, 1.3 V is too high of a Vcore for only 4.1!

EarthDog said:

That guide...it needs... evolving... LOL!

for giggles, leave everything on auto and set the multiplier to 42 and voltage to 1.3v and see what happens. For most, there is no need to touch ANY other voltage for such clocks.

Click to expand...

I'll try this. Can I leave XMP on for my ram? Or should I set it to safe values like 1600Mhz (ram is rated at 2000MHz+ @ 9-10-9-27)?

RJARRRPCGP said:

IIRC, 1.3 V is too high of a Vcore for only 4.1!

Click to expand...

That's the instinctual feeling I got... I am coming from an FX-8150 bulldozer I got rock solid stable at 4.4GHz and while the performance is still leaps and bounds better at 4.1GHz (not to mention at stock turbo 3.8GHz)... I just can't get over the number discrepancy

Leave it at default. Work on one thing at a time. The ram at that speed should not have any effect, but... leave it on auto for giggles.

EarthDog said:

Leave it at default. Work on one thing at a time. The ram at that speed should not have any effect, but... leave it on auto for giggles.

Click to expand...

Roger. Will update tonight.

OK, so I tested 42x with 1.3v and it *seems* stable... Arma 2 OA doesn't crash, IBT runs, AIDA64 runs...

Temps on cores spiked into the mid 80s with IBT; stayed around low 60s, high 50s with AIDA64.

I don't prefer 1.3v to be honest, but what would your next suggestion be?

Edit: Nevermind, just talked to Newegg and am returning my i5-4670k and pre-ordering the 4690k when I get the store credit.