OVERCLOCKING i7 2700K

Any knowledge I have about overclocking has come from research on the Internet. I used this very helpful thread with a combination of others to get what I think is a stable overclock @4.5GHz.

To check the stability I used Intel Burn Test and Prime95:

Intel Burn Test
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Stress Level: Standard 1024MB
Times to run: 5

Prime95
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5 hour run time

I passed the stability tests and idle temp 33-35 degrees Celsius and my highest temp was 72 degrees Celsius.
My voltages range from 1.3361v idle - 1.3611v full load.
Power seems to be staying at and around 35 watts at idle and 100+- at full load.

My questions are these:

1. Are there any glaring mistakes in my UEFI settings for my overclock?
2. How can I use Offset Mode to help with lower voltages? (Need a little help understanding this better)
3. Anything else I can do to lower my temps? (I am using a Corsair H110)

[AI TWEAKER]
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Target CPU Turbo-Mode Speed : 4500MHz
Target DRAM Speed: 1600MHz

AI Overclock Turner XMP
XMP DDR3-1600 10-10-10-27-2N-1.50V
BCKL/PCIE Frequency 100.0
Turbo Ratio By All Cores (Can Adjust in OS)
By All Cores (Can Adjust in OS) 45
Internal PLL Overvoltage Disabled
Memory Frequency DDR3-1600MHz
iGPU Max. Frequency Auto
EPU Power Savings Mode Disabled

> OC Tuner
> DRAM Timing Control
> CPU Power Management
-CPU Ratio Auto
-Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology Disabled
-Turbo Mode Enabled

Turbo Mode Parameters
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-Long Duration Power Limit Auto
-Long Duration Maintained Auto
-Short Duration Power Limit Auto
-Additional Turbo Voltage Auto
-Primary Plane Current Limit Auto
-Secondary Plane Current Limit Auto

DIGI + Power Control
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Load-line Calibration Medium *Does this help with reducing heat and should I raise or lower this?
VRM Frequency Auto
Phase Control Extreme *Need help understanding this a little more
Duty Control T.Probe *Need help understanding this a little more
CPU Current Capability 100% *Do I need to raise this?
iGPU Load-line Calibration Auto
iGPU Current Capability 100%

CPU Voltage Offset Mode
Offset Mode Sign +
CPU Offset Voltage Auto
iGPU Offset Mode Sign +
iGPU Offset Voltage Auto
DRAM Voltage 1.50000
VCCSA Voltage Auto
VCCIO Voltage Auto
CPU PLL Voltage Auto
PCH Voltage Auto
DRAM Data REF Voltage on CHA Auto
DRAM CTRL REF Voltage on CHA Auto
DRAM Data REF Voltage on CHB Auto
DRAM CTRL REF Voltage on CHB Auto
CPU Spread Spectrum Disabled



[ADVANCED]
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CPU Ratio Auto
INTEL Adaptive Thermal Monitor Enabled
Hyper-threading Enabled
Active Processor Cores All
Limit CPUID Maximum Disabled
Execute Disable Bit Enabled
Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology Disabled
Turbo Mode Enabled
CPU C1E Disabled
CPU C3 Report Disabled
CPU C6 Report Disabled
Intel Virtualization Technology Enabled



[MONITOR]
-------
CPU Q-Fan Control Disabled
Chassis Q-Fan Control Disabled
Anti Surge Support Enabled

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1. Are there any glaring mistakes in my UEFI settings for my overclock?

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Nope.

2. How can I use Offset Mode to help with lower voltages? (Need a little help understanding this better)

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You can't lower load voltages with offset, but you can lower idle voltages with it. Basically the offset voltage kicks in upon load. I prefer straight up voltage as the wattage difference isn't much, and I shut my PC off when I am not using it.

3. Anything else I can do to lower my temps? (I am using a Corsair H110)

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Push/pull, turn the fans up, better case airflow.. etc. The usual suspects.


Questions inside the quotes(settings)

Load-line Calibration Medium *Does this help with reducing heat and should I raise or lower this?

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LLC prevents vdroop. That is it. If you lower it, you lower your voltage and could lose stability. You can lower and not lose stability by raising the vcore which will have higher idle voltage. Choose your poison.

Phase Control Extreme *Need help understanding this a little more

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Not something you need to worry about. Auto should be fine there for any ambient overclocking.

Duty Control T.Probe *Need help understanding this a little more
CPU Current Capability 100% *Do I need to raise this?

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If you are fine with TProbe, leave it there.

@EarthDog - Thank you for your timely and clear response. I do have a question about the wattage. I have gathered that wattage does increase thermal temps and the main thread that I used in my initial overclocking did mention to set it to high. I have noticed a slight slower response time when I launch programs, do you think it has to do with the wattage? I will raise it to High 50% or 75% or Auto?

Can you explain what exactly TDP is? Core Temp says TDP is 95.0 watts.

Wattage has nothing to do with slower response time.

TDP = Thermal Design Power

EarthDog said:

Wattage has nothing to do with slower response time.

TDP = Thermal Design Power

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I was just concerned if my CPU is getting enough energy to perform effectively.

So, basically TDP is the maximum amount of energy the CPU generates that the "cooling system" is required to remove during normal usage.

I guess my question should be how do I know if my CPU is under power or has too much power? Is that one of the things the stress test is testing for?

Idle: 32 watts
IBT: 121 watts

Does this even matter?

Thanks for your help...

Now that you've established that your CPU is stable under load at 4.5Ghz with 1.36V, you should try bringing the voltage down as was explained in the guide. The idea is to have the best possible overclock for a given voltage. Odds are that you can either go higher than 4.5Ghz on 1.36V, or that you can go lower than 1.36V at 4.5Ghz.

Theocnoob said:

Now that you've established that your CPU is stable under load at 4.5Ghz with 1.36V, you should try bringing the voltage down as was explained in the guide. The idea is to have the best possible overclock for a given voltage. Odds are that you can either go higher than 4.5Ghz on 1.36V, or that you can go lower than 1.36V at 4.5Ghz.

Click to expand...

Understand, but there are two issues:

1.

CPU Voltage Offset Mode
Offset Mode Sign +
CPU Offset Voltage Auto

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So, currently the voltage is not manual but in Offset Mode and it peaks at 1.3611v and idles at 1.3361v. Does that mean the voltage is 1.36v and the CPU Offset Voltage is +0.025?

If I was going to try and lower voltage would I just set CPU Voltage to Manual and set the voltage at 1.35 with an offset voltage of +0.025?

2. If I was going to increase my multiplier... would my CPU be safe as long as my temps are good or does the increased multiplier wear down the CPU lifespan? I heard anything over 4.5MHz really degrades the CPU.. is that true?

Meatball0311 said:

Understand, but there are two issues:

1.

So, currently the voltage is not manual but in Offset Mode and it peaks at 1.3611v and idles at 1.3361v. Does that mean the voltage is 1.36v and the CPU Offset Voltage is +0.025?

If I was going to try and lower voltage would I just set CPU Voltage to Manual and set the voltage at 1.35 with an offset voltage of +0.025?

2. If I was going to increase my multiplier... would my CPU be safe as long as my temps are good or does the increased multiplier wear down the CPU lifespan? I heard anything over 4.5MHz really degrades the CPU.. is that true?

Click to expand...

No. Operating frequency does not degrade the CPU. Voltage does. 5Ghz at 1.35V is just as safe as 4Ghz at 1.35V. High temperatures also wear down CPUs over time, so at the same voltage, a cpu running at 60 degrees will probably last longer than the same CPU at 90 degrees after several years have gone by. High temperatures wear down pretty much all computer parts faster than low temperatures do. It's temps and voltage. Not frequency.

Seriously, just figure out how to set your voltage to manual. Offset is a PITA to work with and really gains you nothing in this situation IMO.
Before you do anything else, I would suggest figuring out the minimum voltage your chip will take for 4.5Ghz, and going from there.

Meatball0311 said:

Load-line Calibration Medium *Does this help with reducing heat and should I raise or lower this?
VRM Frequency Auto
Phase Control Extreme *Need help understanding this a little more
Duty Control T.Probe *Need help understanding this a little more
CPU Current Capability 100% *Do I need to raise this?

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Load Line Calibration helps prevent drooping voltage under load. Intel's "stock" M.O. is to have voltage drop slightly below the voltage specified in bios when the CPU is under load. L.L.C. combats this, essentially raising the voltage slightly to compensate for the drop caused by this Intel spec. If you set 1.35V and had no LLC, your voltage under load in windows might be 1.33V. With LLC on medium, maybe 1.35-1.36, and on extreme it might be as high as 1.37. Hope I explained that reasonably well.

The VRM frequency is the operating frequency of the voltage regulation section of the motherboard which provides power to the CPU. You sometimes have to tweak this with more "extreme" overclocks, but 4.5Ghz is not an extreme OC with the CPU you are using, so no need to worry about this.

The phase control, on most boards, controls the power phases in the power delivery section on the motherboard. At stock settings, at rest, on an 8 phase mobo, your cpu may only need 1 or 2 phases, while under full load its likely all phases would be active. You can set phase control levels to extreme so that all phases will be active all the time. (At least that was my understanding of it. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong).

CPU current capability I'm not sure about but if I had to guess I'd say it had to do with how much power the CPU is allowed to draw. If the CPU draws a max of 77W stock, and maybe 90W at 4.7Ghz, I imagine setting the current capability higher would be necessary for extreme overclocks in the high 5 and 6Ghz range (with dry ice or liquid nitrogen)

Ok... I think I am tracking now. I am going to see what I can get out of the 1.36v. Thanks for that LLC explanation.. things make a little more sense now.

Last question... the core temps.. is there a specific core I need to be most concerned about? (Core #2 runs hotter by 4 degrees)

I did a little tweaking yesterday and ran prime95 for 7 hours and had no errors. I changed a few things and maintained a stable overclock with a high temp of 70 degrees.

Load-line Calibration - UltraHigh
Duty Control - Extreme
CPU Current Capability - 120%

CPU Voltage - Manual
-CPU Manual Voltage - 1.325v

CPU C6 Report - Enabled

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I am planning on decreasing by 0.005v until I reach my lowest possible stable voltage.

Questions are:

1. Does Intel Burn Test really give a good accurate first look at the overclock that would allow me to test during the day and to run prime95 at bedtime or when I reach my lowest possible voltage?
2. If the system passes prime95, does that mean that the CPU is working at its best potential based off of the parameters that are set in the UEFI (BIOS)?
3. What am I trying to achieve by overclocking? Faster CPU = Faster Operation?

I pressume you have an asus board? I left mine on bios optimized defaults first. Then set memory manual, the 4 timings included.
Finding the offset value isn't hard to do, set it at +0.005 and see in windows what you get in cpuz when stressing with prime95 small FFT's. Keep realtemp running also.
When you run blend test your voltage should be a little higher btw.

So lets say you can run 4,5Ghz at 1.300v, you get around 1.260 with those default settings at default clocks, then you can calculate how much more offset you need to see that 1.300v in cpuz when actually running 4,5Ghz. For me it's offset + 0.025 currently and nets me around 1.300v when stressing.

With a fixed vcore you can easily find what vcore you actually need though, and it prevents the fluctuations you get when running blend or small fft. Just as in gaming where your voltage will overshoot a little, and create a little more heat than needed.

I never needed to change the vrm frequency, I pressume that's for higher overclocks. Same as cpu current capability @ 100%, setting it higher increases voltage and could be handy to produce a more stable higher overclock.
For sandies 4,5Ghz is pretty basic and requires little extra's to get stable.

ps. I found my p8p67 and p8z68 board gave about the same default offset voltage, making the settings pretty much the same on both boards for 4,5Ghz. My current board is however slightly better in power deliverence.
To conclude, for 4,5Ghz you should need max 1.350v and more likely around 1.300v, although no cpu is the same.
Temps under 75°C when stressing is fine for that cpu, in games it will be some 10°C lower.

ps.2
ofcourse systems differ, your psu could be better or worse, newer or older, your memory could need more power etc etc. So use my tips as a guideline but don't take it for absolute truth.
if you can't get stable you need more offset ofcourse, or tweak the cpu capability etc etc. but they all just result in more vcore and/or more stable voltage, something asus boards are pretty good at, if you got the 12+ powerphase boards.

After you finish tinkering and find the lowest voltage, I would re-enable SpeedStep. That will reduce power consumption @ idle and there's really no reason to disable it unless you're benching or the CPU is unstable with it enabled.

My money is on your voltages ending up around 1.25 - 1.3 Vcore.
Either way, have fun!!

Silver_Pharaoh said:

My money is on your voltages ending up around 1.25 - 1.3 Vcore.
Either way, have fun!!

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Not a smart bet. Every CPU is different. He could have a dud.

Indeed. There are chips that need upto 1.4v for 4,5Ghz stable, and some wont get stable at all.

As for the questions asked by op,

1 I use p95, but found LinX-0.6.5 20 passes max stress crashed my overclock. Keep in mind that if those tests remain stable for more than an hour, most if not all games/programs will run fine.
2 It just means it's stable and wont bsod your pc when using stressfull apps/games. Optimized or maxed out performance is an entirely different matter.
3 It's fun to have more performance for the same money, although you wont notice it much in most apps/games.

On the other hand, by overclocking your current cpu, you can keep in line with newer cpu's (ofcourse those can be o'ced also). But sandy chips are still running strong. And I do know running my chip at higher clocks make games even more smooth.
The rest is probably placebo, but I wouldn't want to run mine at lower frequencies.

That's always true. Let's hope he doesn't have one of those duds.

Haven't had time to mess with the overclock these past few days.. but I will hopefully be making a pot of coffee and getting me some good computer time in tonight. Thanks for all your replies and I will post my results.

Just remember that you have a very beefy cooling solution, and therefore, if the voltage gods will allow, you could go as high as 5Ghz. It all depends on what your CPU will tolerate. If you can do 4.5Ghz at 1.25V (unlikely), odds are that 5Ghz would come in at a quite reasonable voltage as well.

Try to keep the voltage below 1.4V, however, 1.44V is still "safe", though, of course, the CPU will degrade faster at this speed.

"Degrade" doesn't mean your CPU will roll over, die, and not work some day in 2016. It means that, one day, maybe in 3 years, if you're running at a high voltage (let's say 1.44V under load), your CPU will just decide it doesn't want to play any more, and will refuse to cooperate. (read: blue screen of death). When that happens, you either raise the voltage and keep the same multi on the CPU, or drop the Multi and keep the same (or similar) voltage. Your CPU won't just die all of a sudden though.

I had a 2600K (essentially the exact same chip you have, slightly worse binning) at 1.44V under load from May 2011 to October 2013 when it decided it didn't want to hold 4.8Ghz/1.44V any more, so I just turned it down to 4.7Ghz and dropped the voltage a hair. All is well.

Have fun! That's the important thing. This is a hobby like any other hobby. If you aren't enjoying it, you're doing it for the wrong reasons.