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overclocking noob! 3750k + z77 extreme 4

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Jrdnj15

Registered
Joined
Oct 16, 2012
I just recentley bought the intel i5 3750k + z77 extreme 4 mobo and tryed my first overclock however i am still a bit nervous to leave the settings i changed in fear of shortening the cpu's life span or just messing up my pc in general.

the only things i changed in bios was, set cpu to change "all cores" and pumped up the one setting from 34 x 100 to 42 x 100 to get an overclock of 4.2 ghz.

I also changed under the voltage settings to "offset" but i didnt change any voltages at all nor did i mess any energy saving settings. so my CPU throttles itself up and down when in need of more power.

This thread probably sounds really confusing but im just curious did i do everything right or should i have taken a different approach like i said this is my first ever "overclock"
 
As long as your system is stable and the Vcore (Core Voltage) shown in CPU-Z isn't excessive (a 4.2GHz clock normally requires in the neighborhood of 1.12-1.14V at idle, and ~1.20-1.23V under load w/ all power-saving options left at default; while running Prime, LinX, IBT, or OCCT), then your settings should be fine.
 
+1 ^^

You can also look at the 2500/260/2700K overclocking guide in the Intel section (sticky thread) as it shows voltages to be concerned about, and temperatures. You have an IB CPU so, more or less, you can follow that except take the voltages recommended down by .1v. :)
 
yah i am gonna have to go read that thread thanks for letting me know about it. I got the basic idea of how changing the multipliers work then again that is the simple part so it seems. there are still things i dont understand that i would like to though as said earlier by redduc900

(a 4.2GHz clock normally requires in the neighborhood of 1.12-1.14V at idle, and ~1.20-1.23V under load w/ all power-saving options left at default;

My question is how do you find out that thouse are the ballpark voltages?

also how exactly does OCing affect gaming performance directly?

as i said earlier i am a complete noob when it comes to this stuff but it seems really interesting to learn about also

the z77 extreme 4 comes with a OC boost built in where you can leave the settings at default and just change that to 4.2 ghz and it pretty much does the work for you but is that recommended to use? (the setting is call "load optimized CPU and OC settings")
 
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We find this out by observation... 10's of threads a week on o/c these chips land across all tech forums.

Faster clock speeds can = more FPS if your CPU is the limiting factor (which depends on the game, its resolution and settings).

"Auto" overclocking works fine, however it will tend to use more voltage than needed in favor of stability. The name of the game in overclocking, to me, is to pick a speed, then find the lowest amount of voltage needed at that speed to be stable (remember more volts = more heat!).
 
+2 ^^ To the members advice on there guides i would urge you to read more before you jump into overclocking! Its not a simple as change this or that and hope for the best, we are saying this because. The members really want to help you, but do not want to see you do any harm or damage to your set up! First you need to download the right monitoring programs, I.E. CPU-Z, REAL TEMPS, HW MONITOR. ;)

1, http://www.techpowerup.com/realtemp/

2, http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/hwmonitor.html

3, http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html

These are the main monitoring programs the members use and ask for when overclocking any set up. So to set them up on your PC would be a good idea. Then take your time to read and learn how theses work with your set up. :thup:
 
So I got my CPU up to 4.2 GHz by lowering voltage by -.050 brought it down when running prime 95 from 2.1 v (stock volts when mobo is on auto) to 1.5 v by changing voltage to offset and decreasing

2 questions I do have will undervolting by to much bring down performance and I left speed step technology and turbo boost enabled which I read u should turn it off does it really matter
 
First steps to Overclocking!

Well just to help out here is a Noobs guide to Overclocking your motherboard and CPU! I would humbly say take your time and watch the video at least 3 or more times. Before you do any adjustments, then try to follow the settings he is using. Try to understand how your Bios works and when you make changes what it does. And last of all his settings is only a guide your motherboard and Cpu will be slightly different. So overclocking is trial and test, reset and test again so this what you will have to do! ;) :thup:


1,
 
okay i just got home from work and earthdog you were right the above post was completely off. In my defense it was 4:30am and i was in my jobs parking lot using my phone lol anyway the correct voltage i got when i double checked were the following

4.2 Ghz using the motherboards built in OC utility
1.200v

4.2 with my overclock.
1.152 - 1.160

to get my overclock i just changed voltage to offset mode then slowly decreased by increments -0.10 finally stopped at -0.50 and still seems stable while running prime 95.
Besides the voltage settings the only other thing i changed was the CPU ratio. I am running back at defaults now i was just testing it need to start somewhere. Also i checked out that video linked by Ajay before he even posted it. It was super helpful however i still dont understand a few things

1. in the video he suggest changing CPU load line voltage to level 5. why does he suggest changing this vs leaving it on auto?

2. He leaves speedstep technology enabled. which in theocnoobs guide "Beginners: How to set your 25/6/700K to 4.5Ghz" he suggest turning the feature off (he does also say he just reccomends it and that some cpus dont need to turn it off)

3. Does fluctuations in voltage caused by speedstep and boost technology harm your computer?

4. does Undervolting by to much effect your performance?

5. he also suggest in his video that after finding a comfort zone with your overclock you change voltage setting to "fixed" from "offset" is this nessecary?

again sorry for so many questions the reason i ask here is because you guys are the most reputable anywhere else i look for answers or questions i spend majority of my time weeding through post left by trolls. =]
 
1. So you have a set value/response to work with.
2. 6 of one half dozen of the other. I leave it off to start, then when Im stable, turn it back on...occasionally it can cause instability, so to start, I personally leave it off.
3. Nope.
4. Not at all.
5. I run fixed anyway... there isnt a difference either way really.

Keep on asking, that is why we are here. :)
 
Just a quick update i turned off speedstep technology and am now testing 4.2 ghz with -0.60v it seemed to be running stable at -0.65v however after about an hour it blue screened so i am taking it down by increments of .5

right now the max voltage put out is 1.152V according to HW Monitor hopefully this one is the one that works and what test would u perform with prime 95 i have been using the one with max heat however i read elsewhere that blend mode is best

i thought i should add temps as well so far max is 60c some say that is 2 hot but i thought that was normal for the most part
 
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If you are testing the CPU, Small FFT. If you want to test ram as well, BLend.

60C for a Ivybridge is NOTHING. They are good to 90C stress testing (more but that is a good number to stop at).
 
So just an update i ran prime 95 on blend mode for about 8 hours and my cpu nvr passed 60C and max it pulled was 1.16volts since then i have turned back on speedstep and am trying the overclock with different games and seeing how it reacts. The highest i have seen it get to even with running games like Farcry 3 and skyrim is 1.16v and max temps of 52C. does this sound like a good overclock?
 
Well if you want to overclock to 4.5 then watch this as a guide i stress again a guide! So look what he is doing and try it for yourself, but as he said try not to go above 1.2v. So take your time and see what the result would be! AJ. ;)

1,
 
Yah I don't think I want to go that high I feel as if 1.2 V scared that it will shorten the CPU's lifespan by alot which is what i dont want. Then again im new to this so im probably just being paranoid

I do have a ? though. Is it safe to keep my computer on the 4.2 overclock for good? like i said previously when gaming the max i have seen it get to is 60C and 1.16V.
 
OK enjoy what you have and well done on your progress so far and best of luck bye for now. AJ.


p.s. The answer is yes just look at mine 4.5 and ive been running at that since August last year!
 
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at what point does voltage really start playing a factor on your CPU's lifespan is a good question i know with stock settings (3.8 Ghz) for my cpu the voltage ran at 1.12V under 100% load.

Now with my overclock (4.2Ghz) as previously stated it has gone up to 1.16V (at times) under 100% load which when i look at that it seems like the voltage increases are very minor but as i said before im new to this and am still unsure as my ideas could be wrong.

So is there a point where your really begin to reach a danger zone with voltages? One that willl shorten a CPU lifespan by a great amount? also at 4.2 60C is my max temp so if i wanted to go higher should i invest in an H100 cpu cooler?
 
Unfortunately Intel has never publicly released a max. Vcc / Vcore value for Ivy Bridge. Besides releasing other max. and nominal voltages in the 3rd gen. Voltage and Current Spec's section of the datasheet, including 1.52V as being at the high end of the max. VID range, only a max. Tcase value of 67.4C is documented. With that in mind, software like Core Temp and Real Temp report TjMax (Thermal Junction Max) of 105C. Some say a max. Vcc of 1.28 for IB, while others say 1.35V or higher is OK... up to 1.5V+ depending on cooling. Personally, I usually don't raise the Vcore any more than .2-.3V above the VID of the chip on air, so in your case figure no more than ~1.30V.
 
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