Help with my 6600K overclock

[cizar39]

Hello all,

I'm working with a new build:
CPU: Intel i6600k
MB: Asus 7170-E
Ram: Corsair Vengeance 16GB 2133 MHZ DDR4
PSU: EVGA Supernova G1 650W
GPU: Asus Dual GTX 1070 GTX 8GB
CPU Cooler: Corsair H80i

I've increased by cores to 44 on each one. I'm using XMP mode on my ram and have the following settings:
Vcore: 1.36
CPU LLC: Level 6
CPU Power Duty Control: Extreme
CPU Power Phase Control: Extreme
Intel SpeedStep: Disabled
Turbo Mode: Enabled

Everything else is Auto/Default settings

I've run Realbench for an hour or so, no problems. I've run Prime95 no problems. Heat is good, it seems. Under full load in Prime, it would get to 80-82 on certain tests, mostly in the 70s. Realbench, low to mid 70s.

The system runs fine, but every now and then I'll be playing a game (WoW and The Division atm) and have a complete lock up. When I got check event viewer, it tells me it's a Kernel Power issue.

Is my overclock the issue? I feel I should be able to go higher on my overclock as well, but I'm not sure how much higher I want to push it (vcore wise). My temps seems fine, but wondering if there is anything I can tweak.

Thanks!

 

[trents]

Most i5 6600k chips will do 4.4-4.5 but not much more on air or low end water. Your results are pretty typical.

You need to run and pass Prime95 for at least two hours. Other stress tests such as Realbench, AIDA64 Extreme and Intel Extreme Tuning Utiliity are less demanding and should be run for several hours to confirm stability. I generally will make adjustments until I can pass two hours of Prime95 blend and 5+ hours of AIDA64 or IXT. I also usually run 3DMark as part of my stress testing.

My guess is you are not quite stable and just need a tad more vcore. Try adding .01 to the vcore. Temp wise, you still have a little bit of room for more voltage.
If you will include a pic of HWMonitor while under a stress test it will tell us a lot about your temps and voltages. Use "Go Advanced" to attach pics. Snipping Tool in Windows Accessories is a great tool for capturing screen images. Please crop away unnecessary desktop area.

Try using the "Adaptive" overclocking mode and then add an offset to make it stable under stress. That way you aren't running the full voltage through the chip at times when you don't need it.

 

[cizar39]

Most i5 6600k chips will do 4.4-4.5 but not much more on air or low end water. Your results are pretty typical.

You need to run and pass Prime95 for at least two hours. Other stress tests such as Realbench, AIDA64 Extreme and Intel Extreme Tuning Utiliity are less demanding and should be run for several hours to confirm stability. I generally will make adjustments until I can pass two hours of Prime95 blend and 5+ hours of AIDA64 or IXT. I also usually run 3DMark as part of my stress testing.

My guess is you are not quite stable and just need a tad more vcore. Try adding .01 to the vcore. Temp wise, you still have a little bit of room for more voltage.
If you will include a pic of HWMonitor while under a stress test it will tell us a lot about your temps and voltages. Use "Go Advanced" to attach pics. Snipping Tool in Windows Accessories is a great tool for capturing screen images. Please crop away unnecessary desktop area.

Try using the "Adaptive" overclocking mode and then add an offset to make it stable under stress. That way you aren't running the full voltage through the chip at times when you don't need it.

Thanks for the reply.
I'm not learned when it comes to adaptive mode. How should I go about that?

 

[cizar39]

OK, so attached are the temps.
It's strange. The voltage is reading 1.408 in HW and my ASUS app but in the bios it's set at 1.37. Is this an issue.
Also, if you can instruct on the adaptive mode.
Thanks!

 

[trents]

The adaptive mode and offset are setting choices in bios.

I should have asked you how you are overclocking. Are you using the bios or Windows software to overclock?

I will get back to you later today or this evening with pictures. Since we both have Asus Z170 boards I imagine our bioses will look similar.

 

[cizar39]

Thanks.
And yes, I am using the BIOS for the overclock.
I appreciate all the help.

 

[trents]

Here are my settings in the overclocking section. I have not made any other changes. I left things alone in the Advanced tab.

Please realize that even with the same model CPU, the overclocking ability will vary (sometimes significantly) from chip to chip and from one production batch to another. The quality of the silicon wafers these things are cut from varies from production run to production run. And there are also other subtle difference introduced during the manufacturing process.

I tell you this because you need to realize that plugging in the same numbers I used in my overclocking experience will likely give different results on your motherboard and your CPU. I share these screen shots with you for instructional purposes only, not as copycat template.

The baseline CPU Vcore will be different for each 6600k.The offset adjustment amount is where you need to focus and what amount you need will likely vary significantly from mine. Add only enough to get your overclock stable enough to pass 2 hr. of Prime95 blend and pass an overnight run of AIDA64 Extreme or Intel Extreme Tuning Utility. That should get you where you need to go.

 

[trents]

Notice that the total vcore under stress will be the VID plus the adaptive offset.

 

[cizar39]

Thanks.
I reset all my settings to try this, as a baseline.
Let's say this fails, how much should I move the adaptive up buy each time?
Secondly, what about the other settings, LLC, power duty, power phases, speedstep? Should I worry about those?

- - - Updated - - -


Do these numbers look right?
You'll see the bottom left where my ASUS app is calculating the vcore.

 

[trents]

.01

 

[cizar39]

Ok. Computer locked up after 10 minutes of prime at the numbers you had. I'll keep going here.
Thanks.

 

[trents]

Sounds like you are on the right track now.

 

[wingman99]

Secondly, what about the other settings, LLC, power duty, power phases, speedstep? Should I worry about those?

I just leave those settings on Auto they work Automatically just fine. LLC on Auto works with Adaptive to save power and wear on you CPU when you are not work-loading the CPU, the voltage will go down.

 

[cizar39]

Sounds like you are on the right track now.

All right. I scaled down to 4400. Just feels like the sweet spot with this chip and...
I've ran Prime for two hours, with Furmark (don't have 3DMark) going as well. No lockups, nothing. Everything passed. Temps on CPU hit 80, but not for long. (Bear in mind, it's quite warm in my home. I live in Canada and it's -25 C out right now).
My offset is 0.16. You will see the CPU vCore in the photo. I'm going to run IXT overnight now.
How do things look? Should I mess with anything else at this point?

 

[wingman99]

Looks great you don't have to do anything else extra. Intel is made for mildly easy overclock with the mutilplier and Vcore. With my i5 6600k for 4.5GHz I run 1.332v

 

[trents]

Yep, that looks good. You seem to have gotten the hang of it. After you got it to 4.4 you "hit the wall" as we say where getting one more bump in speed requires much more voltage the you feel comfortable with and this also creates excessive temps. Good job! I take note of the fact that you are now stable at 4.4 when at the beginning of this you were at 4.4 and not quite stable even though you were running a lot more vcore. You have a pretty average chip but at that level of overclock you should not be bottlenecked in games. One thing you might look at is getting some faster RAM. Say DDR4 3000. That will help a modest amount in some games but it won't give a huge boost.

 

[cizar39]

For sure. Thanks for the help.
Is there a reason why the fixed voltage has to be higher (or seemed to be?) and why adaptive is much lower but feels stable?

 

[trents]

For sure. Thanks for the help.
Is there a reason why the fixed voltage has to be higher (or seemed to be?) and why adaptive is much lower but feels stable?

That's a good question and I don't know the answer to it.

I would also recommend running either AIDA64 Extreme or Intel Extreme Tuning Utility overnight to confirm stability. Second opinions are always good.

Note that in my previous post I added a recommendation about RAM.

It's bed time here so I'm signing out.

 

[wingman99]

When you set Adaptive the voltage is dynamic with using the VID and it adjust to CPU load, multiplier, temp.

 

[trents]

Yes, but shouldn't it take the same amount of total vcore (oncluding offset) to be stable under the same load conditions as if it was fixed?