Going to OC my 4790k, input appreciated

[i6pwr]

I will attempt this after I get the cooler installed, but wanted to ask for tips to attempt this safely. I did read the article on the i7 Haswell and I will try the boot first at 4.6 but for the experienced members, any advice is greatly appreciated. This being my first in-depth OC other than messing with some RAM I don't want to mess things up but I know this is an assumed risk.

My rig is up to date in my sig, I don't have a retail version of AIDA but could get one unless there's other alternatives.

 

[ninjacore]

You don't need to pay for Aida. The trial version has the built-in stress test and will also let you monitor temps while it runs. Anymore, it's all I really use.

Not sure what cooling you're installing, but assuming it's decent, I would keep things simple (I think this is all in the guide...):

-Set BIOS to defaults (at least the OC fields)
-Set RAM to XMP profile
-Set multiplier to 45 or 46
-Set vcore to 1.3v (or whatever max voltage you're comfortable with)
-Set LLC to 1 or 2 (whatever end of your BIOS's spectrum which prevents vdroop)
-Run aida for 30 minutes, making sure temps don't go over 75-80 (they're still safe beyond that, but )
-Increase multi by 1 and repeat testing until you hit a core speed which fails
-Once you have your highest passing multiplier (probably 47 or 48, maybe 49 if you're lucky), start decreasing the voltage in .01 increments until you see failures

Now, you should have your highest core speed at the lowest supporting voltage. You'll need to test it out further; I usually just start gaming on it and using the PC as I normally would. If you hit a blue screen while gaming, you'll either need to bump up the voltage or decrease the multi by 1.

Core speed is what matters most. Find your max for that first before you start messing with other things like uncore overclocking and ram overclocking.

 

[i6pwr]

To me, it looks like there's a few more areas that may need to be taken off of "AUTO". Also, I cannot find anything on which setting of the LLC prevents Vdroop.

Here's a screenshot of my BIOS:

After I go through this a few times I will have it down but this is uncharted territory for me so I will have alot of questions.Not trying to be lazy, just cautious....

 

[EarthDog]

When you select LLC, it doesn't show you on the right side which does what? If not, check in windows and see. Set it to 5, reboot, run a stress test and see how much droop. Set it to 1, reboot, run a stress test and see how much it droops. That will tell you right there. Typically, it is "1" that shows no droop or a 'Vraise' on load... but boards are different so, if the BIOS doesn't show you, the manual doesn't mention it, test it out and see.

 

[i6pwr]

Yes, I looked again and paid more attention to the graph as "1" is flat and the rest slope down.

So leaving the rest of the voltages for the cache, etc on Auto won't cause any issues? The voltages other than what was specified to change?

 

[EarthDog]

That is correct. You can set them to their current values if you would like, but the only thing that SHOULD change is your Vcore.

 

[Mandrake4565]

I think the LLC on the Asrock boards is 9 being the highest and 1 the lowest, as ED said test it and see. The goal is to have the voltage under load stay as close to the set voltage without drooping or overshooting by too much.

 

[i6pwr]

I will get enough time for 1 test before work, but tomorrow we will continue for sure.

First few minutes:

 

[ninjacore]

The graph in the screenshot seems like 1 is least vdroop.

Not sure what else you've changed in there, but I would reset to defaults and make sure XMP is set, LLC is level 1, and then start going with your CPU ratio (multiplier) and vcore. I don't usually turn off things like speedstep and turbo boost. Others do

EDIT: those numbers look right to me try 46

 

[i6pwr]

I left everything on auto which I assume is default, no turbo. I changed multiplier to 45, v core to 1.3, LLC is level 1, XMP profile for RAM. That's all I changed from the screen shots of my bios.

 

[ninjacore]

Ok cool. I must be mixing turbo boost up with something else. Looks like your good to go up to 46. Temps look pretty good (77 max, correct?).

 

[i6pwr]

After the test, I went to change to 46 and noticed Speedstep and Turbo were enabled....... So I disabled them and changed to 46 and will run the test in the AM.

This is my current BIOS, except for the multiplier is now at 46.

The temps jumped a little, occasional spikes, but this was with Intel Speedstep and turbo enabled. They are now disabled.

 

[caddi daddi]

one of the things I have found with mine is that cache buys you nothing and over 4.8, as I move to 4.9, I need to move it off auto and set it either 3 less than the cores = 4.9 on the cores and 4.6 on the cache.
I have found that on all my haswells I can just leave the cache at 40 and forget about it.

 

[caddi daddi]

this is my BASIC 4.8 all core bios setup, you might need a change in voltage but this will give you an idea on where to start.

 

[i6pwr]

Good info....thanks.

Does speedstep and turbo enable automatically when a manual OC is set? Does it matter if they are on or off for the stress tests?

 

[caddi daddi]

on my end it's all up to you, I prefer them on so try it both ways.
the other thing to do as you get to the higher clocks and get unstable is to disable hyper threading.

 

[EarthDog]

Good info....thanks.

Does speedstep and turbo enable automatically when a manual OC is set? Does it matter if they are on or off for the stress tests?

we leave those off out of the gate as they can cause instability..it's best to leave it off initially. A lot of people disable, get a stable overclock, and re-enable.

 

[i6pwr]

Ok, I may try both ways.

I did notice that when I set the multiplier to 46 and disabled speed step and turbo, my cpu was at 4000 based on the ASROCK tuner.

Does "CPU OC FIXED MODE" need to be enabled or leave on AUTO? I'm currently running the test with turbo on @46 but just curious.

 

[EarthDog]

Leave turbo enabled, disable sleep states, etc...C1E, c states...

 

[i6pwr]

As far as temps go, are we more concerned about the single cpu temp or individual cores? I understand if one core is blazing hot and the others aren't then that's different.

Fort the most part each core jumps around and peaks for a couple seconds but seems #2 likes to be a few deg warmer most of the time.

The single CPU temp reading stayed between 66-68 deg.