first time overclocking need help (3570k)

staystoned

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Apr 4, 2013
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10,510
this is my first time overclocking at all and i read up on it and all that and got started, but encountered problems getting past 4.5 stable.
first things first, the rig
case - NZXT Phantom (orginal) with all fan spots full except the 200mm side fan and the front 140mm front fan (front is where i have my kracken so theres a fan but not much airflow)
mobo - gigabyte g1 sniper 3
cpu - i5 3570k with a NZXT Kracken X40 cooling it
ram 2x 8gb team xtreem 2400
psu - corsair HX850 (think i need a bigger one after messing with overclocking lol)
graphics - 2x evga GTX 660 ti (fastest cards they make)
512 gb ssd

ok so i started my setting vcore loadline to turbo and putting memory on XMP to get my ram running at 2400mhz @ 1.65v, then i started with the cpu since i got the others set, first i did 4.2ghz @ 1.25v and seemed stable after running 20 min tests with prime 95 and occt and my hottest core avg about 57c with a max of 64c (occt temp moniter for both tests) then i ramped it to 4.5ghz @ 1.25v and it seemed stable after the 2 quick 20 min test with almost no change in temp readings, i stopped using prime 95 after this because occt tests were working the cpu more. before i continue let me say that my basic understanding of overclocking IB is that the temp is going to set the limits and that much over 1.3v and the heat starts going up rapidly, and that all 3570k chips are a lil different due to imperfections in the manufacturing process. so i then proceeded going up to 4.7ghz @ 1.3v, booted but crashed running occt, went to 1.35v and the same, went to 1.4v and the same, (thought upping volts would solve the crashes), then i went to 4.8 @1.35, booted and crashed during occt, then tried 4.9 ghz at 1.35v / 1.375v / 1.4v / 1.425v, those all booted and crashed either in the occt or locked up before that.
After i hit 4.7ghz and couldnt get it stable i was more jsut messing around to check temps. wat i found interesting is that using occt running 4.7 / 4.9ghz @ 1.4vs is that before it crashed my temps were really low at full load like low 60s avg,
i thought that with IB you would reach the temp threshold well before anything else and that increasing volts increased heat exponentially, i read that much over 1.375 and temps got real hot but i was at 1.4v and still running really low temps.
currently im at 4.5ghz @ 1.25v while i type this and everything appears to be working fine but i want to get over that as it looks like my kracken can easily handle cooling much higher volts, but i cant get anything stable over that, is there any way i can get it faster or am i doing something wrong?

ps i tried typing this up at 4.7ghz @ 1.3v and my browser randomly closed a few times and i noticed 2 of my fans were cutting on and off, but everything is fine at 4.5 ghz @ 1.25v... could it be my power supply not being able to handle the volt increases? also might be why i was running so cold at 1.4v i didnt think to check and see wat my volts were at in occt before it crashed.
thanks for any help
 


Ah ok so now we can try and isolate the issue. You said this is your first time OCing so I'll give you some tips. When overclocking you should only do one part at a time. When you upped the base clock to 102mhz, it prevents you from finding the highest clock multiplier from your cpu. If you could reset your OC settings to default, we need to OC only one part at a time. Once that is done keep upping your clock multiplier by small increments and testing. Do this until your system crashes. Then up the voltage, and repeat. You may want to be careful when increasing voltage, as it will cause heat issues. After all that you have found your native cpu overclock. This is just your cpu being overclock so that you know what is causing the crash. Some people even like setting ram to a lower setting to make sure of stability.

Once that is found, you can move on to the frequency. Keep upping that number, starting from 100 until your system becomes unstable. Once you found the max, knock it down by 3. This will ensure, for most systems, that your PC won't act funny, aside for just crashing.

You should always test using a stress utility. Prime 95, everest, ect
Hope the info helped.
 

staystoned

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Apr 4, 2013
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10,510
i only did the 102base clcok that one time, didnt ahve it during all my tests but i think ive figured out that iw as jsut being a dumbass with the way i was doing it and did it correctly this time and i have overclock at 4.7ghz @ 1.33v that appears stable after short tests with no whea errors, gonna run a stability test overnight and then start ramping it up to hit my goal of 5ghz tomorrow. have lots of thermal head room at my current 4.7ghz @ 1.33v im running low 60c avg on my hottest core with a peak of 74c (short test temps)
 


Yeah you might go a few degrees above 74c in longer tests although you seem to be in good territory. One last tip I can give you though, try the OC in a game first than do prime95. I found that certain games like skyrim, sensitive to cpu overclocking, can help you make a more stable overclock. Lol I'm more of a safe OCer myself only going to 3.6 with my 3570k. Although I don't feel the need for more right now. I'll probably go higher when required.

Hope this helped!
 

staystoned

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Apr 4, 2013
11
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10,510
well i bought the best all in one liquid cooler so im an idiot if i dont overclock, got it to 4.7ghz @ 1.33v and its perfectly stable with no whea errors and i notice a nice boost while playing arma 2, had no trouble playing it maxed before but it just seems a lil smoother now with lower loads. might go higher as i really wanna hit 5ghz but i dont really wanna get my shit running that hot cause it will take a good bit more juice for me to get there after messing a lil today im thinking ill need damn close to 1.4 to get a stable 4.8 so gonna stay at 4.7 for a while
and my temps rose by a 4 degree avg over the 12 hour test whcih 57+4 is still very low for stress testing since games wont push anywhere near that ran arma after a few hours at a steady 42 on my hottest core
 

staystoned

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Apr 4, 2013
11
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10,510
o yea i forgot to ask you about how to go about upping the base clock, and if i do will i need voltage increases or what, cant find much to read about upping base clocks but i no a lot of OC programs use baseclocks and ratios toget target speeds, would love to no more about that, wats avg areas to get it to, if it requires shit tons of volts(heat) like a few mhz with high ratios, how it will affect my current ratio and such.
thanks
 
Ok so your right that your frequency is calculated by:

CPU Multiplier(or ratio) (X) Frequency(or base clock)
Frequency starts at 100 (for all procs. AMD and Intel)
CPU Multiplier starts at 34 (for the 3570k)

34 x 100 = 3400 or 3.4Ghz per core.

Now to answer your questions:

You should note that ivy bridge dosn't take well to extreme overclocking on non-enthusiast motherboards
http://techreport.com/news/19321/sandy-bridge-overclocking-complicated-by-common-base-clock

getting that aside, you should first start by going up by large units, typically of 5. Once the system is unstable, you can lower the other buses speeds, ala multipliers, of the other busses, like South Bridge and the such to help improve stability. You can also try bus voltage tweaks as well but those prove to have limited success. Overall, I don't think that you would be able to get a massive additional overclock with modifying the frequency but seeing as you have such a good motherboard, ya never know.

Additional things to note:

- base clock is separate from the cpu multiplier but both are the only two variables use to calculate cpu Ghz, or speed(which is a bit misleading).
- Overvolting busses to achieve a higher base clock may cause other parts of the system to struggle to keep up, which means it may make other areas of the system unstable.
- Your Power Supply is enough for your build, even with overclocking.
 

staystoned

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Apr 4, 2013
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10,510
alright thanks for all the help, ill start playing around with that tomorrow maybe, saw a few guys talk about putting the baseclock at like 200 and ratio to 24 to get 4.8ghz so im gonna see if i can squeez a few more out without going too high in volts, every bit helps... up the base clock by 6 at my current ratio and get it stable then im done, ill be over 5ghz :)
 


That would be impressive!
 

staystoned

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Apr 4, 2013
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10,510
read up on it and im not messing with the base clock as it speeds up a few buses like the pci-e, main one i dont want to up, $700 in g cards i dont wanna risk. and i was messing 4.8ghz and it wasnt stable a 1.38 so im just staying at 4.7ghz, still fast as hell and runs under 50c while playing my most intensive games, crysis 3 , farcry 3 and arma 2 all maxed. would have to pump huge volts to get a stable 5ghz or really even 4.8 so im done for now, mgiht do more if i get another water cooler and cool some buses with my gpus but until then im staying at 4.7ghz. from wat ive read thats higher than msot can get from their chips so im happy lol
 


Yeah that's a very good overclock but I would have to chalk up a part of that to your motherbaord, it's quite nice! That's what you get with the extra cash you spend on it, well spent for people who love to OC.
 

staystoned

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Apr 4, 2013
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10,510
thanks, i agree that the only reason i hit 4.7 was the mobo, funnt thing is i bought the mobo simply for the 2 pci-e x16 slots cause i didnt wanna run my cards at x8 like almost all mobos. based on the volts i need to hit anything over 4.5 i believe i got a fairly pos chip, or maybe avg, seen the good chips hit 4.7 on 1.3 volts or a few do it with less, but either way i got a decent speed with low thermals so until the next chip comes out im done lol
thor i appreciate all the info and help.