Overclocking Asrock and 3770k.

ChaseTheSun

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Hi everyone,
i am looking to overclock my 3770k to fully utilise my cpu for gaming and what not.
My specs are:
- CM storm trooper windowed case
- i7 3770k at stock speed atm
- ASRock z77 Extreme 6
- gtx 680 evga ftw+ 4gb edition
- 8gb 1600 mhz ram
- cpu cooler: Xigmatek Dark knight Night Hawk
- psu- 700 watt
- 1 SSD and 2 HDD

Plenty of case fans as well keeping it cool.

Im looking to overclock using the Bios and will want at least 4.2ghz as my overclock on air.

A complete guide of what i need to change and do to make this complete would be awesome, so addressing everything i need to do would be great.

Also just wondering do i turn off turbo boost when i go to overclock it? And will i only need to adjust the multiplier and cpu voltage for this overclock to be ok?
I also read somewhere else that if i set the cpu voltage to auto, i wont need to change it till i try to overclock past 4.4ghz, is this true?

All help will be appreciated.
 
4.2GHz is a breeze. You can do it on stock voltage. Just adjust the multiplier to 42 and you're done. You can leave the voltage on auto. Stress test it, if the voltage goes up above 1.2v then try to ween it down .01v at a time.
 

ChaseTheSun

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Ok awesome thanks for the quick response! Do i turn turbo off as well? Ive read other places saying to turn the turbo off :s. What temps should i be looking at? Also what speed eg 4.4ghz would i be looking at when ill actually have to manually change the voltage? And the only things i do have to change are the multiplier ratio and cpu voltage right? i dont have to change any other settings in the bios?
 
Yes, turbo off. Go ahead and set the Load Line Calibration to the 2nd option. I think it's level 1 or level 2. I had that exact board a few weeks ago but I can't recall if there was a level 0 or not. But it's the 2nd option you want.

Leave voltage on auto for now. Use monitoring software like HWinfo64 to get a voltage reading under load. Put the system under load with Prime95. Monitor temps and voltage. Don't let temps go over 95C. You have a decent cooler. 4.2GHz you shouldn't see much more than 70C, but it's impossible to say for sure because every chip is different.

It all depends on what voltage your individual chip requires to run each specific frequency, which takes a lot of testing and monitoring.

My current 3770K can run 4.5GHz at 1.18v. My last 3570K needed 1.4v for 4.5GHz, and I have seen dozen inbetween.

Don't let voltage exceed 1.45v, don't let temps exceed 95C. I would try to keep the temps under 90C under full load.

But for now disable turbo, set multiplier to 42, leave voltage auto, and come back here and report your results (temperatures, voltage, yes or no to stability)
 

ChaseTheSun

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I get the new cpu cooler in like 2 days so i cant wait to try and do this, cant see any reason why it would work. Thank you so much for all of your help stick! Once i get the new cooler ill let you know how it goes. Just curious though, id say i wont but would i be able to overclock to 4.2 on the stock intel cooler? because i wont actually be changing the voltage much as its set to auto so therefore it wont really change the temperature much right? Just asking lol but id say your response will be to never oc on stock fan lol, just curious :p
 
Leaving the vCore on auto will adjust the voltage. The motherboard does it for you. I like to see what the motherboard thinks I need for a low overclock like that, then if it's unstable, add a little. If it's stable, then try to lower it a little bit manually until you find the minimal voltage for that frequency.

The i7's run pretty hot, you can try it with the stock cooler, just make sure thermal protection is on so if the chip gets too hot the PC shuts itself down.
 

ChaseTheSun

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Ok stickg i havent done any overclocking yet but i do have screenshots of my current voltage, multiplier and well everything you need in the bios. Can you have a look for me and tell me exactly what i should alter first when i get my new cpu cooler in a couple of days? then once ive done it ill take the same screeenshots and let you know how it is so you can evaluate it. Really appreciate this mate.
 

ChaseTheSun

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Oh really? I was not aware that it could do that much :s Will it make much of a noticeable difference? Will it affect any of my voltage or anything like that? I was just looking at it and i was wondering is that what its capable of or is it actually that speed but i need to load the profile? and will i need to change anything else if so?
 

ChaseTheSun

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haha its a gskill ripjaws pretty sure, got em a few years ago and i didnt even realise they were obviously actually 2133mhz :s ive put them in a couple of different mobos but this is the first to say that they are 2133 :s. Im pretty excited to finally overclock my cpu, cant wait for more frames in planetside 2 :) ill let u know when i get it bud :)
 

ChaseTheSun

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ok i got it and installed it all, when i went to boot the 2133 profile it wouldnt even start lol so i stopped that. I then put the clock and nothing else to all cores at 4.2 and booted fine. Those pictures, the new ones, are of the cpu at 4.2, with nothing else changed other than the clock speed, and this is while running prime 95 before and after the overclock. A little bit after that after screen shot the temps rose shortly fort a bit to 91 degree's but that was because i had prime 95 and wam writing this to you. I also didnt turn off turbo or speedstep as ive read leaving them on is fine and the whole system seems to be stable normal as well as when i run prime 95, although it may be a touch warm. What do you think? should i not change anything at all or should i do what you are going to tell me? cant wait for your reponse mate, plz tell me everyhting i should and shouldnt do.
http://s1315.photobucket.com/user/ChaseTheSun33/library/?sort=3&page=1
 
The voltage it is giving you automatically is most likely way too high. Set it manually to 1.2v. Set Load Line Calibration to level 1. Retest. If that passes say 2 hours of Prime95 Blend then go even lower. 91C is way too hot for only a 4.2GHz OC.
 

ChaseTheSun

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ok ill test it and get back to you, whats the purpose of setting the load line calibration to 1 though? also since im now manually changing the voltage, do you reckon it would be ok to pump the speed up to 4.4 on 1.2 volts? and would i need to change anything else?
 


Load Line Calibration controls the amount of vDroop. vDroop is a common occurance with CPUs and GPUs where under load the amount of voltage drops lower than what it is set. Setting a higher LLC will counter-act this process. The goal here is to have the voltage you set, be the voltage under load, voltage fluctuations are annoying.



The only thing you should disable is Turbo, but when you go to 4.4GHz turbo is automatically disabled.



Keep trying and going for stability.
 

ChaseTheSun

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So should i have the intel speedstep on or off cause its off atm. Its stable at 1.230 volts at 4.4 ghz so im happy with it. By turning off the the speedstep, doesnt it turn the turbo off?