CPU: Intel i7 3770K
Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 (Indigo Extreme TIM)
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V Deluxe
RAM: 32GB G.Skill Ripjaws X CAS9
GPU: EVGA GTX670 FTW x2 SLI
So, I had my system running rock-solid for nearly two years at 4.4ghz with around a 1.250 vcore and temps at 70C-80C. But earlier this month it grew unstable. I was told that I would not get it stable again without increasing the voltage... but that doing that would degrade the CPU even faster now that it has already grown unstable. So I decided to reset my CMOS (and install about a year's worth of BIOS updates for my motherboard) and slowly up the multiplier with a stock vCore... upping the multiplier one step at a time if the OC seems stable, and the vcore by a small step if it's not, and see how far I can go without pushing as much power as last time.
I also went over every power setting with a fine-tooth comb and manually set many of the power settings from the "Auto" most defaulted to, since Asus appears to MASSIVELY over-compensate when you let it attempt to automatically control anything. Also lowered some of the voltage regulating settings from my last OC attempt, such as setting my CPU Current Capability to 120% instead of the 140% it was at before.
What I noticed though.... and I have no idea if this is normal or not, is that my vCore was still going up on it's own even when the only setting I was changing anymore was the CPU multiplier.
At a multiplier of x36 it maxed out at around 1.144
At a multiplier of x37 it maxed out at around 1.152 - 1.160 (Might have hit 1.168, not sure)
And at a multiplier of x38, it jumped quite considerably to 1.192 - 1.200
Shouldn't the vCore not be going up at all with manual settings if I am only increasing the multiplier? Also, considering I had it at 4.4ghz stable with a vCore of 1.250, I obviously don't want to hit 1.250 again, but it came close with a mere x38 multiplier! Why did it even jump so much from x37 to x38, and why did it even increase at all?
When I reset my CMOS and set everything to default, not even using an X.M.P. profile, it operated at a max of 3.7ghz with a vcore of 1.144 - 1.160 still! ... come to think of it, isn't the 3770K supposed to have a turbo of 3.9ghz? Why am I only getting up to 3.7 on stock settings?
Here are my settings when I am attempting to re-do my overclock:
http://i.imgur.com/PvRM5YJ.png