6 years old i7 870 OC challenge for GTX970 upgrade need help

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isisisaac

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Hi first time post, newbie in OC. I just got myself a Zotac GTX 970 (upgraded from GTX 460). I read some info about my i7 870 at stock spd of 2.93 Ghz might bottleneck my GTX 970.

So I followed some guidance to oc my i7 870 with strange result.

ref. Stock speed = BClk 133 X 24 = 3192 Mhz HyperThread (HT) disabled


case 1: BCLK 190 X 21 = 3990 Mhz HT disabled. IntelBurnTest 10 loop CPU at 97 Degree
case 2: BCLK 180 X 22 = 3960 Mhz HT disabled. IntelBurnTest 10 loop CPU at 96 Degree

As you can see above the CPU is def. too hot. HOWEVER, if I get the same CPU speed by using lower BClk and higher ratio, the CPU is no longer that HOT and I pass the 10 loop IntelSpeedBurn test.



I attached my CPU-Z, can you please let me know if that's okay?? Coz normally people use base clock of 200Mhz...

My Current setting is 160 X 24 = 3.84Ghz, IntelSPeedBurn test 10 loop max Temp at 87C


all my settings are in this link. Many Many thanks!
ALL MY Settings from CPUZ

39v0vIS.jpg

kU8PCAD.jpg

by the way, now my 3D Mark FireStrike is 92xx marks, I assume my CPU is fine for now?
 
Solution
Shneiky
An example of bottleneck would be if you were running a Core 2 Duo, or a Pentium G.

Yes, a new CPU (and motherboard for it) can give you more FPS, but that is case dependent.

Witcher 3 is well threaded, So I will advise you to lower the clock to around 3.5 GHz and enable Hyper-Threading. Check the FPS then and tell us if there is an improvement. And a GTX 970 can't max all games at 1080. Some games have ridiculous anti-aliasing setting.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/8568/the-geforce-gtx-970-review-feat-evga/5

Look at the Company of Heroes 2 - 1920x1080 - Min. Frame Rate with medium Anti-Aliasing. The 970 manages 38 fps.
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isisisaac

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I have a Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus that I used 5 years ago.... never change it.
Even before when I didnt OC, intelBurnTest will give a 76 degress to my CPU.

WIth my latest setting 160x24 = 3.84Ghz, IntelBurnTest gives 87 degree max.

idle with temp 37 Degree
 
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isisisaac

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which case do you mean it's too hot? during IntelBurnTest?

with my current setting (CPUZ picture above), IntelBurnTest will give 87 degree at max but IntelBurnTest is really stressing a lot.
for 3D Mark I will get 5x to 6x Max at 70 degree for CPU physics test.
 
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lodders

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Hyper Pi or cinebench render test are both real world 100% CPU load tests which should give you an accurate idea of how hot your CPU will get in real world heavy use.
If it goes much over 70C, you need new thermal paste or a new cooler.
 
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G-star93

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Yes for intel burn test that's too hot even on stock speeds. But in real life scenarios(games rendering etc) you will get couple degrees less, 5-10c degrees less so around 60-65 in games. And i wouldn't go over 70 in games, so that doesnt really give you much OC room. What about GPU usage in games, to how many % does it get? Or how do you know it's bottlenecking?
 
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isisisaac

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actually I really have no clue about bottlenecking, but I have searched before that it could be the case as i7 870 is old already, hence people suggest me to overclock it to around 4Ghz.

I can find the proof here.

Gaming_01.png

Gaming_02.png

Source: Bottleneck

I think the Hyper 212+ cannot be so bad, but I have been using it for 6 years, maybe the cooling cream (between heatsink and CPU) has all been gone? Do you have any suggestion?

Besides from the CPU heat, it works fine.

And what do you think about the strange setting? 160 X 24 = 3.84Ghz? because normally people use 200 base clock...

THanks
 
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G-star93

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This benchmarks are BS I've seen it already. There maybe will be a small bottleneck but you will still be able to play everything. Then why don't you use 200 base clock? And also turn on hyperthreading. Why dissabling it?
 
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isisisaac

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thanks for the reply. as long as it's above 60 fps I do not care about the bottleneck, but it looks like for GTA V I do have a bit of bottleneck.

sorry I dont mean HT, I mean Intel Turbo Boost....

I wish I can use 200 Base clk, but like I said before using 200 x 20 = 4Ghz will make my CPU having 9x degree during IntelburnTest, while using 160 X 24 = 3.84 Ghz I do not have such high heating problem...

from your point of view, should I just not OC and use the stock speed 3.2 Ghz and wait for the next upgrade instead?
 
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Shneiky

Shneiky

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isisisaac,

Let me clarify what what a "bottleneck" is. A bottleneck in computer is used when a subsystem does not allow other components to utilize all of its resources. Or in this sense - too weak of CPU will not let a video card stretch its legs.

Your CPU will not bottleneck a GTX 970. Your CPU has lower performance than modern CPUs - that is for sure. But your video card will be fully utilized. In the end - you get less FPS NOT because your CPU is bottlenecking your card. You get less FPS because your CPU just computes less.

In the end - I will advise you to clock your I7 at around 3.5 GHz and turn on hyperthreading. LGA 1156 I7s are know to be not good clockers. It was just how Intel made the architecture. They don't handle high clocks very well with time. That is also why it is the only socket to see only 1 generation. Intel phased LGA 1156 very quickly.
 
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isisisaac

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THanks everyone for the answer and the explaination from Shneiky.

@Shneiky, then can you give an example of when a CPU might bottleneck a GTX 970?

I am now using 160 X 24 = 3.84Ghz with HT on. Windows and 3D mark reports only 3.5Ghz (160 X22), but when I use IntelBurnTest I can see that all 4 cores are using ratio 24 = 3.84ghz. Anyway, I run 30 mins of IntelBurnTest with Max Temp at 87. WHen I play game like Witcher 3 I see CPU temp max at only 68. While my GTX 970 is max at 80.

I know that I could have re-install the CPU cooler and apply some new "gel" coz it has been 6, 7 years. But I think it has been working like this, maybe I should just let it run with current setting at 3.84Ghz until it dies then I can upgrade to a new platform later. What's your honest advice?

PS: Well Tomshardware said a GTX 970 should able to max all game at 1080 so I was expecting a higher FPS, at the moment if I max Witcher 3 for example I only get 4x fps. Based on some other benchmark I can see that an upgrade of CPU can help.

 
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Shneiky

Shneiky

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An example of bottleneck would be if you were running a Core 2 Duo, or a Pentium G.

Yes, a new CPU (and motherboard for it) can give you more FPS, but that is case dependent.

Witcher 3 is well threaded, So I will advise you to lower the clock to around 3.5 GHz and enable Hyper-Threading. Check the FPS then and tell us if there is an improvement. And a GTX 970 can't max all games at 1080. Some games have ridiculous anti-aliasing setting.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/8568/the-geforce-gtx-970-review-feat-evga/5

Look at the Company of Heroes 2 - 1920x1080 - Min. Frame Rate with medium Anti-Aliasing. The 970 manages 38 fps.
 
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Solution
P

prollie

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5+ years is a long time for thermal compound (the conductive material between your CPU and heatsink/cooler). It has likely degregated some.

First off - take off your cooler. clean the fans and the especially the cooler itself. There is a massive ammount of surface area in it - but if its caked with dust, the air from the fans doesn't properly reach the metal, thus the cooler is much less capable of transporting the heat away. Metal is a very good thermal conductor, dust - is definitely not. Next, clean both mating surfaces well, prefferably with isopropyl alcohol, to get all traces of the old thermal compound gone. Apply "fresh" thermal compund (this stuff has a shelf life) - there are tons of tips on this around . Don't overdo it - its purose is only to fill the microscopic pits and crevices on the two metal surfaces for better contact - not ooze out and into you CPU socket or over your motherboard.

Hopefully this alone should show much better temps. But as mentioned above, you might want to dial the OC a little bit down, the chip is getting old (and if you could afford a good upgrade now, we wouldn't be having this conversation - so it would be prefferable if the CPU survives a bit longer).

I also advice you check the temps on your GPU. If heat from the cpu isn't being transported out properly, everything else around it will eventually heat up. Its not impossible that your GPU is thermal throttling some. I might very well not, but it doesn't take much work to check the temps when the CPU is that hot and your framerates hits the wall.
 
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