Overclocking on 4 power phase

Hello overclocking enthusiasts. Let me present my specs and then a question about overclocking capabilities.
Case:Aerocool Aero 800 ( 2 Corsair AF 120mm intake+1 120mm exhaust )
PSU: EVGA 650W GS
MB: Gigabyte Z97 D3H
RAM 2x4GB Corsair Vengeance 1600MHz
CPU: I5 4690K cooled by 212 EVO
GPU: MSI Gaming R9 380 2GB
Storage: 1 SSD Samsung 850EVO 120GB+ 1TB HDD WDB

My question is related to the power phase of my motherboard. I know it has a 4 phase but will that be a problem when overclocking? Guys from modders-inc got a I7 4770K to 4.4GHz with only 1.2V but needed 1.28V to reach 4.5GHz. That is pretty damn good in my opinion but can I do that with my CPU? Is it in any way dangerous? Thanks in advance for any replies.
 
Solution
Oh. You didn't ask that in your previous posts. Yes it's fine to overclock just the CPU and not the RAM. They aren't completely independent because if you wanted a 2133 RAM kit or higher, you would have to overclock the CPU to achieve that. But just the CPU alone, sure. And you are correct. The power phases for the CPU is first followed by the phases for RAM.
Overclocking on a board with minimal power phase design is not an ideal situation. Gigabyte uses solid caps which is a plus. You have a great quality power supply which is good. The 4690K is a good CPU without overclocking so you'll be working the board pretty hard for only a little gain in performance. If you want to push overclocking, a board like Gigabyte GA-Z97X-Gaming 5 or Gaming 7 that has 8 true phase power design would be a better situation. I'd keep a somewhat modest OC on a board like that and not push it too hard, bottom line.
 


So, if I OC the CPU as much as the stock voltage allows me, is that going to be a problem? Temperature are very good and inside the case my Phobya fan controller reads 24.1C-24.8C when my GPU is on idle.
 

barto

Expert
Ambassador
Arichaic59 is right. Overclocking with a minimal power phase design isn't ideal but not impossible. It really comes down to how far you want to go. I'm overclocking with an Extreme Z77M which has a 4+2 power design. I haven't pushed my CPU very hard but I'm at 4.3 Ghz with a Vcore of 1.114. Idle temps aren't as important as load temps (CPU and motherboard). I don't usually recommend overclocking on boards without 8+2 design and that's because most of the time the people who are asking about overclocking are first timers. With more power phases, it's easier to overclock because higher clocks are obtainable and temperatures are usually lower because of better cooling.
 
I do understand what you are saying and I do understand that my motherboard is not ideal for overclocking. I was asking if it is safe when overclocking just the CPU and not touching the RAM frequencies if that matters. I know that the 4 phase is for CPU and the +1 or +2 phase is for RAM, please correct me if I'm wrong.
 

barto

Expert
Ambassador
Oh. You didn't ask that in your previous posts. Yes it's fine to overclock just the CPU and not the RAM. They aren't completely independent because if you wanted a 2133 RAM kit or higher, you would have to overclock the CPU to achieve that. But just the CPU alone, sure. And you are correct. The power phases for the CPU is first followed by the phases for RAM.
 
Solution
I have just OCd the CPU to 4.0 GHZ without touching the voltages and I ran a 20 min stress test on Gigabyte Intel extreme tuning utility and passed with the temperature being at 55C during the test. I can also say that this mild OC gave me a clean and steady 10 FPS on DayZ Standalone.
 

My cpu is cooled by an 212 Evo.. I have stress tested both CPU and GPU and inside the case. the temps never reached 31 C.