I've never overclocked before..what can I do?

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
NumbrXerr0

NumbrXerr0

Distinguished
BANNED
Dec 25, 2015
62
0
18,540
I've never really felt the need to OC before, but recently I'm starting to struggle a bit with newer games. All fully playable on max/high, but some don't quite hit the right numbers.

OS: Windows 10
CPU: Intel i7-4770 @3.40GHz
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 8GB
RAM: CORSAIR Vengeance Pro 16GN DDR3 1600
PSU: XFX-TS 550W 80 Gold
MoBo: MSI Z97S SLI Krait Edition

I have no clue what I can/can't do. I know there are specific types of parts meant for overclocking, such as the "K" edition CPUs, but is there anything that can be done with my hardware? I'm at a place where it isn't worth the money to upgrade anything at this time, but could still use that upgrade anyways.

One of my main concerns right now is RAM. I've recently started emulating a Wii U on my PC, since I can get higher resolution and more graphical options than I can on my actual console. It runs decently, being an emulation and all, but my RAM usage goes up to 80+% easily. I'd like to OC whatever possible, but RAM would be a good starting point for what I need right now.
 
Solution
feelinfroggy777
Sort by date Sort by votes
mcconkeymike

mcconkeymike

Distinguished
Dec 31, 2007
1,060
1
19,960
You won't be able to overclock your CPU, not a K edition. You might be able to overclock your GPU with something like MSI Afterburner, but do some research before you just jump in head first, you could jack up your GPU. 16gb of RAM "should" be sufficient for dang near anything nowadays, but if you are maxing out what you've got, you might need an upgrade.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
feelinfroggy777

feelinfroggy777

Glorious
Dec 13, 2016
5,721
135
45,990
You wont be able to overclock your CPU. You can overclock your RAM, but dont expect huge performance boost. Intel CPUs dont see a big performance boost with higher speed RAM.

RAM is simple, just go into your bios and enable XMP. Just google your motherboard and how to enable XMP. XMP is just a one click RAM overclock.

You can also overclock your GPU. This is where you will see some performance gains, but still 5-10% boost. Here is a good guide to GPU overclocking.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUEMS-B1Siw

But you have a very capable system and should not have any problems running the latest games. You have more than enough RAM and the 4770 is a very capable CPU. There may be an underlying issue causing performance loss. I would go to userbenchmark.com and post the link of your results here. It will tell us how each component is performing.

Additionally, you cant expect emulations of a Wii U to run well on any PC. How is your performance from Windows supported games on Steam?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
WildCard999

WildCard999

Titan
Moderator
Jul 18, 2014
21,771
1,935
93,640
^^^In addition to what others have stated you could create a aggressive fan profile for that 1070 and then increase the power limit, Nvidia GPU boost will automatically increase the boost clock speed which should give you a few extra FPS. It's not as detailed as a manual overclock but still works well.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
NumbrXerr0

NumbrXerr0

Distinguished
BANNED
Dec 25, 2015
62
0
18,540
Thanks guys, I appreciate the input. Too bad about the CPU, but I did turn on XMP in the BIOS and I am getting a bit better performance. I'll look into my GPU next. I run most windows games at 60fps on max, minus some titles like Wildlands and other big open word titles. I have to knock those down a notch and even then I get some FPS hiccups.

As for the emulation, I know they run like crap, but I've seen the videos on people running Breath of the Wild at 4k 60fps. I know I can't do that with my setup, I feel like I should get more than an average of 22 FPS. The emulator is apparently very heavy on CPU and RAM. After turning on XMP, I did get a few FPS boost, so that's a good start. Unfortunately I don't think overclocking my GPU will help much with that. It should with other games however.

http://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/6374695

There are my results. It seems like my HDD and RAM are the two things really holding me back.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
mcconkeymike

mcconkeymike

Distinguished
Dec 31, 2007
1,060
1
19,960
I would say that you definitely need an SSD to have Windows installed on. While it may or may not help with your game performance (probably not), it will make your computer feel way more responsive. Oh and if you do get one, make sure you do a fresh install of Windows.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
feelinfroggy777

feelinfroggy777

Glorious
Dec 13, 2016
5,721
135
45,990


You also have high background processes going on. The userbenchmark shows 15% background processes. This essentially means that 15% of your CPU is being used through various programs. So when you are playing BotW, make sure you are turning off your background processes through task manager.

Your RAM is really under performing as well, even without XMP enabled. I would flash your bios, pending on the revision, it can increase performance particularly with RAM. I would also check with your mobo manual and make sure the RAM DIMMS are in the correct position. If they are not each in the right slot, it will run in single channel instead of dual channel.

I second the motion for an SSD. It does not always translate into better fps, but it will make your entire PC experience exponentially better. You have a very nice system and it deserves a SSD. The Samsung 850 EVO is the most popular SSD in the world and is competitive in pricing.

Lastly, you may want to do a scan with Malwarebytes and Antivirus. It does not appear that you have a virus that is impacting performance from what I can see, but CEMU is not also the Virgin Mary. CEMU gets around in a lot of very dark places on the internet so you should keep your PC up to date on all her shots and vaccines.

Good luck man!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Solution
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom