Overclocking my i5 2550k to a safe 4.0GHz

[viKierannx]

Hello everyone,

I was looking into overclocking my i5 2550k to a safe 4GHz as the current clock is stock @ 3.4GHz.

I use the Gigabyte GA-Z68AP-D3 motherboard and my CPU Cooler is my Gelid Tranquillo Rev.2

Now I'm such a newbie when it comes to OC'ing and I wouldn't know where to begin, what settings I should change etc; so I'm asking if someone could nicely tell me how it's done. I've seen a couple of guides on YouTube and they use either ASUS or ASRock motherboards and I can't locate some of the stuff they use in my BIOS as it's completely laid out differently.

Any advice will be very helpful

Regards,

Kieran

 

[cbrunnem]

all you have to do for that overclock is literally change the multiplier to 40

 

[viKierannx]

all you have to do for that overclock is literally change the multiplier to 40

Right okay I went into my BIOS and hit M.I.T (Motherboard Intelligent Tweaker - Or something like that ) hit Advanced Frequency Settings and then hit CPU Clock which was set to x34 I changed it to x40, saved and exited the BIOS. Booted up and then when rendering a video on Sony Vegas put the CPU at about 95% Load it shown on CPU-Z that in the;

'Clocks (Core #0)' Section + Core Voltage

- Core Speed = 4012.02MHz
- Multiplier = x 40.0
- Bus Speed = 100.3MHz
- Core Voltage = 1.284 V

During this I loaded up CoreTemp and in the section 'Processor #0: Temperature Readings' these were the results

- Tj. Max = 101C
- Power = 63.4 Watts
- Core #0 = 50C (Min: 33C - Max: 51C - Load: 97%)
- Core #1 = 51C (Min: 30C - Max: 51C - Load: 92%)
- Core #2 = 48C (Min: 29C - Max: 50C - Load: 89%)
- Core #3 = 51C (Min: 35C - Max: 52C - Load: 95%)

So with all of the above have I made a successful overclock? I have not had the BSOD, the temps look okay to me (But that's me ) and the core speed says 4GHz, and I did as you said and all I changed was the CPU Clock from x32 to x40.

So the BIOS wouldn't have changed anything else on it's own would it from me doing this?

Regards,

Kieran

 

[Z1NONLY]

It looks good but the voltages are probably higher than they need to be.

 

[viKierannx]

It looks good but the voltages are probably higher than they need to be.

Ah I didn't touch the voltages mate, all I changed was the multiplier and that was all I didn't want to mess with the voltages, so I guess there set to auto or something.

 

[Z1NONLY]

Motherboards generally increase voltage as the CPU speed increases. They often err on the side of stability rather than longevity.

1.284v under load is probably over 1.3v with a light load or no load. (between C states)

You could probably remain stable at that frequency with less voltage. I'm at 4Ghz with my 2600k, and full-load voltage is ~1.2v. (It goes as high as 1.240v for moments between states and loads though)

 

[viKierannx]

manual quick clock:
* disable IGP so now Virtu can't be enabled (unless you want it, I don't)
* hit multiplier to 42
* disable turbo boost
* disable speed spectrum
* disable internal PPL overvoltage
* long and short duration times, set them both to 150...
* make sure power saving features are enabled:
C1E, C3/C6, CPU EIST
* set hardware monitor | fans no less than 62.5%
* XMP RAM
* save and exit
* boot into windows

check temps and decide if you want to go for higher clock..
it's a 'K' series processor, it's that easy to do..

That's some good information! I don't have an IGP on my 2550k anyway and when you say XMP RAM do you mean enable it?

Regards,

Kieran

 

[viKierannx]

Motherboards generally increase voltage as the CPU speed increases. They often err on the side of stability rather than longevity.

1.284v under load is probably over 1.3v with a light load or no load. (between C states)

You could probably remain stable at that frequency with less voltage. I'm at 4Ghz with my 2600k, and full-load voltage is ~1.2v. (It goes as high as 1.240v for moments between states and loads though)

Okay but isn't every chip different? So are you suggesting I change the voltage to 1.2v and see if that's stable? and If it BSOD's what do I do?

Thanks,

Kieran

 

[Z1NONLY]

Every chip is different. The lower you can get the vcore while keeping stability, the better.

I would try a negative offset to bring the voltage down to about 1.2 under load, and see if it's stable. If not, change the offset a little (moving the vcore back up) and retest. Using an offset (And keeping speedstep, and C states enabled)allows the voltage to drop even further when the CPU down-clocks at idle.

You might be able to get stable with less than 1.2v. You may need a little more. But I doubt you need 1.284 under load for that clock speed.

 

[viKierannx]

Every chip is different. The lower you can get the vcore while keeping stability, the better.

I would try a negative offset to bring the voltage down to about 1.2 under load, and see if it's stable. If not, change the offset a little (moving the vcore back up) and retest. Using an offset (And keeping speedstep, and C states enabled)allows the voltage to drop even further when the CPU down-clocks at idle.

You might be able to get stable with less than 1.2v. You may need a little more. But I doubt you need 1.284 under load for that clock speed.

So let's say I didn't change it, would it do the CPU any harm? Or would it just use more power?

I have to find that first in my BIOS lol, and that sounds confusing to me So do I put -x.xx?

Regards,

Kieran

 

[viKierannx]

what RAM do you have.?

8GB G.Skill RipJawsX @ 1600MHz

 

[viKierannx]

Right guys I have just done an overclock to 4.5Ghz and just changing the CPU Clock to x45 now this time I used CineBench which put all 4 cores under 100% load and these were the results;

CPU-Z Readings:

'Clocks (Core #0)' Section + Core Voltage

- Core Speed = 4513.46MHz
- Multiplier = x 45.0
- Bus Speed = 100.3MHz
- Core Voltage = 1.284 V

During this I again loaded up CoreTemp and in the section 'Processor #0: Temperature Readings' these were the results

- Tj. Max = 101C
- Power = 77.5 Watts
- Core #0 = 53C (Min: 25C - Max: 53C - Load: 100%)
- Core #1 = 55C (Min: 25C - Max: 55C - Load: 100%)
- Core #2 = 52C (Min: 25C - Max: 53C - Load: 100%)
- Core #3 = 55C (Min: 25C - Max: 55C - Load: 100%)

Again I did not change the voltage and for this OverClock, should I change the voltage? As it stayed at 1.284 V and in my opinion with this overclock that is enough voltage for a 4.5GHz OC but I could be wrong as I'm new to all this.

And are the temperatures okay? I'm not OC'ing anymore and this is my limit so does everything look okay?

Regards,

Kieran

 

[Z1NONLY]

So let's say I didn't change it, would it do the CPU any harm? Or would it just use more power?

I have to find that first in my BIOS lol, and that sounds confusing to me So do I put -x.xx?

Regards,

Kieran

Offset is just a matter of entering the amount of voltage you want added or subtracted from the default voltage the MB intends to send the CPU.

For me, it -0.075.

More voltage = more "wear and tear" on your CPU. So a shorter life span than if you ran a lower voltage.

How much shorter is unknown. If you plan to upgrade in a few years, it may not even matter.


Also, Cinebench doesn't stress your CPU as much as prime 95 or intel burn test. (Not all 100% usages are the same)

 

[viKierannx]

Offset is just a matter of entering the amount of voltage you want added or subtracted from the default voltage the MB intends to send the CPU.

For me, it -0.075.

More voltage = more "wear and tear" on your CPU. So a shorter life span than if you ran a lower voltage.

How much shorter is unknown. If you plan to upgrade in a few years, it may not even matter.


Also, Cinebench doesn't stress your CPU as much as prime 95 or intel burn test. (Not all 100% usages are the same)

Right everyone I did some more testing and when using my capture card program (Xbox 360) I got BSOD! Now the program is known to this error but I thought it was my CPU. Anyway using the same 4.5GHz I used IntelBurnTest and when I clicked start my temps went straight to 69C and my CPU Max Temp was 72C :O So I stopped the test right away!

So I went back down to 4GHz and this time used Prime95 as Ive read some reviews saying this is really good and as you guys have recommended! Now the image below shows my temps when it was about 3/4 way into my Prime95 test.



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

And to confirm when it ended, it ended with no errors or warnings! So what do you think of my temps guys? Using the Gelid Tranquillo Rev.2. I think if I want to OC more then it might be watercooling for me

Regards,

Kieran

 

[viKierannx]

72C isn't all that bad TBH.

Sorry man I guess I should have said, thats what's Intel say is the highest temp before it could blow up or fry.

 

[rogigor]

Do what the verbalizer wrote - he helped me as well.

Anyway it it helps you here's my Oveclocking for now:

multiplier 39 (3,9Ghz)
Turboboost - +0,005V
CPU Voltage - offset -0,020V
Spread Spectrum Disabled
CPU PPL Voltage disabled
long and short duration times 300
C1E enabled
Intel speedstep enabled
CPU C3 State Support: Disabled
CPU C6 State Support: Disabled
Package C State Support: Disabled

1,5H running prime95 blend test and everything was fine, temps max 62-63C, cpu-z showed 1,246V.

 

[4Ryan6]

Hello everyone,

I was looking into overclocking my i5 2550k to a safe 4GHz as the current clock is stock @ 3.4GHz.

I use the Gigabyte GA-Z68AP-D3 motherboard and my CPU Cooler is my Gelid Tranquillo Rev.2

Now I'm such a newbie when it comes to OC'ing and I wouldn't know where to begin, what settings I should change etc; so I'm asking if someone could nicely tell me how it's done. I've seen a couple of guides on YouTube and they use either ASUS or ASRock motherboards and I can't locate some of the stuff they use in my BIOS as it's completely laid out differently.

Any advice will be very helpful

Regards,

Kieran

If you are intending on overclocking you should study some guides relating to your platform, so you know what you are doing, all these quick fixes you're getting do not resolve temperature throttling, or guarantee your stability.

It's kinda like being handed a cheat sheet in school, you know no more than the last guy that didn't know squat that passed on the cheat sheet.

Do yourself a favor and if you intend overclocking learn what you're doing first and then do it, it's your hardware you'll be damaging with the wrong information.

There are guides here at THGF and you can Google guides across the net, some that are probably even motherboard specific.

Overclocking no matter how complicated is not a cookie cutter application as all hardware is different, what works for one may or may not work for your hardware.

If you don't get a solid foundation under your feet now in the beginning curiosity days of of you entertaining overclocking, what will you do when there are no cheat sheets.

Learn First Then Do! Ryan

 

[Murissokah]

Sorry man I guess I should have said, thats what's Intel say is the highest temp before it could blow up or fry.

No such thing. Tcase is the specified highest temperature for the metal encasing. What actually rules the CPUs thermal monitoring is the distance to Tjmax, which is what the motherboard actually reads. The temperature may reach a good 20 ºC over Tcase before a THERMTRIP# instruction is sent and the CPU shuts down. Blowing up (?) or frying (?), by which you must mean the CPU being damaged from overheating, is actually very hard to do, even intentionally.

These rated temperatures are the operating limits, for which the CPU was designed. Intel states that going over the operating limits may reduce the designed lifetime. To actually damage the CPU on a short-term temperature rise, it would need to heat up over the absolute maximum temperatures, which are usually around 100 ºC.

source: http://www.overclock.net/t/476469/the-truth-about-temperatures-and-voltages