First OC

[lxgoldsmith]

I have learned a lot about overclocking from this forum. I learned almost all I needed to know about setting up my first rig. I am all set up and it has been quite stable. Now, I want to overclock experimentally. I don't really need to, it runs just fine. I really want to do it for experience and a way to spend my time today.

I know a lot about overclocking, and I need to pull my punches because I smudged the thermal paste a bit. my finger slipped on the paste, and I didn't wipe it clean before putting more on and installing.

I use CM storm enforcer, GA z77x d3h (f10), i5 3570k, and hyper 212 evo. In BIOS, my temp hovers around 30C or a few higher. In speedfan, it's a bit higher, probably because the system is on, not just bios.

Where should I start? at what temp should I stop?

I don't want to push it all the way on my first OC.

 

[lxgoldsmith]

nothing?

 

[steddora]

Start by how you've learned. Read the guides here and go with the flow. Overclocking those chips is easy as pie. Getting a high stable clock is where it gets tricky. Learn to set voltages and set a fixed voltage and slowly increase the multiplier from there.

But know what you're doing first. If you send 1.9v into that chip you'll make an expensive paper weight. So read up on the motherboard and processor and learn what you'll need to do.

 

[lxgoldsmith]

do I use a single clock speed for everything or change the turbo settings?

 

[steddora]

People have different preferences. I personally hate Turbo and run at a multiplier of my choice and take my voltage to the lowest stable (20 Intel Burn Test Runs / 4 hours Prime 95 Blend) voltage. I'll then boost the voltage by a small hair and call it a day. (small hair is about like this... 1.150 to 1.160. Biggest thing is to know the processor and the motherboard and what kind of voltages to work with. If I was clocking a 3570k I wouldn't start at anything higher than 1.1v with a 33x multiplier. I'd do ten runs of intel burn test and if it passed I'd go to 34x multiplier and try that and repeat until I either hit 70C on the temperature near the end of the tests or it becomes unstable.

 

[lxgoldsmith]

I'll keep turbo for a fall back in case I run too hot in cpu intensive applications, but I will definitely change the clock. the clock is already at 3.4 GHz, so I'll need to go above that.

 

[lxgoldsmith]

Best answer selected by lxgoldsmith.

 

[steddora]

Yep slow baby steps is all you need. If you wonder about something, remember Google is like having the most awesome overclocker who has overclocked millions of systems, sitting beside you.

 

[lxgoldsmith]

Got started this morning, auto voltage w/ mobo, 3.8ghz (+.2), but msinfo still says i5 3.4ghz

 

[lxgoldsmith]

fixed, running at 4.2 on 1 core, 4.1 on 2 cores, 3.9 on 3 cores, and 3.8 on 4 cores, 3.8 is my base clock, and I usually run around 4 ghz. I shortened memory timings to advertised speed, but the memory wouldn't jump to 1866. I assume that would require a higher voltage.

 

[steddora]

If you have 1600mhz ram, I advise sticking to that speed as it's not that much of a gain to 1866, and honestly that overclock on ram isn't going to play nice with nice timings on most 1600 chips.

Sounds like you're running turbo multipler changes. Not a bad idea. However that processor could probably go to 4.0Ghz and run turbo above that. I however hate the idea of turbo and refuse to use it. I am personally sitting at 4.0Ghz as my power saving setup and love it. When I go to play some games later I'll be holding 4.4Ghz and running a little hotter.

 

[lxgoldsmith]

right now, I'm running 4.2ghz. windows index doesn't change at all from 7.6 for calc/sec, so I don't know if overclocking is doing anything for me.

 

[steddora]

WEI is a joke. LOL I don't change from 3.4Ghz to 4.4Ghz and I get 7.7 with my older 2600k. LOL

Try using something more efficient to test your performance. I don't even use anything as I know that 3.4 billion cycles per second aren't near as many as 4.4 billion. LOL

 

[lxgoldsmith]

should I try to oc the integrated graphics?

 

[steddora]

I wouldn't personally. If you're on the IGP and need more performance, it's time for a dedicated card.