DarkSable said:
No. You should not be using any sort of software or motherboard "easy button."
You also don't have to worry about the sweet spot - that's for if you're flat out maxing your chip, which is a good .4-.5 GHz above your target.
That's correct - you should be changing the frequency only, not the BLCK.
No. Your target is low enough that you SHOULD be able to hit it without increasing voltage, so don't start (actually, don't ever start) an overclock by increasing voltage just because you think you need to.
This last bit is correct, but there are two things to keep in mind: One, you need to stress test your CPU for at least 6 hours, recommended overnight. Second, if you DO have to increase your voltage, do it in very very very tiny amounts - hundredths of a volt at a time. (Voltage too high can not only cause crashes, but break things - voltage too low will never hurt something, just not power it enough. And for an ivy bridge chip, don't go over 1.30v)
1) There's a guide right here on tom's forums for overclocking, but not for that specific motherboard - I'd recommend you use the BIOS anyways. (It should have an option to switch from UEFI to BIOS.)
2) Like I said, do NOT touch your voltage until you've established your overclock is unstable. More voltage = more heat, and heat is your enemy. Increase voltage, if you have to, in increments of .02v or so. Don't go over 1.3 - if you aren't stable there, reduce your overclock rather than increase your vcore.
3) Exactly - you should aim to get the minimum vcore possible. Here's the thing though: it's more than likely you can just set the multiplier to 40 and be done with it - that's not an unlikely number to hit on stock voltage. If you can, then it's up to you whether you want to undervolt or not. It has some minor advantages, and bragging rights, but that's about it.
4) That depends on how you set your voltage. I personally like to use the vcore only, because that guarentees my chip gets the amount of power I say it should; other people like to use the vcore offset, which only gives power when the cpu is under load. (And keep in mind the offset is added to the vcore, so it shouldn't be anywhere near 1.3v, it should be 1.3v minus whatever your vcore is, maximum.)
5) XMP is an easy way to overclock your ram; that's it. Your RAM doesn't need to be overclocked to accommodate a cpu overclock; it's just something you can to to eke out a bit more speed. XMP is a pretty easy way to do it, if you have decent ram.
6) Don't worry about that. That's only an issue if you're an extreme overclocker doing it as a hobby, usually with water cooling or, say, liquid nitrogen.
7) DRAM voltage is the power going to your ram - this usually shouldn't go above 1.5v, if you're overclocking your ram yourself. You can undervolt the other two if you want to to reduce heat, but you shouldn't increase them - they control 'underbelly' parts of the CPU, if you will, such as memory controllers. Generally it's better not to touch them.
Thanks so much for taking the time to write all of this! I really appreciate it. That answered most of my questions!
I read and I am thinking of following this guide:
http://rog.asus.com/184142012/maximus-v-motherboards/gu...
I hear using the uefi is probably the best way to OC my chip. Since I am not OCing too intensively, I shouldnt have to look at the LLC, right? I just set the Ai Overclock tuner to XMP (since i would like to oc my ram too; might as well), and then change the core ratio limit to 40, and it should be ok, right? Test with CPU-Z and prime to test stability; and im done?
Also, does the OCing in the guide result in a fluctuating cpu frequency and voltage, or is it stable at one speed? For example, if i set the multiplier to 40 (4.0 ghz) and cpu voltage to 1.10, does my computer stay 4.0ghz and 1.10v regardless of under load or idle, or does it wind down if idle? Basically, is it offset or not? And is there a way to change it to and from being an offset setting?