I5 2500k Overclocking issues

[Technically Luke]

Hey guys! Before writing a post the length of your arm with a bunch of information that may or may not be useful in it, I'm just going to cut straight to the chase. If you need any extra info, please let me know and I will be happy to provide it. Also keep in mind I'm still very new to this, so if I'm missing something obvious, or leaving out important info, please let me know.

I recently upgraded to an i5 2500k CPU after deciding I wanted to dive into the world of overclocking. Only one problem. It's been a few weeks since I started OCing my CPU, and got it up to 4.3Ghz on air (Using the Cool Master Hyper 212 EVO) I was able to run Prime95 for 12+ hours with the temps never going above 63 degrees Celsius, and usually staying within the 40-50 degree range.

I decided I wanted to see how far I could push my CPU with out raising voltages or damaging it, so I bumped it up to 4.5Ghz in my BIOS (Click BIOS II v2.3 on my MSI Z77A-G41 MOBO ) My PC failed to boot and I reset everything and went to 4.4 instead. PC booted up fine, temps were great idle (20-30 degrees) but when I ran Prime95 it Blue screened in a matter of seconds. I reset it to 4.3, and ran Prime95 with the same success I had before (12+ hours in Prime95, good temps). I decided to look for some help to try to get a higher stable overclock, and low and behold found the Tom's Hardware guide to OCing the i5 2500k and the i7 2600k. I followed it to a T, and everything went great. That is, until I got into windows to start testing for stability, opened up CPU-Z, Real Temp and Core Temp, only to find that after 3-10 seconds of opening the programs, they would show I was running at stock speeds (3.3GHz) and my temps reflect this as well.

So to clarify, in the programs I just mentioned, they would show my core frequencies to be the desired overclock, only to show stock speeds within 3-10 seconds of opening them. I reset everything in my BIOS went to 4.2GHz, and the same results. Basically, every time I try an overclock (no matter how light) I get the same results. No idea why. I have reset my motherboard settings, and tried several times, but with the same results.

That's the basic story, if you have any questions, comments or answers, please leave them below. (PC specs below)

Thanks!
Luke


MSI Z77A-G41 MOBO :: i5 2500k CPU :: MSI GTX 660 Ti Power Edition :: 16GBs Corsair Vengence @1600MHz :: Western Digital Blue SATA III 500GB Boot drive :: Western Digital Black SATA II Data Drive.

 

[unclewebb]

Did you unzip RealTemp into its own folder so it can save its settings? In the Settings / Options window does it show Disable Turbo with a check mark beside it? Make sure that box is clear. For one of these CPUs to go higher than the default multiplier, Intel Turbo Boost is required. Some motherboard bios versions hide this fact.

RealTemp T|I Edition
http://www.overclock.net/t/1330144/realtemp-t-i-edition

 

[Technically Luke]

Did you unzip RealTemp into its own folder so it can save its settings? In the Settings / Options window does it show Disable Turbo with a check mark beside it? Make sure that box is clear. For one of these CPUs to go higher than the default multiplier, Intel Turbo Boost is required. Some motherboard bios versions hide this fact.

RealTemp T|I Edition
http://www.overclock.net/t/1330144/realtemp-t-i-edition

I did have it extracted to it's own folder, but the "Disable Turbo" was checked. I also downloaded the version you linked, and my temps seem more accurate to an overclock (Showing 30 degrees Celsius instead of 8 idle)

 

[unclewebb]

I think TJ Max is 98 for most 2500K CPUs. As long as two different monitoring programs are using the same TJ Max, they should be reporting the same core temperatures.

Adjustable TJ Max was a useful feature for Core 2 CPUs but the correct TJ Max value can be read directly from all Core i CPUs so this feature is not necessary anymore and has been eliminated in the latest version of RealTemp.

 

[Technically Luke]

I think TJ Max is 98 for most 2500K CPUs. As long as two different monitoring programs are using the same TJ Max, they should be reporting the same core temperatures.

Adjustable TJ Max was a useful feature for Core 2 CPUs but the correct TJ Max value can be read directly from all Core i CPUs so this feature is not necessary anymore and has been eliminated in the latest version of RealTemp.

Reset my BIOS, left everything at stock except for the multi. Changed it to 42. Everything in Windows is showing my CPU @ 4.2GHz and running stable. If I want to go higher in overclocking, what should I do to avoid this problem in the future? I set my voltage from auto to +0.0000, I do have turbo boost and all the power saving features set to stock, but its not down-clocking. It's staying at 4.2 idle. Is this due to my voltage setting? Or is this perhaps all one big motherboard hardware/software issue I'm having?

Thanks for your help!
Luke

 

[k1114]

What is your vcore at each speed? As for the downclocking, check windows power options. Sometimes it changes settings on its own. Voltage settings won't affect it. You may need to reset cmos instead of just resetting the bios profile if that is what you are doing.

 

[Technically Luke]

What is your vcore at each speed? As for the downclocking, check windows power options. Sometimes it changes settings on its own. Voltage settings won't affect it. You may need to reset cmos instead of just resetting the bios profile if that is what you are doing.

Being the not so pro that I am. I can't find the blasted CMOS jumper. (I think that's what your talking about. Probably not.) to reset CMOS. You are correct, I have only been reseting my BIOS profile. Also, my V-core seems to always be around 1.3v or higher when I overclock. Strange, as I thought the stock was in the 1.2-1.24~ range. But then again, I'm probably doing something wrong.
Here is a quick look at everything.

http://i.imgur.com/BB4MQAU.png

 

[k1114]

~1.2 is stock range, but offset of 0 does not set it to stock voltage. Different mobos have a different base offset value. If you put the multi back to stock, does it downclock? You can reset the cmos by taking out the battery if it isn't.

Btw use the regular hwmonitor not pro.

 

[Technically Luke]

~1.2 is stock range, but offset of 0 does not set it to stock voltage. Different mobos have a different base offset value. If you put the multi back to stock, does it downclock? You can reset the cmos by taking out the battery if it isn't.

Btw use the regular hwmonitor not pro.

It does indeed downclock at stock. Also, thanks for the tip on HWMonitor, I can actually see everything now.

 

[k1114]

Apparently msi z77 boards will disable speedstep when manually setting multi. You can still achieve the same oc through changing turbo multis if you want it to downclock. It is under cpu features. If it doesn't show turbo multis, you may need to be in eco mode.

 

[Technically Luke]

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