Overclocking 3570k Questions

[Tums]

Hi there,

I plan on OCing my 3570k to 4.0ghz and I am a noob at OCing. I want to speed up my processor, but I dont want too much heat. I have done some reading online but I still don't quite understand the OCing procedure. My specs are:
asus sabertooth z77
Gskill Ripjaws f3-12800cl10d-16gbxl
corsair hx750

These are a few things I have learned:
- I should be using the Ai Tweaker in the UEFI to OC
- Every chip is made different, so the "sweet spot" is different every time.
- To increase my frequency I change the base clock multiplier
- I need to increase my cpu voltage to accommodate for higher cpu frequencies
- I should use prime95 to stress test my OC to see if it crashes. If it does, I should increase voltage, until I can stress test without crashing.

Questions:
1) Is there a guide out there that gives me a step by step tutorial to OCing my cpu with the Asus Sabertooth z77 UEFI?
2) How do I know what voltage to start with for each OC? If prime crashes or shows errors, what increments do I increase the voltage at? When do I stop?
3) If the first voltage i set is stable with my OC, should i slowly lower voltage to get the best possible temperatures? Again, by what increments do I decrease voltage by?
4) after i set my voltage, does it stay at that parameter, or does it fluctuate?
5) Should i set ai overclock tuner to XMP or manual? I understand the XMP feature OC's my ram... But does it OC my ram's frequency to best accommodate the OCing of the CPU?
6) There are other settings like CPU Load Line that I have read that I need to increase, but what does this do?
7) There are other voltage settings like DRAM voltage, VCCSA voltage, VCCIO voltage, etc. that i can change. Should I leave these auto? What is the result of changing them?

Thanks

 

[Cons29]

1. there are lot's of guides out there, just google.
2. for the voltage, start at stock if you want. just make sure you know the max voltage before you touch those settings.
3. yes you can try lowering if for example you are stable with your target clock, back it up until it is no longer stable, then step up (as little as you are allowed) until you get it stable again.
4. it will fluctuate
5. i personally dont oc my rams so i cant help much there
6. you would have to research online for a more accurate explanation.
7 again, the guide should help, google

hth

 

[DarkSable]

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.

 

[Adroid]

Hi there,

I plan on OCing my 3570k to 4.0ghz and I am a noob at OCing. I want to speed up my processor, but I dont want too much heat. I have done some reading online but I still don't quite understand the OCing procedure. My specs are:
asus sabertooth z77
Gskill Ripjaws f3-12800cl10d-16gbxl
corsair hx750

These are a few things I have learned:
- I should be using the Ai Tweaker in the UEFI to OC
- Every chip is made different, so the "sweet spot" is different every time.
- To increase my frequency I change the base clock multiplier
- I need to increase my cpu voltage to accommodate for higher cpu frequencies
- I should use prime95 to stress test my OC to see if it crashes. If it does, I should increase voltage, until I can stress test without crashing.

Questions:
1) Is there a guide out there that gives me a step by step tutorial to OCing my cpu with the Asus Sabertooth z77 UEFI?
2) How do I know what voltage to start with for each OC? If prime crashes or shows errors, what increments do I increase the voltage at? When do I stop?
3) If the first voltage i set is stable with my OC, should i slowly lower voltage to get the best possible temperatures? Again, by what increments do I decrease voltage by?
4) after i set my voltage, does it stay at that parameter, or does it fluctuate?
5) Should i set ai overclock tuner to XMP or manual? I understand the XMP feature OC's my ram... But does it OC my ram's frequency to best accommodate the OCing of the CPU?
6) There are other settings like CPU Load Line that I have read that I need to increase, but what does this do?
7) There are other voltage settings like DRAM voltage, VCCSA voltage, VCCIO voltage, etc. that i can change. Should I leave these auto? What is the result of changing them?

Thanks

About the things you have "learned"

* You should not use a software program to overclock your system. Using the BIOS is much more reliable
* You should not use the BCLK to overclock your system. BCLK Overclocks multiple components, not just your processor. Many of those components are likely not made to overclock. You should be using your unlocked CPU multiplier to overclock your CPU frequency.

Other notes:

* Yes you should read multiple guides, not just one. You are to blame if you burn your computer up - no one else!
* You should have reliable programs running when you attempt to overclock. Core Temp and CPU-Z are important. Ivy Bridge runs extremely hot, and if you are not carefull you very well may damage something.
* There is more than one way to overclock an Ivy Bridge system.
* You should use XMP to overclock your ram, BUT I don't recommend sending over 1.5V to your ram. Ivy Bridge has a delicate memory controller, and sending over 1.5V can damage it. First thing I would do is see if you bought 1.5V ram, or 1.65 ram.
* You should not touch any voltages EVER unless you know what they do. There should be only a couple voltages to mess with on a mild to moderate overclock - namely VCORE and LLC.

 

[J_E_D_70]

You need at least an Evo level aftermarket cooler (sorry if i missed that). It's real simple. Go into the bios and set the multiplier to 40 leaving everything else alone. Done. should still stress it to make sure u got the heatsink and paste on correctly.

 

[Tums]

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/guide-overclocking-the-core-i5-3570k-to-4-5ghz-on-the-maximus-v-gene/

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?

 

[J_E_D_70]

Just leave the voltage to auto unless you have some compelling reason not to. Set the mutiplier to 40. It's really that easy. Really.

Leave speedstep on and when idling the multiplier will drop to 16. No reason to run your CPU at full speed all the time.

 

[natefostersr]

I set mine to 4.4 with the mobo and never looked back works great temps are good.

 

[natefostersr]

 

[Tums]

Best answer selected by Tums.

 

[Tums]

Thanks for all your help guys

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Here's the easy answer

http://rog.asus.com/tag/z77-overclocking-guide/
http://www.cclonline.com/article/324/Preview/NoCat/Asus-Z77-Ivy-Bridge-Overclocking-Guide-with-an-Intel-3770K/
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/asus_sabertooth_z77_review,9.html

This is from the previous generation chipset but most of what is in here applies....it's the very detailed guide and from Asus employee.

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1578110

1) Is there a guide out there that gives me a step by step tutorial to OCing my cpu with the Asus Sabertooth z77 UEFI?

yes, see above Guru3D guide....it's a simple "starter guide" but you dont need a MoBo specific guide an Asus Z77 guide will do ya fine....I dont recall any differences between the Deluxe, Pro, Sabertooth and WS MoBos.

2) How do I know what voltage to start with for each OC? If prime crashes or shows errors, what increments do I increase the voltage at? When do I stop?

Let it do auto.....I never set voltage manually.... I use the LLC and offset settings

3) If the first voltage i set is stable with my OC, should i slowly lower voltage to get the best possible temperatures? Again, by what increments do I decrease voltage by?

I do ... but I lower the offsets and LLC settings

4) after i set my voltage, does it stay at that parameter, or does it fluctuate?

I prefer that it does, that's what LLC and Offset allow for

5) Should i set ai overclock tuner to XMP or manual? I understand the XMP feature OC's my ram... But does it OC my ram's frequency to best accommodate the OCing of the CPU?

I set manual

6) There are other settings like CPU Load Line that I have read that I need to increase, but what does this do?

read the HardForum guide above

7) There are other voltage settings like DRAM voltage, VCCSA voltage, VCCIO voltage, etc. that i can change. Should I leave these auto? What is the result of changing them?

I get my OC stable and then I lower the DRAM voltage to the lowest stable setting.

I also set DRAM timings manually