i5 3570k @4.5ghz offset -0.020, medium CPU LLC, load voltage-1.080V, is this normal? :S

[Mickey Shen]

Hey guys,

Before I start here are my system specs:
Maximus V Formula
i5 3750k CPU
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO CPU FAN
ASUS GTX 670 DirectCU II 4gb
Kingston HyperX Predator 8gb Kit(2x4) 2400mhz
Antec HCG 620W Modular
Thermaltake Armor Revo(Stock fans + small fan from my old PC)
Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200RPM
LG Bluray Writer

Okay, after a little trial & error, this is what I've set in BIOS(V1903) is:
-Set CPU Voltage to Negative Offset
-Set CPU Power Phase Control to Optimized
-Set CPU LLC to Medium(25%)
-Set Maximum Turbo Ratio to 45
-Set Negative Offset -0.020V
-Everything else has been left on default

At the moment I've been running prime95 for about 1hr 30mins(plan on running for atleast 8hours) & everything seems smooth sailing. Volts on load are ranging from 1.072 to 1.080V, temps are ranging from 55 to 60c.
My question is, is this normal? because from the research I've done on overclocking this past week, people would be lucky to get 4.5ghz on 1.21 to 1.25V? yet I'm running 4.5 on 1.080V with pretty good temps I'd say. Do I have a good chip? maybe I shouldn't get too excited right now & wait after the 8 hours is up & see what happens?

What do you guys think?

Thanks in advance for help/advice

oh & BTW I'm using ROG CPU-Z for voltage checking & RealTemp to check temperatures.

 

[Y0GI]

From the initial indications, you have a very good chip!

Congrats!

Yogi

 

[Mickey Shen]

Thanks for the quick reply mate (Y)
I'm getting very excited LOL but really should wait til 8hours have passed on prime95 torture test. What about my other settings, do they seem alright? from what i've read up, every chip is different, so different set ups work with different chips.

What do you think of my CPU LLC setting being on Medium(25%)? should I change it? I've read up on CPU LLC settings but I find it hard to understand.

BTW my Idle volts were somewhere around 0.800V-0.824V? i think, i forgot lol is this normal as well? I'll check after stress test.
Hopefully this set up passes 8hours, if it does am i good to go? should i decrease the volts to get the lowest i possibly can? or just stick with this setup if everything goes well?
&Also if i pass 8hours, should just play around with the computer on idle volts to check if my system is stable on idle volts?

Sorry about the bunch of noob questions lol I'm first time overclocker sooo yeah, please understand me

 

[Y0GI]

Thanks for the quick reply mate (Y)
I'm getting very excited LOL but really should wait til 8hours have passed on prime95 torture test. What about my other settings, do they seem alright? from what i've read up, every chip is different, so different set ups work with different chips.

What do you think of my CPU LLC setting being on Medium(25%)? should I change it? I've read up on CPU LLC settings but I find it hard to understand.

BTW my Idle volts were somewhere around 0.800V-0.824V? i think, i forgot lol is this normal as well? I'll check after stress test.
Hopefully this set up passes 8hours, if it does am i good to go? should i decrease the volts to get the lowest i possibly can? or just stick with this setup if everything goes well?
&Also if i pass 8hours, should just play around with the computer on idle volts to check if my system is stable on idle volts?

Sorry about the bunch of noob questions lol I'm first time overclocker sooo yeah, please understand me

Although your settings are not what I would have picked, I can't argue with success.

As far as CPU LLC, I prefer disabled to prevent voltage spikes.

I can't comment about the idle volts.

If your system is stable with Prime95 after 8 hours, that is very good. However, some systems will pass stress testing like this and crash in the first gaming session. You'll just have to wait and see how it performs in the long run. I would keep your current settings and test/use the computer some more.

Yogi

 

[Mickey Shen]

oh okay, gotcha, will up the volts a little if any crashes/BSOD happen, well I'll update this later on how everythings going but cheers for the advice ay (Y)
May the fat laughing buddha smile upon you my good friend lol

 

[jricknewb]

Thanks for the quick reply mate (Y)
I'm getting very excited LOL but really should wait til 8hours have passed on prime95 torture test. What about my other settings, do they seem alright? from what i've read up, every chip is different, so different set ups work with different chips.

What do you think of my CPU LLC setting being on Medium(25%)? should I change it? I've read up on CPU LLC settings but I find it hard to understand.

BTW my Idle volts were somewhere around 0.800V-0.824V? i think, i forgot lol is this normal as well? I'll check after stress test.
Hopefully this set up passes 8hours, if it does am i good to go? should i decrease the volts to get the lowest i possibly can? or just stick with this setup if everything goes well?
&Also if i pass 8hours, should just play around with the computer on idle volts to check if my system is stable on idle volts?

Sorry about the bunch of noob questions lol I'm first time overclocker sooo yeah, please understand me

I'm jealous!

I've just been working on overclocking my i5-3570k recently (but ASRock Z77 Pro 4 board, so a bit of difference to my knowledge set) and your chip seems excellent.

I have trouble with the CPU LLC setting too because I can't really tell when/if it's needed. I think the simplest way I understand it is that as the chip pulls in more power to try to run faster the CPU LLC attempts to make sure the board doesn't let voltage drop too low or "droop".

What that means to me (and more informed people may correct me if I'm wrong) is that say, as the CPU starts ramping up, if it doesn't get enough power fast and steady enough it can fail, especially with an overclock because typically the higher clock demands more power to the chip.

I have the choice of Auto, 100%, 50%, or 0% on my board and as of yet haven't found any impact between 100% vs. 50%, but haven't tried Auto or 0%. I don't see any reason to change it if you're stable.

My chip will run 4.4 GHz at about 1.288 v with pretty reasonable temps, but still need to see if I can fine tune the voltage lower. Yours sounds like it doesn't really want power too bad and you may be able to get a pretty impressive overclock out of it.

Those idle volts are awesomely low, I found good info on the chip's Intel recommended voltage range, but can't find it anymore. I want to say your idle volts are below the low end, but if it is stable at that, I've never read anywhere that undervolting will harm a CPU.

Stress testing length opinions seem to vary pretty widely, but my belief is that 8 hours is pretty stable.

Finding the lowest stable voltage is worth it in my opinion, as I think it's nice to draw less power if you can, it usually means lower temps which equals longer CPU lifespan, it also helps keep lower temps in your machine overall which has benefits to your other components as well.

The idea of checking idle volts is tough in my opinion, because I haven't heard of any way to test it. I think if you boot and are stable in general, and you're not coming back after leaving your machine for long periods to find it crashed, then you're solid.

Sounds like you've got a pretty awesome set up though.