Overclocking 3770K at stock voltage

[Octopuss]

Lamer's 3770K overclocking jorney

Anyone tried to play this way yet? I am somewhat puzzled about my results so far.
My 3770K seems to have 1.025V default vcore, and while it boots into Windows with as high as x42 at that vcore, Prime95 crashes almost immediately or rather soon (x41). x40 is better, but still doesn't hold longer than one or two hours, plus I'd get occasional random BSOD too.

I read about people who managed to do something like x42 at stock, or even x40 while majorly undervolted (like 0.9, wtf). I guess I might have been unlucky with slightly shitty piece, but am still only in the beginning of my tests.

If there are people here who tried the same, I could use a few tips how to improve stability when going this way. In a guide I read there's pretty much no need to change any other voltage but vcore. My board is GA-Z77X-UD3H.

 

[Crap Daddy]

There should be no fixed vcore as in default but rather auto setting in which you vcore will fluctuate when your CPU is in different situations, idle, load or turbo. Under these circumstances the mobo should provide enough to allow you to increase the turbo ratio up to a certain point which should be above that measly x40 since by default your CPU will go as high as x39 in turbo.
So I would suggest to leave everything on auto and default and change only the ratio to x42 turbo. Also would be good to fill in your system specs.

 

[Octopuss]

Ah I forgot to mention I never use Turbo, I disabled it right away.

 

[cadaveca]

Ah I forgot to mention I never use Turbo, I disabled it right away.

SB and IVB clock best using Turbo, unfortunately, they are not like other Intel chips.

I got 4.45 GHz on stock volts.

"stock" is 4-thread load under Turbo, default multis.

Some boards automatically increase voltage when multi changes, F.Y.I.

Turn Turbo on, use it to OC.

 

[Evolved]

So would 'Default' Vcore be better than manually set?

I am at 4.5Ghz @ 1.35v.

 

[cadaveca]

So would 'Default' Vcore be better than manually set?

I am at 4.5Ghz @ 1.35v.

woah, 1.35 V!!! too high, IMHO!

And yeah, you should be finding out default, then clocking at that voltage, manually set. Then increase as needed.

@ 1.35 V, heat might be affecting stability, causing you to use more voltage than is needed.

I hit 4.6 GHz @ 1.184 V!!! Second got 4.5 GHz @ 1.225 V. Either I picked an awesome first chip and got lucky, or the quality of these 3770K's are quite varied.

With two chips and 9 boards, I think I got 'em Figured out. IVB is quite a bit different from SB!

 

[Evolved]

I am currently on Sandy Bridge; i7 2600K

 

[cadaveca]

I am currently on Sandy Bridge; i7 2600K

Different story then, 1.35 V is fine. I am quite amaxed how different, yet similar, SB and IVB are. Unfortunately, OC rules for SB don't apply to IVB.

 

[Octopuss]

Well, I just don't want anything to be set automatically. I want full control over the damn thing.
Turbo is out of question, because for that I would have to let the PC raise vcore to whatever it thinks is good. No way. I don't want any extra heat.

 

[cadaveca]

No way. I don't want any extra heat.

It doesn't quite work that way, but enjoy what ya got anyway. Your method without lowering clocks on idle,makes for more heat than using Turbo would. You merely need to find out stock voltage, and then use OFFSET voltage to get the best of both worlds..low heat, plus high OC.

Let me put it to you thid way...the 3960X, Intel's flagship, CANNOT OC without Turbo. You either use Turbo, or you cannot OC with that chip.

Anyway, spend $25, insure the chip from OC damage, and quit worrying about it:

So what we are saying is this: Go ahead and push it, we've got your back.

http://click.intel.com/tuningplan/default.aspx

ASUS says this:

CPU Voltage: There are two ways to control CPU core voltage; Offset Mode and Manual Mode.
Manual mode assigns a static level of voltage for the processor. Offset Mode allows the processor to
request voltage according to loading conditions and operating frequency. Offset mode is preferred
for 24/7 systems as it allows the processor to lower its voltage during idle conditions, thus saving a
small amount of power and reducing unnecessary heat.
The caveat of Offset Mode is that the full load voltage the processor will request under load is
impossible to predict without loading the processor fully. The base level of voltage used will increase
in accordance with the CPU multiplier ratio. It is therefore best to start with a low multiplier ratio
and work upwards in 1X steps while checking for stability at each increase. Enter the OS, load the
CPU and check CPU-Z to check the voltage the CPU requests from the buck controller. If the level of
voltage requested is very high, then you can reduce the full load voltage by applying a negative
offset in UEFI. For example, if our full load voltage at 45X CPU multiplier ratio happened to be 1.40V,
we could reduce that to 1.35V by applying a 0.05V negative offset in UEFI.
Most of the information pertaining to overclocking Sandy Bridge CPUs has already been well
documented on the internet. For those of you purchasing retail Ivy Bridge CPUs, we expect most
samples to achieve 4.3-4.5GHz with air and water cooling. Higher overclocks are possible although
full-loading of the CPUs will result in very high temperatures even though the current consumed by
these processors is not excessive. We suspect this is a facet of the 22nm process.

Just keep in mind I get info direct from the OEMs, I take all info from all sources, and then compile a set of "rules" based on that info.

And based on that info, you are doing it wrong. No offense intended, as that's how everything pre-SB needed to be OC'ed, the way you are doing it, but SB, SB-E, and IVB are different beasts, and are best OC'ed using Turbo.

F.Y.I. Giga boards don't show CPU voltage in CPU-Z, so you'll need to use EasyTune, or an app like AIDA64, to get proper readings.

 

[Octopuss]

I understand what are you saying, but if I do it the "proper" way, I'd get the CPU up to maybe 90°C under load (load being Prime95) because of the bloody auto settings, which is unacceptable. Doing it the way I am at the moment, temperatures on the cores are around 75-80°C, simply because vcore is low.

Btw AIDA is wrong as well, my current vcore is 1.030V and it reports 1.044V. CPU-Z reports the same though.

 

[cadaveca]

I understand what are you saying, but if I do it the "proper" way, I'd get the CPU up to maybe 90°C under load (load being Prime95) because of the bloody auto settings, which is unacceptable. Doing it the way I am at the moment, temperatures on the cores are around 75-80°C, simply because vcore is low.

Btw AIDA is wrong as well, my current vcore is 1.030V and it reports 1.044V. CPU-Z reports the same though.

I hear ya. I think perhaps a setting or two was missed, perhaps. I've treid all OC methods with Z77, on 9 boards now, soon to be 10, and all behaved similarily. All OEMs relate similar info, as well.

Yes, some boards give more voltage than is needed(especially with my own chips), and that's why there is the option to apply a NEGATIVE offset if voltage is too high. For reviews posted now, I just manually set CPU voltage, VCCIO, and vDIMM, and that's it, but I have been doing som pretty extensive testing with other methods for upcoming review updates and guides. I just got an HD 7950 3 GB card to use for reviews this past Friday, so I'll be re-testing every board, Z77, X79, and some others, in the coming weeks. Out of that I'll be pulling info for OC guides and what not as well.

I even monitor power consumption and the like, I measure voltages using a Digital Multi-meter, etc, so I should have lots of info. I will be showing the method you are using as well, and the differences between each way of OC, too. If things change in regards to OC methods, which I do not expect, I'll let you know.

 

[Octopuss]

The offset is interesting, but then again - it might not be stable under load when Turbo kicks in.
When I first ran some tests with just optimized defaults, I was getting slightly over 90°C, which is fairly horrible. Say I decide it's too hot that way, and apply some negative offset - the resulting vcore might suddenly not be enough for the cpu to run at those speeds.

 

[cadaveca]

The offset is interesting, but then again - it might not be stable under load when Turbo kicks in.
When I first ran some tests with just optimized defaults, I was getting slightly over 90°C, which is fairly horrible. Say I decide it's too hot that way, and apply some negative offset - the resulting vcore might suddenly not be enough for the cpu to run at those speeds.

That's why you need to start with a low multi, and then check the voltage given for each multi.

There's no magic here..any given voltage should lead to the same temps. You cannot change the current supplied to the CPU, only current limits, so nothing can account for the extra heat you are seeing, other than some other voltage also running higher.

Running a specific speed requires the same power, no matter what. I have tested boards that require more voltage, but that requirement of higher voltages was from board to board, not method to method. When clocking outside of reviews, I leave NOTHING on "AUTO", and set each setting manually.

Personally, i think that possibly "PLL overvoltage" was leading to the higher temps when you were investigating.


Like, dont get me wrong, just trying to help ya get the best result possible.

 

[Octopuss]

Ok I tried a couple times to understand how the hell does it work and still failed horribly.
I guess I will need some explanations for idiots.

1) I am not sure how does the offset(s) work. Are we talking about DVID here? Am I to understand the "proper" way is to set vcore to "normal" and then observe temperatures, and possibly apply negative DVID until it gets reasonable? And after that test stability in case I deducted too much?

2) How do I set Turbo? I never had this feature so I am a bit baffled here.
3) Shall I touch base multiplier at all?

I am quite lost in the order of steps when working on overclock on this platform. Feeling quite like an idiot :/

 

[cadaveca]

Ok I tried a couple times to understand how the hell does it work and still failed horribly.
I guess I will need some explanations for idiots.

1) I am not sure how does the offset(s) work. Are we talking about DVID here? Am I to understand the "proper" way is to set vcore to "normal" and then observe temperatures, and possibly apply negative DVID until it gets reasonable? And after that test stability in case I deducted too much?

2) How do I set Turbo? I never had this feature so I am a bit baffled here.
3) Shall I touch base multiplier at all?

I am quite lost in the order of steps when working on overclock on this platform. Feeling quite like an idiot :/

Base multi...leave at default.

Turbo, enable, then set all 4 turbo ratios to what you want.

Ok, so what i do, is clear CMOS, every time i get a new board.

then, i install OS.

Then, i load up Prime95, and monitor voltage when prime is running.

that loaded voltage, with turbo enabled, is the starting point.

So, you can then use that, plus what you use already, to finds the offset you need.

For example, my CPU, ast stock, gets 1.175V, i set +025 V offset to get 1.2 V.

or i can set 1.2 V manually, but then voltage does not drop at idle. Either givces me the same result.

Listen, I just had surgery on my shoulder last monday, so I am kinda keeping it short as typing with one hand sucks. If you would like more info, I'm often in TS and can give more advice there easily.

In the future I should be posting some OC guides, because yes, this can be quite confusing. It is very different than in the past, but at least Intel is fully supporting OC now!

You can send me a pm at any time, and I'll hop in TS for a chat. Same goes for anyone on TPU.

 

[Octopuss]

No problem with short answers. I try to keep questions short as well
I feel for you - I had torn rotator cuff in my right shoulder and had surgery done 1.5 years ago. I think I didn't use PC few days at all. It hurt like fucker.

I wrote down a few numbers from within the bios:
Vcore with Turbo disabled=1.025V
Vcore with Turbo enabled=1.115V or 1.120V

I experimented a bit more and was almost ready to give up, because I set Turbo to x40 across the board, and under load I was getting 95° temperatures. Ouch.
I think I got confused by the fact there's no way to tell what the vcore will be when not set manually.
What I did was set vcore to normal, realizing I probably needed to set some negative offset, but I had no idea how it worked then. Apparently when Turbo kicks in, the voltage jumps up to horrible, unthought-of heights.
After a bit of thinking I changed the offset to -0.100V, which helped, temperatures are at 80-87°C right now with Prime95 running. It's still fairly shitty, maybe my piece is just bad luck - I mean I am still only at 4GHz. For now I am interested in finding the lowest stable offset.

Am I doing it right?

P.S. I hate the fact I can't get REAL numbers from any monitoring soft there is. I tried CPU-Z, AIDA64 (both produce same numbers btw), HWMonitor, HWInfo64, and something else I can't think off straight away.

 

[cadaveca]

yeah sounds like your doing it right.

try using EasyTune for monitoring..it's on the mobo disc or on Gigabyte's website.

And yeah, voltage being so high is normal for some chips, and hence the suggestion to just try at stock settings first, then work your way up.

 

[Octopuss]

Well at first I thought I had good piece as others said theirs were like 1.140V or something by default (I assume that's with Turbo on)


Of course I might not have the ideal cooling, but almost everyone recommended the Hyper 212 +/EVO. The heatsink is not the biggest out there... Well, still the temperatures I am getting at x40 are something I saw mentioned in cases of x45+, heh. I will experiment further and see if I can bring it down a bit. CPU-Z reports vcore to be 1.092V right now. I will see if ET is any good for monitoring though.

 

[cadaveca]

ET is good, CPU-Z sometimes reports VCCSA or VCCIO on Gigabyte Z77 boards. If it is, that voltage is bit high as well, and is affecting your temps. if you are running less than 1866(or 1866) on memory, 0.950 V on VCCSA is fine, and VCCIO should be 1.05 V.

 

[Octopuss]

I got everything but vcore on auto, and the others don't seem to change at all. They are on the default values I believe.
VCCSA=0.925V
VCCIO=1.05V
PLL=1.800V
Memory is exactly 1866.

Interestingly ET6 reports the same vcore as CPU-Z, 1.092V. I gotta try with fixed vcore and Turbo off, but I suspect it would be off anyway (1.025 is being reported as 1.044 IIRC).

edit: hold on, there are two different vcores reported by ET!
One in HW Monitor, that's 1.092.
Other under Tuner, Advanced, Voltage: that one says Power on 1.190, Target 37501.5V (lol)

 

[cadaveca]

CPU-Z may be correct, for sure, but often it isn't. If ET says the samne, then it's good.

Make sure "PLL Overvoltage" is set to disabled, too. You only need that at 45 multi or higher(each chip is a bit different for that).

1.190 sounds better, given your temps and cooling. try a negative offset, see where the readings go. I've seen similar, and at that point, i usually pull out my multimeter

 

[Octopuss]

The offset is already -0.110V Hopefully there is still some room.

Where do I find PLL overvoltage? It might be called differently... Shall I look under 3D Power Control?

 

[cadaveca]

The offset is already -0.110V Hopefully there is still some room.

Where do I find PLL overvoltage? It might be called differently... Shall I look under 3D Power Control?

should be pretty obvious. Some boards do not have this setting. It's supposed to be automatic with IVB, anyway, but some boards enable too early for some chips.

I can run 1.65V PLL voltage, for example, on UD5H, but not without PLL Overvolt enabled on Maximus V Gene.

sounds like your board was setting 1.3 V for vCPU...wow! No wonder it seemed hotter! 4 ghz, 1.1V, or just below, should be MORE than enough.

 

[Octopuss]

You're probably right. I am not sure what to think of my original experiment though - I set vcore manually to 1.025V, disabled Turbo, and set multi to x40, and it friggin' wasn't stable. On top of that, the temperatures were very slightly above 80°. I call that pretty crappy result