Question about OC'ing with 4 pin on the mobo

[alonbl]

I got the Gigabyte GA-Z77-D3H with 4 pin cpu connector and 3770k @4.5ghz with 1.284v.
I got into a debate with my friends and they say it's isn't safe because the maximum the 4 pin put out is 194w and the CPU on 1.28v is 200w. Are they right?

 

[Arjai]

Has it burned up yet? 6 watts? The energy required to fart is more than 6 watts!

 

[alonbl]

can I get a serious answer from somebody?

 

[Kursah]

Well from what I was reading about, it seems like the 8-pin is used for extra capacity that was at first needed only by servers. It seems that the 8-pin will help regulate power to ALL VRM's on a board more efficiently or maybe at all. Where 4-pin may be limited to using say half the VRM's or not as efficiently on all VRM's. It does seem that the 4-pin wattage limitation is around 192W and 16-22A depending on a few variables.

There was an article I was reading that information from here: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/power-supply-specifications-atx-reference,3061-9.html

If you're stable, and not overheating, and that board is capable of handling the load with 4-pin I see no major issues at least initially. I have OC'd on 4-pin boards just fine before, but not a 3770k at 4.5ghz.

A little more google searching led me to this article that states this particular 3770k at 4.4GHz was only using 140W, but jumped up to 236W at 4.9GHz @ 1.35v.

http://techreport.com/review/22833/...ore-i7-3770k-overclocked-on-four-motherboards


Honestly, I think most people aren't bothered too much by it...if you're going for much more, one would assume you'd want to buy a board that has the power input and VRM's to support consistent voltage without burning up. Your VRM's may become hotter under load because of the power limitation of the 4-pin connection. Your board seems to rate pretty well and Gigabyte builds decent products as well (overall at least imho from my experience). I would say if all is stable, temps are good, and power fluctuations aren't an issue, I would not be too concerned with it.

Maybe someone will come in with a better answer, but in short I would say to not go too much further with your OC because it may overburden the cpu power circuitry, though I am not sure if your current OC is pushing the limit or not. But there are ways to do the math, and/or buying a Kill-A-Watt in-line power adapter to read the consumption from the wall too. I hope that helps a little bit.

 

[Hood]

GA-Z77-D3H is not considered an overclocking board, due to it's sparse power phases and cooling, but I'm sure lots of people have done it on these boards without problems. 4.5 GHz@1.28v is probably pushing the limits of the board, though, so don't be too surprised if it doesn't boot one day because of a blown capacitor or something. A good fan blowing across the socket area would certainly help it live longer, as will a decent well-regulated power supply.
In the future if you plan on overclocking that high, look for a board in the $200 range with an 8 pin CPU power connector and more power phases and VRM cooling.

 

[BarbaricSoul]

Don't know how relevant it is to your situation, but my first Z68 motherboard was a Gigabyte GA-Z68AP-D3 which is also only equipped with a 4 pin CPU power connector. Running my 2600k at 4.2ghz @ 1.3v for 4 months at full load running WCG, the board suddenly died. I can't say for sure what killed that board, but the only thing I did with it outside of "normal" use was OC'ing the 2600k and running at full load 24/7. My MSI board with it's better power phase has been doing the exact same thing since March 2012, but with a 4.5ghz OC and no issues.

 

[alonbl]

According to sites I have seen that also got the 3770K to 1.28v got 204w while the 4 pin is 194w.
I saw alot of reviews going up to 1.35v and not saying a word about the 194w limit. Will extra 10w really so bad for the mobo?

 

[Hood]

You're only using that much CPU power during benchmark runs or audio/video conversion, so unless you are folding or editing video 24/7, the heat buildup won't be severe. Still, you should use Intel speed step (EIST), offset vcore, and C1E to reduce voltage and heat during low demand, and give the system periodic rests between high demand sessions.

 

[brandonwh64]

This review done here on TPU by WindWithMe will ease your mind. Even though it was done with a 3570K he still got 4.8Ghz and a full load at 163W

http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=168395

 

[alonbl]

Awesome thanks guys I'm calm now

 

[vega22]

i wouldnt worry about it, i used to run my 25k in a z68 d3 which only had the same 4 pin 12v power and the same phase layout and it was as stable in that as it was the z68 ud4 which replaced it and that had a shit ton of phases.

1155 is either stable or not.

 

[Keullo-e]

I had a MSI P6N SLI Platinum (nForce 650i SLI) and E6400 years ago, my PSU was HEC 300W, and the CPU ran without problems at 3.4GHz 24/7, also I had a HD3870X2, and later a HD4890, and I overclocked both cards to the max what their stock coolers can do. No problems at all, though the PSU was noise as hell. And the 12V connector was 4pin, but the mobo had 4/8pin connector.

I would say that don't worry about the 4pin connector, I'm having a 4pin connector in my Z68 board, and I'm going to get a i5/i7 soon, and going to overclock it to max it goes with wise voltages (4+1 phase VRM).

 

[Hood]

That's the right attitude, go for broke but careful with voltage and temps, get the most out of everything, and then don't cry when it goes up in smoke - laugh instead, about how you got a $50 mobo to last a year at 4.7 GHz!