4670k safe overclock for 24/7 use

e36Adz · 21 Jun 2014 at 14:36

I got the upgrade bug recently, tends to happen when I 'think' I've found a bargain which is too good to pass up, so I've ended up selling my 2500k which was happily sitting @ 4.5Ghz and my ASRock motherboard, and I got a 4670k with another ASRock motherboard (see sig).

I'm having a little play around with the CPU to see what sort of speeds I can hit now that I have a decent cooler - the Alpenfohn K2.

Currently sat at 47 x 100 = 4.7Ghz, 1.32v, almost everything else set to Auto. The voltage was also on Auto (~1.3v) but it crashed at 4.7Ghz so I upped it slightly so 1.35v and everything was fine. Moved it down a notch now to 1.32v and it's still fine.

All my fans are set to the lowest speed on fan controller so it's nice and quiet and my idle temps are around the mid 30s. I've been using the PC for about an hour now and everything seems stable. Will be trying out games throughout the day.

Are the volts/temps safe for 24/7 use? I was running it earlier at 4.5Ghz @ 1.2v but temps weren't much lower tbh?

wellibob · 21 Jun 2014 at 15:00

I run mine @1.25v for 4.5. Run prime and if temps are below 70. Good times. Mine required more volts to get higher and the gains and heat wasn't worth it. Every chip is different of course. Everything auto here except CPU volts

e36Adz · 21 Jun 2014 at 15:13

Everything else is on Auto here too, I don't know what 95% of it means so can't be tinkering with it.

Will try a prime95 run shortly. From past experience I never run prime for long, normally about 5-10 minutes and I've found that if it handles that, I've never gone on to have any crashes in day to day use or any stability issues in games.

e36Adz · 21 Jun 2014 at 16:20

Been playing about half an hour of SSF4 @ 4.7Ghz and it seems fine. A quick 5 min run of prime95 sends temps into in 80s so I'm not happy with that as a 24/7 speed.

I've moved it down a notch to 4.6Ghz @ 1.31v, will see what temps are like.

McstylisT · 21 Jun 2014 at 17:48

I am pretty much the same as you. I have a corsair H80 fitted though. I read widely that 1.3v is the max we should use with air/allinone coolers. Though my 4.6ghz is at 1.301v my temps are very reasonable. I personally don't run prime , hate it I just do all the benches and various uses I'd personally use. I am reluctant to try 4.7ghz , due to mine needing 1.36v and 1.22v ring :/

Though temps are not awful , controlled in the late 70's.

How are your temps at the slightly lower clocks ?

wellibob · 21 Jun 2014 at 18:11

Sending your cpu into the 80's is not good. Mine will hit about 72 maximum running prime for a good 6-12 hour run . When I had 4.7 it was high 70's but never close to or over 80 eek

e36Adz · 21 Jun 2014 at 18:12

Not had a chance to test it further yet but will do later. I'll probably settle for 4.5ghz @ ~1.2v for daily use.

My old cpu was also running at this speed, will the 4670k be much faster then a 2500k with both at 4.5???

McstylisT · 21 Jun 2014 at 18:16

e36Adz said:
Not had a chance to test it further yet but will do later. I'll probably settle for 4.5ghz @ ~1.2v for daily use.

My old cpu was also running at this speed, will the 4670k be much faster then a 2500k with both at 4.5???

I would say yes , faster per core and two generations on you should notice an improvement.

I think 1.3v max for daily use is fine. As long as the temps don't spike too much.

McstylisT · 21 Jun 2014 at 18:18

wellibob said:
Sending your cpu into the 80's is not good. Mine will hit about 72 maximum running prime for a good 6-12 hour run . When I had 4.7 it was high 70's but never close to or over 80 eek

You must have won the silicon lottery then. Many who have haswell have seen temps soar into the 90's in seconds of running prime. This is regardless of cooling, just poorly tim'ed chips. I think prime is junk so don't personally use it.

wellibob · 21 Jun 2014 at 18:23

I only run prime to stress the cpu and see what temps I get. It has no other function. Most intense task I'll do is a HD handbrake conversion. Temps obviously pushed hard but not to the extreme prime . My i5 has been at 4.5 since July last year. Utterly flawless .

McstylisT · 21 Jun 2014 at 19:37

wellibob said:
I only run prime to stress the cpu and see what temps I get. It has no other function. Most intense task I'll do is a HD handbrake conversion. Temps obviously pushed hard but not to the extreme prime . My i5 has been at 4.5 since July last year. Utterly flawless .

Yeah with the newer CPUs , primes instructions are getting old nowadays.

Handbrake HD is pretty intense though, a perfect real world high load program. This is more the type of thing I personally use.
But have to admit does sound like you got a solid chip there indeed. Mines good but not quite so forgiving , especially touching 1.3v :-p

wellibob · 21 Jun 2014 at 20:07

Just now it's 29 degrees room temp (sun sets directly in this room at night so bloody warm) Ran handbrake and it maxed at 72 degrees on a 25 min run @ 1.25 v. Seems normal as I've not really read much more since I got the chip about temps and clocking. My server now resides in the garage and that's a lovely 21.5 degrees room temp. I may sleep in there tonite lol

e36Adz · 21 Jun 2014 at 20:54

Trying 4.5Ghz @ 1.25v and in prime95, temps shoot up to ~60C, after about 5 minutes prime95 temps have reached ~70C. I'm much happier with these sorts of temps. That's with all fans at the lowest speed. Gonna try a 4.6Ghz run at these volts.

Might try a few of the other benchmark/stress test apps mentioned in the thread because I'm not really a big fan of prime either. I've never played any game or used anything that takes cpu temps anywhere near what prime95 does!!

e36Adz · 21 Jun 2014 at 21:31

Do you guys use 'Override' mode or 'Adaptive' mode, in the bios? I was using override but I've changed it to adaptive, so while the cpu isn't running at full pelt (95% of the time) at least the voltage drops!

McstylisT · 21 Jun 2014 at 22:44

e36Adz said:
Do you guys use 'Override' mode or 'Adaptive' mode, in the bios? I was using override but I've changed it to adaptive, so while the cpu isn't running at full pelt (95% of the time) at least the voltage drops!

Yep have mine set to adaptive too mate

Though somethings wrong with my CPUZ, shows insane 0.20v usage

bios shows true story though.

e36Adz · 21 Jun 2014 at 22:57

McstylisT said:
Yep have mine set to adaptive too mate Though somethings wrong with my CPUZ, shows insane 0.20v usage bios shows true story though.

I'm less worried about leaving it at ~1.33v @ 4.7Ghz now for daily use since 95% of the time the cpu is getting under 1.00v. In prime95 it is stable (for 5 mins at least) with the temps reaching 80C, but in my normal day to day use including gaming, I can't see it getting close to that.

Just been gaming for 40 mins @ 4.7Ghz and no issues. A quick 1M superPI run gives me a time of 7.937 sec. Any good FREE benchmark tools to test the CPU? As you can see I'm well out of date - still using ancient programs like prime95 and superPI

wellibob · 21 Jun 2014 at 23:31

I would not run 1.33v on my rig. However there is no rules to say you can't.

McstylisT · 21 Jun 2014 at 23:56

e36Adz said:
I'm less worried about leaving it at ~1.33v @ 4.7Ghz now for daily use since 95% of the time the cpu is getting under 1.00v. In prime95 it is stable (for 5 mins at least) with the temps reaching 80C, but in my normal day to day use including gaming, I can't see it getting close to that.

Just been gaming for 40 mins @ 4.7Ghz and no issues. A quick 1M superPI run gives me a time of 7.937 sec. Any good FREE benchmark tools to test the CPU? As you can see I'm well out of date - still using ancient programs like prime95 and superPI

wellibob said:
I would not run 1.33v on my rig. However there is no rules to say you can't.

Its a hard one e36Adz , i mean i am on the same level as you. I am thinking if the temps are seriously under control and the processor is within its max operating temps then you should be ok. However the possibility of cpu degrading is a real one. As wellibob mentioned he would not want to use 1.33v on a daily basis, and im sure others would not too. I am slightly concerned at approaching 1.3v , but then again how long do i intend on having this chip ?

We all take some risks , sometimes they pay off , othertimes it blows up in our face. Its a guess really as to long term effect. Though cant say i have ever heard of a cpu stopping working ? not a modern one anyway ,,, lol

BTW if you were on stock volts and clocks what does the cpu take voltage wise ?

e36Adz · 22 Jun 2014 at 00:11

Well, when I had everything on Auto I got to 4.6Ghz comfortably, CPU-Z was showing the vcore at ~1.3v

As I said earlier, I don't even know what 95% of the options in the bios mean but I've still been oc'ing for years on almost every CPU I've had and I've never killed one yet.

I have no qualms running this CPU @ 4.7Ghz at even 1.35v 24/7 to be perfectly honest with you, with it set to adaptive it's rarely going to see those volts, and a quick google shows plenty of people have been running at even higher!

But Wellibob has a good point and tbh it's the most sensible option. I've only just got the cooler and fitted it, I've wanted to have a play around to see what the chip is like but for my daily use (ms word, powerpoint, browsing, watching tv/sky, light gaming when I get time) it's ridiculous having it at 4.7ghz because it makes next to no real world difference.

I've set it to 4.5Ghz at 1.23v (adaptive) and I plan on keeping this entire setup for at least a year and changing nothing - apart from possible another Ti so I can really enjoy gaming over 3 screens :cool:

e36Adz · 22 Jun 2014 at 10:29

One of my mates reckons I'm being well over cautious and anything under 1.4v is fine for 24/7 use as long as temps are reasonable.