Help a complete oc noob!

[ncncore]

Right I have just built my new pc and I would like to try a bit of CPU overclocking, I have read through the fac on here but tbh I am still at a bit of a loss with it and don't want to ruin anything.

So really just looking for a bit of a basic advice to maybe up the cpu to 4/4.2.

spec is-

i5 3570k
phanteks cooler
corsair vengeance 14900 (1866) ram
gigabyte Z77X-UP5 TH mobo
2x evga gtx 680's sc sig 2
corsair AX750 psu

 

[Zowghi]

You're better off reading a guide. They will all be pretty similar but I did my first OC by googling the name of the CPU and overlooking guide. I'll give you the basics which should easily get you to 4.2GHz but please don't take this as gospel because I'm hardly a pro. But then again it is really quite simple.

The first and most important thing is to find the maximum core voltage you should be putting through the CPU (Vcore) and don't even think about going over this, it can be done but requires exceptional cooling and a lot of know how to keep it safe. it is important to note that small increases in Vcore will result in significant changes in temperature.

You also need to know the safe region of temperatures which will not increase the rate of degradation. I have an Ivy bridge i7 and the TJmax is 105, however most people would recommend not going over 85-90C.

Right, now we know how to keep the CPU safe lets chet our clock on. Your CPU has a base frequency of 100MHz I believe, again this shouldn't be changed unless you know what you're doing but to get to 4.2GHz we won't need to do this. The frequency of the CPU is the clock frequency x the multiplier. So to get to 4.2GHz you will need a multiplier of 42.

What you need to do is increase the multiplier and get the CPU stable by increasing Vcore, the voltage you use should be the minimum voltage that the CPU is stable on. So that's about it, I can't really write you a full guide here buys that's basically it. Just pick a multiplier you want and keep SLOWLY increasing Vcore until the system is stable. If it's really unstable it will blue screen, this won't harm anything and would most likely mean Vcore is too low for the multiplier. Always make sure that the voltage is safe and that the CPU isn't overheating.

So that's the basics, have a look and a read about; intel burn test (really good as a first test to make sure system is close to stable and that it won't overheat) also use Real Temp to log the temperatures.

Last note to give you some perspective. I started at 1.2V and a multiplier of 43 on my 3770k and that was a good starting point. But it really does change from chip to chip and it's an experimental game.
GO!

 

[ncncore]

Cheers for the help. I put the multiplier up to 40 and then did an intel burn test and it passed fine, I never even touched the vcore so I guess that means if it's stable at the original vcore and with a multiplier of 40 then I'm on the right tracks?

 

[Pabl0]

Make sure your vcore isn't set to auto in the bios, as it will just adjust the vcore up as the multiplier increases/load.

Your want to start it at around 1.2 vcore and set the multiplier to 42 and run Intel burn test at maximum for afew runs whilst having cpu-z open so you can see your actual vcore and multiplier, also have real temperature open.

From then on keep increasing the multiplier until it's unstable, up the voltage and then the multiplier again until you hit a point where temperature or voltage is to high, I'd go no higher then 1.38v.

Do a Google for some guides, ultimate ivy bridge overclocking guide etc so you can get some more knowledge about setting llc and other settings.

 

[ncncore]

Ah thanks it was set to auto!!

I currently have it at 1.250vcore @ 4.2Ghz and that passes intel burn at max with a top core temp of around 51 so I think I could definitely go higher but for now everyday I think that will do me Idle is at 22.