Overclocking an i7 3770K

[Tjj226_Angel]

Right now I have a water cooling setup and a i7 3770K along with an asus maximus v gene.

 

For those of you who already know was trying to go for 5 ghz, I still am.....just not until mid december (or until I see snow).

 

At the moment I am having some issues with getting my CPU stable at 4.8ghz. However, it is not my BIOS settings that are causing me issues.

 

I am having some pretty big differences in my BIOS vcore and the Vcroe recognized by various monitoring programs in windows. If I put 1.35v into the BIOS for Vcore, CPU-Z, asus suite, and Adia 64 all say the cpu is running at 1.4v.

 

I have LLC set to extreme, so no Vdroop. And I have even tested this issue out on all available settings of LLC and I still get the same result.

 

Not only that, but I keep getting memory errors. I do have two different sets of ram in my system, but they only differ slightly, and I have them set down from 2000mhz to 1333mhz with 10-10-10-30 timings just so that I can rule out ram stability as an issue in my OC. I have run memtest to make sure everything is all stable, and it shows that it is. (if wevspot is reading this, it is the same ram that I bought from you a while back).

 

What is even more interesting is what I see after I run a OCCT (check out image below) . I could be reading that wrong, but it looks like it is reading that my overclock is almost at 4.95ghz. It seems like it is reading that my multiplier is at 48 with a BCLK of 103 (BIOS is reading 48 and 100)???? CPU-Z says it is running at 4.8 ghz, and I know that I should probably believe it, but on the other hand 1.4v seems like a lot of voltage to get a simple 4.8ghz out of my chip while 4.9ghz seems to be more logical.

 

In the end I am getting frustrated because nothing I enter into the BIOS seems to be carrying through into my actual BIOS settings. I have the latest BIOS, I have sent this think for RMA already, and I have tried several different BIOS settings to figure out what is going on. I am really close to just saying F it and seeing if a new mobo would help.

 

I do want to add that like usual, I tried everything I could think of before I posted. I know that some of these results may be common, but I haven't seen any fluctuations in peoples BIOS settings that are this extreme.

 

Any thoughts or ideas on how to fix this problem would be greatly appreciated.

 

Side note: my mobo was one of the many who had issues with the A2 memory sockets. I should have fixed that with the new BIOS and it is probably unnecessary information, but I figure I would give you guys everything I knew.

[EuroFight]

I know you've probably already done it but check power saving settings etc. are turned off in the BIOS, even the best of us make that mistake sometimes...

I see no reason why OCCT should report different clocks than CPU-Z as they both utilize the same engine, have you checked CPU-Z while stress testing with OCCT?

Edited October 5, 2012 by EuroFight

[El_Capitan]

Your actual Vcore will differ than what you set in the BIOS depending on your LLC, with it being set to Extreme, it won't be as further out.

 

I have been tempted to delid my 3770K and get it up to 5.0GHz, but I'm lazy these days.

[Tjj226_Angel]

I know you've probably already done it but check power saving settings etc. are turned off in the BIOS, even the best of us make that mistake sometimes...

I see no reason why OCCT should report different clocks than CPU-Z as they both utilize the same engine, have you checked CPU-Z while stress testing with OCCT?

 

They are 200% disabled. If anything the system is actually taking up more power than what I set it at. So technically it is running anti power saving

 

As for OCCT, I have no clue either. I have run the program a couple of times all with about the same result. I do see minor fluctuations in the frequency by like 0.02ghz, but nothing as extreme as .15ghz.

[Tjj226_Angel]

Your actual Vcore will differ than what you set in the BIOS depending on your LLC, with it being set to Extreme, it won't be as further out.

 

I have been tempted to delid my 3770K and get it up to 5.0GHz, but I'm lazy these days.

 

I am well aware that it should be a tad different. But I have only found that it should be different by like .02-.05v and with extreme LLC it should be like 0.1-0.2v not by a whole .5v.

 

To be honest, if someone told me that there was a z77 board that would stay very close to your entered BIOS settings, I would probably leave for microcenter right now.

[EuroFight]

Have you checked the values of multiplier and BCLK on OCCT? (Under the processor tab)

[ccokeman]

You need to adjust the LLC to handle the vdroop

[Tjj226_Angel]

You need to adjust the LLC to handle the vdroop

 

Could you be more specific? That is what I thought I was doing by letting LLC be at either extreme or ultra high.

[BluePanda]

High levels of LLC will usually push the vcore higher than your chosen setting. On Waco's old Z68XP-UD4 the highest setting of LLC would push the vcore 100 mV higher than the chosen setting (so 1.4 volts would yield 1.5 volts with the LLC maxed out).

[El_Capitan]

I usually use Ultra High instead of extreme. If you're setting Vcore manually, it will raise your Vcore higher during load than what you set your BIOS, how much depends on your LLC.

 

If you set Vcore to Offset, it will lower your Vcore than what you set in your BIOS during load. However, different LLC levels have a different effect during Offset. You just have to mess around with it and see what you prefer most.

[Tjj226_Angel]

I usually use Ultra High instead of extreme. If you're setting Vcore manually, it will raise your Vcore higher during load than what you set your BIOS, how much depends on your LLC.

 

If you set Vcore to Offset, it will lower your Vcore than what you set in your BIOS during load. However, different LLC levels have a different effect during Offset. You just have to mess around with it and see what you prefer most.

The problem with ultra high is that it will let a bit of vdroop effect my voltages. I actually need to set my voltage a tad higher to compensate for it.

 

On another note, with lower voltages I seem to be running into memory errors on prime. Now I have 2 seperate kits of what are suposed to be 2000mhz memeory running at 10-11-10-30 at 1.6v and 1.65v, and as I have mentioned before, I have them running at 1333mhz at 9-9-9-24 timing with 1.5v. Both kits have passed mem test, so the fact that I am getting memory errors is beyond me.

 

I am looking at getting some new ram and I am looking at either getting some samsung ram that runs at 1.35v. I am hopping that the lower voltage will allow me to lower my OC voltage while still having 8GB of RAM.

 

Or is that theory just completely unfounded? If so I will probably be getting some corsair dominator platinum ram.

[wevsspot]

Good afternoon Tj. I realize that I'm a little late to the party................... but if it wouldn't be too much trouble please post up all your BIOS settings from the A.I. Tweaker menu.