Need help overclocking a i7 2600K

[Asinorum]

Hey all,

 

As the title says, I have a i7 2600K that I would like a little more power from. Can anyone give me a starting point and some good guides? I tried to just set the bios to "extreme" and let it do its thing, but that didn't work out well. After 10-30 minutes, it would just crash.

 

I've overclocked before, back when I had an EVGA nForce 780i motherboard and chip, but obviously that was quite awhile ago, plus the bios is much different now.

 

I appreciate your help! All my rig information is in my sig at the bottom.

[Braegnok]

Clunk's P67 Sandy Bridge OC Guide will get you to 4.5GHz ~ 4.9GHz stable. https://www.scribd.com/document/94305186/P67-Sandy-Bridge-Over-Clocking-Guide-for-Beginners

Edited December 22, 2016 by Braegnok

[Asinorum]

Awesome! Thank you!

[Asinorum]

Okay...I'm having serious problems. I'm following the guide step by step and I can't get Windows 10 to load after I make any changes to the BIOS. My SDD's are in RAID 0 and I made sure it was set to that before I exited the BIOS.

 

I set the multiplier, CPU voltage, DRAM timings and voltage at the recommended starting points. 

 

My target speed was 4.5GHz and the timings for my RAM are: 8-8-8-24 1.5v. I also set the CPU volts to 1.26v for the clock speed. I left the frequency at 100 and made sure to disable the PLL overvoltage. Memory frequency was set to AUTO.

 

After I'm done in the BIOS, I exit and save. When the computer goes to load windows it stops and restarts. It then boots up again and then goes and starts the "preparing automatic repair" it then does this and restarts again. It continues this over and over and over without ever correcting the issue or finishing loading Windows. I eventually have to load the optimized defaults in the BIOS and restart it to fix the issue. 

 

I have no idea what is causing this or what to do. Help!

Edited December 25, 2016 by Asinorum

[Braegnok]

Is your memory running at 1333Mhz or 1600Mhz,.. 8-8-8-24 seems kinda tight timings for 1600Mhz.

 

Try manually setting memory to 1333Mhz, loosening your memory timings to 9-9-9-24, and set memory voltage to whatever it says on label.

 

Then restart following the guide step by step slowly working your way up from 4.0GHz up to 4.5GHz testing stability as you go.

Edited December 25, 2016 by Braegnok

[Waco]

You can't just change everything and expect it to be stable. Work you way up on clocks one component at a time and check for stability as you go.

[SpikeSoprano]

All of the above plus 1.26 cpu volts could be too low for a 4.5 oc, I have to set my 2600k up to 1.3 volts to get it to boot.

[Braegnok]

Sorry if the guide seems confusing in the first section,.. I just looked at guide memory settings which need to be set before starting your overclock.

 

The Memory Frequency, DRAM Timings, and Memory voltage,.. 

 

Memory Frequency - set to AUTO or 1333MHz for now.

 

DRAM Timings - You only need to change the top five settings, these are your main memory timings and it is important that you set these values to whatever it says on the label on the heat spreders of your modules.

 

DRAM voltage - set voltage to whatever it says on label.

 

OK I just needed to confirm your memory was set up correctly first, before suggesting bumping up your CPU Vcore.  

 

if your memory was set up correctly, and your stable at 4.0GHz.up to 4.5GHz at 1.26V then like SpikeS says,.. bump up your CPU vcore to 1.3V + or - and monitor your core temps while testing.

Edited December 26, 2016 by Braegnok

[ccokeman]

Start back at square 1. 

 

Set the XMP profile for your memory

Set your HDD configuration

Set the default voltage for your chip 1.2v should be right or very close

 

 

Boot into windows and test stability. Start with a good baseline

 

Once stable, bump up the clock multiplier only and run stability tests until it fails at the stock voltage. Bump the voltage up and retest

Wash rinse repeat until you max out the clock speed and or thermal capability of your cooler.  Back off 100Mhz and save the profile into the BIOS.

Now to tweak a little more you can start bumping up the ring bus 100Mhz at a time to find out the maximum combination of ring bus, memory and CPU core clock speed that will work with the voltages you are comfortable with. You can bump up the SA voltage a bit to improve the ring bus ratio. 

Wash rinse repeat with tweaking and stability testing. 

 

Again once you find a good stable maximum you can save the overclocking profile in the BIOS. 

My retail 2600K was a 4.9Ghz stable chip under water. This was a phenomenal chip but 4.5 to 4.7Ghz were more realistic .

 

 

Now enjoy

[Asinorum]

Alright, I have a stable 4.0GHz oc @ 1.28v (haven't tried lowering the volts down yet) now with my RAM at 8-8-8-24 1.5v 1600MHz in the XMP profile. The CPU doesn't get above 60C under full load. I ran Prime95 for 90 minutes using the blend test with no errors.

Edited December 26, 2016 by Asinorum

[ccokeman]

Now you can start bumping the clock multiplier only up and testing until you fail at the voltage and or thermal limit you are comfortable with. Once you get to the limit I always run prime for 24 hours with 50% of the ram allocated.  

[Asinorum]

Start back at square 1. 

 

Set the XMP profile for your memory

Set your HDD configuration

Set the default voltage for your chip 1.2v should be right or very close

 

 

Boot into windows and test stability. Start with a good baseline

 

Once stable, bump up the clock multiplier only and run stability tests until it fails at the stock voltage. Bump the voltage up and retest

Wash rinse repeat until you max out the clock speed and or thermal capability of your cooler.  Back off 100Mhz and save the profile into the BIOS.

Now to tweak a little more you can start bumping up the ring bus 100Mhz at a time to find out the maximum combination of ring bus, memory and CPU core clock speed that will work with the voltages you are comfortable with. You can bump up the SA voltage a bit to improve the ring bus ratio. 

Wash rinse repeat with tweaking and stability testing. 

 

Again once you find a good stable maximum you can save the overclocking profile in the BIOS. 

My retail 2600K was a 4.9Ghz stable chip under water. This was a phenomenal chip but 4.5 to 4.7Ghz were more realistic .

 

 

Now enjoy

 

Thank you! I have one question though. What is the ideal CPU volts for a 24/7 OC? Something that would be "safe" (I know that is a relative term in the OC world). Oh, and a general rule of thumb temperature to stay under for this chip?

Edited December 26, 2016 by Asinorum