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  1. #1

    Overclocking questions

    I'm fairly new to overclocking. Haven't had to do it much in the past. As mentioned in some of my earlier posts I just recently purchased an i5 3750k and would like to know how far I can overclock it. Not entirely sure what specs you need to formulate an answer so here's my new build. Planning on adding 4 more 120mm fans to the case for cooling.

    PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

    CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
    CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ Amazon)
    Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($132.86 @ Newegg)
    Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($73.74 @ NCIX US)
    Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($104.99 @ Amazon)
    Storage: OCZ Agility 3 180GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($166.74 @ Mwave)
    Storage: Kingston HyperX 3K 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($117.99 @ Amazon)
    Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card ($238.79 @ Amazon)
    Case: Corsair C70 Arctic White (White/Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($99.99 @ Newegg)
    Power Supply: Corsair CX 600W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($65.98 @ Newegg)
    Optical Drive: Sony AD-7280S-0B DVD/CD Writer ($25.97 @ Newegg)
    Total: $1247.02
    (Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
    (Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-16 08:53 EST-0500)

    Granted I don't have it built yet since my MB and case haven't arrived yet. Should have it together by this evening.
    I really would like some help in case I have to change voltages. My last cpu I was able to OC up to a 4.2 from a 3.3 without having to change voltage. First OC I've ever done.

  2. #2
    I think 4.5-4.6GHz is the highest overclock for everyday use I've seen on the 3570K.

    I used this guide: http://www.overclock.net/t/1198504/c...asrock-edition when I first started overclocking (about a year ago). The OP keeps it updated and it is pretty easy to follow.

  3. #3
    Thanks. Looks like that page will help quite a bit.

  4. #4
    Uhm you would only notice the difference if the cpu is bottlenecking the gpu. Games like WoW it still happens but something like bf3 there won't be any single fps gain.

  5. #5
    I was running a FX-6100 before I purchased the i5.I read somewhere that the GTX 660 pairs pretty good with the i5 3750k

  6. #6
    Stood in the Fire mojo6912's Avatar
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    Even though bf3 mostly depends on the GPU, I'm sure OCing the CPU would add a little fps. I doubt it will add absolutely nothing.

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by jholdaway View Post
    I was running a FX-6100 before I purchased the i5.I read somewhere that the GTX 660 pairs pretty good with the i5 3750k
    It does. Especially in games like WoW.

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by mojo6912 View Post
    Even though bf3 mostly depends on the GPU, I'm sure OCing the CPU would add a little fps. I doubt it will add absolutely nothing.
    it does, for me atleast, The OC must effect the integrated graphics and my MoBo came with Virtu, increasing my i5 2500K from 3.3 to 4 Ghz added 10 FPS to BF3

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by mojo6912 View Post
    Even though bf3 mostly depends on the GPU, I'm sure OCing the CPU would add a little fps. I doubt it will add absolutely nothing.
    Why would it? A scenario of the gpu hitting a maximum of 90% with vsync off which is a slight bottleneck, overclocking the cpu would help but how much it actually depends on which game. A scenario of being at stock clock on the cpu while the gpu still hits 99%, overclocking is not going to give any frames.

    But once you add more cards or cards from a new generation which would be obviously better I hope so, it's going to be a bit harder for the cpu to feed the gpu. For example a 2500k at stock would be a bottleneck for 2x gtx 990's.

  10. #10
    I am Murloc! Cyanotical's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Faithh View Post
    Why would it? A scenario of the gpu hitting a maximum of 90% with vsync off which is a slight bottleneck, overclocking the cpu would help but how much it actually depends on which game. A scenario of being at stock clock on the cpu while the gpu still hits 99%, overclocking is not going to give any frames.

    But once you add more cards or cards from a new generation which would be obviously better I hope so, it's going to be a bit harder for the cpu to feed the gpu. For example a 2500k at stock would be a bottleneck for 2x gtx 990's.
    it does, i've had substantially higher benchmark scores with an overclock than with stock, and thats with a full PCIE3 lane compliment, so a 2500k would already limit the capability of a current multi gpu system

    however, thats mostly irrelevant anyway, because we're talking about the difference between 340fps and 420fps, even with a cpu limiting PCIe I/O, you would still be able to play games without a problem

  11. #11
    Finished putting together my rig and did a prime95 stress test for 14 minutes after I overclocked it to 4.4 and ran into no errors. With my old processor I was getting 70 fps in MoP and now I"m getting 100+. So yeah it helped a little. I haven't done any raids or instances yet so I don't know how it would fair under those conditions.

    I did notice that the max temp on my cpu during the test was 66 Celsius. Is that decent or bad?

  12. #12
    It's fine, the TJMax for your chip is in excess of 90C.

  13. #13
    46x100 Multiplier. Start and 1.35v and work your way back Enable PLL Voltage, Enable Extreme tweaking if you have that option, set load line calibration to extreme or the highest setting, set CPU voltage to Manual and and set the CPU frequency to 500 again if you got these options. Im basing it on an Asus Maximus Formula but most high end boards support the same shit. 4.6 is easy on these chips its going higher that needs the effort! Iy should boot and be stable easy on those setting and like i say work the volts back to the lowest you can and for it to still be stable. WoW is funny though, i can play any game on a 4.8 oc fine but wow crashes like every hour or so so i run it on 4.6 and its always fine. Your cooler should be fine, my highest temps on a closed loop are around 65-70 @4.6 and 70-75ish on 4.8 and the TJMAX is 105 but anything up to 85 im happy to run with.

    if you get any issues underlock your ram till you get a stable oc then bring the ram back up. Thats not really much of an issue these days though.
    Last edited by Void666; 2013-01-17 at 07:26 AM.
    Does Warlock Stuffz

  14. #14
    Deleted
    Quote Originally Posted by jholdaway View Post
    Finished putting together my rig and did a prime95 stress test for 14 minutes after I overclocked it to 4.4 and ran into no errors. With my old processor I was getting 70 fps in MoP and now I"m getting 100+. So yeah it helped a little. I haven't done any raids or instances yet so I don't know how it would fair under those conditions.

    I did notice that the max temp on my cpu during the test was 66 Celsius. Is that decent or bad?
    14min is very short for such test, better use a 12h overnight test to ensure stability more and you can also check if the temps are just a spike or actually average.
    but depending on what Vcore you got those temps match your cooler performance. (start worrying about temps once you reach the 80+ region for cpu)

  15. #15
    Instead of stresstesting what you can try is using a manual voltage mode & disabling power saving options and just use the pc normally as you always do. Most of the time you'll get a bsod 0x124 so means you have to up the vcore but if you don't have it just keep using the overclock.

  16. #16
    Deleted
    Quote Originally Posted by Faithh View Post
    Instead of stresstesting what you can try is using a manual voltage mode & disabling power saving options and just use the pc normally as you always do. Most of the time you'll get a bsod 0x124 so means you have to up the vcore but if you don't have it just keep using the overclock.
    no way to be certain an OC is stable at all with such method, more a luckfest in order to get the right clock and hope you won't bsod during that important essay?
    just spend a few evenings reading OC guides and you'll love for the rest of your life in order to get that next level of performance in many situations.

  17. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by shroudster View Post
    no way to be certain an OC is stable at all with such method, more a luckfest in order to get the right clock and hope you won't bsod during that important essay?
    just spend a few evenings reading OC guides and you'll love for the rest of your life in order to get that next level of performance in many situations.
    Luckfest? A calculation error is easily made even if the average cpu usage is 1%. A cpu does not have to be at 100% for hours to cause a bsod btw. This method takes its time but still allows you to use the pc instead of 20fps in any game..

  18. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by Faithh View Post
    Luckfest? A calculation error is easily made even if the average cpu usage is 1%. A cpu does not have to be at 100% for hours to cause a bsod btw. This method takes its time but still allows you to use the pc instead of 20fps in any game..
    While I don't disagree (I personally did this when I OC'd mine and it certainly works) There is simply no harm in letting him run p95 when he goes to sleep/work :P, If not only to see how far his cooling system can go.
    http://eu.battle.net/wow/en/characte...rning/advanced
    i5-3570k @ 4.4ghz - R9-280X @ 1150Mhz on stock voltage - 8GB of DDR3 Ram @ 1866Mhz

  19. #19
    Deleted
    Quote Originally Posted by Faithh View Post
    Luckfest? A calculation error is easily made even if the average cpu usage is 1%. A cpu does not have to be at 100% for hours to cause a bsod btw. This method takes its time but still allows you to use the pc instead of 20fps in any game..
    trusting the stability of my rig to the gods on RNG is something i'd recommend anyone to avoid. (similar to picking random numbers in order to find their maximum OC)
    start at stock and see how far one can push the system with short prime tests and use realtemp to monitor. (0.1 steps at a time untill bsod, then you can decide to go for max OC on stock voltage or up the Vcore in order to find higher clock rates if performance is lacking)
    full 12/24h test is recommended once you think you've found the sweet spot of a chip. (be it voltage or clock based or combined)

  20. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by shroudster View Post
    trusting the stability of my rig to the gods on RNG is something i'd recommend anyone to avoid. (similar to picking random numbers in order to find their maximum OC)
    start at stock and see how far one can push the system with short prime tests and use realtemp to monitor. (0.1 steps at a time untill bsod, then you can decide to go for max OC on stock voltage or up the Vcore in order to find higher clock rates if performance is lacking)
    full 12/24h test is recommended once you think you've found the sweet spot of a chip. (be it voltage or clock based or combined)
    Nothing to do with RNG :/ Complety nothing. I've overclocked a lot of bridges like that method. You can't sit a week or two without bsod's on a full clock if it's unstable..

    If you don't believe me, just get into your bios and lower your voltage by 0.05V or 0,075V and leave the pc at idle with a full clock, no speedstep crap.

    Had lately probs with my asus board at idle the vcore was dumping and was bsod'ing every 20-30mins.

    A platform like the C2Q I wouldn't use that method.

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