3930k overclocking help

[crazymonkeyzero]

I am new to overclocking, and recently put together a lga2011 build for black friday with the 3930k. I was wondering if someone good give some tips on where to start. I'm no extreme overclocker, and just want my 3.2ghz 3930k to run at 4ghz 24/7 for that extra boost without degradation of my components overtime. I tried the "EZ overclock" on my Asrock X79 extreme6 and it took the chip to 4ghz, but voltages seemed kind of high, I think (1.31v). I had XMP enabled when I did this, which may have been the reason.

Here are my components for reference.

Cpu: Intel Core i7 3930K
Mobo: Asrock X79 Extreme6
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 1600mhz cas:8 (4x4gb)
Cooler: Corsair H100
PSU: Seasonic G Series 550w

On a sidenote, idle temps for me are 37-38 according to bios, and 30-32 according to core temp; which should I believe (bios right?). Are these temps normal for the cpu, or did I mess up installing the cooler?

Thanks for the help/advice.

 

[BrightCandle]

Overclocking lga 2011 is pretty easy. To get 4Ghz all you need to do is reset your bios to default, set the Overcurrent to 140% and then increase all the core boast frequency to 4Ghz. You may find that just works without any voltage adjustment. Run lots of software, push your machine to the limit with prime 95 and LinX and confirm its stable by running them for 10 minutes at least. If anything fails, you get a blue screen etc then go back into the bios and push up the voltage offset a little bit (0.005 V) and keep doing that until its stable. That is all it will take to get 4 Ghz.

 

[crazymonkeyzero]

Thanks for the suggestion. What would be a good voltage for 4ghz, and what would be bad. I hear that for 4ghz you want to stay below 1.3v.

 

[BrightCandle]

Doesn't matter what a good voltage is, you just find one that is stable on your CPU. Everyone is different so just keep stability testing after any change and find out where it works.

 

[moonbogg]

My 3930k is at 4.3 and I didn't touch the voltage. I left it on Auto (offset) just like the BIOS defaults to. At 4.3 it applies 1.28v max under load and this is low enough for me to be comfortable with. For your 4ghz goal, if you leave on auto I think you will be fine. Turn off all of those power boost settings and turn off all of the increased current stuff to low or off. I just increased CPU current capability to 130%, and I don' think I really needed to but I did it anyway.

 

[BrightCandle]

My 3930k is at 4.3 and I didn't touch the voltage. I left it on Auto (offset) just like the BIOS defaults to. At 4.3 it applies 1.28v max under load and this is low enough for me to be comfortable with. For your 4ghz goal, if you leave on auto I think you will be fine. Turn off all of those power boost settings and turn off all of the increased current stuff to low or off. I just increased CPU current capability to 130%, and I don' think I really needed to but I did it anyway.

The problem with auto is that it often over does the voltage. 1.28V is pretty decent for 4.3 stable but often we see auto doesn't work. Its normally better to do this yourself, its not very difficult and it can help you work out what to do next if the machine crashes.

 

[exar333]

Overclocking lga 2011 is pretty easy. To get 4Ghz all you need to do is reset your bios to default, set the Overcurrent to 140% and then increase all the core boast frequency to 4Ghz. You may find that just works without any voltage adjustment. Run lots of software, push your machine to the limit with prime 95 and LinX and confirm its stable by running them for 10 minutes at least. If anything fails, you get a blue screen etc then go back into the bios and push up the voltage offset a little bit (0.005 V) and keep doing that until its stable. That is all it will take to get 4 Ghz.

This.

With the OP's H100, he/she should be able to hit at least 4.2ghz without too much trouble, unless the CPU is really a dog. Once you hit around 4.5ghz or so, the heat really starts to ramp-up because you need a decent bump in voltage to keep it stable.

 

[moonbogg]

The problem with auto is that it often over does the voltage. 1.28V is pretty decent for 4.3 stable but often we see auto doesn't work. Its normally better to do this yourself, its not very difficult and it can help you work out what to do next if the machine crashes.

I'd have to agree with you. I discovered something interesting when tweaking this chip. Anything over 4.3 with auto enabled resulted in much too high voltage. I was at 4.5ghz and the auto set the voltage to 1.4. That seems a bit too much. But if going 4.3 and below, the auto voltage actually uses reasonable voltage in my experience.

 

[crazymonkeyzero]

Thanks for the feedback.

So I think I have a really bad chip due to the silicon lottery seeing the low voltages you guys are running at. My chip runs at 1.27v on stock (I have not messed with anything except XMP) It is currently on auto mode for everything.

Here is a picture of the bios for Asrock X79 mobo (its not my computer, but I have the same options on my system). Could someone please tell which settings to tinker with. For, me everything is default right now, which I believe is auto.

 

[Kenmitch]

I wouldn't worry about the vcore yet. Most of the time when the MB's on auto the vcore will be higher.

Never played around with a s2011 yet.

That is just a image of your UEFI and not your settings I'd assume.

If it was me I'd start with optimized bios default. Look for vcore settings and then switch to offset mode. Change offset to +0.005v's. Look for a additional turbo voltage setting then change it to +0.005v's also. Leaving everything else alone for now. Boot into windows and load the CPU down and see what the vcore is showing at now.

If you look OK then I'd think you'd just be able to set the max ratio to 40x and try and see if it's stable and how much vcore you get under load.

 

[moonbogg]

Thanks for the feedback.

So I think I have a really bad chip due to the silicon lottery seeing the low voltages you guys are running at. My chip runs at 1.27v on stock (I have not messed with anything except XMP) It is currently on auto mode for everything.

Here is a picture of the bios for Asrock X79 mobo (its not my computer, but I have the same options on my system). Could someone please tell which settings to tinker with. For, me everything is default right now, which I believe is auto.

Are those deaults? It looks like you are using an auto overclocking feature of the board? "Load CPU EZ OC Setting" set to Auto? Can you set that to OFF? I would turn that off and everything else to defaults. Try that and repost image.

 

[dima777]

I am new to overclocking, and recently put together a lga2011 build for black friday with the 3930k. I was wondering if someone good give some tips on where to start. I'm no extreme overclocker, and just want my 3.2ghz 3930k to run at 4ghz 24/7 for that extra boost without degradation of my components overtime. I tried the "EZ overclock" on my Asrock X79 extreme6 and it took the chip to 4ghz, but voltages seemed kind of high, I think (1.31v). I had XMP enabled when I did this, which may have been the reason.

Here are my components for reference.

Cpu: Intel Core i7 3930K
Mobo: Asrock X79 Extreme6
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 1600mhz cas:8 (4x4gb)
Cooler: Corsair H100
PSU: Seasonic G Series 550w

On a sidenote, idle temps for me are 37-38 according to bios, and 30-32 according to core temp; which should I believe (bios right?). Are these temps normal for the cpu, or did I mess up installing the cooler?

Thanks for the help/advice.

glad to see you got the i7 3930k as well)) I wonder how does it compare to the speed of the e3-1275v2 system you have also ? thanks!)

 

[crazymonkeyzero]

No those are not my defaults. I just goggled my bios so you guys could see the options availible because every manufacturer has sightly different options. For me, everything is currently on auto or enabled. The photo is of someone else's settings. Sorry for the ambiguity.

Is it possible to change frequencies without messing with voltage. I heard that you can just change cpu ratio to 40 and test out if it works right?

Also, if I set everything back to default, and OC my chip, will I be able to get my memory to run at 1600mhz again? It defaulted to 1333 which is why I used the XMP 1.2 profile so it ran at 1600.

 

[crazymonkeyzero]

glad to see you got the i7 3930k as well)) I wonder how does it compare to the speed of the e3-1275v2 system you have also ? thanks!)

Well I'm not using ECC, so 3930k was an alternative for me over thE Xeon E5.

In heavily threaded jobs I see, ~25-30% faster than 1275v2. In less threaded stuff, they are neck and neck 3930k is 5-10% faster. But this is attributed due to faster memory as well (running tight timings on lga 2011, whereas ECC timings are a bit loose for Xeon E3)

 

[moonbogg]

No those are not my defaults. I just goggled my bios so you guys could see the options availible because every manufacturer has sightly different options. For me, everything is currently on auto or enabled. The photo is of someone else's settings. Sorry for the ambiguity.

Is it possible to change frequencies without messing with voltage. I heard that you can just change cpu ratio to 40 and test out if it works right?

Also, if I set everything back to default, and OC my chip, will I be able to get my memory to run at 1600mhz again? It defaulted to 1333 which is why I used the XMP 1.2 profile so it ran at 1600.

your ram speed is isolated from your CPU and can be set all by itself to whatever you want. I don't use XMP profiles myself, I just set the speed and the timings per what the ram spec is. I don't know what else XMP profiles might change, so I can't comment there and I don't use them.
You can change frequency without touching voltage, but only if the cpu voltage is set to manual. I would try leaving voltage on auto and set your cpu to 4ghz, enable "all cores adjustable in OS" if you haven't already done so and see where that gets you.
If you get into windows, have core temp, CPUz and Prime95 or another stress tester ready. Kick your CPU in the balls with the stress tester and watch CPUz while it is running to see what voltage is reported. Watch your temps also. Start there and explain how it goes.