Help: How do I overclock my i7-6800k ?

[joms]

Hi,



I am a total noob in overclocking. I want to overclock my i7-6800k to around 4Ghz. I've read and watched youtube but I am still uncertain. Can you guys give me a step by step things to do? I kept reading that I need to increase the multiplier then test then increase again until i get an error, then i increase the voltage until the error goes away then increase again the multiplier, etc.



Anyway here is my computer setup:

i7-6800k

Noctua NH-D15s (single fan only)

Corsair 780T case (stock fans)

Asus X99 Deluxe U3.1 (version 1 only - BIOS updated to latest)

Gskill ripjaws 32GB RAM (4x8GB)

Geforce GTX 760 (soon to be GTX1070 or 1080)

Corsair AX860i power supply

Samsung 950 Pro M.2 SSD - 512GB

Samsung 850 Pro SSD - 512GB

WD Black 4TB HDD

WD RE 6TB HDD

Windows 10 Pro 64bit



My usage = Photoshop / Lightroom / Light premiere (to study it this year) / Light after effects (to study it next year) / Light gaming (Starcraft 2 - once or 2x a week)



Questions:



1) I've seen others set the multiplier to 4.2x then voltage to 1.22v (to give them 4.2Ghz) but I only want 4Ghz (for mild overclock) so maybe I should set my voltage to 1.1v or 1.2v first?



2) Some said to use stock setting for Ram while others say to set it to XMP before overclocking. Which is right?



3) What program should I use to test? Some say to avoid prime as it will destroy your computer. Should I use Aida64, XTU, Prime, etc? (I prefer the free version but I can pay if it is really that much better). How long do I need to run it?



A step-by-step guide would be really good.



Thanks.

 

[lefenzy]

Why do you want to overclock? You get more noise and heat in return for what? <20% more clockspeed? Your usage doesn't suggest that your computer's performance is limiting you.

For me, a mild overclock would not involve any modification of voltage settings.

 

[jimbob200521]

YMMV but if I were in your shoes, I would set the RAM to XMP, set the CPU Multiplier to 40, and go with it. An overclock that small shouldn't require you to boost voltages. Hell I got 500mhz out of mine (I know, different CPU) easy with only changing the multiplier, no voltage boost needed. I stopped there because I didn't want/need any more. As for apps, Prime95, Aida64, Intel has a burn in/testing program, so does Asus, basically any stress testing program you want to use will work just fine, it will not blow up your computer.

 

[joms]

Thanks for the replies.

I have installed CPU-Z and just to test it. I am on my home computer i7-3820 on Asus Sabertooth X79 (my new computer is in the office).

The core voltage keeps jumping around from 1.056 to 1.072 to 1.064 to 1.144 to 1.248 to 1.112 to etc. Is this normal? I thought all along that the voltage doesn't change. Why is mine jumping?

Note: I did not overclock my home computer. Everything is in default (stock) settings.

Thanks.

 

[jimbob200521]

CPU's will automatically scale to slower or higher clock speeds based on load, thus they will also change voltages accordingly to match frequency.