Help with 8600k OC on MSI SLI-Plus mobo

[Malditor]

Hey, thanks for stopping by and helping me out. First, I'll state that this is my first time doing any OC on a CPU, so it's entirely possible I'm either missing something or overestimating what's possible with my components.

I recently finished my first build upgrading from a 4790 non-k based system and was hoping to put together something that will last as least as long as that system did. My current components are as follows:

8600k
Hyper 212 Evo
MSI SLI-Plus
GeIL DDR 4 3000
Antec High current Gamer 750

Right now I'm only able to get a stable 4.8 ghz @ ~1.37v
My temps are actually pretty good considering the cooling I have, highest peaks are low to mid 80s non-delidded

My question is, is this a silicon lottery loss on the CPU or an issue with my other components? Or is it just a case of a newbie making simple mistakes on what to set in the BIOS?
One thing that does confuse me is that my system never shows 4800MHz because the base always shows 99.98 x 48.0 instead of 100 x 48.0.

Any help/pointers is greatly appreciated. If this is just the limit of what my chip can do then I'll deal with it as it's still a large improvement over my previous set up.

 

[UsandThem]

Each CPU will have different OC limits. That being said, the 212 EVO is good for a small to moderate overclock, but it is not a top performing cooler by any means. If you are hitting mid 80's, you really should get a better cooler or back off your OC some as that is too warm to run 24/7.

 

[Malditor]

Each CPU will have different OC limits. That being said, the 212 EVO is good for a small to moderate overclock, but it is not a top performing cooler by any means. If you are hitting mid 80's, you really should get a better cooler or back off your OC some as that is too warm to run 24/7.

I do plan on delidding and/or getting an AiO upgrade at some point. That said, I only touch those 80's in benchmark programs. In regular use while gaming it stays in the 60s max so I didn't think it was something I needed to look into right away.

 

[UsandThem]

I do plan on delidding and/or getting an AiO upgrade at some point. That said, I only touch those 80's in benchmark programs. In regular use while gaming it stays in the 60s max so I didn't think it was something I needed to look into right away.

That's always a choice, but are you chasing some type of OC record? If not, voiding the warranty of your brand new CPU for the possibility of another 100 Mhz - 300 Mhz that you won't notice seems extreme for me if this is your first time overclocking. Why not just buy a higher TDP air cooler (or AIO), and whatever speed you are able to hit with it would be good enough?

 

[Malditor]

That's always a choice, but are you chasing some type of OC record? If not, voiding the warranty of your brand new CPU for the possibility of another 100 Mhz - 300 Mhz that you won't notice seems extreme for me if this is your first time overclocking. Why not just buy a higher TDP air cooler (or AIO), and whatever speed you are able to hit with it would be good enough?

It's just my nature to try to push things as far as I can. It is a fair point that I should rein in that instinct and just stick with what I can get as it is. Honestly, I know that any improvements by pushing higher will be negligible anyway. What would be your suggestion for a reasonable priced cooling upgrade? My case isn't really set up for large AIO coolers (coolermaster masterbox 5 white) but I could probably put a 120 or 240 in fairly easily for the CPU. The memory I have is higher profile so a larger air cooler probably wouldn't work out very well, but I know that going with liquid cooling could cause an issue with VRM heat due to lack of airflow from fans.

 

[coercitiv]

Right now I'm only able to get a stable 4.8 ghz @ ~1.37v
My temps are actually pretty good considering the cooling I have, highest peaks are low to mid 80s non-delidded

You may want to check your LLC (Load-Line Calibration) settings if you haven't done that already. Make sure your actual core voltage (Vcore) under load is as close as possible to your voltage settings (Core VID). It's not a magic bullet, but can improve stability while overclocking.

 

[Burpo]

Is this your bios? Seems pretty straight forward.. Are you using OC Genie & XMP? Your CPU voltage does seem high.

 

[UsandThem]

You may want to check your LLC (Load-Line Calibration) settings if you haven't done that already. Make sure your actual core voltage (Vcore) under load is as close as possible to your voltage settings (Core VID). It's not a magic bullet, but can improve stability while overclocking.

I only use larger tower coolers (Noctua NH-U14S in my main PC), so I will have to let someone else recommend a AIO cooler.

Just to give you some perspective before you decide to delid your CPU (since you are already hitting 4.8 with an undersized cooler):

https://siliconlottery.com/collections/coffeelake

84% hit 5.0 Ghz
65% hit 5.1 Ghz
38% hit 5.2 Ghz
13% hit 5.3 Ghz

It's your money and your decision if you want to try this, but just remember things can go wrong with delidding, so before you decide to do it, make sure you are willing to accept the risks of turning your CPU into a paperweight. Personally, I would just buy a better cooler, and you will be able to hit 5.0 Ghz - 5.1 Ghz most likely, and call it a day.

Just my .02

 

[Malditor]

You may want to check your LLC (Load-Line Calibration) settings if you haven't done that already. Make sure your actual core voltage (Vcore) under load is as close as possible to your voltage settings (Core VID). It's not a magic bullet, but can improve stability while overclocking.

I have been trying different LLC settings. I'm pretty stable but the core voltage just is much higher than others seem to end up with for the oc I've achieved.

Is this your bios? Seems pretty straight forward.. Are you using OC Genie & XMP? Your CPU voltage does seem high.

My Bios actually looks a little different. I do have an OC button and the XMP button though. I am not using the OC but I am using the XMP button.

 

[Malditor]

I only use larger tower coolers (Noctua NH-U14S in my main PC), so I will have to let someone else recommend a AIO cooler.

Just to give you some perspective before you decide to delid your CPU (since you are already hitting 4.8 with an undersized cooler):

https://siliconlottery.com/collections/coffeelake

84% hit 5.0 Ghz
65% hit 5.1 Ghz
38% hit 5.2 Ghz
13% hit 5.3 Ghz

It's your money and your decision if you want to try this, but just remember things can go wrong with delidding, so before you decide to do it, make sure you are willing to accept the risks of turning your CPU into a paperweight. Personally, I would just buy a better cooler, and you will likely be able to hit 5.0 Ghz - 5.1 Ghz most likely, and call it a day.

Just my .02

I'll have to see if I can find a better air cooler that will still clear my memory. I remember seeing that breakdown of % before, which is part of why I was a bit disappointed that I wasn't able to reach 5 Ghz, but I also realized that I don't have high end cooling so it could have been holding me back.

 

[Burpo]

I am not using the OC but I am using the XMP button.

Mmmm, ok.. Good luck!

 

[Malditor]

Mmmm, ok.. Good luck!

I thought about seeing what the automatic OC settings would give me, I may give it a shot when I get home. I can just save the current settings as a profile if I want to revert back. Or, I may just remove any overclock and just lock the cpu to the stock max turbo across all the cores and see if it makes any difference in the games I play until I can get a better cooling option.

 

[Malditor]

Just a quick revisit. After testing a lot of different settings I finally got my system to be solidly stable at 4.7 ghz all cores at 1.3v with an uncore of 4ghz and an avx offset of 3. I have really aggressive fan speeds set up for the cpu cooler and case so the temps in daily use/gaming tend to stay upper 50s to very low 60s. Idle temps for cores tend to be low 30s. With the avx offset aida64 only runs at 4.4ghz so the cpu temps running it barely touch mid to upper 60s and doesn't even reach the 95w tdp rating, hitting only 86w. I can't imagine I'd get it anymore stable than it currently is and probably wouldn't see much, if any improvement by trying to push it further. All that said, I'm still a bit disappointed with how low the stable OC ended up being with so many reports of easily reaching 5.0 ghz at lower voltage than I was able to achieve.

 

[EXCellR8]

...I'm still a bit disappointed with how low the stable OC ended up being with so many reports of easily reaching 5.0 ghz at lower voltage than I was able to achieve.

There is a little bit of luck that plays a part in overclocking. You still might be able to achieve desired speeds with tweaked voltages, updated BIOS, and premium cooling options like a AIO liquid cooler or dense large fan air cooler coupled with some good thermal compound.

 

[Malditor]

There is a little bit of luck that plays a part in overclocking. You still might be able to achieve desired speeds with tweaked voltages, updated BIOS, and premium cooling options like a AIO liquid cooler or dense large fan air cooler coupled with some good thermal compound.

I imagine you are correct, and I do need to keep in mind that most of the CPUs that show those higher clocks tend to be delidded and on a high end cooler. I really should be happy that I have such good temps and a stable OC that's only a few hundred mhz lower than they get. I'm still kicking around the idea of getting an AIO and delidding at some point, but probably not anytime soon as everything is running very well as it sits.