My i7 7700k Has Arrived - Insights, Benchies & Overclocks Inside (Now With Delid!)

[RichUK]

2nd January - 5.1Ghz Prime Stable with AVX multiplier offset

Interesting, so the new BIOS actually allows a negative multiplier offset for AVX instructions which has allowed me to overclock to 5.1Ghz and auto drop down to 5Ghz when avx instructions are executed. Not sure if this is a new feature for Kaby Lake processors?

I have left the voltage configuration the same as the 5Ghz overclock that was 24 hour Prime95 v27.9 stable - 230mv offset with LLC level 2 - and now have prime95 v26.6 stability at 5.1Ghz for over 2 hours using the 1344 small FFT custom test (guide here: http://overclocking.guide/stability-testing-with-prime-95/). The voltage stabilises at 1.376v (instead of 1.36v when using v27.9 @ 5Ghz) as v26.6 isn't putting as much load on the processor.

When I execute Prime95 v27.9 or v28.10 the multiple automatically drops to x50 / 5Ghz as expected, so I have essentially found another 100Mhz using the AVX offset.

Some 5.3Ghz Cinebench R15, why not:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
21st December - 5Ghz 24 hours Prime Stable

Goal Achieved

I set out to achieve 5Ghz at or below 1.4v and 75 degrees.

• 5Ghz @ 1.36v
• Average temps under 75 degrees
• VCCIO / VCCSA - Auto in BIOS (default)
• 24 hours Prime95 v27.9 Small FFTs - stable with no failures
  • I am comfortable with v27.9 over v28.10 (more volts / temps) to prove stability for my usage.
• I reduced the Kraken x62 fan speed to 50% and increased pump to 100% - the system is now silent for me.

Associating benchmarks:

• Geekbench: https://browser.geekbench.com/v4/cpu/1393935
• Cinebench R15: https://s28.postimg.org/uo1q2uzv1/CB_R15.jpg
• Cinebench R11.5: https://s24.postimg.org/uu5mqe9z9/CB_R11_5.jpg
• Blender v2.77 - Ryzen @150 Samples: https://s28.postimg.org/5kxlq8ny5/Blender_V2_77_Ryzen.jpg
• Blender v2.78a - Ryzen @150 Samples: https://s29.postimg.org/rqye5er9j/Blender_V2_78a_Ryzen.jpg

Next Steps:

• Z270 (Asus Hero or TUF) and DDR4-4000+

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
20th December

Member Chrisch posted some great results from his gold sample 7700k - 5Ghz @ 1.28v and 5.1Ghz @ 1.328v under Prime is extremely impressive.

When delidded the max temps in Prime are only ~50 degrees at 5Ghz on this chip (made possible by the reduced Vcore requirement for 5Ghz), netting a ~20 degree reduction in max temps. Let's hope more 7700k's perform like batch L642G244!

5Ghz @ 1.28v

5.1Ghz @ 1.328v

Before & after delidding, 30min 1344k Prime test:

Chrisch's delid video - it really is that simple (and relatively risk free IMO)!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
18th December

Member Chrisch has also witnessed similar temp drops after a delid on a 7700k with a different batch number, so this appears to be a trend (albeit with only 2 data points).

Chrisch also posted an impressive Geekbench score - 5GHz, DDR4-3200 15-17-17-35 2T:

~~~~~~~~~~~
17th December

Geekbench at 5.3Ghz / memory stock: https://browser.geekbench.com/v4/cpu/1357306

~~~~~~~~~~~
16th December

EDIT:
Out of curiosity I googled 7700k delid and saw a number of websites reporting on my findings of the 30 degree temp drop, but were unsure on cooling method in both tests so thought I should clarify: The before and after tests were 100% identical (with exception of delid) to isolate the delid, both tests used:

• The same cooler at the same setting: Kraken X62 - Fan @ 50% and pump at @ 65% (by the way, this cooler is only about 3 degrees cooler than the H110i, but has better config available)
• Exactly the same BIOS settings - which was a x50 multiplier and voltage offset with LLC level 2 resulting in a stable 1.344v under prime 95 load
• Memory stock (C15) and Uncore stock.
• Prime 95 v27.9 run for 15 minutes in both tests.
• The same case / config / install (tested with case side panel installed - i.e. how i would actually use it for 24/7 use so the test would be more meaningful to me): https://s30.postimg.org/gzluzd7w1/Case.jpg

----------------------------

The journey to rock solid 5Ghz continues.

Some more interesting finds. Before delid the temps in Prime 95 v28.7 Small FFTs were insane and would almost instantly fail - i believe the increased temps destabilises overclocks (from what I've read, due to noise caused by heat).

After delid, I was able to run Prime 95 v28.10 small FFTs (latest version!) at 5Ghz 1.392v for over 7 hours before one logical core failed.

At 5Ghz using Prime 95 v28.10 Small FFTs, I observed:

• 1.36v fails in 9 mins (one logical core)
• 1.376v fails in 17 mins (one logical core)
• 1.392v fails on one logical core in 7 hours 18 minutes.

The pic shows 1.408v as the load dropped after one logical core failed (this is vdroop in play):

Ryzen blender test at 5.2Ghz:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

13th December

EDIT: Initial Intel Burn Test shows a pass at 5.1Ghz - 1.376v / 72 degrees max temp: https://s27.postimg.org/8fewhhwkz/IBT_5_1_Ghz.jpg

Delid done

Before and after delid with Liquid Ultra - 5Ghz, 1.344v, Kraken X62 @ 50% fan and 65% pump (i.e. silent), Prime95 v27.9 - 26 degrees difference (~30 degrees max temp difference)!

Before - https://s27.postimg.org/mgu5i6sc3/5ghz_P95_27_9_before.jpg
After - https://s28.postimg.org/lg9hfqj6l/5ghz_P95_27_9_after.jpg

Prime95 v28.7 doesn't instantly fail at 5Ghz anymore either. It would shoot up to 99 degrees, now stays at 66 degrees and did so for 1 minutes no failure.

More testing to follow!

https://s23.postimg.org/ko320iaiz/image.jpg

https://s24.postimg.org/v8m16c8n9/image.jpg

https://s30.postimg.org/97zrj5fgh/image.jpg

https://s23.postimg.org/c91oadnnf/image.jpg

https://s29.postimg.org/50d40oth3/image.jpg

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
6th December

EDIT: - Looks like 5Ghz might be back on the table

Short test with Prime95 v27.9 - 5Ghz at 1.34v stable for 15 minutes where as v28.7 was insta-fail and insane temps:

For note, I am also not seeing failures when running IBT and OCCT (AVX Linpak ticked) at 5Ghz.

--------------------Everything below this line is old case and old H110i cooler---------------

So, first stability checkpoint / baseline reached. The headlines:

• 6 hours Prime95 Small FFTs stable - using Prime95 v28.7
• 4.7 Ghz @ 1.264v (memory stock - 2133) - note, HWinfo doesn't report volts correctly - see CPU-z.
• Average temp 83 degrees
• Corsair H110i set to quiet mode (I'd never leave it in performance mode due to the increased noise - I don't want to sit next to a vacuum cleaner!)
• A-Tuning was used to adjust the offset - 0.02v and 0.03v failed in under an hour, 0.05v achieved stability at 4.7Ghz.

For me, Prime95 Small FFTs is the gold standard in testing overclock stability, as OCCT and IBT pass at 5Ghz 1.36v where as P95 does not. Prime95 also produces the most heat - for these reasons, i feel it better tests the max load conditions (BF1 only gets temps to around 65 degrees).

Given i'll need more voltage for higher frequencies resulting in 99 Degrees temps on the current setup (where it will also continually throttle), I'll be waiting until I delid and install the Kraken X62 on Thursday/Friday before going for Prime 95 Small FFT stability at 4.9Ghz which should be achievable with less than 1.4v (i may even attempt 5Ghz again, with better VRM cooling and CPU temps).

Benchmark sanity test:

• https://browser.geekbench.com/v4/cpu/1263060
  
• https://s4.postimg.org/if8o998il/CR15_4_7_Ghz.jpg

The below should be a useful comparison against 6700k overclocks:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1st December

It's too early to draw conclusions, but my initial observations are:

• The 7700k has the potential to be stable at 5Ghz @ ~1.4v, with exceptional samples reaching 5.1 / 5.2 perhaps.
• The power draw when overclocked 'seems' high, evidenced by the vdroop of 0.08v when under IBT load! I have no other means of measuring power draw - Let's hope the AT review focuses in on this.
• I am unclear at this point whether temps are being reported correctly, but i believe not given the general expectations is for higher temps under poor air cooling (plus I witnessed a discrepancy of ~15 degrees idle temp between the BIOS and Windows/OS) .
• Could an AIO cooler be standard in order to run overclocks north of 4.8ghz?
• If you're going to overclock, get a board that has strong / stable power delivery to sustain voltage with limited vdroop! I'm not sure whether Z270 motherboards will offer better VRMs etc in anticipation for the 7700k.

Next Steps:

• Install AIO water cooler (either NZXT Kraken X62 or Corsair H110i with better fans)
• Verify temperature readings
• Configure voltage to avoid it dropping below stable voltage requirements at 5Ghz (1.36 - 1.38v should be enough is my assumption)
• Stress test
• Re-run benchmarks
• De-lid and log temp drop - tool: http://rockitcool.myshopify.com/
• Enjoy
• Buy a decent Z270 board if needed when they're released.
• Enjoy some more.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
30th November

Right, let's get to it (i'll tidy this up later, along with adding further detail regarding the OC (and Temps )

Rig:
Proc - i7 7700k
Mobo - Asrock Z170 Pro4S - BIOS v7
RAM - Corsair 2x8GB 3000Mhz C15
GFX - EVGA GTX 1060 6GB SC
Cooling Stock - an old Thermalright 6 heat pipe tower, Corsair SP120
Cooling for OC - Corsair H110i with 2 x Corsair ML140 Pro LED (cheap black Friday deal)

Processor Pics:

https://s18.postimg.org/42y5ihjrt/image.jpg
https://s15.postimg.org/5gwhnw2nf/image.jpg
https://s11.postimg.org/f98al9mgz/image.jpg

GeekBench v4: https://browser.geekbench.com/v4/cpu/1203097

CPU-Z (Stock):

Cinebench R15 (Stock - Single & Multi Threaded Scores):

 

[RichUK]

Quick and dirty 5Ghz OC @ 1.36v, RAM @ 2133 / C15 (by the way, still on the POS air cooling - https://s22.postimg.org/bicwzvzfl/POS_Air_Cooler.jpg):

NOTE: This hasn't been stress tested for stability, I just booted straight to the desktop and ran the CR15 MT bench.

GeekBench v4: https://browser.geekbench.com/v4/cpu/1203564

CR15 Multi Threaded:

 

[LTC8K6]

Well, that's great compared to the Tom's info.

 

[Justinbaileyman]

Cool beans!! dont see why every ones crying over a CPU that can hit 5.0GHz at 1.4v and lower. I cant wait to get my hands on one soon as they are released for retail.

 

[Sweepr]

Quick and dirty 5Ghz OC @ 1.36v, RAM @ 2133 / C15 (by the way, still on the POS air cooling - https://s22.postimg.org/bicwzvzfl/POS_Air_Cooler.jpg)

Nice, looking forward to your results! If you don't mind I will be reposting them on my thread.

 

[Arachnotronic]

RichUK, what is the uncore running at? Go into the "memory" tab and take a screenshot, pretty please?

 

[waldoh]

I really hope 5ghz is the normal over clock without having to win the silicon lottery.

 

[Justinbaileyman]

I really hope 5ghz is the normal over clock without having to win the silicon lottery.

Me To!!

 

[Annisman*]

I really hope 5ghz is the normal over clock without having to win the silicon lottery.

You can always win the silicon lottery if you're willing to pay for it aka Silicon Lottery

 

[RichUK]

RichUK, what is the uncore running at? Go into the "memory" tab and take a screenshot, pretty please?

Below shows the max I could bench with R15 in terms of CPU and memory frequency. 5.1Ghz would blue screen with 1.4v when CB R15 is half way through (suspect the cause to be horrendous vdroop on this board). The memory won't post when set at it's rated speed of 3000Mhz, so it's clocked at 2900Mhz (i believe this is a mobo limitation, even with DRAM 1.4v, VCCIO 1.2v and VCCSA 1.2v).

The first red circle is supposed to be next to NB frequency, not sure why it jumped up to channel config - eitherway it's locked at 4.2Ghz by default (speedstep disabled).

GeekBench: https://browser.geekbench.com/v4/cpu/1205427

 

[RichUK]

The vdroop on this board is ridiculous. I reckon once dialed in, I'll likely be looking at 5Ghz @ 1.4v (need to play around with offsets and LLC).

A better motherboard should be able to unlock the full potential of this processor. The Asrock Z170 Pro4S is pretty much bottom of the range / full on budget board after all. I'll await a decent Z270 to satisfy my inner geek.

IBT fails due to the vdroop, but temps don't appear to be alarming with my poor air cooling:

 

[waldoh]

You can always win the silicon lottery if you're willing to pay for it aka Silicon Lottery

I don't trust that site. I feel like they would push a chip past stable to take a benchmark and sell it at whatever freq they manage to hit.

 

[VirtualLarry]

RichUK, I also have both the Z170 Pro4S ATX, as well as the B150 K4/Hyper ATX boards. I've got a G4400 dual-core in the Z170 boards, and when I dial in 1.400V, I get like 1.324V in CPU-Z under full load. You're right, the vdroop is atrocious on that board.

On my B150 board, I have an i5-6400 quad-core, so twice the power usage, theoretically, and I've got that dialed in at 1.410V, and 165.0 BCLK / 4.455Ghz. CPU-Z, under three-core full load (doing F@H on the other core, it doesn't use the whole thing), shows 1.408V solid.

Both boards are ASRock, and both state on their product pages, "10 phase DIGI-VRM" or something like that. There's no obvious spec differences on the product page with regards to the VRMs.

 

[Dave2150]

R15 scores seem too low for 5Ghz. Perhaps the temperature reporting is incorrect and it's throttling?

I get 1035 on my 6700k 4.7Ghz 1.3v. If you're clocked 300Mhz faster, you should have a higher score than 1040.

 

[wingman04]

My Gigabyte Z170 HD3 has no V droop it should do well overclocking that power hungry chip.

 

[LTC8K6]

I notice in the first HWinfo screen, a minimum clock speed of 456mhz? Bus at 24Mhz?

 

[RichUK]

R15 scores seem too low for 5Ghz. Perhaps the temperature reporting is incorrect and it's throttling?

I get 1035 on my 6700k 4.7Ghz 1.3v. If you're clocked 300Mhz faster, you should have a higher score than 1040.

Quite likely (if the expectation is the score should be higher) as i did spot the BIOS reporting ~15 degrees higher at idle compared to temps reported through windows. HWInfo is also incorrectly reporting the Vcore, so this throws the temp readings into doubt - i intend try other temp programs to see if there is a difference in the readings.

What is the speed / timings for your memory as that affects the score, too (so we can have a meaningful comparison)?

I pre-ordered the NZXT Kraken X62 a while back which is due for delivery early next week, so I may hold fire installing the H110i and return or re-purpose it (it was bought as a contingency) - plus i'm struggling for time to install it during the week (i may change my mind on the weekend).

 

[RichUK]

I notice in the first HWinfo screen, a minimum clock speed of 456mhz? Bus at 24Mhz?

Good spot - not sure what's causing that. I may be wrong, but i thought the BLCK should stay consistently at 100Mhz (if left unchanged) and minimum core clock should be ~800Mhz with speedstep enabled.

 

[RichUK]

It's too early to draw conclusions, but my initial observations are:

• The 7700k has the potential to be stable at 5Ghz @ ~1.4v, with exceptional samples reaching 5.1 / 5.2 perhaps.
• The power draw when overclocked 'seems' high, evidenced by the vdroop of 0.08v when under IBT load! I have no other means of measuring power draw - Let's hope the AT review focuses in on this.
• I am unclear at this point whether temps are being reported correctly, but i believe not given the general expectations is for higher temps under poor air cooling (plus I witnessed a discrepancy of ~15 degrees between the BIOS and windows) .
• Could an AIO cooler be standard in order to run overclocks north of 4.8ghz?
• If you're going to overclock, get a board that has strong power management to sustain voltage with limited vdroop! I'm not sure whether Z270 motherboards will offer better VRMS etc in anticipation for the 7700k.

 

[witeken]

Where did you get the chip from given that Intel hasn't announced it yet? In any case nice finds . Good process from Intel here. I guess it makes sense that Intel will extend 14nm for desktop a bit longer since 10nm is focused on power consumption, so 10nm might give an Ivy Bridge like drop in OC clock speed. It wouldn't surprise me in any case.

 

[RichUK]

My Gigabyte Z170 HD3 has no V droop it should do well overclocking that power hungry chip.

I saw next to no vdroop with my overclocked i3 6100 @ 4.5Ghz on a board with supposedly good VRMs - this 7700k is an entirely different beast, so try to manage your own expectations carefully.

 

[RichUK]

Where did you get the chip from given that Intel hasn't announced it yet? In any case nice finds . Good process from Intel here. I guess it makes sense that Intel will extend 14nm for desktop a bit longer since 10nm is focused on power consumption, so 10nm might give an Ivy Bridge like drop in OC clock speed. It wouldn't surprise me in any case.

A Chinese Santa Clause.

 

[TheELF]

I saw next to no vdroop with my overclocked i3 6100 @ 4.5Ghz on a board with supposedly good VRMs - this 7700k is an entirely different beast, so try to manage your own expectations carefully.

Wait what!? wasn't oc locked i3 supposed to be killing HT?
Can you give some info please?

 

[TheELF]

A Chinese Santa Clause.

I was a good boy this year.

 

[RichUK]

Wait what!? wasn't oc locked i3 supposed to be killing HT?
Can you give some info please?

Sorry, not sure i understand the question?

I used SKY OC (a BCLK OC) to overclock the locked processor.