First time overclocker - basic advice needed

[gox1201]

Greetings

I've just finished setting up my system, and would like to try my hand at some overclocking

I've read [MENTION=1007]Vivi[/MENTION]'s guide on the z77 version of my Z87 Oc Formula, as well as the linus one on haswell overclocking.

I have a handful of questions, if people won't mind giving me their input


First off, system specs:
4770k ultracooled, Asrock Z87 formula OC, Corsair 2666mhz 2x8gb, Vengeance pro, stock settings 11-13-13-35, 2n, 770 gtx on loan, seasonic 760w platinum, Thermaltake water 3.0 extreme, and a pair of ssd's (Samsung 840 pro 256, OCZ vertex 450 256g, all in a 750d


I've attached a screenshot of where everything is set at the moment

**URL for full size image***


Now my questions:

1. According to a few guides, before I try overclock I should drop my memory down to 1333.... is this necessary?
2. Anyone have a link to a better haswell overclocking guide?
3. CPU input voltage. What should this be/ how do I determine this? I see my AsRock board has defaulted to 1.9V ? is that high?low?average? very confusing info online if you google it, I can see old pre-haswell you wanted below 1.7, not sure now?

I'll add more questions as I progress =-)
Thanks so much

 

[KLEAN_upguy]

runn you memory default settings thats 1600mhz on haswell chips
and 1,9v is l2n levels of voltage extreamly to high...on air and water i dont advise running higher than 1,5v...

 

[gox1201]

[MENTION=25969]KLEAN_upguyy[/MENTION] I'm referring to cpu input voltage not vcore. Vcore is sitting at 1.21v at 4.5ghz

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk

 

[KLEAN_upguy]

i see...well hey thats some good numbers ...i recently got my chip ultra cooled too also by vivi

 

[gox1201]

Well just completed a 4h stress test with Intel Extreme tuning util. Seems to be stable with the following

45x100mhz, Vcore 1.20 (offset 0).
Cores were averaging around 55-60 degrees, max temps were 61-66-62-57, then fans increased and brought them all around 58-59

Memory was left at 2600, factory clocks

Where to from here?
46x?
102x?
Vcore up by 0.5?

Still not really sure about the memory though
- Anyone have any good tips on how to tweak memory timings? Do they have to be tweaked in sync? Currently 11-13-13-35-2n, I was hoping to get them to 10-12-12-32-1n as they were tested stable at those frequencies on Asus board, but it stalls out for me in the CMOS. Any other tips?

 

[VPII]

Hi [MENTION=23192]gox1201[/MENTION] I found this The Gigabyte Z87/Haswell Overclocking(OC) Guide guide to be one of the better guides as it is not too complex and it includes some tips for when going sub-zero

 

[gox1201]

[MENTION=3888]VPII[/MENTION] thanks reading that =-)

I'm having trouble figuring out Processor Frequency and Processor Cache Frequency, according to the intel extreme tuning utility, my Processor frequency is 4600mhz, and my Cache frequency 3900....

 

[VPII]

Read through the guide it tells you what to aim for.... in general the two should be close or equal

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[Gouhan]

This stuff is always best shown in person rather than read. However all those guides above will help you immensely.
You leave memory low so that you can prevent any instability that may be caused by aggressive memory clocking while you find out your CPU clock max. Since you're not doing any LN2 clocking right now.
Your max CPU freq should be easy to find. Probably take 5min or less
Also try not to use XTU to text stabilty unless you're looking for a 24/7 overclock. XTU is prime95 based so it loads your CPU like nothing else you'd ever run would
You can fail XTU and pass every other benchmark repeatedly

 

[Vivi]

Greetings

Now my questions:

1. According to a few guides, before I try overclock I should drop my memory down to 1333.... is this necessary?
2. Anyone have a link to a better haswell overclocking guide?
3. CPU input voltage. What should this be/ how do I determine this? I see my AsRock board has defaulted to 1.9V ? is that high?low?average? very confusing info online if you google it, I can see old pre-haswell you wanted below 1.7, not sure now?

cool have fun with the system! some good input already, but ill just reply to the questions aswel

1. No need to drop to 1333, just leave it on the XMP of your memory, but make sure the memory is stable there before oc'ing cpu
2. Links to guides unsure, rather ask
3. general rule for me on air.

1.3vcore - 1.95vinput
1.4vcore - 2vinput
1.5vcore - 2.1vinput

 

[gox1201]

[MENTION=64]ShockG[/MENTION] [MENTION=1007]Vivi[/MENTION]

Thanks. Unfortunately not anyone around here to show me these things. You mentioned that max cpu frequency should be easy to find, How would I go about this without endangering it?

Currently the CPU is on 4.6ghz (46x100), running at an AUTO vcore of 1.296, Vcore volt offset of 0.005, cpu cache is at 44x100 4.4ghz, cache volt offset 0.2v , think the cache is still on auto volt as well.

Temps are really not an issue currently, ultracooled by vivi, cpu is doing in the low 60's on 1h of XTU, fans running at maybe 1000rpm on my Thermaltake Water 3.0 extreme (super quiet), they flux between 800-rpm to 1200rpm, max is 2800rpm.

Ram is running on the only xmp profile they have currently, THINK its stable.
[MENTION=64]ShockG[/MENTION] this is the ram I got from you, the Vengeance 2666, once my CPU clock is stable, I'd like to try to tighten the timings a bit, I saw you managed to get 10-12-12-31-1n on them, vs the rated 11-13-13-13-35-2n, changing the 2n setting to anything else seems to give immediate system lockup

Not sure if thats due to the configuration I have them in in the motherboard, they are in socket A2 &B2 as per the motherboard manual's "primary" ram slots (aka the yellow slots on the asrock z87 oc formula board)
I saw gigabyte say that there ram slots differ: "boards use Intel’s latest mix of T-topology(“Y&#8221 and Daisy Chain(“I&#8221 to maximize each channel’s performance, it is beneficial to test out each slot differently as some have their DQ/DQS lines routed in a “Y” and some in a “I” for single DIMM you want on that is routed in the “I” combined with some in the “Y”.", but that made no sense to me at all, infact I don't really understand the last part of ram ratings at all.

So advice please =-) I'd love to get away from "auto" mode on anything, as I'm trying to understand the CPU

Ps. Vivi - this is the cpu you cooled for me, recovered from my stolen stuff (got it back YAY! they dropped it outside my proprety, must have thought the box was empty cause its so light)

 

[gox1201]

Anyone that can explain to me how to adjust the voltage on my GPU?
Basically looking to add say 0.38mv to my GPU (EVGA)

I have precision x and Msi afterburner, but the voltage slider won't unlock. I also have the evga voltage util, but the settings confuse me: screenie attached

http://i44.tinypic.com/10r0ojn.jpg