Need help overclocking 4770k on MSI Z87A-GD65

H

Hocus

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Jun 4, 2013
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So I upgraded to Haswell.

I have the CPU running what seems to be stable at 4.2ghz by just changing the multiplier.

At the stock voltage at 4.2 my load temps on Prime95 are only ~52c.

I raised up the voltage to 1.24 and still could not get it stable in Prime95 @ 4.5ghz.

All I did here was change the core voltage.

Any suggestions for bios settings and what to change as this is totally different from over clocking my i7-860.

My hardware is as follows:

Fractal Design XL-R2, Corsair HX850
Samsung 840-Pro 256gb, LG 16x BDR
Swiftech H220, MSI Z87A-GD65, i7-4770K, G.Skill F3-2400C10D-16GTX
MSI GTX680PE
 
With this cpu, focus should be on de lidding it, much better cooling, better TIM, and luck of the draw honestly. It's not a super high clocker and it runs very hot.
 
I would rather not void my Microcenter warranty just yet.

I was able to achieve 4.5ghz by raising the voltage to 1.275 with memory at 1600mhz.

I still am not sure what other settings I can change to try to get the system stable at 4.6.
Even raising the voltage to 1.295 did not produce stability, temps got up to around 75c before the Intel stress test blue screened.
 
There is a review of the board over at techpowerup the reviewer was able to get 4.6 stable by bumping the ring voltage. I have the same board but havent tried overclocking it yet.
 
I currently have it up to 4.5 stable in Prime95.

Load temp is currently ~68c

Settings are

Core 45x
Ring 42x
Ram using XMP at 2400

1.25 core voltage - Adaptive
1.18 ring voltage - Adaptive

Not quite sure what to change to get it up to 4.6
Core voltage up to 1.275 with Ram down to 1333 did not work.

Any suggestions on what to try next.
 
Is there a guide somewhere on how to oc on these msi mbs? I've been on Asus for my last few mbs and I have no idea how there msi mbs work.
 
All I have found so far is the guides for overclocking the Asus boards. For the most part the bios settings are the same but I have not yet found if there are any other settings that might help me get higher overclocks stable on these MSI boards. My choice was between this board and the Maximus IV Hero but I got this board for $119 so I could not pass it up.
 
I can't seem to get my CPU passed 4.3 @ 1.25. At those setting the temps max out inthe lower 80's. I need to play in the bois more to get accustomed to the msi way.
 
What exactly is the "ring" voltage and what does it do?
This is new with z87 is it not?
 
where is the setting to make the cpu clock down when it is idle? mine, even at default setting runs at the max turbo boost even when doing nothing.
 
trick0502 said:
where is the setting to make the cpu clock down when it is idle? mine, even at default setting runs at the max turbo boost even when doing nothing.
Click to expand...

I'm at work, but pretty sure it was CPU Ratio Mode.

Mine is running fine at 4.5ghz with 1.285 volt but when i enable dynamic mode in CPU Ratio Mode, under Prime 95 cpu only gets up to 4.4ghz
 
has anyone tried to update their bios? it crashes ever time I try to update mine.

and, my cpu will not clock down. even when I load default setting and leave everything at stock the cpu clocks at 3.9 solid.
 
trick0502 said:
has anyone tried to update their bios? it crashes ever time I try to update mine.

and, my cpu will not clock down. even when I load default setting and leave everything at stock the cpu clocks at 3.9 solid.
Click to expand...

I updated my BIOS without issue. And mine clocks up and down, still trying to figure out why if its set to 4.5ghz in the bios it only throttles up to 4.4ghz under Prime 95 load ...
 
did you update in windows or in the bios? i had to update mine from windows.

i cannot figure out why the cpu runs at 3.9 at stock settings. when i load more then one core it clocks down to 3.7 (the max turbo when all cores are loaded). but why does it idle at 3.9??? ive read a few reviews and they all say the same thing, it clock the cpu to 3.9 at idle.
 
Lets get some more info going here. Whats everyone's current setup?

lets use the following template :

Any Bios Settings Changed from default :

Core 45x
1.285 core voltage - overide
Ram using XMP at 1600
Load temp (prime 95 seems the best) ~70c
Running Windows 8 pro

tried 4.6ghz and will run prime for 15 -30 minutes before windows blue screen

Any errors you have run into?

My power button was not working and discovered that the front panel connector that they provide (The block that you plug the power reset etc into) was not working. Everything worked fine once attached directly to the mother board with out the block
 
so far i have mine at the 43 multi and at 1.2 volts using xmp at 1600. stable so far with folding and battlefield 3. also running win8 pro but have noticed my usb 3 external hdd is giving me issues when i connect it and defaults back to usb 2 speeds. anyone have a usb 3 device they can try on win8?
 
I have a usb hard drive and thumbstick, will try them when I get home from work for you
 
thanks. i was on the msi website looking for updated usb 3 drivers. they have some but when i go to install they say computer doesnt meet minimum specs and wont install. looking on intels site they say they dont have drivers for usb 3 on windows 8 and to use ms's built in drivers so i dont know what the deal is.
 
I'm getting around 120 MBs from SSD to USB3 Western Digital Hard Drive and around 90MBs the other way. Not sure if that's good or not to be honest lol
 
Have you tried a higher strap and a lower multiplier? try 125x37

Have you tried lowering the cache speed. 300-400mhz under the chip could make it more stable.

You may just have an average chip.
 
OSEProphecy said:
I'm getting around 120 MBs from SSD to USB3 Western Digital Hard Drive and around 90MBs the other way. Not sure if that's good or not to be honest lol
Click to expand...

interesting. thats definitely faster than usb 2.0 i may have an older incompatible controller on the enclosure as when i connect it i get an exclamation in device manager and it freezes the computer until i disconnect it. if i plug into a usb 2.0 port it works but at 2.0 speeds. thanks for testing.
 
Can anyone confirm that speed step is working? If so, how did you get it to work? My CPU runs at max clock speed all the time.
 
It is working on mine, will look at the settings when i get home to see what i set to do it
 
Mine is clocking about the same as yours is. 4.6 is just to hot for me on air. I am getting 4.5ghz @ 1.250V (manual) and 1866mhz DDR speed. Are you stress testing with the VID in Adaptive mode?
 
Ok update on settings :

Core 45x
CPU Ratio Mode : Dynamic ( this is what enables the cpu to clock down when not needed)
Enhanced Turbo : Enabled ( saw no difference in clocks when disabled so not sure what this does)
Core voltage : 1.225 core voltage (down from 1.285)
Core voltage cpu mode : Override (wondering if adaptive would be better?)
Ram using XMP at 1600
Load temp (prime 95 seems the best) ~65c (Down from ~70 at 1.285v on core)
Running Windows 8 pro

Big thing for me is that the drop in core volts got me down ~5c, loving that

Want to mention the ram I am using is 8 gb of some old Kingston 1600mhz ram I had lying around cause the memory I had in my signature has not arrived yet :( might get more out of the setup once that arrives some time next week

finally there has to be more of you with this board, lets get more posts in here so he can get the full potential from this board
 
What allowed you to drop the voltage down so much? Took 1.255 (1.257 actual) and I got 4.5ghz stable and passing Aida64 stress test. Have you started to clock up your cache yet?
 
Only changed the settings listed. I was originally trying to start out at 4.6 and that's why I had it so high. Since staying at 4.5 till the ram gets here, decided to back off the volts and see how low I could get it
 
Hocus said:
I currently have it up to 4.5 stable in Prime95.

Core 45x
Ring 42x
Ram using XMP at 2400

1.25 core voltage - Adaptive
1.18 ring voltage - Adaptive
Click to expand...

Thanks for testing to get these settings. They're stable for me too. Tried to lower vcore but it proved to be unstable after a few hours. I'm surprised "Adaptive" works so well...I would have though 'override' would be the best option. I want 4.8 on this chip, but I'm pretty sure we'll need 1.35v or around there :( ...too much for 24/7.
 
did you try 4.6 core with the same settings? curious what would change for you

My ram should be here by thursday (ram in sig) so i can get back to pushing this thing :)
 
Nothing was stable at 4.6 for me, even with 1.35v, and my cooling is pretty decent. I suspect we need to tweak more settings rather than leaving so many things on auto.

With my previous Asus ROG board, going into DIGI power settings in BIOS and setting to EXTREME made higher clocks stable even with low voltage on CPU....but I don't know this board..many people don't. Kinda regretting this purchase, should've waited for the Maximus VI but I got impatient.
 
OSEProphecy said:
It is working on mine, will look at the settings when i get home to see what i set to do it
Click to expand...

Are you running windows 7 or 8?

Edit: ok I finally figured out why speed step wasn't working. I had the win 8 power profile set to high performance. I changed to to balanced and it started working. What power profile are other people running?
 
Last edited:
trick0502 said:
Are you running windows 7 or 8?

Edit: ok I finally figured out why speed step wasn't working. I had the win 8 power profile set to high performance. I changed to to balanced and it started working. What power profile are other people running?
Click to expand...

I am running balanced so it will throttle. Had the same problem you did.
 
sean222 said:
Thanks for testing to get these settings. They're stable for me too. Tried to lower vcore but it proved to be unstable after a few hours. I'm surprised "Adaptive" works so well...I would have though 'override' would be the best option. I want 4.8 on this chip, but I'm pretty sure we'll need 1.35v or around there :( ...too much for 24/7.
Click to expand...

Yeah, and imagine what adaptive will spike to at that voltage. Heat seems to get to most ppl. I plan on delidding mine soon. I am going to try for 4.6 or 4.7. I will go to 1.3V manual and if it wont hold at that point I wont push any harder. I should get 4.6 I think. I might play with the CPU straps.
 
trick0502 said:
Are you running windows 7 or 8?

Edit: ok I finally figured out why speed step wasn't working. I had the win 8 power profile set to high performance. I changed to to balanced and it started working. What power profile are other people running?
Click to expand...

I'm running windows 8 and I use balanced power profile
 
OSEProphecy said:
are you getting any more out of your CPU after changing the board?
Click to expand...

Will let you know once I actually install the new mobo and play a bit :) At work now, then gym/Spurs/Heat game will take up the rest of my night, will tweak on Friday and report back Saturday :D
 
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