Overclocking the Intel i3-7350K CPU.

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Gigantopithecus

[H]ard|Gawd
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Aug 6, 2009
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Hi all,
Hopefully someone finds this information useful. Put together a new i3-7350K system last night and spent this morning OCing it. System will be used mainly for Office applications; I wanted something as snappy/responsive as possible (without breaking the bank and using some parts I had sitting around).

Here are the system's specs:
CPU: Core i3-7350K (batch L647H08)
Cooler: Cooler Master TX4 with AS5 (had these in the parts drawer)
PSU: SeaSonic 550W G-series
RAM: 2x4GB Crucial Ballistix Tracer 2666MHz (had these in the parts drawer)
Board: MSI Tomahawk Z270
Disk: Samsung 960 EVO 250GB NVMe
GPU: MSI GTX 1050 Ti 4GB (also from the parts drawer)
OS: W10 Home 64-bit

Stability check: re-encode a 1GB 1080p 60fps mkv into a 720p 30fps mkv, resize 1,000 5MP 4K jpgs into 1MP 1080p jpgs, play a DOOM death match round

All of these trials are with all CPU features enabled/stock.

Here are the OC results:
Stock: 4.2GHz, 1.20V
Go big or go home: 5GHz, 1.4V: system crash on boot (boo!)
Second try: 4.5GHz, 1.30V: system stable, load temps in the 60s
Third try: 4.8GHz, 1.35V: system stable, load temps in the 70s
Fourth try: 4.9GHz, 1.38V: W10 hangs on load
Fifth try: 4.9GHz, 1.4V: W10 hangs on load
Sixth try: 4.896GHz (48x multiplier + 102 BCLK): W10 hangs on load

Looks like I failed in hitting that psychologically appealing 5GHz threshold, but this system is in fact very snappy for my usual workaday computing needs at 4.8GHz/1.35V. I'll likely wait until more information about overclocking these chips is available before buying more to keep reaching for that 5GHz rainbow!
 
I had similar results from my 7600k. Easy to get to 4.5ghz but a struggle past that. It's a little disappointing.
 
how is you're voltage applied?

I had to set it to manual

offset would crash even when booting

you might want to find a load line calibration (LLC) that provides the most stable voltage you want


also I think the bios/UEFI still needs some maturing

I'm on a z170 though, keep that in mind


latest stable release doesn't let me OC at all


latest beta runs everything fine


but there is a wall at 5.3Ghz for my 7600k

at 5.2, 1.4v idle temps are 25 degrees in the bios

at 5.3, 1.4v idle temps shoot up by as much as 45 degrees in the bios, reaching 70 degrees n more

kinda unlikely

especially since the voltage is the same and the cpu is idle
 
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might wanna try a bigger cooler, I bet the high-ish load temps are preventing you from reaching 5ghz
 
bwang said:
might wanna try a bigger cooler, I bet the high-ish load temps are preventing you from reaching 5ghz
Click to expand...

W10 won't even load at 4.9GHz, and temps in the BIOS immediately after a W10 boot attempt are in the 30s. I can see how overheating under load at 5GHz would warrant a better cooler, but that is not what is happening. Or am I wrong? Does a lower-end air cooler affect system stability even when temps are low and load is light?
 
You are correct, better cooling is needed to counter heat produced from running a higher voltage that is required to reach stability. A better cooler alone won't help a cool running chip post into Windows.
 
Update: So I got a good deal on another i3-7350K, and installed it last night. Heading out of town this weekend but had time to do some quick testing after lunch:

1: 50x multiplier at 1.4V: Boots into W10. (Very quickly.)
2: 5GHz at 1.39V: Boots into W10.
3. 5GHz at 1.38V: Boots into W10.
4. 5GHz at 1.37V: Boots into W10.
5. 5GHz at 1.36V: Boots into W10.
6. 5GHz at 1.35V: Boots into W10.
7. 5GHz at 1.34V: Boots into W10!

Obviously, successfully booting into W10 is not an adequate stability test, but I'm hoping there's enough headroom that this chip will do 5GHz at 1.4V or less, with stability. I'll fine-tune it next week.

New chip's batch is L647G720.

Edit: Update: Ran all of my stress tests last night and have been using it all day - everything seems good to go at 1.34V, with sustained load temps in the high 60s. Oh boy!
 
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