Unable to overclock properly on Asrock Z77 Pro3

[ktf]

Hi,

I finished building a new PC :

intel 2600k
Scythe Ninja 3
Asrock Z77 pro3
16 GB Corsair 1333 RAM
intel 330 180Gb SSD
Gigabyte GTX 660 video card
power supply Seasonic S12II 520 W
case Fractal Design R3

I tried to set the clock to 4200 . It starts, it works for a while and then when the temperatures start rising, the clock reverts to 3400. I tried every single option from BIOS, with no effect.

spread spectrum disabled
speedstep : enabled
turbo boost : disabled
intenal PLL overvoltage auto
primary plane current limit 300
secondary plane current limit 300

cpu voltage : offset +0.05V
CPU thermal throttling disabled

I have the latest 1.60 BIOS. The temperature goes around 70 degrees, then it starts to downclock back to 3400. Is there anything I can do ? Would a new cooler solve this issue or am I missing something obvious in the BIOS ?

[profJim]

Scythe "NINJA3" CPU Cooler does NOT list compatibility with 1155 socket motherboards.
Your cpu cooler probably isn't making good contact with the cpu heat spreader.
The stock Intel cpu heatsink and fan might be barely adequate running light to moderate loads at 4.20GHz without throttling.

[ktf]

I just changed the cooler with a Noctua NH-D14, which should be more than enough. Same issue occurs on this one as well. I have a similar setup with NInja 3 and a MSI P67 motherboard and that one is stable as a rock.

[profJim]

Did you inspect the thermal grease contact pattern to see if both coolers are making good contact with the top of the cpu?
Hopefully there isn't a bios issue with your 2600K cpu and bios version 1.60.

Send a private message (PM) to ASRock TSD - Emily, include a link to this thread, and ask for her help.

[ktf]

The base of the Scythe one seemed perfectly fine when I removed it today. The Noctua D14 is one of the top coolers and it doesn't have any issues with this either. I emailed Emily , asking for more assistance.

P.S. the voltage is weird anyway. If I put the voltage offset to -.025 I get to 1.34V in full load in Prime95.

[parsec]

Hi,

I finished building a new PC :

intel 2600k
Scythe Ninja 3
Asrock Z77 pro3
16 GB Corsair 1333 RAM
intel 330 180Gb SSD
Gigabyte GTX 660 video card
power supply Seasonic S12II 520 W
case Fractal Design R3

I tried to set the clock to 4200 . It starts, it works for a while and then when the temperatures start rising, the clock reverts to 3400. I tried every single option from BIOS, with no effect.

spread spectrum disabled
speedstep : enabled
turbo boost : disabled
intenal PLL overvoltage auto
primary plane current limit 300
secondary plane current limit 300

cpu voltage : offset +0.05V
CPU thermal throttling disabled

I have the latest 1.60 BIOS. The temperature goes around 70 degrees, then it starts to downclock back to 3400. Is there anything I can do ? Would a new cooler solve this issue or am I missing something obvious in the BIOS ?

Several mistakes in your OC settings, if you insist upon the CPU running at 4.2GHz constantly.

Disable Speedstep, that is what enables the CPU power saving feature, where the CPU will change its speed depending on load. Also in the Advanced menu, CPU setting, disable C1E, and all C-State settings.

Turbo boost should be enabled. Sandy Bridge CPUs do not OC like earlier CPUs, they OC via the Turbo multiplier.

Primary and Secondary plane current limits should be set to Auto, anything else can put a limit on it, leave it on Auto.

DO NOT disable thermal throttling! No need to, and if your CPU cooler cannot keep up with the OC heat, your CPU should be throttled so it won't be destroyed.

How are you controlling and setting the fan speed on your CPU cooler? They may not be set correctly. ASRock boards don't have the best fan control software, so you must be careful with it, and set it right.

Your board only has the "4 + 1 Power Phase" design, which is not that strong, you need extra cooling for the heatsinks of the voltage regulators around the CPU. I have seen other posts about this issue with your board when over clocking. Legit Reviews called this the "top overclocking board today..."??? Are they stoned? This is a budget board! I worry about my Z77 EX4, which has 8 + 2 power phases, which is lower than many other boards.

My 2600K idles at ~35C at 4.5GHz, and runs about 70C at 100% load continuous. If your CPU idle temps are above 35C, your CPU cooling is either inadequate, or the fans are not configured correctly.

[ktf]

I tried all the possible combinations in BIOS , like you said, with no effect. The cooling is more than adequate, it stays at ~58 degrees under 80% load now. I managed to make it more stable by setting the voltage to -0.050 , which translates to ~1.224V in load. However this only works for normal load, in Prim95 it downclocks to 3400 almost instantly.

I tried with plane limits set to Auto and also set to max (500 ), same thing occurs.

I even tried with fans set to Full, which translated in less than 66 degrees in full load in Prim95... so the fans are not the issue.

Regarding the OC , yeah, I saw the reviews as well, they made me believe the card is ok. I assume they only used IbyBridge CPUs which have a lower TDP. I tested with a program (ThrottleStop) and it seems my CPU never goes above 72W ....

[parsec]

All sounds fine, don't know what else to tell you besides checking this thread, to the end:

ASRock Z75 Pro3 CPU throttle problems

[ktf]

Hmm.... I checked again with CPUID Hardware Monitor and the TDP goes up tp 96-97W and it throttles from there . Same thing is working flawlessly on a MSI P67 mainboard. I have set the offset to -0.050V and it takes a bit to throttle, but it does it in the end in Prim95. In normal use, it seems fine. However today the computer froze 2 times already, had to power it off .

[ktf]

Based on the feedback received from other forums , I decided to return the mainboard and upgrade to a better one with a much better VRM. Issue closed.