Want to overclock i5-4670k with Asrock Z87 Extreme 6 motherboard.

[balloonshark]

I'm wanting a mild overclock for my i5-4670k with Asrock Z87 Extreme 6 motherboard. I would be happy at 4 to 4.2Ghz as long as it was stable and relatively cool. Can you please point me to the best guide that is easy to understand and hopefully specific to Asrock motherboards?

The reason I'm wanting to OC is my CPU hits 90% when playing Battlefield 4 while recording with OBS project. This causes my frame rate to drop. This is probably the most stressful thing that I do with my CPU so far.

[parsec]

Re: Want to overclock i5-4670k with Asrock Z87 Extreme 6 motherboard.

I'm not really aware of an ASRock specific guide for over clocking Haswell processors. This guide is supposed to be general:

Haswell Overclocking Guide [With Statistics]

An OC of an i5-4670K to 4.2GHz is not very difficult, once you go above 4.3 - 4.4GHz, CPU temperature becomes the problem, even with the best non-custom CPU coolers. Your Hyper 212+ will probably be inadequate when stress testing an OC at 4.3 - 4.4GHz and above. It remains to be seen how much an OC to 4.2GHz reduces your CPU usage when playing BF 4.

You could try using the automatic OC options in your BIOS, the lowest one you can find, and see what settings you get in the BIOS as an example. The two main things you need to monitor are CPU VCore voltage, and CPU and/or CPU core temperature(s).

One thing to understand about your board is when certain CPU settings surpass a certain level, other BIOS options will be adjusted automatically, which may surprise you. For example, the CPU fan speed control can be set to Full On. You can reset that and it will not change again as long as you don't reset and change the other setting again.

You've given us no information about how much you understand about over clocking in general, which makes recommendations more difficult.

[balloonshark]

Re: Want to overclock i5-4670k with Asrock Z87 Extreme 6 motherboard.

Thanks for your reply parsec. The only overclocking I have attempted was changing my multiplier to get my Q6600 to 3.0Ghz. These new UEFI GUI are much more complicated and to make matters worse different brands use different terminology.

I have watched a couple of videos on youtube about OCing my CPU but I don't know which guide is best. My stock system hits about 74C running prime 95 small ffts and 68C running large ffts after 10 minutes.

I'll be honest. I don't want to know everything there is to know about OCing. I just want to get what I can from my chip without any hassle. Reliability, long life and decent temps are my goals. My Q6600 is still going strong after 6 years at 3Ghz.

[balloonshark]

Re: Want to overclock i5-4670k with Asrock Z87 Extreme 6 motherboard.

What's the best way to measure Vcore? HWinfo64 doesn't list it, HWmonitor's Vcore is a static number. CPU-Z has a Vcore but I'm not sure if it is correct or showing VID. I'm running the latest versions and I run them as admin.

I'm not sure if this pic will help or not. In UEFI I set the optimized cpu OC setting to 4.2Ghz and set Vcore to override and 1.160V (was 1.150). Also note the LLC/Ring voltage is higher in HWmonitor. Is that correct? I think I left the Vring at 1.15 and set it to override. I may have left it auto. I was just playing around and this is after 10 min. Prime95 ver. 27.9 (older) short FFT's.

[parsec]

Re: Want to overclock i5-4670k with Asrock Z87 Extreme 6 motherboard.

I see you've made progress on your own, which is really the best way to do it. You don't want to become a "cookbook over clocker", just putting in values from a recipe, and not understanding what is really going on.

Now you've encountered a reality about Haswell processors and ASRock Z87 mother boards, a true VCore reading is not available. The data from the sensor chip on the board does not have a VCore voltage reading. The best we get are the VIDs. That is the case in the UEFI/BIOS, A-Tuning, and any other monitoring program.

Haswell processors put most of the voltage regulation circuitry on the processor itself, in contrast to all processors before them. A Haswell chipset mother board provides two main voltages to a Haswell processor, the CPU Input Voltage (Vccin in HWiNFO) and the Memory Controller Supply Voltage (seems to be the standard DRAM voltage.)

All other processors have their VCore created by the mother board, so that voltage is easily read. Haswell processors create the VCore/Core voltages inside the CPU, so not available in the usual way. There are apparently areas on the CPU (the bottom with all the contact points, called lands) that can be used to read the VCore voltage.

AFAIK, ASUS and Gigabyte Haswell compatible boards provide that VCore reading, in one case by adding a second sensor chip for that purpose. How accurate those readings are is unknown to most of us IMO, given the method for measuring Haswell VCore Intel describes in their documentation (using an oscilloscope.) Some of these Haswell boards have test points for measuring certain voltages, including VCore, with a simple volt meter. That can only work when using static CPU voltage. It is assumed that a VCore reading from the test point is accurate, but I wonder about that.

Regardless, the VCore readings provided by these other Haswell boards is better than none. Any hardware monitoring program like HWiNFO, CPU-Z, etc, must be specifically programmed to get Haswell processor VCore, if available. Otherwise they display VIDs, which is what we see in HWiNFO and CPU-Z. The CPU VCore in HWMonitor is incorrect, it is showing an unadjusted CPU Input voltage reading (check the HWiNFO Vccin value, 1.792V, then take the HWMonitor CPU VCore value, 0.896V, and multiply by two... you get 1.792V.) CPU-Z has been modified many times since Haswell was released, fixing Core Voltage in one case, breaking it in another, quite a mess for a while after Haswell's release. I have no idea what it currently does overall, it looks like is displays a VID.


I worked a little bit with the author of HWiNFO when the ASRock Z87 boards were released, in order to get several voltage values displayed correctly. HWiNFO adjusts its display for almost every board made, since that is necessary as they are all different, and have different data to display. I know HWiNFO constantly has updates to keep its display accurate, I trust it more than anything else, but I've not checked every program like this.

At least with VIDs, we know the actual VCore is not more than the VID, and is normally less than the VID.

If you keep the ring/cache speed at stock (36) you should be able to use a lower voltage than needed for the cores. That might also reduce the CPU temp a bit. Is the PC stable at 4.2GHz and 1.160V? You might be able to get 4.3GHz with that voltage, or a little more. Or you might be able to do 4.2GHz with a little less voltage. If you're not using the iGP graphics, you can reduce the graphics core voltage, but if it is to low the PC won't boot.

You can also now see the CPU temperature situation with over clocked Haswell processors. Your idle temps are very good, but you can see where the CPU temperature is going compared to stock speed. CPU temps will not level off if you increase the OC. Prime 95 will heat up Haswell CPUs more than most other stress tests.

[balloonshark]

Re: Want to overclock i5-4670k with Asrock Z87 Extreme 6 motherboard.

At least with VIDs, we know the actual VCore is not more than the VID, and is normally less than the VID.

The statistics in the guide you linked to shows Vcore is higher than the VID. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/...=sharing#gid=0

In order to get your numbers charted is says the following.

This is the CPU Vcore reading from Hwinfo or HWMonitor under load. "Load" depends on what you're stressing.

It also states this.

Extra notes: If you ran a synthetic stress test like Prime or Linpack on adaptive and your Vcore is very different from your VID, I will ignore your Vcore because the number is useless. A Vcore under stress with override/manual voltage mode is useful, but with adaptive the voltage is totally blown up. Also, if you state that your uncore multiplier is "auto", I will write "34" instead.

So, is a higher Vcore normal? Is it something I should keep in mind considering ASRock owners have no reading?

If you keep the ring/cache speed at stock (36) you should be able to use a lower voltage than needed for the cores. That might also reduce the CPU temp a bit. Is the PC stable at 4.2GHz and 1.160V? You might be able to get 4.3GHz with that voltage, or a little more. Or you might be able to do 4.2GHz with a little less voltage. If you're not using the iGP graphics, you can reduce the graphics core voltage, but if it is to low the PC won't boot.

You can also now see the CPU temperature situation with over clocked Haswell processors. Your idle temps are very good, but you can see where the CPU temperature is going compared to stock speed. CPU temps will not level off if you increase the OC. Prime 95 will heat up Haswell CPUs more than most other stress tests.

I only tested with Prime95 27.9 Small FFT's for 10 minutes at 4.2Ghz. A quick test of 4.3Ghz with same settings caused a BSOD. I bumped up to 1.165 (I think) and it also crashed.

I understand the cache is really fast on this chip. Will a cache of 36 bottleneck a core overclock of 4.2Ghz - 4.4Ghz? Step 3 in this guide says I want the uncore to be within 300 to 500Mhz of the core clock.

I'm not using the IGP graphics nor do I have the drivers installed. I assume this relates to the GT Frequecy, GT voltage mode, GT adaptive Voltage mode and GT voltage offset in the UEFI. Any idea of what should set these to? I believe they are all set to auto.

One last thing. What should I set for the LLC? This review says what each level does but it is a much older UEFI version. It's about 3/4 down the page. ASRock Z87 Extreme6 Motherboard Review | Overclockers

Edit: I played around a little more and used the auto OC setting of 4.4Ghz. Some of the settings don't show or show as changed until you save and exit the UEFI . One of the settings it changed is CPU input from auto to Fixed and 1.900V. It also sets a level 1 LLC. From playing around with the auto 4.2 settings I believe that it needs a higher CPU input as I tried 1.850 with no luck. I know I'm being vague and don't know much about this but is 1.9V VRIN reasonable? If so do I leave it to fixed once I set the the vcore and cache voltages to adaptive for everyday use?

[parsec]

Re: Want to overclock i5-4670k with Asrock Z87 Extreme 6 motherboard.

The statistics in the guide you linked to shows Vcore is higher than the VID. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/...=sharing#gid=0

In order to get your numbers charted is says the following.

This is the CPU Vcore reading from Hwinfo or HWMonitor under load. "Load" depends on what you're stressing.

It also states this.

Extra notes: If you ran a synthetic stress test like Prime or Linpack on adaptive and your Vcore is very different from your VID, I will ignore your Vcore because the number is useless. A Vcore under stress with override/manual voltage mode is useful, but with adaptive the voltage is totally blown up. Also, if you state that your uncore multiplier is "auto", I will write "34" instead.

So, is a higher Vcore normal? Is it something I should keep in mind considering ASRock owners have no reading?

A VCore higher than a VID makes no sense. Without knowing the source of both in each case, we cannot judge the accuracy. Yes the guide states HWiNFO or HWMonitor, but we can see in your case, HWMonitor is wrong. HWiNFO tries to use the value provided by the board, and given the realities of Haswell processors, have those VCore values been verified? Intel's own Extreme Tuning Utility does not provide a VCore reading, only VIDs for Haswell platforms.

The "Extra notes" quote you posted supports my statement about VCore vs VID, "... I will ignore your Vcore because the number is useless..." is what I mean.

I have not changed my mind about VIDs and VCore readings on Haswell systems, but I cannot prove my opinion without a lot of work, and in the end I might be wrong, but I don't think so. I will leave this up to you.

I only tested with Prime95 27.9 Small FFT's for 10 minutes at 4.2Ghz. A quick test of 4.3Ghz with same settings caused a BSOD. I bumped up to 1.165 (I think) and it also crashed.

I understand the cache is really fast on this chip. Will a cache of 36 bottleneck a core overclock of 4.2Ghz - 4.4Ghz? Step 3 in this guide says I want the uncore to be within 300 to 500Mhz of the core clock.

I'm not using the IGP graphics nor do I have the drivers installed. I assume this relates to the GT Frequecy, GT voltage mode, GT adaptive Voltage mode and GT voltage offset in the UEFI. Any idea of what should set these to? I believe they are all set to auto.

One last thing. What should I set for the LLC? This review says what each level does but it is a much older UEFI version. It's about 3/4 down the page. ASRock Z87 Extreme6 Motherboard Review | Overclockers

Edit: I played around a little more and used the auto OC setting of 4.4Ghz. Some of the settings don't show or show as changed until you save and exit the UEFI . One of the settings it changed is CPU input from auto to Fixed and 1.900V. It also sets a level 1 LLC. From playing around with the auto 4.2 settings I believe that it needs a higher CPU input as I tried 1.850 with no luck. I know I'm being vague and don't know much about this but is 1.9V VRIN reasonable? If so do I leave it to fixed once I set the the vcore and cache voltages to adaptive for everyday use?

About the cache/ring frequency, that guide goes against others, or you are missing something, since normally the guides say to leave cache at stock levels until you have your core OC, and then tweak the cache if you desire. The cache speed will not bottleneck the core OC, only benchmark results, and that is also questionable. The part you quoted is what Intel states about the cache frequency IIRC.

All the GT BIOS settings are for the iGPU. If you use HWiNFO, you could see what the iGPU VID is, and if it is low (0.7V or less) it is fine. I'm just saying that on other Intel CPUs (Ivy Bridge), I used offset mode for the unused iGPU, and used a negative offset set lower and lower until no boot.

About CPU Input voltage, did you check the values in the chart that includes the VIDs and VCore? Most people used more than 1.8V. If that was necessary for their OC, we don't know, but it most likely is. If you can reduce CPU Input at any point and be stable, then do it.