Here is a guide that I followed,
3 Step Guide to Overclock Your i7 / i5 Haswell Platform | Overclockers.
The Gigabyte Z87/Haswell Overclocking(OC) Guide
It got me 4.5ghz at 1.325v llc Extreme. Cpuz and RealmTemp have problem reading base clock. I have to update to f5i and see if that helps but some times realtemp gets it correct.
Edit - Update new cpu.
Since that cpu sucked I went to MicroCenter and picked up a new cpu.
Edit 2 - LLC set to extreme
Edit 3 - Voltage Chart
Now, I’ll share a secret imparted by the folks at ASUS who gave several reviewers some tips on overclocking the retail stepping Haswell chips: Set Vcore to 1.20 V. Set all cores to 46x (which would be a 4.6 GHz overclock), save & reboot. If the system boots past the UEFI and either begins to load or, ideally, makes it into the OS and is stable, you have a 50th percentile or greater chip on the Haswell overclocking-ability bell curve. If it won’t at least boot there and make it into the UEFI, you probably have less than a 50th percentile chip. You can expect chips in the lower 50th percentile to top out in the 4.4-4.5 GHz range at 1.25 V.
If your chip will boot at 4.6 GHz and 1.25 V, that’s very good. It means you have at least an average chip. If it will boot at 4.6 GHz and is stable there, then you may have an above average chip. The best chips will be able to do 4.8 GHz stable at 1.25 V. Our sample did 4.8 GHz, but at 1.3 V and on a custom water loop. Using 1.3 V will likely put a chip out of the air cooling / AIO water cooling thermal envelope. Temperatures in all of these scenarios, from the dog 4.3 GHz chips up to the good 4.8 GHz chips, will always be in the ~90°C range. That’s just the nature of Haswell. With the VRM on-die, think of Haswell as Ivy Bridge plus 10° C.
Regrettably, according to overclocking legend Andre Yang, there is no way to bin Haswell for extreme overclocking purposes on ambient cooling. You couldn’t do it with Ivy Bridge either. That ship sailed when Sandy Bridge, well, went under the bridge and continued down the river. If you’re binning for extreme purposes (of which the esteemed Mr. Yang has binned over 500 chips as of late April), you simply have to take them cold. However, for most people’s uses, the method above to bin on air is tried and true through the hundred plus they have binned at ASUS headquarters.
So, to sum up,
First check to see whether you have a chip on the upper end or the lower end of the Haswell bell curve.
There will be a large variation as you can see, from the 4.3 GHz dog up to the ideal 4.8 GHz chip, both at the same voltage and temperature.
Once you’ve checked on your chip, you have a general goal and can then set 1.25 V – manually, so it doesn’t overshoot like it would on Progressive voltage.
After setting 1.25 V, then raise the multiplier.
If your chip will boot at 4.6 GHz and 1.25 V, that’s very good. It means you have at least an average chip. If it will boot at 4.6 GHz and is stable there, then you may have an above average chip. The best chips will be able to do 4.8 GHz stable at 1.25 V. Our sample did 4.8 GHz, but at 1.3 V and on a custom water loop. Using 1.3 V will likely put a chip out of the air cooling / AIO water cooling thermal envelope. Temperatures in all of these scenarios, from the dog 4.3 GHz chips up to the good 4.8 GHz chips, will always be in the ~90°C range. That’s just the nature of Haswell. With the VRM on-die, think of Haswell as Ivy Bridge plus 10° C.
Regrettably, according to overclocking legend Andre Yang, there is no way to bin Haswell for extreme overclocking purposes on ambient cooling. You couldn’t do it with Ivy Bridge either. That ship sailed when Sandy Bridge, well, went under the bridge and continued down the river. If you’re binning for extreme purposes (of which the esteemed Mr. Yang has binned over 500 chips as of late April), you simply have to take them cold. However, for most people’s uses, the method above to bin on air is tried and true through the hundred plus they have binned at ASUS headquarters.
So, to sum up,
First check to see whether you have a chip on the upper end or the lower end of the Haswell bell curve.
There will be a large variation as you can see, from the 4.3 GHz dog up to the ideal 4.8 GHz chip, both at the same voltage and temperature.
Once you’ve checked on your chip, you have a general goal and can then set 1.25 V – manually, so it doesn’t overshoot like it would on Progressive voltage.
After setting 1.25 V, then raise the multiplier.
The Gigabyte Z87/Haswell Overclocking(OC) Guide
It got me 4.5ghz at 1.325v llc Extreme. Cpuz and RealmTemp have problem reading base clock. I have to update to f5i and see if that helps but some times realtemp gets it correct.
Edit - Update new cpu.
Since that cpu sucked I went to MicroCenter and picked up a new cpu.
Edit 2 - LLC set to extreme
Edit 3 - Voltage Chart
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