First time overclocker a bit lost

[Graham]

Hi all, well I finally got around to building my first PC and it went reasonably smoothly.
I used a Asus Maximus VIII Hero motherboard with a 6700K Skylake CPU and 2x16GB 3200MHz memory modules.
I I have set the XMP profile for the memory and run the 5-way optimisation utility.
I got a 4800MHz overclock on 2 cores with the other 2 at 4700MHz.
The 5-way optimization report suggests that I should manually set the Vcore voltage if I am to run 3rd party stress tests.
This is where I am out of my depth - any guidance would be appreciated.

 

[Kilbane]

Have a watch of this, any questions don't hesitate to ask

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[Graham]

Wow! That video went right over my head. I appreciate the work that TTL put into that but it is too much for me to take in.
I went the easy route and let the mobo software do all the work it was just the warning about the Vcore being manually set instead of auto adjusted that had me spooked. I don't know what is a safe voltage to set.
I will carry on looking for a solution that is more my level (very low).

 

[Kilbane]

Unfortunately there is no "universal" voltage to set. Dependant on the chip you have and how good that particular on is will dictate the voltage. As a guideline, you shouldn't set it above 1.35.

You will need to experiment with getting the voltage to a good stable voltage. The higher the voltage you put through the CPU the more heat it well create.

The problem with allowing Auto adjustment on the voltage is that it can often set the voltage above a limit that will lead to either your CPU having a shorter life span or your cooling is not adequate to keep the CPU cool.

Overclocking manually can seem a bit daunting with all the different settings. However it is worth learning the basics to allow you to know not only what your CPU is capable of, but also will give a better understanding if you need to troubleshoot any issues you may face further down the line.

 

[Graham]

Thanks for the info Kilbane. I have taken the overclock off for now as I noticed the Vcore sometimes going above 1.4 with the autogenerated settings. I will try to learn more and do it manually.

 

[Kilbane]

no problem. For the most simple overclock, all you need to worry about is the CPU voltage and the multiplier (Set all cores synced). Start at somewhere round a 45 multiplier (4.5Ghz) @ 1.2 volts and see what happens.

If it blue screens or fails to boot, add a little more voltage and try 1.21v. However if all is stable you can either try and reduce the voltage for less heat or increase the multiplier for greater speed.

It's a long old journey going in and out of the BIOS to set it each time, but worth the time taken to get a cool and stable overclock.

As long as you are being sensible with the voltage and multiplier, you will be fine. It is literally a hunt for the magic numbers that your CPU is happy with. Obviously there is a huge amount more you can do, but start simple and see how you go. You will be surprised how simple it really is.