Power Phases?

[KTM_RULZ]

Not sure if this belongs here or in the motherboard threads, but here it goes:
I'm able to boot into windows with my 4770K at 4.5GHz 1.2v, but to be even remotely stable I need to input close to 1.3v. My motherboard is an MSI Z87-G45 gaming that has only 8 power phases. Would a 12 phase mobo help me or silicon lottery punched me in the face?

 

[jamesriley94]

You shouldn't really need more phases, Haswell overclocking is mainly chip based.

When under load at 1.3v - is that the reading you've set in the BIOS, or is it what CPU-z is showing?

 

[KTM_RULZ]

It's what I see on CPU-z.

 

[MacLeod]

Yeah, 8+1 phase is about the best there is out there. There are a couple 12+1 boards but 8 is plenty usually especially for a power sipper like the 4770K. Id say your board is not the problem. 4.5 seems to be the average for these new chips so you might just be hitting your chip's limits. Im sure you can tinker around with a little more and squeeze a little more out of it if you tried.

 

[airdeano]

Not sure if this belongs here or in the motherboard threads, but here it goes:
I'm able to boot into windows with my 4770K at 4.5GHz 1.2v, but to be even remotely stable I need to input close to 1.3v. My motherboard is an MSI Z87-G45 gaming that has only 8 power phases. Would a 12 phase mobo help me or silicon lottery punched me in the face?

no, more phases will not help.. have an ice pack
you are in the outer-side of the 70% club for a 4.5GHz clock. it was a gamble
but hey, nuttin' wrong with 4.4 or 4.3, save your money on more expensive
board with no better results (like TTL has been preachin').

Yeah, 8+1 phase is about the best there is out there. There are a couple 12+1 boards but 8 is plenty usually especially for a power sipper like the 4770K. Id say your board is not the problem. 4.5 seems to be the average for these new chips so you might just be hitting your chip's limits. Im sure you can tinker around with a little more and squeeze a little more out of it if you tried.

the amount of phases has nothing to do strength of a motherboard or best of usage.
if you have an 8phase with 40amp regs that's 320 total amps. now take some
of the 12phase and you'll see more 20amp regs for just a short total of 240amps.
the phasing really helps on granularity of "fine tuning" rather than just power handling.
spreads the "loading" across a multiple amount of regulation if the regs are the same
rated capacity between the 8 and 12phase usages. but i agree the board is not the
culprit holding him back..

 

[KTM_RULZ]

Well...thanks for the info. Off to lick my wounds.

 

[airdeano]

Well...thanks for the info. Off to lick my wounds.

i stopped worrying about OC ability after the fifth CPU. when buying these processors
going in, just think of it as a bonus of free speed enhancement and when it doesn't
fair well, then push-on to other pressing matters.

 

[MacLeod]

the amount of phases has nothing to do strength of a motherboard or best of usage.
if you have an 8phase with 40amp regs that's 320 total amps. now take some
of the 12phase and you'll see more 20amp regs for just a short total of 240amps.
the phasing really helps on granularity of "fine tuning" rather than just power handling.
spreads the "loading" across a multiple amount of regulation if the regs are the same
rated capacity between the 8 and 12phase usages. but i agree the board is not the
culprit holding him back..

Didnt mean to imply it did. His MSI is a pretty stout board and thats what I was mainly referring to.

Generally, boards with 8+2 phase will be better built boards. I agree not all phases are equal. Some like those "40+2 phase" boards that you see marketed are with smaller regs like youre talking about so while theyll look better on paper, the 8+2 on an Asus Sabertooth for example will be the better built board.