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Overclocking Intel i7 2600k

544 views 8 replies 4 participants last post by  himmelhorse 
#1 ·
Hello all,

Firstly, I would like to apologise if I am in the wrong area here and if so, could someone redirect me to the correct page (nicely)

I have had a quick look around here and quite frankly I am terrified. I thought and have been told this is a pretty easy process but hmmmm.

I am a flight simmer with quite a complex, although dated, rig and only use this computer for MS Flight Simulator 2004 (FS2004) and wish to set up precisely for that.

I am also an aged Ozzie Expat pensioner with no, repeat, no, experience whatsoever in this line of work. I also live in a little village in East Java, and there is very little to no computer experience here which is able to assist me. For example, the biggest computer shop in the area is run by one man and he has two technicians (I use that word loosely) I asked the owner some years ago about buying an AMD GPU. He then nonplussed his technicians by asking them what a GPU was. Unfortunately, they did not know either. Not really a great help.

So to begin, I will give you my computer details.

Motherboard ASUS P8Z77-V- LG
CPU Intel Core i7 2600K
RAM 20GB
GPU 2 x AMD Radeon R9 290, 4GB unclocked
Display 6 x LED TV/Monitors (see below)
1 x 60 inch 1080p LED TV (Main Display)
2 x 32 inch 1080p LED TVs (side cockpit external views)
1 x 40 inch 1080p LED TV (Overhead Panel) - Portait mode
1 x 22 inch Viewsonic LED monitor, Resolution 1680 x 1200 (Throttle Quadrant/Lower DU display)
1 x 24 inch Dell LED Monitor 1920 x 1080 Portrait mode
PSU Xigmatic 1200 watt

OS Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit

I think that includes all the relevant bits but, please ask if anyone needs more information.

I have read articles on AVsim and other flightsim forums where people have overclocked their i7 2600k s to 4.5 and above.

As I have virtually no knowledge nor back up here, I am looking for a safe overclock specifically geared to giving slightly better performance to my sim (ie frame rates etc).
Can anyone please give me a step by step guide (or point me to one) that is, I believe, necessarily specific to my motherboard and CPU.

Again, I apologise if this is covered elsewhere and I am wasting everybodys time on this page. I do, however, need help and will be extremely grateful for any assistance and or guidance given me.

Lastly, how cn I follow this thread automatically

Regards and thank you all

Tony Chilcott
Rejotangan
Indonesia
 
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#2 ·
You first need a good CPU cooling that's designed for high overclocks like that.

Also, while the PSU should have enough power, I don't know if we should trust its quality for overclocking. Its power output could be too unstable and too inaccurate for keeping an overclocked system stable and safe. Overclocking can be a bit traumatic for a computer, and so the PSU needs to be providing very stable and very accurate power.
 
#3 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by TwoCables View Post

You first need a good CPU cooling that's designed for high overclocks like that.

Also, while the PSU should have enough power, I don't know if we should trust its quality for overclocking. Its power output could be too unstable and too inaccurate for keeping an overclocked system stable and safe. Overclocking can be a bit traumatic for a computer, and so the PSU needs to be providing very stable and very accurate power.
Yeah, I'd definitely be getting a good CPU cooler first if what I found about the climate there online is even remotely accurate.

Edit-TC, it seems they get a LOT of rain in that part of the world. Would he have any issues with an AIO and condensation at high dew points?
 
#4 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by BulletSponge View Post

Yeah, I'd definitely be getting a good CPU cooler first if what I found about the climate there online is even remotely accurate.

Edit-TC, it seems they get a LOT of rain in that part of the world. Would he have any issues with an AIO and condensation at high dew points?
No because condensation is only possible when the surface is at or below the Dew Point. The Dew Point is the temperature at which water vapor condenses and forms water.

Let's say the air temperature is 90°F and the Dew Point is 70°F. That's pretty insane but it's probably a typical example for this location. Anyway, in order for water vapor to condense enough to begin forming water, the temperature of whatever the object is (be it an air mass, the surface of your beverage glass or bottle, or anything) must be 70°F or colder. At 70°F, water vapor will condense into an extreeemely thin layer of moisture on a surface. I mean, it'll be EXTREMELY thin, barely noticeable. If the surface is like say, half that temperature though at 35°F, then taking it outside on a 90°F day with a 70°F Dew Point will guarantee a very very very wet surface. Most people just say that the surface is "sweating".

Or let's take a more comfortable example: 75°F air temperature with a Dew Point of 60°F. So in this example, the object must be 60°F or colder in order for condensation to begin happening. The colder the object is, the more condensation there is. If you had a pretty cold object in this humid air mass, like a cold beverage, then it would still get a lot of water on it because of the condensation.

The more moisture there is in the air, the higher the temperature can be for condensation to begin. This is why clouds form: you have a cold air mass and a warm and humid air mass colliding.

This is why water vapor can condense quite a bit onto a toilet tank or onto a mirror in a bathroom when you're taking a hot shower without a vent on. Due to all of that humidity, the Dew Point rises so high that water vapor condenses onto any smooth surface that's below the Dew Point (cold enough for water vapor to condense into moisture).

So, since the liquid in a liquid cooling system for a computer can never become colder than the air temperature (it's always being warmed up by the CPU), condensation is absolutely impossible. You would need to chill the liquid to extremely low temperatures for condensation to become possible. Even with the very best fan or fans on the radiator, you're still only cooling the liquid down with air. So, condensation would never be possible.

It's kind of like pouring a glass full of room temperature water and then waiting for condensation. It will never happen.
 
#5 ·
You could probably attain a 4.2/3Ghz OC on stock. Overclocking the 2600K is pretty simple as changing the Multiplier to achieve the desired overclock. So changing the Multiplier from Auto to say 42 gives you a 4.2Ghz overclock. For a 4.5Ghz OC you'll probably have to play around with more settings.
 
#6 ·
Hello all,

Two Cables.

1. I am vaguely aware of heating problems with the CPU and overclocking, however mine, at the moment is averaging 44 degrees under load with aircraft in the air (I assume that is 44 degrees Celcius)

2. If the heat is going to be excessive what is the ... never exceed and/or never approach temperature if overclocked?

3. Just as an aside, regarding humidity here. If it was indeed a problem, any motherboard, graphic card PCB would last approximately 20 minutes. in this climate Humidity here can be very very oppressive particularly if you are unused to it.

BulletSponge.

Please see comments above.

GigaChip.

As stated, I am ominously ignorant regarding what you are talking about. I have no idea whatsoever, what a multiplier is, where to find one, what is does and where they grow them LOL
This is precisely why, I asked for step by step instructions on how to overclock. I can only apologise for my appalling lack of knowledge on this, but it is where I am at and the level of help that I require.

Again, Guys, I stress that I am looking for a simple and SAFE overclock, I am unsure about the best and probably the cheapest way to go regarding cooling. I have heard some godawful stories about burst or leaking pipes with watercooling, so I would probably lean towards aircooling. I do, however, have an open mind. Any Recomendations ?

In conclusion, I really would like to thank you all for your responses and I do appreciate you advice.

Thanks again

Tony
 
#7 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by himmelhorse View Post

Hello all,

Two Cables.

1. I am vaguely aware of heating problems with the CPU and overclocking, however mine, at the moment is averaging 44 degrees under load with aircraft in the air (I assume that is 44 degrees Celcius)

2. If the heat is going to be excessive what is the ... never exceed and/or never approach temperature if overclocked?

3. Just as an aside, regarding humidity here. If it was indeed a problem, any motherboard, graphic card PCB would last approximately 20 minutes. in this climate Humidity here can be very very oppressive particularly if you are unused to it.

BulletSponge.

Please see comments above.

GigaChip.

As stated, I am ominously ignorant regarding what you are talking about. I have no idea whatsoever, what a multiplier is, where to find one, what is does and where they grow them LOL
This is precisely why, I asked for step by step instructions on how to overclock. I can only apologise for my appalling lack of knowledge on this, but it is where I am at and the level of help that I require.

Again, Guys, I stress that I am looking for a simple and SAFE overclock, I am unsure about the best and probably the cheapest way to go regarding cooling. I have heard some godawful stories about burst or leaking pipes with watercooling, so I would probably lean towards aircooling. I do, however, have an open mind. Any Recomendations ?

In conclusion, I really would like to thank you all for your responses and I do appreciate you advice.

Thanks again

Tony
As long as your CPU's cores stay below the 90s (celsius) while testing the computer's stability (which is a special task you will have to do), then your daily temps will always be 100% safe. Even so, there are built-in safety mechanisms that kick in if the temperatures get too high. The first stage is called "throttling". The CPU's clock speed and voltage gets reduced a lot, which can hurt computer performance very noticeably. So sometimes if temps get way too high, you'll find inferior performance due to throttling.

If throttling fails to bring the temps down for some weird reason, the next stage is the CPU powering itself off which will turn off the whole computer. That's rare though.

Humidity is really only a problem for hard drives due to the moving parts.

The multiplier can be explained in many different ways. Here's my attempt right now, but the way I describe it at any time could vary depending on the day, how I feel, etc. :) So anyway, in order to achieve the clock speed you see, you have a multiplier and you have the Bus Speed (PCI-E Frequency). For these CPUs, the PCI-E frequency (bus speed) should be 100 MHz. If you multiply that by 34 (if your multiplier is 34), then you get 3.4 GHz because 34 x 100 is 3400 and that's 3400 MHz which is 3.4 GHz. If you increase that multiplier, then you increase the clock speed. You don't really want to increase the PCI-E frequency though, at least not with these CPUs. It's best to leave it at 100. As you might be thinking by now, overclocking these CPUs is almost stupidly easy. hehehe I like that though. I'm a simple guy and so I like things to be simple.

Overclocking usually requires more power, so you'd also need to increase the core voltage. At 100'% stock settings, this happens automatically for you with all settings set to Auto. So I mean, when the CPU's speed goes up to 3.8 GHz automatically under the heaviest and most demanding loads, the voltage goes up too in order to provide the necessary power so that you don't have instability. If you were to overclock the CPU, then you would change the voltage control to a manual mode and you'd set it manually because otherwise with an Auto setting for the voltage, it could end up being way higher than needed.

So yeah, raising the multiplier above 38 for this CPU is overclocking. It's safe if you have a good quality-made PSU and good cooling and good case airflow so that the heat created can be dissipated quickly enough to avoid heat build-up. The reason I mentioned having a good quality-made PSU is, you want a PSU that delivers very stable and accurate power. I don't know if your 1200W Xigmatek PSU does. I kinda doubt it. They're not really known for selling any good PSUs.

With your motherboard and CPU and if you were to get a good air cooler, then you could likely achieve 4.5 GHz fairly easily by just increasing the multiplier (which is actually referred to as the Turbo Ratio because anything above 34 for this CPU is the turbo clock, or turbo multiplier, so we're really just increasing the turbo speed here). Right now though, I'm not knowledgeable or up to date enough on air coolers to know good ones to recommend. The cost should be affordable though, anywhere from like say $45 to maybe like what, $90 or so.

Fortunately, this is actually VERY easy to do, and you do it in the UEFI BIOS (the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface Basic Input/Output System). All you have to do is go in, switch to the Advanced Mode, and then you make all the changes for overclocking in the "Ai Tweaker" tab. This will all make sense when you actually do it.

First though, I think if you want to get results from the overclock that you can actually feel without getting temps that are too high, I'd like to see you get a good air cooler.
 
#8 ·
Do you know the model of your CPU cooler?

Additionally, your motherboard BIOS should start you off with an EZ mode. If not, you can switch back to EZ mode in the BIOS. From there you can literally just click the Performance option (with the mouse no less) for a simple overclock.

Furthermore this video will give an overview of your generations' BIOS settings. HTH.
 
#9 ·
Two Cables,

Hey thank you so much for that,

Many apologies for my tardy response. It seems that every time I get started on something like this, "She who MUST be obeyed" finds a long term project for me,
I think she is trying to tell me something, but I practice selective deafness very deftly (and I am VERY VERY brave) LOL

I will try your suggestions (monitoring very carefully the CPU temps) at the earliest opportunity. I will let you know how I got on and the effect is has had on flight simulation.

Thanks again to all who responded. I am extremely grateful.

Regards to all

Tony
 
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