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Overclocking an I7 3770 (Non-K) CPU

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Vioxtac

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
Hey guys. New to the forums and in need of help.

I have an I7 3770 (Non-K) CPU and I want to 'overclock' it. My mother board is a B75A-G43 model. (Other details: 8 GB of Ram, a GTX670, Windows 7 64Bit, and a relatively decent fan-based cooling system - enough to lower max CPU temperatures to 60 on heavy load).
I'm fairly sure my CPU has Intel's Turbo technology implemented, according to this table: http://ark.intel.com/products/65719/Intel-Core-i7-3770-Processor-8M-Cache-up-to-3_90-GHz

Now, I know that the non-K series aren't meant to be overclocked, and that if I wanted to OC my CPU I should have gone for the higher price. I wasn't aware of that at the time of purchase.

I understand that the non-K version is limited in its OC capacities, however I did understand that it's possible to raise performance by enabling a Turbo Boost which (according to some threads) boost it from its 3.4GHz base to a 3.9-ishGHz. Is this really possible with my setup? How can I do this? Do I have to fiddle with other tweaks such as disabling power limiters or eco services? Is it done via the BIOS or some other third party BIOS Utility software?

I hopped in Click Bios and changed the CPU Ratio from 'AUTO' to above 34MHz, however when I loaded the system and checked it up it said the CPU was running at 3.39GHz... even after enabling/disabling 'Adjust CPU Ratio in OS'.

I honestly have no idea when it comes to OCing. Never done it before, and finding decent, complete guides on the net is harder than I thought it would, especially when every guide tells you to do it differently.

I'm hoping you guys can help me out here. I'll truly appreciate a step by step guide that won't be too difficult to comprehend with my newbish vocabulary and knowledge in the field.

Thanks!
 
#2 ·
Well the 3.4 to 3.9 is automatic unless you've disable Intel Turbo Boost Technology in the UEFI.
 
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#3 ·
Make sure your power settings are set to 'high.' Turbo Boost should be set to Auto in the BIOS settings. The CPU will only jump to 3.9 GHz under full load, so check the frequency when using Prime 95.
 
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#5 ·
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#6 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vioxtac View Post

Hey- thanks for the reply!

What is the UEFI? How do I access it?

I'm pretty sure I haven't disabled Turbo regardless.
Click to expand...
The UEFI is basically the BIOS and you access it in the same way you would as always, some have special buttons on the actual board because pressing Delete or F2 simply woudin't work because of how fast some computers boot.
 
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#8 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vioxtac View Post

Setting power settings to high is done here, right?

Click to expand...
Correct.
thumb.gif
 
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#9 ·
Yeah Turbo Boost is automatic but it scales depending on how many cores are being used.
You can't force Turbo Boost to a higher speed as it adjusts depending on the work load.

1 core = 3.9Ghz
2 core = 3.9Ghz
3 core = 3.8Ghz
4 core = 3.7Ghz

Source: http://www.intel.com/support/processors/corei7/sb/CS-032279.htm

Best to leave Tubo Boost enabled and on default or auto setting - the best you can do is adjust the BCLK but that is almost pointless.
 
Discussion starter · #11 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by vpex View Post

Yeah Turbo Boost is automatic but it scales depending on how many cores are being used.
You can't force Turbo Boost to a higher speed as it adjusts depending on the work load.

1 core = 3.9Ghz
2 core = 3.9Ghz
3 core = 3.8Ghz
4 core = 3.7Ghz

Source: http://www.intel.com/support/processors/corei7/sb/CS-032279.htm

Best to leave Tubo Boost enabled and on default or auto setting - the best you can do is adjust the BCLK but that is almost pointless.
Click to expand...
Alright, good, thanks. Fast replies everywhere is fun!

So, I'm gonna leave Turbo Boost enabled at all times and stick to factory settings.

Is there anything else I can do to get overall better performance? I heard people have played with 'Core multipliers' or whatnot to set a value to 43ish. No idea what that means.

Also, should I leave my CPU ratio at AUTO as well? The actual MHz that is?
 
#13 ·
Your Non-K has a locked multiplier.
The 43x multiplier is for unlocked processors on the Z77 chipset.
The clock speed is: BCLK * Multiplier = Clock Speed
In your case 100.00MHz * 39 = 3.9GHz.
The best you can do is maybe go for a 107MHz BCLK.
BCLK = Base Clock incase you were wondering.
This might cause sata corrutption as you have now essentailly overclocked your sata ports as well as your ram and pcie slot.
Might cause curruption - instability.

This will allow the processor to turbo boost.
107.00MHz * 39 = 4.173GHz.

Might be worth a shot but I personally wouldn't say it is worth it.
 
Discussion starter · #14 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by vpex View Post

Your Non-K has a locked multiplier.
The 43x multiplier is for unlocked processors on the Z77 chipset.
The clock speed is: BCLK * Multiplier = Clock Speed
In your case 100.00MHz * 39 = 3.9GHz.
The best you can do is maybe go for a 107MHz BCLK.
BCLK = Base Clock incase you were wondering.
This might cause sata corrutption as you have now essentailly overclocked your sata ports as well as your ram and pcie slot.
Might cause curruption - instability.

This will allow the processor to turbo boost.
107.00MHz * 39 = 4.173GHz.

Might be worth a shot but I personally wouldn't say it is worth it.
Click to expand...
Ah! Finally understood what everyone was talking about. Thanks..

My oh my a 4.173GHz sure does sound attractive.

But I'm not sure I'm willing to sacrifice my system's stability for that. I care less for the CPU's life since I'm covered in a well suited warranty code. Heck they might even give me a 3770K if this one overheats lol.

*considers*
 
Discussion starter · #15 ·
Also - if I've kept my power options on 'Balanced' up until now, would that perhaps disable or degrade the Turbo Boost effect? Basically, now that I've set it to high, will I perhaps have a raised #.##GHz due to Turbo?

And can OC Genie II give me any advantages?

Probably the last of my questions :d
 
#16 ·
Window's Power Options does directly affect Turbo Boost.

Turbo Boost works via the operating system requesting a new more appropriate ACPI performance state. So performance increases sacrificing power consumption or decreases sacrificing performance.

Part of the power options involves changing how aggressive or conservative the ACPI performance state is - so whether it will boost or not. This is to strike a balance between power consumption and performance aswell as temperature and thus noise from the cooler.
High Performance will request more aggressive ACPI performance states causing the processor to boost more often and under a lower load.
 
#17 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by vpex View Post

1 core = 3.9Ghz
2 core = 3.9Ghz
3 core = 3.8Ghz
4 core = 3.7Ghz
Click to expand...
The K series support unlimited multiplier overclocking but the regular 3770 should support +4 bins of turbo overclocking.
The maximum multipliers available is based on how many cores are active.

1 core = 43
2 core = 43
3 core = 42
4 core = 41

If your motherboard bios does not let you set those multipliers then try using Intel's XTU program.

On these CPUs, you need to enable C3 or C6 in the bios to enable multipliers higher than 41.

Intel XTU
http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/motherboards/desktop-motherboards/desktop-boards-software-extreme-tuning-utility.html
 
#18 ·
Leave the base clock alone just raise the multiplier. You run the risk of killing devices on your motherboard raising the base clock.
1155 isn't like prior Intels where you can safely raise the base clock without any problems. You can kill your USB or PCI-E slots for example. The gain won't be noticeable either.

Most 1155 boards allow you to raise the multiplier even with non-k. Depends on the board. For example, on a z77x-ud3h I was able to raise a Xeon 1230v2 from 3.3 ghz to 3.5 ghz by raising it +2. You can probably raise it without changing voltages. You don't need to lock the chip to run at 100% all the time either.

I think on the 3770 with certain motherboards, you can raise the multiplier by +4.
 
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#20 ·
...the 3770 (non-K) are actually very nice CPUs - I use several in a Virtual Machine.

Once you're done w/ the turbo settings per some of the posters above suggested, a lot will come down to
a.) your individual chip (good or bad clocker?)
b.) your pain tolerance re. extra vCore and related
c.) a good water-cooling system IF you want to go past 4.1+ GHz or so and finally
d.) a decent set of RAM sticks, as you'll have to use BCLK (or bus speeds above 100 MHz) to gain extra speed / oc.

Here is the highest I've done w/ one of my 3770 non-K...

LEAD Technologies Inc. V1.01
 
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