8700k OC without deliding?
8700k OC without deliding?
I simply changed the CPU/MB from a 6700k that ran at 1.4v, 4.7GHz.
My H115i managed to maintain temperatures:
Idle - ~22C
Gaming - ~50C based on the game
Stress - ~90C
After unboxing and installing my 8700k, I tested running games and stress tests to check the heat levels.
Stock specs:
Idle - 20-23C
Gaming - ~50C
Stress - Reached up to 83C in Prime95, but I’m confident it will reach around 90C in RealBench (I haven’t run that yet since I chose a clean install and haven’t installed it yet)
So the 8700k at stock is roughly as hot as my 1.4v 6700k.
Will I be able to push the 8700k very high without delidding? It seems I have about a 10-degree buffer to raise the voltage. (I might be mistaken, but at stock it’s already running at 1.314v so far.) I’ll check again when I get home.
I think I’ll reach the thermal limit well before hitting the safe voltage setting.
I’m not up for delidding. I won’t risk doing it myself and I don’t want to leave my PC sitting for too long while silicon luck decides the outcome.
I’d rather upgrade to Corsair’s new H150i Pro (360mm cooler) than risk delidding. But I doubt that’s really necessary. I just want to manage a modest boost with what I have, and hopefully regain the performance I lost in WoW after switching chips. (Everything else is fine, overall.)
You'll need to experiment with the vcore settings. Start with a baseline at stock, lower the vcore until stability is achieved (stock settings are often too high). Then fine-tune from there. Some chips can run at 5ghz with a vcore below 1.3. I understand you didn't want to delid, but rocker88 costs around 45 dollars compared to what a 360mm cooler would cost.
I tried this on my rig and it was straightforward—no hassle, just a quick 5-minute setup. Temperatures dropped by 23 degrees, and no cooler could match that performance.
The temperatures look acceptable, but the stress readings seem quite high for normal daily operation. When using Prime95, make sure you're running version V26.6 (Small FFTs 15-30min); I think newer releases might apply too much voltage to Intel CPUs, though I'm not certain. I'd also suggest avoiding the H150i Pro—other options like the EVGA 280 or NZXT X62 perform better according to reviews.
It all comes down to whether your cooler can maintain the desired temperatures. The H115i works, but it isn't ideal for a six-core processor running at 5GHz. You might want to consider upgrading to a more efficient cooler. For instance, with an i7 7800X, pairing it with the XSPC EX360 High Performance Radiator (which includes three 120mm fans) and the XSPC X4 Photon 170 Reservoir/Pump Combo would be effective.
You'll need to experiment with the vcore settings. Start with a baseline at stock, lower the vcore until stability is achieved (stock settings are often too high). Then fine-tune from there. Some chips can run at 5ghz with a vcore below 1.3. I understand you didn't want to delid, but rocker88 costs around 45 dollars compared to what a 360mm cooler would cost.
I tried this on my rig and it was straightforward—no hassle, just a quick 5-minute setup. Temperatures dropped by 23 degrees, and no cooler could match that performance.
The temperatures are acceptable, but the stress levels seem quite high for regular use. When using Prime95, be sure to select version V26.6 (Small FFTs, 15-30 minutes). I think newer releases might apply too much voltage to Intel CPUs, though I'm not certain. I'd also recommend avoiding the H150i Pro; other options like the EVGA 280 or NZXT X62 perform better according to reviews.
[Link to review]
Seeing as the H115i and EVGA CLC 280 offer similar thermal performance, that's a solid choice.
I didn't realize there were any reviews yet—I just saw a forum post about it yesterday.
I'll update Prime95 accordingly. However, RealBench has consistently given me reliable data. It usually passes at first, but I failed on the same overclock later, so I rely on RealBench for stability checks. I'm also not sure what counts as safe for daily use, but ideally I want to keep it below 60°C under normal loads.
i tried optimizing the 8700k with h80i v2 by enabling "sync all cores" and mce enhanced, but it didn’t work well. i’m using an older itx build just to save money, not for performance. i disabled mce, set adaptive offset on vcore at 1.350v, synced all cores to 50 and blck to 103.15. the temperature was around 5.1ghz, but when the vcore jumped to 1.450v++, i got a bsod exception after an hour of video encoding. then i added an avx offset of 3, which brought temps down to about 65c during full usage.
Biglizard suggests experimenting with vcore settings. Start with a baseline at stock, lower the vcore until stability is achieved (stock settings are often too high). Fine-tune from there. Some chips can run at 5GHz below 1.3 vcore. I understand you wanted no delid, but rocker88 is around $45 compared to what a 360mm cooler would cost. I tried this on my rig—no hassle, quick setup in about five minutes. Temperatures dropped by 23°C, and no cooler could match that. It looks like a solid choice. It doesn’t seem overly complex, though I’m still nervous about risking a $400 CPU. Still, it seems achievable. And honestly, a cooler won’t boost performance much. The H115i performs better than the Kraken X61 in raw heat output. If anything, staying under 5°C cooler would be ideal. I could probably switch fans to adaptive mode instead of fixed RPM, which would help as temperatures rise.
I believe a tailored fan profile in Corsair Link is possible, though it's been quite some time since I last used it—it had some issues for me, but over a year ago the software might be improved now. I also swapped out the original fans for quieter Cougar models, which helped boost the RPM.