Beginner Overclocking Intel i5 2500k Guide
Beginner Overclocking Intel i5 2500k Guide
I'm attempting to boost my CPU performance after two years, finally. This gaming rig has the right components for overclocking, but I wasn't sure how to proceed since I thought it might shorten the CPU's life and there are some common issues others encounter. I'm using a Corsair Carbide Series 400R mid-tower case, running an Intel i5-2500K at 3.30 GHz without any overclocking attempts yet. My system includes a Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo fan, a 120 GB Intel SSD with 6.0Gb/s speed, and a 500GB SATA-II HDD spinning at 7200RPM with a single drive and 16MB cache. The motherboard is GigaByte GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3, and I'm running Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit. The power supply is 850 Watts from Corsair, and it has high-definition onboard audio. For video, I have an AMD Radeon HD 6850 1GB card with PCIe 3.0 support. I need clear, simple step-by-step guidance for someone new to this process.
You can try adjusting the BIOS settings to change the multiplier to 45 and the vcore to 1.3 for your i5 2500k. Make sure to do this carefully on the Z68x-UD3H-B3 motherboard. After making these changes, you should test stability using tools like prime95 or CPU-Z and monitor performance closely.
I take no responsibility if you damage your CPU or any other system components Considerations: Your Desired Goal: How high of a speed do you wish to reach? What's the maximum voltage and temps you will tolerate? Opinions differ wildly on max voltage/temps. Personally, I won't exceed 1.4V, 160F during normal use, 180F for benchmarking, but to each their own. Are You Willing to Tinker? The process, at its heart, is very simple. However, it will take time and you will likely have to endure several BSODs, which can be nerve wracking. There are settings that have different names depending on the motherboard bios (eg: "Load Line Calibration" can be called LLC, CPU LLC, Vdroop calibration <?>, etc. etc.) which can be hard to decipher. Backups: Better safe than sorry; make sure that your system is backed up. Also make sure that you have recovery options. I'm paranoid, but I'd suggest a Windows Recovery CD, BartPE Boot Disc, and make an xml drive image (I recommend Macrium Reflect Free). If you intend to OC the memory later, I'd burn the UBCD4Win so you can run P95 without loading Windows and risking corrupting the OS. Ideally, you would be starting with a fresh install of windows. Software: Memtest 86+: This will let you test your memory after the overclock to ensure it is still stable. I would run it overnight and make 5+ passes. Prime95: This is necessary to ensure the overclock is stable. Set it to display all workers. Realtemp (or Coretemp): This shows you the temperature of your CPU cores, GPU (optional), and can set temp alarms (optional). CPU-Z: This is critical as it shows you what Vcore you are running. It's also useful in displaying your overclock settings and memory settings. Benchmarking Software: EX: PCMark, FurMark, etc. This gives you another way to ensure stability. I use the benchmark that comes with Metro 2033 on the highest settings. You could alternatively load a fairly new game that is resource intensive (Skyrim, etc. etc.) Preliminary Configurations Those to Change Once: RAM: set your ram to your xmp profile or stock settings. Turbo Ratio: By all cores Power Saving: Disable CPU Voltage Capability: 150% Turbo Voltage: Manual. 250 Spread Spectrum: Disabled (this will stop BLCK fluctuations) BLCK/Peg Frequency: 100 CPU PLL Overvoltage: Enable or auto *AI OC Tuner (automatic overclocking): Manual *Phase Control: Extreme (or the highest setting, or optimized) *Duty Control: TProbe *Active Processor Cores: All *Limit CPUID Maximum: Disable *Your BIOS may/may not have this Those to Verify: Intel Adaptive Thermal Monitoring: Enable CPU1E: Auto or enable CPU C3: Auto or enable (*Disable when using offset voltage or you WILL get BSODs) CPU C6: Auto or enable (*Disable when using offset voltage or you WILL get BSODs) Package C: Auto or enable (*Disable for offset voltage or you WILL get BSODs) Those that will need tinkering: Load Line Calibration: Medium (if 1 is highest and 5 is lowest, 3 is a good place to start) CPU Voltage: Auto. There are 3 modes: auto, manual, and offset. CPU Frequency: Insert desired Frequency Here The Procedure Note: The name of the game is to figure out what voltage you need for a stable overclock of your desired frequency. You may need/want to tinker with LLC. In my experience, LLC 3 is ideal for 4.5 (LLC 4 won't boot and LLC2 provides no benefit). Start CPU-Z and Realtemp each time. Grab a fresh notebook and a few pens. 1. Let's Approximate How Much Voltage You Need: Set BIOS to Auto Voltage/LLC 3. Start P95 and run blend. CPU Load should show 100% in Realtemp. Note the temperature during the process. Write down the VCore mimimum, maximum, and average at 100% load. Let it run for 10 min and stop the test. Another quick test to determine stability. Open task manager (CNTRL+ALT+DEL). Look at available memory. Click on "Custom" in Prime 95 and set it to 90% of maximum available memory (im MB). I'd also open several web browsers, maybe Photoshop, etc. The idea is to stress it to determine stability. After running it for 5-10 min., stop the workers. If you're satisfied with this, stress test further as mentioned below. If not, Wait a few min and restart the PC. Enter your BIOS. (OPTIONAL) 2. Let's Find Out Exactly How Much Voltage You Need: Set BIOS to Offset voltage +0.05/LLC 3. Don't forget to disable C States as mentioned above. Save and exit the BIOS. Did you make it to the desktop? If yes, run the tests and note the vcore as in step 1. Still stable? Lower the voltage by ~0.015 and repeat, continuing the process until you've determined the settings that you need. If you did not make it to the desktop or are not stable, increase voltage by ~0.015 until you've determined the settings that you need. BSODs BSOD 101 and 124 are typical. It normally means that you need more voltage to the CPU or need to adjust LLC, though LLC 3 (medium) is usually good for 4.5ghz. Afterwards: Ensuring Stability: The CPU: The tests above are good, quick determinations of stability, but are not 100% accurate. Additionally, running a video game/ or additional benchmarking tool is a good idea. Finally, run P95 on blend at least overnight. Keep an eye on the temps for the first ~1hr or so and make sure they are stable. I'd set an alarm in realtemp that will wake you if the CPU gets too hot. I'd recommend 18-20 hours of testing. Why? P95 runs ~60 unique tests, and it usually takes that long to run them all. Some people have found issues with their CPU stability towards the last tests that were not detected immediately. RAM: It is highly possible that your RAM is unstable with the overclocked CPU, especially if you are running a high negative offset (-0.040 or lower, in my experience). Run Memtest for at least 5 passes or overnight to determine stability. If its unstable, try raising the voltage until it does. References and Notes This is a combination of first hand experience and by reading up on the efforts of others. I found these guides particularly useful: http://www.overclock.net/t/968053/offici...t_14466483 http://www.overclock.net/t/968053/offici...preadsheet http://www.overclock.net/t/1100100/info-...cking-tips
Wow, a lot of details at once. I’ll try to use this for my first OC. It’ll take some time to wrap everything up, but thanks for the tips—it really helps.
You have identical CPU and motherboard components. Access the BIOS, adjust all turbo multipliers to 43. It seems your vcore was set to 1.28, which is a solid starting point.
TheCurse :
That's a lot of details to take in, but totally okay.
To make it simpler, organize your software and backups, adjust your settings, and run it on LLC 3/auto at 4.5 ghz.
If you're not pushing the vcore to full capacity (around 100% load) and don't want to get into troubleshooting, a stress test isn't necessary—just give it a go. That should be the most straightforward approach.
Alright, so I changed 3 things and downloaded Cpu-z, everything looks good right now. I tested playing BF3 and everything is still working smoothly. I changed the multiplier to 45 and vcore to 1.35, and in cpu-z it shows the correct settings as well.
Image of settings in cpu-z:
http://imgur.com/DhX2QdO
Schmuckley:
Hey! Boot loops? Why two tiers on Sandy Bridge? I'd go with one tier.
What's that? I barely tweaked the BIOS settings, by the way—I just tried Prime95 but it crashed immediately. I'll keep testing to check stability. My BIOS Vcore is 1.365 and CPU multiplier is 45.
I agree with schmuckley; setting 2t memory to run at 1t is a nice easy (though small) performance boost. No reason not to do it really.
To clarify, he is referring to the Command Rate (CR). Sometimes they show it as 1"t" or 1"n".