CPU behavior is unusual.
CPU behavior is unusual.
Throughout my experience, I haven't pushed the CPU beyond its limits much, just a small adjustment. My setup includes an i7-4790K on an ASUS H81M-C, which is considered a basic board, paired with a GTX 1060 and EVGA 450 W3 graphics card. I attempted to overclock the processor by adjusting voltage and clock speeds. It appears stable under testing, thanks to the Cooler Master 240 AIO cooling solution. Using Cinebench, I confirmed no crashes even at 4.6, though all cores throttle slightly. At 4.4 with a bit more voltage, something else seems limiting performance—possibly the motherboard struggling with extra power or the PSU lacking sufficient capacity. I checked the hardware info to see if any board diagnostics indicated throttling, but it didn’t provide helpful details. The AUXTIN temperatures consistently hover between 90–95°C regardless of settings, which suggests overheating rather than actual throttling. From what I observe, the AUXTIN readings might be inaccurate due to software sensors. The BIOS offers three presets: Eco, Normal, and OC. Switching to OC mode lets the CPU use the clock speeds you set, but it throttles more aggressively—even at 4.6 it caps around 4.4. In normal mode, overclocking often results in a maximum of 4.0 despite your attempts. If anyone has insights on diagnosing this issue, I’d really appreciate it.