For an i7 4790k OC on an Asrock z97, which core vote is recommended?
For an i7 4790k OC on an Asrock z97, which core vote is recommended?
Hello,
I recently upgraded to an i7 4790k and am looking to overclock it significantly. I’ve come across discussions about using a V core voltage of around 1.3V at 4.5 GHz for OC. Interestingly, according to some forums, this setting causes the CPU to overheat severely.
I chose to reduce the V core voltage to 1.16 and it functions properly—no issues, just stable performance.
Could you explain why a lower V core voltage at that frequency impacts stability, longevity, and performance?
Why is 1.3V recommended while I’m fine at 1.16V? Would going even lower be better? And if I wanted to push the CPU up to 4.7 GHz, what voltage should I aim for?
RIG:
CPU - I7 4790k
GPU - gtx 1070
SSD - 240GB
HDD - 500GB
RAM - 8GB
Motherboard - ASRock Z97 Anniversary
PS - XFX 650
Cooler - Dark Rock Advanced C1
Thanks in advance.
Cerativ:
I also checked using Core Temp, it shows 1.16. I plan to share a screenshot later today.
I'm not too surprised by this. Haswell and Devil's Canyon chips benefit from low power modes and actually perform better overclocking at lower voltages. My previous 4790K was on an ASRock motherboard with a complicated UI, so I wasn't sure how to properly overclock it. But now my 4790K is using a Gigabyte motherboard and is working well. I don't remember the BIOS setting, but according to CPU-Z, the voltage is around 1.296V with the CPU overclocked to 4.8Ghz continuously (for use in a media server).
The takeaway is that if you start experiencing instability...
I also verified using Core Temp, which shows 1.16. I plan to share a screenshot later today.
Cerativ reviewed it with Core Temp too, which showed 1.16. I plan to share a screenshot later today. I'm not too surprised by this. Haswell and Devil's Canyon chips benefit from low power modes and actually perform better at higher overclocks when using lower voltages. My previous 4790K was on an ASRock motherboard, which made overclocking tricky because the interface was very complex. Now my 4790K uses a Gigabyte board and is working well with overclocking. I don't recall the BIOS setting, but according to CPU-Z, the voltage is around 1.296V with the CPU running at 4.8Ghz continuously (for example, in a media server).
The key takeaway is that if instability starts, raise the voltage. But if you can keep it stable even with lower voltages, go ahead. Using less power helps the CPU last longer, as long as you're not pushing it beyond safe limits. Avoiding overclocking entirely would be better than risking damage from excessive voltage.
I am puzzled by the information on the site about those voltages for the 4790K. In that review, it seems the values are excessively high. It might be due to an automatic overclock with profiles. But if you adjust settings manually without using a profile, a lower base voltage is more likely. Before any doubts arise, here’s a link from CPU-Z for verification.