The temperature is currently 68 degrees C after 1.75 hours in Prime. The room temperature might be around 65 F/18 C. (Heater would begin operating at that point. I’m not sure, but it should start a few degrees higher than the present reading, correct? I turned it off immediately, although I might reactivate it during the night, especially if it gets very cold. I covered the case with a solid piece of cardboard.)
How am I faring? Are others achieving better outcomes, or do I have poor results? How long should I run Prime95?
Some say 24 hours, others claim 48 hours, while some even mention 20 minutes is sufficient. I experienced BSODs after 20 minutes, or even immediately after the computer started, under very low voltage conditions like 1.025V. I adjusted the voltage to 1.055 and then to 1.075. Finding the optimal duration might take a long time, so I’ll consider trying it later or perhaps not at all?
I plan to use it for gaming—BF1/v (possibly on Ultra), other titles, maybe Blender, and possibly some work in Unreal Engine. Should I run it for 6, 9, 12, or 24 hours? Or push it to 48 hours? I read that after over 13 hours it worked without issues, though it crashed midway through a game. At what point can I be confident it will run smoothly?
System details:
i5 4690K @ 4.3 GHz
Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SLI
Noctua NH-D15S
I’d like to leave some buffer since summer temperatures can rise high. By then, I think I should turn off the OC and return to normal speeds or lower it to safer levels.
P.S. I found on Overclockers.com (or .net) that setting uncore to x33 would help. I also did that.
If 68c is the temperature you're observing during stress testing, that's acceptable.
24 hour Prime small FFTs serve as an effective stress test for the CPU.
I've begun incorporating a 12 hour blend and AIDA64 stress tests while I perform OC, since I've noticed I can run small FFTs for over 30 hours yet still fail a blend test within four hours.
These inconsistencies are typically linked to memory or IMC issues, and modifying Memory voltage and CPU secondary voltages (SA, Analog/Digital I/O) can help stabilize the blend test.
You can estimate your expected summer temperatures.
If the ambient temperature rises by 10c, your CPU temperature will follow suit.
After roughly fifteen minutes you'll notice the maximum temperatures Prime95 displays. For a gaming system I recommend about an hour of testing rather than any game would require. Most 4690K units can reach 4.6GHz, but with low voltage you're limited. You might achieve better results by increasing both speed and voltage.
*Edit: Concern about uncore to 33? Once the core stabilizes, aim to align the uncore and ring with the core or at least stay as close as possible without losing stability.*
If 68c is the temperature you're observing during stress testing, that's acceptable.
24 hour Prime small FFTs serve as an effective stress test for the CPU.
I've begun incorporating a 12 hour blend and AIDA64 stress tests while I perform OC, since I've noticed I can run small FFTs for over 30 hours yet still fail a blend test within four hours.
These inconsistencies are typically linked to memory or IMC issues, and modifying Memory voltage and CPU secondary voltages (SA, Analog/Digital I/O) can help stabilize the blend test.
You can estimate your expected summer temperatures.
If the ambient temperature rises by 10c, your CPU temperature will follow suit.
Well, in games I won't be at 68 degrees anyways, correct? That's what I usually do – play and watch videos, browse the web, or do other light activities. Adjusting uncore is just like that; I read about it for Gigabyte motherboards and need to set it to x33. I'll share the link once I finish the stress test, which should be around 20 minutes from now. It's currently using my smartphone.
Update:
https://www.overclock.net/forum/5-intel-...stics.html
(Yes, Devil's Canyon is based on Haswell, right?)
Exploring the web during stress testing helps uncover any issues. If it remains stable, everything should work.
*Update: I reviewed the link about uncore at x33. It mentions avoiding a jump to x40. But as I mentioned, I’d prefer to align uncore with core unless I’m in a contest where the fastest core wins. Also, your 4690K is standard at 3.5GHz, so you’d aim for x35 if you want to keep up.
That's a good observation. But it's too late to act now.
If you have any notes, please share them and I'll review them tomorrow. Otherwise, I'll keep things as they are.
Update
I'm still getting familiar with OC, so if you think I should adjust anything, I'll let you know. I don't understand the uncore settings yet. Should I modify my voltage then? Is auto mode suitable?