I'm struggling to successfully increase the clock speed of my i7 4770K processor.
I'm struggling to successfully increase the clock speed of my i7 4770K processor.
Hello everyone, I'm facing a tough situation with my i7 4770k overclock. I bought it in 2014 and decided to stop working on it. Since then, I've been using it in its original state. Now I'm thinking about giving it another shot, but something seems unusual and I'm not sure what's going on.
My system setup includes:
- i7 4770k processor
- Corsair CS750M motherboard
- ASUS Z87-K RAM
- 16GB Kingston HyperX Predator 2400MHz DDR3 (4x4GB modules)
- Kingston HyperX SATA SSD 240GB
- Corsair H90 140mm water cooler
- Radeon HD 5750 graphics card
- Windows 10 64-bit OS
I've checked temperatures, power usage, and performance using Intel XTU and HWmonitor. When I booted my BIOS with default settings and ran Prime 95 version 29.4 on Small FFTs, my CPU automatically throttled to 3.5GHz because the power limit was set at 84W. The thermal design power (TDP) reached a maximum of 93W, with temperatures peaking at 72°C. The maximum Vcore was 1.185V (auto mode in BIOS), and idle temps never exceeded 34°C.
In my second test, I enabled the XMP profile in the BIOS. My RAM was increased from 1600MHz to 2400MHz, and both power and current limits were set to maximum as per the Intel XMU software. Everything else remained unchanged.
This time, I didn't see any throttling—each core reached 3.7GHz—but the TDP climbed to 128W, with a peak temperature of 88°C. The DRAM power dropped from 6W to 10W, which wasn't too surprising. My cooler appears to be functioning properly; it gets warm on the hoses, but the radiator stays cool, and airflow remains consistent. Temperatures rise quickly during testing and drop to around 40°C after stopping.
After cleaning my PC and adjusting the radiator's position, I noticed an improvement. Initially, the radiator was set as exhaust with the fan at the top. Since there was limited space, I mounted the fan on top with the case metal in between, which reduced airflow. I then swapped the radiator to the bottom and set the fan as exhaust. Temperatures fell from 88°C to 77°C after both adjustments.
Later, I re-applied the cooler paste from 2014, which was a bit cheap. The temperatures stayed similar, around 1-2 degrees higher than before.
What's really bothering me is the TDP my processor is reaching—it doesn't seem normal. Also, the stock configurations don't enforce power limits properly. The best overclock I achieved was 4.2GHz with 1.25Vcore, but temperatures reached 100°C, and I couldn't sustain a 4.3GHz run at that voltage.
Additionally, my temperatures never exceeded 70°C even during overclocking to 4.2GHz at 1.25V. Prime 95 FFTs is pushing my TDP higher than expected.
Intel applied thermal paste between the die and IHS on those chips, causing them to overheat even with adequate cooling. Consider removing it and swapping in Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut. Carefully take off the old silicon from the IHS and CPU if needed. Reattach the IHS once everything is aligned properly. Apply a small amount of adhesive to the corners of the IHS to secure it. This method can reduce temperatures by up to 30°C, enabling higher overclocking. Otherwise, maintain 4Ghz across all cores with the lowest stable Vcore.
Your issue is related to the Prime95 version you are running. You need to use version 26.6, not 29.4. Any version higher than 26.6 includes an instruction set in Intel Second Gen (Sandy Bridge) and newer processors that causes excessive heat.
Intel applied thermal paste between the die and IHS on those chips, causing them to overheat even with strong cooling. I recommend removing it and swapping in Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut. Carefully take off the old silicon from the IHS and CPU if needed. After ensuring everything is aligned properly, reattach the IHS and verify alignment. Apply a small amount of adhesive to the corners of the IHS to secure it. This process can reduce temperatures by up to 30°C in certain scenarios, allowing for higher overclocking. Otherwise, maintain 4Ghz across all cores with the lowest stable Vcore.
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Intel applied thermal paste between the die and IHS on those chips, causing them to overheat even with strong cooling. I recommend removing it and swapping in Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut instead. Carefully take off the old silicon from the IHS and CPU if needed. Once everything is clean and aligned properly, reattach the IHS and verify it's straight. You might apply a small amount of adhesive to the corners to secure it. This approach can reduce temperatures by up to 30°C in certain scenarios, allowing you to push performance higher. However, I advise sticking to 4Ghz across all cores with the lowest stable Vcore unless you're willing to take significant risks.
Delidding should only be performed if you grasp the potential outcomes of doing it wrong—most commonly damaging the CPU. It’s something that should be tried only after careful study and full comprehension.