Optimal starting voltage for 9700k is around 12V, but adjust upward if instability occurs.
Optimal starting voltage for 9700k is around 12V, but adjust upward if instability occurs.
Hey there, I'm trying my first overclock on my 9700k to reach 5.0 GHz across all cores. The clock_watchdog stopped working and showed a blue screen right away. After launching Prime95, the system didn’t crash but reported many errors right away. The instructions I used were meant for a 9000k on an Aorus Z390 board, so I started with a voltage of 1.3 and hope raising it will help. If blue screens are bad for my PC, I’m looking into how much more I should increase before things stabilize.
Maintain your Vcore between 1.35 and 1.375V continuously for uninterrupted operation. Set the LLC to a medium level and avoid extreme or high values, particularly above 1.3V. Keep VCCSA and VCCIO below 1.3V. For standard performance memory speeds (around 3000/3200MHz) on dual sticks, 1.0V for VCCSA and VCCIO should suffice, or even lower. Don’t jump directly to 5.0GHz; begin at around 4.7GHz all-core and increase gradually. If instability appears, slightly boost the Vcore and retest. Use stability checkers like Linpack Xtreme, Aida64, or Prime95 throughout testing. When core multipliers reach their limits without stability, consider raising cache or uncore frequency in small steps. Ensure temperatures remain below ~95°C during stress tests—ideally under 85°C for sustained use. Brief spikes to 87-90°C are acceptable, but constant 90°C is not ideal. Always apply the latest BIOS before making any adjustments.
Thanks for your question! Yes, setting the load line calibration to turbo is what you’re referring to. As for increasing voltage, a common approach is to raise it by small steps—like 0.02 volts each time—to avoid instability while trying to improve performance.
Yeah, LLC refers to Load-Line Calibration. It’s best to avoid Turbo or any higher settings. To save time, go in 0.025V steps and when you hit your target frequency, reduce the Vcore in smaller jumps like 0.005V. For a detailed overclocking guide, check the video below. Note it’s from Comet Lake, not Coffee Lake, but since it uses a Gigabyte board, the BIOS should be similar and Coffee Lake overclocking won’t differ much.
Or perhaps the stock was automatically selected. I created a stock profile so you can revert later.
Apologies, just noticed you mentioned that in the initial reply.
You were so good about helping me I thought you might like to know, and was hoping to get one last opinion: That I was able to get stable at 5ghz all cores with a voltage of 1.350 ( I think last time I may have used 1.305v ) or it’s possible I’m stable Because I turned LCC from turbo to medium like you said. Also my avx offset is 0 and all speed states / power settings are on. After 10mins off OCCT there was no errors and temps reaching 60c ,and also no errors in prime 95 but after about 15 minutes temps did spike to the highest of 87c in core #2 and the other cores maxing in 80’s but nothing as high but not for very long and Average temps throughout the test were low 60c’s. I’m ready to call this a win and pack it in. With out trying again with lower voltages ( since I’ve been doing this for 3 days ) if we’re in agreement 1.350v should hurt anything overtime ? Again you been great thanks for all your help.