s about overclocking i7-4790K and related discussions
s about overclocking i7-4790K and related discussions
Hello everyone,
I recently assembled a brand-new 'high-performance' build in August, aiming to push its limits as much as possible. It includes an i7-4790K processor and an ASRock Z97 OC Formula paired with a Cooler Master Seidon 240M liquid cooler. The results have been outstanding—truly exceptional. I’ve managed to secure the Silicon Lottery in terms of thermal performance... With the Intel base turbo set to 4.4 GHz, I achieve remarkably low temperatures. I rarely reach even 50°C except during McAfee virus scans. Idle temps stay in the low 20s, sometimes dipping into the 30s when using Chrome with 50 open tabs. Overall, it delivers superb performance and excellent low-temperature stability.
My initial plan was not to overclock, but I wanted the extra capability. My goal was to ensure longevity, so I didn’t feel the need to push it beyond its limits just for higher GHz numbers (though this may affect system lifespan). A few nights ago, I decided to overclock via the ASRock BIOS settings. I started at 4.7 GHz using pre-set options, then after a night of that, I increased it to 5GHz manually. However, booting at 5GHz proved problematic—repeated power-up failures forced me to let it sit briefly before I could access the BIOS and tweak settings.
What succeeded was using the EZ-OC 4.7Ghz option, then adjusting the multiplier from 47 to 50. I suspect I may have accidentally set the CPU cache multiplier to 47. Despite other changes like voltage adjustments, it worked—running at 5GHz for a full day and night.
The key observation is that increasing the frequency significantly raises temperatures. At 5GHz, especially while playing World of Tanks, I often hit 60°C or higher, reaching 70–71°C occasionally. While some might consider this acceptable, two concerns stand out: First, high temperatures are detrimental to both system and CPU longevity. Second, I don’t see any noticeable difference between running at 4.4GHz, 4.7GHz, or 5GHz. It feels more like a fun experiment than a necessity.
This leads me to consider alternative strategies. If I were to overclock further, could I use Windows Power Management to switch to lower processor usage during idle periods? Right now, I usually stick to the "Balanced" setting, but if I needed higher performance, I could enable the Hi-Performance mode. For specific sessions where I wanted maximum power, I could manually set CPU usage percentages (e.g., 75%, 80%, 90%) and see if that impacts performance or longevity.
Another point is the BIOS behavior. When I enter BIOS and make changes, I can save and exit without issues. However, if I disable overclocking and then attempt to boot at higher frequencies, the motherboard powers up repeatedly, dies after a few seconds, and restarts automatically. This pattern repeats until I unplug the power cord. If I leave the cord out for a few minutes, it works again—boots successfully, runs normally, and shuts down properly. But when I return to BIOS, the system fails to boot again. It seems the motherboard is sensitive to these changes.
I attempted an update to my BIOS last Wednesday, but even after that, the boot failure persists when adjusting overclocking settings. I’m not sure if a BIOS update resolved this or if there’s another issue I’m missing.
Overall, everything has been functioning well so far—very satisfactory. It makes me curious whether further tweaks would be worthwhile. Thank you all for your support and insights!
When I manually adjust to 5Ghz, it doesn't start reliably, it keeps failing during power-up, and I have to leave it idle with the power cable unplugged before it can boot again. Once it does, I can enter BIOS and make some changes. It seems this issue might be related to the boot failure protection, which stops the system after a certain number of failed attempts and restores the last working UEFI setup.
I’m wondering if overclocking to a higher frequency, like 5 or another speed, would help. I could use Windows Power Management to lower the processor usage when I’m not using it much. The quick answer is yes, you can adjust power settings to reduce load. I actually do this when gaming—CPU usage isn’t critical while the GPU handles most tasks.
It looks like there might be a mismatch between your setup and expectations. For example, with a 454 processor, trying to run at 5GHz is pushing it too hard. It’s generally better to stick to the rated speed unless you’re experimenting. I’d reset everything to default or “auto” mode, refer to detailed guides, and see if fine-tuning improves things. I’ve used a 4770k (similar to a 4790k) mostly under 4.2 GHz; it can reach 4.5 GHz but the temperatures aren’t ideal long-term.
Some useful links:
- Intel CPU temperature guide
- Overclocking benchmarking advice
- General overclocking research
I wanted to express my sincere gratitude for your time and expertise.
I understand that I might have been fortunate—there’s no doubt I received a solid chip. At first, I was disappointed because all the information I found about the i7-4790K and OverClocking mentioned MALAY chips, while I got a VIETNAM chip. I’m wondering, maybe I got a second-run? But it was obvious right away when I saw the impressive thermal performance—I had something truly special.
I was determined not to overclock for a long time; I wanted a system that would last a very long time instead of just being an amazing setup for a short period.
About a month and a half ago, something significant changed. After more than five years without drinking again, I started drinking up. Soon, I felt my usual confidence return, and I was excited about the Overclocking process! When it wouldn’t power on the first time, I thought, “Well done, you’ve earned it.” It seemed to fix itself, which was really reassuring—though I guess I should have left it alone.
Wrong decisions!
Now I’m feeling conflicted. I just want to keep it running as long as possible. I don’t need much power at all; even the minimum I have is more than enough.
But at night, it feels like this is finally happening—let’s give it a try! Wooooohooo!
I hope I won’t end up with a pile of ruined parts like in the Valyrian Freehold.
Is it really 5 GHz? I increased the multiplier to 52 and adjusted the CPU cache a bit, but it didn't help. Setting the auto-setting to 4.7 worked, though changing the CPU multiplier to 50 and the cache multiplier to 46 did. The temperatures are much higher, but performance is still okay. I believe learning more about voltages and running the cooler at full speed could bring us closer to the 5.x range, but it might only result in high temps and no recognition.
Hi all,
I recently assembled a brand-new 'high-performance' setup in August, aiming to push it to its limits. I used an i7-4790K processor paired with an ASRock Z97 OC Formula and a Cooler Master Seidon 240M liquid cooler. The results have been outstanding—truly excellent. I’ve managed to secure the Silicon Lottery in terms of thermal performance. With the Intel base turbo set to 4.4 GHz, I achieve very low temperatures; I rarely reach even 50°C except during McAfee virus scans. Idle temps stay in the low 20s, sometimes dropping to the mid-30s when using Chrome with many tabs open. Overall, it delivers strong performance and impressive low temps.
I wasn’t initially planning to overclock, but I wanted the extra speed. My goal was to ensure longevity, so I didn’t feel the need to push it beyond what’s necessary. A few nights ago, I decided to overclock via the ASRock BIOS. First, I set it to 4.7 GHz using pre-set options (4.5, 4.6, 4.7). After a night at that speed, I went back up to 5GHz manually. However, booting at 5GHz proved problematic—I would repeatedly fail to power on and had to wait a few minutes with the power cable unplugged before it would finally start. Once it booted, I could enter BIOS and tweak settings.
What succeeded was using the EZ-OC 4.7Ghz option, then adjusting the multiplier from 47 to 50. I didn’t make any other changes—just tweaked the voltage if needed. This worked, and I spent hours running at 5GHz.
The issue became clearer when I increased the speed to 4.7Ghz. Temperatures spiked significantly, and at 5GHz they rose even more. During gameplay in World of Tanks, I was consistently in the 60s, occasionally hitting 70 or 71. Some might say that’s acceptable, but two key points stand out: First, high temperatures are detrimental to both system and CPU longevity—longer runs at higher temps mean shorter lifespan. Second, I didn’t notice any difference between running at 4.4GHz, 4.7GHz, or 5GHz; it’s just a matter of personal preference.
This leads me to my questions: If I were to overclock further to 5GHz or another speed, and then use Windows Power Management to switch to lower processor usage during idle periods, would that help? For instance, if I could set a low-power mode at 75%, 80%, or 90% CPU usage instead of the default balanced setting, would that make a difference? Or would the CPU still operate at full power, just not as quickly?
Lastly, something bothers me. In BIOS, I can make changes freely and save them. However, if I adjust any overclocking settings, save, and exit, the motherboard will power up again, sometimes failing immediately after a few seconds. After about 1 second, it restarts, then dies again after another second. This happens repeatedly. If I leave the power cord out for a few minutes (3 or more?), then plug it back in, it boots successfully and runs normally. But when I return to BIOS and adjust the settings, the failure repeats. I suspect this could be due to a BIOS issue or an unnoticed problem. Despite this, everything has been working well—very satisfactory. It makes me want to experiment more, but for now, I’ll stick with the current settings.
Thank you all for your support.
I recommend pushing the system as hard as possible if idle temps stay under 34°C and the motherboard is stable. If you prefer to keep it stock, that’s fine. But I don’t think 4.5GHz on a CPU rated for 4.0 is ideal.
5.1 GHz.......
http://prntscr.com/9hwk2e
;p
Check CPUz Get it above 5.2 and you win, though I was running a $50 GA-78LMT-USB3 Rev. 5
I was honest about it here. I thought, "Maybe I should attempt this RIGHT NOW, in the morning when I'm sober... instead of at night while drinking..."
Thus, I experimented with a frequency of 5.3 GHz, simply changing the multiplier from 51 to 53 without making any other adjustments. The system remains on the Windows boot screen, freezing with the small dots spinning endlessly. I reset and adjusted some parameters, but my knowledge of voltages is limited, so I might not have provided enough power. I deliberately tried to avoid overdoing it, yet this could be the reason it didn’t function.
Later, I encountered a blue screen during boot after another attempt, which made me reconsider. I decided to stop experimenting before making further mistakes.
It’s worth noting that the ASRock Z97 OC Formula offers three overclocking options: an easy mode with settings for 4.5, 4.6, and 4.7 GHz; a "Nick Shih" category featuring extreme liquid nitrogen techniques and very high frequencies; and manual adjustments for each profile. Some of these settings are unclear to me, making them challenging to interpret.
My first overclock attempt was simply setting the CPU to 4.7 GHz, which performed well. I then aimed for 5 GHz using the same profile but changed the CPU multiplier to 50. I set the cache multiplier to 44, thinking it should match the CPU multiplier. However, I suspect that increasing the cache multiplier beyond 44 might cause instability, possibly leading to early failures. This could explain some of the issues I experienced.
I managed to reach a stable 5 GHz and briefly hit 5.1 GHz. When trying 5.3 GHz, I also tried enabling adaptive voltage settings, which allowed overriding or adjusting voltages. Unfortunately, booting failed regardless of the changes, so I decided to stop experimenting.
In short, I’m confident I could reach 5.3 or higher with more practice and understanding of each adjustment. However, without guidance or someone to help fine-tune everything, it will take time before I can fully master this process. I don’t want to risk damaging the system by making a mistake.
Appreciate any advice or feedback you might have.