Safe voltage for 8700K?
Safe voltage for 8700K?
Checking your 8700K’s limits is smart. For a stable 5.1 GHz overclock, aim for the recommended voltage range—generally around 2.5 to 3.0V per core. Staying within these limits helps avoid damage while pushing performance. Always test cautiously and monitor temperatures closely.
I’m not sure about the exact voltage for a 5.1, but you should begin with a low setting and gradually increase it if needed.
Your signature has been set at 5.1 GHz, so you may use the current voltage and then reduce it gradually. It's safer to begin with a steady voltage and slowly decrease until it becomes unstable, as each overclock attempt during testing risks damaging the operating system. I've experienced needing to reinstall Windows multiple times due to corruption that prevented a successful reboot.
Here are my recommended configurations for the 8700K to reach a steady 5.0 GHz for gaming and 4.8 GHz (actual) for AVX tasks. Adjust the core ratio to 51 and hope TimeSpy and RealBench remain stable—congratulations if they do. If not, tweak the AVX offset to 3 and try achieving stability at 4.8 for RealBench, but aim for 5.1 for games.
If stability fails in games (TimeSpy), raise the voltage, switch Offset Mode Sign to +, and increment the offset voltage in 0.025 steps until stable. Once stable, reduce the number by 0.01 until it becomes unstable—then you've identified the minimum voltage needed for both gaming and computing tasks.
CPU Voltage: Offset Mode
Offset Mode Sign: -
Core Voltage: 1.27
Offset Voltage: 0.01
Total Adaptive Mode Voltage: 1.26
AVX Instruction Core Ratio: Negative
Offset Mode Sign: +
CPU Core Ratio: Sync All Cores
1-Core Limit: 50
These settings should give you around 1.296 Vcore under load (per HWinfo64), 5.0 GHz in Cinebench R15 (non-AVX), 75°C on CPU (HWinfo64), and 4.8 GHz in RealBench Stress Test (AVX). If stability isn’t achieved, follow the steps above to fine-tune.
I’m aware of the signature I’ve mentioned, thinking it was fine because it stays under 85°C during gameplay. However, after running a real stress test (TimeSpy Extreme), it reached 100°C and started throttling. This made me realize two things: my temperatures were too high, and lowering the voltage might help. That’s why I asked about suitable voltages—I want to use the lowest possible while keeping stability, since lower voltages lead to lower temperatures.
Begin reducing voltage in increments of 0.01 V (approximately 1.36 V) from the current level, aiming for stability. Each CPU behaves differently, but starting around 1.36 V is reasonable. You can also begin at 1.30 V, which delivers 5.0 GHz for gaming tasks and you can increase from there. PS TimeSpy Extreme remains a demanding workload, so keep this in mind.