Solutions available for ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming 4 LGA 1151 (300 Series) and i5-9600 DDR4 3000 OC tips.
Solutions available for ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming 4 LGA 1151 (300 Series) and i5-9600 DDR4 3000 OC tips.
Hi everyone! I’m looking for some advice on overclocking the Mobo and CPU. Here’s a quick summary of my setup:
I have an i5-9600K with 6 cores and 16GB DDR4 memory, installed in the ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming 4 LGA 1151 (300 Series). The system is already powerful, running at around 500GB WD NVME M.2 X2 and paired with a 2TB Samsung Evo 960 SSD and two 8TB HGST drives spinning at 7200 RPM.
I use the Phantom Gaming 4 app, which makes it easy to adjust CPU and RAM speeds, then restart for an instant update. Right now, my 6-core processor is stable at about 4.5GHz with a water-cooled setup using a Corsair AIO cooler.
I’m not planning to push the overclock further because this board is already very strong—especially with the GTX 1070 8GB from Zotac. I’m new to this hardware and want to learn more about OC settings before diving deeper.
Some thoughts:
- I believe 16GB should be sufficient given the specs, especially with DDR4 3000.
- 32GB might be excessive, but I’m not sure if it’s worth it considering my usage in Premiere and Photoshop.
- The EZ OC app seems to have limited options, possibly because I’ve already customized it.
Any tips or links would be greatly appreciated!
Faslanetech :
@Hunter47, seems like you got the wrong idea, I was already mentioning water cooling, so the temperatures are great. That’s why I’m planning to increase the OC to 5GHz or a bit more just for experimenting. I currently have three 120mm fans inside the case, but I keep them on silent since they’re not really needed. There’s also one 120mm fan in the radiator, which gives excellent cooling—maybe too much, but you can always be careful with cooling on a PC. Personally, I’m just curious about what adjustments to make for a slight boost. It shouldn’t take long, though, and I’m still getting familiar with this board. There are plenty of options to explore.
Your rig looks great, but you should consider upgrading to a 240 or 280 cooler if you're planning to go aio. If you want better airflow at 135°C, go for that. Also, 16GB is the minimum, and 8GB is the absolute minimum overall. It's a good setup overall.
I believe you may have misread my questions; what I mentioned was already water cooled. The temperatures are great. That’s why I’m considering an OC to 5GHz or a bit higher just for experimenting. I currently have three 120mm case fans installed, but they’re running in silent mode because they’re not really needed. There’s also one 120mm fan on the radiator, which provides excellent cooling—possibly too much, but you can always be careful with cooling on a computer. Personally, I’m just trying to figure out what adjustments to make for a slight boost. It shouldn’t take long, and I’m new to this board. There are many options available.
Faslanetech shared their thoughts with Hunter47, clarifying that they were already using water cooling and that temperatures were ideal. They mentioned wanting to increase the overclock to 5GHz for experimentation, noting they currently have three 120mm fans in the case but keep them silent since they’re not essential. They pointed out that the radiator already provides strong cooling, though they admit it might be a bit excessive. The person is new to the board and wants to understand what adjustments are possible.
They also expressed concern about the fast boot setting in UEFI, stating that disabling it resolves the issue. They shared some advice:
- It’s recommended to overclock the CPU using the BIOS rather than third-party software.
- A 4.5GHz boost is considered mild for an i5-9th gen and may be suitable depending on usage.
- As frequency increases, Vcore must be adjusted to maintain stability; higher temps require more powerful cooling.
- For 5.0GHz, a 240mm or larger air cooler (or a 360mm AIO) is likely needed.
- A quality power supply with at least 600W is essential for supporting high overclocks.
They also mentioned that BIOS overclocking tutorials are plentiful and that each motherboard has its own specifics.
I tried to clarify with you, Hunter47. I mentioned it’s already water cooled, so temperatures are great. That’s why I’m considering boosting the clock to 5GHz or a bit higher just for experimentation. I currently have three 120mm fans inside the case, but they’re running in silent mode since they’re not really needed. There’s also one 120mm fan on the radiator, which gives excellent cooling—though maybe a bit excessive, but you can’t be too cool for your computer. Personally, I’m just curious about what adjustments are best for a slight overclock. It shouldn’t take much, and I’m still learning about this board. There are plenty of options.
I also wanted to ask: if fast boot is enabled in the UEFI settings, the system won’t boot properly. But when I disable it, everything works perfectly. Any suggestions?
A few things to note:
First, it’s strongly recommended to overclock the CPU using the BIOS rather than software tools. This is the standard method for doing overclocks. Try to adjust your i5 in BIOS instead of using Phantom software.
Second, a 4.5 GHz boost is quite mild for an i5-9th gen processor. Depending on your usage—gaming, video editing, etc.—it might be too low, just right, or insufficient. However, it’s definitely achievable and common for an i5-9600K to reach around 5.0 GHz across all cores.
As frequency increases, you’ll need to raise the Vcore to maintain stability. A higher Vcore leads to higher core temperatures. That’s why at 4.5 GHz you’re seeing excellent temps with a 120mm AIO liquid cooler. But once you hit 5.0 GHz, you’ll likely need a better air cooler or at least a 240mm AIO liquid cooler.
Regarding BIOS overclocking, there’s a lot of content out there. Each motherboard’s BIOS features differ, so I’ll leave that to you.
Thanks for the info. I already knew it could be done in BIOS, not just through software, and I realized I didn’t need to worry about crashes. So yes, I was mainly interested in getting a bit more background. Appreciate the help!
with the same length and structure:
Thtran6 :
faslanetech :
@Hunter47, I believe you misinterpreted my questions; what I meant was that it's already water cooled, which is what I mentioned. That’s why I’m considering increasing the frequency to 5GHz or a bit more just for experimentation. I currently have three 120mm case fans inside the case, but I keep them on silent since they’re not really needed. There’s also one 120mm fan in the radiator, so cooling is excellent—though maybe too much, but you can’t be too cool for a computer. Personally, I’m just trying to understand what adjustments to make for a slight overclock. It shouldn’t take long, and I’m new to this board. There are plenty of options.
🙂
I’m mainly interested in learning how to tweak the overclock slightly. It shouldn’t be too difficult, but I’m still getting the hang of things. Everything is pretty straightforward.
Additionally, I’m facing an issue where the system won’t boot if Fast Boot is enabled in the UEFI settings. When I disable it, it boots perfectly. Here are a few thoughts.
First, it’s strongly recommended to overclock the CPU using the BIOS rather than any third-party software. This is the standard method for doing overclocks. Try to adjust your i5 settings directly in the BIOS and avoid using Phantom software.
Second, 4.5 GHz is a very mild overclock for an i5 9th generation processor. Depending on how you use your computer—gaming, video editing, etc.—this speed might be too low, too high, or just right. Still, it’s definitely achievable and quite common for an i5-9600K to reach 5.0 GHz across all cores.
However, as the frequency increases, you’ll need to raise the Vcore to maintain stability. A higher Vcore usually leads to a higher core temperature. That’s why at 4.5 GHz you’re seeing excellent temperatures with a 120mm AIO liquid cooler.
But this cooler might not be enough if you push it to 5.0 GHz. For such high speeds, you’ll likely need a premium air cooler, or an AIO liquid cooler of at least 240mm. I personally wouldn’t settle for anything below 280mm or 360mm.
Lastly, you’ll need a reliable power supply to support your overclocking efforts. You haven’t mentioned your PSU yet, but I hope you have a solid one—preferably a Tier 1 gold-rated unit with at least 600W. A low-quality PSU can greatly affect your overclocking performance and even damage components.
Regarding BIOS overclocking, there’s plenty of YouTube content available. Overclocking features vary by motherboard model, so I’ll leave that to you.
I also understand the all-in-one cooler idea, but I already have a 120mm fan on each side using a push-pull system through the radiator and out the back, plus a pull system with three fans at the top to expel warm air. I’m not sure if this alone would be enough for 5 GHz, but I’ll probably settle for around 4.7 or 4.8 to be safe. It’s getting warm, but I forgot to increase the fan speeds. One more thing—if you don’t mind, is there a reason your computer wouldn’t boot when you select Fast Boot? If you enable Fast Boot, it boots back into the BIOS immediately; if you disable it, it boots in about 10 seconds. But an identical CPU and board next to it boots in around 6 seconds after powering off. I’ve double-checked the settings, but I can’t figure out what’s causing the issue. Just wanted to know if using Fast Boot would work for me. Thanks for the advice
🙂