Some users report crashes when overclocking during stress tests.
Some users report crashes when overclocking during stress tests.
My Build
Two exhaust fans at the top, one exhaust on the back, a 140mm intake in front, CPU water cooler intake in front (with two push/pull ML120 Pro fans [high static pressure]), PSU from the bottom.
I recently upgraded my CPU from an i5 6600K (previously running OC @4.4 for over six months on BIOS settings). Now I own an i7 6700K, which I’m planning to use for 4K gaming later. On the other hand, my issue is that I’ve spent two days manually adjusting frequency and vcore even after trying BIOS settings, but no matter what I set, any overclock causes the computer to crash under any stress test.
I’ve re-seated the CPU once and reapplied thermal paste four times using a pea-sized dot. The process was identical to what I used on the i5 and it worked perfectly.
I’m experiencing crash errors ranging from Service Exemptions to Watchdog Errors, and sometimes even just general failures during stress tests. There are no issues with my machine until I installed this i7. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. This is really frustrating. Could it be a faulty chip? Thanks.
Which clock multiplier and voltage settings are recommended? What error appears during BSOD? Have you considered raising the voltage? Are you using XMP Profile 2.0 for your RAM? It might be worth checking if the issue lies with the RAM itself, and adjusting VCCIO and VCCSA could help. Refer to the guide for detailed information on MMO BIOS and terminology (e.g., Gigabyte's CPU VCore vs another manufacturer's CPU Core Voltage).
Which clock multiplier and voltage settings are recommended? What error appears during BSOD? Have you considered raising the voltage? Are you using XMP Profile 2.0 for your RAM? It might be worth checking if the issue lies with the RAM itself, and adjusting VCCIO and VCCSA could help. Refer to the guide for detailed information on MMO BIOS and terminology (e.g., Gigabyte's CPU VCore vs another manufacturer's CPU Core Voltage).
Hey, thank you for the reply boom boom.
Currently I'm using 45 multi on 1.33 vcore. Besides the failing stress test my system seems stable now. If I try to go any higher the BSOD I usually get is CLOCK_WATCHDOG_TIMEOUT or SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION. I've tried a lot of different settings with both XMP on and off. Right now I have it enabled. I'm bit new on over clocking. I've done quite a bit of reading on it but this is the first I've seen with messing around with VCCIO although I did see the option for it in BIOS. Not exactly sure what it does. I'll read through the guide tonight and see what I can get out of that too. Thanks again for taking your time to help out.
**Update** I fired up Aida again and did the tests one by one. It appears the Stress Cache is failing my stress tests. I was reading the guide a bit today that you linked me too and I noted that gigabyte calls cache uncore. I went in BIOS and was trying to play with the uncore freq multi I was trying to shoot for 43 but without realizing it I typed 23. It actually ran for about 5 seconds before failing went I went back into BIOS I realized my mistake and I changed it to 42 this time and it crashed right away. The default setting is 4.0 which was also crashing it.
Anyone know anything about the cache settings? Am I messing with the right setting? I will try to do some more research on it in the meantime.
Usually avoid touching uncore prequency until a steady overclock is achieved. Increase voltage, start with 1.35V and disable XMP profile. If this doesn't help, raise the voltage further. Ensure CPU stability before moving to RAM adjustments, then only proceed if both are stable. Unstable results mean failing AIDA64 test, which is considered the most cautious stability check.
I followed your advice after reviewing the guide you provided. It helped me reset everything to the default settings and only made incremental changes to the voltage and frequency. After five minutes in Aida, I achieved stable performance at 1.39 vcore with a frequency of 4.5Ghz. Then I enabled XMP and applied the relax OC setting from that guide. Running Aida again confirmed stability after five minutes. The temperatures stayed between 68-75°C under full load. I plan to read the guide further and make more adjustments before returning to testing with Intel Burn Test. I thought achieving great results in BIOS OC with my i5 6600k would make stability easier, but I realized it’s better to adjust gradually. Thank you for your help, Boom Boom. The guide was very helpful too.
Just one final note for anyone facing a similar challenge. I managed to get stable overclocking despite running far beyond the recommended voltage for the speed I was targeting. But the Intel burn test caused an abrupt halt, and game performance would drop sharply at random times. I kept tweaking settings and learning more about overclocking without success. One evening I found a suggestion to resolve the FPS issues by performing a clean Windows install. After that, my FPS problems improved, and I’m now running smoothly at 200 MHz with just 0.02 volts lower (3.7ghz @ 1.37v). I think I could push to around 3.8, but I’m content with where I am. My temperatures are noticeably better and more consistent now.
TL;DR - if you’re struggling with overclocking or frequent FPS drops, a clean Windows install might be the solution. It helped me.