Struggles to push beyond 4.8GHz on a 9900K processor
Struggles to push beyond 4.8GHz on a 9900K processor
My hardware is as follows: i9 9900K Z390 Aorus Pro WiFi 16GB DDR4 3200MHz RAM 750W Corsair HX PSU Corsair AIO Cooler (360 Rad) I am a complete noob when it comes to overclocking, so I may have misread or taken on bad advice in what I've done so far, but here's where I am at: I have read that it's unsafe to have your CPU at a voltage of 1.4 or higher so I haven't tried that, but everything up to about 1.385V doesn't seem to be sufficient. I seem to have it stable at 4.8GHz at 1.33V, but I can't get 4.9GHZ or higher to work. Notable settings that I've changed: * Multi Core Enhancement is disabled as that's what most people suggest to do from what I can tell. * A setting I believe called load line calibration (will edit in the proper term when I get the chance) has been set to normal. It ranges from Automatic to Extreme and there's about 7 or 8 settings on a curve. * The voltage itself (which as mentioned I've tried up until 1.385V without success) I know that there's a possibility that I just have an unremarkable chip that can't hit those speeds, but is there anything else I should try in order to see if I can squeeze more out of it? From what I've seen online, 1.33V for just 4.8GHz seems to be quite abnormal. Thanks,
It might actually make sense to use just a small amount of the extra boost you’re considering. You could keep it at a lower level, which would help it run more efficiently, save energy, and extend battery life.
It might just be a matter of timing in the silicon lottery. Are you seeing CPU overclocking at higher voltages before it crashes or restarts? Monitoring temperatures during testing is key—if your cooler isn’t properly seating the AIO, overheating could cause shutdowns. Most recent Z390 boards include an overclock profile for 5GHz on the 8th and 9th generation K series CPUs. If yours is a Z370 Aorus Ultra Gaming or Asus Z390-E, give it a try and check the assigned voltages to see if it performs well.
Seems like your silicon hopes were dashed. It looks like the CPU might be past its return window.
Push your CPU to its limit whenever possible, just make sure it stays cool. I don’t mind those so-called safe voltage settings, and neither should you. Intel doesn’t set fixed safe limits for their chips.
Purchasing the CPU after the release of KS is quite normal since most top categories moved there. Buying before that period means you faced a tough situation (the worst 10%).
The temperatures are okay. During the stock stress test, I haven’t exceeded the high 60s, but the main issue is that when I run the test, it either causes a BSOD or my software will alert about instability. Since I bought it secondhand, if I’m unlucky, there’s not much I can do—though I’m glad I got a great deal.