Voltage decreases during intense testing and leads to failure.
Voltage decreases during intense testing and leads to failure.
Hey everyone,
I’m facing an issue with my Overclocking Voltage settings.
I have an i5 6600k and achieved a very stable OC at around 4.4 GHz with 1.274V.
When I try to push it up to about 4.5-4.6 GHz, I need to raise the voltage to 1.3 or higher.
However, at that higher voltage (around 4.5 GHz @ 1.315 V), Windows boots fine and everything loads properly.
But during stress tests with RealBench, the voltage drops sharply to about 1.272V, which is insufficient for that frequency.
This causes my temperatures to spike—around 30°C at idle and 45°C under load.
Even though I don’t see thermal throttling, the high voltage seems to be the issue.
I’m unsure why it drops so much when starting the test and crashes because there isn’t enough power reaching the CPU.
My motherboard is an MSI Z170-A PRO Intel Z170 So.1151 Dual Channel DDR4 ATX.
I suspect some BIOS settings might be affecting this, but I can’t locate them.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Cheers
Chris
Multipack :
It might be the BIOS settings, but using a 6600k at 4.6Ghz could lead to instability. What power supply do you have? Is your voltage adjustable in BIOS or set manually? I'm using a 600W PSU from Sharkoon (it's not great, but that's what I have right now).
Only a slight increase from idle appears insufficient, indicating possibly inadequate CPU utilization for higher voltage output; if it isn’t configured for auto adaptive voltage, it shouldn’t adjust. Your power supply might not be capable. Which model is it? What stress test are you running?
Only a slight increase from idle seems reasonable, so it's possible you're not applying sufficient CPU load to generate more voltage. If it isn't set for auto adaptive voltage, it shouldn't fluctuate at all. Could your power supply be struggling to keep up? What model is it and what stress test are you running?
Since voltage can adjust and vary with load based on configurations, that's why "it makes sense anyway..." When you manually adjust the voltage, it shouldn't shift. Under load, the voltage would drop because it couldn't provide enough power for the CPU or system requirements.
A top-notch power supply is crucial for maintaining steady voltage during overclocking. Running overclocking on a poor-quality unit could jeopardize your entire system if it malfunctions.
A top-notch PSU is crucial for maintaining stable voltage during overclocking. Running an overclock on a low-quality unit could damage your entire PC if it malfunctions. That seems to be the case here—I’m content with 4.4 and will wait for a better PSU. Cheers.
your voltage drop matches the normal Vdroop behavior. applying line load calibrations (LLC) may help reduce this issue. we don’t need concern about your bios set voltage or the sudden Vdroop spike from 0 to 100 to 0%. the actual 100% fully loaded core voltage is what you’re seeing, which seems too low for a 4.5ghz processor. you’re still well within the recommended 1.35v maximum for normal operation. adding more than 100mhz will require about 0.04-0.06v extra per 100mhz increase. if your power supply is decent, it should handle a modest overclock at 4.6ghz without problems. for such a case, consider using a voltage offset or dynamic/adaptive Vcore so the motherboard manages the rest.