Voltage levels on the CPU are excessively high, causing overclocking issues (6700K & Z170A).
Voltage levels on the CPU are excessively high, causing overclocking issues (6700K & Z170A).
My CPU corevoltage keeps being excessively high. Even when I manually adjust it to higher levels, it remains unstable during overclocking attempts. With CPU Voltage set to AUTO, the voltage exceeds 1.46V when opening browsers occasionally—this triggers fans to run at full capacity due to excessive heat. When using CPU Voltage on Manual, setting it to 1.38V causes problems at 4.5GHz OC, such as bluescreens or screen freezes, requiring a hard restart. My setup includes an Asus Z170A motherboard (BIOS 3802), Intel i7 6700K, 16GB DDR4 RAM, Crucial Ballistix graphics, a 1TB M.2 SSD, and multiple fans. I’m confused about the issue and have read similar reports from others on the same board and CPU, but no clear solution has been found. Could you help identify what might be causing this problem? Also, why does it jump to 1.456V when opening a second browser at 4.4GHz OC?
What's the temperature? Overheating becomes more likely with rising heat. For peak performance, 80°C should be your cap. Boost cooling if you're pushing past that. I've had 4 Skylake CPUs and also tried non-K overclocking elsewhere. From what I know, 4.7 GHz is the practical ceiling. Avoid auto-voltage settings since the motherboard behaves unpredictably. You may need to adjust the load line for better stability.
The real temperatures are what you're seeing right now. We're using a few different methods to measure them, so you'll get a clearer picture. That cooler is a more affordable option, not ideal for serious overclocking, but it gets the job done if you need it. To keep an eye on things, I check the voltage the CPU receives during heavy use in the overclocked setting—it tends to drop compared to when it's idle. This helps maintain stable voltage and avoids instability. Personally, I prefer using hwinfo to track various details like core speeds, voltages, and power consumption.
The Artic Freezer 13 fails to satisfy the TAC 2.0 requirements. The issue lies in it only cooling the CPU, not the voltage regulators that power it. Per the TAC spec, the fan should direct airflow toward the CPU/Mother Board. A suitable cooler matching these standards is the Noctua NH-L9x65. thermally-advantaged-chassis-design-guide (1).pdf
This explains why avoiding AUTO voltage settings is wise during overclocking. In reality, AUTO voltage is rarely recommended. The standard voltage is consistently set higher than needed. Intel intentionally does this to ensure consistent performance across default clock speeds. The 6700K typically reaches a maximum turbo of 4.2 GHz. Once you exceed that point, the AUTO setting will increase the CPU voltage significantly. You might think instability stems from your CPU voltage. Have you checked your RAM? Try running your processor at a stable speed—such as 4 GHz—and then stress-test it with tools like Prime95 Large FFTs. If problems arise, test one memory module at a time. You could also lower the memory speed; performance might drop at higher speeds. Not everyone has the same CPU or RAM configuration, so your 6700K may not handle 4.8 GHz reliably.