Hero Overclocking

[gderreck]

Greetings
I just took delivery of a new machine, purpose built for FSX. I would like to list the components and then get some advice on overclocking and cooling. Please understand, I am new to high performance desktop computing. I was using an Alienware M18X to run FSX, but the simulator (as I'm sure you know) is CPU bound and it ate the notebook after I installed AI aircraft. Here are the specs:

Corsair Carbide Air 540 chassis
Maximus VI Hero
Intel 4770K
Kingston HyperX Beast 16GB 2400 Mhz (on Hero qualified list)
EVGA GTX 780 Superclocked with ACX cooler
Seasonic 1000 watt Plantinum PSU

Cooling
Swiftech H320 AIO liquid cooler (front/intake...only place it fits)
2 x Noctua N-14A PWM fans (top/intake)
1 x Noctua N-15A PWM fan (back/exhaust)

I am not sure at this point how the tech installed the fans. What I would like to do is as follows:
-H320 pump to CPU PMW header
-H320 fans to 8 way splitter to CPU_OPT header (is this header independent of the CPU header?)
-Noctua fans to Chassis 1, 2 and 3 PMW headers
-I propose to let the motherboard control RPM. I attempted FanXpert and it reduced RPM to the point where CPU temps were approaching 85 degrees.

Currently, I am running at 4.4Ghz stable with the memory at 2400Mhz, using the XMP profile. VCore is at 1.275V. I have run the machine for 8 hours on both AIDA64 and Intel Xtreme Utility. I also ran 10 passes with RealBench. All stable. Max core temps ~70 degrees.

I attempted 4.6 and I couldn't log into machine. Maximum VCore 1.3 with base memory speed (1600)
I attempted 4.5 and while I could get into the system, it was not totally stable and AIDA64 crashed it after about 5 minutes. 1.275V and memory at 2400, 2133 and 1600.

I apologize for taking the forum's time with 2 questions, but I would appreciate help with:

is my suggested cooling hookup the optimum starting ground?

should I accept 4.4 as the ceiling for this processor? I understand that not all chips are equal. if not, what other settings should I look at to attempt to increase frequency? is 1.275V too conservative? My attempt at overclocking came as a result of my watching the ASUS Z87 overclocking video.

As stated above, this is my first venture into a machine that is totally configurable. I will apologize in advance for my ignorance of overclocking in general.

Thanks in advance for reading this. Thanks for your help.

[HiVizMan]

I will leave the fan set up to others, but will say the way you want to do it will work just fine.

OC

Please do this.

Mode of OC set to XMP profile.

Multiplier set to 46x

Digi+ LLC to 5

Vcore set to offset
+
0.030

Set your SATA mode to what ever you need, RAID or AHCI (default)

Leave all else on auto.


F10 and enter.


Do not run stress tests for hours on end that kind of CPU cooking just makes me nervous. Run your FSX game as that is as demanding as any stress test you do. Sure a 10 minute run to check temps is valuable but...

If your system is not stable increase the offset by one or two notches. With your cooling solution temperatures should not be an issue.

[gderreck]

HiVizMan

Thanks for the reply. I'll get on this and report back my findings.