High CPU Voltage Question

[1stfisch]

Hi,
I am running a stable overclock of 4.6GHz but need voltage @ 1.41v to do it. As you can see from by build specs I am running a custom water cooling setup. I have re-applied thermal paste a few times but no improvement.
CPU temps are low 30's at idle and mid to high 70's under full load. I've tried reducing voltage but then it is unstable. To reduce voltage I have to reduce the overclock.

A couple of questions:
Am I killing my CPU with this voltage (even though temps are fine)?
Is there a way to reduce the voltage but keep the overclock that I might not have tried?
Will delidding help? Yes, I realize it would void the warrantee - don't really want to do that.

I'd appreciate any feedback!
Thanks

My build:
ASUS Maximus VI Formula
Intel Core i7-477k 3.5GHz @ 4.6GHz stable
EVGA GTX 770 GPU
G.Skill Ripjaws X 16GB (4X4) DDR3, 2400
Samsung 840 SSD 500GB
EVGA SuperNOVA 1000W P2 Platinum PSU
Custom water cooling loop:
XSPC components (mostly)
cooling Northbridge, CPU, GPU

[Melting_Point]

What method are you using to apply the TIM?

[1stfisch]

I've tried the dot method and tried smoothing it out with a thin piece of plastic from edge to edge (only enough for coverage with no excess).
Same results for temps either way...

Thanks for responding!

[Melting_Point]

The dot method is far better than spreading it yourself. You'll almost definitely get air bubbles in it if you try to spread it yourself.

Speaking of air bubbles, did you ensure you got all the bubbles out of you cooling loop? Also, are the fans on the rad running at 100% when stress testing? You might also need some sort of active cooling on the VRM if there's no good airflow there.

[1stfisch]

Yes, I've got all the air out of my loop. I have one 360 and one 240 radiator with fans blowing out plus five more drawing air into the case. Lots of airflow...
When I set to stock bios the CPU runs maybe 50 under load so I think most of my heat problem is the voltage.

[Arne_Saknussemm]

1stfisch wrote:
Am I killing my CPU with this voltage (even though temps are fine)?

Yes....and no...for 24/7 OC you might want to lower that a bit....lower is usually better and longer life to your CPU but this is always luck of the draw....you might run like that for 5 years or 5 weeks who knows. Those temps are getting up there for custom water( you got good contact? and enough RAD real estate?)..but killing, dangerous high..no, I'd say not but at the borderline upper end of comfortable...maybe

1stfisch wrote:
Is there a way to reduce the voltage but keep the overclock that I might not have tried?

Vcore is pretty key in this....maybe you can reduce VCCSA or PLL which might help lower temps by a fraction but really nothing is going to give you a miracle drop in volts for the same clock...

1stfisch wrote:
Will delidding help?

A successful de-lid will almost certainly help reduce temps...an unsuccessful de-lid will 100% reduce temps...to ambient at all times 😉

[Henkenator68NL]

The Good, the bad and the ugly... This certainly goes for Haswell, the one boots @4500Mhz into windows a 1.2Volt, the other at... 1.4 volt. I have had them all..

But back to your cpu. It's not strange, it's just bad luck. Reseating the waterblock, new or other Tim does not change a thing.

I agree with Arne, just take it down a notch to 4400.

Imho , Delidding this cpu is a waste of money, better sell this one and buy another maybe you have more luck then.

Are you using a fixed voltage? Have speedstep enabled or? C states, LLC? ? Running dram on xmp? This all influences the core Voltage needed.

For 24/7 oc I tend to use adaptive voltage. After finding the amount of volts needed for the core, the cache, the system agent, i/o voltages and the dram. Result is idle system at 800MHz at 1Volt, under load (not counting aida64 stress test or a like) @4600Mhz @1... Volt (differs per cpu).

[1stfisch]

I will definitely try your suggestion on other settings. I am currently set for fixed voltage. I will try adaptive as my first step. I've been running these settings for around three months now with no obvious ill effects but, as you say, who knows how long that will last!

I can take the OC down to 4400 at around 1.25-1.30v stable. I could live with that but just trying to get more out of this build.

[iman05]

1stfisch wrote:
I will definitely try your suggestion on other settings. I am currently set for fixed voltage. I will try adaptive as my first step. I've been running these settings for around three months now with no obvious ill effects but, as you say, who knows how long that will last!

I can take the OC down to 4400 at around 1.25-1.30v stable. I could live with that but just trying to get more out of this build.

Hi 1stfisch,

I got the same board and cpu as you. Is it possible to write down the settings you've changed or take a printscreen of your bios so that i can say whats different between your overclock and mine.

I had mine clocked at 4.5GHz, but it wasnt stable. Stable for just desktop basic use and browsing but each time i used a stress tester for more than 2 hours it crashed or each time i played battlefield for more than 30minutes it crashed.

Now I got it stable running at 4.4GHz with 1.3v, just finished a stress test for 8 hours without fail so im kinda glad. It's pitty that luck is a important factor with Haswell series. For what i've read most of the people can safely clock their Haswell to 4.4GHz.

I've only changed vcore, set to xmp profile, changed dram voltage and disabled spread sprectrum. Do you have any tips for a better overclock ?

[1stfisch]

I will definitely try your suggestion on other settings. I am currently set for fixed voltage. I will try adaptive as my first step. I've been running these settings for around three months now with no obvious ill effects but, as you say, who knows how long that will last!

I can take the OC down to 4400 at around 1.25-1.30v stable. I could live with that but just trying to get more out of this build.