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My new system & overclocking questions

siopoudis
Level 7
Hey everyone,

I am building a new gaming system after about 10+ years of complete absence from PCs in general (been working with Macs for a while and I finally have the opportunity to build a good gaming PC)

I went for the following:
- ASUS Strix z270G
- Core i7 7700K
- 32GB G.Skill TridentZ RGB 3466 CL16
- GTX 1080Ti (on preorder, still waiting for it)
- Samsung Polaris SM961 256GB m2
- 2TB WD Black Edition
- CPU cooler is AIO Corsair H100i v2
- Case is Corsair Air 240

Now, I have all parts except for the 1080Ti. I started playing around with the CPU and tried to overclock it at various speeds. Started at 4.8GHz and worked my way up to 5.0GHz. I took my chance and didn't go for a pre-binned CPU.

I have a stable system at 4.8, 4.9 and 5.0GHz, with different thermal profiles, obviously.
4.8 at 1.28v (max package temp spike at 71c)
4.9 at 1.33v (max package temp spike at 75c)
5.0 at 1.35v (+ Offset 1, max package temp spike at 80c)

Now, my main questions are the the following:
1. Enabling my memory's XMP profile, significantly increases max core temps by about 5c). Is this to be expected? I tried fiddling around with VCCIO but didn't see great improvement.
2. Does having the Intel graphics enabled increase temperatures, or voltage requirements? If I disable it once my 1080Ti arrives, would I see any improvement?
3. Is there any other way I can improve cooling to the CPU? I've already ordered Grizzly thermal paste and replacing the stock one is my next step. But should I do any other changes in the bios settings?
4. If I manage to get the temps to 80c under stress testing for 5.0GHz, would that be an acceptable temperature for normal operation?

Thanks!
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3 REPLIES 3

Zka17
Level 16
It worth waiting for the 1080 Ti! :cool:

1. It increases your CPU temps because the memory controller is built in your CPU. When enabling XMP, it needs more voltage.
2. I assume so...
3. Low voltages = low temps. Regarding your cooler, you have to find the balance between the pump and fan speeds. Ultimately, having higher amount of air going through your radiator will dissipate more heat.
4. I prefer to keep my CPU temps below 65 for long term use... some people say that 75C is still OK... - not as long term temps, but occasional spikes... I would certainly reduce the voltages and clocks to get under 80C...

Now, the question is: how your system behaves in normal everyday use? Not sure what did you use for stress-testing, but I assume that you didn't build your system for stress-testing... try it with your regular load...

Zka17 wrote:
*Now, the question is: how your system behaves in normal everyday use? Not sure what did you use for stress-testing, but I assume that you didn't build your system for stress-testing... try it with your regular load...
*

Well, I can't tell yet, as I haven't started using it! But it's mostly going to be used for gaming, and for creating / compiling a Windows application with Visual Studio.
Stress testing was done using RealBench.
**
After applying thermal grizzly and changing my bios settings, I now have a stable overclock of 4.9Ghz at 1.28v with my memory XMP profile enabled.
Biggest spike was 78c with average of 67c over 1 hour. Would that sound normal for my setup? Or would you recommend bringing it down to 4.8 where I'd get about 4c less?
I also forgot to mention that my cpu is not delidded.*

Zka17
Level 16
If the max temps stay around that 67C during your normal workload, then you're good to go! :cool: