Troubles with an i7-4790K with a Maximus VI Hero

[chrsmrrtt]

Hardware:
- Motherboard: Maximus VI Hero
- CPU: i7-4790K
- RAM: 2 * 8GB Kingston Hyper-X Beast Dual-DDR3 2400MHz X.M.P
- GPU: 3GB Nvidia GeForce GTX 780Ti (Palit)
- Cooling: Corsair H60 Hydro

Hello.

Last weekend I replaced an i5-4670 with the i7-4790K listed above, but I'm
running into a few niggles that I'm looking for some help with.

For context, I've never overclocked before and really I'm not necessarily
looking to overclock - instead I'd be content with having this CPU run at it's
factory speeds (4.0GHz with 4.4GHz Turbo).

Also for context, I've updated the motherboard firmware to the latest available
version - 1603.

# Issue 1 - Overheating under Stress

With the BIOS using Optimised Defaults and when doing "nothing much", the CPU
is fine. Temps hold at around 40 degrees Celsius at idle and would push up into
the 50s and 60s when running a game like No Man's Sky.

The trouble starts when I would deliberately put stress on the CPU - in my case
attempting to encode my FLAC collection to MP3. Foobar2000 will put all cores to
work and temperatures would immediately spike into the 90s and hit the 100 mark.

Abort. Abort. Abort.

The only solution to this problem I've found is to turn off Turbo Boost in the
BIOS settings. This then caps the max speed of the CPU to 4.0GHz. Once this Turbo
Boost is disabled I can re-encode merrily. Temps will hit and hover in the 60s
and 70s, which is what I would expect.

Question 1: Is there a middle ground here? I get the feeling the motherboard was
overpowering the CPU, delivering every watt and volt it could possibly throw at
it. Can I change the BIOS setting so this chip acts like a non-"K" chip - have
4.4GHz at it's disposal when necessary? If so, what are the BIOS settings I need
to toy with to make this happen? (The sheer number of voltage and other options
baffle me!)

# Issue 2 - Rebooting

This chip doesn't like being rebooted. I reboot, no POST, "00" on the
motherboard status indicator, and the only option is to - in the words of Roy -
turn it off and on again. Even then sometimes this is a gamble that can take a
few bites at the cherry.

Question 2: Is there a BIOS setting that could be causing this reboot problem? I
have noticed an "Initial CPU Voltage" option in the BIOS. Could the problem be
caused by an over/underpowered CPU at boot? I'm guessing here.

If you're in need of any further information about my set up or settings I'm
happy to provide them.

I hope you can help!

Chris.

[Nate152]

Hi chrsmrrtt

On auto, the cpu is likely getting overvolted.

Reset to defaults (F5 key)
Set the AI Overclock Tuner to manual
Sync all cores
Set the cpu core ratio to 44
Set the CPU core voltage override to 1.15v - 1.20v, try 1.15v first.
In DiGI+ set LLC to level 6

Code 00 on a reboot is likely ram instability, set your ram manually (frequency, voltage, primary timings) and set...
cpu vccio voltage 1.15v - 1.25v
cpu system agent voltage 1.15v - 1.25v

Try both at 1.15v first.

How does this go ?

[MoKiChU]

chrsmrrtt wrote:
I hope you can help!

Chris.

Hi,

Can you try to do that in the BIOS :

- Load Optimized Defaults BIOS with F5
- Use Advanced Mode with F7
- Go to the Extrem Tweaker tab :
----- ASUS MultiCore Enhancement : Disabled
- Save Changes & Reset with F10

[chrsmrrtt]

@ Nate152: Huge thanks for the advice.

Sadly, regarding the CPU overvoltage, even the 1.15v setting was enough to
trigger high temps and crashes once my foobar2000 stress test got underway. It
lasted longer, though, which is a good sign.

Would your recommendation be to keep dropping the voltage incrementally until I
find a value that doesn't fry the chip under duress?

Also, thanks for the tips about the memory being a possible cause of my reboot
problem.

I've found a spec list of my RAM...

https://thepcenthusiast.com/kingston-hyperx-beast-16gb-ddr3-2400mhz-review/

...but it lists various voltages, frequencies and timings.

@ MaKiChU: Thanks for your advice too. I'm yet to test your suggestion, but I
wanted to first find out, is your tip trying to help my reboot problem or my CPU
voltage problem? If it's the former, is the XMP profile I choose related to the
RAM settings Nate152 is suggesting I manually set?

@ Nate152: I can't translate your "cpu vccio voltage" suggestion into a setting
I can find in the BIOS. Could it go by any other name, or could it be living in
a deeply nested place I'm not finding?

I can find a "CPU System Agent Voltage Mode Sign" and "CPU System Agent Voltage
Offset" value (which I can set to the 1.15v you suggest) - but I want to make
sure that is the right setting before I try anything. If I'm understanding what
that setting is going to do, it's going to feed an extra 1.15v on top of the
baseline 1.15v?

Thanks again for all your help.

Chris.

[MoKiChU]

chrsmrrtt wrote:
@ MoKiChU: Thanks for your advice too. I'm yet to test your suggestion, but I
wanted to first find out, is your tip trying to help my reboot problem or my CPU
voltage problem? If it's the former, is the XMP profile I choose related to the
RAM settings Nate152 is suggesting I manually set?

Thanks again for all your help.

Chris.

What I propose you to do is not related to what Nate152 propose to do you.

Voltage problem : Disabling ASUS MultiCore Enhancement allows you to disable a default overclock on the motherboard (the CPU is not designed to run at Turbo speed on all the cores so sync, that's what this option does, ASUS does not should not enable it by default)

Reboot problem : Enabling the XMP will allow you to run your RAM at the frequency, timing, voltage expected/tested by the manufacturer of your RAM

[MoKiChU]

chrsmrrtt wrote:
@ MoKiChU: Thanks for your advice too. I'm yet to test your suggestion, but I
wanted to first find out, is your tip trying to help my reboot problem or my CPU
voltage problem? If it's the former, is the XMP profile I choose related to the
RAM settings Nate152 is suggesting I manually set?

Thanks again for all your help.

Chris.

What I propose you to do is not related to what Nate152 propose to do you.

Voltage problem : Disabling ASUS MultiCore Enhancement allows you to disable a default overclock on the motherboard (the CPU is not designed to run at Turbo speed on all the cores so sync, that's what this option does, ASUS does not should not enable it by default)

[chevell65]

I'd suspect an issue with the cooling system, maybe the pump or maybe a CPU thermal interface issue because you shouldn't be getting that hot with such low Vcore. The Reboot issue is probably related to memory settings.

The reason I say this is because I'm still running Maximus VII Z97 on my old machine, with 4790K OC to 4.6GHz 1.31 v Vcore with just air cooling it never runs too hot, never throttles even when stress testing.

My board displays 00 all the time as well, although I do believe that is a 4790K related issue of no concern.

The only real issue was using incorrect Intel MEI drivers caused shut down while idle.

[Nate152]

Some motherboards use an offset for the cpu system agent voltage, so yes use the offset to get the cpu system agent voltage to 1.15v. CPU VCCIO voltage may be called just VCCIO.

Setting your ram manually sometimes gives better results than X.M.P.

Dram Frequency - 2400MHz
Dram Voltage - 1.65v
Primary Timings 15-13-13-32, command rate 2T

If it's stable try the first number at 14, if still stable try 13.

If you're overheating with cpu voltage at 1.15v, reapply the thermal paste and remount the cpu water block. If you're using the stock thermal paste on the water block, remove it and apply new thermal paste to the cpu. Thermal Grizzy Kryonaut is the best you can get, or you can use whatever you have.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=2S7-00A9-00013

How I apply it - Put a dab the size of a pea in the middle of the cpu and spread it evenly with the supplied paddle or you can use a credit card or drivers license. Take your time and don't rush, you should get good results.

As MoKiChU suggests, disable multicore enhancement, this should drop temps too.

Post us a screenshot of HWinfo, click the pic to make it bigger.

[chrsmrrtt]

*An update after a weekend of change...*

I've swapped out the Corsair H60 hydro cooler for a Cool Master Hyper 212 Evo
and it's made a world of difference.

With Optimised Defaults in the BIOS, except for Multicore Enhancements set to
Disabled (and the minimum fan speed monitor set to 200RPM otherwise the system
would panic on boot), the temperatures now hit a maximum of high 60s with my
foobar2000 stress test.

Brilliant. Thanks everyone for helping me with that problem.

The only remaining niggle now is my reboot issue...

@ Nate152: I tried manually setting the DRAM voltages, frequency and timings as
you suggested, but sadly the same "00" on boot occurs.

What confuses me is that this is the same RAM I was using before I made my CPU
chip switch and I had no issues formerly. Do this lessen the chance of this
being a RAM issue?

In case it helps, and on your suggestion, I've attached my HWinfo screenshot.

If anyone has any further suggestions I'd gladly welcome them.

Thanks,
Chris.

[Nate152]

Thank you

In Dram Timing Control just below the primary timings, set Command Rate to 2N.

See if this stops the code 00.