Regarding vcore of Z68X-UD7-B3

[alextech]

Hello there.

I am currently testing an OC of 4.5 Ghz with i7 2600k and the board of the Subject. Max temps full load are 70 degrees and so far is stable, but my question is.
Why does the MB shows 1.4v CPU voltage at the BIOS if i have it set to 1.350? Is it safe?
Thanks in advance!

[Dark Mantis]

Hi

I cannot give a definitive answer but I have noticed that Gigabyte boards do seem to be a bit "generous" with their settings.  I always put it down to making people think they are running a bit faster than they should be, not sure if that is the case or not!

[TigetLi]

Alex,

The different in Vcore voltages could possibly be explained by the LLC settings in your BIOS. Looks like you may have a a medium setting of 5 or 6 selected.

Remember that CPUs are limited by a combination of voltage and temperature. i7-2600K-D2 can sustain voltages of up to 1.5 to 1.55 as long as you do not exceed the max temperature of 90 deg C for temporary extreme overclock benching. Day to day operation should be restricted to whatever Vcore will give you a Max CPU temperature of 70 deg C or less. It looks like you have already reached 70 deg C on your system. You may wish to acquire a better CPU cooling system that will keep you at or near the 60 deg C.

Room temperature as well as proper ventillation for your PC case are also very significant. Try to keep the your room temperature at or below 22 deg C. Room temp gereater than 22 deg C will significantly reduce the efficiency of CPU air cooling HSF.

My personal CPU limiting factor for day to day operation is a maximum CPU temp of 60 deg C at full CPU usage under Prime 95 (8 Hours) and IntelBurntest (Extreme). Room temp keep at 20 to 22 deg room.

Good luck, 

[alextech]

Tigetli

Thanks for your advices, and yes, LLC was at lvl10, i just started to try oc after i installed windows with drivers and bla bla.

I changed that value now to 6 ( still trying ) and now i can see the Vcore stays at 1.35/1.365 in the Bios wich is what i wanted.
I am even getting 68-69 degrees at 4.7 ( Prime running now ), before was same temps/72 degrees at 4.5.
I have Noctua NH-D14 CPU Cooler and Coolermaster HAF RC-942 case, in that area i am good.
The thing about room temp is that here ( Austria ) is summertime now, but its about to end. Then its cold most of the year.

If i dont use Prime the temp never gets higher than 50 degrees gaming, i do that the most, so i think i am well covered.
Of course that if IDLE temps would run at 50 then id be worried.

Thanks

[TigetLi]

Alex,

A 4.5 to 4.7 GHz over-clock should only need an LLC of 2 at Max. Raise the Vcore if you must. Do not use LLC greater than 6. For day-to-day ops I restrict myself to LLC # 2. Follow this link for an excellent guide on over-clocking the Sandy Bridge CPU:

http://www.overclock.net/intel-general/910467-ultimate-sandy-bridge-oc-guide-p67a.html

Have fun OCing...