Core i7 6700K OC At 4600 MHz 1.3 Volts
The Next Chapter - Overclocking
Now we up the ante and boost 1.3 Volts into the processor. Understand that 1.3V and higher voltages are the levels where Haswell processors get into serious problems due to the their heat-spreader versus TIM design applied solution from Intel. We now set the Core i7 4790K @ 4600 MHz and apply 1.30 volts on the CPU while loading it with 100% stress for wPrime to run on all available CPU threads three times.
Please read: This system is based on a Core i7 6700K, all other resutls listed in the charts are a Core i7 4790K (our normal test cooling platform). Though the two are fairly close to each other in heat levels they cannot be compared as such. So we inserted the resutls into a chart for positioning only.
Core i7 6700K OC At 4600 MHz 1.3 Volts - IDLE
Below, you can see the IDLE results with the Core i7 clocked at 4600 GHz with 1.30 volts on the CPU. Again, the results are the IDLE temperatures thus you are in your desktop doing pretty much nothing.
As you can see, we have very high temperatures for most coolers. LCS and proper liquid cooling class coolers do much better here. The reality is that very few air based coolers and kits can actually manage a Core i7 6700K at 1.3+ Volts / 4600+ MHz temperature wise well enough, the 360P kit has no issues at all and remains completely silent.
Extended Tweaking
Since this 360 mm radiator based solution harbors a lot of extra cooling capacity I extended overclocking to higher voltages as well, we'll take her up towards 1.50 Volts lad.
Dark blue = temperature C / Light blue = DBA level
The above numbers are just for reference only e.g. how does a 6700K behave with increased voltages at a 4600 MHz clock frequency. We can run the unit towards 1.50 Volts on the processor (which is an awful lot for this CPU!). At this stage the system still boots and can finish three wPrime stress runs. Typically at 1.35~1.40 Volts and a good enough processor, you are in the 4.7~5.0 GHz range (if your CPU is capable).
After 1.40~1.45 Volts the fans will start to spin faster though, 38 DBa is still a very silent airflow level. At 1.50 Volts in the CPU the processor starts to overheat and here things will become audible.
