Intel Core i9 7900X processor review - Overclocking

by Hilbert Hagedoorn on: 06/19/2017 02:00 PM [

] 181 comment(s)

Overclocking

Overclocking and tweaking then. Always invest in good hardware by the way (MOBO/PSU/Memory/Cooling), the cheaper motherboards often are not well tuned for enthusiast overclocking. Also get yourself a good power supply and proper processor cooling. Overclocking with a more core processor (doesn't matter if that is Intel or AMD) is more complicated than you expect it to be.

Overclocking multi-core on a high clock frequency is a relatively easy to do job, but is managed from the BIOS.

BIOS Overclocking

The Guru3D reader-base overclocks mostly from the BIOS to try and find the maximum stable limit. The generic overclock procedure for multiplier based overclocking is as follows:

Leave base clock (bus) for what it is right now (100 MHz)
Set the per core multiplier at a maximum of your liking:
Example 1: 100MHz x 47 = 4700 MHz
Example 2: 125MHz x 37 = 4625 MHz
Increase CPU voltage; though AUTO often works fine on many motherboards you can do it manually as well. Start at 1.30 volts and work your way upwards into a state of equilibrium in perf and cooling temps.
Make sure your processor is properly cooled as adding voltage = more heat
Save and Exit BIOS / uEFI

In our case we got all 10 cores running at 4800 MHz, however this results in tremendous power consumption and heat levels. Our Corsair LCS cooler was not capable of cooling the proc enough as shown below. In the end with a new BIOS we received (last minute) we merely need to apply an 48 multiplier, roughly 1.30~1.35 Volts and obviously we enabled the XMP profile on the memory for quad-channel 3200 MHz.

Be warned, this is not a pretty sight as we'd hit 90 Degrees C quite easily. However to be fair, we have been able to sustain a stable 4.8 GHz on all cores. Memory wise we had 3200 MHz stable (Quad channel). Overclocking on heatpipe cooling I would say, is a no go.

Power Consumption

Adding extra voltage on the CPU for the OC also has an adverse effect on the overall energy consumption. Under stress and overclocked we all of a sudden use roughly 380 Watt under full processor load (!). That is power consumption for the whole PC measured at the wall socket side including a GeForce GTX 1080 in idle. Overclocked in idle your system will use roughly 10 to 15 Watts more on average.

So basically when the CPU is overclocked and gets added voltage and you stress all 10 cores, the PC passes 370 Watts swiftly.

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