i7-2600K not reaching multiplier set in BIOS

[Queen_Fiona]

After years of not overclocking due to issues with my previous motherboard, I'm currently clocking at 4.4 GHz on stock voltage consistently. This is pretty good, but I want to do better. Problem is, though I've raised the multiplier to 45, the processor will only reach 4.4.

 

I mean, it's not the usual voltage issue, as it boots just fine as far as I can tell. The appropriate utilities show that the max multiplier is indeed set at 45, but running benchmark tests shows that it isn't surpassing 4.4 (and even fluctuates between 4.39 and 4.35).

 

I had a similar problem before I got around by increasing my Turbo Boost Power Max and Short Power Max several times. However, it's set at 240 watts and that hasn't done anything over the 220 it was at the first time I pushed the multiplier to 45. I set the TDC Current Limit to 165, which didn't help either, nor did the Internal PLL Voltage Override. I'm sort of worried about pushing past this, because I don't know what's safe and what's chip-frying, or where any of the limits are.

 

My board is a D77GA-70K, for the record, for a baseline in BIOS terminology. 4.4 is a pretty comfortable space to occupy, but Dark Souls III is a hungry beast indeed...

[Massman]

Small fluctuations are possible depending on the monitoring software.

 

For Sandy Bridge overclocking, make sure you've enabled PLL override to get higher frequencies. I don't think this will fix your current problem, but I want to share it with you anyway. Without PLL override you'd be able to set a certain ratio and boot, but it will not boot into the operating system.

 

[Queen_Fiona]

I tried keeping the Turbo power limits both at 240 and the TDC limit to 200, no joy. Sources have said pushing all three of these values to 300 (or higher!) might help. I could try increasing the voltage a bit, but my understanding is that it wouldn't help with this unusual problem; either it doesn't reach the multiplier due to current/power limits, it boots and has the multiplier but isn't stable, or it doesn't boot at all.

 

Plus, Intel's 'brilliant' automatic settings for voltage overheated my chip at even modest clocks, so there's that.

 

I mentioned I already enabled PLL override; I didn't disable it after testing, because of the very issue you just mentioned. I hope to push at least a couple of ticks out, since I seem to secretly have a good chip that stays stable and relatively cool at 4.4 without needing to touch the volts! (Admittedly, I have a half-decent cooler, but still.)

 

...also, I can't view your attachment due to my account privileges.