Overclocking

Overclocking by simply changing the few setting I like to didn't go so well for me this time around. My normal approach of simply changing CPU and DIMM voltages along with the multiplier and enabling XMP lead to other parts of the system getting voltages that were too high, like the CPU input voltage jumping all the way up to 2.1 V. My chip churns along with all 10 threads at 4600 MHz with just 1.8V at the input, which reduces CPU temperatures considerably.


Physical overclocking features are limited to a couple onboard buttons and the POST display counter. The buttons are nice and shiny and are perfectly located, as is the CMOS battery should your settings lead to a no-boot situation. If you decide to play with different memory kits and swap CPUs often like I did when testing, you may find that the board doesn't boot when changing CPUs and memory at the same time (I swapped a 7900X for a 7740K and changed RAM kits too), but a proper CMOS clear and a bit of patience will see the system come back to life, although this has improved a bit with the recent BIOS update. Instead of four boots for it to come back to life, it now only takes two for everything to be back to normal.