Overclock 8700k for DCS or not ?

Hey guys,

I'm a bit torn. I'm pretty happy with the performance of DCS on my current rig (in sig below) on which I am running everything at stock speeds however I always have that thought in the back of my mind of how much better could DCS perform if I pushed my 8700k with an overclock beyond what it does out of the box. Currently I'm running 3 IPS monitors in portrait surround at 3240x1920 and I'm at 60fps most of the time with the exceptional dip to about 55 and at worst cases, around 45 fps give or take in extremely populated areas. Only problem with that is since my setup has my monitors smack in front of my face, a dip below 60fps is somewhat noticeable on three 60Hz monitors all acting as one in Nvidia Surround mode. I've also considered ditching the 3 monitor setup and going for a single large monitor as I'm sure that my 1080 Ti is likely losing some performance given that it has to run Nvidia Surround (correct me if I'm wrong here).

1. From your experience, do you guys see any value in putting in the time and effort to overclock my CPU in terms of how much performance gain I may attain in DCS?

2. Would I technically gain performance in moving away from 3 monitor nVidia Surround to a single monitor at the same 3240x1920 resolution?

Does your GPU hit 98-100% usage ? If yes, no need to. If no, OCing the CPU should saturate the GPU better.

Use MSI Afterburner's OSD to find out

To #2: I guess not

My PC specs are very similar to yours, however I play DCS exclusively with VR rather than using multiple monitors (although both of these set-ups are very demanding on the GPU).

I have OC'd my 8700k to 4.9 GHz and personally I have noticed a slight but not significant improvement (vs. stock) for DCS. My Kraken x62 seldom goes above 50deg (whereas my 1080ti always runs hotter than my CPU).

But in your (and my) situation, I think you have to look at it like this:

If you have an 8700k, Z370 MB and Kraken x62, it would just be silly not to OC. If you are just going to run stock speeds, it would have been better to buy a non k chip (with bundled stock cooler eliminating the x62) and more basic MB.

Also, not a lot of time and effort is required to OC, if you don't go too crazy with it. I just incrementally bumped mine up every few weeks and then didn't feel the need to go beyond 4.9GHz due to diminishing returns and increasing likelihood of stressing my hardware.

It would appear that when I am running smooth at 60fps GPU usage is between 40-50%. But when My fps starts to drop, I notice GPU usage go as high as 80%

Is there an easy fool proof way to OC an 8700k? Heck, if I can gain 5FPS from am OC it would be worth my time given that my FPS doesn't drop below 52 FPS. The closer I am to 60 the better.

If you got a good CPU water cooler, then 5.0HZ is the must go for 8700K, in-game temperature should be kept below 70C, otherwise lower the frequency.

I agreed with the suggestions...Intel R Extreme ...is easy to use for safe OC. I have the same CPU and run it at 4.8mhz with a Kraken X52...temps are around 65 under max loads. Try Process Lasso as well, I found using it has helped DCS.

It would appear that when I am running smooth at 60fps GPU usage is between 40-50%. But when My fps starts to drop, I notice GPU usage go as high as 80%

 

Is there an easy fool proof way to OC an 8700k? Heck, if I can gain 5FPS from am OC it would be worth my time given that my FPS doesn't drop below 52 FPS. The closer I am to 60 the better.

I delid'ed my heat shield. Takes 45min using RocketCool's tool. Very easy to do.

I use Thermaltake's AIO water cooler and have the 8700K running at 5.1GHz. For VR, it did make a difference.

It's such an easy thing to do, why not do it?

I delid'ed my heat shield. Takes 45min using RocketCool's tool. Very easy to do.

 

I use Thermaltake's AIO water cooler and have the 8700K running at 5.1GHz. For VR, it did make a difference.

 

It's such an easy thing to do, why not do it?

Its been years since I've overclocked and I'm scared :cry:

You can go @5GHz with no delid perfectly safe.

You can go @5GHz with no delid perfectly safe.

Is there a one popular go to guide that typically everyone uses to get started? I found this:

EDIT: I'm starting to feel a little more comfortable after watching that video. It seems simple enough. I think maybe if I start small and simple with a 4.8GHz OC at 1.30vcore and run that for a few weeks could be a good way to start.

Depends how you do it. Same chips can behave differently in the way what voltage they require for a stable run.

The Voltage you read somewhere might not be the Voltage that you need to read.

HWinfo is a free tool, a MUST have if you OC. That will tell you what you actual Vcore is UNDER LOAD.

The Asus AI Suite readings are not that accurate, especially the temp is too low.

It is simple, but there are many pitfalls too.

You may beed to adjust LLC to a higher value as well

The Voltage you read somewhere might not be the Voltage that you need to read.

 

HWinfo is a free tool, a MUST have if you OC. That will tell you what you actual Vcore is UNDER LOAD.

 

The Asus AI Suite readings are not that accurate, especially the temp is too low.

 

It is simple, but there are many pitfalls too.

 

You may beed to adjust LLC to a higher value as well

Is there an easy fool proof set of settings for a slight OC that are almost guaranteed to work for me to start with?

take a backup of your OS drive before you try any overclocking ... just incase

Is there an easy fool proof set of settings for a slight OC that are almost guaranteed to work for me to start with?

Yes, there are, but the downside is that those Auto-OC-settings apply way too much voltage.

They are OK to get started with. Over time, you should read more about OC, get to know the Bios and then fine tune it.

Things to consider:

SVID will apply more Voltage based on the SCENARIO you have choosen in Bios, default = WorstCaseScenario = the most volts added to your setting. I like to work with SVID off until I know where I need my CPU settings with ALL MANUAL VOLTS, then, once I have this ( took me MONTHS ) I reverted back to Adaptive Volts, SVID ON ( allows WATT readings in HWinfo and AiSuite ), and dial in the Adaptive Volt baseline I work from, in my case, 1.25V for 5G. The Volts with SVID's extra on top under load is around 1.35v. The good thing with Adaptive is that it lowers the volts when you dont need them, Manual always feeds 1.35v or whatever you dial in. After a year on manual I decided to revert to Adaptive and play it safer. Both works the same, just lower volts are better for the CPU. It is just A LOT easier to get started with SVID off and Volts on manual...once you got the hang...play with it.

Dont go beyond 1.4v, dont go beyond 85-90°C under full AVX load at full speed. Those are the corner stones imho.

Read read and read even more.

* you should delid that thing for speeds beyond 4.8G imho, it really helps with temps and thus also volts. The colder you run, the less volts the die needs. the hotter it runs, the more you need to feed...you see the vicious circle here ?

What's different between the HERO and the FORMULA? I've got the HERO and I simply followed the manual settings in derbauer's youtube video for the 8700. Works like a dream and I'm on air. But I did also use his delid kit and conductonaut. He also lightly explains what he's changing and why, so you do get a little context. I stuck with the settings from his video and haven't tried reducing the voltage or getting any more speed out of it as I'm happy with where it's at. I don't know how much more it has to offer, but I'm running 5.0 without any trouble, and it stays plenty cool.

Delid was ez-pz; I taped off around the area where the die contacts the heat sink and only applied the paste there, like I saw in a different delid video.

Here's der8auer's video, but I'm not sure what varies between the formula and hero exactly, it may just be semantics in the context of overclocking but I haven't looked into it so I don't know:

If you got a good CPU water cooler, then 5.0HZ is the must go for 8700K, in-game temperature should be kept below 70C, otherwise lower the frequency.

My take is this. I had the exact same water AIO cooler and setup except the delid'ing. And it dropped the temperature by 10deg or more.

And since I'm a temperature obsessed guy, I had no choice but to delid it. Especially since it's SO easy to do.

https://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php?p=3277851&postcount=1

And yes, do back up the drive.

Here are some screenshots of my current config, which is based on Adaptive Volts and much left on Auto.

You can try the same and see wht happens ;)

*The 1.25v Adaptive with SVID on WCS results in 1.35ish Volts under full load Small FFT's AVX prime95.

The "High Performance" Setting in Power Saving and Performance Settings ( Pic #3 ) does tick quite a few boxes in submenues.

It's advised to have that set to HP if you oc.

It is no bad idea to check what Digi-VRM is set to in Asus Ai Suite once up and running. Auto can be brutal, always check.

my 8700k held 4.7Ghz with like 1.225 or 1.25vcore, held 4.9Ghz with 1.275vCore.

I had to bump it to 1.35or maybe 1.36 to get a stable 5ghz but my AIO seems to be holding up, have not delidded. I don't think i could get it stable above 5ghz, and frankly I average like 80-85C when left under full load for long periods of time with stress testing software, and my thermostat is janky so my A/C has like three settings, on, on but still too hot inside, or off. I.E. I have blankets strategically stashed because it gets cold in here. Might as well be simming in a snuggie.

You're pretty much guaranteed to be able to run all cores at 4.7ghz with that thing. There are likely guides out there to walk you through it.. load line calibration and all.

4.7 on all cores is what Asus activates with XMP and a "Yes" from the user. It's gotta be fool proof or Asus shot their own knee.

Headwarp, if you delid, it will run cooler and thus need less volts...maybe next time you take the CPU out..LoL

I do run XMP but I only see all CPU cores max out at 4.3. Why would this be? Should I not be hitting 4.7 ?

That's the AVX offset kicking in whenever a program is utilizing multiple cores. Turn that off imo. Just set the offset to 0 or equal to your desired multiplier. Run stress tests and check your temps throughout to ensure you're good under full load.

I need to check myself .. but I am pretty sure that for locked 4.7 all you need is to dial in 47 ( which is default ) and enable MCE ( which it also asks you for when enabling XMP as well ) by selecting SYNC CORES instead of PER CORE in the drop down menue.

As long as you leave AVX Offset at Auto or 0 it should not drop, it should even stay at 4.7G 24/7 if you enable HighPerformance Powerplan in 10.

Try and report back

I need to check myself .. but I am pretty sure that for locked 4.7 all you need is to dial in 47 ( which is default ) and enable MCE ( which it also asks you for when enabling XMP as well ) by selecting SYNC CORES instead of PER CORE in the drop down menue.

 

As long as you leave AVX Offset at Auto or 0 it should not drop, it should even stay at 4.7G 24/7 if you enable HighPerformance Powerplan in 10.

 

Try and report back

Ideally I would like to overclock with the Vcore and max frequency only throttling to maximum when there is a load. I'm not a fan of pushing absolute overclock values even when there is no load. I remember back in the day when I overclocked my 3770k I had to use something called "offset" overclocking to achieve that.

You do that with the win10 powerplan feature, the battery icon.

There you choose if you want 0.8-5G in Balanced Mode or locked 5G in High Performance Mode.

I have that Icon linked to my desktop and tbh, the 8th gen switches frequencies so fast, for DCS it doesnt matter where you put it. With older generations it made a difference, 6700k and older better switch to locked max frequencies. It was the one of the improved feature when the 7th gen came out. My old 2600k clearly stuttered when switching.

To lessen wear and tear on that die I switched to Adaptive Volts a few weeks ago.

That follows your ideal of only pumping volts and amperes when needed, otherwise..stay calm & cold.

For finding the best OC values, Adaptive and SVID sucksas it manages part of your volts.

It's easier to get the idea behind it if you start manual...and then carry those values over to Adaptive with activated SVID ( it needs SVID to work ).

If you dial in 1.35v manual with a 50x multi, you have a good chance of booting 5G.

Mine works from 1.30 to 1.366v @5G. Depending on the load you throw at it, you have to increase Volts. DCS plays fine with 1.30. Aida64 and prime95 need gradually more as you

ask for more, With 1.366v top input in HWinfo it holds any test I throw at it, in Adaptive mode.

It drops to as low as 0.7v and 0.8G on the other hand.