I9 9900k overclocking: Intel Core i9 9900K/KF Overclocking Guide

How can you overclock your Intel 9th Gen CPU up to 5GHz with MSI Z390 motherboards? Here are a few tips you should know!

Intel has just launched its 9th Gen processors, along with the new Z390 chipset. Core i9-9900K, i7-9700K and i5-9600K have also been introduced to the lineup. Compared to 8th Gen processors, Intel has increased the core numbers to compete with AMD. Core i9-9900K has 8 cores and 16 threads!

MSI has introduced 9 models of Z390 motherboards for the new 9th Gen processors too. For example, the MEG Z390 ACE motherboard, which is design with 13 power phases to support sufficient power supply for the CPU. Here we show you how to overclock Core i9-9900K to 5.0GHz+. This overclocking guide works for all MSI Z390 series. It is also perfect for entry-level overclockers. You can perform overclocking by simply following the steps in this blog.

↓ MSI Z390 motherboards

What is overclocking?

Overclocking means pushing the frequency of computer components higher than its default frequency, making it faster and better performing. You can overclock major components of your computer, like CPUs, memory or graphics cards. However, overclocking always has risks. It may damage your components or make your system unstable.

Intel® Turbo Boost Technology is overclocking supported by Intel itself. One of the features is to change the processor frequency according to the CPU load, e.g. switch it into power saving mode when in the standby state to balance power consumption and performance.

We are going to illustrate another way to perform overclocking, which enables you to manually adjust the settings
 

Intel® Z390 Chipset & Intel® 9th Gen CPU

Intel 9th Gen processors include i9-9900K, i7-9700K and i5-9600K. All of them are overclockable. Compared to 8th Gen processors, the 9th Gen processors use Solder Thermal Interface Material (STIM) instead of thermal paste. It’s to be expected that the 9th Gen processors have better heat dissipation and better overclocking capability. Thanks to the STIM, Core i9-9900K has the max turbo frequency clocked at 5GHz.

Differing from the Z370 chipset, the Z390 chipset comes with an Intel Wireless-AC module and native USB 3.1 Gen 2. Compared to 8th Gen processors, 9th Gen uses Solder Thermal Interface Material (STIM), which provides better thermal performance than before and allows overclockers to push their systems further.

Intel® 9th Gen CPU includes i5-9600K, i7-9700K and i9-9900K. All three feature 95W Thermal Design Power (TDP) and Intel® Turbo Boost Technology 2.0. There are more cores than last generation: 6 cores for i5-9600K and 8 cores for i7-9700K and i9-9900K. The i9-9900K is the only one with Hyper-Threading Technology, which enables the processor to execute two threads, or sets of instructions, at the same time. This can improve processing performance.
 

Processor Number	Hyper- Threading	Cores/ Threads	Thermal Design Power	Intel Turbo Boost 2. 0	Intel Smart Cache
9th generation Intel®Core™ i9-9900K		8/16	95 W	5.0 GH	16MB
9th generation Intel®Core™ i7-9700K	x	8/8	95 W	4.9 GH	12MB
9th generation Intel®Core™ i5-9600K	x	6/6	95 W	4. 6 GH	9MB

 

Intel 9th Gen Processor OC capability overview

Several factors may affect your max overclocking frequency, such as motherboard VRM design, MOSFET heat sink, and the most important: CPU overclocking capability. Every CPU has different overclocking ceilings. Good chips can reach a higher frequency than bad chips. Plus, good chips need lower core voltage than bad chips.

We binned some 9th Gen processor samples and came out with the frequency-voltage relation. We divided the samples into grade A, B, and C, according to the binning result. A is the best at overclocking, B is in between and C is not good. The graphs below show the percentage of each grade. As you can see, 20% of i9-9900K is good at overclocking.

 ↓  According to the binning result, A is the best at overclocking, B is in between and C is not good.

 

The frequency-voltage relation of Intel 9th Gen processors

We binned a number of Intel 9th Gen processors and came up with the frequency-voltage relation curve below. This curve is based on the processors we have and thus your CPU may vary. You can refer to this table and start with this frequency and core voltage curve. This will reduce your time in finding good frequency-voltage settings.

 

i9-9900K overclock via BIOS

There are different methods with which to overclock: BIOS, MSI’s overclocking software «Command Center» or with GAME BOOST. We are going to perform overclocking with BIOS for this article. Start with the following steps:

1. Enter BIOS

The first step to overclock is to press the «Delete» key to enter MSI Click BIOS.

2. Press F7 to go to Advanced Mode

Click BIOS offers Easy Mode and Advanced Mode. EZ Mode puts frequently used options on one page. In Advanced Mode, you can find all settings. Press the “F7” key to go to Advanced Mode. Advanced Mode is recommended for overclocking.

3.

Go to OC settings

Go to the «OC» page where you can see all overclock related settings. Switch «OC Explore Mode» from the default «Normal» to «Expert». Then you can see everything you need for overclocking, such as CPU ratio, memory frequency, CPU and memory-related voltage.

 ↓  BIOS default mode is EZ mode. Press F7 to enter Advanced Mode.

 ↓  You can see a lot of items on this page.

 

4. Adjust CPU Ratio & Ring Ratio

Ring Ratio
To overclock i9-9900K, you first need to start CPU Ratio. Our target is 5GHz, so just type in “50” for the CPU Ratio. Then change Ring Ratio to 47. You can try your own Ring Ratio, but we suggest a Ring Ratio that is 3x less than the CPU Ratio. Ring frequency is the frequency of non-core parts of the CPU, such as memory controller and cache. Higher Ring frequency is helpful for better benchmark performance.

CPU Ratio Mode
CPU Ratio Mode includes «Fixed mode» and «Dynamic mode. » Here we suggest going with «Fixed mode.» In Fixed Mode, CPU frequency will be fixed so either the CPU is idle or under load, which performs better. In Dynamic Mode, CPU frequency is dynamic depending on whether the CPU is idle or under load. For example, when in sleep mode, the CPU frequency will be lower than normal.
 

5. Adjust CPU Core Voltage

CPU core voltage comes next. Higher voltage is needed or higher frequency. Our recommendation is: 1.32v for OC i9-9900K 5GHz, 1.37v for i7-9700K 5GHz and 1.43v for i5-9600K 5GHz. Each CPU needs different core voltage for stability. If you’re lucky to get a good chip, you may need lower core voltage for a stable 5GHz than what we’ve suggested. You can try to lower or increase the voltage to find the best settings for your chip.

Auto Core Voltage for your CPU frequency
If you have no clue about how much CPU Core Voltage is needed for your chip, you can just leave CPU Core Voltage set to Auto. MSI BIOS will automatically determine the recommended Core Voltage according to your CPU’s overclock capability. The auto Core Voltage is based on MSI testing data and it varies according to CPU. It’s lower for a good chip and higher for a not-so-good chip. You can increase or decrease the voltage later according to the result of your stability test.

However, although the MSI Z390 motherboards have an auto core voltage mechanism, it does not ensure that the voltage value given will be 100% perfect for your system. There are other factors that may affect the result. For example, the figures below show two i9-9900K CPUs with different voltages for overclocking to 5GHz (one requires 1.345V, while the other 1.38V).

 ↓  Different CPU needs different voltage

CPU Core Voltage Mode
There are 5 CPU Core Voltage Modes available.
— Override Mode
— Adaptive Mode
— Offset Mode
— Override+Offset Mode
— Adaptive+Offset Mode

Override Mode keeps core voltage fixed so either the CPU is idle or under load. Adaptive Mode will change the voltage depending on whether it’s idle or under load. Offset Mode adds the offset voltage that you set to default voltage. Override+Offset Mode is the Override Mode plus Offset voltage, while Adaptive+Offset, as the name implies, is Adaptive Mode plus Offset voltage. «Override Mode» is recommended for overclocking. It’s also the BIOS default mode for overclocking.

CPU Loadline Calibration Control
It is typical for CPU behavior that when the CPU load increases, the core voltage decreases. This situation is called «Vdroop.» «Load line» is the line or relation of load and voltage. Vdroop may cause system instability when you’re overclocking. CPU Loadline Calibration improves Vdroop and is helpful to achieve better stability. The recommendation is to keep CPU Loadline Calibration set to “Auto” (Mode 3). BIOS will apply the optimized setting when you’re overclocking. If you would like to know more about this topic, visit the link provided here for more details: LLC, WHAT IS IT AND WHY ARE MSI Z370 MOTHERBOARDS THE BEST CHOICE FOR OVERCLOCKING?

 

6.

Disable Intel C-State (C-State: CPU State)

Intel’s power management features like C-State and Package C-State may have negative effects on overclocking stability. We recommend disabling C-State for better stability.

 

7. Done! Press F10 to save and exit

After performing all the settings, press F10 to save the settings you modified and exit. When you press F10, there’s a pop-up message notifying you that the settings were changed. Check again and press «yes» to exit BIOS and apply the changes.

 

Stability test for your overclocked system

After finishing the overclock settings in BIOS, it’s time for the stability test. If the system is stable then you can try to push a higher frequency to get better performance. Or you can try to lower the voltage to decrease the CPU temperature. If the system is not stable, then try to increase the core voltage or lower CPU frequency.

Suggested software for the stability test
Here is the list of some frequently used software for the stability test:
— CPU-Z to check the CPU frequency
— Core Temp or HWiNFO to check CPU temperature and CPU package power
— Cinebench R15 to do a quick stability test and check performance scaling
— AIDA64 or Prime95 v26.6 (non-AVX) / Prime95 v27.9 (AVX) for a stress test

Stability test with Cinebench R15
Cinebench R15 is a useful tool to do a quick stability test. CPU-Z is recommended for checking if your CPU Ratio setting in BIOS works. Core Temp is used to check CPU temperature. If the system is not stable, you can try to increase Core Voltage or decrease CPU Ratio. If the temperature is above 90° C, you should lower the Core Voltage.

Cinebench R15 performance scaling for 9000 series processors
Here is the Cinebench R15 performance scaling for i9-9900K, i7-9700K and i5-9600K. You can refer to this data to check if your CPU performance scales with CPU frequency.

 ↓  i5-9600K Cinebench R15

 ↓  i7-9700K Cinebench R15

 ↓  i9-9900K Cinebench R15

This is the overclocking guide for Z390 CPU with MSI BIOS. The data and results in this article are recommended values that were tested from our end. If you are a new player in this field, you can follow the steps and directly adopt the values to test them yourself. Those with more skills who wish to explore may fine-tune them manually to overclock according to actual requirements!

Learn more about MSI Z390 Motherboards:
https://www.msi.com/Landing/intel-z390-gaming-motherboard

*Disclaimer: You are liable for any risks that occur during overclocking. Poor overclocking operations may result in damage to your components. Figures in this article are subject to configuration with BIOS version E7B10IMS.100, dual-channel memory DDR4-2133MHz X2, DIY water cooling. Data and function may vary depending on the BIOS version. Heat dissipation and performance may be subject to system differences. Player discretion is advised.

Intel’s Core i9-9900KF May Overclock Better Than 9900K — Tom’s Hardware

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Welcome to the Intel Core i9-9900KF. No, that is not a typo. The eight-core 16-thread i9-9900KF is one of the newest mainstream processors from Team Intel. According to the vendor, the only difference between the “K” and “KF” model is that the latter does not have a functioning internal graphics processing unit (iGPU).

The KF chips, which are only available for pre-order, are likely meant to help Intel deal with its production shortages. How else do you explain that the chip goes from around the same price as the Intel Core-9900K, but has one fewer feature?

• See the Best Gaming CPUs you can buy today

I am always drawn to the buy two, get one at the grocery store type deals…Not! But is there more going on here than just a missing or disabled (or defective) integrated graphics processor? Will we be seeing similar things in the future? New steppings, maybe?

Surprisingly, according to the mere five samples I received, the 9900KF appears to overclock better with extreme cooling than the 200 i9-9900Ks I’ve binned. But why? I have so many questions. Let’s start trying to answer them.

Intel Core i9-9900KF

I am an competitive overclocker. I am not an engineer by any means. That being said, I am limited mostly to trial and error as my main source of information. This can be quite time-consuming, but incredibly valuable! It is the exact opposite of much of the traditional information available online, and in some regards it provides a better personal understanding of what is really going on. There are so many knobs and dials in the BIOS to tweak to perfection and create the harmonious symphony that is a stable overclock.  So how does this relate to the 9900KF versus the 9900K? We’ll get there, hold on.

Luckily, I have access to processors and a really awesome team that contributes immensely, which paid off recently when I received 200 i9-9900K processors. What do you do with 200 i9-9900K processors? Well, you sort them one by one. This process is called binning. The secret to great liquid nitrogen (LN2) results is to first “bin” a great processor, and that process begins with testing on standard air cooling.

CPUs

We use a quick and difficult fully-threaded benchmark for binning processors. Cinebench R15 seems to be the gold standard for this: It generates plenty of heat and pulls plenty of wattage, and it takes just a couple of seconds. If you don’t like R15, you’re welcome to use any program you like. Just make sure to keep the standards the same.

I suggest a benchmark that gives you a score output at the end, that way you can ensure the processor isn’t just throttling through the test due to excessive heat. This can be a rather tedious process with 200 CPUs, though. Imagine sore fingers, strained CPU socket hold downs and thermal paste everywhere. By everywhere, I mean everywhere — feel free to use your imagination.

Image 1 of 4

Out of 200 tested 9900Ks, here are the results of binning out the top 23 chips. Nineteen of the processors could do 5.3 GHz during a Cinebench R15 test with normal water cooling, but none could do 5.4 GHz. Out of a much smaller sample size of just five 9900KF processors, one of them does 5. 4 GHz! It actually completes three-quarters of an R15 benchmark at 5.5 GHz on normal cooling, which is miles above any of the 9900Ks.

Intel Core i9-9900K Binning

Now, the intelligent readers are thinking to themselves, this doesn’t mean anything. Even 200 CPUs is such a small percentage of all CPUs produced, it’s like making the statement that Earth is covered in ice because that’s all you can see if you’re standing at the North Pole. Well, you aren’t wrong, but this is what we have, so it’s what we will work with. The greater the sample size, the more accurate we can gauge the quality. Yes, 200 chips is small in the grand scheme of things, but I don’t think you will see too many people that have tested more CPUs with extensive documentation like this.

Ok! Binning is complete. We have found the best four or five 9900K CPUs on air and will now try them under LN2 cooling. Why not just use the best one from your air testing? Well, that comes down to the voltage scaling and the actual heat output of that certain processor.

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Max Passable Freq Water Cooled
Model	Volts	Frequency	Max Temp
9900K	1.38	5300	96
9900K	1.39	5300	90
9900K	1.31	5200	78
9900K	1.32	5300	92
9900K	1.32	5200	81
9900K	1.34	5300	78
9900K	1. 34	5300	78
9900K	1.38	5300	78
9900K	1.34	5300	78
9900K	1.31	5300	78
9900K	1.33	5200	80
9900K	1.36	5300	84
9900K	1.38	5300	90
9900K	1.37	5300	90
9900K	1.3	5200	74
9900K	1.4	5300	95
9900K	1. 36	5300	83
9900K	1.29	5200	73
9900K	1.41	5200	96
9900K	1.31	5300	81
9900K	1.29	5300	78
9900K	1.34	5300	79
9900K	1.3	5300	71
9900KF	1.32	5400	73
9900KF	1.35	5300	77
9900KF	1.37	5300	82
9900KF	1. 35	5300	75

If you have a Killawatt wattage meter, or a PSU like the Enermax Maxtytan Series with a wattage display, you can see the difference. Two different CPUs at a 1.35V vCore can pull different wattage. As you can see in the testing above, the R15 load temperatures are all over the map as well.

Some CPUs even run 10 degrees Celsius warmer at the same voltage. We are looking for low load temperature in combination with low voltage while maintaining a high clock speed. This will give us the best chance to use a lot of voltage, yet keep the chip cooler with LN2. A very poor-scaling CPU can be excellent on air/water cooling, but be average to poor on LN2. It actually happens quite often and is a real pain, but it’s quite a rush when you do find a chip that does scale well.

Splave’s overclocking setup.

Next I took the 5.4 GHz 9900KF, mounted my LN2 pot on it and away we went. It scaled beautifully and ran nice and cool. With a -193 degrees Celsius container temperature at idle, the CPU can only increase that to -187 degrees Celsius with a massive 1.73 volts being jammed into it. This resulted in a 6.95 GHz R15 run, which is 75 MHz higher than my best run with a standard i9-9900K with LN2 cooling. It was a thrill to be the first person in the world to bench a 9900KF on LN2, so naturally it was a first place score for 9900KFs at the time I did it.

Image 1 of 2

Analyzing all of this info leads to a few theories. Could the 9900KF’s have a refined, higher-quality silicon? Intel did similarly with its Engineering Sample (ES) 9900Ks versus retail chips. Retail 9900K CPUs are clocking much better on average than their ES counterparts. I have purchased three retail 9900K CPUs, and unless I’m the luckiest man in the world (I actually am but for other reasons), they were all 6.8 GHz+ chips on LN2. I’ve tried plenty of ES CPUs that maxed at 6.6 — 6.7 GHz (see above).

CPUs

Theory two: The 9900KF iGPU has no power pins from socket, which might have some effect beyond the benefit of just disabling the iGPU on a 9900K. Crazier things have happened!

Could we see a refresh of the 9900K series with an updated stepping, higher quality silicon and better oc’ing like the 9900KF? Perhaps …

Folks, these are theories. I don’t work for Intel. I’m not a shareholder and I don’t have a dog in this fight beyond clawing for every ounce of performance and clocks I can get. If you already own a nice 9900K, should you go out and buy a 9900KF? Probably not, unless you are into overclocking and are displeased with your K-model. If you are in the market to upgrade and are into overclocking, then I would definitely suggest trying the 9900KF if you can find one for sale.

Want to comment on this story? Let us know what you think in the Tom’s Hardware Forums.

MORE: Best CPUs

MORE: CPU Benchmark Hierarchy

MORE: All CPUs Content

Photo Credits: Tom’s Hardware

 A world-champion competitive overclocker who frequently tops the charts at HWBot, a site which tracks speed records, Allen will do just about anything to push a CPU to its limits. He shares his insights into the latest processors with Tom’s Hardware readers from a hardcore, push-it-to-the-limit overclocker’s perspective. 

How can you overclock your Intel 9th ​​Gen CPU up to 5GHz with MSI Z390 motherboards? Here are a few tips you should know!

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Intel recently released its 9th Gen processors with the Z390 chipset. The product line was replenished with Core i9 models-9900K, i7-9700K and i5-9600K. Compared to 8th generation processors, the number of processing cores has been increased to better compete with AMD products. So, the Core i9-9900K model has 8 cores capable of executing 16 computational threads simultaneously!

In turn, MSI introduced 9 models of motherboards based on the Z390 chipset for 9th generation processors. Among them, for example, MEG Z390 ACE with a powerful 13-phase power system. And in this article we will tell you how to use them to overclock the Core i9 processor.-9900K up to 5.0 GHz and above. Our instructions are suitable for all MSI Z390 series boards, and even inexperienced users can overclock their system by simply following them step by step.

↓ MSI Z390 motherboards

What is overclocking?

Overclocking is an increase in the frequency of computer components over the standard level in order to improve their performance. You can overclock all the key nodes: processor, memory, video card. However, overclocking always comes with some risk. It can cause your computer to become unstable or even damage components.

Intel® Turbo Boost Technology is official overclocking from Intel. Thanks to it, the processor frequency changes depending on its load in order to strike a balance between power consumption and performance.

We will show another overclocking method, which allows you to set the processor operation parameters manually.

Intel® Z390 Chipset and 9th Generation Intel® Processors

9th Gen Intel Core processor line-up includes Core i9 models-9900K, i7-9700K and i5-9600K. All of them support overclocking. Compared to the eighth generation, the ninth one uses solder rather than thermal paste as a thermal interface, so such processors should be better cooled, and therefore have a higher overclocking potential. Thanks to this, the maximum frequency of the Core i9-9900K processor in Turbo mode reaches 5 GHz.

The Z390 chipset differs from its predecessor Z370 in that it supports Intel Wireless-AC and USB 3.1 Gen2. Compared to 8th Gen processors, Model 9th generation are distinguished by better cooling, and hence increased overclocking potential, due to the use of solder as a thermal interface.

The 9th Gen Intel® Core processor lineup includes the i5-9600K, i7-9700K, and i9-9900K models. The thermal package of each is 95 W, they all support Intel Turbo Boost 2.0 technology. The number of cores has been increased compared to the previous generation: up to 6 for the i5-9600K model and up to 8 for the i7-9700K and i9-9900K models. The i9-9900K is the only processor to feature Hyper-Threading technology, which allows two threads to run on the same core at the same time to improve overall performance.

Processor model	Hyper Threading	Cores/threads	Thermal bag	Intel Turbo Boost 2.0	Intel Smart Cache
9th Gen Intel® Core™ i9-9900K		8/16	95W	5. 0GH	16MB
9th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-9700K	x	8/8	95W	4.9GH	12MB
9th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-9600K	x	6/6	95W	4.6GH	9MB

Overclocking Overview of Intel 9th ​​Gen Processors

Several factors affect how much frequency you can achieve when overclocking. Among them are the design of the motherboard power system, the presence of a radiator for cooling transistors and, most importantly, the overclocking potential of the chip itself. Each instance of the processor has its own frequency ceiling. Good chips can operate at a higher frequency than less successful ones, and also require less supply voltage.

We have taken several instances of Intel 9th ​​generation processors and found the relationship between their frequency and voltage. All of them were divided into classes A, B and C in accordance with the test results. Class A is best for overclocking, class C is bad for overclocking, and class B is somewhere in between the other two. The charts below show the percentage of different classes. As you can see, 20% of the i9-9900K processor instances perform well when overclocking.

↓ ↓ According to the test results, A — the best chips for overclocking, B — average, C — the least successful.

9th Gen Intel

Frequency/Voltage Ratio
Based on the results of our own tests of the 9th generation Intel processors, we have compiled a frequency vs. voltage curve. This dependence may be different for a particular instance, but the data below will serve as a good starting point for overclocking experiments. By using them, you will save time searching for the optimal settings for your processor.

i9-9900K processor overclocking via BIOS interface

There are different overclocking methods: using the BIOS interface, MSI’s exclusive Command Center overclocking utility, or the Game Boost gaming acceleration function. In this article, we will overclock through the BIOS. Let’s start!

1. Enter the BIOS interface

The first step is to enter the MSI Click BIOS interface by pressing the Delete key when the computer boots up.

2. Press F7 to switch to BIOS 9 advanced mode0005

There are two modes in the Click BIOS interface: Simplified and Advanced. In the simplified mode, all frequently used settings are displayed on one page, and in the advanced mode, the user is offered absolutely all available BIOS settings. It is the advanced mode that is recommended for overclocking. To go to it, you need to press the F7 key.

3. Go to overclocking settings

Go to the OC page which contains all settings related to overclocking. Switch the OC Explore Mode setting from the default Normal to Expert. Now you can see everything you need for overclocking, including settings such as processor frequency multiplier, memory frequency, processor and memory voltages.

↓ By default, the BIOS interface opens in simplified mode. To switch to advanced, press the F7 key.

↓ ↓ You can see many settings on this page.

4. Change the frequency multipliers (CPU Ratio and Ring Ratio)

Ring Ratio parameter
Overclocking of the i9-9900K processor should be started from the CPU Ratio parameter. Our target is 5 GHz, so enter a value of 50 for it. Then change the Ring Ratio parameter to 47. You can try other values ​​for the Ring Ratio, however we recommend that it be 3 less than the CPU Ratio value. The Ring Bus links non-core elements of the processor, such as the memory controller and cache, so a higher frequency of operation will help achieve higher performance.

CPU Ratio Mode Parameter
Processor frequency multiplier can be set in fixed (Fixed Mode) or dynamic (Dynamic Mode) mode. We recommend choosing Fixed. In it, the processor frequency will be constant, regardless of the load. In dynamic mode, it changes depending on the load and, for example, in sleep mode, it will drop below the usual value.

5. Change the processor core supply voltage

Next, let’s deal with the supply voltage of the processor core. To achieve a high frequency, the voltage must be increased. Our recommendation for 5 GHz: 1.32 V for i9 processor-9900K, 1.37V for i7-9700K and 1.43V for i5-9600K. Each instance of the processor will work stably at a certain frequency. If you’re lucky, yours will run at 5 GHz at less voltage than the above. Therefore, you can try lowering or increasing the recommended voltage to find the best option for your particular chip.

Auto voltage setting
If you have no idea what voltage your chip requires, you can leave the CPU Core Voltage set to Auto. In this case, the supply voltage will be selected automatically in accordance with the capabilities of the processor. This choice is based on test data collected by MSI and depends on the specific processor: lower for successful instances and higher for not very successful ones. Subsequently, you will be able to change the voltage based on the results of the stability test.

MSI’s Z390 series motherboards’ automatic CPU voltage adjustment function does not guarantee a perfect result. For example, below are the results for two instances of the i9-9900K overclocked to 5GHz. One required 1.345V and the other 1.38V.

↓ Different processor instances require different supply voltages.

Core voltage generation
There are 5 options for processor core voltage generation:
— Override Mode
— Adaptive Mode
— Offset Mode
— Override+Offset Mode
— Adaptive+Offset Mode

In Override mode, the core voltage remains fixed, regardless of CPU load. In Adaptive mode, it changes depending on the load. In Offset mode, some value is added to the base voltage. There are also combined modes: Override+Offset and Adaptive+Offset. For overclocking, the Override mode is recommended — it is also selected by default in the BIOS during overclocking.

CPU Loadline Calibration Parameter
The usual situation in the operation of the processor is to reduce the core voltage when the load increases. This voltage drop can cause the computer to become unstable during overclocking, and the CPU Loadline Calibration setting is used to correct this problem. Our recommendation is to leave it set to Auto (Mode 3) so that the BIOS will apply the optimal values ​​for this setting during overclocking. If you want to learn more about it, check out our article WHAT IS LLC AND WHY MSI Z370 MOTHERBOARDS ARE THE BEST CHOICE FOR OVERCLACKERS?

6. Disable Intel C-State Technology (C-State: CPU State)

Intel power management technologies such as C-State and Package C-State can have a negative impact on the stability of your computer when overclocked. To avoid this issue, we recommend disabling them.

7. Done! Press F10 to save changes.

After setting all the necessary settings, press the F10 key to save them and exit the BIOS interface. To do this, select Yes in the dialog box that appears.

Overclocked stability test

After all the overclocking parameters are set in the BIOS interface, it’s time to run a stability test. If the computer works without problems, then you can try to increase the frequency even more in order to achieve even higher performance. Or you can lower the voltage to reduce the temperature of the processor. If the computer starts to work with errors, you need to increase the processor voltage or reduce its frequency.

Recommended Stability Test Applications
Below is a list of popular utilities that are often used to test the stability of your computer.
— The CPU-Z utility is used to check the CPU frequency.
— The Core Temp and HWiNFO utilities are used to monitor CPU temperature and power consumption.
— The Cinebench R15 application is used to quickly check the stability and track the improvement in computer performance.
— AIDA64 or Prime95 v26.6 (non-AVX) / Prime95 v27.9 (AVX) are used for the stress test.

Cinebench R15 stability check
Cinebench R15 is a useful tool for quickly checking the stability of your computer. At the same time, the CPU-Z utility can be used to check the performance of the CPU Ratio setting that we changed in the BIOS, and the Core Temp utility can be used to monitor the processor temperature. If the computer is unstable, try increasing the Core Voltage or lowering the CPU Ratio. If the processor temperature exceeds 90°, reduce its supply voltage.

Cinebench R15 performance improvement for 9000 series processors
Below are the Cinebench R15 results for the i9-9900K, i7-9700K and i5-9600K processors. You can use them to estimate how much your processor’s performance increases as its frequency increases.

↓ i5-9600K Cinebench R15

↓ i7-9700K Cinebench R15

↓ i9-9900K Cinebench R15

This overclocking guide is for MSI Z390 BIOS platform. All the results given in it were obtained by us during our own tests. If you are a beginner, then follow these instructions step by step using our settings. For more experienced users, they can become the basis for then manually adjusting the overclocking parameters in accordance with their preferences.

Learn more about MSI Z390 series motherboards:
https://www.msi.com/Landing/intel-z390-gaming-motherboard

*Note: The risk of overclocking is the user’s responsibility. Incorrect overclocking may result in component damage. The information in this article is based on a configuration with BIOS version E7B10IMS.100, dual-channel DDR4-2133 memory, and a self-fabricated water cooling system. Overclocking settings, heat dissipation, and computer performance may vary depending on BIOS version and configuration differences. During overclocking, it is recommended to be extremely careful.

i9-9900K Gaming Performance in Various Modes / PC Platform / iXBT Live

Hello, at the end of summer I upgraded my system from i7-5775C to i9-9900K. Even at the planning stage of this upgrade, I was worried about several issues related to the gaming performance of these processors. Here are the most basic ones:
1. How much faster will the 9900K be than the 5775C?
2. What is the performance gain from overclocking the 9900K?
3. What performance boost will the transition from regular (3000-3200) DDR4 to high-frequency (4000+) give?
4. What performance boost will be obtained by optimizing timings using specially derived formulas (more on this here)?
5. How will the performance of the 9900K be affected by disabling Hyper-threading?

One way or another, I will try to answer all these questions in this material.
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System memory modes on the 9900K can also be divided into 3 types:

«4100 opt.»
The fastest memory mode in this test — high frequency and formula-optimized timings.
Compare the write, copy and memory latency of this and the following modes. It is these values ​​that are affected by timing optimization.

Timings and operation speed

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«4100»
Medium speed mode — high frequency, but the timings are not configured, most of them are set by the motherboard itself, with the exception of the primary ones. This mode is intended to demonstrate the approximate level of speed that owners of high-frequency DDR4 kits get, using them by default with an XMP profile and without fine-tuning timings.

Timings and speed

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“3200”
The slowest mode is relatively low frequency and auto timings. It simulates the usual inexpensive memory used by most ordinary users.

Timings and speeds

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Description of system modes on i7-5775C

There is only one mode, the processor is overclocked as much as possible, but the memory could be faster (timings are not optimized): )
eDRAM 2200 MHz (default 1800 MHz)
NB 3600 MHz (default 3300 MHz)
DDR3 2133 MHz

Timings and memory speed

there is no opportunity to test the old system on the 5775C now — it is sold.

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Test results

Note: The default resolution is 1920*1080.

Conditions: standard API Overhead test.
Settings: standard.
Comment: CPU overclocking affects the result extremely weakly, at the level of error. In fact, the whole difference between the modes is achieved due to changes in the memory. HT Off is slightly faster in both DX12 and Vulcan. Looking at the performance gain from moving from the 5775C to the slowest 9900K\3200, and then on 9900K\4100 opt., then we can conclude that there are quite noticeable differences between DX12 and Vulcan: DX12 gets more gain from multi-core, but less from overclocking and memory optimization, while Vulkan has exactly the opposite situation . In general, DX12 is still more efficient.
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Conditions: we are standing and looking at a small town, in which there are about 30 infantrymen and 10 ground vehicles.
Settings: maximum, including shading, total rendering distance 6000m, objects 3100m, shadows 200m.
Commentary: the game responds rather weakly to CPU and memory acceleration, which is why the difference between the modes is generally small.
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Conditions: built-in in-game benchmark.
Settings: maximum.
Comment: is a rather strange benchmark — the difference between the modes is extremely small, and the results from test to test can noticeably “float”, which is why I wanted to abandon it altogether, but instead decided to test it in 720p, which made it possible to better reveal the difference between modes. I think it is the minimum FPS that is indicative, the average in some places gives a strange result.
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Conditions: start of the race with 25 participants.
Settings: maximum.
Comment: the game responds well to all ways of speeding up the system, but still switching to a fast and optimized memory 4100 opt. gives more FPS than overclocking the processor and memory combined. Pay attention to the HT Off mode, in which the game runs a little faster.
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Conditions: just stand and look towards the many NPCs in the underground area of ​​Prague.
Settings: maximum, DX11, MSAA disabled.
Comment: as in the previous game, memory mode 4100 opt. turned out to be more profitable than overclocking the processor and adding ordinary high-frequency memory combined, and HT Off, in turn, strengthened its positions even more (+8% compared to HT On).
Overclocked 5775C only 7% slower than weakest mode «9900K \ 3200», not bad for an old man on DDR3…
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Conditions: mission «At the end of the world», we stand and look at the street with a lot of NPCs nearby.
Settings: maximum, including FOV.
Comment: the first thing that catches your eye is how weak the 5775C is against the background of any of the modes 9900K. It is obvious that the game, as they say, «and wants and can» effectively dispose of a large number of processor cores-threads.
CPU overclocking gives a bigger FPS boost to a system with fast memory. Disabling HT only added one frame. Optimized memory is again more profitable than overclocking memory and processor combined (9900K\4100 opt. > OC 9900K\4100).
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Conditions: standing at a high altitude above the Corvega location, about 12000 draw calls.
Settings: maximum.
Comment: the game reacts approximately the same to all ways to speed up the system, be it CPU overclocking, memory overclocking or timing optimization.
The overclocked 5775C is only 5.5% behind the slowest 9900K.
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Conditions: at the very beginning of the game, we stand in the destroyed train and look towards the first open location.
Settings: maximum, including FOV.
Comment: I’m glad that Far Cry for once learned how to use HT, now when you turn it on, FPS does not fail, as it was before with previous games in the series. With increments, depending on the mode, everything is more or less usual — the game responds approximately equally to all system improvements.
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Conditions: built-in benchmark, Pass 1 result removed due to diagram overload and rather low difference in results.
Settings: maximum, except for disabled MSAA.
Comment: It may have come as a surprise to many that GTA V runs slightly faster with HT disabled.
Overclocking and memory optimization are more profitable than increasing the frequencies of the processor and memory. 5775C is about 15% behind the weakest mode 9900K
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Conditions: standing in the crowd on a level dedicated to F1 racing competitions.
Settings: maximum, DX12.
Commentary: disabling HT gives an 8% increase in FPS, and switching to high-frequency optimized memory again gave a noticeably larger increase than increasing the frequencies of the processor and memory combined.
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Conditions: standing on a bridge over a crowded street in one of the largest cities in the game.
Settings: maximum.
Commentary: the alignment of forces in general resembles the previous Hitman 2, but the difference between the modes is not so pronounced, and the 5775C sank more against the background of the 9900K.
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Conditions: we are standing at Rattay city square.
Settings: maximum, but 2 types of LOD: standard and maximum.
Comment: in this game I was interested in comparing the behavior of the system with the standard and maximum LOD, and as we can see, there really is a difference between them. With the maximum LOD, the requirement for computing performance increases noticeably, this manifests itself both in the FPS dip in the HT OFF mode, and in larger gains from memory optimization than with the standard LOD. Again, overclocking the processor and memory combined gives less than just switching to high-frequency optimized memory.
5775C is a clear outsider, obviously due to the small number of cores / threads.
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Conditions: Level on the Volga, standing above the train with friendly NPCs.
Settings: extreme preset, motion blur off, DX12.
Comment: these results can be conditionally divided into practical and theoretical.
Practice at 1080p with RTX turned on shows that we won’t get much difference when overclocking certain system components, even on an overclocked 2080Ti. Unless turning off HT adds a couple of frames. If you turn off RTX, then the difference between the modes is already quite visible, but there are no special surprises here, the game responds both to overclocking the processor and memory, and to optimizing timings.
The 720p resolution, which is far from practical, allows you to completely remove the dependence of FPS on the video card and see a slightly different alignment of forces. The first thing that catches your eye is the difference in the results of the HT Off mode — with RTX it falls relatively to the activated HT, and without RTX, on the contrary, it noticeably pulls ahead. The rest of the modes demonstrate an even greater difference between them.
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Conditions: three times repetition run, the average result was taken.
Erangel — walk on the roof of the police building in the city of Yasnaya Polyana, about 12 players nearby.
Miramar — standing on a hill above the city of San Martin, 16 players nearby.
Vikendi — we stand on a hill overlooking the city of Volnova, the number of players nearby is minimal, only 3 from our own squad.
Sanhok — landing at Bootcamp, number of players nearby is huge, about 40.
Settings: anti-aliasing ultra, post effects medium, shadows very low, textures ultra, effects very low, vegetation medium, draw distance high, FOV 100.
Comment: no results for 5775C because test scenes changed several times after building the system on the 9900K. in the end, I came to the conclusion that it is best to test the game with RTSS, making measurements including 1% and 0.1% FPS.
In all results where there is a moderate number of players in the vicinity (everywhere except Sanhok map), overclocking and optimizing memory alone gives good gains, more than just overclocking memory and processor combined. In the same places where the number of players nearby is extremely high (Sanhok), it is the processor overclocking that breaks ahead, and at the same time, the HT Off mode fails more strongly relative to other, easier testing modes.
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Conditions: standing on a hill in the village of a local tribe.
Settings: maximum, DX12. RTX quality (where enabled) Ultra.
Comment: with RTX enabled in the game, it doesn’t really matter how much you overclocked the processor or optimized the RAM, everything somehow depends on the capabilities of the video card. When the RTX is turned off, the picture changes, you can see that only changes in memory speed affect performance. Overclocking the processor has minimal impact on performance.
5775C is a clear underdog in all modes except 1080p RTX.
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Conditions: stand on the roof of the car and look at the streets of the city captured by monsters.
Settings: maximum.
Comment: performance scales quite well as individual components speed up. As with most previous results, memory and CPU overclocks add up to slightly less than fast optimized memory alone (OC9900K\4100 < 9900K\4100 opt.).
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Conditions: built-in «Battle» benchmark.
Settings: maximum, TAA smoothing.
Comment: 720p had to be added to showcase the full potential of the system on the 9900K and show the difference between the modes. You are probably tired of reading this, but I will repeat again — optimized memory again gives a very good increase, much more than a simple increase in processor and memory frequencies. Interestingly, when switching to 720p, the “9900K\3200″ almost equaled « OC 9900K\3200″ in the minimum FPS, although at 1080p there was a quite pronounced difference between them. The
5775C is twice as slow as the fastest 9900K system!
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Conditions: built-in benchmark.
Settings: maximum.
Comment: is probably the only game in this test that accelerates faster from CPU overclocking alone than from overclocking and memory optimization (“OC 9900K\3200″ > «9900K\4100 opt»).
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Conditions: we are standing in the middle of the city on one of the central, very busy streets.
Settings: maximum, including HFTS shadows and 100% extra details.
Comment: when testing the system on the i7-5775C (I tested it first), I made a mistake by setting the extra details to 100%. It is this setting on a system with 9900K made the FPS completely dependent on the graphics card, which is why I had to add a resolution of 720p@50% to reveal the difference between all modes. Overclocking the processor has minimal impact on performance.
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Conditions: built-in benchmark.
Settings: maximum.
Comment: note how much DX11 loves fast memory, and how its influence has waned with the transition to Vulkan. In general, with the transition to Vulkan, the difference between the modes becomes less pronounced. This also applies to the 5775C — in DX11 it was noticeably behind the slowest mode «9900K \ 3200», and with the transition to Vulkan, their results became much closer.
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Additional mini CPU overclocking test

Looking at how CPU overclocking increases FPS in World War Z and Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III, I was wondering what exactly led to this result: overclocking the CPU or NB?

*note: there is only one memory mode here — » 4100 opt. »

Comment: as we can see, overclocking the CPU as a whole is much more profitable than NB, but the best result is still achieved with their combined overclocking.
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Results

Well, I think it is worth briefly answering the questions posed at the beginning of the article:

Question: how much 9900K will be faster than 5775C?
Answer: depends on the game and what memory the 9900K will work with. If we take the economy assembly “9900K \ 3200” for comparison, then it often outperforms the overclocked 5775C by a miserable 10-15%, but still there are games where the difference can reach 35, 50 and even 59%. Comparing the 5775C with the fastest build OC 9900K\4100 opt., we see FPS gains in the 24-38% range more often and less frequently in the 65-82% range.

Question: What performance gain will overclocking 9900K give?
Answer: insignificant in most cases. Of course, there are exceptions in the form of 10-15% growth, but most often it is 3-7%.

Question: What performance gain will the transition from regular (3000-3200) DDR4 to high frequency (4000+) give?
Answer: is different, depending on the game, but also (like overclocking the processor) is not very large. On average, this is 3-8% with exceptions of 11-12%

Question: what performance gain will optimization of timings using specially derived formulas give?
Answer: If we consider the increase from optimization at the same frequencies («4100» vs «4100 opt.