CPU overclocking:
When you say new platform, you have to adapt to it, but since we are quite close to the Z690 chipset, we shouldn’t have too much difficulty. We will just have to take into account the new specificities of the processors in terms of frequencies.
Protocol:
Before starting, it is necessary to have one or more reference scores with our i9-13900K at stock frequencies , i.e., without having made any modification except having activated the XMP profile. It is also very important to have at hand a sheet that will allow you to note all the tests you will perform as well as the results or failures. Personally, I have hundreds of sheets of my tests on which I sometimes go back to know how the processor behaved on such motherboard or in such test conditions. My own little bible.
For H24 overclocking, it will of course be necessary to take more time to fine-tune the voltage in order to provide it with the minimum necessary, but also to adjust each core independently if you want to take advantage of the maximum performance.
Load-Line Calibration in the BIOS:
As you can see on the BIOS screenshots, the BIOS can be adjusted from Level 1 to Level 5. The idea for us is to keep the voltage as constant as possible, whether at rest (IDLE) or under load (LOAD). It is very important to take into account this element when you want to overclock your processor. Go to the BIOS to make this setting and opt for Level 1 which allows you to maintain the most constant voltage possible when the CPU is under load. By default, it is in Level 4. Now for H24 overclocking and after testing your processor, you can opt for a Level 3 or 4 to keep a certain vdroop. We feel like saying that it’s a matter of taste. Opting for a Level 1 allows you to know exactly how much voltage the processor needs to be stable at a certain frequency.
Overclocking under watercooling in different steps :
As usual, I will start the tests by choosing, via the BIOS, a starting frequency applied on the 8 P-Cores of the i9-13900K. I chose a starting frequency of 5500 MHz with a multiplier of 55, a BCLK of 100, a voltage of 1.30 volt and a Level 1. All other options are in AUTO. I already had the opportunity to test my i9-13900K and it is far from being a war lightning unfortunately.
The idea is then, in the OS, to test the stability on several runs of Cinebench R23 multithread . If it’s stable, I increase the frequency by 100 MHz while checking the stability again. If the benchmark crashes, I increase the voltage by 0.05 volt increments in order to regain a stability allowing to run the benchmark. The objective is to get a “quick” idea of the maximum benchmarkable frequency.
Here is what we obtained for the i9-13900K. As you can see, we were very quickly limited by the temperature and this despite a fairly low voltage. We can push the P-Core to 5700 MHz and the E-Core to 4500 MHz.
Our best score is 42338 in Cinebench R23 but with the hottest core flirting with 94°C. Unfortunately, our sample is not a gold processor and behaved well under LN2. I’m waiting for the 13900KS to arrive in order to try to get my hands on a gold processor. Just a reminder, please take into account our remarks on the previous page about the power limit, otherwise you may be disappointed.
