Overclocking on our Z690 APEX:
Choosing your DDR5 kit based on memory chips :
As it was already the case for DDR4, if you want to clock your memory, some brands will have a better potential. Currently, the kits announced by the various brands have either Micron, Hynix or Samsung chips. These last two brands will be the most interesting. Our Kingston Fury Renegade 6400 MT/s CL32 kit is equipped with Hynix chips as you can see. A small note that is important, our ROG Z690 APEX is a “new version” of 2022 which erases the problems encountered for memory overclocking above 6600/6800 MHz.
DDR5 “key” voltages:
For memory overclocking, there are 5 key voltages. These are the voltages that will have an impact on the overclocking and therefore on the frequency rise or the tightening of the timings. These are the CPU System Agent Voltage (SA), the DRAM VVD Voltage, the DRAM VVDQ Voltage, the Memory Controller Voltage and the IVR Transmitter VVDQ Voltage. Here is where these voltages are located in the BIOS of our ROG Maximus Z690 APEX.
Beware, depending on the type of memory chips (Micron, Hynix and Samsung), the balance between these different voltages is different. Don’t panic, we will come back to this in our guide on overclocking Alder Lake and DDR5. If your PMIC module is not locked, by activating ” High DRAM Voltage Mode “, you will have access to voltages up to 2 volts. Let’s go for the overclocking of this DDR5 from Corsair.
Step 1: Push the XMP to 7000 MT/s without touching the voltage
First of all, it is possible to activate the profiles available in the BIOS of our APEX. Be careful to select the ones that correspond to your type of memory chips. These profiles act on timings, sub-timings and voltages. Now that the kits have higher frequencies and tighter timings than at launch, these are becoming a bit obsolete. But, for once, we chose to optimize the XMP profile without touching the voltage. First, we just increased the frequency. We were thus able to reach 7000 MHz in 32-39-39-80 always at 1.40 volts. All our benchmarks were executed without any difficulty. We were pleasantly surprised by this potential. You can see the performance gain in the graphics below. We are certainly not totally stable but we can say that all benchmarks pass!
Here are our updated test charts so you can see the gains with these two profiles in the different benchmarks we use. Let’s start with AIDA64 to see the impact of the overclocking of our kit on throughput.
The performance explodes in all benchmarks. The idea is to show you the potential while keeping the voltage at 1.40 volts. So it will be interesting to spend some time in order to get a profile that suits you perfectly! We will soon put online a tutorial to allow you to test the stability of your memory overclocking.
Now, let’s go to the part that interests us the most, trying to get the best out of this Fury Renegade kit by trying to get up to 7400 MT/s by tightening up the timings.
Step 2: benchmark profiles at 7000, 7200 and 7400 MT/s
We have been testing DDR5 kits for several months now and we are starting to master overclocking better. Important point, we received a new ROG Z690 APEX dating from 2022. The 2022 versions have the advantage of not having to worry about overclocking the memory. The 2021 versions can be very limited in terms of frequency on the A slot. We were able to validate three profiles, the first one at 7000 MT/s, the second one at 7200 Mt/s and finally at 7400 MT/s. Regarding the voltages, they were 1.57 volt (VDD), 1.54 volt (VDDQ), 1.55 volt (IVR) and 1.35 v (Memory Controller). Our i9-12900K is overclocked for the results below. The P-cores are at 5300 MHz, the E-cores at 4100 MHz and the cache at 4500 MHz, all for a CPU voltage of 1.35 volts. The SA voltage is also 1.35 volts.
7000 MT/s 30-40-40-28-2T :
This profile is very interesting and performs well. For overclocking in air or water cooling, it can be further optimized to gain some points. Each kit is different and will require time to test to find the best balance in terms of timings.
7200 MT/s 32-40-40-28-2T:
This new profile is quite similar to the one at 7000 MT/s but with some relaxed timings. We are on a fairly similar performance. Let’s not forget that the more we increase the frequency, the less we have to be greedy on the timings. For benchmarking, the idea is to find the best compromise and the one that will perform the best. For example, it’s better to stay at 7000 MT/s and tighten up the timings. It’s up to you to judge according to the results obtained.
7400 MT/s 32-42-42-28-2T:
Hot, hot in the lab. During the tests, the temperature flirted with 27.5 ° C, so it is not easy to overclock by this temperature. Nevertheless, by keeping the same voltages and leaving all the other timings in AUTO, it’s ok.
