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To get stability when overclocking we used the settings above within the dedicated DIGI+ Power Control panel. There are plenty of settings to enhance the board when overclocking and to reduce the dreaded VDROOP. Level 8 load line calibration worked best along with extreme Power Phase control and Power Duty Control. We also changed the Current capability to 100%.
We achieved stability at 4.4ghz by increasing the voltage to 1.2. Time to push higher.
We first tested a maximum ‘safe' voltage for the processor, by increasing the dual fan and pump speeds to ‘performance' on the Corsair H100i (there is very little if any difference using ‘maximum fan settings' as the cooler was reaching its limits under load). We found that with the voltage at 1.225v, the 4770k temperatures peaked around 83c under load. If we increased higher then the temperatures would peak in excess of 85c>, which is a little high for our tastes.
Validation is available over here.
With the voltage set at 1.25 we achieved PRIME stability at 4.5ghz. We did manage to get the processor overclocked to 4.7ghz, but voltage needed to be set at 1.3v and the temperatures were just too high for long term use. A higher grade watercooling kit would be needed to push this particular sample past 4.5ghz long term.
We spoke with some industry insiders before going live this weekend with our reviews and we were told that the Haswell chips seem to show huge variance in regards to the overclocking capabilities – some of them hit 4.9ghz and others only 4.2ghz.
We attempted to achieve the maximum overclock possible and get a post into windows. The 4770k posted at 4.9ghz with 1.35 volts but the core temperatures hit over 100c under load and it was far from prime stable. Still, if you are interested to know potential on tap, the Asus board seems to have plenty.
Remember, it is always important to use an overclock and voltage settings that won't kill the processor over time … unless you are rich or make a living out of overclocking hardware to the limits.
Is the tuf armor not restrictive though? seems to block a lot of the spots id like to get access too.
THe previous generations of this board have been superb, ive owned a few. My last one failed when I spilt coke over the top of my case and a bit of it hit the pcb. my own fault.
Not got the cash right now for an upgrade but will be later in the year. this is top of my list.
Not really that exciting a board – but rock solid. I want to see the ROG versions.
ITs a great board, what are you talking about Anusha. Its a more laid back colour scheme, hardly matters, most of it will be covered in a system build.
I do want tsee the ultra high end asus boards though.
4770k is a bit of a let down unless I couldnt afford a graphics card.
overall nice board, but im happy with my 5.0ghz 3770k
4770k is a flop. Intel are clearly focused on the mobile platform now and power reduction rather than moving forward in the high end and giving people a huge step up. anyone with a 3770k wont need to move,unless for some reason they need onboard graphics !
disappointing CPU launch, but great motherboards from the guys. I like how they have ditched the old SATA standard now instead of 3 or 4 useless ports for SSD.
4770k isn’t that bad, but I agree, its not a huge step forward. it may help those peoplee who buy a lower end processor and cant afford a graphics card, but who the F*CK will want a 4770k for onboard graphics performance? its irrelevant really.
Ive seen a lot of reviews today and there seems to be a huge variance on the overclocks, which would suggest the new manufacturing process isn’t quite at the level it should be. ill stay with my 3570k for a while longer as its working well with the 7950 I have.
How can it support Quad-SLI with only three PCI slots?
@ Billy. some nvidia cards have two GPU’s, so two of them in a pairing – quad SLI.
Example…..:
2x GTX 690 = 2×2 GPU = Quad-SLI
4x GTX Titan = 4×1 GPU = 4Way-SLI
I guess the motherboard manufacturers will be really pi55ed about the “huge” sales coming their way lol. If I were them I’d play a little with Intel for the next chipsets. Intel is going down as they follow their ambitions rather the market. They should let ARM alone and focus on the categories that made them what they are.
It’s really scary reading about all that heat coming off and about that 100i that can hardly keep up at 4.5GHz+. What about the box cooler??!
A board packed for OC is an useless piece of cr0p when OC is impossible. Now it’s AMD move, if they have a single ace up their sleeve they’d better be pulling it. It’s time…