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Locked Intel Skylake CPUs Can Be Overclocked After BIOS Update (techspot.com)

Posted by Soulskill on from the need-for-speed dept.

jjslash writes: For a few years now, Intel CPU overclocking has been limited to more expensive Core i5 and Core i7 'K' processors. Skylake launched this year with the rumor of strong non-K processor overclocking through an adjustable base clock, but that never eventuated... until now. In overclocking circles it was rumored that BCLK (base clock) overclocking might become a possibility in Skylake processors, but it would be up to motherboard manufacturers to circumvent Intel's restrictions. Asrock, Asus and a few other motherboard manufacturers are said to be issuing a BIOS update soon that will unlock base clock overclocking on Z170 motherboards. TechSpot has got an early look, overclocking a locked Core i3-6100 to 4.7GHz on air cooling.

3 of 89 comments (clear)

  1. Fake overclocking by bluefoxlucid · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Old days: the processor should run at 200MHz. You can push 215MHz, but you need to modify the vcore. The processor might be unstable. You might need additional cooling. The gates might just not switch correctly at that speed (miller capacitance...) without a vcore high enough to blow the chip. It's stamped 200MHz for a reason.

    Modern times: that's a 4.7GHz processor clocked at 3.8GHz. You buy it, you turn it up to 4.7GHz, don't mess with anything else, it runs 60C at full load under stock configuration. That processor came underclocked out of the box.

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    1. Re:Fake overclocking by Grishnakh · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Um, I thought "binning" hadn't really changed, and that lower-clocked processors were usually sold that way because they didn't pass the higher-clock tests. Of course, you could get lucky because they probably also bin a lot of them at lower clocks just because there's more demand for cheaper CPUs, and to keep the prices of the high-clock versions high, but you're betting that you're getting a CPU binned for a lower clockspeed only for sales purposes rather than test purposes, and there's no way to know which yours is.

  2. Re:Cat got your tongue? (something important seems by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Or you could just not overclock. These CPUs — including the non-K versions — automatically overclock themselves anyhow.