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

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.

Comments

Fake overclocking

[bluefoxlucid]

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.

Re:Fake overclocking

[Grishnakh]

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.

Re:Fake overclocking

[bluefoxlucid]

As a general rule, X processor model runs at Y speed these days. The processes are stable at high power outputs, but marketed as 80W CPUs. Most modern processors even run by default at a low clock and add 400-600MHz in "Turbo Mode" automatically when the CPU is running under sufficient load--meaning they just do regular old CPU scaling, but save the higher clock rate for when you're trying to use it. If you run SETI@HOME, they run in turbo mode 100% of the time.

Re:Fake overclocking

[PRMan]

And in 2009, I bought a $59 AMD 2-core Phenom X2 and turned on the other 2 cores on the motherboard to turn it into a $580 4-core Phenom X4. Stock cooler, no overvoltage. It's been running that way for almost 7 years no problem.

Re:Fake overclocking

[citizenr]

My AMD FX-8320E can easily have the base clocked cranked up to around 4.5Ghz-4.6Ghz..... I have yet to find a game or program that my chip can't just blow through

  types that don't know shit about CPU arches and think cranking an i3 is gonna somehow make them competitive with an i7, so for them...yay I guess?

oh, how wrong you are :)
try World of Tanks ( http://worldoftanks.eu/ ), SINGLE THREADED game written in python (and some ActionScript!) of all the languages :)
You will find your FX overclocked to 4.6GHz barely pushing 60fps, and being beaten by $30 Intel cpus. Doesnt really matter if its Core2, pentium, i3 i5 or i7, all that counts is MHz and raw IPC.

Re:Cat got your tongue? (something important seems

[Anonymous Coward]

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

eventuated

[Anonymous Coward]

Is eventuated the new hip business buzzword?

Re: No

[ArmoredDragon]

Therm-trip feature. Basically the CPU resets itself when its internal thermal sensor indicates that its a few degrees (I think 5?) centigrade below catastrophic temperature point (where the blue smoke is released.) Still possible to damage the CPU, just very unlikely, and its not good on it if you keep it up long term.

That won't prevent applications from crashing (you'll get electron migration well before catastrophic temps) hence the game crashed, and you're guaranteed either a system freeze or a reboot.

Re:Overclocking?

[Lumpy]

too bad programmers never to that memo and still write 90% of all software as single threaded.

Re:Cat got your tongue? (something important seems

[billcopc]

Sure, and that's the very definition of binning, but they must also account for demand. If Intel's process improvements yield a higher ratio of top-binned chips than the market is willing to buy, those chips will be locked and sold as the faster-selling SKU. Better to sell the thing and still make a few bucks, than have it rot in a warehouse with a $1000 price tag.