[Techspot] BCLK overclocking non-K Intel Skylake CPUs is now possible, tested here

[poofyhairguy]

Just buy the K model, it is not that expensive.

We would but Intel won't release an unlocked i3.

If Intel cuts off the unofficial overclocking there goes the most interesting part about Skylake. With its lack of HDMI 2.0, or a full HEVC decoder, and barely any IPC bump it would be a snoozeville generation without the overclockable i3s.

 

[Magic Carpet]

Kaby Lake is the direct contradiction of that. Enhanced BCLK OC. So its safe to say its here to stay.

Yeah perhaps for the K-enabled CPUs. Intel never mentioned the BLCK OC availability for their non K SKUs (unless I am missing this info). What the mobo vendors are doing is amazing, though... I wish, it stays that way.

But looking back, most of the B85 mobos now have lost Turbo OC on non-K SKUs with later CPU microcodes, I am not so optimistic anymore. And the newer parts/revisions are shipping with the new BIOS/microcode out ot the box.

So yeah, it's best to buy 47x0K/6700K and call it a day.

 

[ShintaiDK]

Nobody BCLK OC on K. Its for non K.

Assuming its not just Asrock that messed up (MSI still BCLK OC just fine). Then I am sure we see a comeback with Kaby Lake. The BCLK penalties was rather steep.

 

[Magic Carpet]

@ShintaiDK

Interesting. Can we get anything official from Intel, though?

Or is it just unofficial gimmick that when/if removed, no biggies?

Or is it just those slides?

In a statement given to CPU World, unnamed Intel spokesman said the following:

“Intel regularly issues updates for our processors which our partners voluntarily incorporate into their BIOS. The latest update provided to partners includes, among other things, code that aligns with the position that we do not recommend overclocking processors that have not been designed to do so. Additionally, Intel does not warranty the operation of the processor beyond its specifications.”

For example, ASRock was the first manufacturer we are aware of – that released a BIOS update containing the ‘no overclocking unless it’s K’. Do note that this update is different from the one that was released to prevent Skylake processors from crashing in demanding workloads. By the end of February, we expect that all motherboard vendors abide by Intel’s ruling. But – if you don’t update your BIOS, overclocking the BCLK feature – stays for as long as you have the motherboard.

 

[ShintaiDK]

Havent seen anything from anyone besides Asrock. Anyone know if others removed it? I know MSI didn't.

 

[Magic Carpet]

I bet, with future BIOS updates that might as well happen for MSI.

 

[jpiniero]

Nobody BCLK OC on K. Its for non K.

Sure looks like the BCLK OC was meant to be K only. Most people wouldn't bother I imagine but it does give you more options and you might be able to squeeze out a little bit more Mhz.

 

[Magic Carpet]

So yeah, moral of the story:

don't update bios unless you know what you are doing.

or

don't fix what ain't broken.

Yeah.

 

[dark zero]

So yeah, moral of the story:

don't update bios unless you know what you are doing.

or

don't fix what ain't broken.

Yeah.

Nope... The true moral is...
Stupidity is even bigger than the universe itself.

Also... That means that Kabylake will come likely dead. An aborted generation... Congrats Intel.

 

[Burpo]

So yeah, moral of the story:

don't update bios unless you know what you are doing.

:thumbsup:

 

[jihe]

Hopefully somebody's downloaded all the OC bioses and will put up a mirror.

 

[DrMrLordX]

Probably. For those that really want it, it'll be an option provided the board isn't locked on to a newer BIOS/UEFI before purchase (some boards don't regress UEFI revs elegantly, or at all, it seems). Sadly it still means that the Skylake non-k OC bugs will probably never be fixed, or addressed in any way.

 

[Excessi0n]

Nobody BCLK OC on K. Its for non K.

Sure they do, if they actually want to maximize their overclock. You're restricted to multiples of 100 MHz if you don't change the baseclock.

 

[superstition]

Looks like a title update is in order.

 

[Burpo]

Why? It's still possible, long as you don't run latest bios..

 

[Dufus]

Nobody BCLK OC on K. Its for non K.

Assuming its not just Asrock that messed up (MSI still BCLK OC just fine). Then I am sure we see a comeback with Kaby Lake. The BCLK penalties was rather steep.

Likely Intel could have patched to enable bclk overclocking without users having to resort to the exploit which doesn't initialize power management.

What makes you think they will change their ways with Kaby?

 

[Timur Born]

Sorry for the off-topic (cannot send PMs yet), but may I ask which software you used for reading the c-states and temps? Does it also read c-states of Xeon CPUs like the last beta version of Realtemp does (Throttlestop refuses to run on Xeon CPUs)?

Thanks in advance!

 

[dark zero]

Likely Intel could have patched to enable bclk overclocking without users having to resort to the exploit which doesn't initialize power management.

What makes you think they will change their ways with Kaby?

Or maybe they will do the things properly and NOT releasing any OC capabilities in non K/C/R Kabylake.

BTW, seems that Xeons can still be OCed... Intel must patch it before people realize it and starts to go Xeon.

 

[Dufus]

may I ask which software you used for reading the c-states and temps? Does it also read c-states of Xeon CPUs like the last beta version of Realtemp does (Throttlestop refuses to run on Xeon CPUs)?

It's just some rough software I wrote myself, not really user friendly. Temperatures are read from memory mapped locations and not MSR's and should still work for SKL even when using the bclk OC hack. These memory locations seem to have only been documented with start of SKL even though they have been around for some generations before. Maybe that's why they are not generally used in other softwares. The package temp doesn't seem to be anything other than the hottest iGD or core temp.

I don't know about Xeons, I haven't used one or looked at which registers are used by them. Which one did you have in mind?

If you post some CPU info for your Xeon to Unclewebb then most likely he would be happy to integrate it into TS. Might want to post some feedback and pics to him if that happens so he can check if everything is working as expected.

He frequents here quite often, sometimes on AT and HF.

 

[Timur Born]

TS refuses to start on Xeons (unsupported CPU), but I assume that Realtemp_TI does read the same registers for c-states anyway. The read-out rate is lower than TS, though, and generally I am always on the lookout for other options to compare to (to get a bigger picture). Intel offers some software, but they made it harder to get your hands on it.

Did you provide the "What limits" part/plugin of TS?

 

[Dufus]

Limit Reasons? Sort of, it was modified for a user to check his throttling reasons then asked if it could be integrated into TS.

Have you tried https://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/intel-performance-counter-monitor

 

[Vesku]

Just when I was thinking of getting a Skylake i3 or low-end i5 build to play with, ugh. Now I'm concerned I'll be stuck at a specific BIOS or even worse that Intel will implement this Skylake OC block in a future Windows Update. Just going to skip Skylake now, probably.

What is causing the mixed messages from Intel? Sales and marketing folks giving a wink and a nod for the sales boost, at least for non-K OC in Z series chipset boards, and then warranty and QA acting as the bad guys to tell everyone the party is over?

 

[Timur Born]

Limit Reasons? Sort of, it was modified for a user to check his throttling reasons then asked if it could be integrated into TS.

Have you tried https://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/intel-performance-counter-monitor

Ah, yes, Limit Reasons then (sitting at a laptop right now that uses an older version of TS). Thanks for the Intel link, I don't even have any compiler installed, though, even if I may make it through the build/make process.

There also is Intel Battery Life Analyzer, but at one point the NDA policy was changed, so it's harder to get to.

 

[Caminetto]

Why? It's still possible, long as you don't run latest bios..

I don't quite comprehend how anyone but an infinitesimal lucky few ever got an overclocked non K system.

It was my understanding back in December that the overclocking community had just found that BCLK overclocking was possible in Skylake processors, but that it required motherboard manufacturers to circumvent Intel's restrictions and provide updated bios that enabled it.

Now any new bios released will most certainly have Intel constraints.

 

[Burpo]

You can still overclock non-K CPU's.. Files are out there for all kinds of boards..

http://overclocking.guide/asrock-z170-non-k-overclocking-guide/

http://overclocking.guide/msi-z170-non-k-overclocking-guide/

http://overclocking.guide/gigabyte-z170-non-k-overclocking-guide/

http://overclocking.guide/asus-z170-non-k-overclocking-guide/