Right now I'm using Intel's Extreme Tuner Utility to overclock my i5-6600K. I've got it seemingly stable at 4.3 Ghz. My question is...what is the advantage to using the BIOS to overclock instead of using software? I see a lot of posts around the web saying that software overclocking is the inferior method. Is it just because you have easier access to things like voltages and whatnot?
Thanks in advance for any info.
Brian
Software OCing works, but is not as stable as doing it in the BIOS. This is just my opinion. I use BIOS for my daily OC, but have used software like IETU for OC runs.
Using BIOS allows more refined settings, where software OCing tends to ramp everything up. With BIOS you can use lower voltages reducing heat. Just be careful how much you push it with the software.
Also, have a look here
Skylake Overclocking Guide [With Statistics]
Last edited by Dude; 26 Mar 2016 at 12:24.
Thanks for the info. That's kind of what I thought, just wasn't exactly sure. I think I'll keep to software OC for now until I get my new case and AIO cooler next month and then I'll change to BIOS settings. I appreciate the help.
Software OC IMO is good for making instantaneous changes and evaluating, you can typically then when happy with a setup go back into your BIOS and then make the settings changes there.
One of the reasons why software overclocking is used is on OEM computers where the BIOS does not support it. But that doesn't make it a good idea. OEM computers lack just about everything needed for safe and effective overclocking and that is why it is not supported.
@Dude steered you correctly. Software overclocking works, but everything, in my experience, is way overvolted. I have always been of the opinion that they did that just to make sure the overclock will work. Once you learn the bios settings you can usually get a higher overclock on lower voltage, or at least the same overclock on lower voltage. Voltage is wear and tear as well as heat.
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