BSODs while playing games, Error IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

ICIT2LOL · 07 Sep 2017

Yep well I don't really understand fully what you are saying because I have only ever done OC on odd occasions and not being an avid gamer I have no need to.

Having said that though it is a matter of common sense to know that if you push things ie a CPU to the extreme limits of it's speed then it comes at a cost just as you would with say a car racing engine designed to occasionally or be capable of very high speeds and therefore the extra stress levels on it components will cause it to wear ata faster rate than what it was designed for. I am not saying anyone is wrong by using OC on anything as long as thye realise it is swings and roundabouts when it comes to longevity in anything.

Me I am a marathon runner rather than a sprinter and I expect longer life out of my gear rather than a short time span for the quicker pace. One must remember we are in some cases dealing with components today that are manufactured and operate at atomic levels which makes "wear limits" that much more critical.

essenbe · 07 Sep 2017

@RedBalloon, Do you have any of the Gigabyte overclocking and system monitoring utilities installed? I believe they call it Easy Tune, and OC Guru or something like that? If you do, please uninstall all of any Gigabyte utilities you have installed.

RedBalloon · 07 Sep 2017

Hi @essenbe

No, those utilities are not installed on my system.

I had previously overclocked my CPU via the BIOS using the multiplier, while leaving the voltages set to "Auto." I was stable at 4.5GHz for about six months this way. When some instabilities arose I attempted to dial in a higher voltage (never above 1.39V), then simply removed the overclock altogether and setting voltage back to "Auto." I couldn't seem to get any stability above 4.2GHz.

Now I have disabled Intel Turbo Boost in addition to removing my overclock, since I have seen some crashes in my games. I'm at 4.0GHz with voltage set to "Auto" and so far have not seen the previous instability.

essenbe · 07 Sep 2017

I"m glad that worked for you and you are stable now. But, 1.39V is not high enough to permanently damage a 6700K. I wouldn't worry too much about that part. It may be higher than most would run for a 24/7 overclock. But, not so high it should damage it. But, your CPU was designed by Intel to work with turbo boost.

RedBalloon · 07 Sep 2017

Thanks @essenbe. I am worried that my motherboard may have pushed beyond 1.39V when I had the CPU Core Voltage set to "Auto" early on while overclocking to 4.5GHz. I can't confirm that happened but have read others who claim that motherboards were giving their i7 processors more juice than necessary at stock settings, before BIOS updates corrected this.

I'd love to turn Turbo Boost back on, but I have a feeling that my particular i7 needs more voltage than my motherboard supplies at the 4.2 GHz clock speed. I considered increasing the core voltage with Turbo Boost enabled but I wouldn't want to fry the chip.

Is there a safe, max 24/7 voltage I should aim for while I try re-enabling Turbo Boost? I don't want to damage my CPU but it would be great to see the full 4.2GHz again.

essenbe · 07 Sep 2017

Stock voltage should be fine. Turbo boost is stock. You can download an application such as CPUz and it will tell you what voltage you are actually pulling as well as what frequency your CPU is running. A few other things as well.
Maybe @worf105 will stop buy and give you some advice.

RedBalloon · 07 Sep 2017

Thanks @essenbe. I sincerely appreciate the helpful attitude of yours and this forum.

CPU-Z says that my Core Voltage is currently 1.248 V. I still have Turbo Boost turned off because my experience is that my games will start crashing with Turbo Boost turned on. Perhaps I could set my Core Voltage higher than 1.248 V and turn Turbo Boost back on, but I'd rather know why the processor is having this problem at the "Auto" settings.

essenbe · 07 Sep 2017

I don't have a 6700K, so I can't give you specifics. I can tell you that the CPU was designed by Intel to use turbo boost and it should run at stock voltage with turbo on, as long as the base clock and multiplier are at stock for your CPU. If it won't, I suspect there is some other problem. Maybe WORF will be able to help.

worf105 · 08 Sep 2017

Hi RedBallon. Can you do the following and report back.

Turn on turbo boost and set your core voltage to manual at 1.4 volts. Watch your temps

worf105 · 08 Sep 2017

Can this tread be moved to the overclocking section