Intel Core i7-6700K Stock versus 4.8GHz Overclocked
Category : 2015
Published by Marc Büchel on 13.11.15
In this article we're going to have a closer look at what difference overclocking your CPU makes regarding performance in several different recent games. For that purpose we're going to test our Intel Core i7-6700K CPU at stock clocks as well as overclocked to 4.8 GHz.
We're finally back with our "CPU Gaming Performance" articles. Compared to the old articles we've reworked our template and you might have noticed that the navigation is not structured by games anymore but by resolutions. We're testing the three most important resolutions 1080p, 1440p and UHD all at high-details. Like in the past, we'll also have a look at power consumption temperatures of the particular cards. Last but not least you'll find our conclusion and our thoughts, where we sum everything up. We've decided to keep that part pretty short, since the test results on the previous pages are speaking for themselves.
[pagebreak]
Test Setup
|
Motherboard |
- Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1
|
| CPU |
- Intel Core i7-6700K @ Stock (Turbo On / HT On)
- Intel Core i7-6700K @ 4.8 GHz (HT On)
|
| Thermal compound |
|
| Cooler |
|
|
Memory |
- Dual Channel 2 x 8GB @ CL15-15-15-35-2T-Auto DDR4-2133 MHz
|
|
Graphics Cards |
- Gigabyte GeForce GTX 980 Ti Gaming G1
|
| Drivers |
|
| Games |
|
|
Games and OS |
|
|
System Drive |
|
|
PSU |
- Seasonic Platinum SS-1000XP / 1000 Watts
|
[pagebreak]
3DMark - Fire Strike
GPU Score - Performance
| |
Score |
FPS |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ Stock |
19'658 |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ 4.8GHz |
20'089 |
102.19 % |
GPU Score - Extreme
| |
Score |
FPS |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ Stock |
9'247 |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ 4.8GHz |
9'250 |
100.03 % |
GPU Score - Ultra
| |
Score |
FPS |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ Stock |
4'647 |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ 4.8GHz |
4'683 |
100.77 % |
Unigine Heaven 4.0 Extreme Preset
Score - 1080p
| |
Score |
FPS |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ Stock |
2'408 |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ 4.8GHz |
2'410 |
100.08 % |
Score - 1440p
| |
Score |
FPS |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ Stock |
1'506 |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ 4.8GHz |
1'509 |
100.20 % |
Score - 2160p
| |
Score |
FPS |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ Stock |
636 |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ 4.8GHz |
638 |
100.31 % |
FPS - 1080p
| |
FPS |
FPS |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ Stock |
95.60 |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ 4.8GHz |
95.60 |
100.00 % |
FPS - 1440p
| |
FPS |
FPS |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ Stock |
59.80 |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ 4.8GHz |
59.80 |
100.00 % |
FPS - 2160p
| |
FPS |
FPS |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ Stock |
25.30 |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ 4.8GHz |
25.30 |
100.00 % |
Unigine Heaven Settings |
|
1080p |
1440p |
2160p |
- Preset: Custom
- Quality: Ultra
- Tesselation: Extreme
- Stereo 3D: Disabled
- Multi Monitor: Disabled
- Anti Aliasing: 8x
- Full Screen: On
- Resolution: Custom
|
- Preset: Custom
- Quality: Ultra
- Tesselation: Extreme
- Stereo 3D: Disabled
- Multi Monitor: Disabled
- Anti Aliasing: 8x
- Full Screen: On
- Resolution: Custom
|
- Preset: Custom
- Quality: Ultra
- Tesselation: Extreme
- Stereo 3D: Disabled
- Multi Monitor: Disabled
- Anti Aliasing: 8x
- Full Screen: On
- Resolution: Custom
|
[pagebreak]
1080P Games
Battlefield 4
| |
Score |
FPS |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ Stock |
137.97 |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ 4.8GHz |
139.18 |
100.88 % |
Watch Dogs
| |
Score |
FPS |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ Stock |
103.79 |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ 4.8GHz |
110.10 |
106.08 % |
Tomb Raider
| |
Score |
FPS |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ Stock |
85.10 |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ 4.8GHz6 |
85.60 |
100.59 % |
Crysis 3
| |
FPS |
FPS |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ Stock |
54.79 |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ 4.8GHz |
54.98 |
100.35 % |
Thief
| |
FPS |
FPS |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ Stock |
98.70 |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ 4.8GHz |
99.90 |
101.22 % |
Sleeping Dogs
| |
FPS |
FPS |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ Stock |
121.00 |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ 4.8GHz |
122.50 |
101.24% |
Metro Last Light
| |
Score |
FPS |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ Stock |
85.33 |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ 4.8GHz |
85.59 |
100.30 % |
Far Cry 4
| |
Score |
FPS |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ Stock |
101.83 |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ 4.8GHz |
105.05 |
103.16 % |
GRID Autosport
| |
FPS |
FPS |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ Stock |
130.24 |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ 4.8GHz |
140.10 |
107.57 % |
[pagebreak]
1440P Games
Battlefield 4
| |
Score |
FPS |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ Stock |
91.15 |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ 4.8GHz |
92.43 |
101.40 % |
Watch Dogs
| |
Score |
FPS |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ Stock |
94.36 |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ 4.8GHz |
94.61 |
100.26 % |
Tomb Raider
| |
Score |
FPS |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ Stock |
52.70 |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ 4.8GHz |
52.90 |
100.38 % |
Crysis 3
| |
FPS |
FPS |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ Stock |
34.48 |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ 4.8GHz |
34.60 |
100.35 % |
Thief
| |
FPS |
FPS |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ Stock |
79.80 |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ 4.8GHz |
80.40 |
100.75 % |
Sleeping Dogs
| |
FPS |
FPS |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ Stock |
73.70 |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ 4.8GHz |
74.20 |
100.68 % |
Metro Last Light
| |
Score |
FPS |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ Stock |
55.00 |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ 4.8GHz |
55.21 |
100.38 % |
Far Cry 4
| |
Score |
FPS |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ Stock |
66.07 |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ 4.8GHz |
68.63 |
103.87 % |
GRID Autosport
| |
FPS |
FPS |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ Stock |
130.24 |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ 4.8GHz |
140.10 |
107.57 % |
[pagebreak]
2160P Games
Battlefield 4
| |
Score |
FPS |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ Stock |
48.35 |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ 4.8GHz |
48.74 |
100.81 % |
Watch Dogs
| |
Score |
FPS |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ Stock |
52.54 |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ 4.8GHz |
52.63 |
100.17 % |
Tomb Raider
| |
Score |
FPS |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ Stock |
24.80 |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ 4.8GHz |
25.20 |
101.61 % |
Crysis 3
| |
FPS |
FPS |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ Stock |
14.30 |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ 4.8GHz |
15.38 |
107.55 % |
Thief
| |
FPS |
FPS |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ Stock |
44.80 |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ 4.8GHz |
45.30 |
101.12 % |
Sleeping Dogs
| |
FPS |
FPS |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ Stock |
32.20 |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ 4.8GHz |
32.70 |
101.55 % |
Metro Last Light
| |
Score |
FPS |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ Stock |
27.00 |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ 4.8GHz |
27.09 |
100.33 % |
Far Cry 4
| |
Score |
FPS |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ Stock |
29.36 |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ 4.8GHz |
31.08 |
105.86 % |
GRID Autosport
| |
FPS |
FPS |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ Stock |
71.19 |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ 4.8GHz |
75.24 |
105.69 % |
[pagebreak]
Power Consumption
|
Idle Watt |
% |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ Stock |
60 |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ 4.8GHz |
60 |
100.00 % |
|
Load Watt |
% |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ Stock |
206 |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ 4.8GHz |
271 |
131.55 % |
[pagebreak]
Temperatures / Noise Levels
Temperature
|
Idle °C |
Load °C |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ Stock |
26 |
82 |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ 4.8GHz |
28 |
91 |
[pagebreak]
Performance Index &
Price
Performance Index 1080p
|
% |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ Stock |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ 4.8GHz |
102.38 % |
Performance Index 1440p
|
% |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ Stock |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ 4.8GHz |
101.74 % |
Performance Index 2160p
|
% |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ Stock |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ 4.8GHz |
102.74 % |
Performance Index Average 1080p, 1440p & 2160p
|
% |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ Stock |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ 4.8GHz |
102.29 % |
Price
| Intel Core i7-6700K @ Stock |
|
[pagebreak]
Conclusion
In this article we've had a closer look at what effect overclocking an Intel Core i7-6700K to 4.8 GHz has regarding gaming performance. Default this CPU clocks at 4.2GHz and therefore bumping the frequencies to 4.8 GHz makes for an overclocking of 14.29%. On average - over all different resolutions - this accounts for a 2.29% performance bump. This means that the difference is actually measurable but since the scaling is not linear (14.29% clock boost doesn't mean 14.29% performance boost) you really don't have to expect miracles from overclocking your CPU.
Apart from the performance benefits overclocking your CPU means your system will burn more power. If you keep things like Intels Turbo active, then the CPU will downclock, when there is no load and the CPU will also change the voltage to a lower value. This results in good energy efficiency. For these test we simply bumped the multiplier to 48 and we didn't change any other parameter, leaving the motherboard and CPU in control of changing voltages. In idle the power consumption overclocked and stock are identical, since the CPU is being downclocked and driven at a lower voltage automatically. On the other hand when the CPU is running at 4.8 GHz the voltage shoots up from 1.36V to 1.456V - in the case of our CPU. In the end it's especially the voltage, which makes for a higher power consumption. Comparing the results we see that the system with the running stock clocks burns 206 Watt, whereas the overclocked setup pulls 271 Watts from the plug - 31.55 percent difference. Overall it's fairly safe to say, that overclocking your Skylake CPU will require come some more juice from the plug.
Apparently overclocking is fun, but when it comes to the plain facts regarding gaming performance, we
see that there is almost no difference apart from increased power consumption.
