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Overclocking the Intel Core i9-10900K (Comet Lake) to 5.4GHz on all 10 Cores

In this article, we’ll show you how to overclock the Intel Core i9-10900K (Comet Lake) from the default speed of 3.7GHz to a whopping 5.4GHz on all 10 cores, by simply changing a few BIOS settings on the ASRock Z490 Steel Legend motherboard. And what’s even better … this was all done using just a standard AIO CPU cooler (no LN2 or dry-ice).

Intel’s 10th Gen (Comet Lake) desktop processors made its debut on 30th April. The Core i9-10900K, which still uses 14nm technology, comes with Intel UHD Graphics 630 onboard, as well as 20MB of L3 cache. It has a massive TDP of 125W and features 10 cores/20 threads running at a base frequency of 3.7GHz, with a Turbo Boost of up to 5.3GHz.

Many people have said …so what’s so special about overclocking the Intel Core i9-10900K to 5.4GHz? It can already Turbo Boost to 5.3GHz anyway. Yes that’s true, but many people don’t realize that the Turbo Boost of 5.3GHz, is only achieved on 1-2 cores, and not on all 10 cores. If fact, the highest default Turbo Boost on the Core i9-10900K on all 10 cores is actually around 4.9GHz.

What we’re are doing here, is to overclock the Core i9-10900K to 5.4GHz on ALL 10 cores, not just 1 or 2 cores. To achieve this we had to increase CPU voltages, set the CPU ratio, manually set the core count and fix the CPU cache ratio. Let’s BEGIN! …

 

 

The Core i9-10900K is Intel’s 10th Gen flagship desktop processor featuring 10 cores and 20 threads, with a base clock speed of 3.7GHz and a max Turbo Boost of up to 5.3GHz. It’s only compatible with Intel 400 series chipset based motherboards, and uses a new type of socket – LGA1200. So unfortunately, users with previous generation of 300 series motherboards … you’re out of luck. You’ll need to upgrade your motherboard, and get yourself one of the newer Intel 400 series chipset based motherboard if you want you use a 10th Gen Intel processor.

  • 10 Cores / 20 Threads
  • Socket type LGA 1200
  • Up to 5. 3 GHz unlocked
  • Compatible with Intel 400 series chipset based motherboards
  • Intel Turbo Boost Max Technology 3. 0 support
  • Intel Optane Memory support

 

According to Intel’s specifications, the Intel Core i9-10900K has a TDP of 125W! Yes 125W TDP … which means it can run quite hot if you don’t have sufficient cooling. We highly recommend using a good all-in-one liquid cooler (AIO). See our test rig below. In this example, we used a Cooler Master MasterLiquid Pro 240 AIO.

 

Before we start, here’s a quick disclaimer:

Disclaimer: Overclocking is never guaranteed, so the results may vary depending on certain conditions and various hardware configurations. I am not recommending overclocking if you do not know what are you doing. High voltages may damage hardware and it will not be covered by warranty.

 

 

The BIOS settings

For our tests, we’ll be using an ASRock Z490 Steel Legend motherboard. You can check out the review of the ASRock Z490 Steel Legend motherboard here. After some tweaking in the BIOS, I was able to overclock the Intel Core i9-10900K from a default of 3.7GHz to a whopping 5.4Ghz. That’s an extra 1.7GHz overclock … excellent!

Here’s a screenshot of the BIOS settings to achieve my overclock in few simple steps.

  1. Set the CPU Ratio to All Core
  2. Set All Core to 54
  3. AVX2 Ratio Offset is left untouched on Auto
  4. Set CPU Cache Ratio to 37

 

  1. Set the CPU/Cache Voltage toFixed Mode
  2. Increase the Fixed Voltage (V) to 1.400

 

Everything else was left at default or Auto.  Save settings and reboot.

Now that we’ve managed to overclock the Intel Core i9-10900K to 5.4GHz, let’s check out the full load temperatures on our next page …

 

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3 comments

Marcus Taylor 18 January 2024 at 13:15

You want the cache speed higher for better performance, stock is 4.3ghz, I found 4.7ghz to be optimum with 3733 mem and 4.9ghz clock. I’ve pushed to 5.3 on all cores but performance was down. I’m an overclocker running an Apex Z590, currently ranked 26th in the UK. I’ve been as high as 12th when I did liquid nitrogen.

Reply
Tibby 3 March 2024 at 21:35

My i9-10900KF is running at 5.3Ghz all cores . Ring Ration 4.8Ghz. Memory 4266Mhz . (tested once on 5.1Ghz ring ration as well)
My Pc – Windows 11 Pro – is working stable at 5.4Ghz too (the rest being the same) – but cooling is not sufficient for a stress test.
I am using a 360mm AIO.

I will switch to a a custom water loop and Mora3 – will definitely go ok on 5.4Ghz full load too

Who said there little to no difference by havinf100-200Mhz more is wrong
My system is having a noticeable faster Windows daily experience 5.3Ghz compared to 5.1Ghz all cores.

(if we talk about OC … with this MoBo and CPU – I tested it with a Intel TEC CryoCooler . I managed to have speeds like 5.5-5.6Ghz. But only light loads and OC applied after boot , in Windows , with XTU . Not worthed – but was fun for an test)

(I am in Uk too – no ranking whatsoever . lol ).

Yes, on my previous system , I was no1 at some point with an i7-10700k ….

Reply
Winston 3 March 2024 at 22:24

Well done 👏

Reply

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