Overclocking a CPU

I am upgrading my system to a new MB, DDR5 (5600) memory and a i9 12900k CPU to take full advantage of the Nvidia 3090ti I recently purchased. I have never overclocked a CPU before, but I was wondering if there any advantage to overclocking for use with Resolve? I am using 18.1 studio.

Just let the system do what it wants. If your cooling is adequate it'll run basically full bore. If your cooling isn't up to the I9 the system will downshift to more reasonable levels.

Assuming you bought a decent motherboard , PSU and cooler you don't really need to do anything.

Thanks. The MB is a Asus 690-A Prime. The PSU is a 1000W Corsair Gold and the cooler is a Noctua NH-D15S.

I am not sure if possible with that CPU model, but best way to get more speed from a CPU is to undervolt. That way the CPU do not produce as much heat for a certain Ghz so the system can push more.

I doubt that it's really worth all the effort for what inevitably turns out to be a mediocre gain at best.

When I'm editing I value the reliability and robustness of my hardware over a 10 percent speed gain. Given the way we edit, a faster computer will spend most of its time simply waiting more quickly for user-input.

Even GPU overlcolcking won't make an awful lot of difference.

I have seen reports of issues that turned out to be the result of overclocking - memory, CPU, or GPU.

My preference would be to let things be.

heat is a problem when you start to churn big amount of data. If you have a good cooling system, like a good water one, you can stand some overclocking.

however, a lot it depend on your file type: if you work with prores for example, CPU load is low anyway and it is not worth it.

I've got no 3090i, and I don't know what you use DaVinci for. Nevertheless, respecting to what I do I doubt that your 12900k could provide the bottleneck, especially as you have only one GPU. Instead of asking the forum, better watch which component is driven into the limits by your usual workflow. When you observe high CPU-loads you might want to check the Decode Options of the System Preferences as well as the Memory and GPU settings.

I wouldn't bother, CPU bottleneck is pretty uncommon in Resolve unless you have some specific CPU decode media like unaccelerated h265 or 8K Red with no GPU assist.

If he does CPU renders the CPU will be the bottleneck (assumption being GPU does not slow down the encode), Ryzen 5950x would be best, but if he doesn't, either is fine. A 5.2ghz overclock is 330watts of power, You need water cooling for that. probably 280mm radiator. Your air cooler would also be inappropriate for CPU renders when 12900K is not overclocked. It won't be able to sustain 240watts, it has a very limited heat reservoir, a 280mm radiator on the other hand can contain much more heat

The heat reservoir helps you avoid ramping the fans every few seconds but in a long render you'll have both at full heat.

His case matters. Fans both number and placement matters. Room temperature can matter.

Thanks to all for your time and comments. The consensus appears to be the cooler in not the correct choice. I will look at the other options available. I am using a very large case, Cooler Master 932Haf, but fitting a large cooler fan setup may be a challenge. Thanks again!

Don't overclock the CPU for Resolve. The gains are minimal, but the system stress is not minimal. You could end up with stability problems.

I'm not sure why some are insisting that the Noctua cooler is inadequate for your CPU running at stock speed. I would inquire of Noctua, before looking into water coolers. The 12900K does have a factory "turbo" mode -- which is like an official overclock, which draws more watts -- but Noctua should be able to answer that as well. Customer service is responsive.

You might get more benefit from more or better case fans.

That cooler is fine. It would run slightly cooler/quieter with a closed loop cooler with a big radiator and two fans, but I wouldn't bother.

See this page for Noctua's thoughts on your processor and fan:

https://ncc.noctua.at/cpus/model/Intel- ... 2900K-1577

Case design and your exhaust fans make a difference. Make sure you have a good case back fan, and perhaps a fan on top, assuming there is a screen there.

Thanks. The MB is a Asus 690-A Prime. The PSU is a 1000W Corsair Gold and the cooler is a Noctua NH-D15S.

. I am using a very large case, Cooler Master 932Haf, but fitting a large cooler fan setup may be a challenge. Thanks again!

It's not the case size so much. Some cases breath better. I assume a HAF is a high airflow designed to breath and not a closed up case designed to be quiet.

My case has six fans. Three on the front for intake. Two on the top and one rear. All exhaust. The fan curve keeps most of them either off or low RPM if the system is running cool. It took a few minutes to setup the fan curve but nothing too difficult.

Since cooling is being mentioned. Here's a suggestion from another angle. There is a free fan utiltiy out there that Jayztwocents reviewed. It has features none of the manufacturers programs have.

For example you can have a curve where it accelerates not only your CPU and GPU cooler fans under load, but can piggyback the case fans to also increase when the GPU temperature hits your settings instead of relying on only case or CPU temperature to control the case fans. This way, you can get more airflow through the case earlier when load picks up, than you would with standard fan controls. I installed it in my system and love the way it works.

Here's Jay's full explanation / review. If only this had been out years ago.
Title on youtube is
Everyone NEEDS this FREE piece of software... You will thank me!

Resolve is so GPU-dependent that I too do not think CPU overclocking is worth the trouble.

And since you are using an air cooler, you will increase your in-case temps, which will likely affect your GPU temps. Which may throttle down thus affecting your GPU performance.

Resolve is so GPU-dependent that I too do not think CPU overclocking is worth the trouble.

And since you are using an air cooler, you will increase your in-case temps, which will likely affect your GPU temps. Which may throttle down thus affecting your GPU performance.

I mostly use CPU encode because Resolve is so GPU dependant. maybe 35% CPU, so from my point of view, why not harness the higher quality/smaller file size of CPU render to take up the remaining CPU, which can now result in 100% CPU load, I have to restrict my CPU to 175watts to avoid thermal throttling. This is with a 200watt air cooler, the OP's cooler is 210watt tdp, and will see 230watts draw with a 100% CPU render with default settings.

If you only ever do hardware renders not such a problem