14900k on MSI MPG Z790 Edge Wifi board. Post September 30th update - Process Lasso no longer needed - Tutorial

[Akula]

NOTE: If you have the exact same motherboard as I do, it's your lucky day. If you don't the changes are fairly basic and you should be able to find the same settings in your BIOS with the only difference being the wording. I wish these MB manufacturers would just get together and standardize the lingo. Anyhoooooo -

 

After the last big update I realized that I no longer need to use Process Lasso with DCS on my i9-14900k but I'm still seeing a lot of members claiming that they still need to use it so I thought I'd post my BIOS settings in case it helps. These settings may or may not eliminate the need for Process Lasso but since it worked for me I figure it may also work for you. Either way it will keep the 14900k running at 5.7Ghz, temps under 90c with voltage remaining under 1.3v and no 1.4-1.5volt spikes.

My System as of March, 2024
- Phanteks (PH-ES620PTG-DBK01) Enthoo Pro 2 Full Tower
- EVGA PSU 1200W
- Intel® CoreTM i9-14900K
- MSI MPG Z790 EDGE WIFI
- CORSAIR VENGEANCE DDR5 RAM 64GB (2x32GB) 6400MHz CL32
- MSI Ventus 3X GeForce RTX 3090 OC - thermal pad upgrade, much cooler now.
- SAMSUNG 49-inch Odyssey G9 Gaming Monitor | QHD, 240hz
- Trackir 5 Professional Premium Head Tracking
- **ARCTIC Liquid Freezer III 360 A-RGB - Water Cooling PC, AIO**

 

Apps you will need for testing:

• CinebenchR23
• MSI Afterburner
• HWINFO 64

To start, make sure you have the latest BIOS release running Intel’s newest microcode update if you have not yet done that. 

**NOTE** Check your MB manufacturers web site for your Specific BIOS. This is the link for the latest Bios for my motherboard.

https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/MPG-Z790-EDGE-WIFI/support

 

If you have already updated the BIOS, shut down windows and power down your system but don’t unplug the power.  Proceed to reset the CMOS (CLEAR CMOS BUTTON) by holding down the little black button on the back panel at the top of your IO shield for 20 seconds. Sorry about the blurry pic.

This will erase your all BIOS settings as well as profiles and place you back in the BIOS asking you what performance profile you would like. For now, just choose “Intel default settings (PL1: 253W)”

Press F7 to get into Advanced Mode

In the “OC” section make sure it is set to “Expert”

Make sure P-Core Ratio Apply Mode is set to [All Core]

Set P-Core Ratio to 57 to shoot for 5.7Ghz clock speed. NOTE: making this change will immediately flip your default performance profile from  “Intel default settings (PL1: 253W)” to “MSI Unlimited Settings (PL1: 4096W)” so we will manually need to lock our power settings.

Go into “Advanced CPU Configuration”

Select “Long Duration Power Limit (W)” and set it to: 253 watts.

Select “Short Duration Power Limit (W) and set it to 253

Select “CPU Current Limit (A)” and change it to 307

Ensure XMP is enabled. If you are like me and running 4 sticks of memory keep XMP *DISABLED* and in the “OC” section scroll down to “Memory Try It!” And set your memory timing profile. This is an easier and faster way for the layman to get the desired performance out of all 4 sticks of RAM without having to tinker with individual memory timings. Whatever your boost clock is, drop it down by 1000Mhz to run stable. For example, I am running 4 sticks of Corsair Vengeance RAM 4x32Gb rated @6400Mhz boost clock (XMP) but I needed drop it down to “DDR5 - 5400 CL36” to run stable.

Save your settings and boot into Windows. Your BIOS *should* successfully make the changes and boot into Windows. If it doesn’t and it flips you back into the BIOS, don’t worry. I’ve had this issue as well. It’s just because you are asking the BIOS to make a lot of changes so just shut down the PC entirely and reboot. The next time around Windows should come up. If it doesn’t, try it again and it should work. Now that windows is up and running shut it down again and go back into the BIOS to get your voltage and voltage spikes under control. 

 

Once in the BIOS, go back into the “OC” section and select “DigitALL Power”

Select “CPU Loadline Calibration Control” and set it to “Mode 7” to start. If you can run stable in “Mode 7”, try bumping it down to “Mode 6” to keep your voltages low and stable with no spiking but don’t bring it down too much. Loadline Calibration Control, ensures the 14900k gets the power it needs under load without letting the voltage spike or get too high so lowering it too much may not give the CPU the power to handle certain apps/programs and cause instability.

Open up HWINFO and CinebenchR23 and place the windows next to each other on your monitor. Run ONE cycle of Cinebench to see where you score and keep an eye on your max Core VIDs and your max Vcore. They should hold under 1.3volts showing the same numbers. A few millivolts difference (.005 - .010) is normal.

That’s pretty much it. You can play around with Load line calibration to make sure DCS runs stable but other than that you shouldn't need to make any other changes. With this setup (and proper cooling) you should be able to hit 5.7Ghz and remain under 90c under load keeping your power requests and power draws under 1.3volts. Intel says you can go as high as 1.55 volts and they may be right but I don't trust Intel given the shady way they tried to deny the voltage and degradation issues.

 

Hope this helps.

Edited October 10, 2024 by Akula