EVGA 750i FTW Overclock Thread

[JNielson]

does nobody have a q9400 on a 750i ftw? i wouldnt be suprised considering how much of a nightmare trying to get this thing stable... i know its not my ram since it will take tighter timings (5-5-5-15 1T instead of 5-6-6-18 2T). I am not trying to do two things at once.... when i try OCing, i set the timings back to stock. Also i dont get why i can have it stable at 1443 but when i go to 1450 it acts just like it does at 1600. I have been working on this thing for almost two months and no luck. I would list my idle temps but they are stuck at 33 33 46 46 untill it hits around 50c. I have tried every damn setting there is and im still stuck with my small OC of 2.886. I set the vcore to 1.35v and fsb to 1.35v and memory voltage is 2.15v SPP is at 1.45. All gtlvrefs are set to 0 atm since it doesnt matter what i set them at, it freezes. I can get through 1mb on superpi before it freezes but if i run prime95 it instantly freezes (i mean as soon as i hit the start button). Any ideas what is wrong? If you need screenshots ill post them.

EDIT:2.886Ghz just failed intel burntest... is there something wrong with my cpu?

[Vecte]

Originally Posted by JNielson

does nobody have a q9400 on a 750i ftw? i wouldnt be suprised considering how much of a nightmare trying to get this thing stable... i know its not my ram since it will take tighter timings (5-5-5-15 1T instead of 5-6-6-18 2T). I am not trying to do two things at once.... when i try OCing, i set the timings back to stock. Also i dont get why i can have it stable at 1443 but when i go to 1450 it acts just like it does at 1600. I have been working on this thing for almost two months and no luck. I would list my idle temps but they are stuck at 33 33 46 46 untill it hits around 50c. I have tried every damn setting there is and im still stuck with my small OC of 2.886. I set the vcore to 1.35v and fsb to 1.35v and memory voltage is 2.15v SPP is at 1.45. All gtlvrefs are set to 0 atm since it doesnt matter what i set them at, it freezes. I can get through 1mb on superpi before it freezes but if i run prime95 it instantly freezes (i mean as soon as i hit the start button). Any ideas what is wrong? If you need screenshots ill post them.

EDIT:2.886Ghz just failed intel burntest... is there something wrong with my cpu?

Unlikely that there is anything wrong with the CPU, it is just the FSB hole on the nVidia chipset. First thing, you are likely going to have to raise your FSB and SPP up. I couldn't get anything stable unless FSB was at 1.4v, and SPP was at 1.5v. Another thing I recommend is raising the FSB up to 1700-1800, and lowering your multiplier.

The thermal spec is also rather high on your cpu, so I wouldn't be afraid to give it more voltage. As long as the cores don't get much past 60, you should be alright I would think. I could be wrong though, so double check with someone who knows for certain.

[JNielson]

i heard 65c and im guessing it is because of the vdroop... drops .024v under load. That is when it is only at 2.886Ghz so im guessing that is the main problem and i am going to do pencil mod... i just need to know whether to use a softer lead (6B) or to use hb
EDIT:6B wont harm anything...

[Vecte]

Your thermal spec is 71.4, which is pretty high for a 45nm chip. Also, like I have said before, it is EXTREMELY unlikely that vdroop is your problem. nVidia chipsets have horrid FSB holes, which causes the majority of overclocking issues. Try raising your FSB, and lowering your multiplier. If you are dead set on doing the pencil mod, then just buy a regular #2 pencil.

As a point of reference, 4.0GHz on 45nm quad core chips normally need 1.4v flat. Of course, every chip is different, so this can't hold true for everything, but it is at least a start. See how much vdroop is lowering your voltages, and then just raise your BIOs setting up, to where the actual voltage will match what you need. Be sure to watch your load temps though. I had a much lower thermal spec than what I thought, and was flirting close with danger. I just ordered some water cooling so I can continue my journey up.

[JNielson]

yeah it wasnt vdroop... i didnt shade it anymore because i figured if it is only .008 now and it is still doing it, something else is the problem... Paying attention to windows loading, it seems like i can do whatever while programs are loading and then when it hits idle, it crashes. I seriously dont know what would cause that and i have went as far as 1.3925 (gives me 1.362v). and i know about the voltage thing... is R0 a bad stepping?

Also is it normal for my temps to read like 33 33 46 46 or 28 28 41 41 idle? I think i read it was due to tjmax being so inaccurate at low temps but just wanted to make sure.

[Vecte]

Originally Posted by JNielson

yeah it wasnt vdroop... i didnt shade it anymore because i figured if it is only .008 now and it is still doing it, something else is the problem... Paying attention to windows loading, it seems like i can do whatever while programs are loading and then when it hits idle, it crashes. I seriously dont know what would cause that and i have went as far as 1.3925 (gives me 1.362v). and i know about the voltage thing... is R0 a bad stepping?

Also is it normal for my temps to read like 33 33 46 46 or 28 28 41 41 idle? I think i read it was due to tjmax being so inaccurate at low temps but just wanted to make sure.

I am not sure what your idle temps would be, but typically, Core 0 is pretty much always the highest because it is typically the most used/stressed core. Even if those temps seem a little off, they are not to far off a normal CPU. R0 is the best stepping for the Q9400.

Also, did you do what I asked and tried raising the FSB, and lowering your multiplier? Also, don't be afraid to give it voltage, as long as your load temps don't get to high. Also, did you raise your FSB to 1.4v, and your SPP to 1.5v? You have an excellent motherboard, it is just a very challenging board to overclock on, because it is an nVidia chipset.

[twisted_58]

Originally Posted by Vecte

I am not sure what your idle temps would be, but typically, Core 0 is pretty much always the highest because it is typically the most used/stressed core. Even if those temps seem a little off, they are not to far off a normal CPU. R0 is the best stepping for the Q9400.

Also, did you do what I asked and tried raising the FSB, and lowering your multiplier? Also, don't be afraid to give it voltage, as long as your load temps don't get to high. Also, did you raise your FSB to 1.4v, and your SPP to 1.5v? You have an excellent motherboard, it is just a very challenging board to overclock on, because it is an nVidia chipset.

R0 is the only stepping for the q9400. oh and vecte what watercooling setup did you end up ordering?

[Vecte]

Originally Posted by twisted_58

R0 is the only stepping for the q9400. oh and vecte what watercooling setup did you end up ordering?

I ended up getting the Ultima setup.

[twisted_58]

Originally Posted by Vecte

I ended up getting the Ultima setup.

good man! you won't be disappointed. it is by far the best starter kit for water cooling. when i have the cash to cough up for water cooling i will be getting this kit in particular. once you get it and set it up let us know what your temp are like

[JNielson]

ok im gonna try the 1.4 fsb and 1.5 spp (i heard of people having heat probs at this point but i dont think i will since the mobo temp at idle is 29c)

EDIT: Of course it failed... im probably just going to run out and buy a 780i depending on how much of a deal i get a microcenter (mobo is on clearance and i might get another 25% off so it will be a temporary fix untill i get my i7. in the mean time i currently tightened my timings to 4-4-4-12 2T and it is OC'd to 847Mhz (havent tested for stability since it always comes up with some bs in burntest).

Just wondering for when i goto i7, a foxconn bloodrage isnt going to give me these probs will they?
And is a 780i any easier (reason i would buy this is because my friend is looking to build a system with a quad so once im done with it i could sell him the 780i and my 9400 probably).