[Mattaton]

I am a complete novice at overclocking. This is the first time I have ever attempted it. That being said, I'm also not a complete moron when it comes to computers. :-D

After lots and lots of reading and videos, even some specific to my cpu and mobo combo (Intel i7 920 2.66Ghz on ASUS Sabertooth X58 with a Cooler Master V6 120mm air cooler), I went ahead and gave it a shot.

I first went to 3.66Ghz (20x183) @ 1.25V. After a 4-hour stress test with Prime95, it yielded temps of 78 deg but remained stable.

I read that the D0 chip should be able to do better than that on the voltage. So, I tried this:
3.8Ghz (20x190) @ 1.225V. That crashed almost immediately after starting Prime95.

So, the last attempt was to up the voltage back to 1.25V and see what happens. I started Prime95 at 9:30 last night and as of 12:00am, it was still running. But, when I got up this morning and checked it, the PC had rebooted and I got the message saying Windows had recovered from an error. So, I assume it hit a BSOD at some point during the night. Not stable.

Can anyone make any suggestions as to what to tweak next?

Thanks!
Matt

Here are screen shots of my BIOS settings:

 

[fasttracker440]

I would start by killing hyper threading and go from there. Here is a nice guide I used back in the day. I did not write it but from my experience it is a solid way to go. http://www.overclock.net/t/538439/guide-to-overclocking-the-core-i7-920-or-930-to-4-0ghz/0_30

 

[Mattaton]

Thanks! I had seen this article before. I will see if I can digest it better now that I have a little more knowledge.

Will killing hyperthreading hit my performance? I guess if I'm adding more than 1GHz to my speed, losing hyperthreading doesn't negate that. And from what I've heard/read, not many things use the hyperthreading anyway.

Forgive my ignorance, but if I get a BSOD in the middle of the night and I'm not there to see it, how do I go back and see the error code that tells me which setting to change?
I have the DMP file, but how do I read it?

 

[jasjeet]

What why would you start by killing HT?! That's a last resort, you paid for an i7...

Download BSOD Viewer it'll give info on each bsod that occurred. You can also disable reboot on BSOD from windows.

Use 1.28v QPI and use the 21x Multi to OC this chip.

An average chip should do 4Ghz 21x191 1.30v with 1600mhz ram using 2T command rate and QPI/Dram at 1.28-1.32.

Bsod error code list here
http://www.overclock.net/t/935829/the-overclockers-bsod-code-list

 

[Mattaton]

Thanks, jasjeet. That was kind of my thinking. Not really wanting to kill HT just yet. Not when apparently a LOT of people are getting 4Ghz out of these WITH HT. I just want 3.8Ghz! :-D

I downloaded BlueScreenViewer (is that the same as BSOD Viewer?) and the "bug check code" is 0x00000024. Is that the same thing as the 0x124 code on the link you posted? If so, the QPI/VTT needs to be upped?

Thanks!

 

[Mattaton]

Okay, I am trying the 4GHz settings you suggested. Do you think my air cooler can handle the 1.3V? I was hitting 80 degrees under full load on my last Prime95 test. I am starting Small FFTs test now. Already hitting 85 degrees.

I plan to reseat my air cooler with new thermal paste. Think that will help?

Here are my current settings:

 

[Mattaton]

And it just BSODed after about 5 minutes. There's no dump file though. Weird.

Dialing things back a bit, still using 21 multiplier:

 

[DR4G00N]

Good job for picking the most difficult platform to overclock for your first time

Try this:
3.79GHz
19x200
1.25v CPU VCORE
1.25v QPI/DRAM

That's what i'm running right now... I think.

 

[Mattaton]

HAHA! Excellent!

I'm running Prime95 on the settings I posted above for now. I'll report back what happens with that. Right now the small FFTs test has been running for 20 minutes. Temps have hit 83.

 

[jasjeet]

Ah just need more CPU cooling I bet. The temps themselves invoke instability too. Aim for 3.8ghz as you are then for now.

Can you open CPUz and check the vcore whilst small fft runs?

Best way to run prime
Torture test
Click blend
Click custom
3500mb ram (for a 6gb system)
Click ok to run

For quick testing 10-20min small fft is fine to get into the ball park.

Keep the uncore ratio twice the ram ratio.
Try reduce CPU PLL to 1.60v

If you have a QPI PLL setting try 1.14v

QPI/DRAM will have a sweet spot for particular ram speeds, more voltage can be worse off.

Leave ICH alone, it's the south bridge, nothing to do with CPU, put it to auto.
IOH can really be left AUTO too.

You need to look into load line calibration and set it to something so it's consistant.

Please post the ram timings too.

 

[Mattaton]

I have CPU-Z running with the Prime small FFTs test. I just stopped it. It ran for 30 minutes with a max temp of 83.

What should I be looking at in CPU-Z?

I'm trying to decipher the test you're suggesting I run. A custom torture test. I get lost with the 3500mb for 6gb system part. I have 3 blanks in the custom settings area: Min FFT (in K), Max FFT (in K) and Time to run each FFT. WHere does the 3500mb come into play?

EDIT: Ah okay, I see, that's why I have to click Blend first. I get the new blank for memory to use.

I have 12GB of 1600 RAM, by the way.

Thanks!
Matt

 

[RJ-Savage]

your chip might want more like 1.3-1.35vcore and yeah might need to bump qpi/pll a little will help getting stable.

 

[Mattaton]

Okay...jasjeet, I tried altering some things based on your suggestions. Didn't get very far.

I can't reduce CPU PLL below 1.80, it just goes back to 1.80.

I don't have a QPI PLL that I can see.

Should I reduce QPI/DRAM from 1.275V to 1.25V or lower? I was going by other tutorials that said to set CPU and QPI/DRAM the same.

I set ICH and IOH to standard voltages per another tutorial because it said setting to auto may allow the system to overvolt and damage things. I have it set to auto now.

My only options for LLC are to either enable or disable. I enabled it rather than leave it to auto.

Here are my current settings with DRAM Timings:

 

[Poisoner]

Turning off hyper threading is a good way to reduce temperatures when your trying to get some high clocks out of your hardware. I always turned it off for +4guys runs.

 

[jasjeet]

Ok everything looks good to me. Now just try and stabilise that speed, your only setting to adjust now is vcore.

Qpi/dram doesn't need to follow Vcore, but is usually close in normal situations like yours. 1.27v should be enough for 1400mhz ram.

In CPUz please report the CPU Vcore displayed whilst running Prime95 along with the BIOS Vcore you have set with Load line calibration enabled.

With 12gb ram test 8000mb in prime95 instead.

If you are running 6 ram modules you are going to need more vcore and qpi/dram than a system running 3. That might be why so far you haven't had the best of luck.

 

[Mattaton]

RJ-Savage...the problem I have now is I think 1.3V overwhelms my cooling. I only have an after-market air cooler. I hit temps of 86 at 1.3V. I have to try to stay below that and just see what speed I can get.

I was planning to get a Corsair H100i with my next system this year. But maybe I will get that to go on this processor and move it to my new system when I build it. Until then, I just have to stick with a modest overclock.

 

[ObscureParadox]

to be perfectly honest, your 3.66GHZ overclock is where I would stop if I were you. 78c is already pretty high and I wouldn't like to see more volts going through the CPU and adding more heat.

 

[Mattaton]

jasjeet,

I'm running the 8000mb test as you suggested. So far, so good.

CPU-Z says vcore is 1.272V and I have vcore set to 1.275 in BIOS.

What do you think about what ObscureParadox just said?

My current Prime95 testing is hitting 82 degrees.

 

[Mattaton]

ObscureParadox,

Yes, the +80 temps frighten me some too. That's why I definitely don't want to go for 1.3V or more. I very well may drop back to the 3.7Ghz range with voltage back in the 1.2-1.25 range.

I know the Prime95 test yields higher temps than real world usage. The temps I'm seeing during testing shouldn't be very prevalent in day to day use, right?

 

[ObscureParadox]

Correct, but all the same there is no point in taking the CPU to the absolute edge in a 24/7 rig, will only cause you more problems in the long run.