[apav]

Hey guys,

I have a i5 2500k and an Asus P8Z68-V (original, not Gen 3 version). I had a stable overclock at 4.5ghz for some time, but I feel that many of my settings weren't optimal, and ontop of that even though I had my voltage lower, for the most time I was getting 1.35V. So I wanted to start from scratch with new overclock settings, and see if I can get 4.5hz with less voltage, possibly being more stable as well, although I've never crashed once with my past overclock.

So here it is. I am listing the settings in the ASUS Bios, so these settings may be different for other motherboards.

BCLK: 100.0
Turbo Ratio: by all cores
Multi: 45x
PLL Overvoltage: Auto
EPU Power Save: Disable
OC Tuner: Cancel/Off
CPU Ratio: Auto
Speedstep: Enabled
Turbo: Enabled
VRM: 350
Load Line Calibration: High
Phase Control: Optimize
Duty Control: Extreme
CPU Current Capability: 110%
CPU Voltage: Offset Mode
Offset Mode Sign: +
Offset Voltage: Auto
Adaptive Thermal: Enabled
Active Cores: All
Limit Maximum: Disable
Virtualization: Disable
CPU C1E/C3/C6: Enabled

I pulled these settings from a thread from over a year ago, so again I don't know if it is optimal, but it seems like a good start! I tested it in Prime 95 for an hour (I know I will test it for longer, I just wanted to get quick results:


Why am I getting on average 1.4v, which is higher than previously before? I assumed changing to offset mode would help the voltage. If not offset, how can I get the voltage down to 1.28-1.3v (which I have seen before for this cpu at 4.5ghz)? Should I change the LLC? Any other general tips you can offer me? Thanks guys

 

[huzzug]

you did correctly by changing to offset but do not leave the offset to auto, but rather change it to "-" sign and keep the offset voltage numerical, ie, say .030(thats for me thought and may be different for you). Keep trying different combinations and you'll be able to lower your voltage

follow this guide and you'll know better which mode you should follow:
http://www.overclock.net/t/968053/official-the-sandy-stable-club-guides-voltages-temps-bios-templates-inc-spreadsheet

 

[apav]

Quote:

Originally Posted by huzzug

you did correctly by changing to offset but do not leave the offset to auto, but rather change it to "-" sign and keep the offset voltage numerical, ie, say .030(thats for me thought and may be different for you). Keep trying different combinations and you'll be able to lower your voltage

follow this guide and you'll know better which mode you should follow:
http://www.overclock.net/t/968053/official-the-sandy-stable-club-guides-voltages-temps-bios-templates-inc-spreadsheet

Thank you! I'll give that a go

Any other things I should tweak? For instance I don't know if I should go high or ultra high for LLC, or to stick with 110% or go higher. Thanks!

 

[apav]

Done some testing so far. At 110%, High LLC and no power setting selected in the ASUS BIOS, I wasn't actually able to get to my desktop (blue screens or frozen black screens) until V-Core was at 1.3v. Then, it would instantly freeze up as soon as I started a P95 test. So I checked CPU-Z and when my v-core was at 1.34v, I was getting 1.36v at idle, and 1.304v in P95. At 1.35v, I was getting 1.312-1.32v. Still were crashing after mere seconds. So I went into the BIOS, turned on high performance in the main menu, set power to 120%, and increased LLC to ultra high. Now, at 1.36v in the bios, I think I found what might be stable. At 1.344-1.36v in P95, it has been running for 20 minutes so far with no freeze or crash, and none of the cores have broken 70C yet! I realize I will have to run P95 for hours, but this is the first time tweaking my voltages where P95 didn't immediately freeze.

Now my questions are this:
1.) Should I keep the LLC on ultra high and keep this voltage, or lower the voltage and increase the LLC to extreme?
2.) Once I find a stable voltage, should I go back to offset mode?
3.) What about PLL and VCCIO? Currently I have these on auto.

Again, here are my settings:
ASUS BIOS Power Mode: High Performance
BCLK: 100.0
Turbo Ratio: by all cores
Multi: 45x
PLL Overvoltage: Auto
EPU Power Save: Disable
OC Tuner: Cancel/Off
CPU Ratio: Auto
Speedstep: Enabled
Turbo: Enabled
VRM: 350
Load Line Calibration: Ultra High
Phase Control: Optimize
Duty Control: Extreme
CPU Current Capability: 120%
CPU Voltage: Manual- 1.36v
Adaptive Thermal: Enabled
Active Cores: All
Limit Maximum: Disable
Virtualization: Disable
CPU C1E: Enabled
C3 and C6: Auto

I'm getting lower voltages in Prime 95, currently around 1.344-1.36, avg about 1.352v. First overclock yet to not freeze as soon as Prime 95 starts, let alone pass tests.

So is this just a bad overclocker then? I've heard 4.5GHz is capable at 1.27 or 1.28?

Any other tips with my settings would really be appreciated! Please excuse my spelling

 

[huzzug]

Could you try with your C-states disabled, as this sometimes causes the crash.

 

[apav]

Quote:

Originally Posted by huzzug

Could you try with your C-states disabled, as this sometimes causes the crash.

You mean for my lower voltages? Now at 1.36v I'm not crashing anymore. An hour in Prime 95 so far and no crashes.

 

[Forceman]

I would leave the LLC on Ultra High, you have Vdroop under control now and bumping it up will put more stress on the VRMs. Once you get it dialed in I would try to switch to offset, but there is a school of thought that says fixed voltage with all the power saving enabled (specifically C3/C6) is just as good for the chip. Offset is the conventional answer though. I would leave VCCIO alone, but you can try reducing the voltages for CPU PLL and possibly VCCSA as they can sometimes reduce temps wihout affecting stability. And 1.35V for 4.5 is about right for a 2500K - volts under 1.3 would be more likely for Ivy (and even they seem to be taking more voltage now).

 

[apav]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Forceman

I would leave the LLC on Ultra High, you have Vdroop under control now and bumping it up will put more stress on the VRMs. Once you get it dialed in I would try to switch to offset, but there is a school of thought that says fixed voltage with all the power saving enabled (specifically C3/C6) is just as good for the chip. Offset is the conventional answer though. I would leave VCCIO alone, but you can try reducing the voltages for CPU PLL and possibly VCCSA as they can sometimes reduce temps wihout affecting stability. And 1.35V for 4.5 is about right for a 2500K - volts under 1.3 would be more likely for Ivy (and even they seem to be taking more voltage now).

Thank you! +rep to you

this seems to me like a pretty stable overclock. Do you recommend trying to lower PLL and VCCSA? I think I'm going to keep it in manual mode for now, because that's how I had it in the past with no problems.

 

[Forceman]

It can't hurt to try. I would just drop them one notch from default and see if it does anything for the temps. If it doesn't you can just put them back to default, but if it does lower them you can do a quick stability check and press on.