My OC Experience with the EVGA X58 3X SLI and i7 920

[zlojack]

I'm still learning the ins and outs of X58, that's for sure.

There are a lot of factors involved with i7 overclocking, from what I can see.

Simply raising voltages doesn't guarantee anything. There are ratios and balances that need to be maintained in order to achieve higher clocks.

I suggest you get yourself a copy of LinX (http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=201670&highlight=linx)(this is a good and quick stability tester, much faster than Prime95). Run 5 passes (about 10-15 minutes) to test if you are relatively stable. Once you've reached your desired clocks, run 20-25 passes to ensure further stability. After that, you can run Prime95 and Memtest to further test your stability.

This helped me to find stability at 3.9 (206x19) You need to be methodical about voltages and test one at a time. It's a long process (I've been at it since Sunday, all evening, every evening).

I'm not a fan of AUTO voltages or any AUTO settings, so I like to play with them.

I'm pretty sure these are my current settings. I had used Jacob's settings (http://www.evga.com/forums/m.asp?m=642527) to start out, but I wasn't having much success. I finally got the 206 bclk to some stability and proceeded to walk vcore down from 1.45v to where it is now. If you can pass 25 LinX passes, you should do well with Prime95 since Linpack stresses more.

What I do is: Leave RAM timings at AUTO for now. I set 201 bclk and 19 multi and it was stable in LinX after 5 passes. So I bumped it to 202 and again. Then to 204 and again and finally to 206. I haven't gone above that yet. Then I played with the primary RAM timings and lowered them to 8-8-8-24-1T-88 (my rated spec is 7-8-7-20-1T)

After that, I proceeded to test with Memtest for a while (just to 100%). Then I started going after vcore. Down two notches, then LinX 5 passes. Repeat. This finally got me down to 1.3625v, which passed 20x LinX, so down further I went. I finally setttled on 1.325 in bios, which passed 20x and my RAM passed 400% HCI Memtest (I also had set my RAM to its rated settings). That's where it sits right now and my temps are back to manageable (at 1.45v they were hitting 82C on WATER!!) After the vcore was established, I started lowering the other voltages to where they are in this template.

The next thing I'm going to try is to bump bclk one tick at a time and see where it takes me.

If I get no success with that, the next step is to stabilize my 3.9GHz at the lowest voltages possible, so I'll start walking the other voltages down one by one. It takes a lot of time, but it helps you dial in the maximum performance/voltage/temps for your individual chip.


Here's where I am right now:
Mother Board ( EVGA X58 X3 SLi )
Drivers ( The ones on the CD )
Bios ( SZ1C )
CPU ( 920 )
CPU Cooler ( EK Supreme, MCP655, PA120.2, 2xScythe S-Flex SFF21G )
Memory ( Mushking XP3-1600 6GB 7-8-7-20)
PSU ( Corsair 1000HX )
GPU ( EVGA GTX 260 Core 216 SC )
Drivers ( 180.84 )
CPU Clock Ratio ( 19X )
CPU Host Frequency (Mhz) ( 206 )
CPU Uncore Frequency (Mhz) ( 16x )
Spread Spectrum ( Disabled )
PCIE Frequency (Mhz) ( 100 )

Memory Feature
Memory Control Setting ( Enabled )
Memory Frequency ( 2:8 )
Channel Interleave Setting ( 6 Way )
Rank Interleave Setting ( 4 Way )
Parameters
tCL Setting ( 7 )
tRCD Setting ( 8 )
tRP Setting ( 7 )
tRAS Setting ( 20 )
tRFC Setting ( 88 )
Command Rate ( 1T )
Voltage Control
EVGA VDroop Control ( Without VDroop )
CPU VCore ( 1.325 )
CPU VTT Voltage ( +200mv )
CPU PLL VCore ( 1.8v )
DIMM Voltage ( 1.650 )
DIMM DQ Vref ( +0 )
QPI PLL VCore ( 1.35 )
IOH VCore ( 1.35 )
IOH/ICH I/O Voltage ( 1.60 )
ICH VCore ( 1.25 )
PWM Frequency ( 1066 )

CPU Feature
Intel SpeedStep ( Disabled )
Turbo Mode Function ( Disabled )
CxE Function ( Auto )
Execute Disable Bit ( Disabled )
Virtualization Technology ( Disabled )
Logical Processor Setting
Intel HT Technology ( Enabled )
Active Processor Cores ( All )
QPI Settings
QPI Control Settings ( Enabled )
QPI Link Fast Mode ( Enabled )
QPI Frequency Selection ( 4.800 )

[utnorris]

Awesome settings. Using yours combined with one other guys I hit 200x19 with turbo mode and HT on. Thanks so much for your settings.

[zlojack]

Thanks.

For some reason, after doing all that stability testing and everything being fine, it's starting to BSOD randomly on me.

I ran some tests with those settings and it crashed. So I'm back testing again to tweak.

I'm going to try the previous bios version as I've heard it's a bit more stable and clocks better than this one.

[RedRaider]

What is your batch # Zlojack?

What is your s-spec ?

[zlojack]

Batch # is: 3837A712
S-Spec is: SLBCH

[FrostByte]

been putting my wishlist together on newegg which includes this processor and motherboard, add in a air cooler and ram and im already at $800, gaw, never spent this much on hardware before, oh wait, i have $600 for the 8800GTX when it first released. I can already see my tax return money gone before i even get it. Anyways, when i get the parts ill post my results too. I eventually want to get setup with a 120.4, but need help with getting my side panel cut for the mounting of it.

[Chicken Patty]

^^ hey nice clock dude, i did the same thing and started with Jacobs setting and then worked the voltages down. So far stable at 4.2 GHz hT ON :up:

[RedRaider]

Zlojack whats your VID ?

[zlojack]

Zlojack whats your VID ?
Don't know.
This is the info I have on that (from OCN)
Core i7 vcore supply is by it's on-die PCU so VID can no longer be accessed by software.

Hey Chicken Patty, could you post your batch number and settings?

[zlojack]

Alright...pushing a bit for some more MHz

This is on the other bios which supposedly OCs a bit better.

Here's what I'm at right now. Just passed 10 LinX passes at full memory. CPU gets hot!! Up to 80C!

When I tried to bump bclk up by 2MHz, I get the BSOD!!

Mother Board ( EVGA X58 X3 SLi )
Drivers ( The ones on the CD )
Bios ( SZ1A )
CPU ( 920 )
CPU Cooler ( EK Supreme, MCP655, PA120.2, 2xScythe S-Flex SFF21G )
Memory ( Mushking XP3-1600 6GB 7-8-7-20)
PSU ( Corsair 1000HX )
GPU ( EVGA GTX 260 Core 216 SC )
Drivers ( 181.20 )
CPU Clock Ratio ( 20X )
CPU Host Frequency (Mhz) ( 191)
CPU Uncore Frequency (Mhz) ( 17x )
Spread Spectrum ( Disabled )
PCIE Frequency (Mhz) ( 100 )

Memory Feature
Memory Control Setting ( Enabled )
Memory Frequency ( 2:8 )
Channel Interleave Setting ( 6 Way )
Rank Interleave Setting ( 4 Way )
Parameters
tCL Setting ( 8 )
tRCD Setting ( 8 )
tRP Setting ( 8 )
tRAS Setting ( 24 )
tRFC Setting ( 74)
Command Rate ( 1T )
Voltage Control
EVGA VDroop Control ( Without VDroop )
CPU VCore ( 1.4 )
CPU VTT Voltage ( +275mv )
CPU PLL VCore ( 1.8v )
DIMM Voltage ( 1.650 )
DIMM DQ Vref ( +0 )
QPI PLL VCore ( 1.30 )
IOH VCore ( 1.15 )
IOH/ICH I/O Voltage ( 1.525)
ICH VCore ( 1.15 )
PWM Frequency ( 933)

CPU Feature
Intel SpeedStep ( Disabled )
Turbo Mode Function ( Enabled)
CxE Function ( Auto )
Execute Disable Bit ( Disabled )
Virtualization Technology ( Disabled )
Logical Processor Setting
Intel HT Technology ( Enabled )
Active Processor Cores ( All )
QPI Settings
QPI Control Settings ( Enabled )
QPI Link Fast Mode ( Enabled )
QPI Frequency Selection ( 4.800 )

[Chicken Patty]

hey zlojack, here are my current settings stable, if this helps. I run at 4.2 GHz, but temps are getting out of hand with more voltage, so I dropped it until my new cooling parts arrive next week

http://img.techpowerup.org/090114/Capture046.jpg

[zlojack]

That's a nice chip you've got there, for sure!

[zlojack]

Alright...so far so bad with anything above the previous settings.

I've gone back to my 206x19 to test.

The thing that I'm getting is much better memory performance at those settings, lower temps and much lower voltage than at 191x21. Though I do lose about 95 MHz off the CPU.

My next attempt will be to see if the bclk can go anything above 206, but I think I may have found my chip's sweet spot at 3.9 GHz.

[RedRaider]

Chicken Patty, post your batch # bro...

VID please

[zlojack]

Red...there's no way to get VID on i7 chips.

[RedRaider]

Red...there's no way to get VID on i7 chips.

I saw some dick monkeys posting their VID on eVGA and the "other" forum...:crack:


Chicken Patty, what's your batch #, bro ?????

[jtf2]

http://processorfinder.intel.com/details.aspx?sSpec=SLBCH

[Chicken Patty]

RED

Batch # is 3839A403

There is a previous version of Real Temp that showed VID, wrong or not I dont know, but I remember it read 1.0875v

[Chicken Patty]

That's a nice chip you've got there, for sure!

Thanks dude, here is a 3dmark run at 4.2 GHz on Vista. It is stable, but load temps get into the high 80's, I have a very un efficient water setup now. I have already ordered the new rad/pump etc, but it gets here next week. so I run it at 4.0 GHz 1.341v for now. Rock solid stable, and still fast.


4.2 GHz @ 1.411v Video card at 810/1100 Windows Vista
http://img.techpowerup.org/090115/GHz i.jpg

4.0 GHz @ 1.341v Video Card at 790/1100 Windows 7
http://img.techpowerup.org/090115/Capture047.jpg

[Chicken Patty]

zlojack, maybe this will help you, some logging I did in excel

Max temps were determined during a run of 1024m in wprime, of course they get much higher with prime

the last row where it is at 4023 MHz the voltage is 1.341v, I just never updated it after I got it stable. 1.317v would get me stable for as long as I want, gaming, 3dmark whatever i did, just wouldn't pass prime.

http://img.techpowerup.org/090115/.jpg

[zlojack]

Crazy thing happened last night.

I had flashed to bios SZ1A for some testing and my 19x206 settings passed LinX 10 passes no problem. Those settings had been stable for 50 passes on SZ1C!

Then I flashed back to SZ1C and tried the 4GHz settings and they are now stable in SZ1C, but the previously stable 3.9GHz settings now do not work at all....

[Chicken Patty]

Crazy thing happened last night.

I had flashed to bios SZ1A for some testing and my 19x206 settings passed LinX 10 passes no problem. Those settings had been stable for 50 passes on SZ1C!

Then I flashed back to SZ1C and tried the 4GHz settings and they are now stable in SZ1C, but the previously stable 3.9GHz settings now do not work at all....

so which BIOS is better for you?

[Septim]

thats a good chart. good that it has watermark techpowerup, less someone else claims credit...

[zlojack]

so which BIOS is better for you?

I don't know right now.:confused:

This is the sequence of events:

I originally used SZ1C and I arrived at 24/7 stable (50 LinX passes) at the settings posted above in my original post with a couple of voltage bumps for final stability.
Mother Board ( EVGA X58 X3 SLi )
Drivers ( The ones on the CD )
Bios ( SZ1C )
CPU ( i7 920 Batch 3837A712)
CPU Cooler ( EK Supreme, MCP655, PA120.2, 2xScythe S-Flex SFF21G )
Memory ( Mushking XP3-1600 6GB 7-8-7-20)
PSU ( Corsair 1000HX )
GPU ( EVGA GTX 260 Core 216 SC )
Drivers ( 180.84 )
CPU Clock Ratio ( 19X )
CPU Host Frequency (Mhz) ( 206 )
CPU Uncore Frequency (Mhz) ( 16x )
Spread Spectrum ( Disabled )
PCIE Frequency (Mhz) ( 100 )

Memory Feature
Memory Control Setting ( Enabled )
Memory Frequency ( 2:8 )
Channel Interleave Setting ( 6 Way )
Rank Interleave Setting ( 4 Way )
Parameters
tCL Setting ( 7 )
tRCD Setting ( 8 )
tRP Setting ( 7 )
tRAS Setting ( 20 )
tRFC Setting ( 88 )
Command Rate ( 1T )
Voltage Control
EVGA VDroop Control ( Without VDroop )
CPU VCore ( 1.335 ) <------------Bumped here
CPU VTT Voltage ( +300mv ) <-------------And here
CPU PLL VCore ( 1.9v ) <-----------And here
DIMM Voltage ( 1.650 )
DIMM DQ Vref ( +0 )
QPI PLL VCore ( 1.4 ) <-----------Here too
IOH VCore ( 1.35 )
IOH/ICH I/O Voltage ( 1.65 ) <----------And finally here
ICH VCore ( 1.25 )
PWM Frequency ( 1066 )

CPU Feature
Intel SpeedStep ( Disabled )
Turbo Mode Function ( Disabled )
CxE Function ( Auto )
Execute Disable Bit ( Disabled )
Virtualization Technology ( Disabled )
Logical Processor Setting
Intel HT Technology ( Enabled )
Active Processor Cores ( All )
QPI Settings
QPI Control Settings ( Enabled )
QPI Link Fast Mode ( Enabled )
QPI Frequency Selection ( 4.800 )

Then I saw some results that led me to believe that I should give SZ1A a try, so I did.

These settings worked perfectly:
Mother Board ( EVGA X58 X3 SLi )
Drivers ( The ones on the CD )
Bios ( SZ1A )
CPU ( i7 920 Batch 3837A712)
CPU Cooler ( EK Supreme, MCP655, PA120.2, 2xScythe S-Flex SFF21G )
Memory ( Mushking XP3-1600 6GB 7-8-7-20)
PSU ( Corsair 1000HX )
GPU ( EVGA GTX 260 Core 216 SC )
Drivers ( 181.20 )
CPU Clock Ratio ( 20X )
CPU Host Frequency (Mhz) ( 191)
CPU Uncore Frequency (Mhz) ( 17x )
Spread Spectrum ( Disabled )
PCIE Frequency (Mhz) ( 100 )

Memory Feature
Memory Control Setting ( Enabled )
Memory Frequency ( 2:8 )
Channel Interleave Setting ( 6 Way )
Rank Interleave Setting ( 4 Way )
Parameters
tCL Setting ( 8 )
tRCD Setting ( 8 )
tRP Setting ( 8 )
tRAS Setting ( 24 )
tRFC Setting ( 74)
Command Rate ( 1T )
Voltage Control
EVGA VDroop Control ( Without VDroop )
CPU VCore ( 1.4 )
CPU VTT Voltage ( +275mv )
CPU PLL VCore ( 1.8v )
DIMM Voltage ( 1.650 )
DIMM DQ Vref ( +0 )
QPI PLL VCore ( 1.30 )
IOH VCore ( 1.15 )
IOH/ICH I/O Voltage ( 1.525)
ICH VCore ( 1.15 )
PWM Frequency ( 933)

CPU Feature
Intel SpeedStep ( Disabled )
Turbo Mode Function ( Enabled)
CxE Function ( Auto )
Execute Disable Bit ( Disabled )
Virtualization Technology ( Disabled )
Logical Processor Setting
Intel HT Technology ( Enabled )
Active Processor Cores ( All )
QPI Settings
QPI Control Settings ( Enabled )
QPI Link Fast Mode ( Enabled )
QPI Frequency Selection ( 4.800 )

But things were running a bit hot with SZ1A so I decided to go back to my 3.9GHz settings and they passed 10 passes of LinX. But still the temps were higher than what I was seeing on SZ1C.

So I decided "to hell with that" and I flashed back to SZ1C and entered my previously stable 3.9GHz (206x19) settings only to find that they are no longer stable!!! :mad:

Crashes at idle and very quickly under LinX load even with voltage bumps.

So I tried the 4GHz settings (191x21) and those work fine :confused: and temps are lower on SZ1C so far as I can see (I have no inkling as to why...)

This morning while getting ready to come to work, I ran 25 passes of LinX with the 4GHz settings and it was fine.

So I say, fuck it! I'm staying at 4GHz. Memory performance is only slightly worse (I am getting similar bandwidth with slightly higher latency than at 206x19 - 32ns vs 28ns)

My current 4GHz settings:
Mother Board ( EVGA X58 X3 SLi )
Drivers ( The ones on the CD )
Bios ( SZ1C )
CPU ( i7 920 Batch 3837A712)
CPU Cooler ( EK Supreme, MCP655, PA120.2, 2xScythe S-Flex SFF21G )
Memory ( Mushking XP3-1600 6GB 7-8-7-20)
PSU ( Corsair 1000HX )
GPU ( EVGA GTX 260 Core 216 SC )
Drivers ( 181.20 )
CPU Clock Ratio ( 20X )
CPU Host Frequency (Mhz) ( 191)
CPU Uncore Frequency (Mhz) ( 17x )
Spread Spectrum ( Disabled )
PCIE Frequency (Mhz) ( 100 )

Memory Feature
Memory Control Setting ( Enabled )
Memory Frequency ( 2:8 )
Channel Interleave Setting ( 6 Way )
Rank Interleave Setting ( 4 Way )
Parameters
tCL Setting ( 8 )
tRCD Setting ( 8 )
tRP Setting ( 8 )
tRAS Setting ( 24 )
tRFC Setting ( 74)
Command Rate ( 1T )
Voltage Control
EVGA VDroop Control ( Without VDroop )
CPU VCore ( 1.4 )
CPU VTT Voltage ( +275mv )
CPU PLL VCore ( 1.8v )
DIMM Voltage ( 1.650 )
DIMM DQ Vref ( +0 )
QPI PLL VCore ( 1.30 )
IOH VCore ( 1.15 )
IOH/ICH I/O Voltage ( 1.525)
ICH VCore ( 1.15 )
PWM Frequency ( 933)

CPU Feature
Intel SpeedStep ( Disabled )
Turbo Mode Function ( Enabled)
CxE Function ( Auto )
Execute Disable Bit ( Disabled )
Virtualization Technology ( Disabled )
Logical Processor Setting
Intel HT Technology ( Enabled )
Active Processor Cores ( All )
QPI Settings
QPI Control Settings ( Enabled )
QPI Link Fast Mode ( Enabled )
QPI Frequency Selection ( 4.800 )

[Chicken Patty]

thats for the analysis, so you came to the conclusion that SZ1C is the most stable?

I have the one before that, I think i'll finally update mine to that one now that somebody confirms that it is good!

[zlojack]

thats for the analysis, so you came to the conclusion that SZ1C is the most stable?

I have the one before that, I think i'll finally update mine to that one now that somebody confirms that it is good!
Well, so far from my observations I've seen this:

SZ1A: Higher temps on my overclocks. Higher bclk was stable but hot.
SZ1C: 4GHz stable now but lower bclk. Lower temps.

I'm still very confused about how I lost my 100% stable 3.9GHz from SZ1C, but I'm happy because I ended up with 4GHz instead :D

[Chicken Patty]

Well, so far from my observations I've seen this:

SZ1A: Higher temps on my overclocks. Higher bclk was stable but hot.
SZ1C: 4GHz stable now but lower bclk. Lower temps.

I'm still very confused about how I lost my 100% stable 3.9GHz from SZ1C, but I'm happy because I ended up with 4GHz instead :D

thanks bro, haha thats pretty weird but hey, it turned out good regardless. Ill flash shortly and give it a shot, why not heh??? :p

[zlojack]

Yeah, no doubt!

I'm not going to mess with success now!

4GHz is good for me!

[Chicken Patty]

Yeah, no doubt!

I'm not going to mess with success now!

4GHz is good for me!

haha, just like me, at least until my new cooling parts come in :D 4.2 GHz was just too hot for comfort!


Here is mine for now

http://img.techpowerup.org/090115/Capture048.jpg

[zlojack]

I wish I could do it with vcore that low.

[Chicken Patty]

I wish I could do it with vcore that low.

what is your vcore in windows right now?

[zlojack]

It fluctuates between 1.388 and 1.435 depending on load.

[Chicken Patty]

It fluctuates between 1.388 and 1.435 depending on load.

thats not much higher than mine I would say.

I am 1.341v in idle and full load (prime 95) 1.399v

[zlojack]

Well...I'm not sure what the trouble is. Maybe my chip's degraded...:(

Maybe the mobo is shit.

But I'm no longer able to run the same settings as I was a few days ago.

I'm going to try backing down to 3.8 GHz tonight :(

[Chicken Patty]

Well...I'm not sure what the trouble is. Maybe my chip's degraded...:(

Maybe the mobo is shit.

But I'm no longer able to run the same settings as I was a few days ago.

I'm going to try backing down to 3.8 GHz tonight :(

instability starts to show over time bro. It happens to all of us. Need more vcore!

[zlojack]

Yeah...
I'm on 3.8GHz right now (19x201)

1.35v bios 1.388v load (LinX)

So far 6 passes are good.

I'm hoping I can get this speed stable at reasonable voltages. Strike a balance between speed and heat. Temps are topping out at around 73 in RealTemp, so about 10 degrees cooler than my 4GHz settings.

[Baleful]

Could be the chip degrading.... could be the motherboard. My bet is your chip, as you've already experienced problems on a completely different motherboard (the gigabyte).

[zlojack]

Could be the chip degrading.... could be the motherboard. My bet is your chip, as you've already experienced problems on a completely different motherboard (the gigabyte).
Or could be that I simply didn't test the OC enough.

I figured 50 passes of LinX would be enough...

But I also didn't really push the chip on the Giga because I didn't have watercooling set up yet.

Anyway, so far, so good at 3.8 GHz.

[zlojack]

Alright, I don't get this chip...

I bumped it down to 3.8GHz (19x201) and it's passing LinX with 1.275v in bios and 1.317v under load in CPUZ. Temps are obviously lower, peaking at 67C.

Maybe 3.8 is the sweet spot. I am getting down close to stock volts on this bad boy This is vcore, of course. I've raised a couple of other voltages to get here.
Bios settings:
vcore - 1.275
DIMM Voltage - 1.65
QPI PLL - 1.4v
CPU PLL - 1.85
IOH Vcore - 1.4
CPU VTT - 1.3
IOH/ICH I/O Voltage - 1.65
ICH Vcore - 1.25

These just passed 5 passes of LinX!

Time to bump vcore down another notch :D

[Kayin]

Gonna posit a radical idea to you.

If it's game/benchmark stable, but won't pass LinX, it's probably still stable. Those kind of programs throw more at the system than it's intended to take, you know...

[RedRaider]

Gonna posit a radical idea to you.

If it's game/benchmark stable, but won't pass LinX, it's probably still stable. Those kind of programs throw more at the system than it's intended to take, you know...

Hmmm, interesting opinion. I'd say if it can crunh video encoding then you're good to go as well

[Kayin]

We see eye to eye there. To me, if it does everything I ask for in a normal working environment, even if it crashes in an artificially created load, it's stable. Some of these programs are designed to crash out systems, I swear.

Memtest looping is far more important to me as far as locating errors, but I don't loop overnight either. The only "syntetic" load tester I care for is WCG, but that's doing serious work while it tests. When I test, I fire up Terragen or Kerkythea normally...

[Chicken Patty]

We see eye to eye there. To me, if it does everything I ask for in a normal working environment, even if it crashes in an artificially created load, it's stable. Some of these programs are designed to crash out systems, I swear.

Memtest looping is far more important to me as far as locating errors, but I don't loop overnight either. The only "syntetic" load tester I care for is WCG, but that's doing serious work while it tests. When I test, I fire up Terragen or Kerkythea normally...

i agree with you guys, unless watching your computer run prime all day and suffer is thrilling to you, I say as long as you can use your computer without it giving errors, BSOD's, etc, I'd say your good to go.

Of course short periods of stress test is a must, couple of passes on LInx, 20 30 minutes of prime, etc. But other than that, if it passes, I think you are good!

[Kayin]

Well, I mentioned WCG. But, I find real world testing is more important for real world use. I chased benches for a long time, and found they didn't reflect very well on how I used the computer, so I started tuning (and buying) for application.

[zlojack]

Sorry, I don't adhere to that same standard.

I had too many times where my Q6600 was "stable" for short runs of those programs and would crash randomly while gaming or folding.

Once I get a decent "stable" oc, then I'm good to go. For me I need 12h of Prime and 50 LinX passes, plus Memtest86+ plus HCI Memtest.

For example, my 4GHz settings that were stable and passed 25 passes of LinX weren't really stable and were giving me random crashes while crunching.

[Chicken Patty]

Sorry, I don't adhere to that same standard.

I had too many times where my Q6600 was "stable" for short runs of those programs and would crash randomly while gaming or folding.

Once I get a decent "stable" oc, then I'm good to go. For me I need 12h of Prime and 50 LinX passes, plus Memtest86+ plus HCI Memtest.

For example, my 4GHz settings that were stable and passed 25 passes of LinX weren't really stable and were giving me random crashes while crunching.

weird, my 4.2 ghz settings wont pass prime after five minutes, but i can leave it benching 3dmark 06 overnight about 8 hours and it passes without a problem. So to me that is stable. It depends, but i dont think that just because it does not pass prime or a stress test like linx or something that the system is "not stable"

[zlojack]

weird, my 4.2 ghz settings wont pass prime after five minutes, but i can leave it benching 3dmark 06 overnight about 8 hours and it passes without a problem. So to me that is stable. It depends, but i dont think that just because it does not pass prime or a stress test like linx or something that the system is "not stable"
Everyone has their own idea of what is stable enough for them.

If that works for you, then it's stable for you. :)

What works for me is different.

[Kayin]

It sounds like there is a problem with a setting somewhere, or there is a hardware problem still. Possibly they need to work on BIOSes more. You have a problem I have seldom encountered, and normally when I get it I find something's just not right.

I don't tend to run bleeding edge anyway, normally, but even my max outboards can normally handle overnight renders. Possibly it's because I never push harder than that I seldom find problems.

[zlojack]

It sounds like there is a problem with a setting somewhere, or there is a hardware problem still. Possibly they need to work on BIOSes more. You have a problem I have seldom encountered, and normally when I get it I find something's just not right.

I don't tend to run bleeding edge anyway, normally, but even my max outboards can normally handle overnight renders. Possibly it's because I never push harder than that I seldom find problems.
I'm thinking that maybe the power delivery in my house is probably crappy. Old house with old wiring. I've put my Ultra Kaze 3000 on the vregs undervolted to about 7v so maybe that will help keep things cooler.

It could be bios issues or just a first edition board not doing so hot.

I've also heard this batch of CPU isn't great.

[Kayin]

I think you're on to something there.

This is only an opinion, but i7 isn't shaping up to be the amazing thing that the benches are calling it. This isn't the only place I'm seeing flaky OCs, and from people who I do not think are lacking in skill. These people all know what they're doing (yourself included) and it just seems the chips are not as responsive.

However, your settings will prove invaluable to the community as a learning tool. I'm looking at them now, seeing what I can glean from the information presented.

[zlojack]

I'll just keep banging away. Early adoption has its pitfalls.

Usually newer steppings improve stability and overclocking.

[Kayin]

Yup.

Don't take it as a jab at you. However, I'm viewing this with the same skeptical eye people viewed Phenom. To me, they're roughly par from what I hear.

[zlojack]

Yup.

Don't take it as a jab at you. However, I'm viewing this with the same skeptical eye people viewed Phenom. To me, they're roughly par from what I hear.
Well, I have no experience with AMD. When they were top dog I lived on a beach and didn't own a computer.

But the results with i7 are impressive. I'm willing to bet that further steppings will address some of the bug issues.

I'm happy with 3.8GHz at 1.275v and nice controlled temps.

[zlojack]

Ok...so I've made some improvement today.

I realized that I was using the 17 uncore multi which is why I wasn't getting my previous settings stable, which was at uncore 16!!!

I hate when I make a stupid oversight like that, but anyway, positive discovery, as it means the chip is likely fine and the bonehead is the user :D

So...now I'm back to 3.9GHz with more or less the settings from the first post. I'm currently trying boosting the bclk one at a time and testing for stability. I'm going to see if I can get up to 211x19 :D

[Chicken Patty]

Ok...so I've made some improvement today.

I realized that I was using the 17 uncore multi which is why I wasn't getting my previous settings stable, which was at uncore 16!!!

I hate when I make a stupid oversight like that, but anyway, positive discovery, as it means the chip is likely fine and the bonehead is the user :D

So...now I'm back to 3.9GHz with more or less the settings from the first post. I'm currently trying boosting the bclk one at a time and testing for stability. I'm going to see if I can get up to 211x19 :D

Thanks for the update Zlojack! :up:

I had my storage drive go bad on me, so I picked up a seagate 1tb HDD. I said ahh what the heck, I re installed a fresh copy of W7 and I must say it flies!!! So I figured since I have a better and more fresh copy of the OS installed that i'd give my overclock another shot from scratch, work on a few things I figured out since my last attempt. Plus my new cooling components come in Tuesday so from here then I should be up to the overclock that is really going to need better cooling, so it'll be just in time :).


Under the prime stable column, green means I ended it, red would mean it crashed or BSOD at around that time, although so far havent had any stress test fail yet. Some I only have done for a few minutes as these settings are stable 100%, not really pushing the CPU. At higher settings I will test longer for stability.
Here is where im at so far, if you can grab any info, go right ahead, although im still at a low clock.

http://img185.imageshack.us/img185/5977/capture005np9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[zlojack]

Right now I'm getting freezing in the OS. I suspect the RAM doesn't like the 211 bclk so I've put all the RAM timings on AUTO for the time being to remove that from the equation.

[Chicken Patty]

Right now I'm getting freezing in the OS. I suspect the RAM doesn't like the 211 bclk so I've put all the RAM timings on AUTO for the time being to remove that from the equation.

how much is your RAM overclocked right now?

[zlojack]

No luck with 211x19

But I'm back to my good settings :D Now I'm inspired to push for 4GHz again. The 20X multi isn't giving me ANYTHING. Totally crap.
Motherboard ( EVGA X58 X3 SLi )
Drivers ( The ones on the CD )
Bios ( SZ1C )
CPU ( 920 )
CPU Cooler ( EK Supreme, MCP655, PA120.2, 2xScythe S-Flex SFF21G )
Memory ( Mushking XP3-1600 6GB 7-8-7-20)
PSU ( Corsair 1000HX )
GPU ( EVGA GTX 260 Core 216 SC )
Drivers ( 180.84 )
CPU Clock Ratio ( 19X )
CPU Host Frequency (Mhz) ( 206 )
CPU Uncore Frequency (Mhz) ( 16x )
Spread Spectrum ( Disabled )
PCIE Frequency (Mhz) ( 100 )

Memory Feature
Memory Control Setting ( Enabled )
Memory Frequency ( 2:8 )
Channel Interleave Setting ( 6 Way )
Rank Interleave Setting ( 4 Way )
Parameters
tCL Setting ( 7 )
tRCD Setting ( 8 )
tRP Setting ( 7 )
tRAS Setting ( 20 )
tRFC Setting ( 88 )
Command Rate ( 1T )
Voltage Control
EVGA VDroop Control ( Without VDroop )
CPU VCore ( 1.33125 )
CPU VTT Voltage ( +200mv )
CPU PLL VCore ( 1.8v )
DIMM Voltage ( 1.650 )
DIMM DQ Vref ( +0 )
QPI PLL VCore ( 1.35 )
IOH VCore ( 1.35 )
IOH/ICH I/O Voltage ( 1.60 )
ICH VCore ( 1.25 )
PWM Frequency ( 1066 )

CPU Feature
Intel SpeedStep ( Disabled )
Turbo Mode Function ( Disabled )
CxE Function ( Auto )
Execute Disable Bit ( Disabled )
Virtualization Technology ( Disabled )
Logical Processor Setting
Intel HT Technology ( Enabled )
Active Processor Cores ( All )
QPI Settings
QPI Control Settings ( Enabled )
QPI Link Fast Mode ( Enabled )
QPI Frequency Selection ( 4.800 )

[zlojack]

how much is your RAM overclocked right now?
RAM would be 8x211 1688MHz or so.

But I don't think it's the RAM. Even when set to 11-11-11-30 it still freezes up in Windows.

[Chicken Patty]

RAM would be 8x211 1688MHz or so.

But I don't think it's the RAM. Even when set to 11-11-11-30 it still freezes up in Windows.

in case you havent came across this, might find it interesting, i still havent read it thoroughly. But seems to have the answer as to why 20x doesnt work for some people, and how to get it to work.


http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showpost.php?p=3495431&postcount=876

[zlojack]

I have a printout of that post on my desk :D

But since then he's also run his system with qpi:uncore at 1:1 now and been stable, so his theory may not be 100%

[Chicken Patty]

I have a printout of that post on my desk :D

But since then he's also run his system with qpi:uncore at 1:1 now and been stable, so his theory may not be 100%

i still have yet to read it completely, i really have to do that. and print it out like you did :D

[zlojack]

New bios released

SZ1G I'm going to give it a whirl!

http://www.evga.com/forums/tm.asp?m=742348&mpage=1&key=򵏌

[Chicken Patty]

^^^^ thanks.

[zlojack]

First impressions of SZ1G:

1) I notice much less voltage fluctuation on the "Without Vdroop" setting
2) I'm currently testing out 4GHz-ish (192x21)
3) So far no luck with getting my bclk any higher than 206 (I was running 206x19 for 3.9GHz totally stable)
4) Temps seem about the same
5) When it doesn't boot, it seems to now try to get back to the default settings. Still need to test this further to see if it actually does.

[Chicken Patty]

First impressions of SZ1G:

1) I notice much less voltage fluctuation on the "Without Vdroop" setting
2) I'm currently testing out 4GHz-ish (192x21)
3) So far no luck with getting my bclk any higher than 206 (I was running 206x19 for 3.9GHz totally stable)
4) Temps seem about the same
5) When it doesn't boot, it seems to now try to get back to the default settings. Still need to test this further to see if it actually does.

I just flashed to this BIOS, ill post some feedback as I get some.

For now I have noticed the voltage fluctuation is less

[Chicken Patty]

Zlojack,

so far my 4.2 GHz settings did not work right off the bat, so I backed down to 3.8 GHz @ 1.305v and so far it is stable. I'll work my way up from here

http://img.techpowerup.org/090124/Capture010803.jpg

[Chicken Patty]

hows a image for feedback on the new BIOS :D

4.0 GHz @ 1.305v, stable, been running and benchmarking for a few days already, heres one with everything you see in the task manager open and jamming to some DJ Tiesto and Julie Thompson at the same time :D

Card at default clocks :D

http://img.techpowerup.org/090127/Capture016.jpg

[BiNGE]

I know CP has some sweet clocks/volts, and I've been lucky enough to share in that. Info:

I'm running on an ASUS RIIE
Batch # 3837A765


Here's a few pics/screens. These are my 24/7 settings. I do everything from game to 3D design/rendering:

http://img.techpowerup.org/090128/DSCF0349.jpg
http://img.techpowerup.org/090128/benchtemps.jpg
http://img.techpowerup.org/090128/sculptface5.3.render.jpg
http://img.techpowerup.org/090121/01212009.jpg

Thanks to Sidewinder Computers for the chance to purchase the Banchetto 101

[Chicken Patty]

thanks binge, your setup is sick too! and very nice clocks.

[Chicken Patty]

best score so far on W7 :D


http://img.techpowerup.org/090204/Capture029.jpg

[Chicken Patty]

BTW guys,

I notice that upwards of 4.0 GHz increasing your CPU VTT gives you 10x more stability than CPU Vcore. from 4.0 to 4.1 Ghz i was not stable even adding a bit more vcore, I added some voltage to the CPU VTT from 1.25v to 1.30v and I was automatically able to run 3dmark and well, here I am posting, browsing, gaming, etc! Just a tip for those that have not expiremented with CPU VTT much!

[Chicken Patty]

zlojack, any updates bro? Hows the rig treating ya along with the new bios?

[Chicken Patty]

heres a little update from me :D


4.4 GHz validation
http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=503214

4.4 GHz super pi run 9.359 sec.
http://img.techpowerup.org/090208/Capture044.jpg

[zlojack]

Not much to update.

Running stable at 3.9GHz crunching away. It will bench as high as 4.2 but not much more than that. I'm not sure if it's a bad chip, a bad board or a bad user :D

[Baleful]

Running stable at 3.9GHz crunching away.



O'Rly? Who you crunching for? I don't see you on our member list:bat::D

[zlojack]

O'Rly? Who you crunching for? I don't see you on our member list:bat::D
I crunch for HardwareCanucks as I have done from the beginning. Once I get my backup rig back up and running I'll be putting that up for RRT.

[Chilly]

I crunch for HardwareCanucks as I have done from the beginning. Once I get my backup rig back up and running I'll be putting that up for RRT.

You do know their are other HWC'ers on here as well eh? :p

Don't switch teams, The HWC Folding team is watching. :p

That being said, doesn't matter in the long run what team your folding/crunching for, as long as your crunching/folding!

[Baleful]

Oh yeah I forgot about that. It's all for a good cause, as long as you're crunching you're alright in my book. :up:

[Chicken Patty]

Not much to update.

Running stable at 3.9GHz crunching away. It will bench as high as 4.2 but not much more than that. I'm not sure if it's a bad chip, a bad board or a bad user :D

what batch is your CPU? Maybe I can gather some info and help you out :D

[zlojack]

what batch is your CPU? Maybe I can gather some info and help you out :D
3837A712

From what little I've seen, not a great batch.

[Chicken Patty]

3837A712

From what little I've seen, not a great batch.

check this out, got it over from XS, dont know if you've seen it.

Couple of 3837A batches over 4.0 GHz, however don't see anybody with your same exact batch :(

http://i487.photobucket.com/albums/rr237/marbizzle/i7build/i7batch/i7batchtrackerx_1.jpg

[zlojack]

Notice that most of them need vcore over 1.4 which tends to send my temps up quite a bit.

I suppose I could give it another go at 4GHz, but it just seems like a lot of extra volts and a lot of extra time for 100MHz :D

[Chicken Patty]

Notice that most of them need vcore over 1.4 which tends to send my temps up quite a bit.

I suppose I could give it another go at 4GHz, but it just seems like a lot of extra volts and a lot of extra time for 100MHz :D

I know, I personally run mines at this everyday, stable for about 2 weeks or so now, no BSOD's, crashes, nothing. Maybe you can try my settings???

http://img.techpowerup.org/090211/Capture050.jpg

[zlojack]

Your board crunches like that with no problems?

[Chicken Patty]

Your board crunches like that with no problems?

Crunch? I've heard that before but not familiar with it? Is that like folding or something?

However, it'll pass any stress test for as long as I want it to, 3dmark, wprime, super pi, etc. Its really really stable at these settings. All the motherboard voltages are set to minimum manually. Only voltage raised is cpu, dram, and CPU VTT.

[zlojack]

Crunch? I've heard that before but not familiar with it? Is that like folding or something?

However, it'll pass any stress test for as long as I want it to, 3dmark, wprime, super pi, etc. Its really really stable at these settings. All the motherboard voltages are set to minimum manually. Only voltage raised is cpu, dram, and CPU VTT.
Yeah, crunching is like folding. I run mine on BOINC

I run LinX for 25 passes and then Prime95 Small/Blend/Large for at least 8 hours before I unleash my OC for crunching. My current OC hasn't crashed yet.

[Chicken Patty]

Yeah, crunching is like folding. I run mine on BOINC

I run LinX for 25 passes and then Prime95 Small/Blend/Large for at least 8 hours before I unleash my OC for crunching. My current OC hasn't crashed yet.

naw havent tried crunching or folding. But yeah this o/c has been mighty stable bro, can't be happier. you are only 100 MHz off, so its basically the same!

[zlojack]

Yeah, 3.9 to 4GHz won't make much of a difference and the tradeoff I make is higher temps and more volts, so not really worth it to me at the moment.

[Cutless009]

sorry to break topic here, but how much faster is an I7 920 at 3.9/4.0ghz than a Q9650 at 4.5ghz?

[zlojack]

sorry to break topic here, but how much faster is an I7 920 at 3.9/4.0ghz than a Q9650 at 4.5ghz?

I'd guess the question would be "At what?"

[Chicken Patty]

i'm also assuming that HT on or off will have a big impact, as HT makes up some ground.

[Chicken Patty]

cutless, read thru this, you can do some decent comparisons. This is only in the wprime benchmark, but hey its better than nothing.

check out 11th and 12th spot :D

1. giorgos th. - Core i7 Extreme 965 5004 MHz - 4.959 sec. - Quickest Core i7
2. DRDNA - Core i7 920 4404 MHz – 5.804
3. Binge - Core i7 920 4443 MHz - 5.818
4. msgclb - Core i7 Xtreme 965 4350 MHz - 5.819
5. Chicken Patty - Core i7 920 4344 MHz - 5.872
6. kid41212003 - Core i7 920 4200 MHz - 6.070
7. Jupiter - Core i7 920 4208 MHz - 6.097
8. Psychoholic - Core i7 920 4116 MHz - 6.194
9. sno.lcn - Phenom II 940 - 5616 MHz – 6.960 - Quickest AMD
10. human_error - Core i7 920 3720 MHz – 7.034
11. sno.lcn - Core 2 Extreme QX9650 5235 MHz - 7.270 - Quickest socket 775
12. hoss331 - Core 2 Quad Q9650 4503 MHz - 8.407
13. thraxed - Core i7 920 2834 MHz – 8.915
14. OCQuadNick - Phenom II 940 3910 MHz - 9.344
15. servermonkey - Phenom II 940 3944 MHz - 9.375
16. MetalRacer - Core 2 Quad Q9550 4111 MHz – 9.435
17. MAGMADIVER - Phenom II 940 3819 MHz - 9.516
18. equinox - Phenom II 940 3895 MHz - 9.520
19. exodusprime1337 - Phenom II 940 3796 MHz - 9.563
20. soryuuha - Phenom II 940 3901 MHz - 9.657
21. Kei – Phenom II 920 3780 MHz – 9.747
22. sno.lcn - Core 2 Quad Q6600 4604 MHz - 9.844
23. cdawall - Phenom II 945 ES 3908 MHz - 9.889
24. Paulieg - Phenom II 940 3747 MHz - 9.907
25. DOM - Xeon X3350 3802 MHz - 10.186
26. fatguy1992 - Core 2 Quad Q6600 4005 MHz - 10.249
27. Marineborn - Phenom II 940 3625 MHz - 10.251
28. trickson - Core 2 Quad Q6600 3938 MHz – 10.389
29. BATOFF - Core 2 Quad Q6600 3915 MHz – 10.500
30. kyle2020 - Core 2 Quad Q6600 4005 MHz - 10.578
31. CrAsHnBuRnXp - Xeon x3350 3800 MHz - 10.601
32. Meizuman - Phenom 9950 3519 MHz 10.734
33. mlee49 - Core 2 Quad Q9450 3760 MHz - 10.843
34. RadeonX2 - Core 2 Quad Q6600 4000 MHz - 10.813
35. dadi_oh - Core 2 Quad Q6600 3960 MHz – 10.922
36. fullinfusion - Phenom 9850 3318 MHz - 11.145
37. Chicken Patty - Phenom 9950 3412 MHz – 11.250
38. Binge - Core 2 Quad Q9550 3400 MHz - 11.317
39. wolf - Core 2 Quad Q6600 3600 MHz – 11.317
40. Bytor - Phenom 9850 3240 MHz - 11.817
41. 3dsage - Phenom 9950 3132 MHz - 12.136
42. servermonkey - Phenom 9850 3311 MHz - 12.218
43. LeMoose - Phenom 9950 3009 MHz – 12.719
44. ntdouglas - Core 2 Quad Q6600 - 3204 MHz - 12.919
45. xubidoo - Core 2 Quad Q6600 3200 MHz - 12.979
46. frankie827 - Core 2 Quad Q6600 3204 MHz - 13.638
47. HumanXJT - Core 2 Quad Q6600 2997 MHz - 13.979

[Chicken Patty]

here is a run with my 920 at4.0 GHz, I set the thread count to 4 so that it runs like it had HT disabled. HT on with the windows I had open and stuff is about 6.3-6.4 seconds.

Here you go, you can do some comparison of your own without HT :)

http://img.techpowerup.org/090211/Capture052.jpg

[Baleful]

Yeah there is no way to answer that question, it's way to broad. Instead, what exact purpose are you looking for? Gaming? Crunching? Programming?

For pretty much everyday gaming/whatever, I would say the Q9650 @ 4.5 would nudge ahead of the i7 @ 3.9-4.0.

However if you're looking for a cruncher, i7's are beastly man.

[Chicken Patty]

Yeah there is no way to answer that question, it's way to broad. Instead, what exact purpose are you looking for? Gaming? Crunching? Programming?

For pretty much everyday gaming/whatever, I would say the Q9650 @ 4.5 would nudge ahead of the i7 @ 3.9-4.0.

However if you're looking for a cruncher, i7's are beastly man.

yeah most games dont benefit from HT and stuff, so a Q9650 at a higher clock is indeed better off IMO. the i7 is fast as hell around windows though haha.

[zlojack]

Yeah there is no way to answer that question, it's way to broad. Instead, what exact purpose are you looking for? Gaming? Crunching? Programming?

For pretty much everyday gaming/whatever, I would say the Q9650 @ 4.5 would nudge ahead of the i7 @ 3.9-4.0.

However if you're looking for a cruncher, i7's are beastly man.
Multi-GPU setups also seem to do well with i7, but generally I agree with this post!

[Cutless009]

crunching

[zlojack]

The i7 wins at crunching I would say. You get 8 tasks at a time!

[Chicken Patty]

^^^i'd say thats pretty accurate.

[Chicken Patty]

zlojack!!! sup bro hows everything, any updates on the rig?


heres what a pair of 4870's can do with an i7 pushing them :D

default clocks


http://img.techpowerup.org/090227/Capture087.jpg

[zlojack]

Nice stuff there.

I'm chugging along. Not much new to report.

[Chicken Patty]

Nice stuff there.

I'm chugging along. Not much new to report.

thanks.


i just got some tri channel pi blacks yesterday, total of 3 gb. System is running even sweeter since :D

[Cutless009]

Nice, I dont feel so bad about my ~31,000 3DMark runs after seeing this. I was hoping for 40 and 31 almost made me cry :(

Now if only these damn cards would OVERCLOCK... FUCK YOU CARDS.

[Chicken Patty]

Nice, I dont feel so bad about my ~31,000 3DMark runs after seeing this. I was hoping for 40 and 31 almost made me cry :(

Now if only these damn cards would OVERCLOCK... FUCK YOU CARDS.

once I overclock the cards I should be able to do 26k I would say if not a bit more. I think these cards are scaling very very well together.

[Cutless009]

I cant get my cards to clock past 675/link and 1100 mem :-/

[zlojack]

I cant get my cards to clock past 675/link and 1100 mem :-/
Watercooled or air?

Mine haven't done so well on air. I should have tri-SLI watercooled cards up and running (hopefully) next weekend. My 3rd card and block are on the way.

[Cutless009]

all air cooled here, couldnt afford a second loop :-/ I really want to but I cant justify $500 for a Vid loop :-/

[zlojack]

all air cooled here, couldnt afford a second loop :-/ I really want to but I cant justify $500 for a Vid loop :-/

I understand that!

Well, I know these cards get very hot so you might be limited by temps on that.

[Cutless009]

Yah they already get up to ~87c when gaming....

I have another question though. My OC is highly stable, but for some reason my FPU is not? I kept getting bluescreens while trying to benchmark all of a sudden, so I Stressed each component individually until I got a bluescreen, and without fail stressing the FPU causes a bluescreen 100% of the time. Whats up with that? Is that built in to the CPU now, or is it still on the motherboard? And what can I do to stabilize it?

[zlojack]

Not sure...

[Cutless009]

Hmmm, it wasnt doing it before, how strange

[Chicken Patty]

Hmmm, it wasnt doing it before, how strange

whats your VTT voltage at now?

[Cutless009]

whats your VTT voltage at now?

CPU VTT Voltage is at +300mV, Vcore is at 1.55v

[Chicken Patty]

CPU VTT Voltage is at +300mV, Vcore is at 1.55v

that is a lot of vcore, I think that is like 1.45v. Well not a lot, but its at its safe limit.


You mind posting your other voltages in your BIOS? See if we can troubleshoot the issue here. Also give me a shot of CPUz if you can.

[Cutless009]

Vcore: 1.55v
VTT Voltage: +300mV
PLL Vcore: 1.8v
DIMM Voltage: 1.8v
DIMM DQ Vref: +0mV
QPI PLL VCore: 1.45
IOH Vcore: 1.45
IOH/ICH I/O Voltage: 1.7
ICH Vcore: 1.45
PWM Frequency: 1067

[Chicken Patty]

Vcore: 1.55v
VTT Voltage: +300mV
PLL Vcore: 1.8v
DIMM Voltage: 1.8v
DIMM DQ Vref: +0mV
QPI PLL VCore: 1.45
IOH Vcore: 1.45
IOH/ICH I/O Voltage: 1.7
ICH Vcore: 1.45
PWM Frequency: 1067

what clock dude? multi and FSB.

voltages seem a bit high, at 4.2 Ghz I used as follows


200*21 HT on, turbo ON
Vcore: 1.3625 (1.42v in windows 100% stable)
VTT Voltage: +250
PLL Vcore: 1.8
DIMM Voltage: 1.625v
DIMM DQ Vref: 0
QPI PLL VCore: 1.4
IOH Vcore: 1.4
IOH/ICH I/O Voltage: 1.6
ICH Vcore: 1.4
PWM Frequency: 800 KHz

[Cutless009]

212x21 @ 4.45ghz

[Chicken Patty]

212x21 @ 4.45ghz

hmmm, the BSOD you are getting might just be the CPU maxing out. You might need some sort of extreme cooling to go higher. Or more voltage but as it gets hotter it will only need even more voltage. 4.45 GHz is a great clock my friend.

If you back it down to 4.0 GHz is it stable?

I dont know what platform you come from, but the i7's are not like the QX processors. The i7's are the first CPUs for intel with Integrated Memory Controllers therefore they are still a bit weak in that department. If you get a CPU with a good IMC, expect good clocks, if it doesnt clock well, the IMC is not as good. That has been the thing to blame with these CPU's.


We currently have Revision C, Revision D is supposed to released in the near future which hosts better Memory Controllers, and the CPU's are supposed to run cooler, as you see these now are heat monster!

[Cutless009]

hmmm, the BSOD you are getting might just be the CPU maxing out. You might need some sort of extreme cooling to go higher. Or more voltage but as it gets hotter it will only need even more voltage. 4.45 GHz is a great clock my friend.

If you back it down to 4.0 GHz is it stable?

I dont know what platform you come from, but the i7's are not like the QX processors. The i7's are the first CPUs for intel with Integrated Memory Controllers therefore they are still a bit weak in that department. If you get a CPU with a good IMC, expect good clocks, if it doesnt clock well, the IMC is not as good. That has been the thing to blame with these CPU's.


We currently have Revision C, Revision D is supposed to released in the near future which hosts better Memory Controllers, and the CPU's are supposed to run cooler, as you see these now are heat monster!

ITs 100% stable at 4.2ghz, and 99% stable at 4.3 :)

[Chicken Patty]

ITs 100% stable at 4.2ghz, and 99% stable at 4.3 :)

how much voltage for 4.2 GHz and how much for 4.3 GHz?

sometimes the extra 100-200 Mhz are not worth it for the amount of voltage you have to add!

thats why I run mine at 4.0 Ghz 1.317v daily.

I can do 4.2 GHz perfectly fine, but i need 1.42v. not worth the extra 200 Mhz. I only do that for benching, but I bench at 4.35-4.4 Ghz at around 1.5-1.55v

[Cutless009]

have to run 1.5 to get 4.2/4.3 and 1.575 to get 4.45 close to working.

[zlojack]

You're pushing the upper limits of what that chip can do. It's not surprising you're getting BSOD at those voltages and those frequencies.

One thing I've noticed with these chips is it's about balancing the voltages. Sometimes even lowering a certain voltage can get you stable!

[Cutless009]

yah IVe been toying with the voltages up and down, I think Ive tried every voltage between 1.42 and 1.6 :)

[zlojack]

Ah, but in what combinations?

What do you do for stability testing?

[Cutless009]

http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=517388 <~~~woot

For stability testing I run SuperPI 1m first, then run the Stress Tests in Everest 1 by 1, and if that all goes well, then I run them all together, and if that goes well then I run 3DMark Vantage to get a score.

[Chicken Patty]

the combinations that work best for me as far as voltages is qpi/vtt and vcore.

[zlojack]

http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=517388 <~~~woot

For stability testing I run SuperPI 1m first, then run the Stress Tests in Everest 1 by 1, and if that all goes well, then I run them all together, and if that goes well then I run 3DMark Vantage to get a score.

Do you crunch/fold?

[zlojack]

I caved today when I was at the shop and grabbed a new chip :D

The batch showed one result on a Korean site, where the guy had 1.26v for 4GHz!

So I bought it and so far it's doing well.

3842A321 i7 920

So far so good at 4GHz 191x21 HT on.

Passes 5 LinX passes with 1.38v in E-LEET, set to 1.34 in bios (vdroop disabled in bios)

VTT 1.39
CPU PLL 1.85
QPI PLL 1.35
RAM 1.68 (1.65 bios)

I'm going to try for the lowest vcore possible at 4GHz. I tried to keep the same vcore and go up, but it seems not to like to go higher than 4GHz. I tried 195x21 and it bluescreened.

I'll post screenshots and temps once I get closer to the final 24/7 settings.

I'm going to test with 1.325 in bios and see where it goes with LinX

Cutless, you should try running LinX for some stability testing! That really gives your chip a workout!

[Cutless009]

yah Im on the R3 team just have all my rigs down atm cuz Ive had them all switched up etc and been changing parts around.

[zlojack]

Ah cool.

Dude, I think it would take a very rare i7 920 that will run 4.3GHz 24/7 with crunching! Just to manage your expectations there...

[Chicken Patty]

Ah cool.

Dude, I think it would take a very rare i7 920 that will run 4.3GHz 24/7 with crunching! Just to manage your expectations there...

you are right, hes getting a great clock.


As far as your new chip, thats awesome. try to go lower, my current CPU is stable at 4.0 Ghz 1.317v, load is 1.35v. Im sure if he did 4ghz @ 1.26v stable, you can go lower than what you are now. My vtt is @ 1.29v BTW, you might want to give it a shot a bit lower as well :)

[Cutless009]

Yah at 4.2 its ROCK SOLID for crunching I think, I left it at a 100% CPU stress test all night last night and came back to 36c core temp and it still running. 4.3 is..... well stable enough to game, but it crashes if I try to do anything horribly stressful on the CPU or graphics. I think the power through the board and the chip is just overload at that point and its saturating the bus paths.

[Chicken Patty]

Yah at 4.2 its ROCK SOLID for crunching I think, I left it at a 100% CPU stress test all night last night and came back to 36c core temp and it still running. 4.3 is..... well stable enough to game, but it crashes if I try to do anything horribly stressful on the CPU or graphics. I think the power through the board and the chip is just overload at that point and its saturating the bus paths.

I would just leave it 4.2 GHz, thats a good overclock, these CPUs have HT and are monsters, a lower clock you'll still be ahead of a QX at a higher clock.

[Cutless009]

Yah I just want to push this one to the limits, its really the first serious overclocking Ive ever done, i just got a validated 4.5ghz, I think thats fast enough for me, gonna back it down back to 4.2 and call it a day :)

[Chicken Patty]

Yah I just want to push this one to the limits, its really the first serious overclocking Ive ever done, i just got a validated 4.5ghz, I think thats fast enough for me, gonna back it down back to 4.2 and call it a day :)

4.5 GHz validation thats awesome, I have only validated at 4.4 Ghz, I dont dare to push further lol.


However just get some rest from overclocking and try another day, it helps, trust me :)

[Cutless009]

yah... sometimes its nice to actually USE the computer :D lol

[zlojack]

you are right, hes getting a great clock.


As far as your new chip, thats awesome. try to go lower, my current CPU is stable at 4.0 Ghz 1.317v, load is 1.35v. Im sure if he did 4ghz @ 1.26v stable, you can go lower than what you are now. My vtt is @ 1.29v BTW, you might want to give it a shot a bit lower as well :)
I'm working on lower voltages now.

I've been bumping down the vcore, but I think I'll give vtt another notch down as well.

[Chicken Patty]

yah... sometimes its nice to actually USE the computer :D lol


yeah it is, thats why i stopped overclocking the i7 like a month ago, its nice to use it you know lol. I have my amd rig for the hardcore abuse and benching lol. Its down right now though. Got a brand new mobo. DFI off newegg, worked four days. Tomorrow im going to try it on another board see if its Cpu or board. If its CPU im getting a Phenom II, if its the board RMA. I didnt even overclock much, I was on factory cooler so I was not pushing it hard at all.
I'm working on lower voltages now.

I've been bumping down the vcore, but I think I'll give vtt another notch down as well.

Keep us posted, I have a good feeling about your new CPU :)

[zlojack]

1.3v in bios going to 1.35 under load seems to be the lowest to pass 5x LinX

Next up is to leave it crunching all night and see if it makes it.

[Chicken Patty]

1.3v in bios going to 1.35 under load seems to be the lowest to pass 5x LinX

Next up is to leave it crunching all night and see if it makes it.

thats good. thats exactly how mine is set up, ive been crunching for like a week and half now no problems at all.

[Cutless009]

So here's my validated 4.5ghz:

http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=517558

And now Im on to lower voltages and safer pastures with you guys. Currently running ~4ghz @ 1.35v:

http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z6/Cutless1/lowvolt.png


Still work on it I keep getting this horrid bug where my USB locks up/repeats now that Im down in these low voltages. Its irritating.

[Chicken Patty]

So here's my validated 4.5ghz:

http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=517558

And now Im on to lower voltages and safer pastures with you guys. Currently running ~4ghz @ 1.35v:

http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z6/Cutless1/lowvolt.png


Still work on it I keep getting this horrid bug where my USB locks up/repeats now that Im down in these low voltages. Its irritating.

thats an awesome clock bro :up:

enjoy the rig for a bit bro :)

[Cutless009]

well its not stable yet, LinX blue screens it for some reason.... :-/

[Chicken Patty]

well its not stable yet, LinX blue screens it for some reason.... :-/

4.0 GHz is not stable?

[Chicken Patty]

my latest and im off to bed, my cards were at 760/900 10mhz core overclock on each.


http://img.techpowerup.org/090228/Capture090.jpg

[Cutless009]

4.0 GHz is not stable?

yup 4ghz = not stable at 1.35v, stable at 1.4. Trying for 4.2 on 1.4v, no luck so far.

[zlojack]

Well, 1.3 in bios didn't crunch overnight. I awoke to a BSOD. So I know that somewhere between 1.3 and 1.35 in bios I should be good. I'm also going to play with VTT a bit.

[Chicken Patty]

^^^ looks like that CPU likes some voltage :(. Keep us posted with you findings/results from adjusting the vtt.

[zlojack]

^^^ looks like that CPU likes some voltage :(. Keep us posted with you findings/results from adjusting the vtt.
1.354 in E-LEET now with VTT at 1.39 and it seems to be doing well. 5 hours crunching so far.

Temps are higher with this chip, but maybe I did a bad mount with my Supreme

This is better so far. I think I'll stay like this.

[Chicken Patty]

1.354 in E-LEET now with VTT at 1.39 and it seems to be doing well. 5 hours crunching so far.

Temps are higher with this chip, but maybe I did a bad mount with my Supreme

This is better so far. I think I'll stay like this.

what chip are you comparing temps with?


If its stable just enjoy it for now, then try to go up little by little, no big jumps

[zlojack]

what chip are you comparing temps with?


If its stable just enjoy it for now, then try to go up little by little, no big jumps
Comparing it to my old chip.

We're talking about a 10C difference under load at the same volts.

[Cutless009]

I think I broke somtn, anytime I try to clock up to even 4ghz I lose my onboard LAN and my USB starts freaking out, even at just 1.35v

[Ricey]

I just started pushing mine and I find it strange. No signs of instability whatsoever even on the edge. And then blue screen.

So far, it still manages 3.8 Ghz at stock volts.. on stock heatsink.. not bad eh? I'll try 1.35 volts after the water cooling is going. 4 Ghz is all I want, really. This thing is so increibly different from Kentsfield. My Adobe Premiere times are sliced in half.

[zlojack]

The thing I find so far with i7 is...Prime and LinX don't give me an error at all. If there's instability..boom... BSOD!

[Chicken Patty]

I think I broke somtn, anytime I try to clock up to even 4ghz I lose my onboard LAN and my USB starts freaking out, even at just 1.35v

did you try to load defaults and run it at default settings to see?




The thing I find so far with i7 is...Prime and LinX don't give me an error at all. If there's instability..boom... BSOD!

that is true, it is unpredictable lol

[Chicken Patty]

a little bit higher on the cards

http://img.techpowerup.org/090228/Capture095.jpg

[Cutless009]

did you try to load defaults and run it at default settings to see?






that is true, it is unpredictable lol

yah for some reason anytime I clock it up to anything over 3.7ghz/175bclk, I lose my LAN and my USB acts strange, but its perfectly stable?

[Chicken Patty]

yah for some reason anytime I clock it up to anything over 3.7ghz/175bclk, I lose my LAN and my USB acts strange, but its perfectly stable?

weird. I dont know, FIT had that problem with his DFI, but I dont think it was after a certain clock, I think they just went bad and thats it.

[Cutless009]

seems its gone away now, but I still cant get LinX to run at 21x200, it just locks up immediately and bluescreens... Im at 1.475v Vcore, +300mV VTT, 1.8 PLL, 1.45 IOH and 1.4 ICH... seems like that should be stable... I cant figure out why its not. Everything else is solid as a rock cept the processor and its upsetting me. I can play games do photoshop 3D etc, but I want to make it fold at 4.2ghz.

[Cutless009]

OK I think its HT thats my problem, with 1-4 threads in LinX I can crush it all day and its fine (although retardedly hot @ 51C core temp), 5 seemed to do ok, but at 6 threads it completely freaked out and bluescreened after just 3 seconds and 1 operation completed.

Any chance of getting this to cruch at 4.2 with HT enabled?

[Chicken Patty]

OK I think its HT thats my problem, with 1-4 threads in LinX I can crush it all day and its fine (although retardedly hot @ 51C core temp), 5 seemed to do ok, but at 6 threads it completely freaked out and bluescreened after just 3 seconds and 1 operation completed.

Any chance of getting this to cruch at 4.2 with HT enabled?

I think your CHIP just doesnt have the best IMC. how about 4.1 GHz ht ON?

[Cutless009]

Whats an IMC? Nothing over 3.8ghz is stable with HT enabled at 1.5v Vcore.

[zlojack]

That's the reality of these chips.

There are very few around that can do 4.2

3.8-4 is MUCH more common. Especially when it comes to crunching 24/7

[Cutless009]

demand 4.2ghz 24/7 crunch stable OR ELSE.

[Chicken Patty]

demand 4.2ghz 24/7 crunch stable OR ELSE.

uh oh :(

IMC is Integrated Memory Controller, like AMD's, they have the memory controller on the CPU itself. Get a chip with a weaker IMC, it overclocks like s**t. thats why most people hit a wall at around 200-205 FSB. It all depends on the IMC on the chip. its been said before, especially in the i7 thread over at XS, the one I linked you to a bit ago. The IMC is to blame for poor performing chips in the case of the i7.

Like I said, revision D is coming soon, they are supposed to have way better IMC's and overclock much better as they will handle FSB of over 200 much better. Lets see what they have in store for us :)

[Cutless009]

hmmm I just went out and read abut D0 and all it says is they are changing some serial number label on the processor, thats it? Where's the info about the better IMC etc?

[Cutless009]

So I'm starting to rather enjoy this overclocking thing. After much help from Zlo, Fits, and ChickenP, I'm now pretty comfortable with overclocking my I7. My last question is this: What does ICH and IOH voltage affect?


I've decided to start trying to overclock my ram. Here you can see my ram at DDR3 ~1600 @ ~800mhz at stock speeds. I'm hoping to get it up to the full DDR3 1866 or at least close to it with my overclock when Im done, wish me luck!

http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z6/Cutless1/memoryclock.png

[Chicken Patty]

hmmm I just went out and read abut D0 and all it says is they are changing some serial number label on the processor, thats it? Where's the info about the better IMC etc?

the info is somewhere in the i7 thread that I linked a page or so back. over at XS, I read it but that thread it huge bro. If I find it i'll link you to it. However the info can be false, but thats what the word was. I don't think they'll release a new revision without changing anything but a label. They have something up their sleeve....

...hopefully :D


AND GOOD LUCK WITH THE MEM OVERCLOCKING. Glad we could be of assistance buddy :up:

[Cutless009]

I got it to 1ghz, but now my whole system jitters, like even anything graphical, it just, blows, and its not the cards, because if I de-clock the CPU/mem they run fine. So strange.

[Chicken Patty]

I got it to 1ghz, but now my whole system jitters, like even anything graphical, it just, blows, and its not the cards, because if I de-clock the CPU/mem they run fine. So strange.

Read this, its not too long, theres your answer:

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showpost.php?p=3495431&postcount=876

[Chicken Patty]

finally hit my goal of 25k :D

http://img.techpowerup.org/090301/Capture096.jpg

[Cutless009]

congrats!

So basically, my voltages are too high then? Or am I misreading that? Im so noob -_-;

[Chicken Patty]

congrats!

So basically, my voltages are too high then? Or am I misreading that? Im so noob -_-;

thanks bro, here I cut and paste here only the part that you needed to read most importantly. This is why you cant get the mem to run at 1ghz stable, its very hard to do so.


To understand this note the maximum QPI link speed we mentioned earlier. Using the simple ratio we defined, we can see that with the maximum QPI link speed of 4.0GHz we can have a theoretical maximum Uncore of 4.0GHz and a maximum memory speed of 2.0GHz. These however are only theoretical maximums and are by no means guaranteed. For starters, QPI and Uncore cannot be run at the same speed as any clock oscillations can result in a crash if the ratio of QPI to Uncore ever falls below 1:1. Therefore, Uncore must always be below QPI to avoid this, and preferably below the 8:9 Uncore to QPI ratio to guarantee stability. Consequently, if we cannot achieve 4.0GHz Uncore, this means that we absolutely cannot achieve 2.0GHz memory and we can therefore not guarantee any stability for 2.0GHz memory. Technically, the maximum DRAM speed for a stable system is equal to ((Max. Uncore) / (Safe QPI:Uncore Ratio)) / 2 or (4.0GHz / 9:8) / 2 = 1.777GHz. In between 1.777GHz DRAM and 2.0GHz DRAM you are likely to experience some level of instability over the long term. Past 2.0GHz you are just plain lucky.

[Chicken Patty]

^^that meaning that the current QPI's they can handle up to 4 GHz, you do have a few people that go over that, but they either got a good good chip or have some sort of extreme cooling.

WHen your QPI starts to reach 4 GHz which is at about 222 FSB, they crap out. Remember your Uncore has to be less than the QPI. so if you have memeory at 1ghz, which is 2ghz in reality, the uncore has to be at least 4ghz. Meaning that is the max you can go. at that point either you raised your uncore to be the same speed as your QPI link, or your QPI has already gone well over 4ghz causing the rig to not be stable.

[Cutless009]

sweet thanks CP, got it fixed up. Was pushing 4100mhz Uncore = unstable! lol.

[Chicken Patty]

sweet thanks CP, got it fixed up. Was pushing 4100mhz Uncore = unstable! lol.

:::takes a bow::: lol, your welcome :D

Keep us posted .

[Cutless009]

getting close to my goal of 35,000!

http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z6/Cutless1/3DMark.jpg


So heres my question.... why is my GPU score so freakin low? I cant clock the cards any higher cuz they get all unstable and bluescreen, is there some voltages or something I need to be upping in the bios, or do I need to increase the PCI-X speed to get them higher, or what? Because thats an aweful low GPU score for TRI-SLI methinks!

[Chicken Patty]

getting close to my goal of 35,000!

http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z6/Cutless1/3DMark.jpg


So heres my question.... why is my GPU score so freakin low? I cant clock the cards any higher cuz they get all unstable and bluescreen, is there some voltages or something I need to be upping in the bios, or do I need to increase the PCI-X speed to get them higher, or what? Because thats an aweful low GPU score for TRI-SLI methinks!

can you complete that run with HT on?

[Cutless009]

HELL no, HT wont run over 3.65 stable :( This chip blows and loves voltage :down:

[Chicken Patty]

HELL no, HT wont run over 3.65 stable :( This chip blows and loves voltage :down:

hmm I Dont know what to tell ya.

[Cutless009]

eh I hear ya, but I think 34,400 is a perfectly acceptable 3D Mark Score :)

[Chicken Patty]

eh I hear ya, but I think 34,400 is a perfectly acceptable 3D Mark Score :)

heck yeah, i do about 17.7k with my 4870's. so yeah yours is acceptable :D

[Cutless009]

SOOOO close!

http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z6/Cutless1/34811.jpg

look at that processor score!

[zlojack]

SOOOO close!

http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z6/Cutless1/34811.jpg

look at that processor score!

Cutless, deactivate PhysX in your video drivers to get the score for you CPU. That's running PhysX on your vid card.

[Chicken Patty]

SOOOO close!

http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z6/Cutless1/34811.jpg

look at that processor score!

thats a damn good score, man you are so close, the cards wont go another 5 Mhz or something lol.??

[Cutless009]

nope, wont do it :-/ Oh well I got damn close! and honestly at almost 35K 3Dmark points, I seriously doubt theres an question about this PC's gaming power :)

[Chicken Patty]

nope, wont do it :-/ Oh well I got damn close! and honestly at almost 35K 3Dmark points, I seriously doubt theres an question about this PC's gaming power :)

i only have 4870's crossfired and its awesome bro. Games run smooth as hell. Time to install FSX now :D

[Chicken Patty]

new best for me over 26k :D

http://img.techpowerup.org/090302/Capture099.jpg

[Cutless009]

WOOOO keep crankin man! GO GO GO! hit 30K!

[Chicken Patty]

WOOOO keep crankin man! GO GO GO! hit 30K!

haha thats too much bro lol.


I'll keep tweaking, i'll keep you'll posted :D

[Chicken Patty]

a tad higher

[sam1947]

No luck with 211x19

But I'm back to my good settings :D Now I'm inspired to push for 4GHz again. The 20X multi isn't giving me ANYTHING. Totally crap.

Just an observation zlojack...are you using the vanilla X58 (EVGA) or are you using the new Classsified?? If so, you are using the wrong Bios, the latest (vanilla) bios is SZ27, while the Classified X58 is S21H...could be part of your problem.....just my .02

[zlojack]

Just an observation zlojack...are you using the vanilla X58 (EVGA) or are you using the new Classsified?? If so, you are using the wrong Bios, the latest (vanilla) bios is SZ27, while the Classified X58 is S21H...could be part of your problem.....just my .02
Thanks Sam.

Remember that post you quoted is from January :D

I have since updated to the Classified and I haven't done much overclocking with it yet as I'm currently on stock air waiting for some parts to get here.

[sam1947]

Thanks Sam.

Remember that post you quoted is from January :D

I have since updated to the Classified and I haven't done much overclocking with it yet as I'm currently on stock air waiting for some parts to get here.

Yep...my error, sometimes I forget to check the posting dates..just get to reading..what are you waiting for on the classified ??

[zlojack]

Yep...my error, sometimes I forget to check the posting dates..just get to reading..what are you waiting for on the classified ??
My Swiftech MCR stackables got lost by USPS and Canada Post and I still have to order my U2-UFO CYO

Probably sometime in the next few weeks. I'm not really in a hurry. Just slowly collecting everything. I had some unexpected expenses come up that set the project back a bit, but I should be back on track soon.