Manual timing holding strong, now time to OC

[Xenor]

After setting my timing manually, I'm happy to report I no longer "lose" 2GB of RAM after reboots. Hopefully engineers can figure out what is going on with the X58 chipset and why the XMP profiles don't automatically stick.

Regardless, now that I have my i7-960 stable at stock setting and the RAM running at its rated 1600 MHz (12800CL8TU), I'm wondering if anyone has suggestions for a stable OC up to 4.0GHz? I'm running on an ASUS P6T Deluxe V2 and have a ZeroTherm cooler. Idle temps are 36-38 and 100% on Prime 95 holds in around 70.

Thanks in advance.

[GSKILL TECH]

Settings should look roughly like this for 4.0GHz.. =)

Ai Overclock Tuner - Manual
CPU Ratio Setting - 20
Intel SpeedStep Tech - Disabled
BCLK Frequency - 200
DRAM Frequency - DDR3-1600
UCLK Frequency - 3200MHz
QPI Link Data Rate - AUTO

DRAM Timing Control
CAS Latency - 8
tRCD - 8
tRP - 8
tRAS - 21
Command Rate - 2N

CPU Voltage - 1.40V (Will need to test for the lowest stable value)
QPI/DRAM Core Voltage - 1.35V (Will need to test for the lowest stable value)
IOH Voltage - 1.35V
IOH PCIE Voltage - 1.6V
ICH Voltage - 1.20V
ICH PCIE Voltage - 1.60V
DRAM Bus Voltage - 1.66V

Load Line Calibration - Disabled

Thank you
GSKILL TECH

[Xenor]

OC not there yet

OK...so my first few attempts to OC to 4.0 did not seem to work. I'm guessing that BCLK is the best place to start with lower numbers?

Also, the ASUS firmware game me a nasty message about DRAM Bus Voltage over 1.65...saying that it is outside of the Intel specs. Its quite possible that this message appears for any and all OC attempts on the board, but its the first time I've seen a BIOS come back with such a hearty warning. Is there a place on the board (North Bridge, South Bridge, etc..) where I should put some extra cooling if I have to keep the voltage so high?

Thanks.

[GSKILL TECH]

What was the result? You can try lower multipliers, especially for CPU Ratio.

You should not need to exceed DRAM Voltage 1.65V. As far as cooling, just make sure CPU temps stay low. The memory controller is embedded in the CPU, so essentially all heat is going there.

Thank you
GSKILL TECH

[Xenor]

Closing in on 4.0

Well, right now I seem to be doing OK with BCLK at 160 and voltage @ 1.64. It reports as 1.416V in CPU-Z. When the machine is under stress, the Core Speed goes up to 3999 MHz, but the QPI never goes about 3000. Also, BIOS reports it as 3.84 GHz during POST, but windows still lists it as 960@3.20GHz.

CPU-Z also reports the NB Frequency as 3200 MHz, with timings of 8.8.8.21 2T. FSBRAM is 2:10

So I haven't locked down the multiplier or anything else, just the timing, the BCLK and the voltage.

WEI jumped up to 7.7 on the processor and 7.8 on the RAM, up from 7.6 and 7.7 respectively.

I haven't had a chance to run Prime95 yet, but so far temps haven't gone above 70 when gaming or crunching video.

[GSKILL TECH]

Find the stable QPI/DRAM Core Voltage for this setting, then you can increase BCLK and even overclock the memory. Knowing the exact voltage for this makes overclocking much easier. Much easier for me to help as well.

Seems like you are using the 24X CPU Ratio. The 3999MHz in CPU-z is just a glitch. Your target BCLK does not need to be that high, since you have the 960. BCLK 180 you are already capable of 4320GHz, CPU Frequency, and I'm sure you won't be going that high unless using better CPU cooling. BCLK 180 with the 10X memory multiplier gives you DDR3-1800, so you can set timings to 9-9-9-24 and it should be fine. Just stating possible targets.

Thank you
GSKILL TECH

[Xenor]

aftermarket cooler

I am running with the zerotherm cpu cooler. I so far have seen idles at 37-38 and highs at 70-72. I'm sure pushing more in there would drive that up. I know the max is 100, but going over 70 makes me nervous. I guess I'll have to find a better cooling option if I want to push more. It just seems silly to see folks with 920 running at 4.2-4.3 and mine is supposedly the better proc.


I'll get back to you guys after the holiday. Thanks for the help.

[GSKILL TECH]

Well most people aren't running memory frequencies this high. Most will stick to DDR3-1600 range for 4.2GHz+ overclocks. The less memory controller voltage, the less CPU heat.

Also, if your max temp is under burn test 100% load (all cores), I don't know what you do with your computer, but in real world, most people will not reach anything near that.

Thank you
GSKILL TECH

[Xenor]

Video Encoding & Gaming at Max

I do heavy loads of video encoding. On the bright side, i7 cores don't seem to max out at 100% no matter how hard I try with my current encoding programs. That used to happen all the time with Core 2 Duo procs. I'm pretty sure it has to do with speedboost shutting down the hyperthread to push the juice up on the core. Then again, I could have no idea what I'm talking about.

Still does the job in 1/3 of the time as my old C2Duo 3.0 GHz processor so...not complaining.

P.S. Well...earlier this weekend I lost 2GB again. However, I was reloading the OS to attempt to install RAID0 SSD volume, so its possible that it might have caused issues.

Since I am not the original purchaser of this RAM/MB combo, its quite possible that the wrong RAM was picked. I am relieved to see that many others are having issues with X58 on several different vendors equipment. I am relieved because it means its a design issue with Intel and/or the chipset, NOT a fault board or RAM. Hopefully a breakthrough will be found that lets us go back to using the simple XMP profile via BIOS. Talking customers through manual config would be a PITA.

[GSKILL TECH]

Then PITA is the least I deal with. haha

Yea, with the i7 900 series CPUs, even video encoding or rendering doesn't phase it at all. For people that can actually put it to use, it's a dream compared to any older systems. Literally. And as you probably already know, with a 4.20GHz CPU oc, DDR3-2000 setup, bandwidth is off the charts.

Did you try increasing the QPI/DRAM Voltage? That may be causing the loss in GB.

This will always be an issue because Intel only supports the standard, so clocking over the standard will always require manual settings. The closest you'll get is purchasing an overclocking motherboard, and generally they will already over volt more than your standard motherboard, so it's much easier to set up. ASUS Maximus III and the i7 860 for example, is the closest to that. Setting XMP alone, it was capable of DDR3-2400 easy. Then simply increase the CPU ratio for up to 22x 4.4GHz. I don't even think I adjusted CPU Voltage until 4.0GHz+. Is that sweet or what? If only everything was that easy.

Thank you
GSKILL TECH