OC'ing

[spyknee]

OK,
I read some stuff about the modern i7 boards and whew! Have to read it 10 more times. So, right now I know my limitation is my ram, 1333MHz.
If I bios, 21x multiplier, 8:6 dram ratio, bclk 166, QPI 44x, with i7 920.
I get a incrediably stable [email protected], [email protected], 1333MHz ram, auto volts and auto load line calibration selected. CPU at 41C
If I bios, 18x multiplier, 6:4 dram ratio, bclk 222, QPI 36x, with the i7 920.
I get a [email protected], [email protected], 1333MHz ram, auto volts and auto load line calibration selected, that will not boot. Message said volts to high blah, blah, blah.
The goal was to keep the ram at 1333MHz and of course bump the cpu.
So in laymans terms please, and I realize I'll probably have to upgrade ram,
How come she won't fly, goosed this way?

TY

ps: educate me please

 

[whest]

Can you turn the FSB up that will automatically set the volts and freq for the cpu and memory to somewhere in between if its anything like mine, but thats all i do with mine a 6850 3.0 core duo @ 3.8 maxed - still boot at 3.9 but errors. Mine defaults to 333 and I have it at 410 FSB which gives me a cpu @3.7 for extra stability and less heat and thats with ddr2. Wait for the xperts they will be along soon to help you .

 

[spyknee]

Whest,
i7 mobos, no longer have a front side bus, its QPI now. Everything is somekind of interconnected ratios. Changing the BCLK settings affects not only the cpu MHz, but the ram MHz is also affected due to the dram ratio. I should have looked at what auto volting was choosing. Probably selected a way to high value and bios prevented boot. My guess is that I need to try taking the voltage settings out of auto mode. Using predifined voltages instead. I know what certain maxes are so....................
Figured I pump the smater guys first.

 

[spyknee]

So,
I fiddled some more today and pretty much lost.
I did manage to get BCLK to 171x. Cpu 3.586MHz, ram 1368MHZ, QPI 7.5MHz. Its more of a goose to ram by 33MHz. But its stable, cool, and numbers smidge higher. Mobo did not like static volt input of any kind. Wants auto Load Line calib. and auto volt select. Temp same as before (sab). I was not going crazy with volts either. Just some recommended caps, system no likey with "a Know stable", bios config.
So in short, I need faster ram. grrrrrrrr not happening right now.

 

[Zen00]

I've been messing around with OCing my i7 as well, it can get pretty hairy in there. You want to mess around with your RAM multiplier, this will allow you to change the RAM frequency semi-separately from the CPU, at least you'll be able to lower the RAM frequency without sacrificing CPU power. If you want more comprehensive OCing guides, I suggest Overclock.net - Overclocking.net

 

[spyknee]

Ah Yes,
But I bought cheap ram, no frills, 1333MHz. Question is how far will it let me push 1399MHz ????????? That would get me above cpu 3.6MHz, solid. Let this setting sit for a month, no issues, I'll goose the BCLK again. I'm not buying any ram this season! LOL
So,
3DMark06, now 24424
WEI, mem subscore now 7.8, cpu still 7.6 bah!

 

[Zen00]

The secret is, 1600MHz RAM is 1333MHz RAM that has been certified to be good enough to run at higher speeds without issues. You could probably OC your ram to 1600MHz with no problems.

 

[spyknee]

The secret is, 1600MHz RAM is 1333MHz RAM that has been certified to be good enough to run at higher speeds without issues. You could probably OC your ram to 1600MHz with no problems.

AHH So!

 

[spyknee]

So,
I played it safe. BCLK 183, x21, x36. Is stable and I get cpu 3.8MHz, ram 1466MHz, QPI 6.5MHz.
WEI score, no change
ATTO score, no change
3DMark06 score, 24791
Temp, 43^C

I lowered QPI multiplier, cuz QPI not stable over 7.99MHz I read, going with the flow. All else auto.
No real heat difference.
Surprised that WEI cpu subscore did not go up.
Did not expect ATTO score to change.

 

[spyknee]

Hmmm,
No real info flowing, not a popular subject?:huh:

 

[Zen00]

My board auto adjusts the QPI, so I don't know what's going on there. I haven't had much luck with voltages either. One strange thing is my RAM uses significantly less energy than advertised, a pleasant surprise.

 

[smarteyeball]

Ah Yes,
But I bought cheap ram, no frills, 1333MHz.

What are it's stock timings?

Maybe you could get away with a higher OC / higher Ram clock speed if you relax the timings further.

Perhaps even up the volts to 1.64 and bump up the vtt if need be.

WEI, cpu still 7.6 bah!

I wouldn't be too concerned with the WEI. 4.0ghz only nets you 7.7 - The WEI is hardly worth worrying about

 

[spyknee]

All the dram stuff is on auto. Pushing the ram to 1466MHz, was a help. There timings are 10-10-10-25? Got the cpu to 3.85MHz. I was using the auto volt settings. Now I have the cpu at 1.35v fixed, lowered cpu temp a little. Auto had it at 1.375v. Changed uncore multiplier to 16x from auto( ram at 8X), so NB went from 3660MHz to 2972MHz. Put ram volt at 1.6v fixed, from auto choice.

 

[spyknee]

OK, The pics.
I guess from here, I'll start trying to remove things in bios from auto. Mobo definitely likes its auto choices, it also allows me to see what it considers a default value. Auto selects are definitely placing values at the same levels, as peoples online OC'ing strategies. Lowering cpu volts from 1.375 to 1.35 volts was worth 5C in temp difference.

 

[smarteyeball]

I guess from here, I'll start trying to remove things in bios from auto. Mobo definitely likes its auto choices, it also allows me to see what it considers a default value.

Generally, getting as much voltage settings off auto is a good start.

Depending on board/bios - some default voltage settings err on the side of high for stock and some even push them into unsafe territories when OC'ing some values.

Auto selects are definitely placing values at the same levels, as peoples online OC'ing strategies. Lowering cpu volts from 1.375 to 1.35 volts was worth 5C in temp difference.

So far you're on the right track. If you have a good chip, you can probably get away with an even lower vcore. (unlike my DO which needs CO volts )


Once you are satisfied with CPU OC, then you can start looking at fine tuning some of those those timings to see if you can tighten them back up a little if possible.

ie 10-9-9-24 etc

If it's currently stable @ 3.85ghz - then you've done well so far.



Have you done any stress testing yet?

►CPU:

LinX 0.6.4

(Best just copying the files to a folder instead of installing. It has a weird big where it sometimes fails to start when 'installed' )

IBT 2.4

20 runs recommended for both

(Both of those are essentially the same, but with different GUI's and will test all 8 cores if you have Hyper Threading enabled - crashes, freezes etc are usually caused by insufficient vcore.)

►CPU + RAM:

Prime 95 x64

(Tortue test > Blend - enable 'round off checking' under Advanced)

8 -24hr recommended



►RAM:

Memtest86+

8 pass minimum recommended unless errors appear straight away.





No single test is a guarantee of stability, but they give a good indication of where to look for your next adjustment.

Personally I start with either LinX or IBT because they are quicker, then go for P95 once they pass either of those two.


Good luck