i7-980X overclock..can this be improved?

Groupie

Joined: 02 Mar 2010
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 156

Quote

Posted: 15 Apr 2010 at 11:09pm

With the 27 x 167 OC I had to raise V-core to 1.4375 since one click lower I was having crash issues with Prime95. Here's CPU-Z. I assume that my memory is now at 1666? Anyhow, assume that with some tweaking I can get even better performance..ie same speed with lower temps (these are OK but I don't really want too much hotter) or a bit higher speed and same temps)

neilkaz

Groupie

Joined: 02 Mar 2010
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 156

Quote

Posted: 15 Apr 2010 at 11:22pm

OK lets see if this template has the relevent BIOS settings that are needed and hopefully can be fine tuned.

Frequency Control
CPU Clock Ratio ( 27X )CPU Host Frequency (Mhz) ( 183)

MCH Strap ( Auto )
CPU Uncore Frequency (Mhz) ( 20)
CPU Clock Skew ( 0 ps )
Spread Spectrum ( Disabled )
PCIE Frequency (Mhz) ( 100)

Voltage Control
EVGA VDroop Control ( Without Vdroop)
CPU VCore (Auto) 1.43750v
CPU VTT Voltage (Auto) +100mV

CPU PLL VCore (Auto) 1.800v
IOH PLL VCore (auto) 1.8V
DIMM Voltage ( 1.65)
DIMM DQ Vref ( +0mV )
QPI PLL VCore ( Auto ) 1.10v
IOH VCore 1.1v

IOH/ICH I/O Voltage ( Auto ) 1.50v
ICH VCore 1.1

VTT PWM Freq (250 Khz)
CPU PWM Frequency ( 800 Khz )

CPU Feature
Intel SpeedStep ( Disabled )
Turbo Mode Function ( Enabled )
CxE Function ( Disabled )
Execute Disable Bit ( Disabled )
Virtualization Technology ( Disabled )
Intel HT Technology ( Enabled )
Active Processor Cores ( All )
QPI Control Settings ( Enabled )
QPI Link Fast Mode ( Enabled )
QPI Frequency Selection 4.8GTs

neilkaz

Groupie

Joined: 02 Mar 2010
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 156

Quote

Posted: 15 Apr 2010 at 11:26pm

Oops CPU Clock Ratio ( 27X )CPU Host Frequency (Mhz) (167) off course for my target of 4.5 Ghz.

Note also that this 27 x 167 OC is at most 1 degree hotter than the 33 x 133 OC even though it needs two clicks more V-core. With 1 click more V core it was at least a degree cooler but couldn't handle Prime95.

Hopefully we can further improve and I can then let Prime run all night.

Thx .. neilkaz ..

Bullseye

Senior Member

Joined: 11 Jan 2010
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 880

Quote

Posted: 16 Apr 2010 at 4:45am

You have a really fast processor!

rholyrag

Senior Member

Joined: 17 Oct 2009
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 841

Quote

Posted: 16 Apr 2010 at 6:25am

Originally posted by neilkaz

Oops CPU Clock Ratio ( 27X )CPU Host Frequency (Mhz) (167) off course for my target of 4.5 Ghz.

Hopefully we can further improve and I can then let Prime run all night.

Thx .. neilkaz ..

neilkaz, looking forward to seeing what your final overclock is...

. Justin was a tremendous help to me when overclocking my i7 920.

What FFT length did Prime95 error on? The reason I ask is because I think I have the same type of RAM as you, and in order to get Prime95 24 hrs stable at 4.0GHz, I had to change my memory timings to 9-9-9-28-88-2T. With the command rate set to 1T it would pass 20 passes of Linx and memtest86, but would not pass 24 hours of Prime95. Hope this helps on your way to a higher overclock.

"What we do in life echoes in eternity" - Maximus from Gladiator

neilkaz

Groupie

Joined: 02 Mar 2010
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 156

Quote

Posted: 16 Apr 2010 at 3:13pm

Hopefully I can tweak this some more this weekend as like all of us I'd like to reduce temps without reducing speed and stability.

Justin et al, are they are recommended changes to these voltages? I note that quad core i7 OC's often have some of these higher.

QPI PLL VCore ( Auto ) 1.10v
IOH VCore 1.1v

IOH/ICH I/O Voltage ( Auto ) 1.50v
ICH VCore 1.1

What about these, should I raise them somewhat?

VTT PWM Freq (250 Khz)
CPU PWM Frequency ( 800 Khz )

Thx .. neilkaz ..

justin.kerr View Drop Down

DS Veteran

Joined: 06 May 2008
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 5084

Quote

Posted: 16 Apr 2010 at 3:22pm

If you have the B Clock at 167, and a 10 multi, you are overclocking the RAM, so I would suggest lowering the B clock to 161 for now.

QPI PLL V core 1.25

IOH Vcore 1.25

IOH/ICH I/O usually leave alone or one click up

ICH 1.15

PWM's leave alone

neilkaz

Groupie

Joined: 02 Mar 2010
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 156

Quote

Posted: 16 Apr 2010 at 3:48pm

Thx Justin..

re: RAM, yeah I was aware that this setting was slightly overclocking it. But is that a big problem? (if so please explain)

If I go to BCLK 161 and raise multiplier to 28 I still have 4.5 Ghz, but I have heard that i7's overclocks like odd multipliers and dislike even ones, is that true or just BS for the 980X?

thx .. neilkaz ..

justin.kerr View Drop Down

DS Veteran

Joined: 06 May 2008
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 5084

Quote

Posted: 16 Apr 2010 at 7:24pm

odd multi's have been more stable on i7's, don't know for sure about the 980's.

RAM speed, your RAM very well could overclock to 1800Mhz, but also it might not do over 1620mhz stable. so that is why I try to get the CPU speed stable, then start to tweak the RAM, problem is that they go together. lol

but they can be done separate so that you know where your limits are.

Don't worry about an overclock 6 core chip that runs 4.2Ghz or 4.5Ghz, it will really make nearly zero difference. any overclock from 4.2Ghz-4.8Ghz that is rock solid, runs cool, with all voltages at a decent level will be soo much better than an overclock that is slightly faster, but runs hot, or is not stable, or has high voltages..there has been a lot of 980x's killed due to high voltage, so for a 24/7 setup, don't push too hard, because it is not worth it.

neilkaz

Groupie

Joined: 02 Mar 2010
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 156

Quote

Posted: 17 Apr 2010 at 10:03pm

I have a memory speed question and am wondering what is going on here.

My memory is 6GB of DS Certified..ie the default stuff with Black Ops.

When I set multi to 33 or 34 and BCLK to 133 or 134 (been checking various OC's I have to set 2:12 for memory to get about 1600 and I do so in BIOS but CPU-Z reports as still 2:10 so my memory is still basically running at 1333.

Timings are 9-9-9-24 and the next number is 74 and I found things seems more stable using 2T.

Now when I run a 28 multi X 160 or 161 BCLK OC and set memory to be 2:10 , CPU-Z says 2:10 and I have 1600 Mhz memory as expected.

In both cases uncore is set appropriately.

Ideas ? .. thx .. neilkaz ..

justin.kerr View Drop Down

DS Veteran

Joined: 06 May 2008
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 5084

Quote

Posted: 17 Apr 2010 at 11:53pm

so it always defaults to 2:10 multi? if so easy fix.

neilkaz

Groupie

Joined: 02 Mar 2010
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 156

Quote

Posted: 18 Apr 2010 at 12:59am

Originally posted by justin.kerr

so it always defaults to 2:10 multi? if so easy fix.

Forgive me for asking newbish questions but since Venom said "For the memory, select the 2:12 divider (1600mhz), and set the first 4 timing settings to 9 9 9 24 and the command rate to 2t." How to fix other than by what I am doing and running a clock about 161? Also your advice on memory timing will be appreciated. I must be missing something obvious as to why 33 x 134 with 2:12 defaults to 2:10?

Anyhow..here's what has been running in Prime95 currently for about two hours:

27x163 w/V-core 1.4 That's almost 4.4GHz so I am happy enough. I decided to test with V-core maxed at 1.4 since inspite of having stage 4 cooling, I think from what you've implied I should be a bit cautious for a 24/7 OC.

Prime95 has been running more than 2 hours and the max temps I have 1 core at 75C another at 74, another at 72 and the rest mid/upper 60's. To me this is fine since my apps don't stress as much as prime and the hottest any core gets is 70 or 71C sometimes.

CPU-Z says my memory is at 1626 Mhz

Anyhow...I'll let P95 continue overnight and assuming it survives, will post my detailed BIOS settings in the morning and then hopefully we can fine tune for better performance.

I've seen more than my share of BSOD trying to run at 4.5 Ghz with less than 1.45 V-core and with other voltages somewhat above what "auto" would have them at. The usual bsod crash has been "A clock interrupt was not received on a secondary processor"

ty . neilkaz ..

neilkaz

Groupie

Joined: 02 Mar 2010
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 156

Quote

Posted: 18 Apr 2010 at 1:52pm

Originally posted by justin.kerr

so it always defaults to 2:10 multi? if so easy fix.

My 27 x 163 OC failed overnight after about 7 hours in P95 (one thread with usual rounding error)

Anyhow I am now trying Venom's suggestion of 33 x 134 and that was stable in P95 for a couple hours so I stopped the test to try to get the memory running 1600 but no matter what I do and I have changed many settings,timings, raised voltages etc etc it defaults from the 2:12 set in BIOS back to 2:10. I also ran Everest just incase CPU-Z was lieing and both agree on 1333.

So while this fix may be easy for you, it isn't for me

please advise since I'd like to keep the 33 x 134 OC since it is almost an average of 2C cooler. But before I run Prime overnight again, I really want the memory at 1600 like it is supposed to be.

thx .. neilkaz ..

venom

Newbie

Joined: 08 Oct 2008
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 0

Quote

Posted: 18 Apr 2010 at 6:19pm

You may have to update your bios, I think one of the EVGA bioses released had an issue with the 2:12 divider.

You could also try setting it to 2:12, then immediately press F10 to save an exit. This fixed the turbo setting bug in one bios version that did the same thing if you set to enabled it immediately switched back to disabled after you left that screen.

justin.kerr View Drop Down

DS Veteran

Joined: 06 May 2008
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 5084

Quote

Posted: 18 Apr 2010 at 10:47pm

2:12 divider roll back has to do with performance mode in bios.. if selected it will go no higher than 2:10

neilkaz

Groupie

Joined: 02 Mar 2010
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 156

Quote

Posted: 19 Apr 2010 at 12:30am

Thx Justin and Venom !! I turned off turbo mode and still was rolling back to 2:10 but then I left turbo mode off and immediately selected 2:12 and save/exit and now it stayed 2:12.

I also set timing to 9-9-9-28 as SPD recommends but 1T instead of 2T

Can I turn turbo back on or will it not help me, since CPU reports the same speed 4.41 GHz regardless?

Running P95 now. .. neilkaz ..

neilkaz

Groupie

Joined: 02 Mar 2010
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 156

Quote

Posted: 19 Apr 2010 at 1:11am

OK Turbo Mode is enabled but Turbo performance isnt. I think this is what I am supposed to do.

Things ran even cooler in P95 (maybe 2C less than before), but 1 thread erred after 33 minutes.

I raised V-core one click to 1.406 and vtt to +150mV. The rest is default except dimm is 1.65V of course.

Back to P95 and hopefully overnight.

ty .. neilkaz ..

justin.kerr View Drop Down

DS Veteran

Joined: 06 May 2008
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 5084

Quote

Posted: 19 Apr 2010 at 9:08am

980x = no turbo mode, do not use. bad. will cause issues, stay away.

glad you found the performance mode thingy, lol it should be fixed in future BIOS updates, but just a glitch for now.

neilkaz

Groupie

Joined: 02 Mar 2010
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 156

Quote

Posted: 19 Apr 2010 at 11:26am

Originally posted by justin.kerr

980x = no turbo mode, do not use. bad. will cause issues, stay away.

glad you found the performance mode thingy, lol it should be fixed in future BIOS updates, but just a glitch for now.

Ahh..OK will also disable turbo mode !! P95 ran fine for about 100 minutes at which point I went to bed hopeful but many hours later I awoke and found the dreaded BSOD. Would you recommend just disabling turbo, or should I also tap up a couple other voltages as well since several of the ones that we raised for i7-920 OC are on auto and lower?

I think this is close .. neilkaz ..

justin.kerr View Drop Down

DS Veteran

Joined: 06 May 2008
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 5084

Quote

Posted: 19 Apr 2010 at 11:58am

do you have the blue screen code? that will help determine what voltages you need to increase.

yes diable turbo, and upp some voltage(s). lol

neilkaz

Groupie

Joined: 02 Mar 2010
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 156

Quote

Posted: 19 Apr 2010 at 1:00pm

Originally posted by justin.kerr

do you have the blue screen code? that will help determine what voltages you need to increase.

yes diable turbo, and upp some voltage(s). lol

I'm sure the bsod codes are saved somewhere, but where in Win 7? I never had any bsod when we did the OC of my 920 a couple months ago.

I can't find where they are saved.

I also couldn't not disable turbo mode in BIOS under CPU Feature as it is locked.

Turbo performance is disabled however.

I upped QPI and IOH voltages a bit.

Hopefully I can soon look at the bsod crash log codes and see what they can tell us.

thx .. neilkaz ..

neilkaz

Groupie

Joined: 02 Mar 2010
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 156

Quote

Posted: 19 Apr 2010 at 6:16pm

So far so good P95 past two hours and love my temps and note that my number crunching apps, basically 24/7 run about 5 C cooler than P95.

If I see any bsod's I will write down the error code and adjust accordingly.

neilkaz

Groupie

Joined: 02 Mar 2010
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 156

Quote

Posted: 19 Apr 2010 at 8:44pm

Prime 95 rounding error after 4 hours so a slight upclick in voltages and back at it again and doesnt seem too hot.

justin.kerr View Drop Down

DS Veteran

Joined: 06 May 2008
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 5084

Quote

Posted: 19 Apr 2010 at 9:03pm

two clicks more of V core. should about fix it.

neilkaz

Groupie

Joined: 02 Mar 2010
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 156

Quote

Posted: 19 Apr 2010 at 10:16pm

Will run for 33 multi x 134 Bclk the following overnight.

Vcore 1.4125

Vtt+150mV

QPI PLL V core 1.25

IOH Vcore 1.25

IOH/ICH I/O 1.50

ICH 1.15

This is one click higher Vcore than what ran 4 hours in P95 and .05 higher QPI PLL,IOH and ICH voltages per your advice earlier in this thread.

I suspect this will work overnight, if not one more click of V-core will be added.

Anyhow, I took a shot earlier with these settings but a 135 Bclk and ended up with 0x00000101 bsod (needs more V-core per what Venom said in another thread) after about an hour. Temps for that didn't seem any higher so I think I am in good shape.

Assuming this 33 x 134 OC (4,41 GHz) is stable I certainly have to be happy since this is what I expected from this chip with Stage 4 cooling.

Running my nearly 24/7 apps, temps max at 68C for the hottest core. Do you think I could run 24/7 hotter than that or should I just stop here?

.. neilkaz ..

neilkaz

Groupie

Joined: 02 Mar 2010
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 156

Quote

Posted: 20 Apr 2010 at 8:00am

Success here as P95 ran overnight with no issues and actually for about 90 minutes longer than shown (I was surfing around last night and bumped off RealTemp. Anyhow these temps are about the same as with one click lower V-core as those also maxed at 74C after about 2.5 hrs of P95. My main 24/7 app is running now and 67C is the highest temp seen so far and most cores are cooler than that. Here's the temps from the P95 run. Thx Justin and Venom !!

Bullseye

Senior Member

Joined: 11 Jan 2010
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 880

Quote

Posted: 20 Apr 2010 at 8:26am

Congrats man!

justin.kerr View Drop Down

DS Veteran

Joined: 06 May 2008
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 5084

Quote

Posted: 20 Apr 2010 at 9:12am

I would run Linx maximum amount of memory for at least 20 passes, now. just to make sure. Between the two programs, most instabilities will be found.

and nice job!

rholyrag

Senior Member

Joined: 17 Oct 2009
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 841

Quote

Posted: 20 Apr 2010 at 4:29pm

Congratulations on a successful overclock...

"What we do in life echoes in eternity" - Maximus from Gladiator

neilkaz

Groupie

Joined: 02 Mar 2010
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 156

Quote

Posted: 20 Apr 2010 at 9:09pm

20 passes of linX. I wonder if I can lower any voltages a click or so. However, V-core has to stay at 1.4125V.

justin.kerr View Drop Down

DS Veteran

Joined: 06 May 2008
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 5084

Quote

Posted: 20 Apr 2010 at 9:20pm

might, but if you do, make sure you re-run both prime95 and linx

neilkaz

Groupie

Joined: 02 Mar 2010
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 156

Quote

Posted: 20 Apr 2010 at 9:33pm

Originally posted by justin.kerr

might, but if you do, make sure you re-run both prime95 and linx

Understood after any changes 20 passes of LinX is the first test since it only takes about 97 minutes and with any setting I hope to keep, prime95 overnight.

I may also try some higher B clock OC's with equivilent speed and will be aware of what those OC's do to my RAM timing.

.. neilkaz ..

neilkaz

Groupie

Joined: 02 Mar 2010
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 156

Quote

Posted: 21 Apr 2010 at 12:50am

Am up too late as usual, but hockey game to watch while I benchmark my apps vs various OC's in the low 4.4x GHz range.

So far so good after a quicky LinX test and now Prime95 running for an hour on a slightly faster 27 x 164 OC (noting Justin clearly prefers higher B clock OC's) and after an hour max temp is 73C and no failures.

RAM is now 1638 vs 1602 speed but it I pass Prime overnigh can I assume all is good or will I have to memtest (if so please advise and guide me)

My 24/7 app ran fractionally faster and slightly cooler at these settings.

I also tried 22 x 201 OC which was a tad slower and warmer than 27 x 164 and since experiences aren't always so good with even multipliers I'm running 27 x 164 overnight.

.. neilkaz ..

neilkaz