Can't Pass IBT Max even on stock settings

Yeah that's the PSU I have. Do you have any recommendations on testing programs I could run or something that could test its viability/stability?

Also by default settings, do you mean stress level Standard?

The biggest thing that I do that makes me worried about what kind of a load my rig can take is that I work in both Autodesk Maya and Mudbox doing 3d Modeling/Texturing/Rendering which is, as I understand it, very processor intensive. So that thought was what got me all convinced that If I couldn't at least get through 10 runs on very high or max then the build was no good. Well that and all the big shots talking about doing 30 runs on Max and whatnot to ensure stability.

I had a lot of different configurations when I was trying to OC in the UEFI version of my Bios that could make it through standard and High just fine but would either fail or overheat on very high which meant I never even tried to run them on max. I got fed up though with beating my head against this overclocking wall and decided to rollback my bios to a non UEFI version, the F6 BIOS, in order to get back some options the the UEFI version removed like LLC and see if that hepled at all. Of course that brought about a new problem instead of solving problems as now the option for manually changing the multiplier on core 4 in the turbo options doesnt work. When I try to change the option the screen just blips and it resets the multiplier on all the other cores back to auto. I even tried downgrading to older versions of the bios and it still doesn't work right. Yet another problem that has me wanting to tear my hair out.

Anyways, since I seem to be getting much more responses than usual I am just gonna keep posting my different questions I have on this thread instead of starting new ones. So here is another question. I haven't found hardly anything in the way of reviews for my liquid cooler and based off of my temperatures in comparison to others I am suspecting that it is not as good as I had hoped, but I am wondering if anyone else has any info on this model, and if it is indeed a crap cooler, what kind of cooler would you recommend that isn't going to break my bank and would work in this rig? I have a little bit of money to spend so if a new cooler and PSU would make a big difference, now might be the time.

This particular processor is actually specifically designed for you to not mess with the FSB/BCLK because in this processor all the other system clocks are tied into the BCLK, even your sata drive clocks, so messing with that on a I7 2600k can fry your hard drives. So your only options are to either do a static OC utilizing only the multiplier and other non BCLK options, or do it by changing the Turbo boost multipliers, or a combination of the two, depending on whether you want consistent speed or to save power and increase processor longevity, etc.

I have been experimenting with both options and if IBT is to be believed and Very High is supposed to be passable in order to be considered stable then I have had very little luck in achieving my goal of 4.5 ghz. I have messed with pretty much every setting available including dram voltage and core voltage, although not any of the other votages as I am not really sure what many of them do.

I have had no luck whatsoever attempting to overclock my memory which is why I gave up and have just been focusing on my processor and then of course my GPUs assuming I can ever get a truly stable CPU OC. With my memory, the manufacturer has it listed as having been tested all the way up to 2133 11-11-11-27 but I havent even been able to get it to do 1866 regardless of how high I put the timings. It works fine at 1333 9-9-9-24 or 1666 9-9-9-24, but anything else and it wont even boot.

I assume you mean small steps of .0250 mhz for voltage increases right? My processor is only test rated up to 1.52 and it runs at 1.24 on stock clock so a .250 increase would take it from standard to max in a single step.

I have been following standard procedure for the most part though as far as only changing one thing at a time. What really drives me nuts though is when I go back to a set of settings that passed in IBT on high or so before I started tweaking, and it doesn't work anymore, even though I saved that set of settings specifically because it did run through IBT before.

Im sure the details would probably go over my head, but what specifically is the bug? Also I know Prime95 which I haven't been running because it takes sooooooo long to test, but I don't know Aida. What can you tell me about stress testing with that program?

Also thank you to everyone who has attempted to help me with this so far. It really is deeply appreciated

Huh. So......something a bit baffling happened when I went back to attempting a stable 4.5 ghz OC. I was making it through 10 runs on standard and high at a vcore of 1.38 and so I started lowering the vcore, retest, lower again, retest and I noticed something odd the last time I dropped it down. The number in the "Normal" column for vcore recommended 1.355v, but since I was running great at 1.36 I decided to try 1.34 and brought my LLC down again from 7 to 6, and It actually made it MORE stable. It ran through all 10 passes of VERY HIGH which was even higher then I was able to run before with more voltage. On higher voltages it was failing on pass 2 or 3 every time on very high, but somehow, bringing the voltage BELOW the recommended voltage actually made it better. This is so counterintuitive to me lol. OCing is hard to understand. Idk, maybe the lower LLC helped out as well. This table I found has been exceptionally useful . http://forum.giga-byte.co.uk/index.php?topic=7760.0. Anyways, I just thought I would report back my temporary success as I am sure that by even typing these words I have no doomed myself to new unexplainably chaotic results and I wont even be able to pass standard anymore now for unknown reasons lol. Murpheys Law at work.

4 4gb sticks for the ram. I need to add that to my rig breakdown. Hey, a new guide I haven't seen. At this point, having read about 20-30 of em I was starting to see repeats more often than new ones. I will definitely check these out tomorrow in detail to see If I come across any new info. Much appreciate my fiend

As far as the cooling goes I agree with you completely. Honestly it doesn't seem like my current system is making anywhere near as much of a difference as it should be. Then again it came already installed when I bought the initial rig so I have no basis for comparisson and honestly the SEVERE lack of any real info about this unit on the net tells me that it is some serious low end merchandise. I couldnt find a single review written by anyone and even the info on the manufacturers website is sparse. Serves me right for buying the initial rig from CYBERPOWER PC. However since then I have learned a hell of a lot more about putting together your own rig and just how simple it really is for the most part so I will never again be buying a desktop pc put together by someone else, with parts of a questionable nature.

Anyways I do have funds at the moment to purchase a new liquid cooler for this rig and considering my attempts at going higher than 4.5 ghz have gone back to resulting in unsafe temperatures do to increased voltage, it seems like the next logical step. I am pretty amazed, and also suspicious that I seem to have found a stable 4.5 ghz build today though. Considering the overall severe lack of real lasting success I have had the last few weeks I am highly suspicious/doubtful of anything that appears to be success lol. Anyways, I am most definitely open to suggestions as to new liquid coolers I could get that will fit with this case/socket set.

Thanks again for the info. Ill report back tomorrow

I think you may have misread my rig description. I am using an I7 2600k. It is most definitely sandy bridge, and an 1155 socket.

gahh I am such an idiot. I just accidentally hit solved on this post. Dont get me wrong, you have been incredibly helpful, I just wasn't done getting help lol. Oh well, apparently there is no way to undo it. Here is the exact memory I have. http://www.corsair.com/en-us/vengeance-16gb-dual-channel-ddr3-memory-kit-cmz16gx3m4a1600c9b.

Also, another funny example of my apparent idiocy. I was looking in my case earlier at the fans mounted on my radiator and I realized that one of them was set up as an out fan and one of them was an in fan. Which of course is highly counterproductive as the two top case fans and one of the radiator fans are trying to pull air out of the radiator and the case through the top vents, while one of the radiator fans is sucking the air into the case. I can only assume that last year when I completely took my entire rig apart in order to actually learn in some practical detail how the parts were laid out, what cords did what, etc, and also to mount in a few new hard drives, that when I was putting it back together I must have put one of the fans back on wrong and never noticed. I remember being up still at like 430 am trying to finish putting it back together because I was crazy determined but also mad sleep deprived lol. At least I noticed it and I fixed it now. That should help out a little.

Yeah I got this rig back in January of 2012. The I7 2600k was the cream of the crop and king of the hill at the time. Of course 2 months later they came out with an 8 core processor and i was kicking myself lol. Still though, honestly I have had little to no issues with it over the years and I think this OC will help carry me a few more before I need to replace this rig as my primary. Actually I will probably put together a new rig sometime late next year and move this rig to be my secondary but we'll see.