My First Overclock...

[topdollaruk]

Ey' all, this is my first post on here. I'm looking for opinions/comments on my first overclock. Would also like to run my settings by some of the more experienced overclockers on here. So please tell me what you think. I have been reading about overclocking over the last year or so and have been experimenting with computers for a very long time now. I'm not a complete noob, but nor am I an extreme overclocker. So for arguments sake let's just assume I am a noob

TD Spec:

Mobo: Asus P6T Deluxe V2 (x58)
Cpu: i7 920 (D0) 2.66 Ghz (O.C) @ 4.00 Ghz
Cooler: Coolermaster V8
Memory: 6GB Corsair Dominator 1600 Mhz
Gpu: ATI HD 4870 1GB
Hdd: WD Raptor 150GB
Hdd: 2x 300GB Seagate (Raid)
Hdd: 1TB Seagate Barracuda
Psu: XFX 850Watt
O/S: Win7 x64

Idle: 39-42c
Load: 57-59c


I have ran tests using various applications; Prime95, Hot Cpu-Tester Pro, Super Pi, etc. All of which have passed without errors.

Here are my current settings in BIOS:

Frequency: 4.00 GHz
-------------------------------------------
Ai Overclock Tuner: Manual
CPU Ratio: 20
SpeedStep: Disabled
BCLK Frequency: 200
PCIE Frequency: 100
DRAM Frequency: DDR3-1603 MHz
UCLK Frequency: Auto
QPI Link: Auto
DRAM Timing: 9-9-9-24
------------------------------------------
CPU Voltage: 1.2750v
CPU PLL Voltage: 1.80v
QPI/DRAM Voltage: 1.350v
DRAM Bus Voltage: 1.64
------------------------------------------

Thanks in advance, please leave your comments, point out any problems that I may have overlooked, etc.

 

[notty22]

Looks ROCK solid to me. The V8 - is doing a nice job it seems. Turbo disabled ?
How did you arrive at 1.275 voltage. Did you tweak up , to get stable ?
Nice system !

 

[topdollaruk]

Looks ROCK solid to me. The V8 - is doing a nice job it seems. Turbo disabled ?
How did you arrive at 1.275 voltage. Did you tweak up , to get stable ?
Nice system !

Thanks mate. V8 has been quite good actually.. won't need water cooling for the time being. Turbo is disabled. Sorry, What did you mean by 'how did i arrive at 1.275'.. sorry being a noob now lol. I have adjusted memory timings to 8-8-8-24 now. Working perfectly fine.

 

[Shadow703793]

1. How long on Prime 95 Small FFT?

2. What notty meant is did you adjust the voltages manually to get 1.275?

3. Also check OC with OCCT.

 

[topdollaruk]

Thanks for the clarification Shadow. I left it runnin for 9 hours. RE voltage, i manually upped it gradually till it was stable. checked on occt, ran a 1 hour test to start with no problems. though it does hit 68 when playing COD5 or if i run occt. I heard 70c was the limit, don't know if thats a safe max limit or final final limit.. but either way 68-69 can't be good. Btw question for you, on occt it says my overclock is 42% so its possible to overclock alot more yet? cheers.

 

[Shadow703793]

1. There really is very few gains going above 4Ghz and it gets MUCH harder to reach above 4Ghz.

2. You won't be able to OC higher with those temps. You'll need water cooling to get about 4.5Ghz with a lot more voltage.

3. 68-69C is quite high, but IIRC it's still below the critical temp of 72C.

4. If it hit's 68C in CoD5, I'd drop down the OC to 3.8Ghz and see.

 

[topdollaruk]

1. Yeah, my target was around 4 Ghz with the current cooler which I have acheived, I have now dropped to 3.8 Ghz as a precaution.

2. I will be switchin to watercooling very soon and will try n hit over 4 Ghz.

3. My idle now is 39-42c.. Load by apps/games vary from 55-61c. Which im okay with for now, not perfect but an improvement nonetheless.

Cheers for the help.

Im still new to overclockin in terms of actual clockin rather than just readin, but Im a little confused to overclockin ram. The one I have, is DDR3-1600, currently runnin at 1203MHz. Obviously the bus speed will affect the DRAM frequency however is it possible to overclock ram without increasing the overall cpu speed itself?

 

[htoonthura]

Thanks for the clarification Shadow. I left it runnin for 9 hours. RE voltage, i manually upped it gradually till it was stable. checked on occt, ran a 1 hour test to start with no problems. though it does hit 68 when playing COD5 or if i run occt. I heard 70c was the limit, don't know if thats a safe max limit or final final limit.. but either way 68-69 can't be good. Btw question for you, on occt it says my overclock is 42% so its possible to overclock alot more yet? cheers.

Is 68C with HT or not?

 

[topdollaruk]

With HT

 

[htoonthura]

With HT

You have got a very good chip.

 

[topdollaruk]

You have got a very good chip.

Cheers mate.. Out of curiousity how did you determine this is a good chip?

 

[htoonthura]

Cheers mate.. Out of curiousity how did you determine this is a good chip?

Your chip has a lot of potential. If you can go higher frequency with low voltage/less heat and maintain stability, you have very good chip. I have core i7 920 bought back in april. It is C0/c1. I am at 3.7 g with ht on. I have to volt 1.33 to maintain stability. if i remove ht , i can go up to 3.8 with the same voltage. I wish i could go higher, but my chip has reached to its limit.

even at 3.7, i am running 1 ghz over manufactured stated frequency. so, i can not really complain. it is stable acoording to occt and linpack. but, i try so hard to get to where i am now. In your case, it is like a walk in a park.

have fun with your machine.

 

[Shadow703793]

2. I will be switchin to watercooling very soon and will try n hit over 4 Ghz.

Are you talking about a custom WCing loop or some pre built like the Corsair H50? There is a BIG difference between the two.

If these are the temps with HT you do indeed have a very good chip.

 

[topdollaruk]

2. I will be switchin to watercooling very soon and will try n hit over 4 Ghz.

Are you talking about a custom WCing loop or some pre built like the Corsair H50? There is a BIG difference between the two.

If these are the temps with HT you do indeed have a very good chip.

Im not sure yet, any suggestions? any very good ones out there? For both cpu/gpu. I might switch quicker than i orginally thought due the chip being good. Curious to find out its limit .. just hope i dnt blow it up lol.

 

[brewem]

Definitely go with a custom loop if you can afford the extra cash. The difference in performance is worth about ten times the difference in cost and a simple loop doesn't have to cost the earth.

I'm running a Q6600 OC'd to 3.6GHz with just a double rad, CPU block and combined resevoir and pump, and it's barely hitting 50C even after 8 hours of Prime95 and I'm using a Fuzion2 block with quad diffuser. It's a great block and I think they are doing the inserts for i7 chips now.

My loop:
Fuzion 2 Block with quad diffuser
XSPC dual bay resevoir with inbuilt 750 lph pump
Feser 140mmx2800mm radiator with 2x yate loon fans (externally mounted on top of my case)
1/2" internal diameter piping.

Few tips if you go the water cooling route for a simple set-up:
- Don't skimp a few quid here and there on the rad or block. It's false economy. Pick a good one and spend the little bit extra, you won't regret it.
- Use metal barbs and metal worm screw clips, not the cheap plastic ones. They tighten WAY easier and tend to seal first time with no frustrating drips or leaks if you are careful.
- Include a T section of pipe as a filler/draining tube - I forgot this on my first set-up and it was a pain in the proverbial.
- Flush the rad out with de-ionised water before starting - you don't want dust etc in there getting into your pump or block.
- Make damn sure you are using the same type of metal for components throughout - i.e. copper. Mix copper and aluminium and you get corrosion through electrolysis. It's not as bad as some would have you believe and there are additives to slow it down but it's not a good idea.
- Be prepared to do some modding to your case - best set-ups have the rads on the outside for best cooling, but it's perfectly possible to keep your chip well below critical with internally mounted radiators provided its got clean, cool airflow from somewhere.
- run the cooling loop on its own before you fix the block to the mobo and boot the computer. Wrap all the joints in kitchen towel and have a look after 15mins to check there's no damp spots. A bit of care now could save a LOT of heart-break later!

Good luck - I'm envious of your 'i' chip rig!!

Brew

EDIT: Have a look at the stickied thread on watercooling. It's a really good guide for the basics!

 

[hundredislandsboy]

Before you watercol, why don't you try to lap your CPU? You will never belong to Noob class and get immediately promoted to extreme overclocker class, lol.

 

[topdollaruk]

lol true, i'm a quick learner but tbh i have overclocked with watercooling before, just not my own machine CPU only, not gpu. Was a aquagate with zalman wb.. but im treadin along safely atm.

 

[topdollaruk]

Definitely go with a custom loop if you can afford the extra cash. The difference in performance is worth about ten times the difference in cost and a simple loop doesn't have to cost the earth.

I'm running a Q6600 OC'd to 3.6GHz with just a double rad, CPU block and combined resevoir and pump, and it's barely hitting 50C even after 8 hours of Prime95 and I'm using a Fuzion2 block with quad diffuser. It's a great block and I think they are doing the inserts for i7 chips now.

My loop:
Fuzion 2 Block with quad diffuser
XSPC dual bay resevoir with inbuilt 750 lph pump
Feser 140mmx2800mm radiator with 2x yate loon fans (externally mounted on top of my case)
1/2" internal diameter piping.

Few tips if you go the water cooling route for a simple set-up:
- Don't skimp a few quid here and there on the rad or block. It's false economy. Pick a good one and spend the little bit extra, you won't regret it.
- Use metal barbs and metal worm screw clips, not the cheap plastic ones. They tighten WAY easier and tend to seal first time with no frustrating drips or leaks if you are careful.
- Include a T section of pipe as a filler/draining tube - I forgot this on my first set-up and it was a pain in the proverbial.
- Flush the rad out with de-ionised water before starting - you don't want dust etc in there getting into your pump or block.
- Make damn sure you are using the same type of metal for components throughout - i.e. copper. Mix copper and aluminium and you get corrosion through electrolysis. It's not as bad as some would have you believe and there are additives to slow it down but it's not a good idea.
- Be prepared to do some modding to your case - best set-ups have the rads on the outside for best cooling, but it's perfectly possible to keep your chip well below critical with internally mounted radiators provided its got clean, cool airflow from somewhere.
- run the cooling loop on its own before you fix the block to the mobo and boot the computer. Wrap all the joints in kitchen towel and have a look after 15mins to check there's no damp spots. A bit of care now could save a LOT of heart-break later!

Good luck - I'm envious of your 'i' chip rig!!

Brew

EDIT: Have a look at the stickied thread on watercooling. It's a really good guide for the basics!

Thanks for the thorough analysis, very helpful, much appreciated brew

I'm looking around for the parts already lol.

 

[topdollaruk]

Btw everyone, what are your super pi times for 1M? would like to compare.. cheers mines 1M: 9.482s

 

[htoonthura]

lol true, i'm a quick learner but tbh i have overclocked with watercooling before, just not my own machine CPU only, not gpu. Was a aquagate with zalman wb.. but im treadin along safely atm.

i think if you are going over 4 g with i920, you should take into account diminishing of return. You can squeeze a bit more performance with wc setup, but it will not be a lot. So, a question you should ask yourself is: is it going to be worth it to go wc setup for extra mhz.

 

[topdollaruk]

I see your point, but i'm still gonna go for wc, if not with this system i will build another, waiting to get paid lol so I can build a new one with i7 975 extreme.

 

[yorro]

If you passed all various test, you can enable SpeedStep.

 

[notty22]

Btw everyone, what are your super pi times for 1M? would like to compare.. cheers mines 1M: 9.482s

I LIKE a challenge, lol. I just made a couple speed runs.
With Turbo
9.59 , is the max, I tried at 4200, and a tad higher than this pic.

http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=901996