MSI P55-GD65 w/ i5-750 - CPU-Z readings don't match BIOS settings

[sjfphoto]

I'm running BIOS 1.7. I currently have the Vcore set to 1.2125v, the base clock set to 170 and the multiplier to 20. My 2 main concerns right now are the core voltage and QPI Link readings in CPU-Z. It shows the voltage as 1.168 (under no or very low load) and the QPI Link at 3070 (the Bios shows a QPI Link at around 6100 Mhz. Why would there a difference?

Also as the load increases the core voltage decreases. Is this normal?

I'm using MSI's Control Center to (only) show the voltages on the Basic Overclocking page.

Other Voltage settings (MSI control center readings):
VTT:1.14v (1.2125v)
PCH:1.10v (1.097v)
CPU PLL 1.80v (1.80v)

Another weird thing is that I can only change the base clock and multiplier with X.M.P. Disabled.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Steve

 

[Keiki646]

I'm running BIOS 1.7. I currently have the Vcore set to 1.2125v, the base clock set to 170 and the multiplier to 20. My 2 main concerns right now are the core voltage and QPI Link readings in CPU-Z. It shows the voltage as 1.168 (under no or very low load) and the QPI Link at 3070 (the Bios shows a QPI Link at around 6100 Mhz. Why would there a difference?

Also as the load increases the core voltage decreases. Is this normal?

I'm using MSI's Control Center to (only) show the voltages on the Basic Overclocking page.

Other Voltage settings (MSI control center readings):
VTT:1.14v (1.2125v)
PCH:1.10v (1.097v)
CPU PLL 1.80v (1.80v)

Another weird thing is that I can only change the base clock and multiplier with X.M.P. Disabled.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Steve

That is normal to see that on the CPU-Z. It does tell you what is being used at the current state.
about the X.M.P you not doing something right, you might want to check the manual on your mobo
Did you disabled the Base clock??

 

[ekoostik]

Another weird thing is that I can only change the base clock and multiplier with X.M.P. Disabled.

This isn't necessarily that weird. You didn't mention what RAM you have but lets say for the sake of argument that it is 1600 MHz. With an i5 750 the max memory multiplier you have is x10. At stock, the bclk = 1333 and the memory multiplier = x10 so your RAM frequency is 133x10 = 1333 MHz.

With 1600 MHz RAM and an i5 750, when you enable XMP the motherboard changes settings appropriate to run your RAM at 1600. Since the max memory multiplier available is x10, the motherboard will change your bclk to 160 because 160x10 = 1600 MHz.

If you were allowed to change your bclk then you wouldn't really be running the XMP profile. I don't know for sure that blck is supposed to be locked, but I can see why enabling XMP would prevent you from being able to change the bclk.

(More than likely it will also change your cpu multiplier. At the stock cpu multiplier of x20 if the motherboard did nothing else you would now be running your CPU at 160x20 = 3.2 GHz. However, the motherboards typically do not want to force you into an overclock just because you turned on XMP on your RAM so they will usually lower your cpu multiplier to x17, in which case your CPU is now running at 160x17 = 2.72 GHz. As a side effect, this often results in Turbo and the various sleep states being disabled.)

 

[andy5174]

I'm running BIOS 1.7. I currently have the Vcore set to 1.2125v, the base clock set to 170 and the multiplier to 20. My 2 main concerns right now are the core voltage and QPI Link readings in CPU-Z. It shows the voltage as 1.168 (under no or very low load) and the QPI Link at 3070 (the Bios shows a QPI Link at around 6100 Mhz. Why would there a difference?

Also as the load increases the core voltage decreases. Is this normal?

I'm using MSI's Control Center to (only) show the voltages on the Basic Overclocking page.

Other Voltage settings (MSI control center readings):
VTT:1.14v (1.2125v)
PCH:1.10v (1.097v)
CPU PLL 1.80v (1.80v)

Another weird thing is that I can only change the base clock and multiplier with X.M.P. Disabled.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Steve

1. When Load-line Calibration is disabled(by default) in the BIOS, core voltage will be significantly lower than the value set in the BIOS in idle state.

2. To make the QPI link speed fixed, you should set the QPI multiplier MANUALLY instead of using auto setting.

 

[sjfphoto]

Thanks for the replies guys!

I'm using Corsair CMX4GX3M2A1600C9 (2-2GB Sticks, DDR3 9-9-9-24)

Based on the OC guide for this CPU (i5-750/1156) should I set the voltage based on what CPU-Z is showing or just the voltage (1.21875V) listed on the guide?

Since CPU-Z shows the QPI Link as 3070 Mhz should I just leave it set to auto. I only get 3 choices in the BIOS (plus auto)?

I'll look for Load-line Calibration in the BIOS. What else could it be called?

 

[ekoostik]

Is your overclock stable the way you currently have it setup? What problem are you trying to solve?

 

[sjfphoto]

Is your overclock stable the way you currently have it setup? What problem are you trying to solve?

It does appear to be stable. I'm just trying to understand the differences and the settings. I am concerned with the CPU voltage readings not matching the settings; so I'd like to know or figure out what I should set my voltage for (what is entered or what is read). I may try to OC it a bit more; like to 3.6 or 3.8.

I don't see Load Line Calibration in this BIOS.

In the BIOS the QPI Freq shows 6120 MHZ while CPU-Z shows 3070. Since I only have 3 choices for QPI Ration (16,18 & auto) I'm thinking this is not an issue.

My DRAM Frequency is 1360 MHZ. It appears to auto set to 4.

There is a CPU Feature settings which seems to duplicate some of the Cell Menu main settings.


Here are a couple shots of the BIOS screens:

Thanks again for any advice.