Overclocking i7-930 help plz

dooms87

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Hi i built my rig a while ago and i've decided i should finally dive into the world of overclocking since i did buy a cpu cooler and such but i am beyond confused ive read the guide on the evga forums and looked up other guides on other forums, youtube etc etc and i've basically found 5-8 different ways to do the same thing on sorta similar to my specs and i just give up im so confused a to what # to change the multiplier what voltage to put things to to what is or is not safe my bios dont look like his bios etc etc so im asking if anyone could take the time to help me out and guide me towards my goal id greatly appreciate it

i want to oc to 3.6-3.8 if possible without raping out my cpu too much im not sure if i can do this with my setup id like some advice im rocking a antec 902 with 3 front intakes 120m one inside behind another a side 120mm kaze slipstream intake a 120 mm backvent and 200mm top vent my cpu is a hyper 212+ single fan configuration

my corsair 6 gb dominator ram also isnt going at its advertised cas 8-8-8-24 1600 speed instead its at 1033 will i be able to fix this with the overclock ?

id really appreciate some help me out im kinda losing m mind and id rather not overclock before i screw up my cpu so please someone help out a newb ! :D


specs

Antec 902
Asus P6X58D-E
EVGA GTX 470
Intel I7 930 2.8 Ghz
CoolMaster Hyper 212+
Corsair HX1000W
Corsair 6gb DD3 Dominator ram 1600
Intel 80 gig X25m SSD
Samsung 500g HDD
Logitech MX3100
Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
 
Overclocking the i7 isn't really that difficult, you just have to keep the voltage and temperatures in check while trying to achieve the highest speed possible. Overclocking the CPU will help increase the speed of that RAM.

You will want to look at a guide and at least try to overclock it. On EVGA's forums they have templates for certain overclocks, but do remember that not all Core i7s overclock the same, and that the CM Hyper 212+ may not allow you to push your Core i7 to 3.8 GHz, but I'm pretty sure 3.6 GHz is doable.

Just as a side note here is the basic theory behind overclocking.

BCLK = Base clock. Base clock multiplied by the CPU multiplier will give you your CPU clock speed.

The i7 930 at stock is 133 MHz x 21 = 2793 MHz (2.8 GHz). By overclocking, primarily you'll be raising the BCLK (called FSB on some boards, but it's meant to be BCLK), and as you increase the BCLK you increase the speed. The non Extreme Edition Core i7s have a locked CPU multiplier, and you can only change it from 22x to anything below that (up to a certain point, lowest is like 10x I think).

BCLK x memory multiplier = Memory speed. It's currently at stock so it's at 133 MHz x 8 = 1066 MHz. (The memory multiplier is also known as the FSB : DRAM or BCLK : DRAM ratio, and by default it's set at 2:8 which is the same thing as 8x, 2:10 = 10x, 2:12 = 12x etc.)

You will want to keep your CPU temperatures under 75°C full load, with all eight threads running @ 100%. Use Prime95 to do so and stress test your CPU.

As for the CPU voltages, keep your CPU vCore below 1.3625V, vDIMM (memory voltage) below 1.65 V, must be within .5 V of the VTT or Uncore voltage.


 

dooms87

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Theres hundreds of articles out there by googling that would show you how to overclock that cpu. Nobody has some magic way to do it for you.

lol thanks man your kool




are there any specifc settings i need to turn off this is what confuses me some guides say to lower or raise the cpu tratio and the dram to 2:10 and such like some say to leave turbo on others say turn it off bah i've never done this before and im trying to do my research but multiple sources are saying to do different things to achieve the same goals
 

dooms87

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ok i basically followed this guide to oc since its using my mobo i currently have my processor running at 3.6 prime95 has been going for around 3 hours on blend with no issues my temps have been between 68-71 on full load. Are these settings fine ? i'm i safe to go to 3.8 or should i stick to what im at ? my ram is also not at the 1600 setting its advertised at but it is faster then before could anyone comment ?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPyHVGmyjQo


i have alll my setting like this guy does


my blck is at 171

cpu volt 1.22500
cpu pull volt 1.800
qpi/dram 1.21875
ioh volt 1.12
ich volt 1.20
ich pcie volt 1.50
dram voltage 1.640
 

dooms87

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what about if i ad the second 120 mm fan to it ? it is designed for a dual fan set up i only have the single atm Also how do i get my ram to opperate at its retail settings ?
 

lothdk

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Adding a second fan will drop the temperature a few degrees, however, you are currently at the sweet point for performance/power usage, and the gain you will get in taking it to 3.8 is minimal, and will mostly only be noticeable in benchmarks.

To get your ram to run at its rated speed, take a second look at the ASUS overclocking guide I linked, as it tells you exactly how to do that, step by step and example included.
 

vexun11

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What overclock did you decide to stay with? I was always told that anything under 80 is okay but I usually like to stay under 75, I have mine at 4ghz with temps in the 70's with prime 95 but I was only able to do this because I purchased a megahalems heatsink with pushpull, I have taken it up to 4.2ghz but it makes no difference with what I do

If I were you I would see if it makes a difference between what you are at and what you want to get, set it up to what you want and dont run prime 95 just run what you normally would and if it's worth it then try your best to get there without the temps going up too much, try new thermal paste or somethen.

good luck
 

dooms87

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well ive added a second fan now and it only seemed to drop the temps like 2-4c more depending on how hot my room is im not sure yet im gonna run prime95 later and see whats up

Another question my Ram again still not at the set 1600 setting its at 1533 or something like that can i just use XMP since my ram does support it and will i be ok ?
 

lothdk

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That is pretty much what can be expected, a few degrees, and that is what you got, so that is normal.


Yes, you can use XMP, but since you are doing a manual overclock, it will not do a whole lot for you, except set the correct voltage (but I guess you have already). The speed at which the memory runs at is determined by the BCLK and memory multiplier, but again, this is all explained in the link I provided.