I7 950 4Ghz OC - First timer

[redmoon]

Alright, here's the scoop:

As the title mentions, this is my first attempt at over clocking, I spent numerous hours looking at guides and tips from others at several websites. After an easy bump to 3.4Ghz, I decided to go for the magic 4.0Ghz. Went through X3 BSOD, 1 un-bootable start up (scary, cleared the CMOS to recover), and 5 hours later, I got it to work at these settings:

http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=1419018


Voltages:

CPUIDHWmonitor:

Coretemp:

I am currently running a Blended Prime95 at the time of this writing. I've past 16 hours so far, and plan and taking it to the 24hr mark (I know people have mixed feeling about how long you need to run Prime95).

I've also done LinX and Intel Burn, did 20 runs each prior to starting the Prime95 test.

Any suggestions on what I should tweak to lower voltages/temperatures?

Any help is greatly appreciated, thanks!


Specs:
Intel i7 950 3.07GHz D0 stepping Processor
Corsair H50 (stock grease) (push/pull intake) Liquid Cooler
EVGA SLI 3 Motherboard
6Gb Mushkin Enhanced Ridgeback 6-8-6-24 RAM
EVGA GTX 470 Video card
60Gb Mushkin Callisto Deluxe SSD
150Gb Western Digital 10,000 RPM HDD
1TB Seagate 7,200 RPM HDD
800W Coolermaster Silent Pro Gold Edition Power supply
Cooler Master HAF-X (X4 200mm Fans) Case

 

[saint19]

Hi.

Good OC but I think that the temps are a little high. With 2 hour prime95, 1 hour LinX or 3 hours OCCT is enough for know if the OC is stable or not.

 

[redmoon]

Any suggestions to get the temps lower?

 

[saint19]

Maybe change the H50 grease.

 

[redmoon]

H50 comes with Shin-Etsu X23-7783D, Idle temps are at 38c, 63c on load. with a mild over clock.

Isn't that pretty good?

These range from $5-$18, All great reviews. Any reason why some are more expensive then the others? I've read about mixed results from all of them.


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100007

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100008

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186020

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835154003






Also, any idea why my 4Ghz over clock uses 103.3W under Prime95, and my 3.4Ghz w/ Turbo on, everything is set at default in the bios besides the Bus Speed set at 141.6 X24 uses 144.98W? Temps set below 63c on Prime95.

 

[rofl_my_waffle]

Were you running more programs during your 3.4Ghz trial? It could explain any wattage differences.

Its odd that you need 1.3v Vcore to do 4ghz. My 930 does 4ghz on 1.25v

 

[redmoon]

Not all processors are the same, I might of gotten a "different batch" as the saying goes. I will try and lower the Vcore voltage. Better yet, can you provide me with your settings since the chips are the same besides the multiplier isn't it (I know we might have different mobos)?

Wish I had the 930, I bought the 950 when neweqq.com dropped the price to $299 and combo'd with an H50 gave me a -$20 discount. Later that week I found out that my local Microcenter sells the intel i7 930s for $199! ouch I say.

I found out what the near 15W increase was, its with Intel Turbo on.

 

[rofl_my_waffle]

im simply using 1.25v core and 1.64v memory. The rest is on default.
Multiplier: 20
BCLK: 200
Memory Multiplier: 10

Motherboard is Gigabyte X58 UD7 Gen 1
Memory is Mushkin 6GB 2000Mhz 8-9-8-24

I know every processor is different but I was under the impression that the i7 950 being a higher binned chip should beat any lower binned chip like the i7 930 or 920. Maybe they are too similar, thats why intel lowered the price point of the i7 950.

 

[redmoon]

im simply using 1.25v core and 1.64v memory. The rest is on default.
Multiplier: 20
BCLK: 200
Memory Multiplier: 10

Motherboard is Gigabyte X58 UD7 Gen 1
Memory is Mushkin 6GB 2000Mhz 8-9-8-24

I know every processor is different but I was under the impression that the i7 950 being a higher binned chip should beat any lower binned chip like the i7 930 or 920. Maybe they are too similar, thats why intel lowered the price point of the i7 950.

I'll try this out later today, and by memory multiplier, do you mean its at 2:10? On XMP settings, my memory is set at : 2:12, 1.65v, 1600Mhz

 

[redmoon]

That Gigabyte UD7 seems like an easy overclocking motherboard. Non of your settings worked with my 950/Mobo. 1.25v core would leave my monitor on standby without a computer boot. Everything else below 1.3v would either freeze at the windows logo, or BSOD within minutes of loading into the desktop.

My last test is at 1.29375v, the next option down from 1.30v. Doing 20 runs on Intelburn, and if that passes, I'll do 2hrs of Prime95 next.

2:8 memory multiplier, at 1530Mhz w/ 1.64V

intel 950 4Ghz (21 X 190)

Quick Questions:
1. Is your muskin memory 2000Mhz factory speed or is that with an Overclock?
2. Do you have Turbo Boost on with your 4Ghz Overclock?

 

[rofl_my_waffle]

That is the rated speed and timmings for my memory. I memory doesn't overclock well.

I do have turbo boost and hyper threading.

Have you tried running a lower BCLK with a higher CPU multiplier? Try the highest CPU multiplier with the lowest BCLK that would give you near 4ghz.

 

[redmoon]

I'll give it a shot.

My Motherboard won't let me enable turbo boost if I change the multiplier from default settings, but there is another option. not in CPU features that is called turbo performance (on/off) but I'm not sure if it's the same thing. I check my useless mobo manual. doesn't say what it is.

 

[redmoon]

alright got a stable 10min small FTT test on Prime95.

4Ghz, 24 X 167.6, 1.3 Vcore still. Anything less crashes at boot, desktop, or start up of Prime95.

This overclock reached a 2c higher temp and uses nearly 145w. Thats a 42W increase from my earlier setting w.o Turbo, not that its a problem, but the temperatures are.

Is turbo really worth it for Gaming/Heavy Photoshop?

I need to lower my OC or Find a way to lower temps. I don't think the thermal grease is to blame. It's good stuff.

 

[dalethepcman]

Unless you are doing massively threaded applications you can get alot higher clocks at lower temps by turning off hyper threading. You should easily be able to achieve 4ghz with that chip, your memory might be holding you back when you increase the fsb too high, so make sure your dram is running below the maximum specified clocks and tweak it up after you get your CPU stable.

 

[redmoon]

Best answer selected by redmoon.

 

[redmoon]

Great advice, I overlooked disabling HT for some reason. Just feels good to see 8 threads running at 4.0Ghz . I upgraded from a 3yr+ AMD 64 Dual-core 6000 (3.Ghz).

I've got 23x175 to achieve my new 4Ghz on 4 Threads. I still had to set the Vcore at 1.29375, to get a successful desktop bootup. Everything else is on auto running at lower voltages. I'll try lowering it and running Prime95. So far the max Temp hit is 66c on load, which is 12c lower then 4Core/8Threads no Turbo on my first post.

I'm going to try for 4.2-4.4Ghz w/o HT or Turbo next

 

[Hard Line]

with my Noctua D-14, I got my 930 to 4.3ghz stable with 1.28v hyperthreading on. i have no experience with the H50 though. this winter I am going to try for 4.5 for bench stable. at 4.3 under prime after 8 hours cores hit about 75-78 ( that was in summer tho)

 

[saint19]

Question has been solved.