To use X.M.P. or use manual settings, that is the question

[irvinparrett]

CPU: i7 2600k
Motherboard: Asus Maximus iv extreme-Z.
Cooler:Noctua NH D-14.
I am going to overclock hopefully with 52x-54x multiplier. Should I use X.M.P. or use manual settings to overclock. Am I to understand X.M.P. has presets on my motherboard specific to my ram? Or how does that work? I understand how to enter ram timings and voltage manually. So, how does that differ from x.m.p. I have done research but these are specific questions I could not find an answer too.
Thanks for the help. The noob.

 

[beenthere]

Yes XMP is a typical OC spec that will work for many CPU/mobo/RAM combinations that can be programmed into the RAM by the manufacturer and selected in the BIOS options. That's the quick and easy means to try and OC the RAM. It is NOT guaranteed to work with all CPU/mobo/RAM combinations but it does work for most.

If you want to try going higher then you need to manually set the RAM latencies in the BIOS. Unfortunately rhere is little system performance gain with DDR3 RAM due to it's higher default frequency and bandwidth compared to DDR2 RAM. You might see a 1% improvement is system performance with OC'ed RAM.

 

[geekapproved]

Your memory profile has zero to do with cpu overclocking.

You use whatever sets your memory correct. If the sticker on your memory says 1.5v/9-9-9-24/1600mhz, then that's what you set it to, not something different.

 

[irvinparrett]

so, don't use xmp at all if i enter the volts, timing, and speed manually. thanks the noob.

 

[irvinparrett]

Your memory profile has zero to do with cpu overclocking.

You use whatever sets your memory correct. If the sticker on your memory says 1.5v/9-9-9-24/1600mhz, then that's what you set it to, not something different.

so, don't use xmp at all if i enter the volts, timing, and speed manually. thanks the noob.

 

[RetiredChief]

Memory OC and CPU overclocking is seperate of the SB - Bus freq is fixed @ 100 Mhz, Previous generations you increased Bus speed and the other parameters. ie increased My bus speed to 400 Mhz (cpu multiplier @ 16) to run DDR3 Synchronous @1600 and CPU @ 3.2

Memory - Do before OCing CPU:
.. DDR3 above 1333 is Overclocked memorry.
.. Many recommend manully setting the ram voltage and Timing.
.. Myself, I alway first try the the XMP, Profile 1 in bios. Had excellent results for my Gigabyte and ASrock MBs. After setting make sure you verify stablilty by running prime 95 for 6 Hours.
My I5-2500k - Enabled XMP and selected profile 1 which set DDRs ripjaw's to 1600, set cpu multiplier to 46 and raised the vcore slightly for a OC of 4.6 Ghz.

CPU:
.. My first comment You indicated a OC of 5.2 -> 5.4 GHZ. This may or may not be achievable. More important, compared with an OC of 4.6 -> 4.8 this only reperesents a 8% (4.8 compared to 5.2) -> 14% (4.6 -> 5.2) performance gain. Need a min of 10->15% change befor you can even tell the difference, and then CPU speed is only one factor in overall performance gain. I think 5.0 -> 5.2 is for bragging rights rather than real life performance gain.

Couple of comments on OCing SB:
.. Max RAM voltage from intel is 1.575. I'm using 1.60 V and some use upto 1.65 V)
.. Do not go above 1.4 Volts for Vcore (I think the spec is 1.5V)
.. Monitor temps very close, SB throttles around 95C, generally most use a max core temps of 80C, Myself my max would be 70C ( currently around 60->65C for 4.6 Ghz ).

 

[irvinparrett]

Best answer selected by irvinparrett.