Standard setting for sabertooth x58 w/DDR3-1600 1.65v

[dangros]

Pardon the lame question but given the bsod that I've gotten, I wanted to make sure my mb was set to the correct settings. Can someone point me to correct/non-overlocked settings for:
1) Corsair DD3-1600 1.65v (9-9-9-24-2T) Triple Channel RAM
2) NOT overclocking an i7 950 cpu?
3) Nvidia gts 450

I know there was also a problem w/the logitec webcrap pro 9000 causing bsod so I removed it and am in the process of trying to bring this win 7 pro system back to a clean/non crashing slate.

 

[aviconus]

If you are looking to go back to stock settings, there is an option to reset to default settings in most bios'. You can also remove your Battery (looks like a large 'watch battery') for 15-20 seconds, and that should default the settings as well. If you are still looking to OC after that, having a basis from which to start from is reason enough to default as well. Good Luck.

 

[dangros]

This brings me to several more questions.
1) Wouldnt setting the bios defaults be good enough? Why does removing the battery have to be done in addition to that? I'm not opposed to doing it, just curious
2) On the sabertooth, when you set to the defaults, it sets "AI Overclock Tunner" to Auto. It also sets Intel TurboMode Tech to enabled. That worried me b/c TurboMode stated that it can allow cores to overclock in some circumstances (note: http://www.techarp.com/showFreeBOG.aspx?lang=0&bogno=414 )
http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1457/4/

and 3) One reason for my concern was the use of OOCT. When I ran it, I believe it was on the default bios settings (assuming that means no overclocking). The cpu core(s) temp jumped instantly and went over 85 degrees with in 10-12 seconds! That hit the 85 degree threshold and stopped the test. Is this accurate? Shouldnt it maintain a lower temp when running this test?

If you are looking to go back to stock settings, there is an option to reset to default settings in most bios'. You can also remove your Battery (looks like a large 'watch battery') for 15-20 seconds, and that should default the settings as well. If you are still looking to OC after that, having a basis from which to start from is reason enough to default as well. Good Luck.

 

[aviconus]

1.) The battery removal was in the case of your bios not having a default option. Either option is viable, you don't need to do both.

2.) When the options are set to Auto, in the case of a quad core, will default to 2 cores being utilized. When the additional 2 cores are required for a process (game, Editting) it will enable the additional cores. Normally the Turbo option is defaulted to Disabled, so that is weird that yours is defaulting to Enabled. I assume that Ai Overclock Tuner is refering to the core utilization when needed.

3.) The fact that you were blue screening before, and your temps rocket up with the MB @ default would lead me to believe that your Thermal Grease needs replacement, or something is not functioning correctly with your CPU Cooler. I would look into reapplying thermal grease and checking temps after that. There are plenty of guides that will help you with the correct application of grease for correct cooling. I am not sure what OOCT is, so I can't suggest anything on that, I assume that it is something along the same lines as Prime95, where it tests your processors and monitors your temps? Hope some of this helps.

 

[dangros]

I pulled out my CPU fan and sure enough, the grease (or the gray putty rather) appeared to be incorrectly applied. It wasn't centered on the chip! So I moved it around with my finger to even it out. I will go to the store and either get grease and/or simply upgrade my cooler. The one I have is the stock intel.
I thought I would test the evenly smeared grease just to see if it made a difference and was able to run the strest test program for a lot longer before it hit the max 85 degrees.

I also downloaded prime 95 and realtemp and the results are pictured below. 84 degrees is a bit high, no?

Great catch btw!!! THANKS!

 

[aviconus]

While under full load 84deg isnt horrible. It could be lower, but if that is the highest it gets after an hour of Prime95, then your "smearing" test made a difference. I would still recommend replacing the thermal greese and cooler. You can go back to overclocking with a decent cooler running $40-$60. 'Arctic Silver 5" is going to be your top of the line grease, while Antec also makes a decent thermal grease as well. Keep in mind Thermal grease takes some time to cure, but you should see MUCH lower temps with new grease + new cooler. Good luck! choose best answer if that solves your issues.

 

[dangros]

avi, you certainly hit on one of my probs. Thanks!! I bought a new cooler as you suggested. It dropped my temps CONSIDERABLY! I now max out at 65C!! That's 20 cooler than the stock intel cooler (plus I'm now using turbo in bios to which allows the asus to slightly over clock the cpu).

But I also found a few more:
1) setting the bios to XMP settings allowed it to properly time the memory.
2) Simply uninstalling the logitech wireless mouse drivers, removing the usb dongle. then setting it to another usb port to auto reinstall drivers seemed to fix something and allowed me to boot normally. damn you pc irq issues or driver conflicts... when will PNP be smart enough to stop stepping over itself.
3) setting the Power management mode in the nvidia control panel to maxmimum performance helped the video tests.


ONE thing remains however. Although my system seems stable and doesnt crash overnight. It WILL crash when I run the GPU 3D test in OCCT. Does anyone know why?

 

[dangros]

Best answer selected by dangros.