My Sandy Bridge build is up and running but I have a few concerns

i7 2600k, ASUS P8P67 PRO, sli 560 gtx twin frozr, acer 120 hz gd235hz, 8GB 1600 GSKILL Ripjaws 9-9-9-27

1) When I open up the NVIDIA control panel and click on "change resolution", 60hz is the only option for refresh rate. I have a 120hz monitor connected via dual link dvi cable. Why does it only allow 60hz in this option field.?

2) In the BIOS, I allowed the computer to "auto tune" and its saying I have a target turbo mode at 4.4mghz so I am assuming that it overclocked to 4.4mghz. However, if I wanted to push it further, what are acceptable cpu temps and is cpu-z the best program for monitoring? Is there something built into windows 7 that would allow me to monitor?

Message edited by xstalkrx on 03-13-2011 at 03:47:52 AM

Reply to xstalkrx

As far as I know, 120Hz monitor is for 3D, whereby you'd need 2 60Hz streams. You're still only refreshing at 60Hz, but you're doing it twice, hence you'll only get the 60Hz option.

For CPU temps, don't go higher than 75 degrees under load absolute maximum. With half-decent cooling, a Sandy Bridge CPU shouldn't hit 70 degrees under load even on some serious overclocks.

There's nothing in Windows you can use to monitor your CPU during overclock, and really you wouldn't want to anyway - CPU-Z, HWMonitor, RealTemp and CoreTemp are the ones that people use to monitor. Stress testing is usually done with Prime96, Intel BurnTest and LinX.

Message quoted 1 times
Message edited by LePhuronn on 03-11-2011 at 06:11:15 PM

Reply to LePhuronn

LePhuronn wrote :

As far as I know, 120Hz monitor is for 3D, whereby you'd need 2 60Hz streams. You're still only refreshing at 60Hz, but you're doing it twice, hence you'll only get the 60Hz option.

For CPU temps, don't go higher than 75 degrees under load absolute maximum. With half-decent cooling, a Sandy Bridge CPU shouldn't hit 70 degrees under load even on some serious overclocks.

There's nothing in Windows you can use to monitor your CPU during overclock, and really you wouldn't want to anyway - CPU-Z, HWMonitor, RealTemp and CoreTemp are the ones that people use to monitor. Stress testing is usually done with Prime96, Intel BurnTest and LinX.

OK with CPUID I am at 67 degrees on processor and my video cards are at 67 degrees and 70 degrees while playing crysis maxed out on 1920x1080. I am on stock cooling and it looks like the processor is clocked at 4.4 ghz.

In the nvidia control panel I was just able to create a custom resolution setting of 1920x1080 at 120hz progressive refresh rate. I also had the option of selecting "interlaced". Which should I pick?

Message edited by xstalkrx on 03-11-2011 at 08:53:44 PM

Reply to xstalkrx

Great temps for that overlook on stock cooling.

For your monitor, if you're not doing 3D you're fine at 60Hz. Don't have any experience with it I'm afraid.

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to LePhuronn

LePhuronn wrote :

Great temps for that overlook on stock cooling.

For your monitor, if you're not doing 3D you're fine at 60Hz. Don't have any experience with it I'm afraid.

Thanks very much. What is the best way to confirm that the CPU is performing at that speed? The only thing I have to go by is in the BIOS where it says "target turbo frequency 4.4 ghz."

Reply to xstalkrx

CPU-Z will tell you everything

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to LePhuronn

LePhuronn wrote :

CPU-Z will tell you everything

As I sit here typing this with no applications running CPUZ is showing my core speed at 1648mhz and multiplier x16. Also, it shows my memory at 842mhz and its supposed to be at 1600.

What the hell.

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to xstalkrx

It's fine don't worry. It's called SpeedStep and will downclock your system when it's idle to save power. Give it something to do, like Prime95 run, and you'll see those clocks jump back up.

Reply to LePhuronn

xstalkrx wrote :

As I sit here typing this with no applications running CPUZ is showing my core speed at 1648mhz and multiplier x16. Also, it shows my memory at 842mhz and its supposed to be at 1600.

What the hell.

The RAM should be running in dual channel mode so it's 842mhz x 2 = 1684mhz.

------------------------------

http://img545.imageshack.us/img545/3995/bl11.gif

Reply to Mousemonkey

thank you both for helping a helpless noob

Reply to xstalkrx

Our pleasure, we all have to start at the beginning at some point.

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to LePhuronn

LePhuronn wrote :

Our pleasure, we all have to start at the beginning at some point.

I just ran prime 95 for the first time and within 2 minutes my CPU was up to 90 degress celsius! I stopped the test immediately. I know that 90 is high for a CPU but is it normal to get that high in prime? Anything alarming here? Surely I would not have wanted to run this test for hours on end like I read about on some overclocking forums?

Reply to xstalkrx

That's too high. Are you using the stock cooler? Make sure it's properly seated and can't move around, but even for the stock cooler that's high. I think 4.4GHz might be a bit too much for the stock cooler.

Before I say anything else, do you want to overclock? It can be easy, it can be tricky and there's a lot if info to come if you want it.

Message quoted 1 times
Message edited by LePhuronn on 03-12-2011 at 12:06:42 AM

Reply to LePhuronn

LePhuronn wrote :

That's too high. Are you using the stock cooler? Make sure it's properly seated and can't move around, but even for the stock cooler that's high. I think 4.4GHz might be a bit too much for the stock cooler.

Before I say anything else, do you want to overclock? It can be easy, it can be tricky and there's a lot if info to come if you want it.

Well I was under the impression that I could get around 4.7-4.9 on stock cooler but perhaps I am wrong. Yes, I am def interested in OC'ing which is why I let the P8P67 Pro motherboard automatically OC everything for me. My motherboard pushed the CPU to 4.4 ghz on its own. But yea...I guess I need to know how to do things manually.

Reply to xstalkrx

The stock Intel cooler sucks for overclocking, especially for the 2600K with Hyperthreading enabled. I don't go over 4.0GHz on my 2500K with the stock cooler, and I don't have Hyperthreading.

If you want to overclock, you need an aftermarket cooler. If you don't want to spend much, the CoolerMaster Hyper 212 Plus is $30 and performs great. You should be able to overclock to the CPU's multiplier wall with that cooler.

Oh, and in case you didn't know, each individual Sandy Bridge CPU has a multiplier that it cannot go past. This is called its "multiplier wall" and no amount of voltage or cooling will allow it to go beyond that. You already know that your CPU can do 44x, but it may be able to go higher ... perhaps as high as 50x or more.

For an everyday overclock, keep the voltage below 1.35v or 1.4v at the absolute maximum. Temps should be kept below 75ºC during Prime95 load.

Message quoted 1 times

Leaps-from-Shadows wrote :

The stock Intel cooler sucks for overclocking, especially for the 2600K with Hyperthreading enabled. I don't go over 4.0GHz on my 2500K with the stock cooler, and I don't have Hyperthreading.

If you want to overclock, you need an aftermarket cooler. If you don't want to spend much, the CoolerMaster Hyper 212 Plus is $30 and performs great. You should be able to overclock to the CPU's multiplier wall with that cooler.

Oh, and in case you didn't know, each individual Sandy Bridge CPU has a multiplier that it cannot go past. This is called its "multiplier wall" and no amount of voltage or cooling will allow it to go beyond that. You already know that your CPU can do 44x, but it may be able to go higher ... perhaps as high as 50x or more.

For an everyday overclock, keep the voltage below 1.35v or 1.4v at the absolute maximum. Temps should be kept below 75ºC during Prime95 load.

I'm wondering if its going to fit the p8p67pro board because of those blue, wave-like heatsinks surrounding the cpu

Reply to xstalkrx

I will easily clear those. However, if you have extra-tall memory in the first RAM slot, it may not clear that.

Let me make sure I have this straight...

I am going to use the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus. After it is installed I will go into the BIOS and ONLY touch the multiplier. I can start at x45 and then run Prime to make sure of two things. 1) the temps aren't getting above 75 celsius and 2) the OC is stable.

I am assuming that Prime will throw some sort of disclaimer out there at me if it runs across some kind of error caused by instability?

If there is instability, this is the time to bump the vcore up slightly right? I am assuming that increasing the vcore power will cause a bit more heat which will have to be monitored closely during future prime runs.

Any other BIOS settings I should be looking to alter or is the multiplier and vcore all that should be necessary to push this system to 4.5 - 5.0 ghz?

Reply to xstalkrx

Vcore and multiplier, anything else will cause instability (thanks Intel).

Get yourself up to the speed you want and when you're stable (which is generally 12 hours or more on Prime95 with no errors) save those settings as a BIOS profile and then try ti bring your voltage back down - less voltage, less heat.

It takes a while to get it right, but it's fun and worth it. Good luck!

Reply to LePhuronn

Very cool.

So, I can just jack the multiplier to like 47 right off the bat and if its stable in prime for 12 hours then I'm good. If its NOT stable and prime gives me errors, then I should bump the vcore up.

In what increments should I be increasing the vcore? Does increasing the vcore also clock my processor up slightly?

Also, my Gskill 8GB 1600 ram is timed at 9-9-9-24. Would it be worth decreasing the timings? Would this be a tough task?

Message quoted 1 times
Message edited by xstalkrx on 03-12-2011 at 08:28:45 PM

Reply to xstalkrx

xstalkrx wrote :

Very cool.

So, I can just jack the multiplier to like 47 right off the bat and if its stable in prime for 12 hours then I'm good. If its NOT stable and prime gives me errors, then I should bump the vcore up.

In what increments should I be increasing the vcore? Does increasing the vcore also clock my processor up slightly?

Also, my Gskill 8GB 1600 ram is timed at 9-9-9-24. Would it be worth decreasing the timings? Would this be a tough task?

Increasing the vcore won't affect the clock speed, it will only provide more power, which in turn leads to more heat generation.

As long as the FSB isn't being changed, I don't think decreasing memory timings will affect your ability to OC.

I could be wrong on these points as I've been out of OC'ing for a while, so feel free to correct me.

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to Kralnor

Can't edit my last post, but I just realized this architecture uses QPI instead of FSB, so disregard that comment.

Reply to Kralnor

Kralnor wrote :

Increasing the vcore won't affect the clock speed, it will only provide more power, which in turn leads to more heat generation.

As long as the FSB isn't being changed, I don't think decreasing memory timings will affect your ability to OC.

I could be wrong on these points as I've been out of OC'ing for a while, so feel free to correct me.

In what increments should vcore be increased?

Reply to xstalkrx

On your interlaced question, noninerlaced is better than interlaced.
Brief description, using the "old TV" with 525 (US) lines. The data was fed starting at the top and went to lines 1, 3, 5 ect to the bottom, then the trace started at the top and filled in all the even numbered lines. this was interlaced, noninterlaced started at the top and filled in each row 1, then 2, then 3 ect.

Not sure that this is relevant with "Digital" flat panels.

Message edited by RetiredChief on 03-12-2011 at 11:04:55 PM

Reply to RetiredChief

Using a v10 and h50 at the overclock of 4.5ghz i was running high 60-70 under load.

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to cia24

cia24 wrote :

Using a v10 and h50 at the overclock of 4.5ghz i was running high 60-70 under load.

which cooler did you end up using?

what increments should the vcore be increased by?

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to xstalkrx

xstalkrx wrote :

which cooler did you end up using?

what increments should the vcore be increased by?

Thank bit-tech.com for this not me

Overclock a Core i5-2500K to 4.5GHz
1. Enter the BIOS by pressing Delete as the PC starts
2. Enter the Advanced menu by clicking the button in the top-right corner
3. Set the CPU multiplier to 45x<----turbo multi actully
4. Enable Load-Line Calibration
5. Set the CPU voltage to 1.3-1.35V
6. Set the CPU PLL to 1.9V
7. Set the VCCSA to 1.1V
8. Set the VCCIO to 1.106V
9. Hit F10 to save and restart

Message edited by cia24 on 03-12-2011 at 11:54:54 PM

Reply to cia24

My cpu is i7 2600k. but i was told that only cpu voltage and multiplier would have to be changed?

Reply to xstalkrx

http://www.funkykit.com/articles/6 [...] 2600k.html

Reply to cia24

0.025v should be your core voltage increment.

Message quoted 1 times

Leaps-from-Shadows wrote :

0.025v should be your core voltage increment.

OK.

Also, under load, the mobo will deliver slightly more voltage than you set right? I was noticing in CPU-ID that there was a very small range of voltages that the CPU stayed between. Like...it wasn't a constant 1.3 volts.

So, you have to compensate for the potential increases I am assuming to ensure the voltage doesn't go over 1.5?

Reply to xstalkrx

I wouldn't set anything higher than 1.4v in the BIOS. That way you don't have to worry about it.

after i have everything stable with just the multiplier and the voltage... would it be beneficial to decrease my ram timings from 9-9-9-27 to something faster or will it make any difference?

Reply to xstalkrx

It wouldn't be anything that you'd notice. Certainly not worth the potential instability.

Also, why does the mobo make me go into the BIOS and change the RAM to 1600mhz? My RAM is rated at 1600mhz but the mobo defaulted it to 1333?

Reply to xstalkrx

Because 1333 is the highest the CPU officially supports. Technically, you're overclocking to get it to its rated 1600 speed. Every mainboard will make you do this for higher-speed RAM like that.

Also can you set your bios to use XMP and set the profile to 1, If XMP is set to disable it will use the lower setting. (The XMP -> Enabled and use Profile 1 is for my P55-UD4P so may be diff for your MB. Selecting this set up 1600, the Dimm Voltage and CL ratings to what is stored on the memory module.

- One cavet that I did not expect, it also changed the Bclk (increased) and decreased the Multiplier. Bclk x multiplier still @ stock MHz. all I had to do to OC was increase my Blck and multipler and add a small voltage to vcore.

Reply to RetiredChief

OK I just set all cores to 45 and ran prime for 20 minutes with no errors. I also just installed the Cooler Master 212 Hyper Plus. The CPU reached 4.5mhz and the max temps according to CPUID across all cores was: 65,68,68,65 Before I had installed the new cooler, I was getting 90 degress celsius across all cores after just 2 minutes of prime running. wow...

I did not see an option to change the CPU voltage in BIOS but I was watching the voltage closely with CPUZ and it appeared that it was increasing and decreasing the voltage as needed. The max voltage that it reached during the prime run was like 1.31 and then after the prime test was over it came back down to 1.01

From what I have read here, I should continue to increase the multiplier until I get errors in prime, my temps reach greater than 75, or my voltage goes above 1.5

Reply to xstalkrx

Just a comment. The diff between cpu @ 4.5 and 5.0 is ONLY 10% and in most cases you would not notice any increase in daily performance, only in benchmarks which is more a bragging rights issue. I took my I5-750 to 3.8, it was stable, I then backed it off to 3.2.

Reply to RetiredChief

is it possible for me to access my bios from the OS on the p8p67 board?

Reply to xstalkrx

You can overclock using some of the ASUS software that came with your board, but it won't be as thorough as the BIOS. You cannot access the actual BIOS settings though Windows.

Why would I want to change the vcore when it appears that the mobo is doing the voltage increasing for me as needed? I watch CPUZ during the prime runs and the voltage is increasing and decreasing all the time as the mobo sees fit.

When I look through the BIOS I see that the cpu voltage is set by default to "offset mode". What exactly does this mean?

Reply to xstalkrx

You want to change the voltage manually because when set to Auto the BIOS usually piles on extra voltage, causing unnecessary heat on the CPU. You want just above the absolute minimum for your overclock, so that it's fully stable but doesn't cause extra heat.

Offset mode takes a certain BIOS-determined base voltage and adds the chosen amount to it.

Leap-from-shawdow. Fully agree manual setting up bios for oveclock is better than doing it from software under windows. One small point software can change Bios settings under windows. I intially used easytune6 to set my OV (3.8). after it did it's thing I rebooted and sure enough, it had reset Bus freq, multiplier and vcore. I then proceeded to adjust vcore down to the point of instability, then jacked it up slightly. But you are correct in saying that the user can not access the bios, unless he knows a lot of programing..

Message quoted 1 times
Message edited by RetiredChief on 03-15-2011 at 04:08:27 AM

Reply to RetiredChief

I have never been to big of a fan of software overclocking---BIOS FTW

Reply to cia24

RetiredChief wrote :

But you are correct in saying that the user can not access the bios, unless he knows a lot of programing..

I don't think any knowledge in programming is required in order to be able to access the BIOS.

Reply to Kralnor

^ Statement was direcxted @"From within windows" of coarse indivduals can get in to bios from Post. Outside of software that has been developed (ie Manufs software to monitor voltages, and temps and to allow OCing from windows) I know of no software that currently allows you to access what ever in bios. For example do you have the ablity to change vcore from with in windows on the fly - A programer, with the right knowlege, could. It is available, ie easytune 6 adjustes vcore when OCing.

Message quoted 1 times
Message edited by RetiredChief on 03-15-2011 at 02:43:40 PM

Reply to RetiredChief

RetiredChief wrote :

^ Statement was direcxted @"From within windows" of coarse indivduals can get in to bios from Post. Outside of software that has been developed (ie Manufs software to monitor voltages, and temps and to allow OCing from windows) I know of no software that currently allows you to access what ever in bios. For example do you have the ablity to change vcore from with in windows on the fly - A programer, with the right knowlege, could. It is available, ie easytune 6 adjustes vcore when OCing.

Right, I think you meant to say that no user was able to modify those settings outside of the BIOS unless he was very experienced in programming, which is true. I read it as no user even being able to access the BIOS without having programming knowledge, which made zero sense.

I'll leave it at that.

Reply to Kralnor

Forum CPU & Components : Other Components My Sandy Bridge build is up and running but I have a few concerns

CPUs

Power Supplies, Cases & Mods

Sound Cards

Servers

NICs

Other Components

Akasa

Antec

Cooler Master

Cougar

DeepCool

Enermax

Please mind