Want to use speedstep with asus p8p67 pro but problems abound

[pattamus]

Hi,

I'm a new poster but longtime reader and lurker at this site, and respect the expertise of those here. Butt kissing aside, I have an issue i'm facing.

I have an Asus p8p67 pro rev 3.1, i5 2500K w 212 evo cooler and corsair vengeance 1600mhz memory.

I have been able to OC to 4.8ghz on this board and cpu, which has made me very happy. I heard you could now safely use speedstep with sandys, so I tried it, but I got only 1600mhz without turbo/speedstep being on. It only kicks into 4.8ghz during 3d apps and several others, but others it does not.

I heard I could change the non-speedstep value from 1600 to a higher mhz, something like 2800mhz or 3000mhz would be great. I have looked all over the BIOS, googled, read threads, so was this person telling me this full of it, or can I do this?

Basically when in 2d it would be at 2800mhz instead of 1600mhz, then gaming it would go up to 4800mhz. I have noticed certain things like winrar doesn't kick in the full OC, and is kind of slow at 1600mhz. Not just that, but other programs.

If I can do this, what settings would I need to make in BIOS? I would like to save on power and not have my CPU so hot 24/7, so I would really appreciate a response.

Thank you very much

 

[jaquith]

Changing 'SpeedStep' from anything from x16~x34 isn't possible other than to turn it off which I really don't recommend. If you Disable SpeedStep/EIST C-States the CPU will run at 4.8GHz all of the time. There's Pros & Cons, but IMO the Cons win so I try to have my OC's with all energy savings Enabled.

Your CPU will run 'hotter' Disabling SpeedStep/EIST C-States. Further, IMO a 4.8GHz is too much for CM 212 EVO, and it best to keep your vCore <1.40v if not 1.35v~1.38v with a simple HSF.

 

[pattamus]

Ok thanks, wasn't sure if it was possible to get the stock speed of 1600mhz higher. I had speedstep disabled running at 4.8ghz just fine for a few months, not one blue screen. 38c idle and 50-60c heavy gaming but did not reach high temps running prime95. I also have the vCore a little higher like you said rather than auto, not by much, but just to insure stability.

I also have a push and pull fan config on the 212 evo, if that is what you meant by HSF (heat sink fan)? Also I'm in an antec 900 with both the top 220mm blowing at full and the back 120mm , and have 2 custom high RPM fans blowing air in through the front. Haven't had any problem with temps even running with speed step disabled so it's interesting you bring that up.

If my temps are fine and I can run a 24 hour prime95 test and not fail and not BSOD, what would be other issues I would face? Just shortened life of the CPU? I do plan to just use speedstep and keep it at 4800mhz while 3d gaming and such, only wish I could make that 1600mhz 2800mhz at least. Too bad you can't.

Thanks for the info.

One more question, why keep the Vcore higher if everything is running cool and I'm not having problems? I know it's stable, so just wondering. I was thinking of just keeping the vcore at auto when I use speedstep, since the turbo will kick up the Vcore when needed. I will do a stress test to make sure, but I actually did a several hour short one and it was fine.

 

[jaquith]

I'm not suggesting you increase you vCore, I was suggesting you 'limit' your vCore. If you're stable at a lower vCore, you didn't list any, then kudos for you! I can't imagine vCore = Auto and you're stable @ 4.8GHz; I'd love to see that CPU-z with Prime95/AIDA64 in the background after 30 minutes even.

Remember, getting a CPU-z validation means zip if you cannot sustain the CPU @ 100% for less than several hours. Having a BSOD in the middle of something isn't any fun.

As an alternative, you can leave 'SpeedStep' Enabled and instead of 'All Core' @ x48 you can try e.g. cores 1-2 @ x44 and cores 3-4 @ x48.

 

[pattamus]

I increased the vcore when not using speedstep and was at 4.8ghz. It wasn't in auto. I understand about stress testing , as I replied.

I have it on auto right now with speedstep enabled, and I've had it pass stress tests for a few hrs with the increased Vcore given me by the turbo boost in the past.

But I will of course do another stress test, and see if the Vcore needs to be bumped up, which I'm sure it may need to be. But like I said, I've not had a single BSOD and have good temps.

I have overclocked several machines and understand the basics, I just didn't know whether the stock 1600mhz using speedstep could be changed , I heard somewhere it could. That would be fantastic, but alas, I guess it's not to be.

I'll most likely either use speedstep and test on auto Vcore in prime95 to see what happens and gradually increase as I always do. I have had great luck with OCing with this board/chip/mem and cooler. So who knows?

If it will pass 100% for 12 hours and has cool enough temps under full load, and idle, that is fine with me. We shall see.

Thank you for your help.

 

[tevildo]

Regarding the minimum frequency of 1600 MHz being too low. I am not 100% sure of this since I have only tested it on a the computer of a friend which is running a 2500K on a P8P67 pro MB. With the energy saving features turned on you should be able to determine which will be the lowest speed when the CPU clocks down by altering settings in windows (in my case windows 7).

You can find these settings at Control Panel/Power Options/
Click on Change settings for the scheme that you are using. Once there you can click on change advanced settings. In the list that shows up, look for power saving functions for the CPU (or some such, I don't know the exact translation since I am sitting with a swedish Windows 7 at the moment). Within that entry in the list you should be able to set the lowest CPU state by specifying a percentage.

Hope this helps!

// Tevildo

 

[pattamus]

Thank you! I actually had permanently set the CPU to 4800mhz, and decided to clock down to 4600mhz after some benchmarking, just didn't seem worth pushing it that far with the programs I use. Now I can just use speedstep and get that same speed but keep it around 2600mhz when in non 3d mode or not that much power needed.

I had actually been giving the speedstep a try for around 2 weeks before even reading I could do this, and it never gave me problems really. I just felt like it wasn't "stable" or it would jump around too easily. Easy to forget CPUs are way faster than the diode can detect. Now that I can idle at a higher mhz makes the speedstep a much easier sell

 

[pattamus]

Best answer selected by pattamus.

 

[nikorr]

This topic has been closed by Nikorr