Core i7/X58 Overclocking Thread

[initialised]

As the title says post your experiences and recommendations for OC'ing Intel's new high end processors.

Here's mine:

We finally got hold of a CPU cooler (Akasa Nero) with LGA 1366 mounts today, so we put the Ci7 and P6T together. We tried every type of DDR3 we had available but it would only POST with GSkill NQ (Not Quick?).

We didn't like the look of the fan that came with the Nero (0.08W) so I grabbed a YSTech monster (8.52W) that has served me well in the past.

Test Setup:
Core i7 965
ASUS P6T Deluxe
6GB (3x2GB) GSkill NQ DDR3 1066MHz 1.6V
Akasa Nero Socket 1366 Direct contact HPC with 8.52W YSTech fan Thermalright thermal compound (as supplied with TRUE 120)



Cannot post anything in depth for fear of NDAs etc and because rummaging for compatible RAM and dealing with more mundane systems (water cooled Xfire 4870x2s) got in the way.



Anyway, 3.6GHz was pretty much free and 4.2GHz is within reach but this HPC probably wont get much further. We should be getting 1366 brackets for an XPSC Delta next week and hopefully it wont be too long before the TRUE ships with 1366 brackets.

[Zucker2k]

Nice looking setup you got there? When does the NDA lift?

[HawaiianSupermn]

Wow, getting close now, boy! woot!

[Gautam]

Why couldn't this thread wait until post-embargo?

Anyways, it doesn't belong in Xtreme Overclocking either way.

[bmg]

Have you tried running your ram in the other set of sockets?

[Nosfer@tu]

Why couldn't this thread wait until post-embargo?

Anyways, it doesn't belong in Xtreme Overclocking either way.

I dont understand this either

[BababooeyHTJ]

I love XS! An X58 overclocking thread before the Core I7 NDA is even lifted!

[XLAR8]

well ppl

dont keep your hopes up

i just read an interview with some intel guy today, and he said only then first batch of ci7's will be overclockable.... and they wont be good for gaming either because they wont do floating point very well.

he then goes on to say that in the future they will release true high end ci7's that will be overclockable like buggery and game like never before... but at a price premium. (he said the price difference would be like the gap between core 2's and the core 2 extreme's today )

well that is if u can believe every interview u read

[zodden]

well that is if u can believe every interview u read

I stopped believing anything Intel says long ago.

I only believe what I can learn here

[Drwho?]

well ppl

dont keep your hopes up

i just read an interview with some intel guy today, and he said only then first batch of ci7's will be overclockable.... and they wont be good for gaming either because they wont do floating point very well.

he then goes on to say that in the future they will release true high end ci7's that will be overclockable like buggery and game like never before... but at a price premium. (he said the price difference would be like the gap between core 2's and the core 2 extreme's today )

well that is if u can believe every interview u read

Please provide the link of the interview! I want to know who i need to kick his b.tt for not knowing what he is talking about.

the link please!

[saaya]

well ppl

dont keep your hopes up

i just read an interview with some intel guy today, and he said only then first batch of ci7's will be overclockable.... and they wont be good for gaming either because they wont do floating point very well.

he then goes on to say that in the future they will release true high end ci7's that will be overclockable like buggery and game like never before... but at a price premium. (he said the price difference would be like the gap between core 2's and the core 2 extreme's today )

well that is if u can believe every interview u read

thats bullox

my i965 run great at 1.30V with AIR COOLING at 3,9GHz Prime95 stable ...
second i920 is pretty stable at 3,6GHz with AIR COOLING and base clock at 170MHz ...
best choice for money/value is i940, is overclockable to 3.7 - 3,8GHz on AIR ... with best mobo

thanks for sharing
thats about the same i experienced and heard from others as well...

[initialised]

I love XS! An X58 overclocking thread before the Core I7 NDA is even lifted!

Well someone had to start it. I'm guessing that this thread will eventually become part of the ** Oficial ASUS P6T Overclocking Thread **

So far I am happy with the OC performance of the board and CPU but not so happy with the cooler, basically as soon as I launch Prime95 the temps leap 40-50C and the system crashes. On the bright side the XSPC Delta bracket turned up so it'll be getting proper cooling soon.

On (crappy) AIR COOLING
Best POST at 4.44GHz
Into Windows at 4.2GHz

[mibo]

On (crappy) AIR COOLING
Best POST at 4.44GHz
Into Windows at 4.2GHz

That's by changing cpu multi I guess.
Because the unlocked cpu is too expensive, I would like to know what frequency you can reach without cpu multi. Just raising the base frequency...

[initialised]

That's by changing cpu multi I guess.
Because the unlocked cpu is too expensive, I would like to know what frequency you can reach without cpu multi. Just raising the base frequency...

No, both of those were with the multi knocked down to 20. Base clock goes up to 200 easily and you can probably guess what the most I got out of it was.

As for comparisons to Core2 Quads, they are both 45nm with High-K gates and they clock about as well as each other the unanswered question for me is the performance improvement from the Ci7 architecture, SMT & Tri Channel memory.

[IN7OX]

mbs in stock but way way way overpriced
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...1283&name=Asus P6T Deluxe "OC Palm Edition" Intel X58 (Socket 1366) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard
dont think ill bother yet
also they dont have chips yet so whats the point

[mesyn191]

the unanswered question for me is the performance improvement from the Ci7 architecture, SMT & Tri Channel memory.

You'll only see big performance improvements (ie. 10% or greater) with Nehalem if you run software that makes proper use of 4 or more cores vs. current chips. This is what some have been alluding to by saying it won't be that great vs. current chips for gaming, performance will probably be almost equal on a per clock basis. The only games where this might not be true are UE3 based games since that engine supposedly is the most rigorously multi-threaded out there ATM. Allen Wake should benefit quite a bit too when being ran on Nehalem vs. current quad core chips. Since over clocks aren't all that much better either if you've currently got a quad or even dual core chip at or over 3Ghz Nehalem probably won't be worth it for you're average gamer until it gets (much) cheaper and/or agressively multi threaded software becomes common place.

Where Nehalem will truly shine is server workloads and heavy duty scientific number crunching. Its really meant for that market, it just happens to perform well on desktop apps/games too, much like K8 was in its prime several years ago.

[HawaiianSupermn]

Reminds me of the gap between the qx6700 and the qx9650.

[OBR]

my i965 run great at 1.30V with AIR COOLING at 3,9GHz Prime95 stable ...
second i920 is pretty stable at 3,6GHz with AIR COOLING and base clock at 170MHz ...
best choice for money/value is i940, is overclockable to 3.7 - 3,8GHz on AIR ... with best mobo

[Twist360]

my i965 run great at 1.30V with AIR COOLING at 3,9GHz Prime95 stable ...
second i920 is pretty stable at 3,6GHz with AIR COOLING and base clock at 170MHz ...
best choice for money/value is i940, is overclockable to 3.7 - 3,8GHz on AIR ... with best mobo

what do u refer to write for i920, is stable @3.6GHz with base clock @170MHz ??
because after reading most of topics, the i920 is stable with x20 multiple and not really stable with a x21 (TurboMode) isnt it ?

So 20x170= 3.4GHz

Isn't it possible to be stable @ 20x200MHz with good AirCooling and good cpu coller ? to run at 4GHz on P6T Deluxe for example ?

[Hornet331]

Isn't it possible to be stable @ 20x200MHz with good AirCooling and good cpu coller ? to run at 4GHz on P6T Deluxe for example ?

It's possible but i doubt any aircooler can handle the heat.
3.6-3.8 Ghz is possible with aircooling and voltages between 1.25-1.3V, everthing above 1.3V will be hard for aircooling 24/7 and @ 1,45V+ it even gets hard for a decent WC setup.

[Classic Satch]

It's possible but i doubt any aircooler can handle the heat.
3.6-3.8 Ghz is possible with aircooling and voltages between 1.25-1.3V, everthing above 1.3V will be hard for aircooling 24/7 and @ 1,45V+ it even gets hard for a decent WC setup.

True enough. I'm always wondering how those with a TRUE can get STABLE systems with relatively high voltages and speeds. I doubt that such rigs are truly 24/7 stable under a signifcant load.

[Hornet331]

True enough. I'm always wondering how those with a TRUE can get STABLE systems with relatively high voltages and speeds. I doubt that such rigs are truly 24/7 stable under a signifcant load.

yeah, i also doubt that.. well mybe they are stable but if the cpu is really loaded it beginns to throttle.

Im on 3.6Ghz with ~70-72°C on the cores with 1.216V, and im running WCG on all 8 threads.

Maybe i could go higher, but i have to factor in summer, when the temp air raises to 30°C or more.

[FragMagnet]

It's possible but i doubt any aircooler can handle the heat.
3.6-3.8 Ghz is possible with aircooling and voltages between 1.25-1.3V, everthing above 1.3V will be hard for aircooling 24/7 and @ 1,45V+ it even gets hard for a decent WC setup.

Are you sure about your contact between the cpu/hs ? I am using 1.45v (bios) 1.408v-1.392v under load, no HT, and the highest I've seen is 76c on one core, the rest are around 70c. This is with HT disabled. I only use this to burn DVD's and game occasionaly, so those temps are from prime95 x4 (stable for 2hrs +) in a room temp of 25-26c, case on (Coolermaster Centurion 590) Either HT adds that much heat, or it's the humidity in your area, or the contact of the HS ? It would be interesting to put a DMM on each of our mobos to see if we are getting the actual voltage reported ! Not sure what my max o-clock is with HT on, but I may try later tonight. I also want to throw in another HD and try Vista x64, so not sure if I'll have time.

[mpilchfamily]

From what i've read the CPU OCs itself in situations where only one core is needed and that it OCs itself to 3.6Ghz. Thats what i read in the current issue of Maximum PC anyway.

[s e t h]

4.6ghz on ln2 :/