3 Step - Core i3, i5, and i7 Overclocking Guides (now includes Sandy Bridge)

[zalbard]

Bump for Sandy Bridge

Very nice, thanks!

[bluestang]

Awesome...thanks Bookmarked and printed for use in the next couple weeks.

[Bullu$]

@MIA

Don't u need to change the Vcc_IO for the memory instead of the Vvc_SA?

[miahallen]

In my testing with the MIVE no, VccSA made a consistent and necessary improvement, VccIO didn't change a thing....but I'm starting to wonder about my UD7; more testing is needed

[Lemina]

Okay, so I've been running i7 920 and Corsair Dominator GT 1866 C7 (3x2gb) for over 1.5 years on VTT 1.475v for my 24/7 setup. Anything less, and the ram is not stable. So far no problems. I was under the impression that 1.4v to 1.6v VTT was needed to run high-spec'd memory of its time.

I've been out of the loop, but is it considered 'safe' for 24/7?

[Johnny87au]

Okay, so I've been running i7 920 and Corsair Dominator GT 1866 C7 (3x2gb) for over 1.5 years on VTT 1.475v for my 24/7 setup. Anything less, and the ram is not stable. So far no problems. I was under the impression that 1.4v to 1.6v VTT was needed to run high-spec'd memory of its time.

I've been out of the loop, but is it considered 'safe' for 24/7?

Way to much vtt, You should need that much vtt, try running a way lower uncore and try 1.4, Also whats your Qpi pll ?

[Lemina]

Way to much vtt, You should need that much vtt, try running a way lower uncore and try 1.4, Also whats your Qpi pll ?

AFAIK, my mobo (Asus p6t deluxe v2) bios doesn't have qpi pll. It has cpu pll, that's about it.

Interestingly, I followed the guide and disabled the power features, and I managed to lower VTT to 1.462v thus far. It passed some quick tests on IntelBurnTest and Prime95 and stable thus far, but needs more testing. I'll have to play around with it more when I have time. I'm not asking for much, but I'll be ecstatic with 1.45v.

[Johnny87au]

Run your uncore only 2x, dont worry about trippling it yet as it will require high VTT, leaving it 2x should allow you to lower your vtt to atleast 1.4.. Dont forget to set timings manually and leave QPI link auto that's if you have it on your mobo.. How high do you want your cpu to run @ ?

[miahallen]

AFAIK, my mobo (Asus p6t deluxe v2) bios doesn't have qpi pll. It has cpu pll, that's about it.

Interestingly, I followed the guide and disabled the power features, and I managed to lower VTT to 1.462v thus far. It passed some quick tests on IntelBurnTest and Prime95 and stable thus far, but needs more testing. I'll have to play around with it more when I have time. I'm not asking for much, but I'll be ecstatic with 1.45v.

What bclock are you working with? Also, what's your CPU freq & CPU voltage at?

[hot120]

Props for this!

[Gr1mR34p3r]

@MIA

Don't u need to change the Vcc_IO for the memory instead of the Vvc_SA?

Exactly.
This OC guide is a complete bull. Testing with IBT is no good, by my experience Prime95 requires even 0.05V more to run, and IBT 20x stable is nowhere near 24/7 stability, Prime on the other hand is, even if only 10min stable, max what you need is 1 notch up (+0.005V) to be completely stable.

So my post alone is a better OC guide, really, for 4.8GHz overclock all I needed to change on my P8P67 was set the right offset value for Vcore. With Prime, you should find this within 1 hour, then test overnight to be completely sure.

[maneta]

Finally Dave did something usefull around here

That one made me laugh!


Great guide, i was having some inside thoughs about some configs and u answered them in the guides.

[miahallen]

Exactly.
This OC guide is a complete bull. Testing with IBT is no good, by my experience Prime95 requires even 0.05V more to run, and IBT 20x stable is nowhere near 24/7 stability, Prime on the other hand is, even if only 10min stable, max what you need is 1 notch up (+0.005V) to be completely stable.

So my post alone is a better OC guide, really, for 4.8GHz overclock all I needed to change on my P8P67 was set the right offset value for Vcore. With Prime, you should find this within 1 hour, then test overnight to be completely sure.

Before you go bustin on the guides, maybe you should read them

Determining methods for finding a stable overclock are highly controversial, everyone has their own definition of a stable system, but when I refer to “stable” in this guide, I am referring to the stability of your selected “stability test.” So for a power user or gamer who wants a reliable system that won’t ever crash due to an overclock pushed too far, you’d need to test with a program that will load all of the cores and threads applicable to your CPU, OCCT and IntelBurnTest are two popular choices. OCCT uses the same algorithm as Prime95 but has a friendlier interface. IntelBurnTest uses the Intel linpack binaries to stress the system and also has an easy to use interface. In this guide I may use testing that is insufficient in your opinion. It is only a guideline and if you feel more testing is necessary for your system, by all means feel free.

Great guide, i was having some inside thoughs about some configs and u answered them in the guides.

Thanks

[DexNfX]

Thank you for putting together such nice guides.

[lotr16]

It's very helpful, thanks

[usrebmot]

awesome work thanks

[hieuhef]

Prime95 gave me similar results to IBT, so saying the whole guide is BS is rash to say the least, Gr1mR34p3r. Got an easy 4.6GHz@1.355v with temps in the 70s at load with my 2600K and Z68 thanks to this guide and running beyond stable. People are pushing their voltages and temps higher, but the guidelines for keeping a cool and quiet PC [and a non-fried CPU] are much appreciated!

[miahallen]

Thanks for the feedback guys, glad I could help out

[sanctified]

Miahellen -

Great work on the guides. If there's ever an Asus or Gigabyte board you need bios screen-shots of, let me know and I will get them to you. I know it can be tricky sometimes to explain the disconnect between different board settings and terminology. Big fan of your work though, keep it up!

[miahallen]

Thanks man

[G0ldBr1ck]

Thank you for the Sandy Bridge addition. Will save me a lot of time, research, and questions being the first time I have built a Intel system in over 10 years.

[zvonexp]

I will check that guide later .. this is what i now tested

5.2Ghz
http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=2541434

5.3Ghz
http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=2541887

[Santas]

great info

[skier]

Fantastic Guide! Went from Core2 to Phenom II back to Core2 and now to a 920 D0 this week so it really helps