nForce 790i SLI/Ultra chipset mobos - Reviews/OC/Guides

[slim142]

FSB=1800 Linked/Synced 9X Multi for 4.05
Memory 1800 (8-8-8-24-2T)

Vcore 1.4275 in bios
PLL = Auto
VTT = 1.30
Memory = 2.00
SPP = 1.54
MCP = 1.55
GTL's -51, Auto, Auto, Auto

Tyke
Those are some high voltages, are you on water?

I updated to 0703, and enabled P1.

Now my bandwidth is 8560 MB/s (read) but I had 9000 MB/s with BIOS 0508 (and P1 disabled).

I don't understand what's the problem and if it's better to have BIOS 0509 and more bandwidth or not.

Probably your RAM is running at default settings? in mines most of the time I upgrade BIOS I have to manually imput the timings or it will go to 1333mhz 9-9-9-24

[Malosa]

Probably your RAM is running at default settings? in mines most of the time I upgrade BIOS I have to manually imput the timings or it will go to 1333mhz 9-9-9-24

No.

They are running at 1621MHz 7-6-6-25 2T.

I put them manually after upgrade.

Had you tried if you had more bandwidth before upgrading from 0508?


EDIT: A blue screen appeared, so I relaxed timings to 7-7-7-24 2T. Now I get a 9060 MB/s bandwidth.

In BIOS 0508 memory was working right at 7-6-6-25 2T with a 9000 MB/s bandwidth, I hope it is just a bug of newer bios and it will be fixed in the future.

[slim142]

No.

They are running at 1621MHz 7-6-6-25 2T.

I put them manually after upgrade.

Had you tried if you had more bandwidth before upgrading from 0508?


EDIT: A blue screen appeared, so I relaxed timings to 7-7-7-24 2T. Now I get a 9060 MB/s bandwidth.

In BIOS 0508 memory was working right at 7-6-6-25 2T with a 9000 MB/s bandwidth, I hope it is just a bug of newer bios and it will be fixed in the future.

Well anything after 0508 is totally unestable for me. The newer the BIOS, the worse it gets. However, memory bandwidth went from 88xx to 9100Mbs in Everest Benchmark.

Going to try 701 right now...

[Tyke]

Tyke
Those are some high voltages, are you on water?

Yes, as per my sig! Which voltages do you think are high?

[slim142]

Sorry tyke, didnt recall that you were on water :P

Vcore 1.4275 in bios (High for a 45nm, specially since the striker gives out 0.04 more than what BIOS says and 0.05-0.06 more when LLC is enabled)
PLL = Auto
VTT = 1.30 (I heard from many that this is recommended to be kept at 1.20 or if needed high no higher than 1.26)
Memory = 2.00 (If you dont have a fan, I say that this is going to die soon specially since SIIE gives out 0.04 more than what BIOS says
SPP = 1.54 (Now this is insanity, how come you need so much of this?)
MCP = 1.55
GTL's -51, Auto, Auto, Auto

[Tyke]

Sorry tyke, didnt recall that you were on water :P

Vcore 1.4275 in bios (High for a 45nm, specially since the striker gives out 0.04 more than what BIOS says and 0.05-0.06 more when LLC is enabled)
PLL = Auto
VTT = 1.30 (I heard from many that this is recommended to be kept at 1.20 or if needed high no higher than 1.26)
Memory = 2.00 (If you dont have a fan, I say that this is going to die soon specially since SIIE gives out 0.04 more than what BIOS says
SPP = 1.54 (Now this is insanity, how come you need so much of this?)
MCP = 1.55
GTL's -51, Auto, Auto, Auto

VCore: In the Anandtech review of the S2E he says 1.5 is the max recommended. Under load the vcore is about 1.42 max, sometimes dropping to 1.4. At 450FSB I can only get stable at 1.45, at 1.4275 I can get stable at 445FSB - both with a 9X multiplier. At 4GHz I think 61C max is an OK temperature (this is the max at temp at 1.45V as well). I was getting the same temps on my QX9650 at the same speed, and that is a much cooler chip.

VTT: (I have this at Auto not 1.30) I think 1.36 is the recommended max, but on a GTL_REF of -51mV at 0.63 of reference voltage, 1.28 is the most accurate value you can set. On Auto this is the value I get anyway!

Memory: 1.90V is the rated voltage for this memory at 1600MHz, so only a mild overclock. Some DDR3 memory is rated at 2.00V anyway using the same chips. I do have an open case as well so heat is not a big issue.

SPP: You may be right on this, I have not tried dropping it as my temp is below 60C under load anyway. Again Anandtech says 1.60 max for the NB and SB. I will try and lower it and see what happens.

Thanks for making me think again anyway!!

[slim142]

VCore: In the Anandtech review of the S2E he says 1.5 is the max recommended. Under load the vcore is about 1.42 max, sometimes dropping to 1.4. At 450FSB I can only get stable at 1.45, at 1.4275 I can get stable at 445FSB - both with a 9X multiplier. At 4GHz I think 61C max is an OK temperature (this is the max at temp at 1.45V as well). I was getting the same temps on my QX9650 at the same speed, and that is a much cooler chip.

Yeah but I remember reading around here about people warning going no higher than 1.40vcore. Anyways, 1.50v for a 45nm IMO is beyond the line but since you have water, you might be ok? Not sure...

VTT: (I have this at Auto not 1.30) I think 1.36 is the recommended max, but on a GTL_REF of -51mV at 0.63 of reference voltage, 1.28 is the most accurate value you can set. On Auto this is the value I get anyway!

Remember 5010? He needs 1.20 I believe for his OC on the eVGA. 1.30 is not too high but for 45nm, you have to remember the cpu is more sensitive and some people even mentioned of 45nm dead because of high VTT so you might want to see if you can lower this and keep your OC.

Memory: 1.90V is the rated voltage for this memory at 1600MHz, so only a mild overclock. Some DDR3 memory is rated at 2.00V anyway using the same chips. I do have an open case as well so heat is not a big issue.

Is not that is in the danger zone but 2.00v is somewhat high considering the striker gives out more than what is selected.

SPP: You may be right on this, I have not tried dropping it as my temp is below 60C under load anyway. Again Anandtech says 1.60 max for the NB and SB. I will try and lower it and see what happens.

In my striker, the more I give, the more inestable lol. Again, not because they say thats below the risk, it is safe. 1.54 for me sounds like a little too much but thats just me. I also remember, some 45nms like high NB voltage to work at high speeds so you might just need to leave it there if you want to keep your OC.

Thanks for making me think again anyway!!

Just trying to help

[Tyke]

Remember 5010? He needs 1.20 I believe for his OC on the eVGA. 1.30 is not too high but for 45nm, you have to remember the cpu is more sensitive and some people even mentioned of 45nm dead because of high VTT so you might want to see if you can lower this and keep your OC.
:

At 1.20VTT you would need -48mV at 0.63 of reference, and this setting is not available, so I go for 1.28 as this gives exactly -51mV. As I say setting VTT to auto gives me 1.28 anyway.
Thanks for the friendly advice though

[Guacamole]

Is there anyone who can explain the GTL reference math equation or how exactly we can use the GTL's to get the correct % this seems to be confusing and not too many people seem to understand it including me.. Does anyone have first hand knowledge of this equation??

[Guacamole]

I updated to 0703, and enabled P1.

Now my bandwidth is 8560 MB/s (read) but I had 9000 MB/s with BIOS 0508 (and P1 disabled).

I don't understand what's the problem and if it's better to have BIOS 0509 and more bandwidth or not.

What are your exact settings then maybe we can help you? What processor are you running? What is your FSB/Memory ratio and what are your exact speeds for FSB and Memory?? I thought I read that you are running the OCZ 1600 2X2gb sticks is that correct?? LMK

[slim142]

Is there anyone who can explain the GTL reference math equation or how exactly we can use the GTL's to get the correct % this seems to be confusing and not too many people seem to understand it including me.. Does anyone have first hand knowledge of this equation??

I would like to know this too. I know somebody post it somewhere but I cant find it. With 3 Striker threads, it became impossible to find.

Also, Im really tired of OCing my board. It would give me DET DRAM at every single OC I try no matter what. The only thing I havent touch yet are the GTLRefs which Im not sure if they are going to make a difference and at least make my pc boot.

BIOS 0509,0511,0512,0601,602,603 they all give me the samething. I OC the RAM, LCD shows me TEST MEM and if I OC the CPU then it shows me DET DRAM.
Im really tired of this and that I was only able to accomplish 350Mhz estable. Maybe the GTLRefs are the key for the OC but so far Im really dissapointed and the worse is that all because of OC, not even because of data corruption.

[Tyke]

Is there anyone who can explain the GTL reference math equation or how exactly we can use the GTL's to get the correct % this seems to be confusing and not too many people seem to understand it including me.. Does anyone have first hand knowledge of this equation??

It is quite simple really, but the difficult thing is deciding on the correct ratio for your processor. The reference is 67% of VTT, the suggested level for 45nm Quad Core is 63% of VTT. Therefore the GTL calculation would be (-4% x VTT). If VTT was 1.28 this would be 4% x 1.28. Multiply this by 1000 to give mV, gives a value of -51.2. Therefore I have my VTT at 1.28 and GTL at -51. If you set your VTT at 1.10, then 4% x 1.10 x 1000 = -44mV. Unfortunately the value of -44 is not available in the bios, so you would have to either choose the closest value, (which effectively means you are not using the 63% ratio) or change the voltage. 1.28 is for me the best choice as the -51mV value is available in the bios. Of course all this assumes that 63% of VTT is the best value for Quad Cores. I have seen people setting positive GTL values, and some setting values lower than 63%. Positive values seem to work for 65nm processors in general.

[hyb]

hi peeps,
can anybody post up bios setting for 3.6ghz on a Q6600 with reaper 1333 ram plz?


seem to only hit 3.4 and then no post

cheers

[Benji Tshi]

Seems that my mobo have a FSB Hole with e8200 and bios 511...No boot beetwin 400 and 490Mhz
It works well with 500Mhz and more with 1.6vnb and the same on sb.
Memory reach 1Ghz C7 in the same time, P1 & P2 enabled.

I get a 457Mhz FSB boot with a QX. This quad was FSB Wall @453mhz with P5E3 WS and DFI P35!!!!

Unfortunately, it doesn't like LN2. I mean i can't do anything with it yesterday. The QX was 5.8Ghz on P5E3 WS, but it doesn't work on Striker 2. I guess it will works great sooner.

[tekjunkie]

I would like to know this too. I know somebody post it somewhere but I cant find it. With 3 Striker threads, it became impossible to find.

Also, Im really tired of OCing my board. It would give me DET DRAM at every single OC I try no matter what. The only thing I havent touch yet are the GTLRefs which Im not sure if they are going to make a difference and at least make my pc boot.

BIOS 0509,0511,0512,0601,602,603 they all give me the samething. I OC the RAM, LCD shows me TEST MEM and if I OC the CPU then it shows me DET DRAM.
Im really tired of this and that I was only able to accomplish 350Mhz estable. Maybe the GTLRefs are the key for the OC but so far Im really dissapointed and the worse is that all because of OC, not even because of data corruption.

Hehe, that was me posting the GTL-VTT matrix in an excel spreadsheet. Could post it again if you guys need it.

[Roger_D25]

Ahh, I had just been wondering earlier today where the heck that post was! If you get the time tekjunkie could you please post again or just link us to the earlier post (I tried looking but gave up after a bit because I was being lazy)!

[tekjunkie]

Here it is again


This is the range of GTL. Use this as a guide and find the sweet spot for your specific CPU

[Coupa]

Here it is again


This is the range of GTL. Use this as a guide and find the sweet spot for your specific CPU

Still does nothing, i crash on every GTL and voltage.
Does anyone have any suggestions? Im about to go crazy here.

[Tyke]

Still does nothing, i crash on every GTL and voltage.
Does anyone have any suggestions? Im about to go crazy here.

Have you tried memtest to see if it is your CPU or memory that is causing the problem?

[Coupa]

Have you tried memtest to see if it is your CPU or memory that is causing the problem?

Memtest passed, so i guess that means its the CPU.

[sonofander]

Here it is again


This is the range of GTL. Use this as a guide and find the sweet spot for your specific CPU

hey tech, thanks for the chart!

[BenchZowner]

Seems that my mobo have a FSB Hole with e8200 and bios 511...No boot beetwin 400 and 490Mhz
It works well with 500Mhz and more with 1.6vnb and the same on sb.
Memory reach 1Ghz C7 in the same time, P1 & P2 enabled.

I get a 457Mhz FSB boot with a QX. This quad was FSB Wall @453mhz with P5E3 WS and DFI P35!!!!

Unfortunately, it doesn't like LN2. I mean i can't do anything with it yesterday. The QX was 5.8Ghz on P5E3 WS, but it doesn't work on Striker 2. I guess it will works great sooner.

I'm not entirely sure yet, but you might have experienced what I've experienced 2 days ago.
Before going sub-zero with the S2E I pretested the board on various FSBs & RAM "Dividers" to make sure I won't be hitting a "invisible wall" when going LN2.
For example 462MHz FSB was working fine with the mem linked/synch on air.
442MHz FSB also worked fine with the mem linked/synch on air.
With LN2 ( at least that day ) I had severe instability problems at any FSB setting ( of course I was using the "pretested" ones [ I've pretested 400 to 472MHz FSBs on air ] ) and it would only work with the FSB @ 1333 and linked memory or low unlocked memory frequencies ( under 1600 )

I will re-test the motherboard on air later on today or tomorrow... this is pissing me off.
Next round is single vga, c2qx and P5K3 Deluxe "Ownage" edition @ LN2 with the cellshocks at DDR3-1800 6-5-5-16 1T, SLI can wait.

[Guacamole]

Thanks Tek you are awesome much appreciated...

[Donster]

Guys im not really an OC'er ... i just want a rock solid stock machine, which 790i board would u recommend?

regards Ryan

[5010]

Guys im not really an OC'er ... i just want a rock solid stock machine, which 790i board would u recommend?

regards Ryan

At this point, neither of them... Either wait for the chipset bioses to mature or look at another platform, 100% stability is ONLY achievable by "Luck" or "patience" at this point and unless you're and extremely lucky individual you'll need some OCing skillz even in order to stabilize stock speeds.