Foxconn BlackOps Shared BIOS settings

[Xello]

Hi guys, not sure if this is common knowledge for all X48 or just blackops or what but apparently memory is best used in slots 2 and 4.

I've been in touch with Rajinder Gill from Anandtech, who wrote their blackops review, and he has been sharing some of his experience and wisdom with me, and he suggested doing this. Just to demonstrate how big a difference it made - on 450fsb/8.5x = 3.8ghz/1800mhz 9-9-9-25 1T, settings which failed prime on all 4 cores in under a minute, simply switching slots has given me a run of so far 2hrs 20 mins of stability

I had actually nailed down my 9.5x based overclock (416fsb, 3.95ghz, 1664mhz memory 8-7-7-23 1T), and was going to post the settings, however since i achieved that on slots 1 and 3 i will be returning to it once i've got my second OC profile done to see if the slot change will make a difference there also.

[dMITIj]

Xello, any news? and what BIOS are useing?

[jonbass]

Hi!

I am glad to see that there are people still posting in this thread despite that i havent been around for some time now, i have so much other thing to do right now that i havent had the time to post any new settings or even sit down and do some more testing’s with the Black Ops. It a stressful time right now for us that review hardware, many new interesting stuff that are coming out on the market today.

Anyway, i just wanted to say that i am happy to se that there is still some interest in this thread, and i will update my settings as soon as i get some time over to sit down and continue my tests with the Black Ops motherboard. Hopefully i will be finishing up with my latest reviews in a couple of days.

Thanks to all the people that have posted in this thread

[Xello]

Xello, any news? and what BIOS are useing?

Well i've been having some trouble in the past few days ( http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...d.php?t=198831 ) so i'm only just getting back to tuning my overclock. I've decided now to do 3 overclock profiles - one for a 9,5x multi, one for a 9x, and one for an 8.5x. I'll see what best FSB and memory timings i can get for each of them.

Right now i'm stable @ 9x for 435fsb = 3918mhz, 1740mhz memory with 9-9-9-25 1T, however i have 1.67v going through the NB. It's fine temperature wise, topping out at 46/47, but i'm not sure if that high a voltage is any danger for using it every day. My 9.5x setting with 416fsb only needs 1.4v~ for the NB and gives me 3.95ghz so i might end up going with that in the end.

As for the RAM slots, i've been using 2 and 4 ever since then and i recommend everyone else do the same. Rajinder speculated that those slots may have some adjustments in the skew algorythms which make them a little better to use at high frequencies. Either way, it works!

I was on G28 bios back then, but while i was trying to sort out my little problem from the other thread i upgraded to G29 so i'm on that now. I'll probably have to upgrade again when they bring out a bios to fix the 4870X2 crossfire problem, assuming it can be fixed, because i want 2 of them :]

[Xello]

Sorry for the double-post, but it's been awhile since that last one!

Well i'm finally done with overclocking on this board (for now), i have my 3 prime stable overclock profiles and a 4th i decided to do for max benchable clocks. This is on bios G30, and i always use the 1:4 cpu333 divider.

This is for a QX9650 and 2x2gb Corsair 1600mhz ram (9-9-9-24 1.8v stock). Both CPU and the NB are watercooled with 320mm rad (NB with delrin top).

Setting 1 8.5x multi:

FSB 450 (= 3825mhz cpu, 1800mhz ram)
Vcore 1.41v (1.39v actual)
VTT 1.35v
CPU GTL +10, +5, +10, +10
NB 1.67v
NB GTL +5
Vdimm 2.02v
Timings 9-9-9-25, PL7, 1T

Setting 2 9x multi, as above except:

FSB 435 (= 3915mhz cpu, 1740mhz ram)
Vcore 1.46v (1.44v actual)
NB 1.59v
NB GTL +3
Vdimm 1.95v
Timings 9-9-9-24, PL7, 1T

Setting 3 9.5x multi, as above except:

FSB 421 (= 4004mhz cpu, 1686mhz ram)

Setting 4, max 3d bench stable (not prime stable!)

9x multi
FSB 460 (= 4140mhz cpu, 1840mhz ram)
Vcore 1.46v (1.44v actual)
VTT 1.35v
CPU GTL +10, +5, +10, +10
NB 1.67v
NB GTL +5
Vdimm 2.15v
Timings 8-8-7-22, PL7, 1T


I'm not sure if i'm totally finished with the max 3d bench profile, i might raise the VTT a step and see if it can go any higher than 460fsb. I got everest read result of 10,781MB/s and latency of 48.9ns frpm that though, pretty damn impressive for this mid range memory kit i thought!

Would appreciate any thoughts on the first 3 profiles, ie which to choose for my 24/7 setting. I'm on setting 3 right now, i like the 4ghz...

As you can see though basically raising the multi by .5x will gain 90mhz on the cpu, while requiring a drop of about 15mhz on the fsb losing 60mhz on the memory, leading to a choice of 4ghz with 1686mhz memory or 3.82ghz with 1800mhz memory. In practical terms both variations will probably not really be noticable, but i think the higher cpu is the one to go for in the long term especially as it lets me lower both the NB and Ram volts a little.

[TheGanG]

Hi jonbass, i have my QX9770 setings 4.5-4.6 GHz > 3DMarks benchable, would u please gimme sum BIOS advice 5.0-5.2 GHz > 3DMarks benchable?

NB watered, QX9770 watered but will be subzero watered, probably LN2ed...

Test Rig (now space): QX9770 (C0) Targeting 5,2+ GHz Benchable / BlackOps / 1GB of KingstonHX 14400 / EVGA 9800GX2SC

QX9770 BIOS for 4500 MHz/3DMark Tests
x1.000V CPU: 1.45+ for Boot-Aegis / VDroop C: En. / PLL: 1.508V / VTT: 1.35V / GTL Ref: +10+5+10+10 / NB: 1.594V / SB: 1.5V / DRAM: 2.009V

tCL: 8(9) / tRCD: 8(9) / tRP: 8(9) / tRAS: 24(27) / tRFC: 58(60) / PL: 8(10) / tWR: 20 / tWTR: 17 / tRRD: 8 / tRTP: 8 / RPR: x1 / CPC: 1T

Ratio: 15x / +0.5x: En. / Core Speed: 3850 / FSB: 250 for Boot-SetFSB / Clock Skew: Maks. 100 / Amp.: 800 / DDR3 1:4 CPU 266-333





E8600 on BlackOps:

E8600 Air / (Stock Fan) 5 GHz-(TT DuOrb) 5.1 GHz NB: Stock / Ambient: 17-18°C
E8600 Water / 5165 MHz NB: Air / Ambient: 17-18°C
E8600 Chilled Water / 5255 MHz NB: Water (2 Loops) / Ambient: 26-28°C
E8600 Chilled Water / 587*7 FSB NB: Water (2 Loops) / Ambient: 26-28°C











3DMark 06: 21.945 http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dm06=7973217

[saaya]

xello and gang, its really nice to see you making so much progress and sharing your results
as for the slots, actually shamino said slots 1 and 3 work better for him... but he was pushing for 1800 or below speeds with tight timings...
i checked all 4 slots and slots 1 and 2 clock much better than slots 3 and 4, if you use them individually.
slots 3 and 4 need skew/dll adjustments to get above around 1950, while slots 1 and 2 worked up to 2050 even without any adjustments.
once i played with the adjustments they all did about the same tho... but i never really pushed for the max since i didnt have time...
raja is pretty damn good at pushing for high mem and fsb clocks, so if he says 2 and 4 clock better, then id say go for it

[Xello]

xello and gang, its really nice to see you making so much progress and sharing your results
as for the slots, actually shamino said slots 1 and 3 work better for him... but he was pushing for 1800 or below speeds with tight timings...
i checked all 4 slots and slots 1 and 2 clock much better than slots 3 and 4, if you use them individually.
slots 3 and 4 need skew/dll adjustments to get above around 1950, while slots 1 and 2 worked up to 2050 even without any adjustments.
once i played with the adjustments they all did about the same tho... but i never really pushed for the max since i didnt have time...
raja is pretty damn good at pushing for high mem and fsb clocks, so if he says 2 and 4 clock better, then id say go for it

Yeah, as he said to me time and time again YMMV!

For example, when i let him know about having to adjust my NB GTL setting as i increased the fsb he was surprised, as he left his on default for all his overclocks.

I guess with the slots you should go with whatever at first and when you're at a dead end some time try changing them and seeing if it makes a difference

[negev]

I think this is the absolute limit for my Q9450 with air, the nb tops out at 62C and cpu at 65C (until I open the window lol) under load which is dangerously hot.

vcore 1.375 (1.35-1.36 real)
vdroop on
pll 1.58
vtt 1.35
CPU GTL: 10,5,10,10
NB: 1.5 (1.53 real)
NB GTL: +3 step
SB: 1.575
DRAM: 2.09 (2.12 real)

1:4 CPU333 divider, 425x8

G Skill sticks fail p95 in 2 seconds with stock 7-7-7-18 but 8-8-8-22 seems good (24 hours p95).

tCL 8
tRCD 8
tRP 8
tRAS 22
tRFC 82
PL 7
tWR 7
tWR 22
tWTR 22
tRRD 7
tRTP 7
CR 2T

[Gendo]

Is there anyone who can help me with some directions for high fsb wolfdale overclocking on this board? I am thinking about selling my blackops because it can't keep up with my E8600 on dice but if I can get 600 fsb out of the board it should be enough. I kinda also want to keep the board because of the sweet CF and PL performance but then it'll have to do high fsb too.

This is my first Foxconn board so sorry about not really understanding it yet

[Harshal]

Hey Gendo, not sure if you tried settings mentioned here: http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...d.php?t=198735
I have had a decent run with BlackOps upto 610 MAX... and I think it can go higher too!!!

[Gendo]

I just saw that topic just 2 minutes ago. I'll try those settings (with small adjustments of course) and see how far I can get. I hope this board will surprise me!

Edit: I've been trying it with boblemagnifique's settings and so far I've got 575 with the 1:2.4 divider and 580 with the 1:2. I think my cheap ass ram is holding me back bigtime.

[saaya]

I just saw that topic just 2 minutes ago. I'll try those settings (with small adjustments of course) and see how far I can get. I hope this board will surprise me!

Edit: I've been trying it with boblemagnifique's settings and so far I've got 575 with the 1:2.4 divider and 580 with the 1:2. I think my cheap ass ram is holding me back bigtime.

what chips volts n timings?

[cadaveca]

I'm havingb issues with DLL settings...are they based off current unseen bios setting and you adjust from there, or when you change a setting from auto does it go from "stock"?

[Gendo]

what chips volts n timings?

They are Qimonda () chips, and I've tried everything from cas 7 to 9 and volt from 1.8 to 2+. I have Corsair 1333 9-9-9-24 with stock 1.5v. No matter what CL or PL I use they always max out at around 575-580 (bsod). I dunno, it may be the board's max after all. Will test some more in a few hours. I'm not giving up until I get the absolute max out of it

[Gendo]

Ok I just tested my blackops some more. First I (tried to) figure out what ram timings I should use. These ram sticks are impossible but unfortunately my wallet wont allow a better set at the moment.

Anyways, as soon as I found memtimings that worked best I decided to check out what my NB sweetspot is. This is where I ran into something strange. Well this graph shows it best I guess:



As you can see all values between 1.5 and 1.625 resulted in the same 559 fsb. If I go 1 step (~0.05v) higher I get 580 fsb

Note: All tests were done with exactly the same bios settings. Including the mem timings I mentioned earlier.

I don't get it, but at least now I know my NB sweetspot.

Tomorrow I'll do the same for different VTT voltages. With some luck I haven't been running that at it's optimal voltage and hopefully I can still get 600 fsb on air.

[Gendo]

As promised I've done the same thing with the vtt voltage today. Here are the results:



Don't ask me why 1.425 wouldnt give me 584.6 fsb like it did yesterday but it just wouldn't go there


And here are my final results for the fsb testing for now. I still need to figure out how these GTL + steps work

Max validation:
http://valid.x86-secret.com/show_oc.php?id=429981

Max superpi benchable:



Settings:
All cpu options but core multi-processing disabled

cpu voltage multi: 1.075
Cpu voltage: 1.275
Vdroop compensation: disabled

Cpu PLL: 1.622
Cpu VTT: 1.575
NB: 1.718
SB: 1.575

Cpu clock ratio: 7
Cpu Clock: 565
Cpu clock vs mem speed: 1:2
Cpu clock skew: 300
Cpu clock amplitude ctrl: 900mv.

I also manually set my mem timings but those are different for each memory kit so no point in posting them

[saaya]

I'm havingb issues with DLL settings...are they based off current unseen bios setting and you adjust from there, or when you change a setting from auto does it go from "stock"?

when you change the setting it goes from stock, but i think stock is not a fixed value but is trained/adjusted during every power on by the memory controller.

They are Qimonda () chips, and I've tried everything from cas 7 to 9 and volt from 1.8 to 2+. I have Corsair 1333 9-9-9-24 with stock 1.5v. No matter what CL or PL I use they always max out at around 575-580 (bsod). I dunno, it may be the board's max after all. Will test some more in a few hours. I'm not giving up until I get the absolute max out of it

quimonda will run best with 999 or even higher, and max volts they like are 1.8v, tho you might have newer chips that like higher volts and maybe more tight timings...

Ok I just tested my blackops some more. First I (tried to) figure out what ram timings I should use. These ram sticks are impossible but unfortunately my wallet wont allow a better set at the moment.

Anyways, as soon as I found memtimings that worked best I decided to check out what my NB sweetspot is. This is where I ran into something strange. Well this graph shows it best I guess:



As you can see all values between 1.5 and 1.625 resulted in the same 559 fsb. If I go 1 step (~0.05v) higher I get 580 fsb

Note: All tests were done with exactly the same bios settings. Including the mem timings I mentioned earlier.

I don't get it, but at least now I know my NB sweetspot.

Tomorrow I'll do the same for different VTT voltages. With some luck I haven't been running that at it's optimal voltage and hopefully I can still get 600 fsb on air.

mmhhh good work there!
very interesting... what vdimm are you using and what vtt?
hmmmm

As promised I've done the same thing with the vtt voltage today. Here are the results:



Don't ask me why 1.425 wouldnt give me 584.6 fsb like it did yesterday but it just wouldn't go there


And here are my final results for the fsb testing for now. I still need to figure out how these GTL + steps work

Max validation:
http://valid.x86-secret.com/show_oc.php?id=429981

Max superpi benchable:



Settings:
All cpu options but core multi-processing disabled

cpu voltage multi: 1.075
Cpu voltage: 1.275
Vdroop compensation: disabled

Cpu PLL: 1.622
Cpu VTT: 1.575
NB: 1.718
SB: 1.575

Cpu clock ratio: 7
Cpu Clock: 565
Cpu clock vs mem speed: 1:2
Cpu clock skew: 300
Cpu clock amplitude ctrl: 900mv.

I also manually set my mem timings but those are different for each memory kit so no point in posting them

mhhh im worried about your cpu maybe degrading from the vtt? :S
can you still run the same fsb speeds with the different vtt settings or do you need more vtt now to reach the same fsb speeds?

[Gendo]

mmhhh good work there!
very interesting... what vdimm are you using and what vtt?
hmmmm


mhhh im worried about your cpu maybe degrading from the vtt? :S
can you still run the same fsb speeds with the different vtt settings or do you need more vtt now to reach the same fsb speeds?

At that time I was using 2.0-2.1vdimm and 1.425vtt.

But I don't think my chip is degrading, I just spent more time testing the vNB than the vtt. And it's only a difference of like 2 Mhz. I probably had a lucky shot the first time or something.


Tomorrow we'll see what this baby can do on dice I already know my NB has a coldbug, even with dice, so that'll have to be cooled by a nice 3000 rpm fan

[saaya]

i dont think the nb has a coldbug, several people told me that, but i just cant believe it...
it always happens around 0 degrees for people, which points towards condensation if you ask me...
shamino and several others have diced and ln2ed x48 and got nice results our of it, so why would the chips suddenly coldboot?
i think its an insulation issue...

about vtt, yeah i think people are beeing way to cautious after 3 early stepping 45nm chips died with 1.4v vtt...
but then again, you never know, thats why i asked

almost 600fsb with 1.4vtt is daaamn nice

[The Water Dog]

This thread is going to be nice to have when i get my OCZ DDR3-1600 so i can get up my Blackops.
But i did get the non-retail card, the mobo dont have heat-pipe between Nb and Sb and some other diffrences.
But which bios do you recomend to use?
I will use a quad on it=)

[Akrian]

high I got mine Q9550 @ to 3772.84-3773 ( depending on what you look at - cpu-z or Aegis ).
with VTT 1.35
Vcore 1.375 ( shows 1.38 at aegis , and drops to 1.35 during load)
and NB up to 1.48 ( havent compeltely tested yet) , or 1.54 ( seems to be stable at this one).
DDR3 1600 Gskill 2x2gb ram ( the one with 7-7-7-18 1.9v ) -> 1420 6-6-6-10 1.84 (set in bios) (1.90 shows in aegis) , had to downclock them , as they never worked on their 1600 speed no matter what I tried
I use air cooling on my NB and temps avereges at 40 while just standing by , and 45-47 under load . my question is - could I use those v-core and NB for 24/7 ?
Sotryy I'm still new with black-ops .
P.S. can anyone explain me the dark secret of Aegis : if I use bios to set my OC settings - the max stable achivable FSB I can get - 438 , beyond that - there is a series of problems . BUT if I use 438 and THEN use Aegis I can go way Up to 444 which it will show as 443.86 , and will be stable completely even under intelburn test 0_0

[Dazebabz]

This is with out doubt one of the best posts i have ever seen, its so awsome Thank you mate !

[Sailindawg]

if I use bios to set my OC settings - the max stable achivable FSB I can get - 438 , beyond that - there is a series of problems . BUT if I use 438 and THEN use Aegis I can go way Up to 444 which it will show as 443.86 , and will be stable completely even under intelburn test 0_0

That's how it works sometimes. Max fsb can sometimes only be attained by booting to windows, then setting the new fsb. If you are on the edge of stability, booting to windows can be just enough to destabilize your OC when starting from a post.

[Sailindawg]

This thread is going to be nice to have when i get my OCZ DDR3-1600 so i can get up my Blackops.
But i did get the non-retail card, the mobo dont have heat-pipe between Nb and Sb and some other diffrences.
But which bios do you recomend to use?
I will use a quad on it=)

I'm running P05 with a Q6600. Max stable fsb was 8x450 with reasonable voltages on cpu, NB. I was running 2x1G 1333 RAM on a divider. I have found P05 to be a pretty good BIOS for the Q6600 and the hard ware I'm running.