Intel Core i7 Review Thread

[JumpingJack]

Does BCLK overclocking afflict only the mobo and CPU or does it mess with other components ?

BLCK is the same as AMD's HT clock, or the current 'FSB' clock. Terms, meanings get thrown around everywhere most everyone uses them incorrectly or interchangeably (i.e. mostly incorrectly).

The main components, CPU core, Memory, and Bus derive their final clocks from a base clock regardless of the platform.

AMD
BCLK = 200 MHz
CPU Clock = BCLK X multiplier
Memory = BCLK x mem multiplier/divider
HT link speed = BCLK x HT multiplier
NB Clock = BCLK x NB multiplier

Intel FSB
BCLK = 133, 200, 267, 333 (evolved over time as FSB speeds go up)
FSB Clock = BCLK x 4
CPU clock = BCLK x multiplier
Memory = BCLK x mem multiplier/divider

Intel with QPI
BCLK = 133
QPI clock = BCLK X QPI multiplier
Memory = BCLK x mem multiplier/divider
CPU clock = BCLK x multiplier

PCIe bus, for example, is timed with it's own clock gen, so it is unaffected... but the core components all time themselves from a common system clock, which is what BCLK represents, when you read people write "I hit 215 MHz HT clock" or "I OCed my phenom with a FSB clock speed of 215 MHz" ... the technical meaning is they adjusted BCLK from 200 to 215.