Core i7/X58 Overclocking Thread

[Classic Satch]

8-8-8-24-2T (default timings, need to tighten still so may require a bit more volts than 1.65)



I'm still baffled by one thing though...turbo and when it shuts off. If I Prime and the temp hits 85C turbo shuts off but the CPU does not crash, but if I just run some application (like Vantage CPU test) and the temp goes to 85C the system hardlocks. But this is only on 23x180MHz, not 23x179MHz



I would not hold my breath on this. Nobody is doing it, so I do not think Asus will either...maybe post it as a Feedback and Suggestion on Asus forums?



Dominators are 8-8-8-24-2T stock.

That's hilarious you said that. I am in the process of doing that EXACT thing right now. Just awaiting my member activation email.

[bmilos]

I thought I would post here too. My build, or something in it, died. I switched from 4.1 to 4.3 to try some stability testing. After restarting, changing the BIOS, and rebooting, my system hung in the R2E ROG enter screen. So, I powered off, powered back on, and nothing. No ROG enter screen, no fans going, nothing. The only thing that happens when I power on is the lights light up.

No extreme voltages, no hardware changes.

What could be the cause? Would the mobo lights come on if it where that? Could my CPU be toast? Power supply?

Im anxiety ridden... And Asus's customer support answered and said they'd have to give me a call back within 24 hours due to heavy call volume. Un-freaking-real...

[Cooperdale]

I thought I would post here too. My build, or something in it, died. I switched from 4.1 to 4.3 to try some stability testing. After restarting, changing the BIOS, and rebooting, my system hung in the R2E ROG enter screen. So, I powered off, powered back on, and nothing. No ROG enter screen, no fans going, nothing. The only thing that happens when I power on is the lights light up.

No extreme voltages, no hardware changes.

What could be the cause? Would the mobo lights come on if it where that? Could my CPU be toast? Power supply?

Im anxiety ridden... And Asus's customer support answered and said they'd have to give me a call back within 24 hours due to heavy call volume. Un-freaking-real...

Damn, I know how that feels. Don't rely too much on Asus, their support is not the best there is.

But did you try at least a clear cmos?

[bmilos]

Yes, cleared the CMOS via the back button...

[speckled10]

Hey guys ..

My first time on this great forum .. thanks to help of guys like dejanh & Lukee I've managed to get my Core i7 build stable enough for 5+ mins of prime @ 4Ghz .. but with 1.4V & HT On my temps are through the roof ..





But strangely - Core #4 is consistently 10-15C lower under load (at a level I'm comfortable with) .. Core #1-3 are off the chart ..

Idle all good low 30's on all 4 cores (#3 is actually warmest @ idle)

Can anyone suggest if its likely a CPU problem vs. Cooler TIM application problem ?

[Splave]

Yes, cleared the CMOS via the back button...

I would take the battery out and remove the power chord and let it sit for a couple hours.

[bmilos]

I took the battery and power chord out. So you guys think its a mobo problem? Wonder if now is a good time to try and RMA my CPU - roll the dice on a better batch??

[Splave]

lol you are going to RMA a chip to try to get a better overclocker? thats pretty weak man.

[bmilos]

There is nothing weak about it. There is still no proof that the chip is not what is faulty, and furthermore, for $1100 American dollars I deserve the best product available. What IS weak is that your chip clocks similar to mine.

[Classic Satch]

There is nothing weak about it. There is still no proof that the chip is not what is faulty, and furthermore, for $1100 American dollars I deserve the best product available. What IS weak is that your chip clocks similar to mine.

From all of my extensive reading I think that it can safely be said that there is no tangible advantage in buying a 965 over the 920 except for some easier overclocking. A good 920 will reach the same speeds as a 965 in most cases. If I were you, I'd try to pocket the extra $700-800 you spent on the 965 and get a 920. That's just my .$02. I wish you luck.

[Lukee]

Hey guys ..

My first time on this great forum .. thanks to help of guys like dejanh & Lukee I've managed to get my Core i7 build stable enough for 5+ mins of prime @ 4Ghz .. but with 1.4V & HT On my temps are through the roof ..





But strangely - Core #4 is consistently 10-15C lower under load (at a level I'm comfortable with) .. Core #1-3 are off the chart ..

Idle all good low 30's on all 4 cores (#3 is actually warmest @ idle)

Can anyone suggest if its likely a CPU problem vs. Cooler TIM application problem ?

What are you using for cooling? Those temps are pretty high for 1.35 - 1.37V imo.

I was using a True 120 Extreme and couldn't turn on HT because temps were through the roof. I had to wait until my backplate for the GTZ came in.

It may be your TIM placement, or maybe your HS needs to be lapped. That's why I asked what you were using.

[bmilos]

From all of my extensive reading I think that it can safely be said that there is no tangible advantage in buying a 965 over the 920 except for some easier overclocking. A good 920 will reach the same speeds as a 965 in most cases. If I were you, I'd try to pocket the extra $700-800 you spent on the 965 and get a 920. That's just my .$02. I wish you luck.

From everything I have seen/read/experienced, that is truth. Shame on me because I can afford it or shame on Intel for putting out a 3 CPU's at staggered prices that are effectively the same?

[Classic Satch]

From everything I have seen/read/experienced, that is truth. Shame on me because I can afford it or shame on Intel for putting out a 3 CPU's at staggered prices that are effectively the same?

That's how they're making their money. Technically I could have afforded a 965(even though the wife would have screamed bloody murder) but after initial reviews and results, I saved the extra $750 and put it into a SLI set-up and water cooling. But hey bro, do what you gotta do and once again, I wish you the best of luck.

[bmilos]

Thank you. And, I am sorry if you took the 'because I can afford it' the wrong way or directed towards you - it surely wasn't.

Edit: And just because I have been wondering this for over a week - What are your thoughts on Mrs. Palin??? Yes, you can reserve it for PM, if you wish

It turns out that it is an issue with the mobo. Removing the battery did help as it now starts, although, it doesn't restart consistently. If I apply unstable BOIS settings, it will hang until I remove and reinstall the battery. Another RMA process to go through. Both with Asus. First my 4870x2, not the R2E. I suppose cross-shipping would be too much to ask... $(#@*%$)@*$*@#(!

[Classic Satch]

Thank you. And, I am sorry if you took the 'because I can afford it' the wrong way or directed towards you - it surely wasn't.

It turns out that it is an issue with the mobo. Removing the battery did help as it now starts, although, it doesn't restart consistently. If I apply unstable BOIS settings, it will hang until I remove and reinstall the battery. Another RMA process to go through. Both with Asus. First my 4870x2, not the R2E. I suppose cross-shipping would be too much to ask... $(#@*%$)@*$*@#(!

Ouch man! That really sucks the proverbial big one. And nah, I took no offense. I understood the context of your comment.

[Etherwolf]

That's how they're making their money. Technically I could have afforded a 965(even though the wife would have screamed bloody murder) but after initial reviews and results, I saved the extra $750 and put it into a SLI set-up and water cooling. But hey bro, do what you gotta do and once again, I wish you the best of luck.

Dude, who do you get your hardware from? All online from NewEgg and ZipZoom Fly? Ain't NOBODY left up here to buy the random case or board from now. I'm in Anchorage.

And if you could look at my thread asking for advice about a 9770 versus a 920 I'd sure appreciate it.

Wolf

[Classic Satch]

Dude, who do you get your hardware from? All online from NewEgg and ZipZoom Fly? Ain't NOBODY left up here to buy the random case or board from now. I'm in Anchorage.

And if you could look at my thread asking for advice about a 9770 versus a 920 I'd sure appreciate it.

Wolf

Newegg. I've got a Preferred Account and took advantage of the 12 months same as cash. I like Newegg's customer service and it's worth the extra $$$ for the shipping costs.

Consider yourself fortunate that you probably have GCI Internet. I'm stuck with worthless garbage MTA and I ain't happy about it.

Send me a direct link to your thread because I'm at work and can't really take the time to dig for it.

[Cooperdale]

There is nothing weak about it. There is still no proof that the chip is not what is faulty, and furthermore, for $1100 American dollars I deserve the best product available. What IS weak is that your chip clocks similar to mine.

You have the best product available out of the box. This means that if it's used at factory speed, it is the best desktop cpu on the planet. Overclocking is another thing entirely though.

From all of my extensive reading I think that it can safely be said that there is no tangible advantage in buying a 965 over the 920 except for some easier overclocking. A good 920 will reach the same speeds as a 965 in most cases. If I were you, I'd try to pocket the extra $700-800 you spent on the 965 and get a 920. That's just my .$02. I wish you luck.

Sadly, he's right. I'm watching forums from all over, and there is no big advantage to a 965 if you want to do moderate overclocking. Only with extreme overclocking, beyond water, you'll have an advantage.

Don't get me wrong, I'm happy with my 965 for two reasons:
-I can afford it too
-I'm an incurable megalomaniac when it comes to informatics

But I would never ever recommend it to someone on a budget. Personally I would not be happy with a 920, because I usually like to have the top of the line as a cpu, but I think 99% of pc users should go with a 920 because objectively it is one of the best overclockers and performers out there for its price.

[Etherwolf]

Consider yourself fortunate that you probably have GCI Internet. I'm stuck with worthless garbage MTA and I ain't happy about it.

Send me a direct link to your thread because I'm at work and can't really take the time to dig for it.

Done.

[dejanh]

I thought I would post here too. My build, or something in it, died. I switched from 4.1 to 4.3 to try some stability testing. After restarting, changing the BIOS, and rebooting, my system hung in the R2E ROG enter screen. So, I powered off, powered back on, and nothing. No ROG enter screen, no fans going, nothing. The only thing that happens when I power on is the lights light up.

No extreme voltages, no hardware changes.

What could be the cause? Would the mobo lights come on if it where that? Could my CPU be toast? Power supply?

Im anxiety ridden... And Asus's customer support answered and said they'd have to give me a call back within 24 hours due to heavy call volume. Un-freaking-real...

I've had the same thing happen as you and boy did it make me jolt. I was like WTF just happened...I thought I burnt a $1500 system just like that. Battery pull followed by two taps to the CMOS reset button without it and without the power cord, followed by two more to the power button just to make sure everything is drained out of the system cleared the problem up in a jiffy. But man, it did scare me.

And in all honesty, I feel a bit cheated too on the i7 940. I mean come on, every single i7 920 out there is performing as good if not better than both the i7 940 and the i7 965 XE. That is pretty damn retarded. $350 CAD more got me literally 266MHz more at stock. That's pretty sad. And yeah, I'd as easily point my finger at Intel. There needs to be a bigger difference between these chips. When you get a i7 940 it should feel like you got an i7 940, and when you get the XE, well, that should be in a league of its own. For now, it's worse than some low end i7s.

ATM, I feel like I donated $350 to Intel.

[T_Flight]

Hey guys ..

My first time on this great forum .. thanks to help of guys like dejanh & Lukee I've managed to get my Core i7 build stable enough for 5+ mins of prime @ 4Ghz .. but with 1.4V & HT On my temps are through the roof ..





But strangely - Core #4 is consistently 10-15C lower under load (at a level I'm comfortable with) .. Core #1-3 are off the chart ..

Idle all good low 30's on all 4 cores (#3 is actually warmest @ idle)

Can anyone suggest if its likely a CPU problem vs. Cooler TIM application problem ?

Did you disable TM (Thermal Monitoring)? If you did, you might want to enable it. 93 will degrade that processor permenantly. It should be shutting down at 90, and personally I wouldn't even let one get over 75, but maybe for a couple minutes during a Chess Bench run or something that was a full load HT enabled with 8 loaded 100%.

That's not just dangerously hot, it's deathly hot.

[ReverendMaynard]

Did you disable TM (Thermal Monitoring)? If you did, you might want to enable it. 93 will degrade that processor permenantly. It should be shutting down at 90, and personally I wouldn't even let one get over 75, but maybe for a couple minutes during a Chess Bench run or something that was a full load HT enabled with 8 loaded 100%.

That's not just dangerously hot, it's deathly hot.

Where did you get the 93C info? Pretty specific number for info that was never officially released.

[bmilos]

I've had the same thing happen as you and boy did it make me jolt. I was like WTF just happened...I thought I burnt a $1500 system just like that. Battery pull followed by two taps to the CMOS reset button without it and without the power cord, followed by two more to the power button just to make sure everything is drained out of the system cleared the problem up in a jiffy. But man, it did scare me.

And in all honesty, I feel a bit cheated too on the i7 940. I mean come on, every single i7 920 out there is performing as good if not better than both the i7 940 and the i7 965 XE. That is pretty damn retarded. $350 CAD more got me literally 266MHz more at stock. That's pretty sad. And yeah, I'd as easily point my finger at Intel. There needs to be a bigger difference between these chips. When you get a i7 940 it should feel like you got an i7 940, and when you get the XE, well, that should be in a league of its own. For now, it's worse than some low end i7s.

ATM, I feel like I donated $350 to Intel.

Exactly. There should be a notable difference, both out of the box clocks and overclocks. The whole point of an XE is to overclock it. It was marketed that way and there should be gains. To say I paid extra for out of the box clocks is silly...

There are Bently's, and then there are Honda's. I don't see and Camry's keeping up with Flying Spurs off the line OR at top speed.

[T_Flight]

Where did you get the 93C info? Pretty specific number for info that was never officially released.

Off the picture of his temps. Go back and read his reply. Yep it's pretty speciffic when he's showing RealTemp at 93C.

Also, the BIOS is default set to 90C. It shuts down at that temp. Again, that's pretty speciffic info that has most definitely been released. It's right in the BIOS.

[fornowagain]

If 93C will permanently "degrade" it how come the Tjmax is 100C?