Core i7/X58 Overclocking Thread

[vega22]

A hypothesis is as bclk passes 200Mhz the QPI becomes problematic, the exact cut off depending on the chip, mobo (probably the quality of the buck converter), and maybe temps (just guessing that 90C is less stable than 50C, at least for a few Mhz).

This is exactly my hypothesis, which i have already explained in the X58 extreme thread. From a certain level of bclk, heat becomes crucial for stability, much more than what I've seen in previous architectures. The mobo quality to manage the Qpi is now one of my main concerns. My Giga Extreme seems very fickle in this regard.

[Classic Satch]

I keep looking to squeeze a little more but I reached my Limit. I moved my Rig to a spare sparsely heated bedroom above the garage. It's winter here in Chicago so I purchased a thermometer to monitor the room temp. Being I'm water cooling I don't want the distilled water to freeze.

http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/7419/thermomlt0.jpg

Lol, I've been wondering if I should experiment also. This was taken at 10:00am this morning right outside of the room I use as my office.



I wonder what kind of temps I could get by setting my Exos-2 outside? Hmmmm...

[fornowagain]

Lol, damn now that's cold.

[Kensek]

Wow - now that's cold. Can you run Prestone antifreeze through your WC lines?

[ReverendMaynard]

Wow - now that's cold. Can you run Prestone antifreeze through your WC lines?

absolutely.

[Hot'n'Chilly]

Don't they make coolant for PC watercooling thats freeze resistant?

[Splave]

yeah alcohol

[avrionis]

I have recently bought a new rig Asus p6t deluxe with a 920. I have a OCZ vendetta 2 HS and then I am going with water. I am currently folding with 2 SMPs and 2 GPUs. What is the preferable Max temps which I can use 24/7?

[Splave]

I wouldnt be comfortable over high 70s max 24/7 loaded

[avrionis]

I am currently folding and max 64 deg's. Can this be ok for the cpu 24/7?

[DavidNJ]

People have run this chip in the 80s and 90s. GPUs come from the factory to run in the 70s and 80s.

[btdvox]

Yeah I hear people are doing 80s for 24/7. Prob under 80 your ok.

[Hot'n'Chilly]

80c tops sounds sensable... maybe extreme low 80's if you don't care about the life of your CPU?

[Classic Satch]

Wow - now that's cold. Can you run Prestone antifreeze through your WC lines?

Lol, probably. We're in the middle of one of the coldest weather patterns in decades. The highs in Fairbanks are ~40 below with the current average about 50-55 below zero. We warmed up to -18F today here in Wasilla but it's now down to -27F. I went outside for 5 minutes with my hands uncovered and they were utterly numb when I came back in. This is my first winter after moving here and the cold truly has to be experienced because words can't adequately describe it.

However, plunk my Exos outside and I'll probably hit 4.5Ghz. Hmmmm..

[DavidNJ]

You could funnel the heat into Sarah Palin's next campaign.

[Classic Satch]

You could funnel the heat into Sarah Palin's next campaign.

Don't believe the media's biased BS bro. She's a smart cookie and will be a force in the years to come. Once the American public finally catches on to Obama's "Change", i.e. socialism, the term "buyer's remorse" or in this case "voter's remorse" will be readily apparent. This cowardly inexperienced idiot is going to make Carter look good by comparison.

[Hot'n'Chilly]

Speaking of sub-zero temps, has anyone seen a phase change cooled i7 yet? I wonder how far they could twist one at -33c.

[Classic Satch]

Speaking of sub-zero temps, has anyone seen a phase change cooled i7 yet? I wonder how far they could twist one at -33c.

The way things are going here, I could probably plop my water cooling rig outside and get close to it.

[Chicken Patty]

The way things are going here, I could probably plop my water cooling rig outside and get close to it.

buddy of mine had one cooled with his TEC, but the TEC took a crap while at it. His idle temps were about -15ºc, load was about 8ºc until it crapped.

[Classic Satch]

buddy of mine had one cooled with his TEC, but the TEC took a crap while at it. His idle temps were about -15ºc, load was about 8ºc until it crapped.

I had great luck with my Freezone on my Opty 165 but it definitely couldn't handle the heat put out by these i7's. My Freezone is parked in a box right now, sucks. But hey, such is the price one pays for being a tech nut..right.

[vega22]

Lol, I've been wondering if I should experiment also. This was taken at 10:00am this morning right outside of the room I use as my office.



I wonder what kind of temps I could get by setting my Exos-2 outside? Hmmmm...

Hehe, to these temps, i´m sure that the Giga Extreme is able to achieve 240 bclk to only 1.1v Qpi/vtt

[Classic Satch]

Hehe, to these temps, i´m sure that the Giga Extreme is able to achieve 240 bclk to only 1.1v Qpi/vtt

Lol, I just went outside to look for the aurora borealis. The wind is blowing 30MPH+ and the temp is about -30F. COLD doesn't begin to describe it.

http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/641577.html

[eflyguy]

Hi guys. New member here, been on OCN for a little while but just recently discovered this forum. Have somewhat of a build thread running over there, but really been following the i7 920 OC discussion there, and spent the past few days going through this thread.

With the 965 and P6T, 4.0 was so easy that I didn't feel it was worth shouting about. Understanding the impact of voltages, ratios and such to get >1GHz OC has been a bit frustrating. It also doesn't help that there is nothing definitive when it comes to voltages - I guess that's just how it goes with a new chip.

I actually have what appears to be a pretty stable 4.2 combination. Numbers are 27x157, 785 on the RAM, QPI @ 5666.

Where I'm stuck is with the Uncore speed, I am having to drop it to 3147 to get the system stable. I can up the voltage (labelled QPI/DRAM core in the P6T bios) but due to the cost of this CPU I am trying to keep my voltages pretty close to specs - VCore is 1.37V (with LLC enabled, it only varies by +/- .05V), and Uncore voltage up now to 1.325V. I'm sure more voltage would help, but - I'm afraid!

I am trying to find optimal performance for the system overall, not just a trophy-winning CPU clock. I'll try some Sandra tests to see if I can find a relationship between overall performance and Uncore speed, at least, the point at which a low speed Uncore impacts overall performance. Problem is, what is "overall performance"?

Just wanted to say Hi and thanks for all the good info here. Got some pics of my rig in my profile album.
..a

[safan80]

Understanding the impact of voltages, ratios and such to get >1GHz OC has been a bit frustrating. It also doesn't help that there is nothing definitive when it comes to voltages - I guess that's just how it goes with a new chip.

We will not know the impact for at least another 4-12 months. That's the thing with brand new platforms. If you smell something burning that's when you worry.

[Hornet331]

Where I'm stuck is with the Uncore speed, I am having to drop it to 3147 to get the system stable. I can up the voltage (labelled QPI/DRAM core in the P6T bios) but due to the cost of this CPU I am trying to keep my voltages pretty close to specs - VCore is 1.37V (with LLC enabled, it only varies by +/- .05V), and Uncore voltage up now to 1.325V. I'm sure more voltage would help, but - I'm afraid!

High Uncore speeds need high Vdimm voltage, it sounds unbelivable, but if you want to get higher uncore clocks you need to up vdimm.