Core i7/X58 Overclocking Thread

[ReverendMaynard]

Yea 2x stripes (4x HDD's) on the ICH10R controller. Should I be raising the ICH voltage from AUTO settings?

I wouldn't say raise it, but definitely take it off of auto and set the voltage to standard.

[SteveRo]

Question, is a higher Multiplier generally a better way of getting a stable OC, vs using a lower one with a very high BLCK...?

On my 965 I can get the same overclock with lower volts and temps by going with high bclock/low multi vs low bclock/high multi -

[SteveRo]

With stock cooler you're always temperature-bound, i believe you will be able to go between 1.3 and 1.35v which should guarantee you 3.5ghz, unless you have the worst chip ever seen

With i7 (on air anyway) aren't you always temperature bound -

[Hornet331]

With i7 (on air anyway) aren't you always temperature bound -

Depends on the clocks you want to reach and the voltages you use.

If you have a lucky chip that does 4ghz with 1.25V or less you can run it even with HT on.

[bmilos]

Thought I would post this as it is one of the finer OC's I have hit. I stopped testing for a couple weeks - was starting to go batty. Maybe my chip needed a little rest?

[IMG][/IMG]

[dejanh]

cmon a screenshot of your load temps with the tool of your choice running 1 hour.

Here you go, as promised It kept on going, 2h+ and then I finally stopped it. Temps were unchanged. Oh and, the load, it is 99.9% on all cores, but since priority was set to normal when I loaded CPUZ and went to take the screenshot it dropped off for a split second to 99.4% or whatever you see in the screenshot.

With good cooling this chip could do 4.4GHz or even 4.6GHz with HT on. On air 4.3GHz (another 100MHz) would be the absolute max I think with HT on. Still, considering that my room temp is 23C and that the temp around the computer is probably closer to 28C-29C this is very good. Finally an i7 940 worthy of its designation

My previous chip needed 1.46V to do 4GHz and temps were in mid to high 80s. Better cooling would allow me to drop the volts further as well for the same overclock. If I open the balcony door when Priming to drop the ambient to about 17C-18C I can drop the voltages for 4.2GHz to 1.38V.

What does everyone think about cooling this thing with the CoolIt Freezone Elite cooler? I do not want to go water because it is too much hassle for me, but I am thinking about FZE. Any opinions on it? What kind of temps can I expect?

[MaadDaawg]

Man o man o man... tried reading through all this, but after a dozen or two pages I had to skip to the end. Still don't know the answer to my main question though.. even though I'm sure it's in there somewhere...
I'm thinking if I'm going to make the change and go i7 I should go with the 965. It's double the price of the 940 but doesn't it open up a few more opportunities???

[Classic Satch]

Man o man o man... tried reading through all this, but after a dozen or two pages I had to skip to the end. Still don't know the answer to my main question though.. even though I'm sure it's in there somewhere...
I'm thinking if I'm going to make the change and go i7 I should go with the 965. It's double the price of the 940 but doesn't it open up a few more opportunities???

Go with a 920. A 965 is a complete and total waste of money. You won't achieve any overclocks that a 920 isn't, for the most part, capable of. Unless you have money to burn that is.

[GenTarkin]

ok guys, need quick answer if possible =)
I have right now a 3839A i7 920 in my hand purchased last night.

I called back frys electronics and where I live they have one B left, its 3838B processor.
Should I return this one (unopened) for that A?

[scaramonga]

Go with a 920. A 965 is a complete and total waste of money. You won't achieve any overclocks that a 920 isn't, for the most part, capable of. Unless you have money to burn that is.

I agree. Save yourself a LOT of cash and get the 920. The 965 is just not worth it whatsoever. I'm glad I didn't fork out all that cash for very little in return lol!

[MikersSU]

ok guys, need quick answer if possible =)
I have right now a 3839A i7 920 in my hand purchased last night.

I called back frys electronics and where I live they have one B left, its 3838B processor.
Should I return this one (unopened) for that A?

In some of the earlier posts in this thread I saw someone state that the "B" batches clock with lower voltages compared to the "A" batches. Does that observation really hold water? Just...curious...

[GenTarkin]

Well the B processor was actually 3836B so I got it! woot =) now waiting for mobo and RAM....

[D3mon_Hunt3r]

With a Corsair 1866 Kit will i need 1.55 QPi voltage or will i be able to stay within Intel safety guidelines?

[Hot'n'Chilly]

Isn't there always the option of underclocking the RAM if you must?

[Classic Satch]

Here you go, as promised It kept on going, 2h+ and then I finally stopped it. Temps were unchanged. Oh and, the load, it is 99.9% on all cores, but since priority was set to normal when I loaded CPUZ and went to take the screenshot it dropped off for a split second to 99.4% or whatever you see in the screenshot.

With good cooling this chip could do 4.4GHz or even 4.6GHz with HT on. On air 4.3GHz (another 100MHz) would be the absolute max I think with HT on. Still, considering that my room temp is 23C and that the temp around the computer is probably closer to 28C-29C this is very good. Finally an i7 940 worthy of its designation

My previous chip needed 1.46V to do 4GHz and temps were in mid to high 80s. Better cooling would allow me to drop the volts further as well for the same overclock. If I open the balcony door when Priming to drop the ambient to about 17C-18C I can drop the voltages for 4.2GHz to 1.38V.

What does everyone think about cooling this thing with the CoolIt Freezone Elite cooler? I do not want to go water because it is too much hassle for me, but I am thinking about FZE. Any opinions on it? What kind of temps can I expect?

I used a regular Freezone on my old Opty 165 rig and it worked great. The Elite is supposedly capable of 250W of heat dissipation but given the minuscule amount of coolant and possible overloading of the TEC's, I would be hesitant to use one until further reviews become available.

Tbh, my Exos-2 LX was easy as hell to set up and keeps my 920 at ~70C full load with HT enabled at 4.0Ghz. These chips run hot, as you well know, and I'm not complaining with those results. Admittedly, the Exos-2 LX is a bit more expensive because you have to mate it with a nice water block (in my case a Swiftech Apogee GTZ), but it does work admirably.

I was a bit hesitant to go H20 because of my noobishness in that regard but it's paid off in spades so far. I've gotten the impression that an extra $100 or so won't bother you so I would suggest a H20 configuration.

[mremulator]

Here you go, as promised It kept on going, 2h+ and then I finally stopped it. Temps were unchanged. Oh and, the load, it is 99.9% on all cores, but since priority was set to normal when I loaded CPUZ and went to take the screenshot it dropped off for a split second to 99.4% or whatever you see in the screenshot.

With good cooling this chip could do 4.4GHz or even 4.6GHz with HT on. On air 4.3GHz (another 100MHz) would be the absolute max I think with HT on. Still, considering that my room temp is 23C and that the temp around the computer is probably closer to 28C-29C this is very good. Finally an i7 940 worthy of its designation

My previous chip needed 1.46V to do 4GHz and temps were in mid to high 80s. Better cooling would allow me to drop the volts further as well for the same overclock. If I open the balcony door when Priming to drop the ambient to about 17C-18C I can drop the voltages for 4.2GHz to 1.38V.

What does everyone think about cooling this thing with the CoolIt Freezone Elite cooler? I do not want to go water because it is too much hassle for me, but I am thinking about FZE. Any opinions on it? What kind of temps can I expect?

dejanh, I have always been told that an overclock can't really be considered stable unless you can run prime (small FFTs) for 12 hours+ Can you??

Also, just out of interest what speed are you running your RAM @ now for that 4.2GHz clock?

Just sitting here waiting for the courier to turn up with i7 940 before I can see if 4.2GHz HT enabled if possible.

With regards to temps... don't be too sure about getting 4.3-4.6GHz with better cooling... I have a quad rad & GTZ block on a dedicated loop. My temps never exceeded 72c on my i7 920, however, I could not get past 4.0GHz prime (small FFTs) stable. 4.0GHz or below with HT & Turbo enabled is solid as a rock for me. But I want more!

[Lukee]

dejanh, I have always been told that an overclock can't really be considered stable unless you can run prime (small FFTs) for 12 hours+ Can you??

That is subjective. If you are only on the Computer 2-3 hours at a time and you can run prime for 4 hours with no errors, wouldn't that be considered stable for your needs?

Sure, there are people that fold, etc and need that 24/7 stability, but like I said, it is subjective. I don't waste my time running prime for more than 4 hours. This is after I run Intel Burn Test first.

[safan80]

dejanh, I have always been told that an overclock can't really be considered stable unless you can run prime (small FFTs) for 12 hours+ Can you??

Small FFTs only loads the cpu is does nothing to test ram stability. prime blend is better for the system stabillity test and Linpack will bring you system to it's knees.

[Splave]

In some of the earlier posts in this thread I saw someone state that the "B" batches clock with lower voltages compared to the "A" batches. Does that observation really hold water? Just...curious...

Seems in most cases this is true with a few random great clocking A's. Im happy with my A though 3dbench at 4.4ghz no HT high 1.4s

[ReverendMaynard]

I agree. Save yourself a LOT of cash and get the 920. The 965 is just not worth it whatsoever. I'm glad I didn't fork out all that cash for very little in return lol!

I disagree...partially. The 965 is essential if you are going extreme cooling. Above 220 bclk it's a crap shoot with every 920 out there no matter how good it is and how skilled the clocker is. The unlocked multi is key to getting 5ghz+ for serious benching.

that doesn't take away from the fact that on air or water, the 920, 940 and 965 are pretty much equals.

[Hornet331]

I disagree...partially. The 965 is essential if you are going extreme cooling. Above 220 bclk it's a crap shoot with every 920 out there no matter how good it is and how skilled the clocker is. The unlocked multi is key to getting 5ghz+ for serious benching.

that doesn't take away from the fact that on air or water, the 920, 940 and 965 are pretty much equals.

Yup, the Extreme edittions now are only really shine if you have extreme cooling.

THe QX9650 was a whole other ball park, cause at the time of its release there where some seriouse FSB walls for quads, 450mhz was very good back then.

[ReverendMaynard]

Yup, the Extreme edittions now are only really shine if you have extreme cooling.

THe QX9650 was a whole other ball park, cause at the time of its release there where some seriouse FSB walls for quads, 450mhz was very good back then.

400x10 was a nice little sweet spot for the QX9650's to run 24/7

[mremulator]

Small FFTs only loads the cpu is does nothing to test ram stability. prime blend is better for the system stabillity test and Linpack will bring you system to it's knees.

I do all three anyway.

I'd still love to see a prime95 stable 4.2GHz rig with HT enaled. Blend or small FFT's not fussed really, just 12 hours+ as proof it can be done on water or air.

[GenTarkin]

Will 1333 DDR3 work to take the 920 in the 4ghz range? or do I have to have 1600 capable RAM to take it that high? I read somewhere that in order for bclk to go above 160ish it has to have 1600 RAM. Is this true or can I still take the bclk above 160 and just drop the multiplier on the RAM down to stay within 1333 range?

[mremulator]

Will 1333 DDR3 work to take the 920 in the 4ghz range? or do I have to have 1600 capable RAM to take it that high? I read somewhere that in order for bclk to go above 160ish it has to have 1600 RAM. Is this true or can I still take the bclk above 160 and just drop the multiplier on the RAM down to stay within 1333 range?

You can get lower than 1333Mhz, just lower the memory multiplier from 8 to 6.