ASUS RAMPAGE II GENE (Retail) : ROG. X58 m-ATX preview

[aln688]

Hey aln688, can you elaborate a little bit on how you mounted the Xigmatek Porter to the stock NB please? Is it as easy as just bolting it through the stock mounting holes?

Here we go, photographs showing the install of my Noctua U6. FYI I used medium strength (blue) thread locker, I noticed if an M3 screw is put in the holes in the stock heat-sink it wiggles. With this thread-locker, it secures it after curing and is still removable if I want. The compound is Noctua NT-H1, easy to apply, doesn't seperate or run and no curing time. I used hex M3 screws with a hand-bent hex small allen wrench to tighten it, as one of the screws is directly under the U6 and I couldn't tighten it if it were a phillips screw head.

[GameGuru]

Man I love this site, you guys are awesome, thanks for the pics

So I finally received all my parts (see sig) and have put my system together. I've installed Windows 7 64bit and now I start my overclocking adventure. Just a few questions if you guys don't mind. Firstly the board shipped with the 0809 bios and wondering if I should just go ahead and update to 0904 (may be a stupid question )

My goal is 4.0 which is doable on the H50. I was hoping someone could help out with some starting options to get me going in the right direction such as vcore, qpi, vtt ect... also what options should be enabled or disabled such as HT, Turbo, LLC, etc...

Thanks in advance!

[aln688]

... Firstly the board shipped with the 0809 bios and wondering if I should just go ahead and update to 0904 (may be a stupid question )

... I was hoping someone could help out with some starting options to get me going in the right direction such as vcore, qpi, vtt ect... also what options should be enabled or disabled such as HT, Turbo, LLC, etc...

Thanks in advance!

I would update to 0904, some people have the attitude if the board doesn't have a problem then don't update it ("If it's not broke, don't fix it"), while others update purely to have the latest BIOS and skip the experience of finding a problem yet undiscovered - I'm the latter.

For overclocking, my system runs at 4.2 GHz on a Mega Shadow, very well actually. Here's some of my settings, although bear in mind with every CPU being different inside, settings cannot be applied from one system to another.

CPU Ratio: 21
Base Clock: 200
DRAM Frequency: 1603
UCLK Frequency: 3208
QPI Link Rate: 7218
CPU Differential Amplitude: 800 mV
CPU Voltage: 1.23750
QPI/DRAM Voltage: 1.35
DRAM Voltage: 1.65681
Hyper-Threading: Off
Turbo-Mode: Off
Load-Line Calibration (LLC): Enabled

I hope that helps you somewhat. When overclocking, I do this, set the QPI/DRAM Voltage to 1.35 and the RAM to the recommended voltage per the manufacturer (example, my Corsair modules state 1.65), then put the CPU Voltage to a value very low, such as 1.15. Then do a 5-minute test (Problem Size = 10000) in LinX, then a full memory test in LinX (Problem Size = 36585), then a 24-hour test in Prime95 Blend.

If any of the tests fail, keep bumping up the CPU Voltage a notch until its stable. The reason is that it's too difficult to work out why a test failed, either due to the CPU, QPI/DRAM or DRAM Voltages, so you eliminate two of the voltages by putting them to their highest safe values, then you work with the CPU Voltage and notch it up until your system is stable. The main reason is, only the CPU Voltage can affect the CPU temperature, the QPI/DRAM Voltage does not.

For my system, I left the QPI/DRAM Voltage at 1.35 and DRAM Voltage at 1.65 as that is what the board set when I chose XMP from the profiles in the BIOS, and those aren't unreasonable values considering I'm running at 4.2 GHz and I have 12GB's of 1600 Mhz CL7 RAM modules.

With the values above, my system is stable for 24 hours in Prime95 Blend and 20 passes in LinX using all 12GB's of memory, with no reboots, freezing or erroring in LinX or the Prime95 results.txt file.

[dro]

That Porter & U6 mount on the northbridge are just awesome
I might just try it out on my M2F.......
Hoping it fits the same fusion block *do they?*

[GameGuru]

I would update to 0904, some people have the attitude if the board doesn't have a problem then don't update it ("If it's not broke, don't fix it"), while others update purely to have the latest BIOS and skip the experience of finding a problem yet undiscovered - I'm the latter.

For overclocking, my system runs at 4.2 GHz on a Mega Shadow, very well actually. Here's some of my settings, although bear in mind with every CPU being different inside, settings cannot be applied from one system to another.

CPU Ratio: 21
Base Clock: 200
DRAM Frequency: 1603
UCLK Frequency: 3208
QPI Link Rate: 7218
CPU Differential Amplitude: 800 mV
CPU Voltage: 1.23750
QPI/DRAM Voltage: 1.35
DRAM Voltage: 1.65681
Hyper-Threading: Off
Turbo-Mode: Off
Load-Line Calibration (LLC): Enabled

I hope that helps you somewhat. When overclocking, I do this, set the QPI/DRAM Voltage to 1.35 and the RAM to the recommended voltage per the manufacturer (example, my Corsair modules state 1.65), then put the CPU Voltage to a value very low, such as 1.15. Then do a 5-minute test (Problem Size = 10000) in LinX, then a full memory test in LinX (Problem Size = 36585), then a 24-hour test in Prime95 Blend.

If any of the tests fail, keep bumping up the CPU Voltage a notch until its stable. The reason is that it's too difficult to work out why a test failed, either due to the CPU, QPI/DRAM or DRAM Voltages, so you eliminate two of the voltages by putting them to their highest safe values, then you work with the CPU Voltage and notch it up until your system is stable. The main reason is, only the CPU Voltage can affect the CPU temperature, the QPI/DRAM Voltage does not.

For my system, I left the QPI/DRAM Voltage at 1.35 and DRAM Voltage at 1.65 as that is what the board set when I chose XMP from the profiles in the BIOS, and those aren't unreasonable values considering I'm running at 4.2 GHz and I have 12GB's of 1600 Mhz CL7 RAM modules.

With the values above, my system is stable for 24 hours in Prime95 Blend and 20 passes in LinX using all 12GB's of memory, with no reboots, freezing or erroring in LinX or the Prime95 results.txt file.

Your the man , I just want to say thank you for your time. I was able to to reach 4.0gb (20 x 200) easily with using some of the settings you posted. Now I'm just going to fine tune everything and see how far I can push this baby. Under full load, Prime95 small fft's, my temps never went above 64. I'm using an H50 in a push/pull config with two Scythe GentleTyphoon's (1450rpm).

[GameGuru]

Here's my settings so far for 4.2

CPU Ratio: 21
Base Clock: 200
CPU Voltage: 1.3025 in bios
QPI/DRAM Voltage: 1.35
DRAM Voltage: 1.65681
Hyper-Threading: Off
Turbo-Mode: Off
Load-Line Calibration (LLC): Enabled

One thing I'm noticing is that my vcore seems to be a little higher than most people posting, although I find my temps seem to be good, as I'm typing I've just passed 2hrs Prime small fft's and my temps have not gone above 70. What temps under load are reasonable? I'm wondering how far I can push this chip

[Cralle!]

Wow! Flashed to bios 0904 yesterday and tried to lower the vcore on my 920. Is am now down from ~1.43V on 0809 bios to 1.32v and testing on 0904! just great

[GameGuru]

One thing I'm noticing is that my vcore seems to be a little higher than most people posting, although I find my temps seem to be good, as I'm typing I've just passed 2hrs Prime small fft's and my temps have not gone above 70. What temps under load are reasonable? I'm wondering how far I can push this chip

I guess I stand corrected, looks like Cralle's, vcore is higher

Cralle, what are your temps like with the GTZ?

[Cralle!]

With a TFC 240 radiator with two fans running@1200rpm and around 20-21C ambient my temps are around 65-72 on each core running Intel burn test and 59-65 after an hour of Prime95

[aln688]

Your the man , I just want to say thank you for your time. I was able to to reach 4.0gb (20 x 200) easily with using some of the settings you posted. Now I'm just going to fine tune everything and see how far I can push this baby. Under full load, Prime95 small fft's, my temps never went above 64. I'm using an H50 in a push/pull config with two Scythe GentleTyphoon's (1450rpm).

Of course, glad to help. We all want fast running, stable systems and I'm pleased to see your system is on its way there, if not already. I only use the Blend side of Prime95 when testing, it uses more of the RAM modules. Your temperatures are very good, in a room of 80 F, my load temperature is about 73 C.

Here's my settings so far for 4.2

CPU Ratio: 21
Base Clock: 200
CPU Voltage: 1.3025 in bios
QPI/DRAM Voltage: 1.35
DRAM Voltage: 1.65681
Hyper-Threading: Off
Turbo-Mode: Off
Load-Line Calibration (LLC): Enabled

One thing I'm noticing is that my vcore seems to be a little higher than most people posting, although I find my temps seem to be good, as I'm typing I've just passed 2hrs Prime small fft's and my temps have not gone above 70. What temps under load are reasonable? I'm wondering how far I can push this chip

To be honest, try to ignore what people are posting in regards to Vcore, every CPU is different. You'll find that everyone posts a different Vcore. Not only is your system different to the system of others, but no two Core i7 920 CPUs are alike. I bought my 920 from Micro Center and got a really low-volt CPU, it works great. My previous 920 required a minimum of 1.28 to get 4.0 GHz, it's luck of the draw.

If you need any more help, just let me know, or PM (Private Message) me.

[GameGuru]

Of course, glad to help. We all want fast running, stable systems and I'm pleased to see your system is on its way there, if not already. I only use the Blend side of Prime95 when testing, it uses more of the RAM modules. Your temperatures are very good, in a room of 80 F, my load temperature is about 73 C.

aln688, again thanks for jumping in here and helping out, it's appreciated

Is that your temps on load with Blend? I guess I should have mentioned earlier that I did run everything you suggested in you're earlier post, LinX, Prime95 Blend etc... Then I ran a 4hr Small FFT's test just to see how hot the chip would get as small fft's tend to heat that baby up.

So random question here in regards to ram, I took your advice and grabbed 6gb of the low latency Corsair modules, same as yours, as you can see in my sig. So last night I was poking around in the "For Sale" section and someone had the exact same set for a really good price so I went ahead and picked them up. My only concern here is that since they weren't bought at the same time there maybe some compatibility issues which doesn't really make sense to me but I figured what the hell I take my chances, 12gb sounds nice .

[Cralle!]

I got a problem. when I start the computer it first just shows me blackscrren and the i turn it off and then it will boot up and it report "Overclocking Failed!. The OC is stable the to get into windows i have to go into BIOS and save my settings. Is there any way to fix this problem?

[RejZoR]

Overclock is not stable. I had the same problem when i was using i7 92 at 4GHz. I had to lower the clock and now it's ok.
It doesn't really matter how much volts you pump into CPU. It just won't boot normally.

[aln688]

aln688, again thanks for jumping in here and helping out, it's appreciated

Is that your temps on load with Blend? I guess I should have mentioned earlier that I did run everything you suggested in you're earlier post, LinX, Prime95 Blend etc... Then I ran a 4hr Small FFT's test just to see how hot the chip would get as small fft's tend to heat that baby up.

So random question here in regards to ram, I took your advice and grabbed 6gb of the low latency Corsair modules, same as yours, as you can see in my sig. So last night I was poking around in the "For Sale" section and someone had the exact same set for a really good price so I went ahead and picked them up. My only concern here is that since they weren't bought at the same time there maybe some compatibility issues which doesn't really make sense to me but I figured what the hell I take my chances, 12gb sounds nice .

Yes my temperatures are with Prime95 Blend, although temperatures in general can be ignored when trying to compare to another system, in my view anything under 80 degrees C under load is acceptable. I've saw people in the past with the same build as myself and wondered how on earth they get X degrees less, or I'm X degrees less than the next person, it's pot luck.

I would just look at your own system and make common sense decisions to lower the temperatures, such as (1) good CPU heat-sink, (2) good compound that doesn't seperate or is too thin, (3) applying the compound correctly (in my case, spreading a blob with a credit card, I prefer that as I can apply it thinly and evenly over the CPU heat-spreader), (4) making sure your case has plenty of ventilation and finally, (5) achieve the lowest CPU Voltage (Vcore) value you can get for your overclock by setting the QPI/DRAM Voltage and DRAM Voltage to their highest, safe settings, then starting with the CPU Voltage low (i.e. 1.15) and working up notch at a time with bench testing.

For the RAM modules, I wouldn't worry about that. When I bought my kits, I bought a 6GB kit earlier in the year, then another 6GB mid-year from two different vendors. I can see how Corsair's marketing of their 12GB kit would concern potential customers, by stating the 12GB kit should be purchased instead of two 6GB kits to ensure compatibility, that's absolutely false. There's no technical reason two different 6GB kits, of the same make and model, would not work together. Feel confident in your decision, I did the same as you, yet here I am, all 12GB's working perfectly at 4.2 GHz, 100% stable.

I got a problem. when I start the computer it first just shows me blackscrren and the i turn it off and then it will boot up and it report "Overclocking Failed!. The OC is stable the to get into windows i have to go into BIOS and save my settings. Is there any way to fix this problem?

Try putting your QPI/DRAM Voltage to 1.35 and your DRAM Voltage to the recommended setting as per your RAM modules. For example my Corsair XMS3 RAM modules recommend 1.65 volts, if you have those RAM modules, try setting that in your BIOS. Also try setting the Repost Video on S3 Resume option in the BIOS to No, I found this caused my system to fail to resume from sleep mode. Just some ideas for you.

[aln688]

Here's my final system, running 4.2 GHz completely stable.

[Esajuppeli]

Guys, if you know any mods for this great mobo, please tell them to me and this thread.

[GameGuru]

Guys, if you know any mods for this great mobo, please tell them to me and this thread.

What sort of mods are you talking about? I just got this board and it rocks. The only thing you should have to do is maybe add some cooling to the north bridge. I bought the Porter and bolted it directly to the stock one as mentioned earlier in this thread. I never removed anything, it's using the original paste and temps don't go above 50 priming with small ffts. I'm sitting at 4.2g and 12g of ram completely stable, see sig. Pretty simply really.

[GameGuru]

Here's my final system, running 4.2 GHz completely stable.

Nice aln688, looks good . Maybe I'll post some pics of mine when it's completely done. I'm waiting on my backplate mod and few other details then I'll come back here and post . Thanks again for all your help in this thread.

[Esajuppeli]

What sort of mods are you talking about? I just got this board and it rocks. The only thing you should have to do is maybe add some cooling to the north bridge. I bought the Porter and bolted it directly to the stock one as mentioned earlier in this thread. I never removed anything, it's using the original paste and temps don't go above 50 priming with small ffts. I'm sitting at 4.2g and 12g of ram completely stable, see sig. Pretty simply really.

I already have a waterblock on NB. I meant any mods, that could improve overclockability, like vmods/pci-e mod etc.

[ante_ante]

That´s a really nice modd of the NB . To bad i cant find a place that sell the Noctua U6 cooler so i ordered a Thermalright HR-05 IFX instead, hope that thing will work and lower my 60+ degrees NB

[ChinStrap]

IIRC hr05 ifx w/ stock sink doesnt fit.

[ante_ante]

IIRC hr05 ifx w/ stock sink doesnt fit.

Why ? is the contact area to big to fit ontop of the stock sink ?

[GameGuru]

Why not grab the Xigmatek Porter? I've done it and it works great, plus there's info on it a few pages back.

[rickxbox]

I Just want to show my pc here it just got completed when i added my 5870. I will repost my pics when i got a camera, now i made them with my phone.



Stats:
Core i7 D0 (Running on 4,2Ghz Max 76c)
Rampage II Gene (NU-U6 on NB)
Corsair 1600Mhz
Asus HD5870 (Still running on stock :P)

WC setup:
HK 3.0 + Backplate
Swiftech 240 rad
Laing DDC-1 MCP350 (Modded)

Hope you like it.

[zoob]

That's a nice packed rig you have there! Any reason you decided to put the vid card in the bottom slot?