UnOfficial Asus Rampage II Extreme Thread

[coldilian]

I will leave the pc on over night in horizontal and se what happens. Could be a cable could be anything. It happens randomly and so on. By far most frustrating pc problem i have ever had.

[TechloGoblin]

IOH and PCIe voltage might need a bump, i used a little more to get 4.55Ghz stable on my cards, might not be the same issue though.

Right now my IOH voltage and IOH PCI-E voltage is set to auto...Can you tell me what you set yours to so I have a decent starting ground?

Do I need to change my ICH voltage or ICH PCI-E voltage as well? or just the IOH settings?

Thanks for your reply

It's def. something with the PCI-E slots needing more gusto, because I can easily reach 4.6 ghz using only the bottom 5870

[RSC]

Is it ok to plug in two Noiseblocker Multiframe M12-P (PWM), using a Gelid PWM Y cable, in the CPU Fan header on the Rampage II Extreme?

[dejanh]

Is it ok to plug in two Noiseblocker Multiframe M12-P (PWM), using a Gelid PWM Y cable, in the CPU Fan header on the Rampage II Extreme?

Don't exceed 1A - 1.2A and you will be okay.

@coldilian - I think you need to take your whole setup apart and put it back together very slowly and carefully, one component at a time. Basically, add one component, then test, then add another component, then test, etc. Furthermore, make sure you use paper or plastic washers between all screws that contact the motherboard, both on the top and bottom side of the motherboard. Finally, make sure that your VTT card is fully seated properly, that your BIOS chip is seated properly as well (should not be loose or moving at all), and finally that your CPU socket is actually properly mounted on the board (all screws are tightened until they cannot move any more).

@TechloGoblin - you'll get all sorts of instability with such high overclocks. Your PCI-E slots or other peripheral devices can easily malfunction or behave strangely. There is not necessarily anything you can do about that.

[coldilian]

dejanh thanks for the help gona try what you said. 1 question you said check the cpu socket that its mounted properly. It has special screws last i checked.

[coldilian]

I think i have finally found my problem. Took the bracket off and on a closer there's a white washer missing on 1 side. I have no idea what happened but there's 3 white washers and 1 side is just metal and must be contacting the mobo. Sadly i don't have any washers of that size that i can find around the house. Any chance normal insulating tape will work or can it melt there.

Edit:A even closer look has revealed that the mobo isan't perfectly flat. I don't know if thats normal tbh never noticed it before.

[affiliate13]

I think i have finally found my problem. Took the bracket off and on a closer there's a white washer missing on 1 side. I have no idea what happened but there's 3 white washers and 1 side is just metal and must be contacting the mobo. Sadly i don't have any washers of that size that i can find around the house. Any chance normal insulating tape will work or can it melt there.

Edit:A even closer look has revealed that the mobo isan't perfectly flat. I don't know if thats normal tbh never noticed it before.

Do you have a piece of thermal pad you could use?

[dejanh]

dejanh thanks for the help gona try what you said. 1 question you said check the cpu socket that its mounted properly. It has special screws last i checked.

Yeah, those screws are special screws but you can screw/unscrew them using a screwdriver with a star head. The basic idea is that they have to be tightened all the way down. If they are not the socket may be loose and it may cause the CPU not to sit properly in the socket.

I think i have finally found my problem. Took the bracket off and on a closer there's a white washer missing on 1 side. I have no idea what happened but there's 3 white washers and 1 side is just metal and must be contacting the mobo. Sadly i don't have any washers of that size that i can find around the house. Any chance normal insulating tape will work or can it melt there.

Edit:A even closer look has revealed that the mobo isan't perfectly flat. I don't know if thats normal tbh never noticed it before.

Professional grade electrical insulating tape should hold up just fine. I would put 2-3 layers of it though if you want to go down that route. Nothing but your CPU should be getting hot, and in fact even your IHS should never be passing 60C-70C anyway even if your cores are much hotter (say 90C) so there really is nothing to worry about. You're talking maybe 40C around that area if that...

I would not worry about the motherboard not being perfectly flat. I do not think any of them are really. There is always a bit of a curve in the board. Unless you have major warping I doubt you will have loss-of-electrical-contact issues.

[TechloGoblin]

Don't exceed 1A - 1.2A and you will be okay.


@TechloGoblin - you'll get all sorts of instability with such high overclocks. Your PCI-E slots or other peripheral devices can easily malfunction or behave strangely. There is not necessarily anything you can do about that.

Sounds to me like my problem could be voltage. It makes sense. I can run the bottom 5870 at 4.6ghz without issue. Perhaps my PCI-E needs more juice.

What are some safe levels that I should test it out in the bios?

Do I need to touch the ICH as well, or just the IOH in regards to giving my PCI-E cards more volts?

Thanks!...Im learning here!

[dejanh]

Sounds to me like my problem could be voltage. It makes sense. I can run the bottom 5870 at 4.6ghz without issue. Perhaps my PCI-E needs more juice.

What are some safe levels that I should test it out in the bios?

Do I need to touch the ICH as well, or just the IOH in regards to giving my PCI-E cards more volts?

Thanks!...Im learning here!

Personally I never had to up the IOH or ICH voltages. Indeed, I run them at lowest possible settings they can be set at...I owned a R2E before, now own a R2G and E759 Classified, but the R2G and R2E are the same board basically, -1 PCI-E slot. The behavior and settings are the same across all of my boards. Never had to fiddle with IOH/ICH. Are you setting your PCI-E clock higher than 101MHz? If you are you need to back down the PCI-E clock to 101MHz. Also, how have you actually verified your general CPU overclock stability? Are you actually 100% stable at that clock? Finally, are you sure your PSU is up to the task to feed such a high CPU overclock combined with two HD 5870s?

[TechloGoblin]

Personally I never had to up the IOH or ICH voltages. Indeed, I run them at lowest possible settings they can be set at...I owned a R2E before, now own a R2G and E759 Classified, but the R2G and R2E are the same board basically, -1 PCI-E slot. The behavior and settings are the same across all of my boards. Never had to fiddle with IOH/ICH. Are you setting your PCI-E clock higher than 101MHz? If you are you need to back down the PCI-E clock to 101MHz. Also, how have you actually verified your general CPU overclock stability? Are you actually 100% stable at that clock? Finally, are you sure your PSU is up to the task to feed such a high CPU overclock combined with two HD 5870s?

I am not setting the PCI-E clock any higher than default. It is completely stable at 4.6ghz using the bottom 5870 only. The PSU is a 1000 HX Corsair..plenty of overhead room left.

affiliate13 earlier mentioned that he had to up his PCI-E voltage a little..I'm awaiting word on what setting I should start with. I have seen other posts with people manually setting their PCI-E voltages a little higher than the "Auto" setting. The Crossfire 5870's only stop responding when I go above 210 BCLK...and the BOTTOM 5870 continues to work no problem. Therefore this would lead me to believe that there is not enough juice going to the PCI-E when upping the BCLK as one of them will still run no problem.

I am however always open to suggestions...as I am fairly new in the i7 world of O/Cing

[dejanh]

I am not setting the PCI-E clock any higher than default. It is completely stable at 4.6ghz using the bottom 5870 only. The PSU is a 1000 HX Corsair..plenty of overhead room left.

affiliate13 earlier mentioned that he had to up his PCI-E voltage a little..I'm awaiting word on what setting I should start with. I have seen other posts with people manually setting their PCI-E voltages a little higher than the "Auto" setting. The Crossfire 5870's only stop responding when I go above 210 BCLK...and the BOTTOM 5870 continues to work no problem. Therefore this would lead me to believe that there is not enough juice going to the PCI-E when upping the BCLK as one of them will still run no problem.

I am however always open to suggestions...as I am fairly new in the i7 world of O/Cing

I don't know man...4.6GHz is a pretty tall order, particularly on the R2E. Did you run LinX at least 20-pass with All DRAM and Prime95 Blend for at least 5-6 hours continuous?

1. Make sure your OC is in fact stable. Really your should be able to do about 20 to 40 passes with LinX (version 0.6.3 or better) using All DRAM and minimum 6-8 hours of Prime95 Blend.
2. Try bumping your PCI-E voltage by a bit, but considering that you are not overclocking your PCI-E bus this really does not make much sense.

Overall, I think you are just loosing that card because there is system instability introduced at such a high clock. Can you resume from S3 at your clock successfully? For me for example resuming from S3 past 215MHz BCLK is not possible and no amount of voltage or tweaking will fix it.

[affiliate13]

Yes i needed a little extra, my machine is down just now waiting for new parts and i cant remember just how much i added, chances are it will be different for you.
I just kept adding a bump over the auto value until it could pass 3DMark06 at 4.55Ghz, it didnt take many as i recall.

[dejanh]

Yes i needed a little extra, my machine is down just now waiting for new parts and i cant remember just how much i added, chances are it will be different for you.
I just kept adding a bump over the auto value until it could pass 3DMark06 at 4.55Ghz, it didnt take many as i recall.

This is completely counter intuitive. Why would you need to bump PCI-E voltage if you are not overclocking the PCI-E bus? This sounds like poor power delivery to me asking for more power to be diverted to PCI-E by physically increasing the power allotment to those devices in order to compensate for a poor design, PSU, motherboard, or both. It just makes no sense.

[affiliate13]

This is completely counter intuitive. Why would you need to bump PCI-E voltage if you are not overclocking the PCI-E bus? This sounds like poor power delivery to me asking for more power to be diverted to PCI-E by physically increasing the power allotment to those devices in order to compensate for a poor design, PSU, motherboard, or both. It just makes no sense.

No your right, I was thinking of IOH, my head was somewhere else. Sry for confusion.
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...postcount=2097
This was back when it got fixed, I've only begun to reassemble it all after i added a third loop, it all been in pieces for so long i was confusing my voltages. Long day.

[dejanh]

No your right, I was thinking of IOH, my head was somewhere else. Sry for confusion.
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...postcount=2097
This was back when it got fixed, I've only begun to reassemble it all after i added a third loop, it all been in pieces for so long i was confusing my voltages. Long day.

That's better

[TechloGoblin]

That's better

Just to clear up any confusion for me...are we now saying that I should only need to up the IOH voltage?



I would just like to be extremely clear before I start doing anything...

Does that make sense to you dejanh that I could possibly benefit in my situation from a little IOH volts?

[dejanh]

Just to clear up any confusion for me...are we now saying that I should only need to up the IOH voltage?



I would just like to be extremely clear before I start doing anything...

Does that make sense to you dejanh that I could possibly benefit in my situation from a little IOH volts?

Yes, IOH could possibly benefit you. I never had an instance when I needed to increase it, even when I was running GTX 260 216 SLI with heavily OC'd cards (>730/1530/2500) but maybe it will help you somehow. 5870 cards are much more powerful. Make sure you are cooling the NB properly though otherwise pumping volts into it could cause more instability than stability. I still really, really strongly encourage you to put the CPU overclock through the stress tests I identified. You need to make sure you are absolutely stable in terms of CPU, DRAM, and Uncore before you start searching for answers in pumping more volts to components.

[TechloGoblin]

Yes, IOH could possibly benefit you. I never had an instance when I needed to increase it, even when I was running GTX 260 216 SLI with heavily OC'd cards (>730/1530/2500) but maybe it will help you somehow. 5870 cards are much more powerful. Make sure you are cooling the NB properly though otherwise pumping volts into it could cause more instability than stability. I still really, really strongly encourage you to put the CPU overclock through the stress tests I identified. You need to make sure you are absolutely stable in terms of CPU, DRAM, and Uncore before you start searching for answers in pumping more volts to components.

believe me I am following your advice. Here is my current setup which has passed Prime95(8 hours), and Linx (25+ passes x 2)

Do you see anything that I could possibly tweak to get some higher BCLK with it?(forget the Crossfire issue right now)..I noticed a lot of my settings for voltages are currently set to Auto...perhaps I can benefit from some of these beings raised? I have read a lot of threads, but this seems the best place for me seeing as these settings have to do with the R2E MB...any advice is appreciated:

AI overclock - manual
OC from CPU level up - auto
OC from Memory level up - auto
CPU Ratio setting - auto
CPU configuration auto
CPU Ratio Setting - auto
C1E Support - disable
Hardware prefetcher - enable
Adjacent Cache line prefetcher - enable
Intel Virtualization tech - disabled
CPU TM Function - disable
Execute Disabled bit - disabled
Intel HT Technology - enabled
Active Processor Cores - all
A20M - disabled
Intel Speedstep tech - enable
Intel Turbo Mode tech - enable
Intel C-STATE tech - disabled

BCLK frequency - 200
PCIE frequency - 100
DRAM frequency - DDR3 1601MHz
UCLK frequency - auto
QPI frequency - auto or
Dram timing control
1st iformation - 8-8-8-24 - 1T
2nd information - auto
3rd information - auto

EPU II phase control - full phase
Load-line calibration - enable
CPU differential amplitude - auto or manuel values
Extreme OV - disabled or enable

Current voltage 1.455 1.812 1.376
Cpu voltage - 1.44375
CPU PLL voltage - auto
QPI-Dram voltage - auto

Current voltage 1.131v - 1.508v - 1.111v - 1.508v
IOH voltage - auto
IOH PCIE voltage - auto
ICH voltage- auto
ICH PCIE voltage - auto

Current voltage 1.64-68
DRAM Bus voltage - 1.65
DRAM REF voltage - auto

Debug mode - string
Keyboard TeakIt comtrol -disabled

CPU spread spectrum - disabled
PCIE spectrum - disabled
CPU clock skew - auto
IOH clock skew - auto

[coldilian]

Thank to everyone for the help. It looks like the tape did the job and my pc is finally working back to normal.

[affiliate13]

believe me I am following your advice. Here is my current setup which has passed Prime95(8 hours), and Linx (25+ passes x 2)

Do you see anything that I could possibly tweak to get some higher BCLK with it?(forget the Crossfire issue right now)..I noticed a lot of my settings for voltages are currently set to Auto...perhaps I can benefit from some of these beings raised? I have read a lot of threads, but this seems the best place for me seeing as these settings have to do with the R2E MB...any advice is appreciated:

Current voltage 1.455 1.812 1.376
Cpu voltage - 1.44375
CPU PLL voltage - auto
QPI-Dram voltage - auto

What have you tried setting QPI-DramV to>?

[CryptiK]

believe me I am following your advice. Here is my current setup which has passed Prime95(8 hours), and Linx (25+ passes x 2)

Do you see anything that I could possibly tweak to get some higher BCLK with it?(forget the Crossfire issue right now)..I noticed a lot of my settings for voltages are currently set to Auto...perhaps I can benefit from some of these beings raised? I have read a lot of threads, but this seems the best place for me seeing as these settings have to do with the R2E MB...any advice is appreciated:

AI overclock - manual
OC from CPU level up - auto
OC from Memory level up - auto
CPU Ratio setting - auto
CPU configuration auto
CPU Ratio Setting - auto
C1E Support - disable
Hardware prefetcher - enable
Adjacent Cache line prefetcher - enable
Intel Virtualization tech - disabled
CPU TM Function - disable
Execute Disabled bit - disabled
Intel HT Technology - enabled
Active Processor Cores - all
A20M - disabled
Intel Speedstep tech - enable
Intel Turbo Mode tech - enable
Intel C-STATE tech - disabled

BCLK frequency - 200
PCIE frequency - 100
DRAM frequency - DDR3 1601MHz
UCLK frequency - auto
QPI frequency - auto or
Dram timing control
1st iformation - 8-8-8-24 - 1T
2nd information - auto
3rd information - auto

EPU II phase control - full phase
Load-line calibration - enable
CPU differential amplitude - auto or manuel values
Extreme OV - disabled or enable

Current voltage 1.455 1.812 1.376
Cpu voltage - 1.44375
CPU PLL voltage - auto
QPI-Dram voltage - auto

Current voltage 1.131v - 1.508v - 1.111v - 1.508v
IOH voltage - auto
IOH PCIE voltage - auto
ICH voltage- auto
ICH PCIE voltage - auto

Current voltage 1.64-68
DRAM Bus voltage - 1.65
DRAM REF voltage - auto

Debug mode - string
Keyboard TeakIt comtrol -disabled

CPU spread spectrum - disabled
PCIE spectrum - disabled
CPU clock skew - auto
IOH clock skew - auto

If you have read a lot of threads, I'm sure most of them suggested you do not set things, especially voltages, to 'auto' when overclocking. You mention some of your settings are on auto, then ask if they should be raised - when overclocking and leaving voltages on auto the voltages in question are probably already raised, often way too far. Set them all manually, and only raise them when required. This probably won't get you any higher clocks but may reduce your NB temp for example.

By the look of your CPU vcore, you probably wont get it much higher without getting into the range most people would consider too high for 24/7 use. These boards should allow a good 920 to do 4.4 - 4.5GHz+, most OC's I've seen are CPU or heat limited.

[TechloGoblin]

What have you tried setting QPI-DramV to>?

I have not set this manually yet. I wish someone with a good 4.4-4.6ghz O/C would post their settings like I have above. It would be much easier for me as a STARTING point. I started with the above settings and hit 4.2ghz stable (with your suggested tests) right off the bat. My problem seems to be going any higher is going to require more customized voltages on things I currently have set to "auto".

If you could suggest voltages that I currently have set to auto, to their "mid-range" manual setting that would be great. I can easily bump it up/down from there.

Thanks so much for your help it is GREATLY appreciated and I enjoy learning from you.

If you have read a lot of threads, I'm sure most of them suggested you do not set things, especially voltages, to 'auto' when overclocking. You mention some of your settings are on auto, then ask if they should be raised - when overclocking and leaving voltages on auto the voltages in question are probably already raised, often way too far. Set them all manually, and only raise them when required. This probably won't get you any higher clocks but may reduce your NB temp for example.

By the look of your CPU vcore, you probably wont get it much higher without getting into the range most people would consider too high for 24/7 use. These boards should allow a good 920 to do 4.4 - 4.5GHz+, most OC's I've seen are CPU or heat limited.

I will openly admit that I have not tried "bumping down" my CPU vcore as of yet. I was hoping to leave it at the current setting, or raise it if need be when trying higher clocks. My temps are "decent" for now so it wasn't a priority. I wont know for sure until I get some good settings/advice from someone on what voltages to "try" for a 4.4-4.6 O/C.

The other thing worth mentioning is my RAM is only spec'd to 1600mhz, so I may have to set it to 13xx while running higher O/C tests and upgrade to a higher spec if I can't get these sticks to go higher.

[dejanh]

I have not set this manually yet. I wish someone with a good 4.4-4.6ghz O/C would post their settings like I have above. It would be much easier for me as a STARTING point. I started with the above settings and hit 4.2ghz stable (with your suggested tests) right off the bat. My problem seems to be going any higher is going to require more customized voltages on things I currently have set to "auto".

If you could suggest voltages that I currently have set to auto, to their "mid-range" manual setting that would be great. I can easily bump it up/down from there.

Thanks so much for your help it is GREATLY appreciated and I enjoy learning from you.



I will openly admit that I have not tried "bumping down" my CPU vcore as of yet. I was hoping to leave it at the current setting, or raise it if need be when trying higher clocks. My temps are "decent" for now so it wasn't a priority. I wont know for sure until I get some good settings/advice from someone on what voltages to "try" for a 4.4-4.6 O/C.

The other thing worth mentioning is my RAM is only spec'd to 1600mhz, so I may have to set it to 13xx while running higher O/C tests and upgrade to a higher spec if I can't get these sticks to go higher.

My starting specs for overclocking are as follows...

BCLK 200MHz
Multiplier 21x
DRAM 8-8-8-24-2T (starting with this always, I tweak after; your DRAM will vary based on specs)
LLC Enabled
Vcore 1.35V (starting value, generally lowered at least 0.05V for 4.2GHz OC)
QPI/DRAM 1.35V
DRAM 1.65V
IOH/ICH 1.11V

Using "auto" voltages is not a good idea. Also, from my experience you will need roughly 0.06V per 100MHz extra past 4.2GHz. Achieving 4.4GHz with decent cooling is perfectly possible. Achieving 4.4GHz+ is much harder. 4.5GHz+ or even 4.6GHz will be very tough for 24/7 use completely stable on an i7 920 because the BCLK is getting up there (by stable I mean LinX stable, Prime95 stable, and able to use S3).

[TechloGoblin]

My starting specs for overclocking are as follows...

BCLK 200MHz
Multiplier 21x
DRAM 8-8-8-24-2T (starting with this always, I tweak after; your DRAM will vary based on specs)
LLC Enabled
Vcore 1.35V (starting value, generally lowered at least 0.05V for 4.2GHz OC)
QPI/DRAM 1.35V
DRAM 1.65V
IOH/ICH 1.11V

Using "auto" voltages is not a good idea. Also, from my experience you will need roughly 0.06V per 100MHz extra past 4.2GHz. Achieving 4.4GHz with decent cooling is perfectly possible. Achieving 4.4GHz+ is much harder. 4.5GHz+ or even 4.6GHz will be very tough for 24/7 use completely stable on an i7 920 because the BCLK is getting up there (by stable I mean LinX stable, Prime95 stable, and able to use S3).

TYVM sir.I will use this as a starting point and see how it goes. If I decide/need to stay with 4.2 for 24/7 stability I'll try lowering my CPU voltage to see how low I can get it and stay stable. I can def. say without a doubt my CURRENT settings are 100% stable. We'll see if I can go higher without issues by not using "auto" on other important voltages