To quickly answer the stability question... Stable to me is having a machine that can run non stop with only shutdown periods to clean out dust and polish up. A stable computer is ready to do anything without error at any moment, no matter what. It CANNOT crash in a game. It CANNOT fail to properly calculate huge numbers, and it ABSOLUTELY CANNOT FAIL to impress my friends and neighbors.
OCCT and prime. It is stable at stock clocks. I ordered a replacement board.
Apparently, when you run a motherboard to it's absolute bleeding edge maximum, it shortens it's life span.
Surprise.
I had the board running with the following settings...
CPU Feature Page
Thermal Management Control................Enabled
PPM(EIST) Mode............................Disabled
Limit CPUID MaxVal........................Disabled
CIE Function..............................Disabled
Execute Disable Bit.......................Enabled
Virtualization Technology.................Disabled
Core Multi-Processing.....................Enabled
Main BIOS Page
Exist Setup Shutdown......................Mode 2
Shutdown after AC loss....................Disabled
O.C. Fail Retry Counter...................1
Clock VCO Divider.........................AUTO
CPU Clock Ratio........................... 8.5x
CPU N/2 Ratio.............................Enabled
Target CPU Clock..........................3850 MHz
CPU Clock.................................453 MHz
Boot Up Clock.............................Auto
DRAM Speed................................333/667
Target DRAM Speed.........................DDR2 907 MHz
PCIE Clock................................101 MHz
PCIE Slot Config.......................... 1X 1X
CPU Spread Spectrum.......................Disabled
PCIE Spread Spectrum......................Disabled
Voltage Setting Page
CPU VID Control...........................1.34375V
CPU VID Special Add Limit.................Enabled
CPU VID Special Add ......................Auto
DRAM Voltage Control......................2.100V
SB Core/CPU PLL Voltage...................1.640V
NB Core Voltage...........................1.650V
CPU VTT Voltage...........................1.483V
VCore Droop Control.......................Enabled
Clockgen Voltage Control..................3.65V
GTL+ Buffers Strenght.....................Strong
Host Slew Rate............................Weak
MCH RON Offset Value......................00
MCH RTT Offset Value......................00
MCH Slew Rate Offset Value................00
MCH VREF 1 Value..........................00
MCH VREF 2 Value..........................00
MCH VREF 3 Value..........................00
GTL REF Voltage Control...................Enable
CPU GTL 1/2 REF Volt......................120
CPU GTL 1/3 REF Volt......................117
North Bridge GTL REF Volt ................117
DRAM Timing Page
Enhance Data Transmitting.................Fast
Enhance Addressing........................Fast
T2 Dispatch...............................Disabled
CAS Latency Time (tCL)....................5
RAS# to CAS# Delay (tRCD).................5
RAS# Precharge (tRP)......................5
Precharge Delay (tRAS)....................15
All Precharge to Act......................Auto
REF to ACT Delay (tRFC)...................54
Performance LVL (read delay)..............8 - 9
MCH ODT Latency...........................Auto
Write to PRE Delay (tWR)..................Auto
Rank Write to Read (tWTR).................Auto
ACT to ACT Delay (tRRD)...................Auto
Read to Write Delay (tRDWR)...............Auto
Ranks Write to Write (tWRWR)..............Auto
Ranks Read to Read (tWRRD)................Auto
Read CAS# Precharge (tRTP)................Auto
ALL PRE to Refresh........................Auto
Apparently, pushing the 2.83 to 3.85 on the x48 WILL eventually kill the northbridge, no matter what motherboard you have or cooling solution you use. Pushing the FSB to 453 and tightening all the timings to precision let it run at max performance to the point where I was sincerely outperforming i5/i7 machines... granted, I do run a Radeon HD 5970 OC to 5870 dual speeds and a GT 240 for physx.
Just so you know... a mild overclock is one thing, but I have actually seen MANY top of the line motherboards degrade over a period of one week because they were pushed so hard. It's like a high performance custom built sports car. Yeah, the drive train will give out at some point from the stress, but it's one hell of a ride up until then.
I don't mind swapping a mobo every couple of years to keep my performance up. To me, the motherboard has so much integrated into it that I now consider it a "Wear Item". As for my data, power supply and extreme graphics set up with a 28" LCD 1920X1200 display driving games at the max, I must say it has been and will continue to be a fun ride.
A note to everyone who is extreme overclocking. Make sure you have a fully compatible backup board incase yours dies. There is nothing like having a machine die and not having a spare part. Thank goodness for holding on to my personal inventory.
I should also note that this board has been running nearly 24/7/365 at max clocks and extreme load, so I think I got my money's worth out of it. As for my dead board... well... I can think of a few pistol calibers that can help turn it into a piece of art.
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1240mhz@2.02v 
Originally Posted by zsamz_
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