Noob help needed for overclocking Rampage II and i7 940

Hey guy's! I've just built my new PC and would like some help with overclocking both my CPU and GPU on air cooling.

Please bear in mind that I'm kinda noob when it comes to CPU voltages and blck stuff etc... so any help, explanations and patience would be much appreciated!

My new setup: -
Intel Core i7 940 2.93Ghz @ 3.2Ghz via unstable auto level up Asus program
Noctua NH-U12P SE1366 CPU Cooler
Asus Rampage II Extreme Intel X58
OCZ 4GB DDR3 PC3-10666C6 1333MHz ReaperX (2x2GB)
Thermaltake 1200W power supply
XFX GeForce GTX 295 1792MB

I managed an approx 22k Vantage score with default performance settings (with CPU at 3.2Ghz via auto level up), but I must admit I was expecting more from my expensive setup up.. I guess I was basically expecting more bang for my buck...

Is this a good score, or am I missing something? Anyways, if so, can I do anything to get a stable overclock on air? I dont want to put too much heat on the CPU, so I was thinking between 3.6 and 3.8 would be ideal for my for needs. I basically run my PC's 24hr's a day and want some longevity out of the CPU.

As for the GPU, I was thinking of a more subtle overclock as I hear the 295's run hot at default settings. Just a little extra power, so I can get a little more fps out of the card. And I dont really want to go quad SLI What program would I need to do this and what settings should I use?

I guess any help would be appreciated! If anyone has a similar setup or would like to help me on my way to a stable overclock, I would be very appreciated indeed!

Thanks in advance
Spike

Since you have 940 I would start by setting my CPU multi to 14 and slowly upping the bclk watch your mem freq\divider in the bios and keep it under your rated ram speed of 1333mhz. See how high you can get your bclk,then adjust multi to get to 3.6(ie 16 x200) you may need to add a little juice to your NB. I would shoot for as close to 200 as you can get it.



check this link out also:

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=205688&highlight=nehalem+101

So basically increasing CPU speed wont gain me many points in Vantage or fps in games? I guess my score is about right for Vantage then?

Yes your vanatage score is about right for a single stock GTX295. Also you can bump up cpu score in vantage but you need to oc you proc like crazy for it to really make a difference in your vantage score.

Thanks mgoode! Very helpful indeed

mgoode said:

check this link out also:

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=205688&highlight=nehalem+101

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thats a kind link mgoode ... just what I was huntin' for.

Just trying to be helpful. I have playing around X58 boards since November. i I just got my bloodrage tonight and am priming now

Was this score with physx? if it was, the cpu being overclocked wont impact the score anymore and will be more affected by the gpu clocks, use Rivatuner or something to get the core and shaders a bit faster.

I use EVGA Precision and Voltage Tuner on my BFG GTX295, with a custom patch for compatibility ; )

Yeah I think it was with physx on... i didnt turn it off as far as I know!

For comparison my P23,000 was scored with no physx, I haven't run it at 4.35Ghz yet as it keeps crashing for me on the game benchmarks (either my card or driver issue - latter probably due to windows 7).

Badbonji said:

For comparison my P23,000 was scored with no physx, I haven't run it at 4.35Ghz yet as it keeps crashing for me on the game benchmarks (either my card or driver issue - latter probably due to windows 7).

Click to expand...

Well I think I have a problem if this is my score with physx on... I hear you get an inflated score with it turned on! I cant benchmark at the moment as Vantage is telling me I have a resolution issue or something to that effect. I will try and get it fixed and get a score without physx on.

I'm wondering what the issue may be though. Could it be a PCI-E bios setting? I'm wondering whether its not running at proper 16x speeds...? Also, Crysis is running at around 30-40fps with 4xAA and everything on high (DX10) at 13xx by 768 (something along those lines). My friend has a 4870 x2 and gets around 10-15fps more than me when in the same place at the same time on WoW. I'm beginning to think my hardware is faulty! I'm not sure if its the motherboard, cpu or gpu... maybe even software? It just seems a little odd to me that my scores are just as bad as 8800GTX scores!

**EDIT**
Just did another run with physx off and I get a score of 18057. I dont know if this is right, but I think its a bit low from other results I've seen!

I think your score could be fine, as my cpu was at 4Ghz or something close...

What is his setup? I get 25-30fps with 8xAA very high at around 1920x1200 with a gpu overclock. I think that your score is a bit low. I will look at my fps with your settings later. As for pci-e bus speed check GPU-Z, that will tell you.

Instead of overall score, tell me the GPU score as that is the most important. I didn't realise I haven't even got an image saved for my Vantage score! All I have is my two 8800gts :O
I believe it should be around 18-20k for gpu score just an estimate, might want to check as all I can remember is my overall score (just looking at my sig lol...)

Badbonji said:

I think your score could be fine, as my cpu was at 4Ghz or something close...

What is his setup? I get 25-30fps with 8xAA very high at around 1920x1200 with a gpu overclock. I think that your score is a bit low. I will look at my fps with your settings later. As for pci-e bus speed check GPU-Z, that will tell you.

Instead of overall score, tell me the GPU score as that is the most important. I didn't realise I haven't even got an image saved for my Vantage score! All I have is my two 8800gts :O
I believe it should be around 18-20k for gpu score just an estimate, might want to check as all I can remember is my overall score (just looking at my sig lol...)

Click to expand...

I think my GPU score was around 17800 or something close to that... thats below the 18-20k mark I'm giuessing Is this what you mean? Also CPU-Z is stating a max speed of 16x... is this what its running at them moment or what it CAN do?

That was an estimate, but looks good. I get around 20k with a good overclock, so I think the cpu is what makes your score a bit lower. Everything looks fine, 16x is perfect, 2.0 it should say as well, now just get that cpu further and that score will go up
You can also overclock the gpu if you want, but the fan gets loud : \