Another i3-540 overclocking thread

Hi there,

i3 newbie alert! I bought an i3-540 last week and have been lurking this forum for hints and tips and the generally encouraging banter that goes on around here. My 1st post so be gentle

Gear:
- Gigabyte H55M-UD2H mobo
- 2x 2gb Gskill DDR3/1333 2GBRH 7-7-7-21 RAM
- I'm cooling on air using the Hyper 212 plus for the CPU.
- There's an 8800GTS so IGP seems to be disabled (no options for it in the BIOS).

The thing that will tax the build the most is FSX (CPU intensive rather than GPU).

So I followed the excellent guide that brought me here: http://www.overclockers.com/3-step-guide-overclock-core-i3-i5-i7/

It's a great guide and very logical. With further ado here's what I achieved in the 3 step process:

Step 1 - stable BCLK
I got to 218mhz with a Vtt of 1.39V.

Step 2 - stable memory
I'm persisting in keeping my timings at 7-7-7-21 for now. I'm led to believe that tight timings are good for FSX, my machine's primary use. I got to 200mhz with a Vdram of 1.5V. Pushing the Vdram didn't seem to give me any more mhz in memtest. RAM multi is at 2:8 at the moment.

Step 3 - overlock the CPU
I'm using P95/blend as my stress test. My most stable settings so far have been:
- BCLK 190mhz x 23 = 4370mhz
- On a Vcore = 1.37V, Vdram = 1.5V, Vtt = 1.39V (don't have IOH/PCH to hand)
- Core Temps around 65-70 deg C during P95 torture, max draw 235W

Then I tried these settings:
- BCLK 195mhz x 23
- Vcore 1.47V, otherwise as above. This was the minimum Vcore to get into Win7 and run P95 for 15 minutes.
- Core temps still around 65-70degC
P95 error @ 54 minutes.

I've been following these two impressive chaps with the same chip:
http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=636072
http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=640998

I see that SamSaveMax (still can't believe that combo was $99) has hit over 5ghz with some higher Vcore. I have yet to try dropping the multi and raising the BCLK like mzs_biteme. I guess my aim is to squeeze what I can with decent stability.

So question is really where to take this next?
- How do I get some more stability out of my current 195mhz BCLK?
- Will I be ok just pushing some more Vcore (which seems to be higher than others experiences)?
- Or do I have some work to do with other settings?
I feel I've done a decent job so far, but like my school reports "could do better".

Below are some pics from Windows all during some P95 torture - I'll post some of my BIOS settings when I next reboot.

My current screen/torture run showing CPU settings


Some numbers about my RAM (the other module is identical)


System info


More CPUZ windows

Other pics as promised:

Just for fun: I used the stock cooler for a bit - I followed Intels instructions to the letter and look how crap the paste coverage is!


CPU pic (isopropyl alcohol drying)


My RAM for clarity


Not much clearance btw the Hyper 212+ and the Ripjaws coolers on this cheap mobo!


Various BIOS shots

Hey, congratulations. You're doing great.
Though, your rams are overclocked currently. I would test it in BLEND mode as well to make sure it's stable as it is.

Thanks Sam, that means a lot to me from the 5ghz guy!

I thought I had selected the blend mode in P95? I shall recheck the next time I'm OC'd and in Windows (currently at stock in Linux).

I see you settled and fine tuned at 4.6ghz. Any tips on what I should do next to get something similar? Or is my RAM holding me back? Or should I just feed in some more Vcore (currently 1.47V) to get my 195x23 more stable.

What RAM are you using in your i3-540 setup to get the 4.6ghz stable?

Thanks once again!

That vcore should be more than enough. Though, try to reduce it bit by bit if possible.

From the test 4.6Ghz I've used Kingston rated 2000MHz PC16000
Currently, I'm using G.Skill rated 1866MHz Ripjaws PC15000

You're doing fine as is. Though, when you said "...to get my 195x23 more stable.".....It could be the rams.
Sometimes much overclocked rams may give a BSOD out of the blue.

i guess overclocking really depends on the chip
my 530 @ 4.2ghz only needs 1.26v vcore
I thought any vcore over 1.4v would really shorten its life

rule1n2 said:

i guess overclocking really depends on the chip
my 530 @ 4.2ghz only needs 1.26v vcore
I thought any vcore over 1.4v would really shorten its life

Click to expand...

Crosserover certain clock may requires more vcore than normal.
And, it depends how one's defines it.

i3-530_22x191_4200MHz_1.152v

http://i51.tinypic.com/f2sutg.jpg

bangoman said:

So I followed the excellent guide that brought me here: http://www.overclockers.com/3-step-guide-overclock-core-i3-i5-i7/

It's a great guide and very logical. With further ado here's what I achieved in the 3 step process:

Step 1 - stable BCLK
I got to 218mhz with a Vtt of 1.39V.

Step 2 - stable memory
I'm persisting in keeping my timings at 7-7-7-21 for now. I'm led to believe that tight timings are good for FSX, my machine's primary use. I got to 200mhz with a Vdram of 1.5V. Pushing the Vdram didn't seem to give me any more mhz in memtest. RAM multi is at 2:8 at the moment.

Step 3 - overlock the CPU
I'm using P95/blend as my stress test. My most stable settings so far have been:
- BCLK 190mhz x 23 = 4370mhz
- On a Vcore = 1.37V, Vdram = 1.5V, Vtt = 1.39V (don't have IOH/PCH to hand)
- Core Temps around 65-70 deg C during P95 torture, max draw 235W

Then I tried these settings:
- BCLK 195mhz x 23
- Vcore 1.47V, otherwise as above. This was the minimum Vcore to get into Win7 and run P95 for 15 minutes.
- Core temps still around 65-70degC
P95 error @ 54 minutes.

Click to expand...

Sounds like you're off to a great start....but you may be at the limit of your chip....they are not all created equal.....which is why I created the guide

Just to verify it really is the CPU which is limiting you right now, drop the Vcore a bit.....say 1.4V and try running the tests again, see if you loose stability again. If so, then it sounds like you're at your chips limit

Buy another one and try again

Thanks for the input guys. I tried miah's suggestion: I dropped Vcore to 1.40 and P95 blend failed within seconds at 195x23. I have also tried:
- Dropping the mem multi to 2:6 and slackening timings. Fail.
- Dropping the CPU multi to 22 and pushing up the BCLK (218mhz was my max isolated). Fail at 200mhz = 4.4ghz i.e. not that much faster than my stable 190x23.

Oh well I'll just have to accept 4.370ghz (or ~40% OC) for my C$135 chip . I notice mine is from Costa Rica and Sam's is from Malaysia. I am half Malaysian. Give me your Malaysian chip! Mwah.

Out of interest is it the high voltage itself that kills CPUs or just the heat generated from said voltage?

Another question: will a Vcore of 1.4V be ok for regular use? I don't mean 24/7 as I use stock settings for regular browsing, email etc, but will OC whenever playing FSX, converting media etc..

So rather than seeing what Vcore is needed for a given BCLK, I'm looking for the maximum BCLK on a given Vcore. Is this an acceptable way of doing things?

I set the Vcore to 1.4V but CPU-Z et al are reading 1.42V.



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That looks about right.
Doesn't hurt to experiment a couple notches drop for vcore in the bios and see how it responses.