i7 950 Overclock help.

Cascudo · Apr 11, 2011

Hi All,

Let me just start saying that this is my very first overclock!
To be honest this was the second time I've gone in to the bios (first time was four months ago to enable memory XMP).
So please bear with me. With that being said, let me go the point.

My goal is to have a rock solid stable OC for 24/7. So once I've finished tweaking it I could just save it to the CMOS and never go to the bios again.

I intend to use my PC for 2-3 more years so it would need to be something that does not drastically reduce the life of the parts.(if thats any possible)

So here is what we are working with:
All parts were bought brand new and have now with 4 moths of use.

Processor: Intel i7 950 3.06Ghz D0
Cooling: Corsair H70
Power Supply: Corsair Professional series HX 750w
Motherboard: Gigabyte EX58-UD3R Rev.13 (I don't know what bios version, but if you tell me how to check I can let you know if needed)
Memory: Corsair Dominator 3x2GB kit TR3X6G1600C8D G ver7.1A
HD: WD Caviar black 1TB (I don't remember model but I'll find out if needed)
Case: Coolermaster Hal-X (overkill...? i know

Graphic Card: Sapphire HD6870 model:21179-00-40R (this week I'm going to replace: with HD6970 or buy +1 HD6870. If you could advise on this as well, great, but I'll put a topic on correct forum)

I got some break of work so I started researching a bit about overclocking, something that I had planed to do but never had time.
I found a lot of people aiming for 4Ghz so I decided to aim for it as well.
I followed the guide http://www.overclockers.com/3-step-guide-overclock-core-i3-i5-i7/

And here is my final result (Please find below my questions / comments)

Code:

Advanced CPU Core Features	

Intel(R) Turbo Boost Techn.	[Disabled]	
CPU Cores Enabled	        [All]	
CPU Multi-Threading	        [Enabled]	
CPU Enhanced Halt (C1E)	        [Disabled]	
C3/C6/C7 State Support	        [Disabled]	
CPU Thermal Monitor	        [Disabled]	
CPU EIST Function	        [Disabled]	
Bi-Directional PROCHOT	        [Enabled]	
			

Advanced Frequency Settings

CPU Clock Ratio                  [23 X]	
CPU Frequency********************4.02GHz(175x23)
>Advanced CPU Core Features	 [Press Enter]	
QPI Clock Ratio                  [Auto]	
QPI Link Speed(MT)	         [6.3GHz]	
Uncore Clock Ratio	         [Auto]	
Uncore Frequency	         [3500MHz]	
>>>>>* Standard Clock Control		
Base Clock(BCLK) Control	 [Enabled]	
xBCLK Frequency(Mhz)	         [175]	
Extreme Memory Profile(X.M.P.)   [Profiled]	
System Memory Multiplier* (SPD)  [10]	
Memory Frequency(MHz)**    1066	 [1750]	
PCI Express Frequency(MHz)	 [Auto]	
>>>>>* Advanced Clock Control		
CPU Clock Drive	                 [ 800mV]	
PCI Express Clock Drive	         [ 900mV]	
CPU Clock Skew	                 [       0ps]	
IOH Clock Skew	                 [       0ps]	
			
Advanced Memory Settings
			
		                                Normal    Current
	Performance Enhance		                  [Standard]
	Extreme Memory Profile(X.M.P.)	                  [Profiled]
	System Memory Multiplier	        (SPD) 	  [10]
	Memory*Frequency(Mhz)	*                1066     [1750]
	DRAM Timing Selectable	                (SPD)     [Quick]
	Profile DDR Voltage	*                1.5V	  [1.65V]
	Profile QPI Voltage	                 1.2V     [1.2V] 
*x	Channel Interleaving	*****            6	  [Auto]
*x	Rank Interleaving	*****            4	  [Auto]
	>>>>> Channel A		
*>	Channel A Timing Settings		[Press Enter]
*>	Channel A Turnaround Settings		[Press Enter]
	>>>>> Channel B		
*>	Channel B Timing Settings		[Press Enter]
*>	Channel B Turnaround Settings		[Press Enter]
	>>>>> Channel C		
*>	Channel C Timing Settings		[Press Enter]
*>	Channel C Turnaround Settings		[Press Enter]
			

Channel A Timing Settings	
		
	>>>>> Channel A Standard Timing Control	Normal	Current
*x	CAS Latency Time                            8     [8]
*x	tRCD                                        8     [8]
*x	tRP                                         8     [8]
*x	tRAS                                       20     [24]
	>>>>> Channel A Advanced Timing Control		
*x	tRC	                                   41	  [Auto]
*x	tRRD	                                    6	  [Auto]
*x	tWTR	                                    6     [Auto] 
*x	tWR	                                   12     [Auto]
*x	tWTP	                                   24     [Auto]
*x	tWL	                                    8     [Auto]
*x	tRFC	                                   88     [Auto]
*x	tRTP	                                    6     [Auto]
*x	tFAW	                                   30     [Auto]
*x	Command Rate(CMD)                      	    2     [Auto]
	>>>>> Channel A Misc Timing Control		
*x	B2B CAS Delay	***                         -     [Auto]
*x	Round Trip Latency	                   57     [Auto]
			
Channel A Turnaround Settings			
	>>>>> Channel A Reads Followed by Reads		
*x	Different DIMMs                             6     [Auto]
*x	Different Ranks                             5     [Auto]
*x	On The Same Rank                            1     [Auto]
	>>>>> Channel A Writes Followed by Writes		
*x	Different DIMMs                             6     [Auto]
*x	Different Ranks                             6     [Auto]
*x	On The Same Rank                            1     [Auto]
			
			
			
Advanced Voltage Settings			
	****** Mother Board Voltage Control *******		
	Voltages Types                          Normal       Current
	>>> CPU		
	Load-Line Calibration		                     [Disabled]
	CPU Vcore	                        1.21875V     [1.30000V]
*x	Dynamic Vcore(DVID)	                0.00000V     [Auto]
	QPI/Vtt Voltage	                        1.175V       [1.255V]
	CPU PLL	                                1.800V       [Auto]
	>>> MCH/ICH		
	PCIE	                                1.500V       [Auto]
	QPI PLL	                                1.100V       [Auto]
	IOH Core	                        1.100V       [Auto]
	ICH I/O	                                1.500V       [1.300V]
	ICH Core	                        1.100V       [Auto]
	>>> DRAM		
	DRAM Voltage	                        1.500V       [1.64V]
	DRAM Termination	                0.750V       [Auto]
	Ch-A Data VRef.	                        0.750V       [Auto]
	Ch-B Data VRef.	                        0.750V       [Auto]
	Ch-C Data VRef.	                        0.750V       [Auto]
	Ch-A Address VRef.	                0.750V       [Auto]
	Ch-B Address VRef.	                0.750V       [Auto] 
	Ch-C Address VRef.	                0.750V       [Auto]
			
Miscellaneous Settings		
	
	Isochronous Support             [Enabled]	
	Virtualization Technology       [Enabled]

I have downloaded Prime95 and RealTemp 3.60 from the links provided on the tutorial.
I had some crashing as I was lowering the VTT but with these final numbers above I ran it for 5 hours with no problems.

Idle temperatures are: 32C 32C 33C 28C

now here is the deal, during the day I leave the balcony door open.
2Hours Prime95 temperatures are: 65C 64C 65C 63C

at night I close the door and turn on the heating.
2Hours Prime95 temperatures are: 76C 74C 75C 72C

Questions:

Q1. Please tell me if these are safe settings and let me know anything I should change.
Q2. Can I run my PC 24/7 with those temps and voltages?
Q3. Will this OC damage the parts so they will become faulty in less than 3 years? (I know its hard to tell but with your experience would you have a guess?)
Q4. As a result of this OC my 1600 RAM is running at 1750. I've read on other thread here in the forum that this is fine and Dominator memories should handle that. Is that OK?
Q5. Any general tips regarding the graphics card? Any pointers? Or should I just post other thread on GPU section?

Thank you very much for your time and patience!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!+!

PS: As of now I am running ALL at stock, to be on the safe side in case I've made any huge mistake.
Thanks once again.

Regards,
Cascudo

redduc900 · Apr 12, 2011

Q1. Please tell me if these are safe settings and let me know anything I should change.

In your template I think you meant to list IOH Core voltage at 1.30V, and not ICH I/O. Other than that everything else looks fine, except for possibly raising the BCLK to 200 and lowering the multiplier to x20. In conjunction w/ using the x8 DRAM multiplier at that BCLK, you'll end up w/ an effective DRAM frequency of exactly DDR3-1600 (800MHz).

Q2. Can I run my PC 24/7 with those temps and voltages?

Yes

Q3. Will this OC damage the parts so they will become faulty in less than 3 years? (I know its hard to tell but with your experience would you have a guess?)

It's impossible to say for sure, but the current voltages and temp's are well within reasonable levels.

Q4. As a result of this OC my 1600 RAM is running at 1750. I've read on other thread here in the forum that this is fine and Dominator memories should handle that. Is that OK?

As long as the system is stable (Prime Large FFTs, Memtest86+, Windows built-in Memory Diagnostic, etc.), then there's no problem running the RAM at the higher frequency w/ default timings and voltage. Although like I mentioned above, I would shoot for a 200 BCLK w/ the x8 DRAM multiplier = DDR3-1600.

Q5. Any general tips regarding the graphics card? Any pointers? Or should I just post other thread on GPU section?

Post any GPU related questions in the respective AMD (ATI) GPUs forum.

Cascudo · Apr 13, 2011

Hi redduc900,

Thank you for the reply.
And yes, I meant to say IOH Core:
IOH Core 1.100V [1.300V]
ICH I/O 1.500V [Auto]

Unfortunatetly I haven't had much time to try the settings you suggested.
I will give it a go this weekend and post my results. Thanks.

I read the post yesterday and saw that everything was 'OK', so I uploaded the OC profile to the CMOS and have been using it since. Interesting thing happened today, I got BSOD it was too fast but it had some text like '...dumping memory to prevent damage...' , I was browsing the web, not even gaming or using anything too demanding.
Does it mean my OC is not stable? or BSOD happens every now and then?
I'd tried Prime95 over the weekend (in all 3 options for around 5 hours each) and got no error or crash.

Anyway I'll try again with your suggestions (200x20), memory at 1600., with Prime95, windows diagnostic, memtest86+ and post the resuts.

Thanks for helping a noob!

Regards,
Cascudo

Theocnoob · Apr 13, 2011

BSODs are almost always a hardware error, so it's not stable. Your Uncore is a little higher than it has to be once you get your RAM down to 1600 that might help. Don't move it yet but after you drop the RAM you can set it to 3200.

robertcutshall · Apr 18, 2011

ci7 950 cpu

Cascudo said:
Hi All,

Let me just start saying that this is my very first overclock!
To be honest this was the second time I've gone in to the bios (first time was four months ago to enable memory XMP).
So please bear with me. With that being said, let me go the point.

My goal is to have a rock solid stable OC for 24/7. So once I've finished tweaking it I could just save it to the CMOS and never go to the bios again.

I intend to use my PC for 2-3 more years so it would need to be something that does not drastically reduce the life of the parts.(if thats any possible)

So here is what we are working with:
All parts were bought brand new and have now with 4 moths of use.

Processor: Intel i7 950 3.06Ghz D0
Cooling: Corsair H70
Power Supply: Corsair Professional series HX 750w
Motherboard: Gigabyte EX58-UD3R Rev.13 (I don't know what bios version, but if you tell me how to check I can let you know if needed)
Memory: Corsair Dominator 3x2GB kit TR3X6G1600C8D G ver7.1A
HD: WD Caviar black 1TB (I don't remember model but I'll find out if needed)
Case: Coolermaster Hal-X (overkill...? i know
Graphic Card: Sapphire HD6870 model:21179-00-40R (this week I'm going to replace: with HD6970 or buy +1 HD6870. If you could advise on this as well, great, but I'll put a topic on correct forum)

I got some break of work so I started researching a bit about overclocking, something that I had planed to do but never had time.
I found a lot of people aiming for 4Ghz so I decided to aim for it as well.
I followed the guide http://www.overclockers.com/3-step-guide-overclock-core-i3-i5-i7/

And here is my final result (Please find below my questions / comments)

Code:

Advanced CPU Core Features Intel(R) Turbo Boost Techn. [Disabled] CPU Cores Enabled [All] CPU Multi-Threading [Enabled] CPU Enhanced Halt (C1E) [Disabled] C3/C6/C7 State Support [Disabled] CPU Thermal Monitor [Disabled] CPU EIST Function [Disabled] Bi-Directional PROCHOT [Enabled] Advanced Frequency Settings CPU Clock Ratio [23 X] CPU Frequency********************4.02GHz(175x23) >Advanced CPU Core Features [Press Enter] QPI Clock Ratio [Auto] QPI Link Speed(MT) [6.3GHz] Uncore Clock Ratio [Auto] Uncore Frequency [3500MHz] >>>>>* Standard Clock Control Base Clock(BCLK) Control [Enabled] xBCLK Frequency(Mhz) [175] Extreme Memory Profile(X.M.P.) [Profiled] System Memory Multiplier* (SPD) [10] Memory Frequency(MHz)** 1066 [1750] PCI Express Frequency(MHz) [Auto] >>>>>* Advanced Clock Control CPU Clock Drive [ 800mV] PCI Express Clock Drive [ 900mV] CPU Clock Skew [ 0ps] IOH Clock Skew [ 0ps] Advanced Memory Settings Normal Current Performance Enhance [Standard] Extreme Memory Profile(X.M.P.) [Profiled] System Memory Multiplier (SPD) [10] Memory*Frequency(Mhz) * 1066 [1750] DRAM Timing Selectable (SPD) [Quick] Profile DDR Voltage * 1.5V [1.65V] Profile QPI Voltage 1.2V [1.2V] *x Channel Interleaving ***** 6 [Auto] *x Rank Interleaving ***** 4 [Auto] >>>>> Channel A *> Channel A Timing Settings [Press Enter] *> Channel A Turnaround Settings [Press Enter] >>>>> Channel B *> Channel B Timing Settings [Press Enter] *> Channel B Turnaround Settings [Press Enter] >>>>> Channel C *> Channel C Timing Settings [Press Enter] *> Channel C Turnaround Settings [Press Enter] Channel A Timing Settings >>>>> Channel A Standard Timing Control Normal Current *x CAS Latency Time 8 [8] *x tRCD 8 [8] *x tRP 8 [8] *x tRAS 20 [24] >>>>> Channel A Advanced Timing Control *x tRC 41 [Auto] *x tRRD 6 [Auto] *x tWTR 6 [Auto] *x tWR 12 [Auto] *x tWTP 24 [Auto] *x tWL 8 [Auto] *x tRFC 88 [Auto] *x tRTP 6 [Auto] *x tFAW 30 [Auto] *x Command Rate(CMD) 2 [Auto] >>>>> Channel A Misc Timing Control *x B2B CAS Delay *** - [Auto] *x Round Trip Latency 57 [Auto] Channel A Turnaround Settings >>>>> Channel A Reads Followed by Reads *x Different DIMMs 6 [Auto] *x Different Ranks 5 [Auto] *x On The Same Rank 1 [Auto] >>>>> Channel A Writes Followed by Writes *x Different DIMMs 6 [Auto] *x Different Ranks 6 [Auto] *x On The Same Rank 1 [Auto] Advanced Voltage Settings ****** Mother Board Voltage Control ******* Voltages Types Normal Current >>> CPU Load-Line Calibration [Disabled] CPU Vcore 1.21875V [1.30000V] *x Dynamic Vcore(DVID) 0.00000V [Auto] QPI/Vtt Voltage 1.175V [1.255V] CPU PLL 1.800V [Auto] >>> MCH/ICH PCIE 1.500V [Auto] QPI PLL 1.100V [Auto] IOH Core 1.100V [Auto] ICH I/O 1.500V [1.300V] ICH Core 1.100V [Auto] >>> DRAM DRAM Voltage 1.500V [1.64V] DRAM Termination 0.750V [Auto] Ch-A Data VRef. 0.750V [Auto] Ch-B Data VRef. 0.750V [Auto] Ch-C Data VRef. 0.750V [Auto] Ch-A Address VRef. 0.750V [Auto] Ch-B Address VRef. 0.750V [Auto] Ch-C Address VRef. 0.750V [Auto] Miscellaneous Settings Isochronous Support [Enabled] Virtualization Technology [Enabled]

I have downloaded Prime95 and RealTemp 3.60 from the links provided on the tutorial.
I had some crashing as I was lowering the VTT but with these final numbers above I ran it for 5 hours with no problems.

Idle temperatures are: 32C 32C 33C 28C

now here is the deal, during the day I leave the balcony door open.
2Hours Prime95 temperatures are: 65C 64C 65C 63C

at night I close the door and turn on the heating.
2Hours Prime95 temperatures are: 76C 74C 75C 72C

Questions:

Q1. Please tell me if these are safe settings and let me know anything I should change.
Q2. Can I run my PC 24/7 with those temps and voltages?
Q3. Will this OC damage the parts so they will become faulty in less than 3 years? (I know its hard to tell but with your experience would you have a guess?)
Q4. As a result of this OC my 1600 RAM is running at 1750. I've read on other thread here in the forum that this is fine and Dominator memories should handle that. Is that OK?
Q5. Any general tips regarding the graphics card? Any pointers? Or should I just post other thread on GPU section?

Thank you very much for your time and patience!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!+!

PS: As of now I am running ALL at stock, to be on the safe side in case I've made any huge mistake.
Thanks once again.

Regards,
Cascudo

im running at 4.2 ghz stable can give u specs if you wish to try temps rum high 30c to low 40c idle.. :clap:

gulengoksel · May 27, 2011

Hi;

I'm beginner about overclocking
I have an Intel Core i7 950 CPU. Could I write my computer's properties, you could tell me 4.4 - 4.5 or 5 GHz is needed to run the BIOS settings, if possible Can you write? Thank you in advance.

Mobo : Gigabyte EX-58 Extreme (Bios F12)
CPU : Intel Core i7 950 D0
Ram : G-SKILL 6GB (3*2GB) Trident+Fan 2000MHz DDR3 CL9 Triple Kit
PSU : 1200 Watt Gigabyte Odin Pro
HDD : 5x500 GB WD SATA II 7200 RPM (RAID 0)
VGA : MSI GTX570 Twin FrozrII/OC GDDR5 1280MB 320Bit
Sound : CREATIVE X-FI TITANIUM FATAL1TY CHAMPION
CPU Cooling : NOCTUA NH-D14 Double
Case: Cooler Master Cosmos Series

i7 950 Overclock help.

Cascudo

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redduc900

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Cascudo

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Theocnoob

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robertcutshall

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gulengoksel

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