how do you overclock an i7?

[duckycrayfish]

i have tried to find things telling how to overclock an i7... but eventually i get confused. some start off really good but then it gets to a point to where its just too much.

could anyone give me a good guide that is easy even for people who dont really understand anything about the clocks of processors? or maby explain through here?

also i have a few questions. what is the voltage limmit on the i7 and what gives it that limit? because i dont understand how some people can do super overclocks when theres a limit on the volts.
also, why do people use ratios with the cpu and memory?

 

[EarthDog]

Check my signature, specifically the i7 overclocking guide. Its a SPECTACULAR write up. It should have all the information you are looking for to get you started. If you would like another one that may help fill in any gaps, here you go: http://www.clunk.org.uk/forums/overclocking/22106-core-i7-overclocking-guide-beginners.html

If those dont help...read them over again, and if it still doesnt help, ask away here!

Limit? Heh, depends on temps really. Intel spec sheets have a limit. Not sure what it is on i7 though.

You have to use a ratio with the memory. The bclk is 133 on those chips and to get to the DDR3 speeds, its needs a multiplier. 133x12= 1600Mhz for example.

 

[duckycrayfish]

oh nice. ya got a few guides in there . how did u learn to overclock?

well why do people use spacific ratios? i mean why do u have to have it at a more perfect ratio like 2:8 instead of just setting it to the speed you want?

 

[EarthDog]

Not entirely sure. But more or less to get your memory at the speed you want it, or close. Old S775 Nvidia chipsets did that but some of the ratios were borked. Not sure if thats the same here, as the architectures are completely different.

 

[Root5098]

I found this guide incredibly helpful and simple, it's helped me reach 4GHz with max temps of 60'c
Intel i7 Overclocking Guide -With BIOS images-

 

[duckycrayfish]

i know what parts really are confusing me the most.
is there a seprate bclock for the memory?

 

[duckycrayfish]

I found this guide incredibly helpful and simple, it's helped me reach 4GHz with max temps of 60'c
Intel i7 Overclocking Guide -With BIOS images-

that method seems like a less complicated way but... i would emagine it wont give u as good of an overclock. should i do it that way? at least as a first overclock?

 

[psionic98]

use that clunk.org guide as it has some screens etc.. you can oc to around 3.8 without changing much at all.. just set your memory timings manually to your factory settings (ie 9-9-9-24-2t etc) and use the multiplier of 2:8 or 2:10.. really jsut follow that guide.. its very helpful for a quick oc..

 

[duckycrayfish]

ok something i dont get about the memory is that it shows that the memory is dependant on the bclk, which is different for different processors right?
so does that mean that you would put cirtain speed ram into your system and it wont even run at that speed??