i7 920 OC Screw Up?

[c627627]

It's because P6T was the only Asus available on day 1 when many of us bought. I bought on day 0 (Sunday).

Now there are more choices.

 

[Falkentyne]

So if you set the BCLK that blue screened, using the BIOS instead of turboV, it boots right up and is stable, is that correct?

 

[Brolloks]

Agree with c627627, do not use TurboV, stay with OC from the bios.

 

[mgoode]

yes it is, since like i said im not to sure on what voltages need to be upped. what is the ratio/memory speed set in bios or the util when tring to oc to 144BLK. as that would be another thing that would cause a BSOD, ram being pushed to far...

i would have figured that people with i7's would have been able to figure this out by now....

The problem with the i7 chips and mobos is they vary so wildy from chip to chip. it seems every chip is different.

As for turbov I only use it to get super high clocks that wont boot from the bios I:E 4.5-4.6Mhz.

 

[Badbonji]

It is funny how many people use Mhz when they mean Ghz. Henzo may have HT off, which allows a better overclock but will be slower in multithreaded apps overall.

 

[N3buchan3zzar]

by the way how did u get 4ghz with just 1.28v ??

The problem with the i7 chips and mobos is they vary so wildy from chip to chip. it seems every chip is different.

It is funny how many people use Mhz when they mean Ghz. Henzo may have HT off, which allows a better overclock but will be slower in multithreaded apps overall.

They are both right. Even among the same batch you have variations. I'm not 100% but think I was just over 1.3vC at the 4.0Ghz mark and with HT on.
There are a lot of factors that go into it past 4.0 imo, but that's just me.

I was just showing my settings in a screenshot I did a bit ago. Most info you would need is in the screenshot. Water cooled in a cpu only loop but I don't know my ambients, sorry. Cool but not cold..

 

[henzo]

It is funny how many people use Mhz when they mean Ghz. Henzo may have HT off, which allows a better overclock but will be slower in multithreaded apps overall.

I had it on at 4ghz, but I do have it disabled so I can play around and go for 4.2ghz. I will probably leave it off even at 4ghz till I need to bench as I do not encode or anything.

 

[Godzilla]

So if you set the BCLK that blue screened, using the BIOS instead of turboV, it boots right up and is stable, is that correct?

i've not tried doing it from bios...but after i used turbov and blue screened, the next time it posted it said overclock failed and when i went into bios, the bclk was set to the same as turbov.

 

[pawnslinger]

i've not tried doing it from bios...but after i used turbov and blue screened, the next time it posted it said overclock failed and when i went into bios, the bclk was set to the same as turbov.

I had the very same problem. But my mobo is the P6T Deluxe V2. The problem is that there are many other things that need to be adjusted after tweaking the BCLK high enough... and TurboV just adjusts your BCLK or voltages that you change. It doesn't optimize the memory settings for the faster speed or anything else. I guess TurboV is just meant for small tweaks.

Once I stopped using it and went directly into AI Tweaker in the Bios, things went great. I am happily running a BCLK of 165 at the moment, with Vcore 1.2v, QPI/DIMM 1.2v, DRAM 1.5v, memory timings 9-9-9-25, and the first parameter on the AI Tweaker screen set to "Manual"... I can't recall the name of that item. All other items set to "Auto".

My configuration:
ASUS P6T Deluxe V2
Core i7 920 3.4ghz 1.2v
G.Skill DDR3 1600 12gb 9-9-9-25 1.5v
TRUE Black 120 single fan installed
EVGA GTX 285 1gb
Silverstone 850w PSU
Antec 1200 case

I run the memory underclock at around DDR3 1333 to give me room for further OC'ing the processor.

Hope this helps.

 

[Godzilla]

I had the very same problem. But my mobo is the P6T Deluxe V2. The problem is that there are many other things that need to be adjusted after tweaking the BCLK high enough... and TurboV just adjusts your BCLK or voltages that you change. It doesn't optimize the memory settings for the faster speed or anything else. I guess TurboV is just meant for small tweaks.

Once I stopped using it and went directly into AI Tweaker in the Bios, things went great. I am happily running a BCLK of 165 at the moment, with Vcore 1.2v, QPI/DIMM 1.2v, DRAM 1.5v, memory timings 9-9-9-25, and the first parameter on the AI Tweaker screen set to "Manual"... I can't recall the name of that item. All other items set to "Auto".

My configuration:
ASUS P6T Deluxe V2
Core i7 920 3.4ghz 1.2v
G.Skill DDR3 1600 12gb 9-9-9-25 1.5v
TRUE Black 120 single fan installed
EVGA GTX 285 1gb
Silverstone 850w PSU
Antec 1200 case

I run the memory underclock at around DDR3 1333 to give me room for further OC'ing the processor.

Hope this helps.

Hmmm when i first installed my memory, the bios had it set to 1333mhz at AUTO, but my ram is rated for 1600mhz so i changed it to that and manually entered the timings of 9-9-9-24 (both are written on the side of the sticks), and on the box it said it was also rated for 1800mhz OC. Do you think its the ram that caused the blue screen? and should I put it back to 1333mhz?

how much of a difference is there between 1333 and 1600? is it noticable?

 

[pawnslinger]

Hmmm when i first installed my memory, the bios had it set to 1333mhz at AUTO, but my ram is rated for 1600mhz so i changed it to that and manually entered the timings of 9-9-9-24 (both are written on the side of the sticks), and on the box it said it was also rated for 1800mhz OC. Do you think its the ram that caused the blue screen? and should I put it back to 1333mhz?

how much of a difference is there between 1333 and 1600? is it noticable?

Course everyone has their own way, I am not sure there is a right or wrong way. What works for you is all that matters.

For myself, I start out with the RAM clocked as low as I can get it. With my mobo that is DDR3 800, then I start jacking around with BCLK or FSB with the old cpu's. Once I get a decent overclock, I look at how the mobo has upped the RAM speed and make small tweaks if necessary -- but this will affect the overclock of BCLK too, so take baby steps. Once I am happy, I tune the RAM timings last of all, I usually move them to a looser setting than the mobo has chosen. This gives me a little more stability at the cost of bandwidth on the memory. I run apps that are cpu hogs but don't really use a lot of memory bandwidth. I look at the Task Manager to figure that out... my apps always go 100% on all cores of the i7 at once -- if the i7 was horse enough to be less compute bound, then I would increase my memory bandwidth (by buying better memory with tighter timings and a faster rating).

The initial problem that you had was probably caused by the BCLK being changed in TurboV -- this ups the RAM speed without re-tuning the timings and voltages. Thats why I do all changes in Bios, it gives the AI in AI Tweaker a chance to re-tune the memory timings and other stuff that has been left on "Auto". When I loosen the timings I go in and override the "Auto" as the very last step of doing my tweaking job.

To determine when I have reached the max OC that I am comfortable with, I run my apps and watch RealTemp. When the temps start to get too high for me, I go into the Bios and back down my OC a bit and re-measure the temps. Always take baby steps. It takes me awhile to really tune the system to my needs, but once it is done, I am happy that I've gotten everything I can get out of it. I am still tweaking mine out, I am shooting for an OC that will produce temps that average as close to 70c as I can get without exceeding it. I like a little leeway on the thermal front. Right now my system is averaging around 63c under my full load with RealTemp.

 

[Godzilla]

Course everyone has their own way, I am not sure there is a right or wrong way. What works for you is all that matters.

For myself, I start out with the RAM clocked as low as I can get it. With my mobo that is DDR3 800, then I start jacking around with BCLK or FSB with the old cpu's. Once I get a decent overclock, I look at how the mobo has upped the RAM speed and make small tweaks if necessary -- but this will affect the overclock of BCLK too, so take baby steps. Once I am happy, I tune the RAM timings last of all, I usually move them to a looser setting than the mobo has chosen. This gives me a little more stability at the cost of bandwidth on the memory. I run apps that are cpu hogs but don't really use a lot of memory bandwidth. I look at the Task Manager to figure that out... my apps always go 100% on all cores of the i7 at once -- if the i7 was horse enough to be less compute bound, then I would increase my memory bandwidth (by buying better memory with tighter timings and a faster rating).

The initial problem that you had was probably caused by the BCLK being changed in TurboV -- this ups the RAM speed without re-tuning the timings and voltages. Thats why I do all changes in Bios, it gives the AI in AI Tweaker a chance to re-tune the memory timings and other stuff that has been left on "Auto". When I loosen the timings I go in and override the "Auto" as the very last step of doing my tweaking job.

To determine when I have reached the max OC that I am comfortable with, I run my apps and watch RealTemp. When the temps start to get too high for me, I go into the Bios and back down my OC a bit and re-measure the temps. Always take baby steps. It takes me awhile to really tune the system to my needs, but once it is done, I am happy that I've gotten everything I can get out of it. I am still tweaking mine out, I am shooting for an OC that will produce temps that average as close to 70c as I can get without exceeding it. I like a little leeway on the thermal front. Right now my system is averaging around 63c under my full load with RealTemp.

Thing is im at stock at the moment, and my temps at idle are 40-45c and at load with prime95 they shoot up to 75-80c...and this is at STOCK! no changes whatsoever. I am using intel cooler.

 

[c627627]

This is not abnormal for the i7.

original poster: things have changed, i7 runs hotter, your temperatures are normal for how things are with the i7.

 

[pawnslinger]

Thing is im at stock at the moment, and my temps at idle are 40-45c and at load with prime95 they shoot up to 75-80c...and this is at STOCK! no changes whatsoever. I am using intel cooler.

I use a TRUE Black 120 cpu cooler. Normally you are not able to OC very much using the stock Intel cooler. There are many good coolers out there. I like my TRUE (Thermalright Ultra Extreme)... the Tuniq Tower is also good. And I have read many good things about Noctura coolers.

75-80c is not TOO high for the i7. I think that the thermal max is around 100c. But 75-80c would be hotter than I would like. My personal preference... because I believe that such high temps must lower the life expectancy of the chip and possibly the mobo. So I would try to stay under 70c -- but this is just me.

The stock Intel cooler is not intended for OCing, get a better one if you wish to OC to any significant degree.

 

[Godzilla]

I use a TRUE Black 120 cpu cooler. Normally you are not able to OC very much using the stock Intel cooler. There are many good coolers out there. I like my TRUE (Thermalright Ultra Extreme)... the Tuniq Tower is also good. And I have read many good things about Noctura coolers.

75-80c is not TOO high for the i7. I think that the thermal max is around 100c. But 75-80c would be hotter than I would like. My personal preference... because I believe that such high temps must lower the life expectancy of the chip and possibly the mobo. So I would try to stay under 70c -- but this is just me.

The stock Intel cooler is not intended for OCing, get a better one if you wish to OC to any significant degree.

Up to what speed do you think or recommend i could OC comfortably to with the stock cooler without putting the cpu in any danger?

 

[pawnslinger]

Up to what speed do you think or recommend i could OC comfortably to with the stock cooler without putting the cpu in any danger?

This is a tough question. I have given my personal views, try to keep the average temp as measured by RealTemp below 70c. But temps above that are not necessarily bad for the i7. From what I've heard the thermal max for the i7 is 100c. And some people run over 90c under load. I, myself, would not choose to do that.

In general the hotter you choose to run your cpu, the shorter its lifespan will probably be. But I have not seen any hard and fast rules or guidelines. It is what you are comfortable with. When I first put my build together, my cpu ran 55c at full load at stock speeds... some of my programs seem to think 80c is THE limit, i.e. PC Probe from ASUS comes configured that way.

I think it is safe to run hotter than 80c, but I wouldn't. I have chosen to try and keep it below 70c, because I see no reason to push it any farther... I will get plenty of speed at 70c.

 

[deathman20]

Well I have an EVGA X58 and it has a windows OC utility as well. I have to say it does work for OCing... BUT do not increase the BLK over bios set+10. Thats when I've gotten BSOD's trying that otherwise it works great for me. Never tried to lower ti from what its set in the bios.

Its good for general tweaking but as said everything done in the bios is a better idea.

 

[N3buchan3zzar]

Hmmm when i first installed my memory, the bios had it set to 1333mhz at AUTO, but my ram is rated for 1600mhz so i changed it to that and manually entered the timings of 9-9-9-24 (both are written on the side of the sticks), and on the box it said it was also rated for 1800mhz OC. Do you think its the ram that caused the blue screen? and should I put it back to 1333mhz?

how much of a difference is there between 1333 and 1600? is it noticable?

Ram OC'd or out of spec can absolutely cause blue screens. It can also mess up your boot record and screw up your OS in some cases.
Memory speeds and timing have minimal real world effects on this platform. They do however look impressive in tests/benchmarks. I'm running my ram OC'd just to push a bit but I may very well end up running it underclocked when all is said and done.

Up to what speed do you think or recommend i could OC comfortably to with the stock cooler without putting the cpu in any danger?

My official statement: not one single bit, underclock your cpu until you get some real cooling. *hint*water*hint hint*In reality though, as long as you aren't pushing it at 100% you can probably bump up to around 3.2ish with voltages below 1.2 and preferably around 1.3-1.5ish vcore. No promises though and keep an eye on your temps.

Well I have an EVGA X58 and it has a windows OC utility as well. I have to say it does work for OCing... BUT do not increase the BLK over bios set+10. Thats when I've gotten BSOD's trying that otherwise it works great for me. Never tried to lower ti from what its set in the bios.

Its good for general tweaking but as said everything done in the bios is a better idea.

Bingo, windows software for OCn fulfills imho only 2 purposes.
1. After seeing that settings X and Y are stable with whatever test, I can launch SetFSB and raise my BCLK by 1 and see if that change is stable with my present settings. If it is then yaaa, bump it again until it's not
2. When you are doing extreme benching and cannot boot up at the speed you are going to run. Set you bios appropriately and boot up, then "massage" those settings up to your bench speed and let her rip....and cross your fingers it makes it long enough to get a screenshot lol.

Neither of those situations are what most of the software is used for unfortunately but that is my take on them. I wish they weren't bundled with the chipset and other utilities as they are often more harm than good for some people.

/end rant
sorry for the wall of text and I hope it helps a bit. Keep asking questions