i7 930 Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R overclock help

[RomieYO]

Hey guys. I was just wondering if any of you guys already have a set up that is similar to mine that I can try your settings and stress test. I'm not too good at all of this and every manual I've read has been confusing to me. Here are my settings. Right now I'm at 2.8 GHz.

G.SKILL Sniper (2x8GB) DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666)
Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R motherboard
i7 930
Cooler Master Hyper 212 CPU Cooler
ATI Raedon 5770
Windows 7 64 bit
1.5 Tb Corsair HDD.

 

[Organized_Chaos]

I'm running something similar. how much of an overclock are you wanting to run? If you want to try 4ghz I can post my settings as is, or change them as needed for the overclock you want.

EDIT - just curious is that supposed to say 3 sticks of memory rather than 2? X58 mainly supports memory in triple channel mode, though it may revert back to dual channel if only 2 sticks are installed.

 

[RomieYO]

I'm running something similar. how much of an overclock are you wanting to run? If you want to try 4ghz I can post my settings as is, or change them as needed for the overclock you want.

EDIT - just curious is that supposed to say 3 sticks of memory rather than 2? X58 mainly supports memory in triple channel mode, though it may revert back to dual channel if only 2 sticks are installed.

My fault. It's actually 4 sticks of 4Gb memory. I was looking for a little less than 4 GHz. 3.5 or 3.6 would be great. Thanks a ton.

 

[Organized_Chaos]

here are some settings to try. even so, I can't recommend reading this guide enough - http://www.overclockers.com/3-step-guide-overclock-core-i3-i5-i7/

ok I'll post some basic settings. hopefully you wont have to change more than this
try these and see if it holds up to intel burn test. however no two chips or motherboards act 100% the same so you may find that doing this step by step like in the guide works better since this really just boils down to me blindly guessing based on my own system.

CPU multiplier - x21

bclk - 172 (some people say even # multipliers are less stable so you could also try 173)

QPI ratio - x36

Uncore ratio - x18 (my UD3R is very picky about this setting for some reason. Usually only x18 or x20 proves stable for me. Either way the uncore must be at least 2x the dram speed)

Memory Multiplier - x8 ( 172 x 8 should yield ddr3 1376. couldn't find your memory online. make sure your memory voltage and timings are set at least at manufacturer's recommended level, usually around 1.5 or 1.6v. With luck going from 1333 to 1376 will not require any tweaking in itself. I have a 16gb kit myself but I left one stick out since it wouldn't run in triple channel mode without two more sticks anyway)

Loadline Calibration - Level 1

CPU vcore - 1.2875v (this is what I use to hit 4ghz. If this proves stable you can start to lower the vcore a little at a time, making sure to test for stability in order to achieve lowest possible vcore. keep an eye on temperatures)

QPI/Vtt - 1.255v (this is a good starting place, but it may take more. don't go over 1.45 on air cooling. with so much memory you may have to go on up to around 1.295v)

 

[RollingThunder]

Guys, moved it to here, it fits better.

RT

 

[RomieYO]

here are some settings to try. even so, I can't recommend reading this guide enough - http://www.overclockers.com/3-step-guide-overclock-core-i3-i5-i7/

ok I'll post some basic settings. hopefully you wont have to change more than this
try these and see if it holds up to intel burn test. however no two chips or motherboards act 100% the same so you may find that doing this step by step like in the guide works better since this really just boils down to me blindly guessing based on my own system.

CPU multiplier - x21

bclk - 172 (some people say even # multipliers are less stable so you could also try 173)

QPI ratio - x36

Uncore ratio - x18 (my UD3R is very picky about this setting for some reason. Usually only x18 or x20 proves stable for me. Either way the uncore must be at least 2x the dram speed)

Memory Multiplier - x8 ( 172 x 8 should yield ddr3 1376. couldn't find your memory online. make sure your memory voltage and timings are set at least at manufacturer's recommended level, usually around 1.5 or 1.6v. With luck going from 1333 to 1376 will not require any tweaking in itself. I have a 16gb kit myself but I left one stick out since it wouldn't run in triple channel mode without two more sticks anyway)

Loadline Calibration - Level 1

CPU vcore - 1.2875v (this is what I use to hit 4ghz. If this proves stable you can start to lower the vcore a little at a time, making sure to test for stability in order to achieve lowest possible vcore. keep an eye on temperatures)

QPI/Vtt - 1.255v (this is a good starting place, but it may take more. don't go over 1.45 on air cooling. with so much memory you may have to go on up to around 1.295v)

Thanks a ton. I'll give that a try and test it out. Would you say 77 C on 100% CPU usage is fine?

 

[Organized_Chaos]

yeah 77 is fine. mine gets up to about 80-85C max when running burn test. Ambient temps can make a huge difference by the way. They say the thermal threshold is 100C for Bloomfield so in theory as long as your below that you're ok, but you wouldn't want it running at that temp 24/7. Most people consider 80-85C as about as hot as you want to get for load temps but keep in mind that you wont hit anything near that in day to day use unless you're doing encoding, rendering, or something else very cpu intensive.

 

[RomieYO]

yeah 77 is fine. mine gets up to about 80-85C max when running burn test. Ambient temps can make a huge difference by the way. They say the thermal threshold is 100C for Bloomfield so in theory as long as your below that you're ok, but you wouldn't want it running at that temp 24/7. Most people consider 80-85C as about as hot as you want to get for load temps but keep in mind that you wont hit anything near that in day to day use unless you're doing encoding, rendering, or something else very cpu intensive.

I got it down to 70 max after I got the vcore down quite a bit and it's still stable during 100% CPU stressed testing. Thanks a ton friend.

 

[Organized_Chaos]

not a problem. If you want to be reasonably sure that it's stable no matter what you throw at it, go ahead and run burn test on Very High and with 8 threads enabled for around 30 or 40 passes.

 

[nedim1990]

Hey this is my exact motherboard + processor. Would you be able to assist me with some numbers aswell?

i7 930
Gigabyte-UD3R
3x 2gb PC3-12800 Mushkin Red 6-8-6-24 MFG Timings
GTX 460
SSD OCZ Vertex 2
500gb Seagate
Win7 64bit


I tried the settings you listed for him and my PC randomly shuts off. What would be more stable settings for my setup? I think it has to do with the voltage as to why my PC keeps shutting down but not certain.


Thanks so much for your help

 

[Organized_Chaos]

Was the overclock checked for stability? If it randomly shuts off despite seeming to be stable after a good long run on prime95 or intel burn test (on at least very high settings) then that would be really strange.

List your voltages for vcore, qpi/vtt, and dram

 

[nedim1990]

So I have just ordered http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Hyper-Sleeve-RR-B10-212P-G1/dp/B002G1YPH0 to get rid of the intel heatsink.

Also have Antec900 so airflow is good.

My timings are as follows:

BCLK 133.28 MHz
QPI Frequency 4798.33 MHz (36x)
Uncore Frequency 21232.75 MHz (16x)
Memory Frequency 1066.29 MHz (8x)
CPU Frequency 133 x 21 2.8
Channel A 8 8 8 20 4 19 60 1 -- Whats the deal with these my mfg timings are 6-8-6-24
Channel B 8 8 8 20 4 19 60 1

Current Vcore - 1.14375V set to auto at the moment
QPI/VTT Voltage - 1.200V set to auto at the moment
dram voltage - 1.5V set to auto at the moment

Thanks so much for your quick reply. I am on mumble / vent if you can talk

Also I installed all the benchmarks however when I just take multiplier from 21 to 22 my chip reaches 81degress C on intelburner benchmark which is really hot. So i want to know what I can do now to Overclock before the new heatsink comes in. Or if there isn't anything , what would be the optimal settings for that new setup including the corsair heatsink.


Thanks so much for your help!!!!! Cant thank you enough

 

[nedim1990]

ALso was thinking about buying the arctic silver 5 or some aftermarket paste what should I buy? Or is the one that comes with the heatsink ok for paste.

 

[Organized_Chaos]

Not much time now. About to go into work. As for the ones that come with the heatsink, it varies from manufacturer to manufacturer. I've always used arctic silver 5 and it's been pretty good.

The memory timings 6-8-6-24 refer to the first 4 timings (8-8-8-20)

The reason you're running so hot is the stock heatsink. It is highly recommended to not overclock without aftermarket cooling of some kind. I would wait until you get your cpu cooler installed and then come back to this problem, assuming the computer works fine when you have all the settings on Auto.

Also I'm relatively positive the 22x multiplier is only accessible by Turbo Mode. I once tried to push mine a little further with 22x but the motherboard would just change it to 21x before I would get loaded into windows.

Familiarize yourself with this article as well.

 

[nedim1990]

Ok so I have installed the H212 Plus Corsair cooler. Now I am ready to over clock.

What would be some good initial settings ? The guide I have read keeps referring to a VID but on I7s there isn't a software to tell you what your VID is for that make.

Anyways,

Where should I begin?

THanks so much

 

[Organized_Chaos]

VID usually just refers to the stock cpu voltage (vcore), but cpu's, even of the same type, don't always have exactly the same VID. I believe your bios will list the stock voltage out beside the vcore setting - it's probably in the area of 1.18v - 1.25v. As far as where to begin, the article I linked to above is a step-by-step guide that will be much more comprehensive (even just skimming it) than me trying to explain everything.

My settings are currently
bclock - 191
multi - x21
uncore - x18
mem multi - x8 (191 x 8 = 1528. This means I have to run my memory slightly slower than the stock 1600 speed due to how the math works out after the increase in bclock)
vcore - 1.2875
LLC (load line calibration) - level 1
Dram voltage - 1.5v (Since I run really close to stock speed i just use the stock ram voltage which should be printed on each stick)
qpi/vtt - i think mine is at 1.295 or something around there

Also, should you ever check your settings after boot-up with CPU-Z, remember that memory at DDR3 1600 speed, for instance, will only show as 800MHz because the value must be doubled. (DDR = dual data rate)

 

[nedim1990]

Not exactly sure why.. But these settings wont allow me to boot in. My screen goes black and then it says due to overclocking we had to revert back. What would be holding me back? I have literally your same board and processor what else could be causing this?

 

[nedim1990]

I guess I don't klnow what settings would be a good start for me? None of them allow me to boot in

 

[Organized_Chaos]

Again, a good place to start is here since it's really the only way to know which direction to go with some of these settings, and because it pretty much tells you everything you need to do in order to find your max stable overclock. My settings will not necessarily work for you despite similar configs.

A few things to try -

Turn off power saving settings in BIOS. They are specifically listed in the overclocking guide.

Change performance enhance in the BIOS from Turbo (the default i think) to Standard and see if that helps.

Also, are your memory settings correct? Be sure to manually input the 4 main timings and the command rate (6-8-6-24 with a command rate of 1) and voltage specified by the manufacturer, though you can leave any of the other mem timings on Auto. I assume you made sure to use the voltage for your memory and not mine. Yours appears to need 1.65v whereas mine only needs 1.5v.

Set QPI ratio to x36

CPU's and motherboards are not always made equal. Yours could take more or less voltage than mine either on the qpi/vtt or vcore or both.

Or your CPU may just not hit 4Ghz. Its a little early to make that judgement, though. Lots of factors here.

 

[nedim1990]

Ok once again my board just turns on screen stays black and it resets itself. Is there not a way for me to see the crash live before it restarts?

Also my mem seems to need 1.65 but my BIOS doesnt have that exact voltage option so I go 1.64 ... I have updated to the latest flash aswell.