Just installed my H50 p/p -- easy settings for OCing i7 930 to 3.6GHz?

[Kabigon]

My system:
i7 930
ASUS P6T SE
Corsair H50 with 2x GT AP-15 for push/pull
Antec 900 (semi-modded)
G.SKILL 2x3GB (6GB) RAM (rated at 1.5V DDR3-1600)

Hey guys, I just finished setting up my first aftermarket cooler system: H50 with it's 2x AP-15 push/pull fans. I need some help on how to OC my i7 930 since I haven't truly OC'ed in a proper way, ever.

Anyhow, I ran Prime95 (Large FFT test) and tested for 20 minutes on my i7 930 running at stock 2.8 GHz. Everything passed. Using CPU-Z, at 100% load my CPU read 1.240V. My 6GB RAM was also running at its non-OC'ed DDR3-1066. My temperature readings using Core Temp after 15 minutes of 100% load were: 57, 54, 57, 53 for each of the cores.

All settings in BIOS are currently at default in terms of clocks/timing/etc.

I am trying to reach a 3.6 GHz (maybe 3.8 GHz later) overclock as well as OC my RAM to its rated DDR3-1600 speed. My questions are as follows:

1) How should I approach this? What settings would I need to change/mess around with to get a 3.6 GHz O/C (is there an easy way or some basic settings I should try)? Do you think with my current temps, this is doable?

2) How do I go about finding the right voltage? I think mine is auto right now at stock... Any settings you guys can list for me to try right now? I have read some guides, but I was hoping for something to try real quick, and then work my way from there.

3) Am I still able to have HT or the SpeedStep enabled? I like my system right now where if I am idling...the clocks will slow down to a slower speed. Slower speed = low idle temperatures (although idle means nothing). But I also would like it to be able to get up to 3.6-3.8GHz when I am pushing it/playing games/when it needs to be. Is this still possible with an OC? Not sure if an overclock would turn these things off and force my CPU to run at its max speed all the time.

4) Browsing over the G.SKILL forums, if I wanted to OC my RAM to its rated DDR3-1600 @ 1.5V, all I would have to do is set it to the "XMP-1600" profile in its BIOS. Or I could manually set as well. Is this the best option as well? Does OC'ing my processor automatically OC the RAM too? Or would I have to set it to that XMP profile?

Thank you!

 

[Janus67]

http://www.techreaction.net/2010/09/07/3-step-overclocking-guide-bloomfield-and-gulftown/

Give that guide a shot. It will help you get to 3.6 and farther.

The H50 shouldn't have any trouble getting you to 3.6 and most likely to 4.0 with no issues at all.

 

[Kabigon]

Alright. Thank you! Browsing more of the threads here while reading the aforementioned helpful links, I decided to test some overclocks.

Here is what I see from my current BIOS selections:

AI Tweaker section of the BIOS:
Ai Overclock Tuner [Manual]
CPU Ratio Setting [21.0]
Intel(R) SpeedStep(TM) Tech [Disabled]
BCLK Frequency [172]
PCIE Frequency [100]
DRAM Frequency [DDR3-1379MHz]
UCLK Frequency [Auto]
QPI Link Data Rate [Auto]

DRAM Timing Control (haven’t messed with this since they’re on auto)

CPU Voltage [1.20000]
CPU PLL Voltage [Auto]
QPI/DRAM Core Voltage [Auto]
IOH Voltage [Auto]
IOH PCIE Voltage [Auto]
ICH Voltage [Auto]
ICH PCIE Voltage [Auto]
DRAM DATA REF/CTRL Voltage on CHA/CHB/CHC [All are on Auto]

Load-Line Calibration [Enabled]
CPU Differential Amplitude [800mV]
CPU Clock Skew [Auto]
CPU Spread Spectrum [Disabled]
IOH Clock Skew [Auto]
PCIE Spread Spectrum [Disabled]

Advanced section of the BIOS:
C1E Support [Disabled]
CPU TM Function [Disabled]
Everything Else is Default/Enabled (HT is on!)

Nevertheless, I have bumped up my vCore to 1.20V, and it seems Prime95 is stable for at least 1 hour. Core Temp is reporting 60, 57, 59, 56 as my core temps @ 100% load after 30 minutes. My settings for the QPI/DRAM Core Voltage is still on [Auto] (as listed above). I will test my memory and rule out my CPU stability with Memtest & Intel Burn Test. My questions are as follows:

1) If they prove to be OK, should I continue to lower my vCore for lower heat usage until I find one that is 100% stable? Any other settings or timings I should try? I am kind of lost at this point in terms of what else I could focus on to truly find the most optimized OC for my system. Please advise.

2) After my OC is complete, am I still able to turn on SpeedStep? I really like to have low idle temps when my computer does not need to perform at its max. I am quite used to it at stock, but I was not sure when OC'ing, does SpeedStep or the other throttling settings (e.g., C1E, CPU TM) mess up the OC or cause problems with stability.

Thank you!

 

[LennyRhys]

Looks like you're making good progress. To answer your two questions:

1) Lowering voltage should be the last thing you do, once you have reached the frequency that you are happy with. If you want to shoot for 4GHz, I suggest working your way up to 191x21 and when you have that stable, then you can think about lowering voltages. I lowered my 4GHz voltage from 1.33v to 1.296v with a fair bit of tweaking...but my 920 isn't a particularly good one; yours might do 4GHz at the 1.25v mark.

2) Some people enable speedstep, some dont; it's entirely up to you. I don't enable speedstep because the whole point of overclocking my system was to make it faster...ALL the time. Frankly I think speedstep is just a silly gimmick anyways, but to each his own.

 

[Kabigon]

Ah, that makes sense. Thanks for the reply.

I also noticed that when the vCore is lowered, say to 1.15vcore, and if I change the "QPI/DRAM Core Voltage" to anything besides [Auto], the stability tests will fail (and my PC will BSOD/reboot) after 5 minutes or so.

Does anyone know this would be the case? Would it be best if I try to manually set those settings? Does [Auto] indicate that the PC is actually overvolting or overcompensating it, thus I never seem to crash with a low vCore & that setting on auto as opposed to NOT on auto?

 

[LennyRhys]

You should try (where possible) NOT to use auto voltages when overclocking, because the system can overcompensate and can actually damage your hardware. The only reason your system fails if you set QPI manually is that you are setting it too low (or not to a specific/balanced value).

QPI voltage is key to stabilizing your system because it affects memory and base clock stability; if QPI voltage is too low, it won't matter whether or not the CPU or memory have enough voltage. Incidentally, the QPI voltage requirement depends on the specific CPU... some guys can run the same clocks as me but with much lower voltages than I do but that's just because my CPU isn't a great one. If I could get a 920 that did 5GHz on air, I'd snap it up in a heartbeat and get some more HWbot points

To get 191x21 stable with RAM at 1531MHz, I have to use the following BIOS values:

CPU: 1.3v
QPI: 1.375v (any lower, BSOD)

If I change the memory to 1910MHz (I have a 2000MHz kit) I have to increase QPI to at least 1.425v, because of the added strain on the memory controller.