MSI Z77A-GD65 with i7-2600k not OC'ing

[arnoldus]

Hi,

I formerly had an Asus P8P67 with a 2600k, but they both broke while in warranty.
As part of the warranty settlement I got a MSI Z77A-GD65, and a new 2600k.
My cooler is the Scythe Mugen 2.

I installed them yesterday and tried an OC, but I get strange symptoms.

With the multiplier set to anything above 36 (now 43), the clock speed just jumps around.

Whether EIST is enabled or disabled, when I start Prime95 or LinX, for 2-3 seconds it jumps to 4.3Ghz, and then jumps between 3.8-3.9-3.7Ghz.

I tested with all power saving features off, to no avail.
All voltages are set to automatic.

Temperatures are normal. After several hours at 3.8Ghz on LinX, it doesn't go over 72°C.

Is it 3.8 the max of this particular cpu, or am I overlooking something?

 

[arnoldus]

I solved one problem, and got a new one!

It seems that the MSI Control Center / Click BIOS are the culprits.
When I change something in the BIOS, and then start Control Center and Click BIOS in Windows, the BIOS settings are not the same anymore.
There is some incompatibility with the programs and the BIOS (The programs are the latest version, BIOS is A.60).

So, I did not use the programs anymore and did everything in the BIOS. Then I could get the clockrate to stay like I wanted. I also enabled all downclocking and powersaving settings again (EIST, C-states, C1E, etc).

I also spotted that the fan on the Mugen heatsink was not plugged in. As soon as I plugged it in, temps never went over 62°C.

But, bad surprise! After 5 minutes on 4.1Ghz (41x 100) with Prime95, I get a bluescreen!
I'm now on 4.0Ghz, and it seems to be stable there.

It seems to me that 4.1Ghz is unlikely to be the real limit of this chip, the majority of 2600k's get 4.3Ghz on air with no problems.

Next step: disable all powersaving features again and see if that makes it more stable.

edit: after 1 hour on 4.0Ghz with no troubles on Prime95, I open up OCCT, and within 2 minutes: Bluescreen!
I think something is wrong with my settings, it can not be that I have the worst of the worst performing 2600k's in existence.

 

[EarthDog]

What voltage have you tried? Can you list it? Did you read the 4.5ghz overclocking guide in the Intel section?

 

[arnoldus]

Yes I've read the section, and I think I'm familiar enough to understand the basics of what is going on.

I tried a Turbo OC: everything set to auto, except the individual core multipliers set to x41. I also put Vdroop compensation to +87.5%, and disabled C-states, C1E, and all power saving measures.
This crashed within seconds of starting Prime95 (it's apparently more stable with Vdroop to auto).

I tried a manual OC: multiplier set to x41, all powersavings and downclocks disabled, Vdroop to +87.5%. Also crashes the system within seconds of starting Prime95.

Vcore is on auto, and is 1.136V-1.144V (CPU-Z)
VID is 1.3511V (RealTemp)

edit: I can see in my old logs that my old 2600k got
1.288V @ 4.4Ghz
1.366V @ 4.8Ghz
Probably the automatic voltage system on this MSI board is not as idiot-proof as the Asus one.

 

[EarthDog]

You shouldnt be overclocking on auto in the first place.... and normally, on all boards I have used/seen/heard of, it OVER compensates.

 

[redduc900]

Make sure Turbo mode is disabled, adjust the Vcore to 1.15-1.20V at a 41 BCLK, and adjust Vdroop offset to 0%. And the 1.35V VID in Real Temp doesn't apply to Sandy Bridge, and can be disregarded.

 

[WaTaGuMp]

I played around with both the control center and click bios, really found them useless.