need help overclocking my xeon w3690

[kaitlin4599]

ok so i have a gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R with 16gb ddr3 ram and a xeon w3690 hex core. the cpu has an unlocked multiplier which is why i bought it. cooling my cpu is this AIO http://www.coolermaster.com/cooling/cpu-liquid-cooler/masterliquid-lite-240/

alongside 3 120mm fans that produce a 3.33 mmh20 static preassure

my questions are these

#1 whats the highest safe voltage for my cpu that i can go i dont wanna over volt my cpu nor do i wanna push the voltage to high
#2 when monitoring the temps while stress testing with prime95 whats the max safe temp for this cpu? i.e. if the cpu get to this temps then its to high to be a safe temp
#3 how high can i push this cpu id love to achieve 4.5-4.9 but 4.0-4.5 is ok
#4 how many hours should i test under prime95 to ensure stable sysem also what test setting in prime95 should i use

lastly i will be adjusting the multi instead of the BLK seeing as how this cpu is unlocked, below is the link to my mobo


https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/GA-X58A-UD3R-rev-20#ov

not a noob just figured id ask the pros before i overclock as its been a long while since my last overclock during the socket 775 days

 

[EarthDog]

1/2.....Many questions are covered in our overclocking guide... https://www.overclockers.com/3-step-guide-overclock-core-i3-i5-i7/

3.....You wont come close to 5ghz. 4.5 ish seems right for that cpu.

4.... that depends. How long did you run it in past systems where it worked for you? That time shouldn't change, really. If you tested for 4 hours using small fft and it worked for you, no reason for more. As far as which tests, again in your past, you overclocked before and used which tests? Small fft focuses on the card cpu, blend focuses in the memory. This is typically what is run.

 

[PolRoger]

16gb ddr3 dram... Are you running 4x4GB sticks in your triple channel motherboard? That might be kind of weird for dialing in an overclock. I would run/test with just 3 matching sticks (triple channel) and make sure everything is running with solid stability before adding an odd 4th stick.

I would think you'd want to be looking to run in the 4.0Ghz-4.5Ghz range for daily usage with vcore ~1.3v to 1.35v (load). I'd also run with vcore higher... up towards ~1.4v to 1.45v range but more as just (short term) overclock/testing and benchmarking.



***EDIT***

Just to give you an idea... Here is picture of my similar era setup. This overclock was just for testing on this particular dram kit and the AIDA memory benchmark. It is not the settings or voltages that I'd use for daily running and this overclock was not tested for stability. (Open air bench):




Here is a sample overclock (settings/voltages) that I'd be fine with for running daily usage:

 

[Mr.Scott]

My daily on just a 212 Evo.
Have a X5660, just haven't got around to putting it in.

 

[UltraTaco]

Dear Sir Scott, how much vtt you ditto make her run at 3.8 uncles?

 

[Mr.Scott]

lol
It's on auto. I've never checked the actual.
Only things I've done is manual vcore, manual LLC, and shut off turbo.
Ram is manual timings, and speed bump. It's only 1333 ram.

 

[UltraTaco]

Ogo!!! Its probably something like 1.8 volts then oye!

well, as long as it works, who cares, right?

 

[Mr.Scott]

I doubt it's that high.
I've never had a problem with it.

 

[kaitlin4599]

1/2.....Many questions are covered in our overclocking guide... https://www.overclockers.com/3-step-guide-overclock-core-i3-i5-i7/

3.....You wont come close to 5ghz. 4.5 ish seems right for that cpu.

4.... that depends. How long did you run it in past systems where it worked for you? That time shouldn't change, really. If you tested for 4 hours using small fft and it worked for you, no reason for more. As far as which tests, again in your past, you overclocked before and used which tests? Small fft focuses on the card cpu, blend focuses in the memory. This is typically what is run.

are these temps ok? i ran prime 95 blend test for over 18 hours no errors? can i push my OC higher right now im at 4Ghz but im worried about temps

 

[UltraTaco]

Probably not good idea to go over 90°..

 

[Mr.Scott]

Your temps are fine. You can try for a higher OC.
Once you're over 4 gig, most of the time it'll take a healthy vcore bump to go higher. Watch temps and test.

 

[EarthDog]

are these temps ok? i ran prime 95 blend test for over 18 hours no errors? can i push my OC higher right now im at 4Ghz but im worried about temps

Temps are fine (also noted in the guide ).

Push on!

 

[kaitlin4599]

Temps are fine (also noted in the guide ).

Push on!

what would be the max safe temp at full load i.e. if i reach this temp at full load its the max safe temp

 

[EarthDog]

IIRC, 72C or something.

Read the guide I linked. It's in there!

 

[kaitlin4599]

1/2.....Many questions are covered in our overclocking guide... https://www.overclockers.com/3-step-guide-overclock-core-i3-i5-i7/

3.....You wont come close to 5ghz. 4.5 ish seems right for that cpu.

4.... that depends. How long did you run it in past systems where it worked for you? That time shouldn't change, really. If you tested for 4 hours using small fft and it worked for you, no reason for more. As far as which tests, again in your past, you overclocked before and used which tests? Small fft focuses on the card cpu, blend focuses in the memory. This is typically what is run.

ok update so i can boot at 1.267XXX volts multi is at X30 blk is at 133 and i can boot and i ran prime95 for 8 hours on blent test no issue if i raise the multi past X30 regardless of the volts used it either refuses to boot or blue screens at win 7 startup so looks like X30 is my limit any ideas im rather new to this stuff never messed with blk pll and QPI before and i have read a vew guides and im still lost

 

[UltraTaco]

That looks decent, 3.99ghz.

You could try dropping multiplier and instead raising baseclock frequency from default 133 to something higher and that *might* work, or it.might not. One thing to watch out for is baseclock is tied to qpi, ram and uncore frequencies, therefore those will rise as well. Might need to drop those multia a notch to keep them similar as before.

 

[kaitlin4599]

That looks decent, 3.99ghz.

You could try dropping multiplier and instead raising baseclock frequency from default 133 to something higher and that *might* work, or it.might not. One thing to watch out for is baseclock is tied to qpi, ram and uncore frequencies, therefore those will rise as well. Might need to drop those multia a notch to keep them similar as before.

thanks taco i will drop multi and up blk and see if stable