So this thread it to help a lot of people who make be having trouble with Ga-p45 boards and their wonky methods of keeping track of mch refs and cpu refs.
The problem:
The problem with these boards is two fold
1)the mch ref value and cpu ref values input in the motherboard don't correspond to what easy tune reads
2) the mch ref value and the cpu ref values input in the mother board change automatically with cpu vtt adjustments, even if they are manually entered.
This can be very annoying, especially for record keeping. If you are record keeping in easy tune, the records you keep are usually screenshots which don't show the bios setting that has been manually entered. If you are keeping records of bios settings by hand, they are automatically changing everytime you do any sort of adjustment to the cpu vtt. As we all know, when it comes to cpu refs and mch refs, very very slight differences in voltage is what determines on and off and stability and instability.
This lack of correspondence seems to only occur with mch ref and cpu ref. All the other easy tune settings/readings are exactly as they are in the bios.
Everything I've found over the last week, with the help of some super overclockers, culminates in this statement:
Easytune is always right. Always.
If you found some setting in easytune that ran prime for 8 hours, then went into the bios, punched them in and found it couldn't run prime for 10 mins without a crash, the issue wasn't that easytune gave you a false run or improper run or didn't set the overclock the same way manually entering it in the bios would. The issue is that you didn't properly translate your easy tune readings for your cpu mch ref and your cpu ref into the bios. Honesly, once you learn how to translate those two values, you can achieve your maximal overclock in 24 hours or less with easytune (because once you get even close to stability you suddenly have to no longer restart, bootup, and can stay in windows as you do those final tweaks for 100 percent stability etc)
So what exactly is the bios doing?
I'm not a technical expert on the formula for cpu ref or mch ref values, but such technicality isn't needed for understanding how to finally get that stability you needed via easy tune. All you have to understand is that the cpu ref values and mch ref values that you are ALLOWED (key word is allowed) to enter at any given time are wholly dependent on the current cpu vtt value. What do I mean?
Take cpu ref for example (though the exact same thing is happening to mch ref at the same time)
At a cpu vtt of 1.2, you may be allowed to manually enter cpu ref values of
0.61, 0.67, 0.73, 0.81, and 0.84 as the first 5 choices (you get many more of course, but just trying to prove a point)
Increasing the cpu vtt to 1.3 changes what you now ALLOWED to enter for your first five. You might get
0.72, 0.78, 0.86, 0.91, 0.99 as the first five choices. As you can see not one of the choices matches up; some are close 0.73 in one and 0.72 in another but still not one matches up.
This is completely different from a value like cpu vcore. Changing cpu vcore, doesn't manipulate the possible values for any other setting. Changing cpu vtt manipulates what you are allowed to enter for cpu mch and cpu ref.
Whats more, if you manually have entered a cpu ref value, and then change your cpu vtt in any way, that pre-entered cpu ref value will change to something else without you doing anything; this will happen in the bios, right before your very eyes, as soon as you hit enter on the cpu vtt change. You can imagine how this is a pain on record keeping, seemingly watching your cpu ref fluctuate by +- 0.2 sometimes without you lifting a finger.
So what should you do: Use easy tune. Plain and simple.
Lets go back to the previous example of whats going on with changing cpu vtts.
At a cpu vtt of 1.2, you may be allowed to manually enter cpu ref values of 0.61, 0.67, 0.73, 0.81, and 0.84 as the first 5 choices. Lets say you chose to manually enter 0.81, started windows, opened easy tune and checked out the easy tune reading for cpu ref. Easy tune reads 0.7 for cpu ref.
Then you decided to increase the cpu vtt to 1.3, changing nothing else. Of course, the bios autoadjusts the cpu ref since the value you previously had entered is no longer an option in the new set of allowed values. As soon as you hit enter on the cpu vtt change, you see your cpu ref value change without you even doing anything. Still, you decide to load windows, open easy tune, and check out the easy tune reading. Lo and behold what does easy tune read for cpu ref?
Still 0.7
What happened here? You altered the cpu vtt. This changes the set of allowed values for cpu ref. However you did not alter the cpu ref; instead the bios did automatically. Apparently what it did was pick the cpu ref value in the new set for the new cpu vtt that corresponds to the cpu ref value of the old set (determined by the previous vtt). So whilst superfically the numbers are different, the correspondence in easy tune is the same (both read 0.7).
Is the correspondence between sets linear as in value 1 in set A: value 1 in set B? I don't think so. I've looked at values and it doesn't appear to be. All I know is that if I manually enter a cpu ref first, and adjust the cpu vtt second and only cpu vtt, the board will autoadjust the cpu ref value shown in the bios as I jump between cpu vtt values, keeping my cpu refs as checked by easy tune the same overall. In a way you can say that easy tune's reading for cpu ref and mch ref is the real indicator of changes for mch ref and cpu ref.
So what's the point?
Anyway, getting to the heart and meat of things, in short overclocking is super easy with easy tune on these boards once you know how to translate easy tune settings and bios settings for mch ref and cpu ref.
Why do we need to translate?
Easytune, whilst it lets you overclock in windows, doesn't save anything to your bios, meaning once you've found a setting you like, you have to manually enter it in the bios yourself to make it permanent. Vcore, mch ref, cpu pll are all straightforward. Changing them doesnt cause any sort of autoadjustment anywhere. Its a direct translation. Cpu ref and cpu mch however is a bit trickier.
Start by manually entering a cpu vtt, a cpu ref, and an mch ref value into the bios that works and lets you boot into windows. Then note what easy tune reads for cpu ref and mch ref. Now understand, as long as you don't manually change the cpu ref and the mch ref in the bios, regardless of whatever changes you make in the bios to cpu vtt, the bios will autoadjust the cpu ref and mch ref to stay the same (as confirmed by easy tune), despite the illusion of change it shows you by tweaking the numbers.
So start by manually entering a cpu vtt, a cpu ref, and an mch ref and then checking what easy tune reads for mch ref and cpu ref for those manually entered values. Then, overclock as normal using easytune.
The key to translating easytune mch refs and cpu refs is that for every degradation/step you increase one of those values in easy tune is the same number of values/steps/degradations you need to increase in the bios to match. (Remember easy tune is real. The bios setting is autoadjusted in order to stay the same, so whilst an increase in mch ref for easytune is indeed a real increase, an autoadjusted increase in the bios isn't increase at all. To actually gain an increase in the bios, you have to take the autoadjusted setting, and then increase it). To explain for dummies, if you hit the forward arrow for cpu ref 3 times to increase it 3 steps, find you like the setting, when you want to save that same change in the bios, increase whatever current setting for cpu ref is there by 3 steps (or pick the value 3 values higher).
So why is this better than overclocking purely with the bios?
1)you can adjust cpu vtt in easy tune, whilst keeping your eye on the real value at all times. There is no autoadjustment to fool you.
2)you won't have to restart and bootup as much.
3)you can perform minor tweaks independently quickly to see what direction with any voltage you need to go. Great for getting that final little bit of stability you need.
4)record keeping is a breeze and is far far more accurate to keep track of cpu ref as stated by easy tune which are actual as opposed to the continually adjusted value the bios is throwing at you.
Hope this helps someone. All I know is I struggled for months with people telling me my chip couldn't do 4.0 ghz, talk more of 4.1. Then a guy makes a post about how he achieved 5ghz+ using only easytune and ignoring his bios cpu ref and mch ref entirely until the end and I figured he was onto to something. Now you can guess at what speed my rig completed an 8 hour prime run at the lowest temps ever before I chose to shut it down (keyword is chose) and it didn't take me very long to get it done either
The problem:
The problem with these boards is two fold
1)the mch ref value and cpu ref values input in the motherboard don't correspond to what easy tune reads
2) the mch ref value and the cpu ref values input in the mother board change automatically with cpu vtt adjustments, even if they are manually entered.
This can be very annoying, especially for record keeping. If you are record keeping in easy tune, the records you keep are usually screenshots which don't show the bios setting that has been manually entered. If you are keeping records of bios settings by hand, they are automatically changing everytime you do any sort of adjustment to the cpu vtt. As we all know, when it comes to cpu refs and mch refs, very very slight differences in voltage is what determines on and off and stability and instability.
This lack of correspondence seems to only occur with mch ref and cpu ref. All the other easy tune settings/readings are exactly as they are in the bios.
Everything I've found over the last week, with the help of some super overclockers, culminates in this statement:
Easytune is always right. Always.
If you found some setting in easytune that ran prime for 8 hours, then went into the bios, punched them in and found it couldn't run prime for 10 mins without a crash, the issue wasn't that easytune gave you a false run or improper run or didn't set the overclock the same way manually entering it in the bios would. The issue is that you didn't properly translate your easy tune readings for your cpu mch ref and your cpu ref into the bios. Honesly, once you learn how to translate those two values, you can achieve your maximal overclock in 24 hours or less with easytune (because once you get even close to stability you suddenly have to no longer restart, bootup, and can stay in windows as you do those final tweaks for 100 percent stability etc)
So what exactly is the bios doing?
I'm not a technical expert on the formula for cpu ref or mch ref values, but such technicality isn't needed for understanding how to finally get that stability you needed via easy tune. All you have to understand is that the cpu ref values and mch ref values that you are ALLOWED (key word is allowed) to enter at any given time are wholly dependent on the current cpu vtt value. What do I mean?
Take cpu ref for example (though the exact same thing is happening to mch ref at the same time)
At a cpu vtt of 1.2, you may be allowed to manually enter cpu ref values of
0.61, 0.67, 0.73, 0.81, and 0.84 as the first 5 choices (you get many more of course, but just trying to prove a point)
Increasing the cpu vtt to 1.3 changes what you now ALLOWED to enter for your first five. You might get
0.72, 0.78, 0.86, 0.91, 0.99 as the first five choices. As you can see not one of the choices matches up; some are close 0.73 in one and 0.72 in another but still not one matches up.
This is completely different from a value like cpu vcore. Changing cpu vcore, doesn't manipulate the possible values for any other setting. Changing cpu vtt manipulates what you are allowed to enter for cpu mch and cpu ref.
Whats more, if you manually have entered a cpu ref value, and then change your cpu vtt in any way, that pre-entered cpu ref value will change to something else without you doing anything; this will happen in the bios, right before your very eyes, as soon as you hit enter on the cpu vtt change. You can imagine how this is a pain on record keeping, seemingly watching your cpu ref fluctuate by +- 0.2 sometimes without you lifting a finger.
So what should you do: Use easy tune. Plain and simple.
Lets go back to the previous example of whats going on with changing cpu vtts.
At a cpu vtt of 1.2, you may be allowed to manually enter cpu ref values of 0.61, 0.67, 0.73, 0.81, and 0.84 as the first 5 choices. Lets say you chose to manually enter 0.81, started windows, opened easy tune and checked out the easy tune reading for cpu ref. Easy tune reads 0.7 for cpu ref.
Then you decided to increase the cpu vtt to 1.3, changing nothing else. Of course, the bios autoadjusts the cpu ref since the value you previously had entered is no longer an option in the new set of allowed values. As soon as you hit enter on the cpu vtt change, you see your cpu ref value change without you even doing anything. Still, you decide to load windows, open easy tune, and check out the easy tune reading. Lo and behold what does easy tune read for cpu ref?
Still 0.7
What happened here? You altered the cpu vtt. This changes the set of allowed values for cpu ref. However you did not alter the cpu ref; instead the bios did automatically. Apparently what it did was pick the cpu ref value in the new set for the new cpu vtt that corresponds to the cpu ref value of the old set (determined by the previous vtt). So whilst superfically the numbers are different, the correspondence in easy tune is the same (both read 0.7).
Is the correspondence between sets linear as in value 1 in set A: value 1 in set B? I don't think so. I've looked at values and it doesn't appear to be. All I know is that if I manually enter a cpu ref first, and adjust the cpu vtt second and only cpu vtt, the board will autoadjust the cpu ref value shown in the bios as I jump between cpu vtt values, keeping my cpu refs as checked by easy tune the same overall. In a way you can say that easy tune's reading for cpu ref and mch ref is the real indicator of changes for mch ref and cpu ref.
So what's the point?
Anyway, getting to the heart and meat of things, in short overclocking is super easy with easy tune on these boards once you know how to translate easy tune settings and bios settings for mch ref and cpu ref.
Why do we need to translate?
Easytune, whilst it lets you overclock in windows, doesn't save anything to your bios, meaning once you've found a setting you like, you have to manually enter it in the bios yourself to make it permanent. Vcore, mch ref, cpu pll are all straightforward. Changing them doesnt cause any sort of autoadjustment anywhere. Its a direct translation. Cpu ref and cpu mch however is a bit trickier.
Start by manually entering a cpu vtt, a cpu ref, and an mch ref value into the bios that works and lets you boot into windows. Then note what easy tune reads for cpu ref and mch ref. Now understand, as long as you don't manually change the cpu ref and the mch ref in the bios, regardless of whatever changes you make in the bios to cpu vtt, the bios will autoadjust the cpu ref and mch ref to stay the same (as confirmed by easy tune), despite the illusion of change it shows you by tweaking the numbers.
So start by manually entering a cpu vtt, a cpu ref, and an mch ref and then checking what easy tune reads for mch ref and cpu ref for those manually entered values. Then, overclock as normal using easytune.
The key to translating easytune mch refs and cpu refs is that for every degradation/step you increase one of those values in easy tune is the same number of values/steps/degradations you need to increase in the bios to match. (Remember easy tune is real. The bios setting is autoadjusted in order to stay the same, so whilst an increase in mch ref for easytune is indeed a real increase, an autoadjusted increase in the bios isn't increase at all. To actually gain an increase in the bios, you have to take the autoadjusted setting, and then increase it). To explain for dummies, if you hit the forward arrow for cpu ref 3 times to increase it 3 steps, find you like the setting, when you want to save that same change in the bios, increase whatever current setting for cpu ref is there by 3 steps (or pick the value 3 values higher).
So why is this better than overclocking purely with the bios?
1)you can adjust cpu vtt in easy tune, whilst keeping your eye on the real value at all times. There is no autoadjustment to fool you.
2)you won't have to restart and bootup as much.
3)you can perform minor tweaks independently quickly to see what direction with any voltage you need to go. Great for getting that final little bit of stability you need.
4)record keeping is a breeze and is far far more accurate to keep track of cpu ref as stated by easy tune which are actual as opposed to the continually adjusted value the bios is throwing at you.
Hope this helps someone. All I know is I struggled for months with people telling me my chip couldn't do 4.0 ghz, talk more of 4.1. Then a guy makes a post about how he achieved 5ghz+ using only easytune and ignoring his bios cpu ref and mch ref entirely until the end and I figured he was onto to something. Now you can guess at what speed my rig completed an 8 hour prime run at the lowest temps ever before I chose to shut it down (keyword is chose) and it didn't take me very long to get it done either
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