How to Overclock Intel xeon x5680 on ASUS P6T Deluxe v1

[MuHcOw]

Happy new year everyone

Well - I FINALLY found the time to start working on those two x5690's.
Gonna start this weekend.

BTW - My x5680 has been running FANTASTIC at 4.4GHz - Never had a BSOD or equivalent.

 

[freeagent]

Givverballhair

 

[MuHcOw]

I have NO idea about what that actually means

But I'll take it as a pat on the back

Thanks!!

 

[MuHcOw]

Think I'm doing this all wrong !!!

Okay, I wanna isolate my Max BCLK.
In order to do that I have done the following:

CPU Ratio: x12 (lowest)
SpeedStep: Disabled
PCIE Freq.: 100 (lowest)
DRAM Freq.: Changes when I change BCLK, but I have always chosen the lowest setting.
UCLK: Also lowest setting
QPI Link Data Rate: Lowest setting
DRAM Timings: Auto
VCore: Auto
CPU PLL: Auto
QPI/DRAM Core Voltage: 1.37500V
CPU and PCIE Spread Spectrum: Disabled
C1E Support: Disabled
Virtualization Tech: Disabled
CPU TM Function: Enabled
HT Tech: Enabled
C-State Tech: Disabled

BCLK 216 managed to run 2 hours worth of small FFTs (Prime95) before I ended the test. No issues in Windows or with Prime95.
But later, after a reboot, when I entered BIOS in order to try out BCLK 217 my PC froze before I modified any settings...

So I don't think 216 is stable after all.

I have now begun testing BCLK 216 using a QPI/DRAM Core Voltage of 1.4V

I'm sure I'm doing this the wrong way around - It just seemed like a good idea to start high with QPI/DRAM Core Voltage in order to see how high I could go with BCLK.

Did I put it dangerously high and therefore manage to F### everything up??

[EDIT]

CPU: x5690
MB: ASUS P6T Deluxe v1

If possible, I would like to end up at 4.6GHz - Not sure it will be possible without exceeding 1.4 VCore

 

[MuHcOw]

With the above I just got myself a "Machine_Check_Exception" BSOD

Have now lowered BCLK to 214 @ 1.3875V QPI/DRAM Core Voltage - Running Prime95 (small FFTs). Think QPI/DRAM @ 1.4V was too high (could be wrong about this)

 

[freeagent]

Sounds your done isolating the bclk. 1.4 is ok for QPI.

Prime95 is a waste of time, run Linpack Xtreme, you can find it at TPU.

 

[dejo]

as bclk goes up you often at some point have to add to the pci freq (that 100.0 will need to go up). I have a ton of the asus boards and most of them stopped around 216/217 while not in slow mode. My 1 board that would go into the high 250's needed pci freq up around 107. sata drives wont like that, but ssd dont seem to mind as much

 

[MuHcOw]

@freeagent Downloading right now..

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@dejo So you think I should keep QPI/DRAM Core Voltage at 1.4V, increase PCI freq. a nudge or two and try for higher BCLK???

I have all my disks (except my PCIe NvME drive) hooked up to a PCIe SAS Controller.. One SAS SSD and two regular spinning SATA disks.

 

[dejo]

yes, I would just move pci freq to 103/104 and see if you can gain any bclk.

 

[MuHcOw]

Tried BCLK 217 / PCIe freq. 103 - Wouldn't boot..

Then I tried BLCK 217 / PCIe freq. 105 - It booted..

I'm just gonna run a little Prime95 and then try with Linpack Xtreme later tonight.

Could be fun if this actually works

 

[dejo]

pci freq will go up quick with bclk now, if it goes up more. It should be noted that if you get too far on pci freq, you can corrupt windows and maybe even bios. but that board should allow you to flash a corrupt bios from usb- there are some pretty specific steps to take to do it though

 

[MuHcOw]

Fun lasted for 30 minutes - Then BSOD.. So much that my router dropped out...

Think I'm gonna try from 101 and work my way up in order to see if I can get BCLK 217 running.
How high is "too high" when talking about PCIe freq.??

True, I can flash BIOS from USB if all goes wrong - But I'd rather not have to go that far (well, I guess most people wouldn't want to go that far).

 

[dejo]

at 220 bclk I wouldnt expent to need more than 104 or 5. I would expect no issues till around 107 or higher

 

[MuHcOw]

Okay - PCIe freq. 101 to 104 = No boot
105 did boot but gave me BSOD after 30 minutes of Prime95
106 = No boot

QPI/DRAM Core Voltage still at 1.4V
BCLK at 217

Do I dare up PCIe freq. to 107??

 

[Mr.Scott]

I wouldn't bother. You are at the normal X58 bclk wall. Anyplace between 215 and 225 is about normal. Better board = a little higher

Unless you're a bencher, 200 will be your sweet spot.

 

[MuHcOw]

Not a bencher !!
214 has been running stable - Didn't crash when testing with Linpack Xtreme.

Would my next step be to increase my multiplier (x12 right now) AND set VCore to something else than "Auto"??


[EDIT] - Made a spreadsheet... Don't know how useful it is

 

[dejo]

I need to power up my asus rampage extreme II and see where bclk stops there. been a bit since its been powered and leaned on

 

[freeagent]

Nice man, looks like your gonna be ok

As for vcore, give it as much as you can until you cant cool it anymore. I'm ok with 1.6v, but you might not be..

 

[dejo]

the qpi/dram voltage, if I remember correctly- needs to stay within .5 of your dram voltage

 

[MuHcOw]

Are we talking "DRAM Bus Voltage" here? - Minimum is 1.5V on my board....
That would put my QPI/DRAM Core Voltage in the range of 1.1V and 1.9V.... (If I keep my RAM at 1.5V)

Funny enough - In the "description field" on the right side of the screen, it says: QPI/DRAM Core Voltage: Minimum 1.2V, Maximum 1.9V

You guys want me to up the QPI/DRAM Core Voltage???

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I'm ok with 1.6v

1.6V !!

Is that nitrogen cooling...
I think that amount of voltage will fry my CPU rather quick.

I could be wrong though!

I'm having "personal issues" going past 1.4V VCore