I7 920 oc voltages, issues, and excitement

[Tubesock700]

So, I ended up switching from AMD to Intel after 13 years of AMD. I picked up an i7 920 (D0), and an Intel DX58SO.

First of all some questions for ones who know:
1. I have read not to increase your i7 920 over 1.25v, why? My Phenom 9950 was at 1.47v for 3-4 months and no issues.
2. I cannot find anywhere what a safe "Uncore" voltage is. Currently mine is at 1.30v
3. I also read not to surpass 1.65v on the DRAM, but mine is at 1.66 (XMP Profile 1600mhz)
4. Is having the "Turbo Boost" option enabled a bad idea when overclocking?

I have one issue that concerns me:
After overclocking I ran 3dmark06. During the graphics tests, the playback acts as if it skips every few seconds; even at 80fps or more. It plays smooth, but skips ahead like 10 frames every few seconds. I have the Sapphire Radeon HD4870 512mb card. This was all at 4ghz (200*20.) I thought it was my OC, so I turned it down to 3.6ghz and it still did it, but at a more frequent rate. I went down to 3.0ghz and it did it even more frequent. Here is a pic of my settings:

My cpu is at 1.275v in the BIOS but CPU-Z says 1.23v - I have never had it give me the same voltage for a few years now. The system runs stable, prime95 is fine, 3dmark all the way through, super pi and wprime all kosher. I am just concerned about my voltages. Heat isn't an issue - 63c is max load on prime95 (large ffts)

The excitement is that I tuned it to 4ghz on my second try. First was BSOD at 1.25v - upped it to 1.275 and no problems yet.

Thanks for everyone who helps!

Tubesock

 

[mastrdrver]

What are the rest of your bios settings? Also, nice 1M time. The skipping may be because of a unfound voltage problem not found yet. That seems to be my experience with Vantage and 06 though it should go away if your at stock speeds.

Uncore, QPI/unCore (Asus), etc are vvt. Intel max spec limit is 1.35. vDimm bus is max spec is also 1.65, but that is because stock vvt is ~1.15. As long as you keep vDimm bus within .5v of vvt you will be fine. Max vCore is ~1.35(?) according to Intel. Can't remember the exact number.

I'm not sure about the Intel board, but try using 21x cpu multi if possible and disable the TM function so the board doesn't try to down clock the multi from too much vCore or exceeding TDP. Using this, or 19 multi, on most 920 chips require less volts per same cpu speed compared to 20x.

I don't know how bound to Core temp you are, though I prefer Real Temp. Not that I have anything against Core temp, I just like the extra features RT has. Unclewebb allows you to control C1E, turbo, and EIST enable/disable from RT. He also writes i7 turbo that tracks whether or not the board is throttling turbo multi. Its really useful when your using the 21x multi.

The other program I find useful is CPU Tweaker 1.2, maybe you used it when you had an AMD. Made by the same person who made memSet. It not only shows all the memory timings, but also cpu/qpi/uncore/dimm multi. On a few boards, Intel being one, you can set memory timings and change multis with it.

Last one I use is LinX 0.6.x. It seemed to find voltage problems sooner than any other stress program that I use (OCCT/P95). I also use it to tune my voltages. As you get closer to the needed voltages, the variation should be down to the hundreth of a GFlop in variation. This has proven true for me over and over.

 

[Daddyjaxx]

I'm not sure about the Intel board, but try using 21x cpu multi if possible

Are you talking Turbo? That's the only way to get 21x on the 920.

 

[Tubesock700]

Yeah, I turned the Turbo mode off to see if that was causing the issue, but no different. I also turned HT off too, but still no dice. I will try linx to see what it comes up with.

Thanks

P.S. Other settings in BIOS: (from memory...)
1.10v IOH
4.8g/t QPI
1600MHZ Memory (All timings set by default XMP profile)
1.66v DRAM
1.3v QPI (Just moved to 1.35 to see if it fixes anything)
HT off
Turbo Off
CPU 1.275v
200 Bclk
PCI is all Default

That is about all of the settings it lets you change. Pretty limited board, but I think its pretty stable for how basic it is.

 

[Amtrak]

Are you talking Turbo? That's the only way to get 21x on the 920.

Not sure about the Intel board, but most boards will allow you to set the multiplier to a constant 21. Some boards also throttle that multi if it feels heat/voltage is too high without giving any options to turn off that multi throttling.

 

[GruffiGummi]

i have a dx58so and i dont think u can set permanant 21x multi

 

[mastrdrver]

You probably need to up vIOH a little, it helps bclk stability.

 

[Tubesock700]

How much is "a little?" I heard you don't have to change it more than from 1.10 - 1.15, but that seems odd.

 

[doz]

Im running 1.25v in windows (1.3v set in bios) w/ 1.3v QPI (bios) and 1.25v IOH (bios). Stable so I might try dropping the voltage.

 

[mastrdrver]

I run 1.22 in bios. I can run less, but things seem a little more jumpy when playing games. You can give it about 200ps of delay and that will help lower the voltage needs a little. Run LinX to find the right volts. That's one thing that will cause that to fail.

 

[doz]

I can actually pass LINX at 1.206v in windows, but I will fail P95. ;/

Need to test both, not just one program.

 

[mastrdrver]

Hmmm, need to look at that. I normally run occt linpack 90% and then linX with 25000 and let it run. If I can pass both I figure I'm good. Never cared for P95 just cause it takes so long and this is my only system.

 

[esdeexx]

I can actually pass LINX at 1.206v in windows, but I will fail P95. ;/

Need to test both, not just one program.

Maybe you alredy did, but if not, try to update to latest version of LinX (the one which comes with installer). I can pass all Prime95 tests fine, but cannot do more than 2-3 passes with last version of LinX (0.6.2.1.)

BTW. I am at 4GHz 191x21, 1.3V vcore in BIOS, 1.64V VDIMM. Load temps hits 80C the hotter days, but normally it is around 70C....

 

[doz]

Yeah, Im using the latest. I usually test linx for a quick test. If I pass linx, I run P95 for longevity.

 

[mastrdrver]

How many passes are you running on LinX? I let it run while I'm at work. It usually gets in at least 3hrs and still running when I get home. I just set it up to do 250 to 300 passes so it will still be running when I get home. I then also use 25000 when I let it make these runs so at least I can compare each time I do it.

 

[IcedOutCpu]

I'm running my i7 920 4.2Ghz @ 1.26 vcore and seems stable on prime95 blend tests..

 

[Tubesock700]

Yeah, turning up the IOH / Southbridge voltage did nothing for the choppiness in the games/3dmark06. I don't get it. I get 80fps in Farcry 2, but its like it skips frames.

I might have come to a conclusion though. I am running a Radeon HD4870 with 512mb RAM. I might be running low on Video RAM causing it to just dump the memory to make room for the new data. Its a fast card, but lacks the amount of RAM I need for the higher end video. Call of duty 4 and 5 on max resolution never drops below 60fps (vsync enabled) and never has the choppy effect. Now I need to pick up a 4870x2 2gb....

 

[mastrdrver]

Try upping the PCIe voltage, if you can. Seems to help smooth out a little for me added in with the IOH voltage bump.