# The ULTIMATE Sandy Bridge OC Guide + P67A-UD7 Performance Review



## Sin0822

*Step #2* Step up the multiplier one by one until the system fails to boot. If this happens, clear CMOS. Many boards have auto recovery that works perfectly in this manner, such as this P67A-UD7. I was able to step up frequency until 4.9 GHz. At 4.8 GHz VID was 1.375v.
Now if none of this is working or even if it is, let's move on to Voltages. NOTE: many have told me that manually setting voltage is causing them problems, here is what to do to get around that, I didn't need to do it but every chip is different. Enable Turbo Mode, set the proper multipliers, and set TDP to 300 and TDC to 300.(If you want to skip to Step #3 please click here)

*Voltages:*
Now let's move to voltages, this is very important and I think anyone looking to overclock should have a thorough introduction to the variety of voltages that the user is able to control.
Make sure to pay attention to my tid-bits on Vcore(VCC) and VTT(VCCIO), these are most important for overclocking, other voltages can help too.
Here is a table I put together from Intel's product data sheet; it defines the processors maximum voltages and maximum amperage- These are OFFICIAL Min and Max Values:








thanks to hootyhoot for the new table
Here are the technical signal names as well as a short description as well as explanation of every one and what it has to do with overclocking:

*VCC:* Commonly Called Vcore, the voltage supplied to the processors inside the CPU. This voltage is a large part of Sandy Bridge overclocking. Now from personal testing, and weeks and weeks of headaches and hard ships, I have a few things I would like to share about this voltage.
I say maximum voltage for Vcc/Vcore is 1.50v for 24/7, 1.55-1.60v for extreme benchmarking, please stay below to 1.6, and don't use any type of Load Line Calibration past 1.55v. Please not that high temperature teamed up with high voltage will kill your processor faster than anything else, it creates a perfect environment for processor degradation.

*Load Line Calibration or Vdroop control* is a setting that eliminates/reduces processor voltage droop under load and in many extreme cases many reverse voltage droop. Voltage droop is there so that under load conditions where current (amperage) is increased the processor stays within TDP (Thermal Design Power). There is also vdrop which is implemented by the motherboard manufacturer, vdrop is there and it drops every voltage on the board from what is set in BIOS, no matter the load. LLC can reverse Vdroop and Vdrop in many cases.

Let me explain.
*Voltage x Amperage = Wattage.*

As you can see in the table above there is a TDC and a TDP. Now TDP is max heat output of the processor (wattage), let's say we stick within Icc (current/amperage) of 85amps at load. 85amps x voltage=95watts (TDP). So If voltage is increased for overclocking, then at idle the processor needs to droop the voltage so that amperage x voltage doesn't exceed TDP, you do not want to drop amperage because it is almost all the power (plus you don't have control over it), voltage is nothing but a signal without amperage behind it. Of course with Sandy Bridge you can set the upper limit on TDP and TDC and you won't push that much amperage until critical point, plus Sandy Bridge can exceed TDP on its own.

Many people are 100% against LLC and many are 100% for it, I sit on the fence as I find it useful, and haven't killed a processor from it, but other things can occur and the life span of the processor will be reduced by too much voltage, with or without LLC. LLC will improve stability, please read the lesson that I learned with 1.5+V on Sandy Bridge.

*Important Learning Lesson about high VCC and high LLC(Processor Degradation):* Let me share a little about electron migration and processor degradation. When I first received these beautiful 2600Ks, one could boot 5.2 GHz with 1.475v with Load Line Calibration enabled to level 2(Vrise / Total Vdroop eliminated), real processor voltage was at about 1.5v. Temperatures were through the roof under load. 80C-100C was common and so was thermal throttling (I will talk about cooling problems in a little bit); using handy software I was able to monitor the throttling. Through the next few weeks the processor voltage for 5.2 GHz stable (even boot in some cases) eventually rose to 1.55v LLC Level 2, which gives a total voltage of 1.58v. Benchmarking with CPU intensive load (100%) was impossible because of the heat produced. Eventually I was able to back down frequency one multiplier to 5.1 GHz and use 1.475v with LLC level 1 (elimination of vdrop and slight elimination of vdroop (still droops under load)) with my air cooler: Eclipse II. Temperatures don't even touch upon 70C at 5.1 GHz. I have a heavy duty watercooler that can handle 220W load, and my i7900 series at 4.5 GHz with 1.55v (more calculated/measured power output than this chip). With these chips unique thermal capacitance features, thermal output at high loads is very intense, make sure you buy a good cooler. One thing to mention is that my chip is a D1 stepping processor and the PLL Overvoltage unlock feature does not work with these earlier revisions, but all retail chips will be D2, and should overclock significantly better with less vcc/vcore.
VCCIO: more commonly known at QPI/VTT voltage, this is the VTT voltage. Formally known as Processor Power for I/O it is the voltage for the integrated memory controller as well as the PCI-E controller. While Intel's Maximum is 1.05 +/- 3% = 1.08v, you can go higher, much higher. I would recommend staying below 1.2v for 24/7 use, but depending on the quality of the IMC on your chip, I have seen 2133 MHz done on as little at 1.1v. I used 1.12v for overclocking my Dominator 1600 MHz to 1866 MHz, and it did it without any problems. Do realize that this voltage contributes heat as well to the whole thermal package.

*VDDQ:* more commonly known as Vdimm or Vdram, this is the voltage for your memory. Formally known as I/O voltage for DDR3, Intel states maximum at 1.575. YOU should run this at whatever it says on your RAM. At the time I am writing this article, 1.575 is not the standard, but 1.5v has been stock voltage on many DDR3 RAM modules for a long time. While at 1.5v you can run at stock speed of 1333 MHz and SPD 9, 9,9,24 to run your RAM at a higher speed, such as 1600MHz, most RAM requires 1.65v. Do not be afraid, if it says 1.65v on your RAM stick, set it to 1.64 or 1.66v. For overclocking higher than what your RAM is rated for you can take this up, I have used up to 1.76v, but for my tests I used 1.72v to run my 1600mhz Ram at 1866mhz. I wouldn't run this voltage over 1.8v unless you are going for some crazy high clocks.

*VAXG:* internal graphics processor voltage, not applicable to this processor.

*VCCPLL:* Commonly known as CPUPLL, this voltage is for the internal clock generator for the CPU. Intel states maximum at 1.89v, and stock at 1.8v.

*What does the PLL do, you ask?* Here is how you get 3.4 GHz. A constant frequency input (BLCK) is generated by the PCH (P67), the BLCK is then multiplied by the core ratio by the internal phase lock loop (PLL) and then you have a greater resulting core frequency. CPU PLL is the PLL that gives you 3.4 GHz at stock and 5.2 GHz overclocked.
I would leave this voltage at stock, at one point I thought this voltage helped me lower Vcore, but it was just the processor playing tricks on me. In fact on X58 systems lowering the CPU PLL was thought to help lower temperatures and thus improve stability, on the other hand at very high frequencies this voltage is creased by many overclockers. I say increase it to 1.89v if you like, but don't go north of that, if you want to save power and keep temperatures low turn it down to 1.71v.

*Instead of messing with this, use the Unlock CPUPLL Overvoltage Option under frequency control; this should help you get past 5.2 GHz on D2 stepping chips and beyond, if you need more oomph after that, increase it. (This setting if enabled on a D1 chip will actually cause it not to boot, like mine)*









*VCCSA:* More commonly known as System Agent Voltage. Intel's maximum System Agent Voltage (Vccsa) is 0.971v and minimum is 0.879v. Stock is 0.925v. System Agent Voltage should NOT be touched, it is supposed to be a fixed voltage, and it powers many things that the VCC does not power. One of the most important is the Power Control Unit (PCU) which controls internal power allocation of the processor. This voltage is to be generated by a separate VRM than used for SVID. So on the P67A-UD7 this voltage is generated by a two phase buck analogue PWM, with 4 phases, this voltage and the VTT (Vccio) come from the same VRM(not surprisingly voltage read points are right next to each other as well).

*Overclocking Continued:*
Now Serial Vid was discussed in short in the in depth preview, it's a new way for the processor to basically communicate with the motherboards voltage regulator module (VRM). Serial Voltage Identification or SVID has the ability to automatically scale processor voltage up to 1.52v.

*Step #3*: If for instance you are at 4.5 GHz and 1.35v that is excellent, I would try to boot at 1.35v and run some stability tests. If it's stable back off the voltage, take it down 5-10mv (1-2 voltage steps) at a time. Test and repeat until it is unstable, then push Vcore/VCC back up a few notches. Run stability tests until you are satisfied with your Overclock; make sure you set the tests to 100% load on all threads. Make sure to watch temperatures. If you are hitting 80C at 100% load then that is your Vcore/VCC limit, go no further until you get better cooling.

*Step #4:* BLCK Options. Now let's face it, sometimes it's just not practical to OC to 5 GHz and use that every day, the heat output is harsh and the system is loud and you want a lower overclock, but you want to maximize performance along with it. Here is where BLCK adjustment comes in handy. You cannot increase BLCK at your maximum OC, it is better to lower OC 1-2 multipliers and then try to take up BLCK. Boot into BIOS, do not try to change BLCK in Windows, and try raising BLCK by 0.2mhz, I have found that even at 5.1ghz I was able to boost BLCK a fraction of a MHz If you want to push more than a fraction of a MHz, you will need to increase Vcore yourself. Try 0.1MHz per 5mv adjustment. I personally do not think it is worth it, I would rather the extra vcore go to multiplier, but hey every little bit counts. At stock I can do 107.7BLCK on my worse chip; I haven't tried the better chip yet.

Decrease BLCK if you are getting stuck at 5.2 GHz and 100blck, many people use lower BLCK to allow for a lower vcore to be used for 5.2 GHz and beyond. Even try increasing PCH voltage one notch, I found that increasing it a tiny bit may help BLCK in some instances. Make sure you don't go over 1.1v for 24/7 use, I have also found the CPU PLL also helped a tiny bit, you can try up to 1.89v, but this also increases heat output. I was able to do 107blck no problem at stock, at 5.1 GHz I messed around with BLCK and brought it up to 100.8, this put me right up at the same 5.2 GHz frequency but I ended up with the same Vcore and even more heat. I found that adjusting BLCK up 0.2-0.4MHz was no problem below 5 GHz, but above 5 GHz you need to watch your BLCK, drop it or lower it to accommodate your OC the way you like.

*Step #5:* If you are still unstable upon boot, and be stable, then try these options:

*A.* Select CPU PLL Overvoltage to enabled, this allows most people to go beyond 4.8 or 5.2 GHz whatever your barrier is. If you have a D1 stepping processor, enabling this option will cause you to fail to boot.

*B.*If not already using turbo options, please do so. Now set upper limit on TDP and TDC at 200-300 to removed TDP and TDC limitations. If your board has OCP (over current protection) you can disable this if you want a very high overclock.

*C.*You can try to enable Load Line Calibration to its full extent.

*D.*Try disabling Fan control under health monitor

*E.*Try disabling extra features not in use, such as extra SATA6G controllers and USB3.0 controllers (make sure if you have mouse and keyboard in those ports to move them to USB 2.0 ports.)

In the end if you are unable to get above 4.8 GHz then hey 4.8 GHz is still a heck of a lot of power for only the cost of a 2600K or even cheaper chip. I have two 2600K chips, both are the same batch and both are D1 stepping. One will OC to a max 5.2 GHz and one to 4.8GHz no matter what I do it won't budge any higher. Goes to show you every processor is different.
Here was my Max OC, seems to be the max for any chip that is D1 stepping, D2 stepping chips should use PLL overvoltage enabled to get past 5.2GHz if your chip can. Also notice max BLCK of 107.5 stable.

5.2GH/z and 107.5 BLCK

















*HEAT:*








(You can see in the above picture that the CPU is throttling, Tmonitor shows throttling of each core separately.)

Now along with the new turbo multipliers comes a technology that is aimed at pleasing the end user, and that is Sandy Bridges ability to shortly for (25 seconds implemented, but motherboard manufacturers extended this to allow TDC and TDP extension) exceed TDP to utilize thermal capacitance of the internal heat spreader and heatsink. What this means is that frequency can be increased as well as overall thermal load resulting from voltage and current increase, and that the system can absorb more heat as soon as the high frequency is engaged to take advantage of the heat up time of the internal heatsink and external cooler. Intel found that in the beginning of high thermal output load, the "package" (cooler) can absorb much more heat than the processor puts out normally, so they incorporated the ability for the processor to give off more heat at the beginning and operate at max frequency. Now this is great and all because the processor can run cooler, but this also means that the processor is going to run extremely cool at idle, so cool that you will inadvertently take it for granted, and then when you apply load and the turbo multiplier increases, you will have a huge amount of heat that needs to be dissipated, instead of predictable heat output. Now don't worry, Sandy Bridge has an internal overheating turbo throttle, which will reduce the multiplier by one and then take a voltage as low as it can and then re-measure temperature to make sure it is getting cooler, if not then it will reduce frequency again.

This reduce and recheck cycle happens at an astonishingly fast 2us (microseconds). All of this thermal throttling control is part of the Thermal Control Circuitry (TCC). I have tested and found that this throttling happens at 90c-95c. At 5.2ghz that was my problem, I have to use LLC Level2 and 1.53v and well that was just way too much heat at 1.56v real steady and the high amperage. That is why most of my benchmarks are run at 5.1ghz instead of 5.2ghz, 5.1ghz needed MUCH less voltage.

*Crazy Cold Bug:*









Above you can see Gflops performance increase drastically at 5.2 GHz, I used subzero air from Mother Nature to cool down the Heat Sink. The problem is that at 5.2 GHz my D1 stepping 2600K has a cold bug below 20C; the system has to be above 20C to boot, as well as bench. This cold bug is being circumvented with each new stepping Intel is releasing, so hopefully this will improve, because 20C cold bug is terribly high. My problem would be I could bench the processor, but as soon as the CPU load stopped my system would hang because temperatures drop below 20c. BUT the cold bug is not the same at every multiplier, at 51x there was no cold bug, I could go as cold as I want. This is very weird indeed, so watch out for it.

*Overclocking RAM:* Now I am sure many of you know how to OC RAM. But you have to be aware that RAM is not like the processor, it cannot usually OC 50%+. If you have a kit with low latency you can probably push it up to the next level by increasing the latencies and RAM voltage. Make sure you increase VTT/VCCIO voltage along with it. You shouldn't need more than 1.25v VTT/VCCIO. I have seen 2133 MHz on as low as 1.1v. Be aware that RAM amount makes a huge difference. 4GB (2GBx2) will OC easier and on less voltage than an 8GB (4GBx2) or 16GB (8GBx2) kit. The amount of Ram Modules makes a difference as well because each pair of slots has its own IMC/Channel (not to be confused with dual channel) if you have four sticks of Ram you are going to need more voltage for the VTT/VCCIO than if you have only two sticks. The same goes for 1 stick vs. 2 sticks.

I was able to overclock my Dominators from Cas 8,8,8,24 1T 1600 to cas 9,9,9,24 1T 1866, 4gb kit.

Now X.M.P. profiles are very attractive to mainstream users, as it is a performance profile that increases speed, decreases latency, and increases VTT voltage. Now most DDR3 high performance Ram out there to date is built for X58 and P55 systems, watch out for the X.M.P. settings, if you want to use X.M.P. make sure profile VTT voltage is below 1.2v qpi/vtt(Vccio).

*BDOS CODES:*
Here is a list of Common BDOS Errors and what to do to get rid of them; these suggestions are from trial and error, and many BDOSes from hundreds of hours of overclocking. I have gotten many of these BDOSes and checked them out (tried to cause them) and I have modified that list, here it is.
BSOD Codes
0x124 = add/remove vcore or QPI/VTT voltage (usually Vcore, once it was QPI/VTT)
0x101 = add more vcore
0x50 = RAM timings/Frequency add DDR3 voltage or add QPI/VTT
0x1E = add more vcore
0x3B = add more vcore
0xD1 = add QPI/VTT voltage
"0x9C = QPI/VTT most likely, but increasing vcore has helped in some instances"
0X109 = add DDR3 voltage
0x0A = add QPI/VTT voltage


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## Sin0822

*P67A-UD7 Performance Review*

I am now going to move on to the board performance review, first let me start by saying that the current BIOS is not the same as the UEFI BIOS that will be out shortly, and because of that, I feel there is no need to show off the BIOS, I provided screen shots of the BIOS for the most important Overclocking Areas above in the OC guide.

*Board Spacing:*
Focusing on the socket area we can immediately tell that this board has a very hefty VRM design. The board carries 24 phases VRM with Driver MOSFETS (24 of them) cooled by a low profile and very well designed elegant heatsink. The air cooler used in all the testing is a LinSpire Eclipse II, a 5 heat pipe efficient air cooler that tops the charts in performance figures.

Here you can see how the cooler fits with a hefty aftermarket 120mm fan:









As you can see above, the low profile design of the heatsink makes it possible to fit large fans. Around the socket Area we have these shiny cubes that are called Ferrite Core Choke, as well as a small bank of capacitors. In the Intel VRD 12 PWM spec sheet, there was an interesting sentence that read: A faster VR with a small bank of capacitors will provide better end user experience than a slow VR with a large bank of capacitors. Gigabyte took that to heart, and provides the entire P67A line of Ultra Durable 3 boards with extremely high quality Driver MOSFETs, Chokes, and Capacitors. Ferrite Coke Chokes are basically high quality inductors; they reduce electromagnetic interference, noise, flatten current spikes, and filter high frequency signals. They are perfect for motherboard power regulators. Driver MOSFETs make it possible to reduce the overall footprint of the VRM on the motherboard by combining traditional 3 chips into one, a high side MOSFET, a low side MOSFET, and a driver chip. Now they all fit into one integrated circuit. Driver MOSFETs can be fed a range of voltages, such as 12v and then reduce that voltage to 0.5v-2.0v for the CPU. Sticking with same powerful Driver MOSFETs from the X58A series of boards each phase can output 35amps of current continuously. The CPU has a TDC of only 110amps. Capacitors are used to reduce voltage ripple, to provide a constant clean power. Capacitors do this by storing and electrical charge, and then discharging when needed, the discharged electricity would in theory have less variance, and testing proves that capacitors do their job. By using such high quality parts for the rest of the design, GIGABYTE was able to reduce the number of capacitors needed. Gigabyte uses an Intersil PWM, which is why the voltage when set to auto can correctly set its own value. This is due to the fact that the VRM and CPU can talk to each other and decide upon the best VID for the current frequency, and you don't need to reboot for this to happen, the voltage will change on the fly.

*This board's VRM is VRD12 CERTIFIED*, it is very important certification that is hard to meet. It depends on VRM response time as well as other factors. This is something to look for when buying a board, because VRM response time indicates how fast the turbo multipliers can change. This board has no lag when using turbo mode. It is an Intel Certification.









Let move on to the other side of the heatsink, the side where the RAM modules are. There is much concern with the spacing between the CPU socket and the RAM. While this might be a cause of concern, it is due to two reasons. The increase in the distance of the traces would decrease electrical performance and this design is by Intel specifications. Most RAM modules like my Dominator set have detachable heatsinks, here are a few shots.


















As you can see with the heatsinks off the RAM modules, clearance is a little bit less of an issue; a taller cooler would make a good fit if you want to add a second 120mm fan.
Now here is a shot of the problem with a large 120mm fan, the fan sits on the Ram modules:










Of course you can make it work, but it is still an issue. You can always move the modules into different slots to accommodate the fan.

Now let me move onto PCI-E slot spacing. As you can see you have a plethora of PCI-E slots, the first 16x slot is the topmost normal size PCI-E slot, underneath it is a 8x slot, and below that is another 16x slot, and below that a PCI slot and another 8x and another PCI slot.










Here is a look at spacing with two large GTX570 GPUs and a 3rd GT220 for 3-way SLI. Notice that you can fit another dual slotted card in there very easily.










Here is a shot of the cards moved around, notice there is one PCI-E slot available with the setup above, and when moving the second GTX570 to the bottom 8X slot it is possible to still have a PCI device and a 3rd single slotted card:










Now here is the cool thing about the PCH heatsink and angled SATA connectors. There is just enough clearance for these huge GPUs.










Here is SATA clearance:









There are no issues for clearance with long XL GPUs.


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## Sin0822

*Voltage Read Points:*
I found these points to be the voltage read points for the board. Now I do not have the Data sheet for the ISL 6366 PWM for the CPU so I just indicated voltage read point off of one of the Core Chokes.
*CPU Vcore:*









*CPU PLL:*









*QPI/VTT + System Agent:*









*DDR3 Voltage:*









*Voltage Read Points VS Software and BIOS and Load Line Calibration:*
I took manual Digital Multi Meter readings of CPU Vcore, CPU Vcore LLC 1, CPU VCORE LLC2, QPI/VTT, and DDR3 Voltage. System Agent and CPU PLL voltages were only taken from what is set in BIOS to what I found on the board. Now I did not spend much time on this, so if you find a better read point let me know!









*Percent Difference:*
Average Vcore percent difference: 0.5% difference
QPI/VTT percent average percent difference: 0.1% difference
DDR3 percent average difference: 0.6% difference
System Agent percent difference: 2%
CPU PLL percent difference: 1.5%

It looks like the Ite voltage monitoring super I/O chip is doing its job. The voltages you should be most concerned with are Vcore and VTT, and they are almost dead on (VTT is really dead on). Now this board is for enthusiasts, so I am sure many will use read points, but software is just fine. You can use the above data on Load Line Calibration to see what level you want to use, if any at all.

*Power Consumption:*
Here are figures at the socket (the wall) power draw by the PSU, keep in mind that the PSU is about 85-90% efficient, so actual total power draw is about 80-90% of what is stated. Also keep in mind that each of the two GTX570s used has a TDP if 210Watts, so you can subtract 400watts from the load figures to get a rough estimate of board/CPU power consumption. Other than the GPUs, and 1 HDD, RAM, and 2 high power fans, nothing else was powered by the PSU. For load, I used Intel burn Test 8thread maximum level, and Furmark after disabling OCP on the GTX570s, OCP was enabled for all the other tests.









Now I am going to do some estimation. First multiply by 0.85 for the PSU, then subtract 420watts for the GPUs, then subtract 20 watts for the HDD and 10 watts for the Fans. Now these are rough estimates, and the wattage meter is not perfect, I would give these results about 3-5% error. BUT they look fine, stock numbers on the 2600K are good, the stock TDP is 95watts plus motherboard and Ram would be about 117 watts. On the i7 930, TDP is 130watts, and results are 143.3, now that is a little low, but the Kill-A-Watt meter I used isn't perfect.

But what is perfect is the reduction in thermal leakage of the CPU, these CPUs run at much higher voltage and amperage (most likely) yet run much cooler. Just like the 6-core Gulftown 32nm chips have the same TDP as the 45nm Bloomfields, but the Gulftowns have 2 extra cores. These numbers look about right, and I did need a 1K PSU for the GTX570s. If you are looking to buy this system, it looks like the motherboard is very efficient, with all those power phases you are probably at 90-95% efficient at the CPU socket, based on the efficiency rating of the MOSFETs.


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## Sin0822

*CPU/ Board performance testing VS X58 system:*
Here is a pic of the Sandy Bridge system in my case after testing was done.










*Overclocking settings per chip:*
Stock means loaded stock defaults, 1333 MHz ram cas 9 for P67A-UD7 and 1066mhz cas 9 for X58A-UD5. For the 2.8ghz 2600K memory speed of 1066MHz at 9, 9,9,24 was used to even out the bottom comparison line. In some memory benchmarks I used another setting as well with the 2.8 GHz 2600K at 1333MHz to compare speed to stock 3.4 GHz 1333 MHz; same timings were used for all runs, except max OC. I made note where any setting was changed.

*Test Systems:*









*CPU Performance Benchmarks:*
SuperPi Mod 1.5 XS, this program calculates Pi 22/7 to the 1 millionth digits, it's a good indicator of overall CPU/RAM/motherboard performance, and usually is an indicator of pure speed. 5.2 GHz overclock was included.









Now 32 million digits









As you can tell from the SuperPi results, the 2600K is one fast little sucker. This processor clock for clock beats out the i7 930, remember the 2600K at 2.8 GHz has the same RAM speed as the i7930 at stock.

Now let's move on to Intel Burn Test, not only does this program test the stability of your system, it also takes all threads to 100%. It has a Giga Flops output that is more consistent than LinX. Now this test also has a result for 5.2 GHz, I need to clarify, that it was one pass, and the system froze up afterwards (b/c of cold bug), I had to use extreme cooling for that test(to maintain heat). I took a picture of the results with my camera. The other results are pretty consistent, all done on air.










You can see that the 2600K scales VERY nicely, almost perfect. You should also not that this benchmark really likes BLCK, as it has a lot to do with how quick the benchmark gets done, that is why clock for clock the i7 930 wins. You should note that as the 2600K at 5.2ghz is a 1000mhz faster than the i7 930 at 4.2, but when you overclock the 930 you increase the BLCK, thus if the 930 was at 5.2ghz with a 21x multiplier, it would most likely beat out the 2600K. Giga FLOP (Floating Point Operation Per Second), means 70 G Flops is 70,000,000,000 operations per second.

Next we are going to use CINEBENCH which gives us an overall estimate of processor computing power, and the result is comparable to other platforms.










The 2600K scores 9.84 Points at 5.2GHz.










Since the graphics cards were kept consistent throughout the benchmarks, OpenGL difference is made by the processor here. You can see Sandy Bridge really shines.

Now let's move to ADIA64 Extreme Edition which is like the older benchmarking program Everest. Here the CPU test HASH, FPU Julia, and FPU Mandel are optimized for Sandy Bridge's AVX instruction that should really take off in the next few years, as it really improves










Next while we are working with the AIDA64 EE program, I used this program to also do memory benchmarks, here are the memory bandwidth benchmarks:









Now remember that at 2.8 GHz the 2600K is at 1066 MHz memory. I also included 2600K at 2.8 GHz with overclocked memory to show the difference CPU frequency makes to memory bandwidth. As you can see it does improve memory bandwidth some. We are using the i7930 in dual channel configuration, triple channel should do a bit better, but I wanted to compare the systems on an even plane. As you can tell memory bandwidth is an area that Sandy Bridge performs excellent in without a doubt, just look at how even when down clocked it matches the i7930 at 4.2 GHz and 1600MHz.
Here is the last AIDA64 EE benchmark, it is memory latency:










As you can see again, CPU frequency has a great impact on latency with SandyBridge, the fact that I used/set cas 9 even when SPD was lower was so that I could get nice base line readings.

Next we have *real world performance* benchmarks, First up is WinRAR:










2600K is doing well, not better clock for clock, but its higher stock and overclocked frequency give it a huge edge over i7 930.
Next we have the video encoding program X264, gives us an average FPS.









As you can see the 2600K is faster clock for clock.

Now here are the requested benchmarks, I had two requested, the first one is a Chess Simulator, it is very CPU intensive, and I took a score I think the person was looking for









Again you can see that the 2600K's frequency give it an advantage.
Next we have a science benchmark, it is pretty old, but has some nice features, here you go, Science mark:









Here you can see that the 2600K clock for clock is a very good contender, this is more of a real life benchmark as is the chess program, as it actually models molecules like the Arena program plays chess.


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## Sin0822

*SLI Performance w/ NF200.*

Now I should say a little something before I show you results of X58 vs. P67w/nf200. That is that the X58 platform has native support for SLI, it does it naturally. P67 is not meant to replace X58, especially not X58 SLI. P67 natively has 8 lanes of 5GT/S PCI-E 2.0 which goes into 16 lanes of 2.5GT/s PCI-E 1.0 which X58 has 36 lanes of PCI-E 1.0. You can see that P67 is in a huge disadvantage, so motherboard companies have taken it on their own to deliver platforms with the ability for 2-way SLI and 3-way SLI. Now while you can run 8x, 8x SLI, it is slightly better to run with full 16X per lane (not noticeable), and if you want to do 3 Way SLI you have to have at least 24-32 lanes. So the NF200 PCI-E Bridge is added. This bridge takes 16 lanes and turns them into 32. The NF200 is especially good at allocating the lanes correctly, but it has its drawbacks, most of which is its addition of latency to the PCI-E bus.

Theoretically a board with NF200 should perform worse than a board with native 36 lanes of PCI-E. In practice, well let's see what happens in practice. In theory with just going off what we know SLI with NF200 from 16 lanes of PCI-E should be much worse than true 40 lanes SLI.

*SLI Gigabyte GTX 570, two cards, both in 16x slots. Not OCed, at stock*.

First let's take a look at 3DMark Vantage, a very common benchmark used to generate scores that are used to compare systems as well as tell you how well your computer can play games. For this benchmark we used the performance setting. PhysX was left on auto, and it went to GPU, that is why CPU score is so high.










At stock and clock for clock the P67A-UD7 bet out the X58A-UD5. It was hard to believe; I had to run everything 5 times, every one of these benchmarks was run 5 times. I couldn't believe the results, but do not worry it pans out in a little. The margin for the P67A win is extremely small; I would say they are equal.
Now here is the same 3DMark Vantage with PhysX set to CPU.










The same thing here, graphics seems to increase with CPU speed, but at clock for clock the P67A-UD7 is faster than the X58A-UD5. But again the margin is a few points, for my standards it has to be 75-100 PTS or above on GPU score for it to be better. I would say that in most cases they are equal.

Now 3DMark 11 is a very new program, and well doesn't recognize SLI with GTX 570, some of those scores are worse than single card. But never the less I included them because I did all of them.










You can see that the X58A-UD5 beats the P67A-UD7, and then ties it later on. Once again doesn't beat P67A by my standards. I believe that this program likes X58A-UD5 better than P67A-UD7; I can believe it does as well because it doesn't recognize my processor or SLI on my GPUs. BUT it is a benchmark never the less and has pull. I think we have to wait a few months because this benchmark becomes are legitimate as 3DMark Vantage. Right now we can tell that 3DMark Vantage P67A wins and 3DMark 11 X58A wins, I conclude this by saying they are pretty much equal.

Now let's shift over to another DX11 benchmark, Unigine Heaven, it is just beautiful the way it benchmarks, actually nice to watch. Futuremark should sit down and watch. The best part is that Unigine is free&#8230;. Again Futuremark.










Unigine also gives us a score, but I was looking for FPS. You can see they are pretty much on par, also notice that at 4.2 GHz the i7930 ties the stock 2600K. That is a lot of great gaming power the 2600K has.

Now we move onto actual gaming benchmarks, I only did two, the first one is HAWX DX11, and it has its own benchmark program.










You can tell that this benchmark is pretty much set on giving you one value, unless you increase GPU performance. (These cards have their chastity belt in tact, later i will have a GTX 570 SLI review, where I break open the belt ). This is a good benchmark for GPU, as it gives a very consistent number, now the scaling got cut off, but the difference is that 2600K max FPS is 65 and 930 stock gives us 63. That is a TWO FPS difference, almost nothing. See that the average FPS did not change, that means that this is almost 100% GPU dependent, as the GPU configuration did not change.

The last SLI benchmark is real world gaming, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. This benchmark was done using fraps, on record for 5 minutes and then spit out an average FPS, min, and max. I start recording on the first level of the first mission. I did this test the most because I actually enjoyed playing the game (I never play games), so the results have been averaged, 5-6 runs for each CPU setting.









*SATA6G performance:*

Now up until now there were only really a few options if you had an SATA6G capable SSD. But the only SATA6G capable SSD to date is the Crucial C300, luckily for you guys I have one, and have done a comparison of the old Marvell SE9128 which was the best SATA6G controller until now that Intel integrated SATA6G into the PCH. There were a few problems with the Marvell controller, and they lied within early firmware releases, 4Kb Random data speeds were slower than they were on ICH10R (Intel SATA3G). Throughout this past year GIGABYTE worked hand in hand with Marvell to work on the firmware for the Marvell SE9128, through the past 6 months there has been a huge jump in overall performance of the controller on my X58A-UD5. Well those updates where right on time, as Intel's SATA6G does live up to all its glory. Right now, only Intel RST 10 drivers will work for this, or else you are stuck with MSAHCI.sys which is Windows stock driver for AHCI enabled drives.

Here are side by side pictures of Marvell SE9128 with latest updated firmware VS Intel PCH67

Marvell on the Left with MSAHCI.sys, and P67 on the right with iaStor driver










Now as you can see the results are pretty close, if you know a lot about SSDs you know you are looking at a 20% increase on OS performance. How you ask? Well you see where it says seq, that stands for sequential, that means large files, when you use an OS, sequential comes in play when loading the OS, games, or other very large files. Yes this drive only breaks SATA3G border on sequential, but that is not why people buy this drive(well yea its why some do), people buy this drive for its fast 4Kb speeds(4K). That is the file size most used in random windows OS performance. Such as opening a program, using a word processor, loading the internet and browsing web pages. General OS performance is about 90% 4K speeds.

Hard drives don't touch 20mb/s, let alone 10mb/s. This is what makes SSDs fast. A Sandforce drive can do about 20-25mb/s, and a C300 can do 25-32mb/s. ASSSD is very hard to get a score on the high side of a the secturm, but what you are looking at is the 4K performance of ICH10R on PCH P67. in another program like crystal disk the scores would be higher, 4k read would be able 30mb/s. The reason I am only using AS-SSD is because of its consistency over Crystal Disk. Look at the jump in 4K writes, that is impressive too. Intel finnaly did it, they gave us a perfect SATA6G controller. If you guys want more benchmarks on SATA6G just let me know.

ASSSD is a program built for SSDs unlike hdtun and hdtach and atto.


----------



## Sin0822

*GIGABYTE Programs*

Gigabyte packages many interesting programs, in my In-Depth preview of the board, I took a look at Smart 6 and its ability to store your passwords in the BIOS and Backup BIOS. Now I am going to take a look at the new EasyTune6 (ET6) and Dynamic Energy Saver 2(DES2).

Easy Tune 6: Now there is not much change from versions of this program for other boards, but the things that have changed are worth noting. First off, easy overclock options, allow you to OC automatically to 4.1ghz.









Quick boost is a very nice option, but as I stated in my OC Guide you can most likley OC to 4.5ghz without having to mess with anything but the cpu multiplier.
If you are going to more Extreme overclocks, this next image might be useful. Here are the OC options for in-windows OC through easytune.










EasyTune6 also has a new layout for temperature and fan monitoring, it draws nice graphs for you for your voltages:










Now moving on, EasyTune also allows you to OC your GPU:









Lastly we have Dynamic Energy Saver. This litte program is powered by the Intersil PWM, and you can see all 24 phases/"engine cylinders" in action if DES2 is turned on. Now you might be wondering why all those lights on the board went off when Windows Loaded, that is because they are all software controlled. This program will allow yout o turn those lights back on, and seeing the phase LEDs work is pretty cool. This board also has ACPI power state LEDs, they can be turned off in BIOS if needed.










DES2 allows you to see how much power your system is drawing, now I don't know how accurate it is, but I bet it shows CPU power draw pretty well as it is run by the PWM that controls the power output to the CPU.

*Conclusion:*

I sum performance up into five categories: Performance, Functionality, Overclocking, Value, and Appeal.

I once had a professor back in college, and he gave us a written exam, I aced everything on it I mean aced it. Well when I got my grade back he had given me a 90%, and when I confronted him he gave me such a crazy answer I just accepted it and took my A. He said, "Yes you got everything right, but 100% is for God, 95% is for me, and 90% is for you." What a nut, but I am not too far off, so no 10 point out of 10 for any manufacturer, because in reality, nothing is perfect.

Scale of 1-10, I don't give 10s.

*Performance:*
Motherboard and Processor performance is excellent, that is all I have to say. Yes the increase frequency is what makes the processor very good, but also the fact that it operates at those high frequencies at stock is impressive, and the fact that the motherboard can take it there is just great. SLI performance is much better than expected. With two cards this puppy is as fast if not the smallest bit faster than X58 SLI, I believe this is because of the PCI-E controller built into the CPU is much better than that of the X58 IOH. Although it has less PCI-E lanes, it seems to really boast some amazing performance. Even with the latency increase from the NF200 it still matches X58. I would say that SLI performance is equal and that is much better than expected, because P55 SLI was really not equal to X58 SLI performance. Intel's PCH P67 really has a very nice SATA6GB/s controller that delivers exactly what people want, excellent SATA6GB/s performance. GIGABYTE has worked closely with Marvell, and even peripheral on-chip SATA6G is impressive compared to on-die. In terms of Turbo mode there is absolutely no lag from multiplier to multiplier that people have been complaining about on other boards. With this board you don't even have to use turbo, and the multiplier apparently stays fixed at what you set. Max stable BLCK I reached was 107.5MHz. *Score: 9.9*

*Functionality:*
This board has more connectivity than I have ever seen. It even provides the ability to change SATA internal ports into eSATA, and vice versa. USB 3.0 is all over the place, two internal connectors and many in the back, I have never seen so many SATA ports. Instead of using the LAN connectivity of the PCH P67 GIGABYTE chose to use dual Realtek NICs, so you can team them and use them in parallel or serial. The heatsinks get pretty hot (the NF200 one does) and this is a good thing, as they are actually working. They are also very low profile, and there were no spacing issues. There is however a little spacing issue with RAM problem but it is just a matter of looks, and actually is like that for better performance. *Score: 9.7*

*Overclocking:*
This board is just sick, if max BLCK is quality of the board then this board is extremely high quality at 107.5, 107.7 set. I was able to take my D1 stepping 2600K to 5.2 GHz, the only problem was the heat from the processor, and well that is the processors problem, these might be lower TDP at stock, but OCed they really know how to release heat. 5.1 GHz is my 24/7 OC and that is more than enough. At a minimum auto OC of 4.5GHz you will have a really hard time finding any system that OCs that well. I was able to just walk up the multiplier to 5 GHz and the VID slowly increased. This proper implementation of SVID is just AMAZING. On what other system can you auto overclock like that? X58 systems will just over-volt, might even damage your processor too, so only try this on P67 with a K series processor. This board has CPU PLL Overvoltage option which only works for D2 stepping chips, but that is an option every Overclocking board should have. I have to give this board a 9.9 as it took my processor to its limits; I wish I had a D2 stepping so I could go for 5.5 GHz! *Score: 9.9*

*Value:*
This board has a pretty hefty Retail price of $329, but if does have an NF200 chip which is what you are really paying for. If you do not plan on SLI there is really not much of a reason to buy this board other than the power phases and features. I feel as if you have dual video cards, and a hefty PSU to power them, then $329 for a board is not that much to pay. Considering this is a mainstream product, that price is a bit high. You are paying for very high quality components; it's hard to find any board better built. The fact that Gigabyte manufacturers their own boards is a great thing, they are one of the last of a dying breed of motherboard makers. *Score: 9.5*

*Appeal:*
This board is such a great change from the baby blue color of X58 and previous Gigabyte boards. I really like it, as do many people I know. One thing that is one of my pet peeves is that many black PCB boards look brown up-close, such as my P6X58D-Premium. It's because of the copper of the traces and PCB that bleed through. With My P67A-UD7 there was none of that. This board is really black, and matches my GTX 570 SLI and Dominator RAM very nicely. I think GIGABYTE actually used an extra layer of black matte PCB to cover up those traces without bleed through. The Gold accents on the new heatsinks is very nice, they really did a great job with the looks of this board. Right now this board doesn't have a UEFI BIOS, which many users want. But the fact is you don't really use your BIOS much, it's not an OS. You use it to Overclock, and the truth is a traditional style BIOS is much better for overclocking in my opinion it easier to use a keyboard. Because of lack of UEFI I have to take of a fraction of a point, but the hardware is there so it will be implemented shortly. I should mention you CAN boot from 3TB+ HDDs.
*Score: 9.7*

*Total Score: 9.75*, this board is Excellent in all areas. It doesn't fail to exceed all my expectations.

*Pros:*
High Overclock Ability
VRD 12 Certified (Very good SVID implementation)
Excellent SLI performance
Excellent SATA6G and USB3 connectivity
Very stable board
Nice board and heatsink color scheme

*Cons:*
UEFI not implemented yet (for most of you, I prefer no UEFI as I feel it just isn't stable enough yet)
No IDE (overclockers like IDE)
PCI-E 1x slot is blocked by NF200 Heatsink

*I would like to thank everyone at GIGABYTE for making this review happen!!! Without you guys we wouldn't have this amazing board!*

If you have any questions or comments, do feel free to PM me in private if you would like.


----------



## reflex99

nice work


----------



## NrGx

Excellent review! +


----------



## TickleMeElmo

Very nice and detailed review


----------



## fliq

great work sin.


----------



## Maou

Nice


----------



## Sin0822

THanks guys I am glad you liked it. Haha imagine both P67A-UD7 articles put together, I could sell it as a book.


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## simon747

Nice work. I am getting my ud7 this week based on what you have written, thanks for taking the time


----------



## infected rat

Great work, awesome resource to have at this early stage.


----------



## 77Pat

Good job. This is pushing me towards the Gigabyte Ud3P or UD4, although I am still tempted to go cheap and get the Biostar TP76XE...


----------



## lasalasa

So should C1E and EIST be kept enabled or disabled?

What about Turbo?

Nice post by the way, could only read some of it, I will finish reading later on this evening.


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## Axon14

Tremendous job man. Let me ask something: I have an i7 920 @ 4.1 using 1.2 volts. Is a 2500k (shooting for a high 4 or 5 oc) worth it? The only game I would think I would see an appreciable difference is in WoW (at least given what I play), and even then only in very crowded areas where CPU clocks make a difference.

Also, do the H67 boards overclock?


----------



## ChickenInferno

Nice Review!!! I honest to god think that if my XSPC rasa block would fit socket 1155, I would go out and smack a 2600K with it.

Good to see that the HT of the 2600K didn't kill overclocking that was my biggest worry since the only previews of overclocking were on the 2500K.


----------



## Sin0822

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *77Pat;11948167*
> Good job. This is pushing me towards the Gigabyte Ud3P or UD4, although I am still tempted to go cheap and get the Biostar TP76XE...


Well the Gigabyte might be a more solid board, and easier to OC, but heck I think OCing is 95% in the chip, and 5% the motherboard maker doing Intel's design correctly, like SVID.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *lasalasa;11948241*
> So should C1E and EIST be kept enabled or disabled?
> 
> What about Turbo?
> 
> Nice post by the way, could only read some of it, I will finish reading later on this evening.


Well you want to turn those off, but early ASUS UEFI BIOS had a bug, and well UEFI ain't even close to perfect, but I think with ASUS you have to use Turbo Mode, I would turn off C1E and EIST if your BIOS allows for it. Earlier ASUS was giving away their boards like hotcakes, so all teh reviewers would use them in their reviews, the problem was they had some problems and so the reviewers said you ahve to do it this way and that way. i didn't use EIST or C1E or Turbo for anything. Just for testing wether multi goes crazy.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Axon14;11948406*
> Tremendous job man. Let me ask something: I have an i7 920 @ 4.1 using 1.2 volts. Is a 2500k (shooting for a high 4 or 5 oc) worth it? The only game I would think I would see an appreciable difference is in WoW (at least given what I play), and even then only in very crowded areas where CPU clocks make a difference.
> 
> Also, do the H67 boards overclock?


I heard H67 is non OCable, BUT fromwhat I have heard mobo manufacturers are getting them to OC, wait for someone to say yes it OCes to buy it.
I think its an upgrade, most chips if not all i have seen can do 4.5ghz. After Cpu PLL Overvoltage was added to all boards 4.8ghz was even easier.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *ChickenInferno;11948529*
> Nice Review!!! I honest to god think that if my XSPC rasa block would fit socket 1155, I would go out and smack a 2600K with it.
> 
> Good to see that the HT of the 2600K didn't kill overclocking that was my biggest worry since the only previews of overclocking were on the 2500K.


Yea I tried with HT off and nothing was different, not even less voltage needed. but i am guessing at very high clocks you can turn it off as well as cores to get high clocks.

My water block had variable fitings, and it worked, you can probabaly buy a 1156 or 1155 kit to adapt.


----------



## lasalasa

It's just that so far everyone has said C1E/EIST/Turbo should and recommended to be kept enabled so I'm a bit baffled.


----------



## ChickenInferno

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sin0822;11948806*
> Yea I tried with HT off and nothing was different, not even less voltage needed. but i am guessing at very high clocks you can turn it off as well as cores to get high clocks.
> 
> My water block had variable fitings, and it worked, you can probabaly buy a 1156 or 1155 kit to adapt.


So what I've found so far is that the socket 1155=socket 1156 in terms of the mounting holes....and I have the mounting kit for socket 1156. I shouldn't do this but I probablly will.


----------



## Sin0822

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *lasalasa;11948824*
> It's just that so far everyone has said C1E/EIST/Turbo should and recommended to be kept enabled so I'm a bit baffled.


From people I have talked to you do not need too. It actually will make your multiplier go crazy. Try both ways, with GIGABYTE boards at least you do not have to use it, and shouldn't, maybe ASUS hasn't gotten their stuff straight yet. People have been PMing me a lot about problems with their BIOSes.


----------



## cory1234

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *lasalasa;11948824*
> It's just that so far everyone has said C1E/EIST/Turbo should and recommended to be kept enabled so I'm a bit baffled.


That's what I heard as well. The only reason people didn't have these features enabled on the older generations was because it made overclocking more difficult, but I was under the impression that you could achieve higher overclocks with the power saving features enabled.


----------



## Lord Xeb

HOLY CRAP! ;_; I wish I had money for a sandy bridge now. That blows my rig away!


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## Chewy

Fantastic work and a big thumbs up, Much appreciated! + rep

am i right in saying on this ud7 board i can go into the bios and up the multiplier step by step as far as 48 without having to touch any of the voltages??


----------



## Sin0822

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *cory1234;11950129*
> That's what I heard as well. The only reason people didn't have these features enabled on the older generations was because it made overclocking more difficult, but I was under the impression that you could achieve higher overclocks with the power saving features enabled.


You can try, but i bet there is no difference. Power saving features will just make your multiplier jump around and decrease performance.

Here is what i used to test efficiency. Small burts of superpi. 64k
and 128k
with C1E and EIST those scores were slower than without them. C1E and EIST didn't do anything to help anything.
When you guys get your ASUS boards you might have to use C1E and EIST, as that was a problem with their boards. There is a lot of false information out there, and well most of it is because certain boards have tons of BIOS issues. Wait a week or two until official release BIOSes are released, most companies will have taken care of those problems. Only board that they say keep it on are ASUS, MSI even says to disable.

This is from ASUS as well, on GIgabyte everyone I have seen can do at least 4.8ghz.

"Here is an excerpt from an ASUS overclocking guide provided to us about the percentage of processors that overclock to a certain frequency from a total of 100 Sandy Bridge processors:

Results are representative of 100 D2 CPUs that were binned and tested for stability under load; these results will most likely represent retail CPUs.

1. Approximately 50% of CPUs can go up to 4.4-4.5 GHz

2. Approximately 40% of CPUs can go up to 4.6-4.7 GHz

3. Approximately 10% of CPUs can go up to 4.8-5 GHz (50+ multipliers are about 2% of this group)

Additionally it is recommended to keep 「C1E」and「EIST」option enabled for the best overclock scaling. This is different than previous Intel overclocking expectations where the best scaling was with disabled power states or power management options.""

That is just ****ty, and its becuase #1 they didn't do Sandy Bridge correctly(no VRD 12 cert) #2 this bios is buggy and fromw hat i have heard from two independant reviewers, unstable.

you gotta wake up and realize ASUS isn't the only mobo company, and the reasono there is so much confusion is becuase their boards aren't stable.

Recently here are huge BIOS changes:
#1 auto set ratio to use turbo mode when above intel spec
#2 allow for you to disable C1E and EIST, before if you disabled these the BIOS woudl become very unstable and crash even at stock, and that is just no right.

Plus me nor other people used C1E or EIST, and we can all hit 5.2ghz, the other guy has a UD4 and D2 stepping chip, and his was limited at 4.8ghz, then CPu PLL Overvoltage option was added to BIOS and he coudl boot at 5.4ghz and was stbale at 5.1, we both tried with C1E and EIST and nothing good came of it, just jumpy multiplier whihc is a huge problem with C1E and EIST. most benchmarks like 3DMark and other GPu benches don't take you CPu to 100% and thus eist and C1E will keep the multiplier down.


----------



## Chewy

Guess not


----------



## Kent10

First of all, thanks so much Sin0822 for your excellent reviews. I will be using your overclock guide and your review of the P67A-UD7 persuaded me to buy it. I am all set with my system except for the 2600K which should come from Newegg on Tues.

I am wondering what the latest BIOS is for the P67A-UD7. I have seen F6x here
http://hwbot.org/forum/showthread.php?t=15952

And F6e here
http://forums.tweaktown.com/gigabyte...test-bios.html

On the tweaktown site the F6x is listed under previous BIOS but x comes after e so I am confused.

And I thought I read that with F6e they took out the PLL Overvoltage option. Is this true? Which BIOS would you recommend I use then.

Thanks again. Kent


----------



## lightsout

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Kent10;11951382*
> First of all, thanks so much Sin0822 for your excellent reviews. I will be using your overclock guide and your review of the P67A-UD7 persuaded me to buy it. I am all set with my system except for the 2600K which should come from Newegg on Tues.
> 
> I am wondering what the latest BIOS is for the P67A-UD7. I have seen F6x here
> http://hwbot.org/forum/showthread.php?t=15952
> 
> And F6e here
> http://forums.tweaktown.com/gigabyte...test-bios.html
> 
> On the tweaktown site the F6x is listed under previous BIOS but x comes after e so I am confused.
> 
> And I thought I read that with F6e they took out the PLL Overvoltage option. Is this true? Which BIOS would you recommend I use then.
> 
> Thanks again. Kent


So Sin or anyone I can't flash to any bios on tweaktown or HWbot. I got the newest one on gigabytes site but its pretty old. I wall PLL unlock.

Pretty frustrated here. Whats the deal?? Anyone else having an issue. My board is the UD4

It just keeps saying invalid bios file. I've redownloaded and all that. One for the gigabyte site worked first try.

Using q flash.


----------



## Sin0822

ok you have to use @BIOS, i just responded to your thread over at TT.

here is the deal with F6X and F6E, F6X is after F6E, F6E fixes S3 sleep state, and F6X adds CPU PLL OverVoltage, use F6X. I bet that official release BIOS will be out tomorrow or very soon, as you need to keep in mind that these are all BETA bioses, even the ones on Gigabyte's website. THe Most Stable are those with no letters after the number, like for the UD7 F3 and F5.

F6X was released before becuase they wanted to get CPU PLL Overvoltage option out there before official release. BIOS F6 shoudl have CPu PLL OVervoltage.


----------



## lightsout

Man I'm getting frustrated with this board. Thanks for the reply didn't even see it was you over there. Updated with @bios all was well. Rebooted, entered on the same settings I was using. 45x100

Wouldn't boot OC error. Then it says I have a check sum error with the bios and it installs F3 from the backup. Thank God it had the backup I guess.

So now I'm at 4ghz just wondering wth. Can't say this build has gone very smooth. Cant blame it all on the board. But the board likes to reboot a couple times sometimes. Then it won't power my keyboard so when I hit delete it doesn't take me to the bios.

I know its brand new and all but its been a headache. Seriously considering returning it for the pro but I have a couple weeks so I will wait to see if some kinks get worked out. I may just leave the beta bios's alone as I haven't had much luck.

Not sure what was the deal with that checksum error. It didn't happen until I got the OC error.


----------



## rchads89

Sin fantastic review...

I was going to get the Asus p8 deluxe. But after reading what you was saying about the asus features messing things up, i may reconsider.

I take it these UD7 boards have none of the features asus have so therefore everything on gigabyte works great?

Will Asus fix this or shall i just go with Gigabyte?

What are the pros and cons of both of them?

One last thing, i have seen in the review basically ram doesnt speak out as much so a strong kit is not really needed?

Many thanks!


----------



## Kent10

Thanks for the BIOS information, Sin. I'll try F6x unless they come out with something else shortly. I have been wondering. Where are the latest Beta BIOS's "officially" posted other than Gigabyte's site which doesn't have the latest. It is nice someone is maintaining them on these forums but I am wondering if there is another official link where they are posted or where do you get them. I used to have a link from Germany for an older Gigabyte board but it does not exist anymore. Thanks.


----------



## bratas

Sin I can say nothing but what has been said before, EXCELLENT REVIEW.

I ordered my 2600k which should be here on Tue. I am about to pull the trigger on a UD5. The only question I have left is how much of a performance hit will not having the NF200 be? I like you have the GTX 570, 1 atm but was considering picking up a second.


----------



## lightsout

So I reflashed booted up at 4.2. But I'm leaving so I had to shut it down. No error this time though.

sent from tapatalk on android


----------



## Sin0822

OK lights out, do me a favor, and use BIOS F5, you don't need CPU PLL, if you aren't hitting more than 4.8ghz then do not use F6X, use F4. Do you have an AIM? or MSN messenger account, PM me and I can maybe put you into contact with someone who has your board and has great sucess with it. PM me and I can help you out furthur.


----------



## AK-47

possible to get benchmarks on a more cpu intensive game like mafia II?


----------



## Sin0822

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Kent10;11953095*
> Thanks for the BIOS information, Sin. I'll try F6x unless they come out with something else shortly. I have been wondering. Where are the latest Beta BIOS's "officially" posted other than Gigabyte's site which doesn't have the latest. It is nice someone is maintaining them on these forums but I am wondering if there is another official link where they are posted or where do you get them. I used to have a link from Germany for an older Gigabyte board but it does not exist anymore. Thanks.


Tweaktown forums are official Gigabyte USA support and they have all the BIOSes up there. Official first release BIOS will come soon.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *bratas;11953539*
> Sin I can say nothing but what has been said before, EXCELLENT REVIEW.
> 
> I ordered my 2600k which should be here on Tue. I am about to pull the trigger on a UD5. The only question I have left is how much of a performance hit will not having the NF200 be? I like you have the GTX 570, 1 atm but was considering picking up a second.


Well I wouldn't say that much, NF200 is more for 3 way SLI, SLi at 8x,8x is no problem, it works fine. Go for the UD5 its a solid board. Make sure to use latest BIOS on teh UD5, I was talking to a GIgabyte guy last night, he had them fix up a lot of things recently when he went OCing the board.


----------



## Sin0822

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *AK-47;11953683*
> possible to get benchmarks on a more cpu intensive game like mafia II?


You got the game you wanna give me or a benchmark program, I am really not a gamer, so I don't jut have all these games. HAWX had a benhmark program,COD4 I had for some reason, and since they gave me these cards, man that game looks sick. I spent money on 3dmark11 haha and SLI doesn't work with it, so that was a bummer. I get higher scores with single GPU on 11.

Oh and the BIOS blowing up, its beta man, you are almost a Beta tester, and tomorrow is first day of official release, don't worry. I have had many earlier BIOSes do the same thing, same thing happened with X58 before release. Just wait for a new BIOS or Use F5 or F3 whatever your originial BIOS is becuase those are very stable.


----------



## AK-47

the mafia II demo has the benchmark tool


----------



## Sin0822

OK I will run it, give me a day or so, I am very busy and my cards are in the SB system.


----------



## velocd

Awesome guide!

Bought the 2600K and UD7 yesterday. Had been eying the Maximus IV weeks prior, but decided I'd buy the UD7 if the Maximus IV wasn't available the 9th (because I'm upgrading from LGA 775 and I've waited long enough). UD7 is the only flagship P67 available right now; i.e. only NF200 board. Other vendors blew it not releasing their competition on the 9th (spared only if they release it this week).

I still need to purchase memory. What are your thoughts on low-voltage (1.35v) memory for P67? e.g. G.SKILL ECO series.

Moreover, what would give me optimal CPU/memory overclock performance for UD7--higher frequency memory (e.g. 2133Mhz) or lower-voltage lower-timings memory (1.35v-1.5v, 1600Mhz)?


----------



## Sin0822

If i were you i wouldn't worry AT ALL about memory voltage, you can push memory voltage just you can on X58 and P55 systems, over 1.8v. I would get a 1866kit with good timings, OR if you have the money get a nice 2400mhz kit and down clock it to 2133mhz and tighten the timings.

On P67 you can ONLY use DDR3, 800, 1066, 1333, 1600, 1866, and 2133 same for every board. Timings are important, but I think SB loves memory bandwidth, it wont affect CPu OC but it performs excellent with higher memory speeds, plus it can actually do those high memory speeds.

You made the right choice with the UD7, not only it is really easy to OC, but you don't need to worry about Turbo, and C1E, and EIST, your multiplier is steady what you set at all times, it just a sick motherboard plus it looks nice.

From what I have heard, they are having problems with the M4E. BIOS and/or OCing.


----------



## lightsout

Thanks a lot Sin for all your help. I don't have much time tonight but I appreciate all the help. I'll have plenty more questions though don't worry


----------



## Sin0822

yea man NP, just PM me ill take care of you, same goes for anyone else with trouble or OC help needed.

But hey I don't work for gigabyte so don't take my word for anything official, but I will try my best to help you guys.


----------



## Jonesey I7

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sin0822;11956166*
> yea man NP, just PM me ill take care of you, same goes for anyone else with trouble or OC help needed.
> 
> But hey I don't work for gigabyte so don't take my word for anything official, but I will try my best to help you guys.


Who DO you work for?


----------



## Sin0822

big brother


----------



## decimator

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sin0822;11956686*
> big brother


Great, albeit somewhat ominous, answer







.


----------



## AFQ

Nice review sin









Its really informative!!

btw what do you think about UD4? How do you compare UD5 and UD4? Is it worth spending extra on UD5?


----------



## Chewy

I cant wait to get my ud7!

Will gigabyte be releasing a uefi bios anytime soon for this board?


----------



## bespreDELL

very good review. So many information. Very useful for beginner and OC'er.
I like and respect such people like you, that could make some benches in real.

I have a question.
How do you know about PLL, VTT, Dram voltage and other components of motherboard ?
I guess Gigabyte Crew give you such information ?
Am i right ? Or you just Google it ?


----------



## lasalasa

OP, if you had the chance, which board would you go for, Gigabyte's UD5 or Asus' P8P67 Evo/Deluxe?

Have you had past experience with Asus boards?

I ordered an Evo(need to update sig), but you seem to prefer Gigabyte's alternatives.


----------



## Kold

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *lasalasa;11957778*
> OP, if you had the chance, which board would you go for, Gigabyte's UD5 or Asus' P8P67 Evo/Deluxe?
> 
> Have you had past experience with Asus boards?
> 
> I ordered an Evo(need to update sig), but you seem to prefer Gigabyte's alternatives.


Both Asus and GB are fine. The Evo is an NF200 board as well, but at a nicer price. Correct?

Great review man. I was on the fence about the UD7 vs the MIV4 and this review really helped out a lot. I am worried about getting a D1 chip over a D2, though. Is there any discernible difference without having to install and check with CPU-Z?

Also, can you link to some of that higher speed ram you were telling someone else to go with? I looked around on newegg and most of the high speed stuff is up in the C9-10 latencies.


----------



## lasalasa

Apparently all retail chips are D2. And no, the Evo does not use NF200.

I just didn't get a chance to use an Asus board up until now(shocking, right?).


----------



## Kold

Ah, okay. Don't even sweat. You'll love the Asus board. I would have gone Asus if this UD7 looked like ass lol.


----------



## Levesque

I really wanted the Asus Maximus IV, but I can't buy it anywhere!

Should I wait for it or go with the UD7?

Stupid Asus $%#^!. I have my 2600K, my waterblock, my RAM, everything!


----------



## lightsout

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sin0822;11953670*
> OK lights out, do me a favor, and use BIOS F5, you don't need CPU PLL, if you aren't hitting more than 4.8ghz then do not use F6X, use F4. Do you have an AIM? or MSN messenger account, PM me and I can maybe put you into contact with someone who has your board and has great sucess with it. PM me and I can help you out furthur.


So it reverted back to F3 again. Got a failed OC and it flashed itself back to the backup with a checksum error. I'm going to listen to you and flash F4


----------



## velocd

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Sin0822*


OR if you have the money get a nice 2400mhz kit and down clock it to 2133mhz and tighten the timings.


Going all out with this build (only upgrade about every 4 years) and bought these:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231420

Already CAS 8, we'll see how tight I can get 'em.


----------



## lightsout

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *velocd;11960175*
> Going all out with this build (only upgrade about every 4 years) and bought these:
> 
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231420
> 
> Already CAS 8, we'll see how tight I can get 'em.


Wow thats expensive, I'd love to see the timings you can get at 2133!


----------



## bratas

Quote:



Originally Posted by *velocd*


Going all out with this build (only upgrade about every 4 years) and bought these:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231420

Already CAS 8, we'll see how tight I can get 'em.










I thought about those, just not sure how much clearance I will have with the NH-D14


----------



## Infinite-Dev

I purchased http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231355 on friday for $135. Im wondering why it has been deactivated? Think it is just so they can sell the newer "made for sandybridge ram? I thought it was a decent price for cl7 2133mhz ram... I guess I will find out when it gets here tomorrow or wednesday...


----------



## puffsNasco

so for all the other board from MSI and ASUS without Intel's VRD12 does that mean we all lag when it's changing from 1ghz go 5ghz via turbo boost?

*"Above you can see the VID change from 1.23 to 1.370 for 3.4 to 4.5 GHz automatically, if this occurs SVID is working properly."*

does this work for all boards? or just gigabyte?


----------



## Silver_WRX02

Will the Hyper-threading affect the overclockability on this chip? Is there a temp difference between HT on/off?


----------



## Sin0822

Quote:



Originally Posted by *bespreDELL*


very good review. So many information. Very useful for beginner and OC'er.
I like and respect such people like you, that could make some benches in real.

I have a question. 
How do you know about PLL, VTT, Dram voltage and other components of motherboard ? 
I guess Gigabyte Crew give you such information ? 
Am i right ? Or you just Google it ?


No gigabyte doesn't give me info, I tested and I read all the Intel whitepapers, as well as VRD12 PWM spec, and so on and so forth, I find those read points myself and then show gigabyte lol.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *lasalasa*


OP, if you had the chance, which board would you go for, Gigabyte's UD5 or Asus' P8P67 Evo/Deluxe?

Have you had past experience with Asus boards?

I ordered an Evo(need to update sig), but you seem to prefer Gigabyte's alternatives.


Yes I owned a P6X58D-Premium, and 7 years of ASUS boards before that. 
I prefer Gigabyte over ASUS on X58 for many reasons, including that their P6X58D-Premium wouldn't take my chip past 215blck, the R3E i bought would do 223 and 215 stable, and then i got my X58A-UD5 and it would do 224 and 215 stable. The Gigabyte boards were just much better built. Plus for sub-zero the R3E and its Digital PWM had a lot of problems with the cold and they didn't upgrade that much for VRD12 and LGA 1155, which isn't good because other companies revamped their VRMs including the PWM. Cold doesn't matter anymore ATM, but will in a few months as Intel releases new chips without cold bugs, or more tolerable cold bugs. Power Delivery is very important, and ASUS is going with marketing instead of quality, Digital PWMs are not very dependable unless they use the best ones, and that is why the EVGA Calssy was such a great board, the Volterra PWM is VERy expensive, and you have to use volterra MOSFETs and even Volterra specific inductors, so its extremely expensive. Volterra is out of the game ATM because they haven't updated their PWMs/design. People have no idea what teh difference between digital and analogue VRM systems are you think 12 phases is 12 phases, but the truth is phases just break down power from 12v-5v to 0.5v-2v, and the PWm controls the voltage levels and the drivers that control the phases, it is the brain of the phase array. While Digital PWMs can be programed, help reduce socket space, are very good at controlling the Loadline equation(different than LLC), they last fast response and dependability. Digital PWMs are supposed to have more precise voltage control, but for SB both Gigabyte's analogue PWM and ASUS digital control down to .5v, both have multiple levels of LLC(Gigabyte uses an off die chip that is a GPIO), right now an Analogue PWM fits best, a Digital PWm will fit very well int eh next few years, as Intel spec starts integrating more digital parts. Analogue PWMs have faster response because everything is hard wired there is no firmware, but the user cannot control the PWM. BUT analogue PWMs are very mature technology, they are extremely smart, the GPIO that Gigabyte uses is an expensive iTE chip that also allows for phase switching. Digital PWMs are much easier to integrate and cheaper, analogue can be very cheap as the case is with MSI(they copy gigabyte so much its not funny, such as with the high quality driver mosfets(drmos), USB On/OFF charge, and a few others things that do not come to mind). MSI advertised DrMOS for so long, but Gigabyte had been using it for years, and the quality of Gigabyte's was recently matched by MSI with their renesass MOSFETs. I just think Gigabyte is doing a lot of things right that ASUS is beginning to lack on because they have gotten to be so damn big, its almost like they put out a product and no matter if it sucks people still like them, its much harder on Gigabyte, and that is why they really strive hard. you have to realize ASUS is worth a few billion and they are the largest mobo company, Gigabyte is second at 100 million.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Kold*


Both Asus and GB are fine. The Evo is an NF200 board as well, but at a nicer price. Correct?

Great review man. I was on the fence about the UD7 vs the MIV4 and this review really helped out a lot. I am worried about getting a D1 chip over a D2, though. Is there any discernible difference without having to install and check with CPU-Z?

Also, can you link to some of that higher speed ram you were telling someone else to go with? I looked around on newegg and most of the high speed stuff is up in the C9-10 latencies.


And yea no NF200 on the Evo. You cannot buy a D1 stepping chip, as in I am pretty sure you cannot buy an ES chip LOL. yea I would go with nice slow latency DDR3 1866, or some nice DDR3 2000 with decent latencies and downclock it and tighten the timings.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *puffsNasco*


so for all the other board from MSI and ASUS without Intel's VRD12 does that mean we all lag when it's changing from 1ghz go 5ghz via turbo boost?

*"Above you can see the VID change from 1.23 to 1.370 for 3.4 to 4.5 GHz automatically, if this occurs SVID is working properly."*

does this work for all boards? or just gigabyte?


At some benchmarks that do not stress the CPU all the way or to the point that C1E and EIST are not in affect then yes there is a difference, only small though such as when using Superpi on small iterations.

I am pretty sure they all want you to OC with Turbo Boost,but this is fine, the problem is that ASUS wants you to also keep C1E and EIST enabled. If the board has VRD12 certification it will be advertised, but that doesn't mean it doesn't meet most of the specs. So far there are no Digital PWM VRD12 certified because they do not meet all the criteria, I cannot tell you about MSI, but after reading their OC guide I can tell you that they do not require C1E and EIST to be enabled, they actually kept it disabled.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Silver_WRX02*


Will the Hyper-threading affect the overclockability on this chip? Is there a temp difference between HT on/off?


No there wasn't i found that there was no need to turn off HT. If you don't want HT then just get a 2500K. 
You can however disable cores, I have seen that work. I did try to turn off HT, and it didn't do anything as far as let me take down vcore or lower temps, none that I saw at least.


----------



## $ilent

im confused with sandy bridge, websites have been saying dont go over 1.5v wih ram, so what you supposed to do with ram that is specified to run at 1.65v and only 1.65?


----------



## velocd

[ignore -- double post]


----------



## velocd

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *$ilent;11963626*
> im confused with sandy bridge, websites have been saying dont go over 1.5v wih ram, so what you supposed to do with ram that is specified to run at 1.65v and only 1.65?


It's like Sin0822 said, don't worry about it. I don't know where this 1.5v maximum came from, but the UD7 qualified vendor list for memory includes plenty of 1.65v ram:

http://download.gigabyte.us/FileList/Memory/mb_memory_ga-p67a-ud7.pdf

G.SKILL released their Ripjaws X, which are basically Ripjaws with new heatsinks and marketed for Sandy Bridge. Again, lots of 1.65v kits there too.


----------



## Sin0822

yea do not worry wiht it, Intel states 1.5 +/- 3% i covered it inmy guide, i woudl say 95% of people use DDR3 and se 1.65v. I have used upto 1.8-1.9v


----------



## Sin0822

note price updated, i had to make it official.


----------



## coolhandluke41

"
Yes I owned a P6X58D-Premium, and 7 years of ASUS boards before that. 
I prefer Gigabyte over ASUS on X58 for many reasons, including that their P6X58D-Premium wouldn't take my chip past 215blck, the R3E i bought would do 223 and 215 stable, and then i got my X58A-UD5 and it would do 224 and 215 stable. The Gigabyte boards were just much better built. Plus for sub-zero the R3E and its Digital PWM had a lot of problems with the cold and they didn't upgrade that much for VRD12 and LGA 1155, which isn't good because other companies revamped their VRMs including the PWM. Cold doesn't matter anymore ATM, but will in a few months as Intel releases new chips without cold bugs, or more tolerable cold bugs. Power Delivery is very important, and ASUS is going with marketing instead of quality, Digital PWMs are not very dependable unless they use the best ones, and that is why the EVGA Calssy was such a great board, the Volterra PWM is VERy expensive, and you have to use volterra MOSFETs and even Volterra specific inductors, so its extremely expensive. Volterra is out of the game ATM because they haven't updated their PWMs/design. People have no idea what teh difference between digital and analogue VRM systems are you think 12 phases is 12 phases, but the truth is phases just break down power from 12v-5v to 0.5v-2v, and the PWm controls the voltage levels and the drivers that control the phases, it is the brain of the phase array. While Digital PWMs can be programed, help reduce socket space, are very good at controlling the Loadline equation(different than LLC), they last fast response and dependability. Digital PWMs are supposed to have more precise voltage control, but for SB both Gigabyte's analogue PWM and ASUS digital control down to .5v, both have multiple levels of LLC(Gigabyte uses an off die chip that is a GPIO), right now an Analogue PWM fits best, a Digital PWm will fit very well int eh next few years, as Intel spec starts integrating more digital parts. Analogue PWMs have faster response because everything is hard wired there is no firmware, but the user cannot control the PWM. BUT analogue PWMs are very mature technology, they are extremely smart, the GPIO that Gigabyte uses is an expensive iTE chip that also allows for phase switching. Digital PWMs are much easier to integrate and cheaper, analogue can be very cheap as the case is with MSI(they copy gigabyte so much its not funny, such as with the high quality driver mosfets(drmos), USB On/OFF charge, and a few others things that do not come to mind). MSI advertised DrMOS for so long, but Gigabyte had been using it for years, and the quality of Gigabyte's was recently matched by MSI with their renesass MOSFETs. I just think Gigabyte is doing a lot of things right that ASUS is beginning to lack on because they have gotten to be so damn big, its almost like they put out a product and no matter if it sucks people still like them, its much harder on Gigabyte, and that is why they really strive hard. you have to realize ASUS is worth a few billion and they are the largest mobo company, Gigabyte is second at 100 million."

Thank You very much ,very well done..there is a lot of so called "experts" and aSUS fan boys that just talk crap all day long how bad GIGABYTE mobos are for no reason and as for this thread














(bookmarked) it could't come in a better time as i was about to upgrade to GA-P67A-UD7 /2600K
Sin0822 you are one of the coolest cat around here ,thanks again


----------



## Sin0822

haha No problem, btw you can actually quote someones post by hitting the quote button on the lower right hand side of their post, and then multi quote if you wanna quote more than one persome, with the button right next to that.

I think the UD7 and UD5 are excellent if you want to OC to the max and use it everyday like that. The problem is that you need a board that can sustain very long periods of OC, and gigabyte is excellent in making that happen. The UD4 is also a very nice board. From what I heard its a downgraded UD5, BIOS is different as well in terms of implemented features, its meant to compete against asus p8p series. the UD5 and UD7 are the top of the line Gigabyte boards made to compete with ASUS ROG series.


----------



## nickster79

Hello,

Thanks for putting together this guide.

I read on another guide that the VccSA powers the internal memory controller.

http://www.techreaction.net/2011/01/...idge-v0-1beta/

I just got a new i7 2600k and was reading up on overclocking, and noticed this discrepancy.

Thanks, 
Nick


----------



## Sin0822

VCCSA is power for system agent, it is tied to memory controller, but it is not the memory controller's voltage. On ASUS boards it is tied more closley to memory voltage. on my Gigabyte board they both come from the uncore power. The IMC(memory controller) is housed in the System Agent. On niether system do you want to increase the SA voltage. There is no point, it might boost your IMC voltage(vtt or VCCIO) by 0.1v, but you shoudl just increase VCCIO/VTT. If anyone tells you to change the SA voltage they are straight up wrong. i knoe what i am talking about.

you shoudl check intels datasheet volume #1. on the first page of my review, that table for voltages is straight from Intel's datasheet. 
holy crap i just read that article, idk what board only has System agent and not VCCIO, but if they don't have VCCIO/VTT/qpi/imc voltage(stock is 1.05) then yes you increase SA voltage, but i haven't seen any board like this, not ASUS, not Gigabyte, not MSI, not Intel. What board are you using?


----------



## nickster79

Hey Sin, thanks for the quick reply.

I just got an ASUS P8P67 EVO. In the bios for this board, there are separate VCCSA and VCCIO values that can be adjusted.

When I was reading up on OC'ing sandybridge, I read your guide and the techreaction guide and was a bit confused as to which voltage actually fed the IMC. I guess they both do in a way, but I see your point about the VCCIO voltage being the direct way to increase the juice to the IMC. I haven't tried pushing this board and chip yet (just got 'em), but I'm curious to see how far mine can be pushed.

Thanks again for the guide and the followup.


----------



## Sin0822

search for other guides as well, they will all go against what the techreaction guide says about VCCSA, i just think he jumped to quick to publish that guide.


----------



## Sin0822

Many people have been reporting that at 4.5ghz they seem to be hitting limits with voltage changing, HERE is what to do.

Use Turbo Mode, your mutlipier will still not drop if you are on GB board, set each mutliplier to what you want, THEN set TDP to 300 and TDC to 300, that is really what helps the extension of TDP and TDC. I edited my guide a litte, i added this tidbit.


----------



## coolhandluke41

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Sin0822*


haha No problem, btw you can actually quote someones post by hitting the quote button on the lower right hand side of their post, and then multi quote if you wanna quote more than one persome, with the button right next to that.

I think the UD7 and UD5 are excellent if you want to OC to the max and use it everyday like that. The problem is that you need a board that can sustain very long periods of OC, and gigabyte is excellent in making that happen. The UD4 is also a very nice board. From what I heard its a downgraded UD5, BIOS is different as well in terms of implemented features, its meant to compete against asus p8p series. the UD5 and UD7 are the top of the line Gigabyte boards made to compete with ASUS ROG series.


no sin i didn't want to do it that way ..people tend to skip,want to make sure some one will read it again


----------



## Sin0822

hahaha cool, i gotcha. I hope it helped.


----------



## compudaze

Don't mean to hijack...

I was able to get my $99 UD3 and my $179 i5-2500K up to 4.9GHz on air with ~60C temps.

Thanks for the guide!


----------



## S_V(TM)

Review is done very good and excellent.. But if you put exact scored values instead of roughly graphs, it would be very useful to compare them for estimation of performance with our rigs.

Nevertheless you *SIR*, have done excellent Job.. It Inspired me again to post myresults(kept on hold), i too wanted to post my benchmarks since three months but couldn't due lack of time..


----------



## Sin0822

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *compudaze;11991888*
> Don't mean to hijack...
> 
> I was able to get my $99 UD3 and my $179 i5-2500K up to 4.9GHz on air with ~60C temps.
> 
> Thanks for the guide!


No problem glad it helped








Quote:


> Originally Posted by *S_V™;11992296*
> Review is done very good and excellent.. But if you put exact scored values instead of roughly graphs, it would be very useful to compare them for estimation of performance with our rigs.
> 
> Nevertheless you *SIR*, have done excellent Job.. It Inspired me again to post myresults(kept on hold), i too wanted to post my benchmarks since three months but couldn't due lack of time..


Thanks I appreciate it, yea time is an issue. Next time I will put up exact numbers, if you need exact numbers on any benchmark let me know, i have them all.


----------



## MojoDK

First of all .... what an awesome review!! As a newbee to overclocking I'm sure I can learn a lot here!!

Just got my GA-P67A-UD7 today and unfortunately I've been working on it all day and it still doesn't work. With a "optimized load" of bios F6 (and other bios I tried), I get stop error 0x00000124, when I try do do memtest it freezes berfore it starts, "Main bios checksum error" reverts me back to F3, it keeps crashing, it hangs often with code 50







I know my ram isn't the best (KHX1600C9AD3/2G x 2) but they are Genesis and reseller told me they would work with the board.

Sry I'm not trying to steal the thread, just crying for help.









Again once more - awesome that people like OP take time to make such a detailed review for all of us .. thanks!!!

Mojo


----------



## Sin0822

ok, first off, use BIOS F3, and then run memtest on both stick, see if it passes, if it doesn't then the RAM is bad or the Motherboard, most likely the RAM. FYI if the RAM is not on this list: http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3646&dl=1#memory%20support%20list

its the memory support list, if its not on there then its not garunteed to work.


----------



## reflex99

What is the equivalent of VTT (found on 1156, and 1366) on 1155?

maybe i missed it in the guide.

Or is it excluded because your not supposed to OC the blk?


----------



## Axon14

What about RAM speeds? I'm hitting a little bit of a wall - I can boot my chip into windows at 4.8, but I can't really get it too stable past 4.5. Generally it is stable, but Prime reveals an error on blend and small FFT. I'm running 1333 MHZ RAM. Potentially a factor?


----------



## esea1494

excellent guide +1


----------



## reflex99

any one know why my ram won't do anything other than 1600MHz, 9-9-9-24 1T ?


----------



## fliq

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *reflex99;12016777*
> any one know why my ram won't do anything other than 1600MHz, 9-9-9-24 1T ?


I've had some complications also, I'll let you know when I get them stable.


----------



## reflex99

I can't do anything other than 1600mhz.

(ok, i haven't tried 1333, but i don't see a reason to.)

STT Chrome btw


----------



## PLarsen

Sorry for interrupting.

I have read this thread, and I have a single question I hope someone can help me with.

I've bought a GA-P67A-UD7 and a i72600K but would like to use my old DDR3 ram "TW3X4G1600C9DHX-G" on this ram there is a label that says "v1.80" I will buy some new ram later on, but would like to start with this, will that work, or do I have to buy some new RAM?

Thanks in advance.


----------



## fliq

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *PLarsen;12017679*
> Sorry for interrupting.
> 
> I have read this thread, and I have a single question I hope someone can help me with.
> 
> I've bought a GA-P67A-UD7 and a i72600K but would like to use my old DDR3 ram "TW3X4G1600C9DHX-G" on this ram there is a label that says "v1.80" I will buy some new ram later on, but would like to start with this, will that work, or do I have to buy some new RAM?
> 
> Thanks in advance.


I'm thinking so, Sin knows the board better than I do but i'm pretty sure you'll be fine.


----------



## PLarsen

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *fliq;12017721*
> I'm thinking so, Sin knows the board better than I do but i'm pretty sure you'll be fine.


Sounds great, I was looking for new RAM, but decided to wait and read a few reviews before investing money in it









Therefor I thought I could start with the old RAM, and then upgrade when I'm ready to take a dive into the OC-World


----------



## MojoDK

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sin0822;12015079*
> ok, first off, use BIOS F3, and then run memtest on both stick, see if it passes, if it doesn't then the RAM is bad or the Motherboard, most likely the RAM. FYI if the RAM is not on this list: http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3646&dl=1#memory%20support%20list
> 
> its the memory support list, if its not on there then its not garunteed to work.


Thanks for helping me out!!!

Well I went and bought a couple of KHX2000C9AD3T1K2/4G which is on the compatibility list .. here's what I did:

1. Turn of computer
2. Put in new ram
3. Press the CMOS switch
4. Turn on the computer
5. The computer computer starts and reboots 3 times
6. When I'm finally able to enter the bios it says memory run at 1333MHz ... thought it should run at 1866MHz.
7. Rebooted the Pc and it hangs on code 50
8. I turn off power a couple of times until it starts
9. I press F12 to boot Memtest
10. Memtest freezes with this picture:









And when I enter Windows7... bam ...









So I don't get it ... I run compatible ram, F3 bios and still it reboots, freezes and act weird.









What can I do next?

Tanks!!!
Mojo


----------



## MojoDK

Nevermind .. thanks for your help ... but I returned the Gigabyte and bought an Intel DP67BG - everything works perfect now.


----------



## velocd

I get this freezed screen also with the latest memtest86 on my UD7. My memory checks out though, according to Intel Burn Test/Prime95/older memtest86+ from Ubuntu CD.


----------



## MojoDK

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *velocd;12023429*
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I get this freezed screen also with the latest memtest86 on my UD7. My memory checks out though, according to Intel Burn Test/Prime95/older memtest86+ from Ubuntu CD.


Well my new Intel DP67BG is showing same "freeze" .. so there must be something wrong with memtest and sandy bridge.

Besides that, my mobo is running real steady and fast.

Happy with i7-2600k!!!


----------



## fliq

if you're happy!

then that's all that matters


----------



## Sin0822

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *MojoDK;12018390*
> Thanks for helping me out!!!
> 
> Well I went and bought a couple of KHX2000C9AD3T1K2/4G which is on the compatibility list .. here's what I did:
> 
> Tanks!!!
> Mojo


Well you need to increase qpi/vtt voltage, did you try that? Also don't press clear cmos button when the power to the PSU is on.

1.8v ram voltage is fine, if you want to run you ram faster than stock you need to increase qpi/vtt and ram voltage, you can increase it to 2.1v i think for RAM voltage i have taken itto 1.8v easy.

i get some ddr3 2133 dominator next week, i will let you know how it goes. There was a BIOS fix for compatibility, if there was an XMP profile you should try it but check profile ddr3 qpi voltage to make sure its not over 1.2v.


----------



## PLarsen

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sin0822;12024429*
> 
> 1.8v ram voltage is fine, if you want to run you ram faster than stock you need to increase qpi/vtt and ram voltage, you can increase it to 2.1v i think for RAM voltage i have taken itto 1.8v easy.


Great to hear, now I can't wait to get my new rig up and running









I've seen that there is ram specially optimized for Sandy bridge, is that real or is it a trick to get more sale?


----------



## Sin0822

ehh its most likely a trick lol.


----------



## Syrillian

Hi, Sin0822.









This thread has been exceptionally helpful, insightful and has been a great tool. Thank you.

I would like to know about RAM Voltages.

I have a Corsair kit (2 x 2GB 1600) that is rated for 1.65.

I have read that RAM modules on the Sandy Bridge platform should be run @ 1.5V (or thereabouts).

Is this true, or is it safe for me to run the RAM @ 1.65V?

Thanks for your time.


----------



## H969

Great Guide, Awesome work!!! +1


----------



## Rookie1337

I may not be a Sandy Bridger but you seriously did a great job with this guide. A real asset to this community.


----------



## PLarsen

Just found this.
http://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtop...8a4c#p21199063

Now I'm scared again, about my old v1.8 Corsair would/could kill my new system.


----------



## Sin0822

Yes 1.65v is fine, why is it that people don't get this. \\

1.65v is fine, i have tested up to 1.8v it was totally fine.

Why are you scared i showed you the same exact thing, with intel data sheets.

Anyways here is the deal Intel said going above 1.65v would kill your processor with X58 and you know what it didn't. I am telling you i have tested these voltage and have seen official OCes from the companies, you can push the needed voltage through your RAM.


----------



## PLarsen

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Sin0822*


Yes 1.65v is fine, why is it that people don't get this. \\

1.65v is fine, i have tested up to 1.8v it was totally fine.

Why are you scared i showed you the same exact thing, with intel data sheets.

Anyways here is the deal Intel said going above 1.65v would kill your processor with X58 and you know what it didn't. I am telling you i have tested these voltage and have seen official OCes from the companies, you can push the needed voltage through your RAM.


Ok, I'm just the nervous type + a real 100% noob, now I've ordered these http://www.corsair.com/vengeance-8gb...m2a1600c9.html


----------



## Sin0822

if they wee on the QVL list then they should be good to go.


----------



## OC Maximus

Well Sin, I've hit a 5.3Ghz wall on my UD5. Been trying to figure out what the issue is for the last few days. Any advice would be appreciated.

OCM


----------



## Syrillian

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sin0822;12043855*
> Yes 1.65v is fine, why is it that people don't get this. \
> 
> 1.65v is fine, i have tested up to 1.8v it was totally fine.


Well, if you say it, I'll take it to the Bank.

Thanks for clarifying... I just have the _"new baby/kid gloves"_ syndrome goin' on.


----------



## Sin0822

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *OC Maximus;12045118*
> Well Sin, I've hit a 5.3Ghz wall on my UD5. Been trying to figure out what the issue is for the last few days. Any advice would be appreciated.
> 
> OCM


To be honest 5.3ghz is the max of 97% of all chips, including those that will only do 5ghz or 4.6ghz and even below. These chips wont do 5.5-5.7ghz, only the golden ones will and it seems to vary even inside batches. i stated int eh XS thread i have two same batch D1 stepping CPUs one maxes at 5.2 the other at 4.8. These chips are very weird.

i would try setting TDp and TDC to 300 each with turbo mode. lol 5.3ghz is my wall, lol.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Syrillian;12047885*
> Well, if you say it, I'll take it to the Bank.
> 
> Thanks for clarifying... I just have the _"new baby/kid gloves"_ syndrome goin' on.


yea don't worry.


----------



## OC Maximus

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Sin0822*


To be honest 5.3ghz is the max of 97% of all chips, including those that will only do 5ghz or 4.6ghz and even below. These chips wont do 5.5-5.7ghz, only the golden ones will and it seems to vary even inside batches. i stated int eh XS thread i have two same batch D1 stepping CPUs one maxes at 5.2 the other at 4.8. These chips are very weird.

i would try setting TDp and TDC to 300 each with turbo mode. lol 5.3ghz is my wall, lol.


No luck with turbo. May just need to start binning.









OCM


----------



## PDXMark

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Sin0822*


*BSOD CODES

*
*
*
*
**
Are those codes the same on the 775 socket?*


----------



## S_V(TM)

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Sin0822*


No problem glad it helped









Thanks I appreciate it, yea time is an issue. Next time I will put up exact numbers, if you need exact numbers on any benchmark let me know, i have them all.


Yes please, If you have time, Please send me or post your exact scored numbers of all. This weekend i am going to do all the benchmarks again as i am re-installing OS and little hardware updates in my system too..

Thanks in advance


----------



## Sin0822

can you just ask for specific numbers lol, i have them all written down on a huge hand written spread sheet, and i don't feel like typing them, or uploading all 150 images.


----------



## Sin0822

Quote:



Originally Posted by *OC Maximus*


No luck with turbo. May just need to start binning.









OCM










i honestly think you hit your limit, idk what you are complaining about lol. These chips are obviously part of the binning game.


----------



## S_V(TM)

ok, will ask you once i did my Benchs this weekend one by one .


----------



## OC Maximus

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Sin0822*


i honestly think you hit your limit, idk what you are complaining about lol. These chips are obviously part of the binning game.


Yeah, I hit it alright. Not complaining, just can't be competitive in 2D benchmarks with a 5.3ghz chip. I don't have deep pockets to pic up 5 or so chips so I'll do what I can with what I have. 5.3Ghz is still insane and great for 3D benching. Especially on air and water but we always want to go faster









OCM


----------



## reflex99

Quote:



Originally Posted by *OC Maximus*


Not complaining, just can't be competitive in 2D benchmarks with a 5.3ghz chip. I don't have deep pockets to pic up 5 or so chips so I'll do what I can with what I have. 5.3Ghz is still insane and great for 3D benching. Especially on air and water.

OCM










i get 5.4 sucka!!!


----------



## Sin0822

Quote:



Originally Posted by *OC Maximus*


Yeah, I hit it alright. Not complaining, just can't be competitive in 2D benchmarks with a 5.3ghz chip. I don't have deep pockets to pic up 5 or so chips so I'll do what I can with what I have. 5.3Ghz is still insane and great for 3D benching. Especially on air and water but we always want to go faster









OCM










yea so in 3d i am wiping the floor with my **** at 5.1ghz and SLi 570GTX i got the WR for 3dmark for that. What can you say its a D1 stepper tho.

yea you have a very nice chip, i was surprised to see that. but yea i hate the binning game. None of us have the money to go through and find the best chip. is someone finds a way to get around CPU PLL Overvoltage for D1 stepping chips, i will be at 5.3-5.5ghz.


----------



## OC Maximus

Quote:



Originally Posted by *reflex99*


i get 5.4 sucka!!!












OCM


----------



## OC Maximus

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Sin0822*


yea so in 3d i am wiping the floor with my **** at 5.1ghz and SLi 570GTX i got the WR for 3dmark for that. What can you say its a D1 stepper tho.

yea you have a very nice chip, i was surprised to see that. but yea i hate the binning game. None of us have the money to go through and find the best chip. is someone finds a way to get around CPU PLL Overvoltage for D1 stepping chips, i will be at 5.3-5.5ghz.


Yeah, hear ya. Picked up 5770 WR in 3D01 today myself. Finally smoked Smoke, lol

http://hwbot.org/community/submissio...0_106816_marks

I do hope later bios versions will help Max OC. We will see.

OCM


----------



## Sin0822

Hey i got the 3dmark11 570gtx single and 2x sli WR too, but I haven't posted yet, will do tonight. I don't like hwo on 3dmark vantage they want you to turn of physx, i thin kti woudl be fair just to leave it on, as GPU score basrley moved plus its a pain. For 3dmark11 it makes no difference.


----------



## Sin0822

Hey OCmaximum you seen this? 5.5ghz HT ON UD7: scroll down:
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=263598&page=11


----------



## OC Maximus

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sin0822;12066533*
> Hey OCmaximum you seen this? 5.5ghz HT ON UD7: scroll down:
> http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=263598&page=11


Yeah, I seen it. Need me a golden egg......

OCM


----------



## bratas

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sin0822;12066533*
> Hey OCmaximum you seen this? 5.5ghz HT ON UD7: scroll down:
> http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=263598&page=11










Do you know what cooling he is using? I can't be arsed to register over there to ask









He states "But yes i've been extremely happy with the F7A bios and my overclocking has gone extremely well. I'm sure the chip is capable of more, maybe 5.6 if i really push it, but as a personal goal, 5.5Ghz is really enough. I'll leave 5.6/5.7+ to the guys who really know what they are doing and have better cooling than me."


----------



## Kadombing

Quote:



Originally Posted by *bratas*









Do you know what cooling he is using? I can't be arsed to register over there to ask









He states "But yes i've been extremely happy with the F7A bios and my overclocking has gone extremely well. I'm sure the chip is capable of more, maybe 5.6 if i really push it, but as a personal goal, 5.5Ghz is really enough. I'll leave 5.6/5.7+ to the guys who really know what they are doing and have better cooling than me."


From his website:

Radiator: EK Coolstream 360
CPU Block: XSPC Rasa
GPU Block: EK-FC580 Nickel + Acetal
Pump: Swiftek MCP655
Hosing: 7/16″ Primochill White
Barbs: 1/2″ Barbs

http://www.jack-brennan.com/?p=965


----------



## Sin0822

yea you gotta use water for that. If you look in the OC section there are more 5.5ghz UD7 OCes. but that section has rules you basically have to have a WR or close to it to post in there.


----------



## Kold

Hey sin what are acceptable temps for a 5GHz oc on the UD7? I got up to 87C.. is there anything I can disable or enable to lower the temps?


----------



## PLarsen

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sin0822;12044940*
> if they wee on the QVL list then they should be good to go.


Sorry for the late response, but I've been trying to get my new system running, but didn't have any luck, I get the same bluescreens as mojo did, if I disable 3 cores in the bios, system is stable, 2 or more cores and my system wont boot, just bluescreen :-(

MB: Gigabyte GA-P67A-UD7
CPU: i7 2600k
RAM: CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9


----------



## Sin0822

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Kold*


Hey sin what are acceptable temps for a 5GHz oc on the UD7? I got up to 87C.. is there anything I can disable or enable to lower the temps?


That is ok, maybe you can use less LLC and higher vcore, or lower vcore and more LLC? or try lowering cpu pll.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *PLarsen*


Sorry for the late response, but I've been trying to get my new system running, but didn't have any luck, I get the same bluescreens as mojo did, if I disable 3 cores in the bios, system is stable, 2 or more cores and my system wont boot, just bluescreen :-(

MB: Gigabyte GA-P67A-UD7
CPU: i7 2600k
RAM: CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9


Hmm that is odd, this is at stock right?


----------



## reflex99

Lets assume someone in this forum was trying to get 5.5GHz, but everything he tries will post, but not boot windows.

This person has already tried up to 1.63vcc

what would you recommend?


----------



## mecea04

I currently have my 2600k over clocked at 5Ghz running on a GIGABYTE GA-P67A-UD5 motherboard. The cpu voltage is still set to auto, is this recommended, or should I set it to a manual voltage versus having it on auto? I did set the LLC to level 1, other than that no other changes have been made besides the multiplier and is running stable. When running intel burn at full load easy tune 6 lists the cpu voltage between 1.428 and 1.440.

Also I have this memory: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL...

I am trying to get it to run at 1600 as it is currently running at 1333. I have not had any luck getting it to run at 1600. Ive tried manually entering the voltage (1.5) and the timing (9-9-9-24) with no avail. I also tried increasing the VTT/VCCIO voltage slightly but that made no difference. Just wondering if you had any suggestion on things to try to get it to 1600.

Thanks for the help


----------



## Sin0822

Quote:



Originally Posted by *reflex99*


Lets assume someone in this forum was trying to get 5.5GHz, but everything he tries will post, but not boot windows.

This person has already tried up to 1.63vcc

what would you recommend?


Maybe try to raise TDp and TDC levels? i am guessing cpu pll over voltage is enabled, which would have solved this problem. IDK try disabling HT

Quote:



Originally Posted by *mecea04*


I currently have my 2600k over clocked at 5Ghz running on a GIGABYTE GA-P67A-UD5 motherboard. The cpu voltage is still set to auto, is this recommended, or should I set it to a manual voltage versus having it on auto? I did set the LLC to level 1, other than that no other changes have been made besides the multiplier and is running stable. When running intel burn at full load easy tune 6 lists the cpu voltage between 1.428 and 1.440.

Also I have this memory: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL...

I am trying to get it to run at 1600 as it is currently running at 1333. I have not had any luck getting it to run at 1600. Ive tried manually entering the voltage (1.5) and the timing (9-9-9-24) with no avail. I also tried increasing the VTT/VCCIO voltage slightly but that made no difference. Just wondering if you had any suggestion on things to try to get it to 1600.

Thanks for the help


is the rated voltage 1.5v? or 1.65v? BTW you shoudl try qpi/vtt upto 1.15, there seem to be a bunch of cpus that just don't want to OC the ram.I had no problem with RAM, i actually OCed my dominator to 1.7v and 1866mhz.

Everyone with S3 sleep issues here is your answer: http://filefactory.com/file/b5167da/n/Desktop.zip


----------



## reflex99

strangely, i don't have TDP adjusting level. Yea pll overvolting is on. HT already disabled


----------



## Sin0822

that is very weird that you don't have that option. Try bumping CPu pLL and try lowering it too. i would also bump P67 PCH voltage to 1.1v. Also what is your RAM at?

I would also try disabling all on board peripheral ICs such as extra sata6g, and usb3.


----------



## reflex99

are the extra IC's fed from the internal PLL too?


----------



## mecea04

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Sin0822*


is the rated voltage 1.5v? or 1.65v? BTW you shoudl try qpi/vtt upto 1.15, there seem to be a bunch of cpus that just don't want to OC the ram.I had no problem with RAM, i actually OCed my dominator to 1.7v and 1866mhz.

Everyone with S3 sleep issues here is your answer: http://filefactory.com/file/b5167da/n/Desktop.zip


The RAM is rated at 1.5v, the highest i went with the qpi/vtt was 1.1 previously, I set it higher as you specified (1.15 didnt exist, it jumps from 1.14 to 1.16) so i tried 1.14 and it booted into windows, running some stress tests now, seems stable so far! If this completes successfully ill try decreasing the qpi/vtt one by one till it doesnt work. Thanks for the advice on this!!

What are your thoughts on having my VCC on auto while running at 5Ghz? At max load Easy tune 6 claims the VCC is using 1.440. Or is it best to have it set manually?

Thanks


----------



## PLarsen

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sin0822;12082395*
> 
> Hmm that is odd, this is at stock right?


Yes, even failsafe won't do any difference, RAM profile is recognized and properly set to 1600/9.9.9.9.24.

I tried all the little tricks I know from my old board, but to no avail, really odd, might be the CPU acting weird, this is the first time I ever have had problems like this.


----------



## PLarsen

Now it's getting really weird.

I have an bootcd "roadstarter" this tool-cd boot's just fine "with all cores enabled and everything set to std." no problem running any of the tools inc. 2 versions of windows xp/server2003 from the ramdisc the cd creates.

But if I try to install my WIN7home premium "no matter if it's 32 or 64 bit" I get blue screen, if I run with one core I can install my windows just fine, and boot it, but the second I activate the last cores, I get bluescreen at winstartup.

Could this be ram related? or does it sound as something more serious?

BTW. I have an corsair PSU-750W and a GTX460 so I guess I have enough power for the setup.

The harddisc I use is a "1TB WD Caviar Black 7200rpm 64MB SATA3" WD1002FAEX coul it be the HD that makes all the problems? I do not have a spare HD to test it unfortunately.


----------



## jackbrennan2008

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *reflex99;12082416*
> Lets assume someone in this forum was trying to get 5.5GHz, but everything he tries will post, but not boot windows.
> 
> This person has already tried up to 1.63vcc
> 
> what would you recommend?


Here are my settings for 5.5Ghz:

Vcore 1.55v
LLC Level 2
PLL 1.94v
BCLK 1002
PLL Overvoltage left on the default settings (Auto or Disabled i forget).

This was done on a GA-P67A-UD7 with HT enabled.

Good Luck


----------



## Sin0822

you have to have CPu PLL Overvoltage to hit 5.5ghz









That is very nice work jack!


----------



## Sin0822

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *PLarsen;12087716*
> Now it's getting really weird.
> 
> I have an bootcd "roadstarter" this tool-cd boot's just fine "with all cores enabled and everything set to std." no problem running any of the tools inc. 2 versions of windows xp/server2003 from the ramdisc the cd creates.
> 
> But if I try to install my WIN7home premium "no matter if it's 32 or 64 bit" I get blue screen, if I run with one core I can install my windows just fine, and boot it, but the second I activate the last cores, I get bluescreen at winstartup.
> 
> Could this be ram related? or does it sound as something more serious?
> 
> BTW. I have an corsair PSU-750W and a GTX460 so I guess I have enough power for the setup.
> 
> The harddisc I use is a "1TB WD Caviar Black 7200rpm 64MB SATA3" WD1002FAEX coul it be the HD that makes all the problems? I do not have a spare HD to test it unfortunately.


What port is it plugged into?


----------



## PLarsen

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sin0822;12089180*
> What port is it plugged into?


0/1 the two white ones.

The fact that I can boot an OS from CD/DVD without any problems, makes me think it's the HD, does that sound right?

Could it be AHCI, if yes, how do I disable it?

Thanks for your time and help.


----------



## soldierblue

Does F7 add LLC levels (I'm guessing auto is just on/off, though if anyone knows for sure that'd be awesome)? Also, did anyone else notice a little more vdroop with F6 vs. earlier BIOSes?


----------



## Sin0822

you have a UD4? they are going to fix vdroop for ya.

Anyways yes try ide instead of achi. under integrated peripherals its the second option that might be set to ide.


----------



## soldierblue

Quote:



Originally Posted by *sin0822*


you have a ud4? They are going to fix vdroop for ya.



Awesome, thanks.


----------



## PLarsen

I will, thank you for your patience and help.

I'll be back if and when I solve the problem, with what I did, if any other should meet the same problem.


----------



## techheadtrevor

Very nice. Answered many questions for me








+1


----------



## Sin0822

great glad you liked it


----------



## coolhandluke41

Hi Sin ..got a bit of an issue here,was trying to OC P8P67 PRO got to X48 -stable and hit the wall, I keep raising the Vcore to 1.5 for X49 but it wont boot to windows ,any idea ?
would changing CPU PLL or Internal PLL Overvoltage make the difference ?
Thanks


----------



## Sin0822

yes you have to turn Cpu PLL overvoltage on!


----------



## coolhandluke41

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sin0822;12127889*
> yes you have to turn Cpu PLL overvoltage on!


all i have to say is Thank you Sin










so far so good ,going to push a bit and see how far i can go on this v
P.S could't afford UD7 so i have to settle for P8pro


----------



## Sin0822

good job, keep pushing!


----------



## Chewy

What is the overall best current bios for stable overclock? as sometimes the newest version is not the best


----------



## Sin0822

well the newest newest version for UD5 is F6D.


----------



## nooblit202

hey sin I'm little noob about overclock can answer few of my questions.
my new rig i5 2500k/ asus p8p67/ 2x2 4gb g.skill /

I just did little overclocking to 4.0ghz Since I'm using default offset voltage in asus p8p67 BIOS setting, should I set the voltage manually instead? because I notice If I use default offset voltage the screenshot I post below showing 1.224v for 4.0ghz isn't that little high voltage for 4.0ghz?

some one mention that I should use 1.120V for 4.0ghz.



Uploaded with ImageShack.us


----------



## boost3782

Sin thanks for the hard work on this guide. Do not wanna high jack the thread but have 2 questions for you

I am a super noob and this will be doing my first over clock with a new system (as follows)

COOLMASTER 942 HAF-X ATX GAMING CASE
ASUS P8P67 PRO 1155 ATX
INTEL I5 2500K
THERMALTAKE FRIO COOLER - (FROZENCPU 7 CARAT THERMAL COMP)
PATRIOT 4GB 2X2KIT DDR3 1600
EVGA **GTX470 1280MB
MICRO CENTER 64GB SSD SATA II
WD 1TB BLK SATA
CORSAIR 750W ATX 80PLUS PSU

Everything is running great and I am ready to dive into overclocking.

1st question is what is normal idle temps in a 71 degree room with above setup and whats the max I should allow when running prime95 In-place large FFT on all of the cores? (it idles 31-34c now and on load cores 1-2 are 55c 3- 57c and 4 60-64c while running prime on stock settings using real temp 3.60)

2nd question is for a noob such as my self for my MB (shoulda bought the same MB as you for your guide) I found this guide which seems to look like this user has worked with you on the OC sin. Doing as this says exactly am I going to be all right?

http://www.overclock.net/intel-cpus/...00k-lamas.html


----------



## coolhandluke41

nooblit202 said:


> hey sin I'm little noob about overclock can answer few of my questions.
> my new rig i5 2500k/ asus p8p67/ 2x2 4gb g.skill /
> 
> I just did little overclocking to 4.0ghz Since I'm using default offset voltage in asus p8p67 BIOS setting, should I set the voltage manually instead? because I notice If I use default offset voltage the screenshot I post below showing 1.224v for 4.0ghz isn't that little high voltage for 4.0ghz?
> 
> some one mention that I should use 1.120V for 4.0ghz.]
> 
> you can start here ;
> http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...265228&page=11
> http://www.clunk.org.uk/forums/overc...beginners.html
> http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1578110


----------



## Sin0822

Quote:



Originally Posted by *nooblit202*


hey sin I'm little noob about overclock can answer few of my questions.
my new rig i5 2500k/ asus p8p67/ 2x2 4gb g.skill /

I just did little overclocking to 4.0ghz Since I'm using default offset voltage in asus p8p67 BIOS setting, should I set the voltage manually instead? because I notice If I use default offset voltage the screenshot I post below showing 1.224v for 4.0ghz isn't that little high voltage for 4.0ghz?

some one mention that I should use 1.120V for 4.0ghz.



Uploaded with ImageShack.us


You are fine, I have one chip with stock vcore of 1.22 lol, you are fine, you can try just using auto voltage, or the stock voltage as 4ghz on stock voltage is normal.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *boost3782*


Sin thanks for the hard work on this guide. Do not wanna high jack the thread but have 2 questions for you

I am a super noob and this will be doing my first over clock with a new system (as follows)

COOLMASTER 942 HAF-X ATX GAMING CASE
ASUS P8P67 PRO 1155 ATX
INTEL I5 2500K
THERMALTAKE FRIO COOLER - (FROZENCPU 7 CARAT THERMAL COMP)
PATRIOT 4GB 2X2KIT DDR3 1600
EVGA **GTX470 1280MB
MICRO CENTER 64GB SSD SATA II
WD 1TB BLK SATA
CORSAIR 750W ATX 80PLUS PSU

Everything is running great and I am ready to dive into overclocking.

1st question is what is normal idle temps in a 71 degree room with above setup and whats the max I should allow when running prime95 In-place large FFT on all of the cores? (it idles 31-34c now and on load cores 1-2 are 55c 3- 57c and 4 60-64c while running prime on stock settings using real temp 3.60)

2nd question is for a noob such as my self for my MB (shoulda bought the same MB as you for your guide) I found this guide which seems to look like this user has worked with you on the OC sin. Doing as this says exactly am I going to be all right?

http://www.overclock.net/intel-cpus/...00k-lamas.html


Yea just follow that I guess he did work with me on that. Keep temps under 80C.


----------



## sockpirate

Sin, thanks much for the review on this mobo , it has been VERY helpful in exploring these new motherboards from gigabyte paired with the i72600k. Although without a doubt this guide has been so helpful i am having some trouble with over clocking this chip. Some insight from you would be invaluable, i just dropped a lot of cash on this new system and want to make sure i get my money's worth so i don't go crazy and end up crying in a corner or in the shower !
Here is a bit about the new system that aside from OCing is running very stable.

*System info pertinent to Ocing*
Case-HAF X 942
CPU-i7 2600k
Heatsink- Thermaltake Frio
Thermal compound- Arctic silver 5
RAM-Patriot 2x4gig sticks (stock voltages and timings)
mobo-GA-P67A-UD7
PSU-cougar 1000w
*MOBO info and specs*
C1E-DISABLED
EIST-DISABLED
C3,C6 STATES-DISABLED
CPU THERMAL MONITOR-DISABLED
BIOS VERSION-F7A
VCORE-AUTO
INTERNAL CPU PLL OVERVOLTAGE-ENABLED
REAL TIME RATIO CHANGE-DISABLED
INTEL TURBO BOOST TECH-DISABLED

I know in your guide you said disabling/enabling the last two would not affect OCing ability so for controls sake i disabled them. I ultimately would like to go as high on air as the chip will allow, currently i have the chip at the stock multiplier at x34. Would a good jumping off point for testing and increasing the multiplier be the 4.1 setting in Easy tune 6? My goal is a prime95 stable OC of 4.6 or above.


----------



## boost3782

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *boost3782;12140373*
> 1st question is what is normal idle temps in a 71 degree room with above setup and whats the max I should allow when running prime95 In-place large FFT on all of the cores? (it idles 31-34c now and on load cores 1-2 are 55c 3- 57c and 4 60-64c while running prime on stock settings using real temp 3.60)


Sin did you see anything wrong with this above? Is there an issue with the numbers for cores 3 and 4 at a stock setting? I did order in the coolermaster 200mm big fan and a 140mm 90 cfm fan for the rear to help out on the cooling.

You say not to pass 80c on real temp. Im only looking to be in the 4.5 range for 24/7 use. Whats a good temp to shoot for under prime95 fft large? Also is 15 minutes a good test time or go 30 for a stable test?

Sorry to pound you with questions sin. I just want to proceed in the right direction and not burn this chip up first oc.


----------



## Sin0822

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *sockpirate;12147730*
> Sin, thanks much for the review on this mobo , it has been VERY helpful in exploring these new motherboards from gigabyte paired with the i72600k. Although without a doubt this guide has been so helpful i am having some trouble with over clocking this chip. Some insight from you would be invaluable, i just dropped a lot of cash on this new system and want to make sure i get my money's worth so i don't go crazy and end up crying in a corner or in the shower !
> Here is a bit about the new system that aside from OCing is running very stable.
> 
> *System info pertinent to Ocing*
> Case-HAF X 942
> CPU-i7 2600k
> Heatsink- Thermaltake Frio
> Thermal compound- Arctic silver 5
> RAM-Patriot 2x4gig sticks (stock voltages and timings)
> mobo-GA-P67A-UD7
> PSU-cougar 1000w
> *MOBO info and specs*
> C1E-DISABLED
> EIST-DISABLED
> C3,C6 STATES-DISABLED
> CPU THERMAL MONITOR-DISABLED
> BIOS VERSION-F7A
> VCORE-AUTO
> INTERNAL CPU PLL OVERVOLTAGE-ENABLED
> REAL TIME RATIO CHANGE-DISABLED
> INTEL TURBO BOOST TECH-DISABLED
> 
> I know in your guide you said disabling/enabling the last two would not affect OCing ability so for controls sake i disabled them. I ultimately would like to go as high on air as the chip will allow, currently i have the chip at the stock multiplier at x34. Would a good jumping off point for testing and increasing the multiplier be the 4.1 setting in Easy tune 6? My goal is a prime95 stable OC of 4.6 or above.


Just use BIOS, not easytune 6, set 46x multiplier, turn off all power saving features, like EIST, C1E, and C3+C6 states. First enable realtime ratio change in OS, don't touch votlages, reboot after setting ratio to 46x, see what vcore it provides you. If that fails, set a 1.35vcore, then play around with that number, do not touch any other voltages nor touch the RAM. If that still fails, post back.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *boost3782;12148209*
> Sin did you see anything wrong with this above? Is there an issue with the numbers for cores 3 and 4 at a stock setting? I did order in the coolermaster 200mm big fan and a 140mm 90 cfm fan for the rear to help out on the cooling.
> 
> You say not to pass 80c on real temp. Im only looking to be in the 4.5 range for 24/7 use. Whats a good temp to shoot for under prime95 fft large? Also is 15 minutes a good test time or go 30 for a stable test?
> 
> Sorry to pound you with questions sin. I just want to proceed in the right direction and not burn this chip up first oc.


I think i said 80c? just keep it under 90c when running prime 95, and you want to run prime95 for hours on end, because it can error or crash a few hours into it. If you want 100% stability you need to test like that, for just simple everyday stability you can test for an hour.


----------



## boost3782

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Sin0822*


I think i said 80c? just keep it under 90c when running prime 95, and you want to run prime95 for hours on end, because it can error or crash a few hours into it. If you want 100% stability you need to test like that, for just simple everyday stability you can test for an hour.


Holy crap your telling me on real temp that as long as it's under 90c for each core it's fine? I thought 80c sounded high but 90c? Am I looking at a wrong temp reading some where?


----------



## Sin0822

no you understand correctly, 90c is where thermal throttling starts, these chips can handle heat, its just best not to get them hot. These chips shut themselves down or down clock if htey get too hot. 80C is max id do with 24/7.


----------



## sockpirate

Sin,

I did exactly what you said and i was actually able to boot into os with that multiplier, in the past i would get a bios error and have to reinstall to the latest version i have now, redo settings etc. Not this time! From what i remember, in the past i did not enable "INTERNAL CPU PLL OVERVOLTAGE" this may be the reason i had more success this time ?

with vcore on auto it shows the vcore at 1.355, is it safe to say i can throw some OCCT or prime95 at the thing now ?


----------



## sockpirate

Sin,

Here is a little update , wish it was better news. Although i was able to boot into OS just fine, i ran OCCT just the 1 hour default test on medium data set and ...well good news i didnt get a BSOD , or reboot , BUT the test was only able to run for 1 minute and 4 seconds.







Any advice ?


----------



## Hooptymobile

Guys not trying to hijack but I value this forum thread very much as well as community. Could I acheive 5.5Ghz with Asrock Extreme 6 or should I buy the UD7?

Having difficulty finding info on ASRock users or just advice on which to buy in general for extreme OC abilities. Thank you.


----------



## Sin0822

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *sockpirate;12156531*
> Sin,
> 
> Here is a little update , wish it was better news. Although i was able to boot into OS just fine, i ran OCCT just the 1 hour default test on medium data set and ...well good news i didnt get a BSOD , or reboot , BUT the test was only able to run for 1 minute and 4 seconds.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Any advice ?


increase use LLC level1 first, then Level2 if that is unsuccessful, also increase vcore if that doesn't work.. I would say 1.45v is fine for 24/7 as your max vcore. if your cooler can keep you chip under 80c.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Hooptymobile;12157419*
> Guys not trying to hijack but I value this forum thread very much as well as community. Could I acheive 5.5Ghz with Asrock Extreme 6 or should I buy the UD7?
> 
> Having difficulty finding info on ASRock users or just advice on which to buy in general for extreme OC abilities. Thank you.


If you have a chip that can do 5.5ghz i would get the UD7 lol. No offense to asrock but i don't see their boards OCing that well at all i knw a lot of people with UD7s that have hit 5.7+ghz, using blck to achieve more than 57x becuase that is the max multiplier. I doubt any 2600K you buy will do 5.5ghz just becuase a lot of people have good chips and a lot have bad chips.


----------



## sockpirate

I am not familiar with the terms or settings you described, "increase use LLC level1 first, then Level2 if that is unsuccessful," What is LLC level1 and Level2 ?

Actually i figured it out , "LOAD LINE CALIBRATION" i set it to lvl1 when should i set it to lvl2 ? My first time trying stress testing with load line level 1 is now, with my vcore at 1.370. We will see how this goes and i will report back.

Previous to using LLC level 1 , OCCT has been failing at around the 1minute and some change mark, 1.370 failed but did not give me BSOD, the previous vcore at 1.365 gave me a BSOD almost immediately.

I will try 1.370 with LLC level 1 and see if i get any progress.

On second though , Sin, should i enable LLC 1 and start back at 1.355v? Or vcore on auto possibly ? Or just go on ahead with current vcore of 1.370 and above?


----------



## sockpirate

Well!!!! Very good news! x46 multiplier with vcore @ 1.370 with [email protected] level 1 worked like a charm! I was able to pass the 1 hour OCCT test with temps very favorable, core 0-59c, core 1-64c, core 2-65c, core 3-63c!!!









http://s75.photobucket.com/albums/i307/simonsays2005/?action=view&current=vcore.png -OCCT

http://s75.photobucket.com/albums/i307/simonsays2005/?action=view&current=temps.png -Temps

Load Line Calibration at level 1 is what stabilized everything! At what multiplier or voltages should i expect to use LLC level 2 ?









Little update, still using LLC level 1 , trying the x47 multi , one test failed at 16 mins @1.375, next failed at 6 mins with a vcore bump of 1.380, any idea when i should start using LLC level 2?

temps were still fairly manageable, at around 68c at the highest and 62c on the lowest of the cores. Gonna keep upping the vcore untill i get up to around 1.450.


----------



## nielsbohr

Is it normal when my board sets the auto voltage to 1.3+v at 4.2ghz, whereas when I set it manually (via offset -0.6) it runs quite well 1.2v? I mean it's the overvoltage I have to worry about, but when the CPU runs at high clocks with relatively low voltage it's perfectly fine, right?


----------



## Sin0822

Quote:



Originally Posted by *nielsbohr*


Is it normal when my board sets the auto voltage to 1.3+v at 4.2ghz, whereas when I set it manually (via offset -0.6) it runs quite well 1.2v? I mean it's the overvoltage I have to worry about, but when the CPU runs at high clocks with relatively low voltage it's perfectly fine, right?


Yes manually setting voltage is better.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *sockpirate*


Well!!!! Very good news! x46 multiplier with vcore @ 1.370 with [email protected] level 1 worked like a charm! I was able to pass the 1 hour OCCT test with temps very favorable, core 0-59c, core 1-64c, core 2-65c, core 3-63c!!!






























http://s75.photobucket.com/albums/i3...rent=vcore.png -OCCT

http://s75.photobucket.com/albums/i3...rent=temps.png -Temps

Load Line Calibration at level 1 is what stabilized everything! At what multiplier or voltages should i expect to use LLC level 2 ?









Little update, still using LLC level 1 , trying the x47 multi , one test failed at 16 mins @1.375, next failed at 6 mins with a vcore bump of 1.380, any idea when i should start using LLC level 2?

temps were still fairly manageable, at around 68c at the highest and 62c on the lowest of the cores. Gonna keep upping the vcore untill i get up to around 1.450.


Yea you can try LLC level2 it increase vcore under load, so you would gain stability.


----------



## OC Maximus

I can't boot with level 2 set.


----------



## Sin0822

what do you mean? I only use level2, what BIOS ?


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

guys anyone using the Asrock P67 Extreme4??any feedbacks are welcome..i need to see if the reviews on this board to be able to do a 5ghz also the how this mediocre board performs on gaming..i plan to use a 2600k chip on this one..also the bios support..

TIA


----------



## bratas

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *kairi_zeroblade;12172044*
> guys anyone using the Asrock P67 Extreme4??any feedbacks are welcome..i need to see if the reviews on this board to be able to do a 5ghz also the how this mediocre board performs on gaming..i plan to use a 2600k chip on this one..also the bios support..
> 
> TIA


You would probably do better asking that in a separate thread as most people on this thread are Gigabyte owners.


----------



## Sin0822

lol, so man6y people in this thread that are not GB owners, but its fine as its mean to be a general OC guide sort of. Its ok, i think the asrock will do 5ghz, but idk about asrock boards, imo they are crap.


----------



## sockpirate

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Sin0822*


lol, so man6y people in this thread that are not GB owners, but its fine as its mean to be a general OC guide sort of. Its ok, i think the asrock will do 5ghz, but idk about asrock boards, imo they are crap.


I agree , on my 965 BE chip i went through 2 asrock boards trying to get to a 4.0 OC, thought first one was defective, so i got an RMA, second one had same problems , i ended up going with MSI and was able to get the 4.0 OC no prob. Gigabyte and MSI have always been quality to me.


----------



## Sin0822

i am glad to hear it, i really only prefer gigabyte or asus, and gigabyte for most everything now as their quality is just phenomenal, ASUS is a bit pissy about it, making false claims such as their VRM is faster and more precise. I had to chime in and show them VRD12 specifications that say 5mv is the STANDARD and that SVID and DVID you digital to analog(DAC) and analogue to digital (ADC) converters. Digital PWMs can handle 5mv adjustment no problem, but it takes one HELL OF an analogue PWM to achieve that and there are only a few that can. Sadly they like to misinform, luckily they tried to bash me so i bash the living **** out of them when needed. They went as far as to send top OCers both Gigabyte UD7 and M4E, and everyone of those reviews were 99% negative on the UD7 and made it look like Gigabyte provided the boards.


----------



## sockpirate

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Sin0822*


i am glad to hear it, i really only prefer gigabyte or asus, and gigabyte for most everything now as their quality is just phenomenal, ASUS is a bit pissy about it, making false claims such as their VRM is faster and more precise. I had to chime in and show them VRD12 specifications that say 5mv is the STANDARD and that SVID and DVID you digital to analog(DAC) and analogue to digital (ADC) converters. Digital PWMs can handle 5mv adjustment no problem, but it takes one HELL OF an analogue PWM to achieve that and there are only a few that can. Sadly they like to misinform, luckily they tried to bash me so i bash the living **** out of them when needed. They went as far as to send top OCers both Gigabyte UD7 and M4E, and everyone of those reviews were 99% negative on the UD7 and made it look like Gigabyte provided the boards.


These chips are good and everything but honestly its the MOBOS from gigabyte that are making them shine so well i think. I am very impressed with gigabyte.


----------



## Sin0822

yea they don't do bad







They have a lot more good to come, like X58A-OC board.


----------



## OC Maximus

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sin0822;12170287*
> what do you mean? I only use level2, what BIOS ?


F6c. With level 2 I get an endless reboot cycle.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sin0822;12181990*
> They went as far as to send top OCers both Gigabyte UD7 and M4E, and everyone of those reviews were 99% negative on the UD7 and made it look like Gigabyte provided the boards.


Yep, I noticed that too.


----------



## sockpirate

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *OC Maximus;12187108*
> F6c. With level 2 I get an endless reboot cycle.
> 
> Yep, I noticed that too.


What mobo do you have ?


----------



## OC Maximus

Quote:



Originally Posted by *sockpirate*


what mobo do you have ?










ud5


----------



## 77Pat

Thanks for the guide. Just overclocked for the first time with F3 bios.

Capture Intel Burn Test by 77Pat, on Flickr

One thing I noticed is that VCore is 1.355 in bios, 1.32 when I started HW Monitor, and then 1.26 under load of the intel burn test. Is this normal?

Since I am using F3 bios I do not have the option to enable pll overvoltage. Although I am happy with this overclock so far. I will probably try the Prime95 Small fft test tomorrow.


----------



## n3tr0m

I recently clocked my i7 2600K to 4,8 GHz. And i noticed that Windows still shows my clock as 3,4GHz in Windows, same thing in 3D Mark 11. Then i checked CPU-Z where it said 4,8GHz. So, which of them should i trust?


----------



## jackbrennan2008

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *n3tr0m;12196213*
> I recently clocked my i7 2600K to 4,8 GHz. And i noticed that Windows still shows my clock as 3,4GHz in Windows, same thing in 3D Mark 11. Then i checked CPU-Z where it said 4,8GHz. So, which of them should i trust?


CPU-Z is showing the correct frequency. You can download the trial of Aida64 and run a few of its benchmarks which should also confirm the frequency CPU-Z is showing.


----------



## Sin0822

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *OC Maximus;12191748*
> ud5


Dino said he fixed LLC level2 b/c it wasn't working that was weeks ago, try a newer BIOS.

Also if you voltage is drooping like that you need to enable LLC.


----------



## DBordello

Excellent guide! I used that a basis for my recent experimenting. I have a GA-P67A-UD7 and 2600K with a Noctua NH-D14 Cooler. I am using bios F6x.

I thought that I should share my experiences and get your guys opinions. I have come up with the following "stable" configurations. I am running my memory at 1066MHz so that I am just testing the CPU. That is the speed that my memory defaults to and is going to be replaced with some 2133 MHz RipJaws X anyways. To test stability I ran Intel Burn Test for 12ish hours under Maximum in Xtreme Mode.

For all configurations:

Turbo - Disabled
C1E - Disabled
EIST - Disabled
C3/C6 States - Disabled
CPU Thermal Monitor - Disabled.
PLL - Enabled

45x, BIOS Setting = 1.375V, Idle = 1.356V, Load = 1.296V, Temp = 60C
46x, BIOS Setting = 1.385V, Idle = 1.380V, Load = 1.356V, LLC 1, Temp = 62C
47x, BIOS Setting = 1.390V, Idle = 1.392 V, Load = 1.368V, LLC 1, Temp = 65C
48x, BIOS Setting = 1.35V, Idle = 1.368V, Load = 1.38V, LLC 2, Temp = 69C
49x seems unobtainable without cranking the voltage way up.

What are you guys thoughts on these for a 24/7 overclock? I obviously want to reduced to risk of burning this thing up within a year. I am leaning towards the 47x option, 48x seems to be running pretty hot.

Any thoughts are appreciated.


----------



## Sin0822

you wont notice the difference, id stick with whichever gives you the best temps.


----------



## stevets

Hey guys, great thread going here. I've been lurking for a little while. I just got my system setup a couple of days ago. Thanks for all of the great info. Here's what I've got so far:

Turbo - Disabled
C1E - Disabled
EIST - Disabled
C3/C6 States - Disabled
CPU Thermal Monitor - Disabled.
PLL - Enabled
Vcore - Auto
LLC - Level 1

Going to start stress testing in a few.

http://i.imgur.com/rq4yv.jpg


----------



## 77Pat

I have enabled LLC and now my vcore is staying closer. Right now I am stress testing with Intel Burn Test:

Stress Level: Maximum 3020MB (4GB RAM)
Times to Run: 50
Threads: Auto

Right now it is on 29 completed of 50

I have set multiplier as 48 and cpu-z reads 4789.0 MHZ
Core Voltage is 1.344 on most recent cpu-z and 1.34 on HW monitor. It is 1.36 in bios.
Highest temp so far is 61 C.

If it passes this, is this enough of a stress test or should I use Prime95 Small fft?


----------



## velocd

Internal CPU PLL Overvoltage hates me. I can't get above 47x without it, but my computer intermittently cycles power on boot if the setting is enabled--which is more annoying than not having above 47x. I've tried F7e and F7f UD7 bios. Doesn't matter what voltages or other settings I tweak, as long as CPU PLL Overvoltage is enabled my PC does the aforementioned power cycling.

Can anyone with a Gigabyte board who has above 48x and *not* using CPU PLL Overvoltage post your voltages/OC settings? Or has anyone solved the power cycling thing?


----------



## stevets

Quote:



Originally Posted by *velocd*


Internal CPU PLL Overvoltage hates me. I can't get above 47x without it, but my computer intermittently cycles power on boot if the setting is enabled--which is more annoying than not having above 47x. I've tried F7e and F7f UD7 bios. Doesn't matter what voltages or other settings I tweak, as long as CPU PLL Overvoltage is enabled my PC does the aforementioned power cycling.
?


I was running into a very similar issue. What I ended up doing was making my changes incremental. For example, I would boot into bios, enable PLL or LLC (LLC was doing the same thing to me) leave everything else at auto, then save and reboot.

Then back into bios to make changes to the multi. I could boot into windows that way until 4.7Ghz. Then I had to enable LLC Level 2 in order to get 4.8 & 4.9.

I'm on F7E, btw. Hope that helps.


----------



## 77Pat

Quote:



Originally Posted by *velocd*


Internal CPU PLL Overvoltage hates me. I can't get above 47x without it, but my computer intermittently cycles power on boot if the setting is enabled--which is more annoying than not having above 47x. I've tried F7e and F7f UD7 bios. Doesn't matter what voltages or other settings I tweak, as long as CPU PLL Overvoltage is enabled my PC does the aforementioned power cycling.

Can anyone with a Gigabyte board who has above 48x and *not* using CPU PLL Overvoltage post your voltages/OC settings? Or has anyone solved the power cycling thing?



I am using F3 bios. I do not have PLL Overvoltage as an option. 
I just ran Intel Burn Test at 48x with 1.36 volts. I had everything else according to the guide in the first post.

Right now I ran Intel Burn Test at 50x and 1.4 volts (set manually) and it was found to be unstable after 2 passes. When the system set volts automatically, it set it to 1.375 volts, which would post, but not boot into windows. Now I have to see how many volts I will need to up it to run stable.


----------



## velocd

Quote:



Originally Posted by *stevets*


I was running into a very similar issue. What I ended up doing was making my changes incremental. For example, I would boot into bios, enable PLL or LLC (LLC was doing the same thing to me) leave everything else at auto, then save and reboot.

Then back into bios to make changes to the multi. I could boot into windows that way until 4.7Ghz. Then I had to enable LLC Level 2 in order to get 4.8 & 4.9.

I'm on F7E, btw. Hope that helps.


My issue isn't getting into Windows, it's that even on stable OCs sometimes on boot I get this power cycling bug. Half the time I boot normally into Windows. My best Prime95 stable was 50x at 1.415v w/PLL enabled. Then the other half the time my computer abruptly powers off before POST, powers on, and will either boot into Windows or continue the cycle of powering off and on until it finally boots into Windows. This only happens if PLL is enabled.

I'll try your incremental suggestion. I've probably done it at some point today, I've been OC tweaking for 6 hours already with every little setting I can think of trying to find optimal stable.


----------



## 77Pat

Quote:



Originally Posted by *velocd*


My issue isn't getting into Windows, it's that even on stable OCs sometimes on boot I get this power cycling bug. Half the time I boot normally into Windows. My best Prime95 stable was 50x at 1.415v w/PLL enabled. Then the other half the time my computer abruptly powers off before POST, powers on, and will either boot into Windows or continue the cycle of powering off and on until it finally boots into Windows. This only happens if PLL is enabled.

I'll try your incremental suggestion. I've probably done it at some point today, I've been OC tweaking for 6 hours already with every little setting I can think of trying to find optimal stable.


Mine has done that, although for me it is because my system seems to have picky usb ports. I have a wireless mouse keyboard and sometimes the receiver will not get powered on by the computer.


----------



## velocd

Quote:



Originally Posted by *77Pat*


Mine has done that, although for me it is because my system seems to have picky usb ports. I have a wireless mouse keyboard and sometimes the receiver will not get powered on by the computer.


Tried using wired keyboard and mouse, but same results. I can confirm it's CPU PLL Overvoltage because I've set my BIOS to factory defaults, powered on and off about 50 times and each time booted normally. Then enabled CPU PLL Overvoltage, powered on and off 50 times and booted normally half the time. Very odd.


----------



## 77Pat

Just tried 50x multiplier and it did 28 passes in Intel Burn Test successfully (max temp was 65 C so far, might try slightly less volts and see if it works). I had it set to 50, but I had to go make lunch for tomorrow. Come back and my computer was in sleep state (I guess S3) and when I woke it I had lost my overclock. Is there any setting so that I can leave my computer on (for stress testing/folding) and keep my overclock? New to Windows 7 and overclocking.

*Edit*
Just found it. Changed from Balanced options to Performance and turned Hybrid Sleep off.

*Edit 2*
Have my system running @ 4.8 ghz with 1.36 volts. (Did not see as much of an improvement, in terms of time(s) and GFlops in Intel Burn Test, from 4.8Ghz @1.36 to 5.0 Ghz @1.425 compared to 4.5Ghz @1.35 to 4.8 @1.36.)

It was able to complete 30 passes of Intel Burn Test and 1 hour of Prime 95 Small fft with no errors. The highest temp was 60 C.

I tried running Prime 95 Blend overnight and there was 1 error with 1 of the workers after 2.5 hours, the rest were fine. Would it be better to try with more volts with the memory (currently running default) or with the processor?


----------



## Sin0822

for the keyboard problem, wait until you have picture on the screen then press delete.

Try a newer BIOS like F6X should be good if you aren't using it already.


----------



## catcherintherye

My bios always resets back to F3 at stock clocks from F7A after a "failed overclock." I tried saving the CMOS with F11 when I had the F7A BIOS but when it resets back to F3 the saves aren't there anymore and I have reflash the bios again and reset all the options. Is there a way to prevent this from happening or to just load my F7A bios settings instantly?


----------



## 77Pat

still cannot flash bios from f3 with newest @bios, i might try qflash.

stress testing with prime95 blend right now.

Yesterday there was an error 2.5 hours in. I raised the Vcore .05 and set memory to standard, then there was an error 56 minutes in. I just raised Vcore and additional .05 and raised vtt up .05. My memory is running at stock timings, but I am not sure what could be causing the error. It runs Intel Burn Test fine. It ran SuperPi 32m without error. I want it to be stable because I would like to try Folding.

*Edit*

Just gave an error again:

Worker #4
Fatal Error: Rounding was .5, expected less than .4

2 hours 6 minutes

I do not know what I need to switch to get this stable, any opinions?


----------



## Explo

Hey guys, I have some questions about voltage readings...

Right now I am stress testing at x46, 1.35V, LLC2. From the beginning, no matter what my voltage setting, load or idle, CPU-Z has reported 1.056V. Is there a way to fix this?

HWMonitor shows CPU VCORE val-1.06, min-1.06, max-1.37 and CPU val-1.39, min-1.37, and max-1.39. What is the different between the CPU VCORE and CPU readings?

BIOS F6X
Turbo - Disabled
C1E - Disabled
EIST - Disabled
C3/C6 States - Disabled
CPU Thermal Monitor - Disabled
PLL - Enabled

Thank you!


----------



## soldierblue

Are BIOS updates on hold because of the whole recall situation?


----------



## valvehead

Quote:



Originally Posted by *soldierblue*


Are BIOS updates on hold because of the whole recall situation?


Well, that's what Jonesey I7 posted on tweaktown:

Quote:



Straight from the horses mouth....... "Gigabyte will supply no more support for the p67 motherboards as they are under official recall" In other words, enjoy the bios you have now and live with it until we release new boards.


If that's so then we really are in limbo.


----------



## 77Pat

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Explo*


Hey guys, I have some questions about voltage readings...

Right now I am stress testing at x46, 1.35V, LLC2. From the beginning, no matter what my voltage setting, load or idle, CPU-Z has reported 1.056V. Is there a way to fix this?

HWMonitor shows CPU VCORE val-1.06, min-1.06, max-1.37 and CPU val-1.39, min-1.37, and max-1.39. What is the different between the CPU VCORE and CPU readings?

BIOS F6X
Turbo - Disabled
C1E - Disabled
EIST - Disabled
C3/C6 States - Disabled
CPU Thermal Monitor - Disabled
PLL - Enabled

Thank you!


The latest beta bios worked for me http://www.overclock.net/downloads/138137-cpu-z-11.html


----------



## Explo

Quote:



Originally Posted by *velocd*


Tried using wired keyboard and mouse, but same results. I can confirm it's CPU PLL Overvoltage because I've set my BIOS to factory defaults, powered on and off about 50 times and each time booted normally. Then enabled CPU PLL Overvoltage, powered on and off 50 times and booted normally half the time. Very odd.


I've experienced similar things, using F6x. Generally a bad overclock (though once it was simply after saving BIOS settings) will cause it to cycle 4-6 times and then it finally posts. I'd say this has happened about 5 times, and half the time it ends up reflashing the F3 bios.

The most recent time it happened, I left the computer running Prime95 with Windows 7 power saving settings on (blah), the computer went to sleep, and when I tried waking it, it again started rebooting repeatedly. This time the only way to stop it was to power it off.

I had work so I just left it off, I'll see what happens when I get back









Btw:

Quote:



Originally Posted by *77Pat*


The latest beta bios worked for me http://www.overclock.net/downloads/138137-cpu-z-11.html


This worked, thanks!


----------



## Sin0822

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Explo;12239389*
> Hey guys, I have some questions about voltage readings...
> 
> Right now I am stress testing at x46, 1.35V, LLC2. From the beginning, no matter what my voltage setting, load or idle, CPU-Z has reported 1.056V. Is there a way to fix this?
> 
> HWMonitor shows CPU VCORE val-1.06, min-1.06, max-1.37 and CPU val-1.39, min-1.37, and max-1.39. What is the different between the CPU VCORE and CPU readings?
> 
> BIOS F6X
> Turbo - Disabled
> C1E - Disabled
> EIST - Disabled
> C3/C6 States - Disabled
> CPU Thermal Monitor - Disabled
> PLL - Enabled
> 
> Thank you!


You need to use CPU-Z 1.56.3
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *soldierblue;12241004*
> Are BIOS updates on hold because of the whole recall situation?


NO you will continue to receive BIOS updates, jonesy was wrong, i showed GB right after he posted it and they posted to make sure people know they are NOT stopping BIOS support.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *valvehead;12241301*
> Well, that's what Jonesey I7 posted on tweaktown:
> 
> If that's so then we really are in limbo.


Read what i wrote above or re-read the TT thread.


----------



## Jabberwhacky

That is a fantastic guide you've posted, as a soon-to-be owner I will find it invaluable when all of my items arrive!

I do have one question in the meantime. I've been searching all over and simply cannot find a consensus: if I want to do a triple-monitor Eyefinity setup using 2500k CPU and dual 6950s (either unlocked or overclocked up near 6970s), will I hit a bottleneck using a x8/x8 board like the Asus Sabertooth p67 versus this Gigabyte UD7 with its N200-enabled x16/x16?

It's 'just' $100 difference, but for my uses I only see two differences: the Sabertooth looks cooler (I'm a sucker for the heatsink shield thingy) and costs a lot less, but is limited to x8/x8.

I swear I've read Toms forums, and [H], and this, and a bunch of other places and I just can't find a straight answer. Most of what I see are people hypothesizing like "It's a very slight difference, a few %....unless you use triple monitor setups" and then there's no further details about the performance hit with super-high resolutions at x8/x8.


----------



## Sin0822

yes higher resolutions that would come from a setup like that would benefit from 16x,16x vs 8x,8x. 2500x1900 or whatever resolution it is will benefit, and you are dealing with 3 screens with a lot of bandwidth on the GPU side, the GPUs would definitely benefit.

If you have a single 1980x1200 resolution monitor there is no difference other than a few FPS or in benchmarks.


----------



## valvehead

I'm up and running!



I'm at 4.7GHz and 1.416V under load right now. The Vcore is set @ 1.38V in BIOS w/LLC level 2. I've got PLL Overvoltage, Turbo, EIST, and C1E enabled. I'm hitting mid 70's under load, so either I need to reseat my HR-02 or that's the best it can do.

I originally had a 140mm TR X-Silent fan on the heat sink, but I needed a stronger fan. It took a bit of jury rigging, but I fit an old 120x38mm NMB Smart Fan on there (see attachments). I wired a pot in parallel with the fan's thermistor so that I could control the speed manually.

I definitely plan on going with watercooling in the future, but this will do for now.

EDIT: I just did a quick x264 HD Benchmark comparison with my 3 year old MacBook Pro (2.5GHz Penryn).

MBP:
encoded 1442 frames, 33.29 fps, 3899.26 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 33.56 fps, 3899.26 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 33.47 fps, 3899.26 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 32.79 fps, 3899.26 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 8.49 fps, 3971.93 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 8.45 fps, 3971.93 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 8.45 fps, 3971.80 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 8.47 fps, 3971.54 kb/s

2600K @ 4.7GHz:
encoded 1442 frames, 118.95 fps, 3898.30 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 116.87 fps, 3899.02 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 117.53 fps, 3898.50 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 118.69 fps, 3899.02 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 47.49 fps, 3948.75 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 47.63 fps, 3965.13 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 47.74 fps, 3957.52 kb/s
encoded 1442 frames, 47.51 fps, 3971.96 kb/s

On the 2nd pass, the 2600K averaged 5.6x the MBP speed and nearly double real-time speed! Now *that* is why I built this computer!


----------



## andressergio

congrats sin0822 just an amazing guide info all !!!

cheers from South America
Sergio


----------



## Kadombing

Hi Guys!

I run stable @4.0Ghz, my RAM that supposed to be 1600 CL8 can only be read 1333 CL9, so I changed the multiplier and timings. I did some stress tests with Prime95 and no errors whatsoever, temperatures remain low..
*BUT* sometimes when I turn the PC on, it will fail to boot at the first time and few seconds later it will boot normally.. *or* sometimes, it will fail to boot the first time, then it reset the CMOS to factory default and BIOS F6(updated) to F2(default). This sometimes happens even if the RAM are 1333 CL9.

What could be the problem?

I remembered the first time I turned it on, it did the same thing.. failed to boot but few second after it booted normally. Could it be the PSU?
But so strange because it only happens rarely!

Please help!


----------



## Sin0822

ye sit could be or its just these BIOSes are a bit flaky, don't worry they will get better, for the meantime if it happens more often i can show you how to have the backup BIOS kick in.


----------



## Kadombing

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Sin0822*


ye sit could be or its just these BIOSes are a bit flaky, don't worry they will get better, for the meantime if it happens more often i can show you how to have the backup BIOS kick in.


Yep. I decided to put F6 in both BIOS and live with this cold boot thing.. And I'm being positive too about my first Gigabyte on my first build









RAM problem solved.. Trying to stay stable for 24/7 @4Ghz now..


----------



## fortunesolace

Sin0822

Do you know how much amperage the CPU fan header of the P67A-UD7 can handle?

Hi! I'm planning to buy the p67A-ud7 mobo when the board is available. I've read the manual but it doesn't mention how much amperage the CPU Fan header can handle. I've sent e-mail to tech support, no answer!

I'm planning on reusing a Delta hi-speed/cfm 150CFM rated @1.7+Amps max for the cpu cooler I'm going to use.

Thanks in advance! I hope you can help me 'cause I really like the features of the board!


----------



## bratas

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *fortunesolace;12669454*
> Sin0822
> 
> Do you know how much amperage the CPU fan header of the P67A-UD7 can handle?
> 
> Hi! I'm planning to buy the p67A-ud7 mobo when the board is available. I've read the manual but it doesn't mention how much amperage the CPU Fan header can handle. I've sent e-mail to tech support, no answer!
> 
> I'm planning on reusing a Delta hi-speed/cfm 150CFM rated @1.7+Amps max for the cpu cooler I'm going to use.
> 
> Thanks in advance! I hope you can help me 'cause I really like the features of the board!


That is an excellent question. I am swapping fans also and they use 27.48 watts @ 2.45 amps each.


----------



## Sin0822

i have used two .6amp 110CFM scythe 120mm fans on the single fan header on the motherboard. It worked just fine, ran both at their max. i don't think you will get a response, but it probably goes by spec. You can try looking that up, but if you want to run your fans fullspeed use a molex connector that is a much better route to go.


----------



## bratas

thanks, kinda figured I would have to hook them up directly to the psu


----------



## Sin0822

well its a good thing. many don't use onboard fan headers because it can draw power from the same place the GPUs draw power. and when there is only ONE 12v line into the motherboard from the 24 pin connector grabbing 1.6amps is a lot.

Think about its 1.6x12=19.2 watts

total the GPu expects is 75 watts from the 24 pin.

Total per wire/connector per spec is 13ampsx12v=156

think about all the other things that will use 12v and it adds up.


----------



## thecyb0rg

So I've gone and read, re-read, re-read some more, and then when I couldn't see straight, read the 1st page overclocking guide again. I can get my 2600K to do 4.6GHz, but nothing less than 1.43v will do. That seems excessive to me, despite that everyone's chip is different. I have PLL enabled. LLC off right now. Anyone, help?


----------



## compudaze

Quote:



Originally Posted by *The_Cyb0rg*


So I've gone and read, re-read, re-read some more, and then when I couldn't see straight, read the 1st page overclocking guide again. I can get my 2600K to do 4.6GHz, but nothing less than 1.43v will do. That seems excessive to me, despite that everyone's chip is different. I have PLL enabled. LLC off right now. Anyone, help?


If LLC is off, what is your Prime95 load voltage? With my UD3 and LLC off, a bios voltage of 1.42 ended up being a load voltage of 1.35.


----------



## thecyb0rg

Quote:



Originally Posted by *compudaze*


If LLC is off, what is your Prime95 load voltage? With my UD3 and LLC off, a bios voltage of 1.42 ended up being a load voltage of 1.35.


Even with the latest version of CPU-Z, my vcore was always displaying the same no matter what my bios voltage was: ~1.34 i think. Why is it so different?

So I'd need to raise my voltage in the bios higher to compensate? Or is that where LLC and/or PLL come in?


----------



## compudaze

Quote:



Originally Posted by *The_Cyb0rg*


Even with the latest version of CPU-Z, my vcore was always displaying the same no matter what my bios voltage was: ~1.34 i think. Why is it so different?

So I'd need to raise my voltage in the bios higher to compensate? Or is that where LLC and/or PLL come in?


That's Vdroop and normal. Enabling LLC should reduce or elminate that.

I wouldn't enable PLL Overvoltage unless you absolutely need to. You may find you can do 4.6 with less voltage with it disabled. It's generally used for getting over a mutliplier wall. I.E., no matter how much voltage you give it, it will not boot past 48x. Enable PLL overvoltage and now you can boot 49x, 50x and maybe more.

I can run Prime95 at 4.8GHz using 1.35V (load voltage) for 24H with PLL overvoltage disabled. If I enable PLL overvoltage using those settings, I crash within 1M. However, I cannot boot 52x+ without PLL overvoltage enabled.


----------



## thecyb0rg

Quote:



Originally Posted by *compudaze*


That's Vdroop and normal. Enabling LLC should reduce or elminate that.

I wouldn't enable PLL Overvoltage unless you absolutely need to. You may find you can do 4.6 with less voltage with it disabled. It's generally used for getting over a mutliplier wall. I.E., no matter how much voltage you give it, it will not boot past 48x. Enable PLL overvoltage and now you can boot 49x, 50x and maybe more.

I can run Prime95 at 4.8GHz using 1.35V (load voltage) for 24H with PLL overvoltage disabled. If I enable PLL overvoltage using those settings, I crash within 1M. However, I cannot boot 52x+ without PLL overvoltage enabled.


Hmmm, interesting. Thanks for the help. I'll mess around with some bios settings again tonight after work.

As for the LLC -- should I start at the extreme setting and work my way down or vice versa?


----------



## compudaze

Quote:



Originally Posted by *The_Cyb0rg*


Hmmm, interesting. Thanks for the help. I'll mess around with some bios settings again tonight after work.

As for the LLC -- should I start at the extreme setting and work my way down or vice versa?


I would probably start from the other direction. I would try to find the setting that keeps the load voltage as close to the bios voltage as possible.


----------



## thecyb0rg

Quote:



Originally Posted by *compudaze*


I would probably start from the other direction. I would try to find the setting that keeps the load voltage as close to the bios voltage as possible.


Gotcha. Thanks again.


----------



## Sin0822

yous houdl use CPU PLL overvoltage it doesn't damage anything.

As for teh vcore, that is a bit odd, it deffinitly shoudl fluctuate, you should try level1 or level2. The normal vdroop on the GB P67A board is a bit much, and cpu-z updated version shoudl show that vcore fluctuating.


----------



## thecyb0rg

Wow -- On my freshly installed P67-UD7-B3, with LLC Level 1 I got down to 4.5GHz @ 1.32v. A far, faaaaaar cry from the old 1.4x I needed. How much does the new board play into it? I always got the impression that motherboards aren't all that significant in the overclocking picture -- at least not in the same light that different batches of CPUs can overclock drastically different.


----------



## Sin0822

well for previous platforms they were a huge part of the picture, but now that there is really no blck, its all in the CPU, and the mobo just needs to supply power.

The LLC should be getting better and better on the P67 boards as well


----------



## DiamondDanno

Sin GREAT review, its a big reason why I went with the UD7 for my very first build.
Here's what I just finished building:

i7 2600k
Gigabyte P67A-UD7-B3
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series DDR3 1600MHz 2X4GB
2 EVGA GTX 580 Superclocked
Western Digital WD1002FAEX Caviar Black 1T Hard Drive
Corsair Performance 3 Series 128GB
Corsair CMPSU-1200AX
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus
HAF 932

Here's my problem/s: The PC DOES post and everything seems fine but sometimes when it reaches the GA logo screen it shuts down and restarts on its own. On the restart its fine and I can navigate the BIO's normally. I haven't attempted to install the OS yet because I want to figure this problem out first.
Also when I hit the reset button the PC shuts down completely (not like my other PC's where you can hear the fans still spinning and does not shut down completely) for couple of seconds then restarts. Is this normal? A couple of times though it did restart in the way I'm used to...
Another thing I noticed is my RAM is listed in the BIOS as 1333MHz 9-9-9-24 but its specs are 1600MHz 7-8-7-24. I don't understand this...

Is there an easy to follow guide somewhere to assist in BIOS set up for the P67A-UD7-B3 for a noob like me? It's pretty daunting staring at all those screens....I know, I know stop laughing...


----------



## bonedout

thanks for the review!

I am a newbie at overclocking and had some simple questions for you guys. I am running: gigabyte p67a-ud3
i5 2500k
hyper 212+ cooling

I initially went up to 4.5 ghz (only the multiplier changed), and it auto increased the voltage to 1.325 and now I believe it is stable. Why does the guide suggest that I lower the voltage and then run stability tests? What does that do and what are the potential benefits?
Also, what stability tests do you guys recommend? (I am currently running prime blend for a couple of hours. I dont know if that is sufficient. My temperatures at 4.5 Ghz hit about 57 degrees Celsius max) Thanks!
Also, in CPU-Z the Core voltage reads 1.068V. Isn't it supposed to be 1.325V like in my Bios?

Edit: Sry updated info. Let me know if there is missing information for my system


----------



## munaim1

@ bonedout please go here and fill this in. http://www.overclock.net/specs.php It would help us help you.


----------



## Kapacs

I went with the p67-ud4-b3 for my build, I am installing the parts as we speak and was wondering if I am going to have to do any updates to the BIOS or have a RAID driver ready to be booted of an USB in order to install by 2x 160GB Velociraptors in Stripped mode. I looked on the gigabyte website and couldn't find any software designated specifically for RAID.


----------



## Sin0822

Quote:



Originally Posted by *DiamondDanno*


Sin GREAT review, its a big reason why I went with the UD7 for my very first build.
Here's what I just finished building:

i7 2600k
Gigabyte P67A-UD7-B3
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series DDR3 1600MHz 2X4GB
2 EVGA GTX 580 Superclocked
Western Digital WD1002FAEX Caviar Black 1T Hard Drive
Corsair Performance 3 Series 128GB
Corsair CMPSU-1200AX
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus
HAF 932

Here's my problem/s: The PC DOES post and everything seems fine but sometimes when it reaches the GA logo screen it shuts down and restarts on its own. On the restart its fine and I can navigate the BIO's normally. I haven't attempted to install the OS yet because I want to figure this problem out first.
Also when I hit the reset button the PC shuts down completely (not like my other PC's where you can hear the fans still spinning and does not shut down completely) for couple of seconds then restarts. Is this normal? A couple of times though it did restart in the way I'm used to...
Another thing I noticed is my RAM is listed in the BIOS as 1333MHz 9-9-9-24 but its specs are 1600MHz 7-8-7-24. I don't understand this...

Is there an easy to follow guide somewhere to assist in BIOS set up for the P67A-UD7-B3 for a noob like me? It's pretty daunting staring at all those screens....I know, I know stop laughing...


Um BIOS's really don't have many tutorial, you just need to get used to how to use it. To OC you are expected to know how to use a BIOS.

But i can answer a few questions, first don't worry go ahead and install your OS, it wont restart in the middle for no reason. You have a POST codes display which displays numbers/letters while the computer is starting up. You want to watch that, if you try to install and OS and boot from the CD ROM then it will go all the way to FF. The mobo rebooting itself is part of systems check, it wont happen often, nor will it occur after the post screen.

The restart restarts correctly, lol, its a restart.

Your memory wont ever run at teh rated spec you buy, you have to OC it. 1333mhz is stock anything above is considered and overclock. One easy way to do this is just enable XMP profile in teh memory subsection of the M.I.T. menu.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *bonedout*


thanks for the review!

I am a newbie at overclocking and had some simple questions for you guys. I am running: gigabyte p67a-ud3
i5 2500k
hyper 212+ cooling

I initially went up to 4.5 ghz (only the multiplier changed), and it auto increased the voltage to 1.325 and now I believe it is stable. Why does the guide suggest that I lower the voltage and then run stability tests? What does that do and what are the potential benefits? 
Also, what stability tests do you guys recommend? (I am currently running prime blend for a couple of hours. I dont know if that is sufficient. My temperatures at 4.5 Ghz hit about 57 degrees Celsius max) Thanks!
Also, in CPU-Z the Core voltage reads 1.068V. Isn't it supposed to be 1.325V like in my Bios?

Edit: Sry updated info. Let me know if there is missing information for my system


I said lower and test with intel burn test because you want the lowest voltage you can get while being stable.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Kapacs*


I went with the p67-ud4-b3 for my build, I am installing the parts as we speak and was wondering if I am going to have to do any updates to the BIOS or have a RAID driver ready to be booted of an USB in order to install by 2x 160GB Velociraptors in Stripped mode. I looked on the gigabyte website and couldn't find any software designated specifically for RAID.


have you ever setup RAID before?


----------



## thecyb0rg

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sin0822;12821197*
> Um BIOS's really don't have many tutorial, you just need to get used to how to use it. To OC you are expected to know how to use a BIOS.
> 
> But i can answer a few questions, first don't worry go ahead and install your OS, it wont restart in the middle for no reason. You have a POST codes display which displays numbers/letters while the computer is starting up. You want to watch that, if you try to install and OS and boot from the CD ROM then it will go all the way to FF. The mobo rebooting itself is part of systems check, it wont happen often, nor will it occur after the post screen.
> 
> The restart restarts correctly, lol, its a restart.
> 
> Your memory wont ever run at teh rated spec you buy, you have to OC it. 1333mhz is stock anything above is considered and overclock. One easy way to do this is just enable XMP profile in teh memory subsection of the M.I.T. menu.
> 
> I said lower and test with intel burn test because you want the lowest voltage you can get while being stable.
> 
> have you ever setup RAID before?


I never had to install separate drivers or software for my 2x 500GB Seagate 7200.12s on my UD7 -- yes different drive and drivers and whatnot. Just an FYI


----------



## Sin0822

yea because i don't have much experience with RAID but i thought you have to load the RAID drivers.


----------



## bonedout

hey guys, I thought I had a stable system at 4.5 Ghz and 1.295V but when I was playing Heroes of Newerth earlier I got a random BSOD. Does that mean that I have an unstable system? I tested the system with Intel Burn Test 10000 equations with 20 trial runs twice and there were no problems. What should I do in this situation?


----------



## compudaze

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *bonedout;12835599*
> hey guys, I thought I had a stable system at 4.5 Ghz and 1.295V but when I was playing Heroes of Newerth earlier I got a random BSOD. Does that mean that I have an unstable system? I tested the system with Intel Burn Test 10000 equations with 20 trial runs twice and there were no problems. What should I do in this situation?


Run Prime95 Blend test for at least 12H. I prefer 24H for 24/7 stability. If it fails, raise Vcore 0.01V at a time until it passes. I've ran IBT for 24H just fine, but fail Prime95 Blend after a few hours.


----------



## Barbulex

Hy guys, hy Sin.
Great post you have here, gtz.

I have a problem in OC my 2600k, and maybe u can help me.
My system: MB P67A-UD4-B3, CPU 2600k, Geforce GTX 580 3gb, 6GB DDR3 Corsair 1600 mgh, CPU Coller Noctua D14.

I am new in OC, and I was following your review in order to OC my CPU at, at least 4.5
For 4.5 I just change the multiplier (x45), everything looks ok in BIOS (Vcore 1.365), but when i start the CPUz, for some reason it showing the CPU it's working at 3.5 GHz.
I'm blend stressing the CPU with Prime95, but the frequency is still the same. 
Sometimes, when i start the CPU Z, it's showing at the beginning (for 1-2 seconds) the same value like in BIOS (4.5 GHz) but after it's going back at 3.5.

Any idea what i'm doing wrong?

I tried at also at 4.8 GHz (Vcore 1.380) and at 4.9 GHz (same like 4.8, 1.380), and still the same thing.

Thank You.


----------



## QuadDamage

You need more Vcore Try 1.42 if not 1.44 and see if you have the same issue at 4.8

My chip needs 1.4 to do 4.8 + but only 1.32 to do 4.7


----------



## valvehead

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Barbulex*


For 4.5 I just change the multiplier (x45), everything looks ok in BIOS (Vcore 1.365), but when i start the CPUz, for some reason it showing the CPU it's working at 3.5 GHz.


What version of CPU-Z are you using?

Also, which multiplier did you change? If you only changed the first (single core) multiplier, then it would only run at 4.5 GHz while running a single-threaded program. If you want to use turbo, you have to set all four of the turbo multipliers to 45.


----------



## Barbulex

Quote:



Originally Posted by *valvehead*


What version of CPU-Z are you using?

Also, which multiplier did you change? If you only changed the first (single core) multiplier, the it would only run at 4.5 GHz while running a single-threaded program. If you want to use turbo, you have to set all four of the turbo multipliers to 45.


1.57 .. CPU-Z is up to date

I changed only the first one .. because I was trying to make it only 4.5
In bios everything looks ok (it showing the 4.5 GHZ), and the OS is running ok ... the only thing i don't know why CPU-Z is showing 3.5...

Later Edit:
After 5-6 hours of trying







, I think, I solved the problem.
I just uninstalled the utility from Gigabyte .. "Smart6" or smth like that.. and now the CPU-Z is showing the real value.
Now I will try to bring it up more.

Thank you for your answers.


----------



## Kirby1

nice guide


----------



## DiamondDanno

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sin0822;12821197*
> But i can answer a few questions, first don't worry go ahead and install your OS, it wont restart in the middle for no reason. You have a POST codes display which displays numbers/letters while the computer is starting up. You want to watch that, if you try to install and OS and boot from the CD ROM then it will go all the way to FF. The mobo rebooting itself is part of systems check, it wont happen often, nor will it occur after the post screen.


Finally had some time to sit down and resolve the issue. The reboot issue was tied to using the reset button. I installed the OS without a problem and everything runs as it should. I haven't used the reset since I installed the OS and the shutdown/restart at the post screen hasn't happened in 30-40 system shutdowns. I had a b*tch of a time getting my system to detect both graphics card but I finally got it to after 4 hours of trying but I guess that's another story.....thanks for the help!

Now to stress test, overclock and benchmark.


----------



## Sin0822

yea that is very odd, i have two GTX 570 and had no problems with setting up SLI. I found that on some boards if you switch around the cards, it fixes a lot of SLI problems, i have no idea why. Good luck on the OCing part it should be a great experience, SB is fun to OC.


----------



## DiamondDanno

It was 4 hours of switching the cards back and forth, trying them individually, removing and reinstalling drivers, testing pcie 1, pcie 2 etc etc NOT FUN









I'll be using your OC guide so hopefully everything will go well. I'm just looking for a modest 4.5 24/7 OC. Nuthin crazy.


----------



## OneSlickDeal

Great guide btw. Got me to where I am. Nice work. Couple questions though.

Current settings: The rest left to default/auto

CPU Clock Ratio: 44x
CPU PLL Overvoltage: Disabled
Real-Time Ratio Change in OS: Disabled
Turbo Boost: Disabled
C1E: Disabled
C3/C6: Disabled
EIST: Disabled
CPU Vcore: 1.375

In Windows I have 1.344V at idle, and 1.284V at load.

Edit- Max temp on the hottest core was 64

First Question, is that high for 4.4? 1.375V. I will try to lower it but if I remember correctly I tried 1.365 and it did not work.

Also, Is that a lot of Vdroop? 1.375 in Bios, yet its 1.344 and 1.284 in windows?

And last, I want to enable the power saving features, so I guess just enable them and run stability tests again ? Thanks Again !!!!


----------



## compudaze

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *OneSlickDeal;12915714*
> Great guide btw. Got me to where I am. Nice work. Couple questions though.
> 
> Current settings: The rest left to default/auto
> 
> CPU Clock Ratio: 44x
> CPU PLL Overvoltage: Disabled
> Real-Time Ratio Change in OS: Disabled
> Turbo Boost: Disabled
> C1E: Disabled
> C3/C6: Disabled
> EIST: Disabled
> CPU Vcore: 1.375
> 
> In Windows I have 1.344V at idle, and 1.284V at load.
> 
> Edit- Max temp on the hottest core was 64
> 
> First Question, is that high for 4.4? 1.375V. I will try to lower it but if I remember correctly I tried 1.365 and it did not work.
> 
> Also, Is that a lot of Vdroop? 1.375 in Bios, yet its 1.344 and 1.284 in windows?
> 
> And last, I want to enable the power saving features, so I guess just enable them and run stability tests again ? Thanks Again !!!!


Looks normal to me. What board are you using?


----------



## OneSlickDeal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *compudaze;12915884*
> Looks normal to me. What board are you using?


p67a-ud4-b3.

Hhmm this is interesting. Now when I dropped it to 1.365 it seems to be working (only 10 min of p95 but still). I thought I tried that before and it was not working.

In windows at load is is fluctuating between 1.272 and 1.284. Not sure if I have seen it fluctuate but is that bad? Would I be better off at 1.37 with no fluctuation? At idle it is at 1.332.

Also, Do you think I will need to change the votage when I enable power saving features? I just like the idea of having them on.

Guess I will try 1.360, update shortly


----------



## OneSlickDeal

Well... 1.360 blue screened during p95 after about 10-15 min. Not really sure why but this seems high to me. OP was saying the range should be up to 1.375 for up to 45x, so me being at 44x and having to use 1.370 seems high. 45x was not working even at 1.38...

So...Should I rock 44x at 1.37, or drop to 43x where i Believe I had it stable at 1.335? Whatcha think guys?

Max temps are around 60 for 44x


----------



## compudaze

He's talking load voltage.

You're only at 1.284v during load. That's pretty good.

It's normal and within spec to set the voltage in BIOS to 1.37v and only have 1.28v during load.

If you want to decrease that (Vdroop is what it's called I think), enable LLC (load line calibration) in BIOS.

With my ASUS board, LLC set to Ultra High, the voltage I set in BIOS is the same as my idle voltage and load voltage in windows.


----------



## compudaze

Here's a good reference for Vdroop: http://www.anandtech.com/show/2404/5

Hopefully it helps you make an informed decision as to whether or not you want to eliminate or decrease it.


----------



## OneSlickDeal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *compudaze;12916880*
> He's talking load voltage..


Oh really? I was under the impression he was talking about the voltage in bios. hhmm. Hopefully he chimes in







. Either way I will read up on that vdroop and make a decision. Thanks again for your help.

This is fun...but at the same time it is driving me crazy


----------



## Sin0822

don't worry from seeing some chips they require more voltage than what i posted, don't take it like its teh law, you can of course use more voltage. lol. Personally i have seen some chips that need like 1.45v for 4.8ghz and some that need 1.35v. Its all about the CPU.

That article from anand is old, technology has come a FAR way since that was written, LLC is fine, transient overshoot is not a problem like it used to be, even on X58 it was fine to use LLC, no one has killed a chip from LLC, they have from higher voltage. Don't worry use LLC.


----------



## OneSlickDeal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sin0822;12918001*
> don't worry from seeing some chips they require more voltage than what i posted, don't take it like its teh law, you can of course use more voltage. lol. Personally i have seen some chips that need like 1.45v for 4.8ghz and some that need 1.35v. Its all about the CPU.
> 
> That article from anand is old, technology has come a FAR way since that was written, LLC is fine, transient overshoot is not a problem like it used to be, even on X58 it was fine to use LLC, no one has killed a chip from LLC, they have from higher voltage. Don't worry use LLC.


So My board has LLC but just enable/disable/auto. I have no level 1, level 2 etc.

Another question. I plan on sticking to a modest overclock of 4.2 to keep the voltage low. Do you still recomend LLC? With it disabled, I have a .08 variance between idle and load. Do you think thats going to kill me? Or is it fine to just leave it as is. At 42x its looking like i need 1.295V to keep it stable. This is with the power saving features on, turbo off, llc off, and PLL disabled.

Whatcha think. And thanks again u rock

Edit: I have been noticing that if the voltage fluctuates while at load (1.212-1.224) I will crash. Wonder if this is standard. Is the system more stable when the voltage stays stable at load...hhmmmm


----------



## Sin0822

Here i want yout o look at something, the UD5 and UD7 only have levels, the UD4 has enable or disable, look at this, someone did this, notice that easytune reads teh wrong voltage, cpu-z reads the same if its a B2 board, but this is for the UD4 B3:


----------



## OneSlickDeal

hhmm... interesting. So basically I am F'ed if I want true voltage readings. Cpu z doesnt give the right voltage, it says 1.068 at all times. EasyTune is Obviously F'ed. Lol actually look at this.

Bios = 1.30
Load:
EasyTune = 1.212-1.224
CPUID HwMonitor = 1.21-1.22
CPU-Z = 1.068 ?
HWiNFO32 -> VID = 1.3411

Idle: (with pwr saving features, clocks down to 16x)
EasyTune6 = 1.296
CPUID HwMonitor = 1.3
CPU Z = 1.056?
HWiNFO32 -> VID = 0.975

I mean honestly....where can I find my true Voltage?

Also, Whatcha think about LLC on a low 42x overclock?


----------



## Sin0822

you need to buy a digital multimeter, they are 10 bucks even 20 maybe, you can get it at a radioshack, and then you can measure the voltage off the board. That LLC measurements are done on yoru board, you can see the difference between easytune and the DMM reading off the choke, you can use that to calculate your real voltage.

CPU-Z did show correct voltage for B2 boards, as in same voltage as easytune, id go with easytune. Anyways B3 its showing qpi/vtt voltage instead.


----------



## FtW 420

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sin0822;12918459*
> Here i want yout o look at something, the UD5 and UD7 only have levels, the UD4 has enable or disable, look at this, someone did this, notice that easytune reads teh wrong voltage, cpu-z reads the same if its a B2 board, but this is for the UD4 B3:


After seeing this I just pulled out the multimeter to check it, my ud4 b3 behaves very similar, set to 1.4 in bios showing 1.392 on hwinfo32, 1.368 on load. Dmm says 1.422 idle, 1.416 load
This is with LLC enabled.


----------



## OneSlickDeal

Quote:



Originally Posted by *FtW 420*


After seeing this I just pulled out the multimeter to check it, my ud4 b3 behaves very similar, set to 1.4 in bios showing 1.392 on hwinfo32, 1.368 on load. Dmm says 1.422 idle, 1.416 load
This is with LLC enabled.


Just curious. What is your multiplier with 1.4 volts? Do you have power settings enabled, or pll overvoltage? Pretty sure I will be happy with 42x but i need 1.305 for it to be stable. I'm guessin my chip aint the best in the batch


----------



## FtW 420

I had it on the 50 multi. Everything on auto except LLC enabled, set the vcore, memory speed & timings.


----------



## OneSlickDeal

Quote:



Originally Posted by *FtW 420*


I had it on the 50 multi. Everything on auto except LLC enabled, set the vcore, memory speed & timings.


hhmm... alright I think im going to turn on LLC. Just came back to a bluescreen (p95 was good for 2.5 hours at least, but def not 6 hrs). Must also be why I have to crank it so high for 42x.

So you manually set your memory speed & timings. I am always scared to do that. i do have the ripjaws x 1.5v 1600 ram, so I'm guessing ill get more out of it if i manually set my speed & timings. Now...time to figure out what speed and timings i should set it too


----------



## Sin0822

just get your CPU OCed first then worry about the RAM, GB boards do a great job automatically setting your RAM timings.


----------



## Pox

I was wondering if I could maybe get a little personalized advice on this thread, I've went through all your instructions and have had some issues:

I'm using a Gigabyte UD4 board with an i7 2600k CPU.

I'm simply trying to clock the CPU to 4.5 Ghz. For this I had run through all your steps, and I'll run Prime95 and after about two hours I'll get a BSOD, using Microsoft debugger this is what I get:

CLOCK_WATCHDOG_TIMEOUT (101)
An expected clock interrupt was not received on a secondary processor in an
MP system within the allocated interval. This indicates that the specified
processor is hung and not processing interrupts.
Arguments:
Arg1: 0000000000000019, Clock interrupt time out interval in nominal clock ticks.
Arg2: 0000000000000000, 0.
Arg3: fffff880009b2180, The PRCB address of the hung processor.
Arg4: 0000000000000004, 0.

I'm assuming based on my small amount of research that this is probably due to the Vcore setting. I had it at 1.36, it set it to this value after I went ahead and clocked the processor to 4.0 ghz to try to get the vcore to match your parameters.

Should I go ahead and go back in go back to 4.5 with a vcore of 1.37, and if so, should I adjust any of the other voltage settings along with that? I didn't know if perhaps the automatic voltage throttle was affecting anything or not.

I haven't had any temperate issues either, I'm running around 35C at idle and during the two hours of Prime95 before my BSOD I'd get to around 58-62 on this Noctua cooler, so I'm pretty happy in that regard.

One other thing I was wondering about, for my DRAM voltage it was defaulting to 1.5. I'm using Patriot Viper Extreme ram which says it uses a voltage of the typical 1.65. Gigabyte on this board at least only adjusts ram voltages by .02 so I had the option of adjusting the voltage to 1.64 and 1.66. I went ahead and went higher at 1.66, would this have anything to do with it or perhaps should I try 1.64?

Edit: I have tried voltages at 1.37 and 1.375 and continue to get BSODs at 4.5 ghz after running Prime95. I did notice I had my BCLK at 1005 instead of the default 1000. I am setting voltages back to 1.34 with 1000 BCLK and will just try for 4.2 Ghz. Still not getting why it isn't able to handle 4.5, unless I just need to go above 1.375 Vcore, but based on the thread that seems like it should be enough.


----------



## Pox

So, I went ahead and upped the Vcore to 1.4 and the VTT from (I believe) .98 which was the default to 1.10. I also decreased the BLCK from 1005 to 1000 and have been testing for over two hours now with no issues. So far this is much better than I have got before.

Do these values sound okay to you?


----------



## Sin0822

yea, if you could lower vcore that would be nice, but any can't so its fine.


----------



## AMD_Freak

Thanks for the great review and guide SIN its helped me get a grip on the Intel LGA 1155 chipset +1


----------



## Sin0822

thanks man I am glad you enjoyed it!


----------



## etfreind

Can anyone tell me, what happens if u *reduce* the BLCK and increase the *multi* -- will that work out or is it bad ?

thanks


----------



## catcherintherye

I installed a watercooling system yesterday but now my computer doesn't turn on. There is a red light near the bottom of the board when I turn in on, and the power light lights up but when i press power the red light shuts off, and a yellow and green light turn on on in the middle of the board. I checked the manual and still do not know what it means or how to fix it, help! I also replaced my power supply but still the same problem.


----------



## HootyHoo

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *catcherintherye;13077480*
> I installed a watercooling system yesterday but now my computer doesn't turn on. There is a red light near the bottom of the board when I turn in on, and the power light lights up but when i press power the red light shuts off, and a yellow and green light turn on on in the middle of the board. I checked the manual and still do not know what it means or how to fix it, help! I also replaced my power supply but still the same problem.


Was your backplate metal? Is any part of the cooler touching your mb? What does your Debug LED say?


----------



## catcherintherye

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *HootyHoo;13077511*
> Was your backplate metal? Is any part of the cooler touching your mb? What does your Debug LED say?


Ok solved it, thanks for trying to help, it turned out that the radiator was pressing against the 8 pin plug, it wasn't pushed in all the way or something. I jiggled it a bit and now it works, thanks.


----------



## ZixacunX

sorry I am a newb but no northbridge overclocking?


----------



## stuiees

First off, thanks for the great review and info Sin... Your recomendation lead me to get the p67a-ud7. Going to be putting it together tonight. What @BIOS should I run? I was planning on using B3-F3 unless you can suggest otherwise.

Thanks again!


----------



## ZixacunX

Your box was full so i couldnt reply. Thx for the help!


----------



## Sin0822

Quote:



Originally Posted by *etfreind*


Can anyone tell me, what happens if u *reduce* the BLCK and increase the *multi* -- will that work out or is it bad ?

thanks


No you cannot, because its the same as raising the BLCK. There are many devices tied to the constant 100mhz, that lowering it or increasing it will cause them to fail. many have raised it a few MHZ for better RAM and CPU clocks.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *stuiees*


First off, thanks for the great review and info Sin... Your recomendation lead me to get the p67a-ud7. Going to be putting it together tonight. What @BIOS should I run? I was planning on using B3-F3 unless you can suggest otherwise.

Thanks again!


it is a great board. Do not use @BIOS from your CD, please download it. Please do not update to BIOS F3, it is the most recent, but there is a bug in it. If you want to update to it, please be advised. Follow my next insturctions carefully.

Flash BIOS F3
1. reboot when it prompts you, and then go immediately into the BIOS
2. Load "Load Optimized defaults"(not safeguard defaults), its an option in the main BIOS menu(like where MIT, Advanced BIOS options, integrated peripherals.
3. after it reboots, turn it off. hit the clear CMOS button, we will do this just in case to make sure everything is good.

4. you are good to go.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ZixacunX*


Your box was full so i couldnt reply. Thx for the help!


no problem, looks like i got to clear it out!


----------



## Merzki

Awesome work, thanks for this! Really helped me a lot!


----------



## Atraps003

Very nice guide. Thanks alot.


----------



## Myrtana

good guide, but I noticed everyone here keeps saying "BLCK" (and that's also what it says in the guide).... it's kinda bugging me because I swear it's supposed to be BCLK meaning Base CLocK.... that is all.


----------



## Merzki

I've got a couple of questions I hope you don't mind.
My system was stable @ 4.5ghz, but now I decided to ramp it up to 4.8ghz
I managed to run it stable but I'm getting 78c Max temps ambient is 26-28c , I'm using a noctua nh d-14 cooler. Does it really run this hot? Is there any way to lower the temps?

My Bios settings:

Multiplier: 48
CPU PLL: Enabled
C1E: Disabled
EIST: Disabled
C3, C6 States: Disabled
CPU Thermal Monitor: Disabled
VCore: 1.390v
Load-Line Calibration: Level 5
Hyper Threading: Enabled

Everything else is either on auto/untouched(default)

cpuz is currently showing a use of 1.356v


----------



## compudaze

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Merzki;13106723*
> I've got a couple of questions I hope you don't mind.
> My system was stable @ 4.5ghz, but now I decided to ramp it up to 4.8ghz
> I managed to run it stable but I'm getting 78c Max temps ambient is 26-28c , I'm using a noctua nh d-14 cooler. Does it really run this hot? Is there any way to lower the temps?
> 
> My Bios settings:
> 
> Multiplier: 48
> CPU PLL: Enabled
> C1E: Disabled
> EIST: Disabled
> C3, C6 States: Disabled
> CPU Thermal Monitor: Disabled
> VCore: 1.390v
> Load-Line Calibration: Level 5
> Hyper Threading: Enabled
> 
> Everything else is either on auto/untouched(default)
> 
> cpuz is currently showing a use of 1.356v


Looks normal to me. I was hitting 78-80C at 4.8GHz in a 22C room.

Want lower temps at 4.8ghz? Go water cooling... Want lower temps w/o water? Lower multiplier and voltage.


----------



## Merzki

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *compudaze;13106742*
> Looks normal to me. I was hitting 78-80C at 4.8GHz in a 22C room.
> 
> Want lower temps at 4.8ghz? Go water cooling... Want lower temps w/o water? Lower multiplier and voltage.


Thanks!
is there a dangerous LLC level?


----------



## compudaze

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Merzki;13106791*
> Thanks!
> is there a dangerous LLC level?


Not that I know of.

I personally prefer the LLC level that puts my load voltage as close to BIOS voltage as possible w/o going over. No real theory on why, but to each his own on that.


----------



## Merzki

Thanks a lot!
I'm gonna try & re-seat my d14, might get better results.


----------



## Merzki

update:
Re-seated the d14, got the same temps.

cpuz is showing core voltage 1.368v-1.390v
(CPU Vcore on BIOS is set to 1.390v, LLC = Level 5)
Will I get problems if I set my LLC to levels 8-10?

Is this safe for a 2600k 4.8ghz OC 24/7?


----------



## suicidegybe

I had it stable at 4.0ghz only changed multi but I can't seem to get any better it will boot into windows with a 45 multi and 3.5 vcore but when I run prime 95 I get BSOD and now I cant get into the bios it will still boot to windows though and I can still use the system as long as I don't run prime 95. all I changed was the multi and vcore. I really want a 4.5-4.8 system If I could get some guidence I would really appreciate it.

I have:
P67A UD7 B3
i7 2600K
Corsair H70
16Gb Kingston Hyper X 1600 running @ 1333
2X OCZ Agility 2 120GB in RAID 0 Boot Drive

Also CPU Z is not showing a accurate Vcore always says 1.056


----------



## Merzki

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *suicidegybe;13109734*
> I had it stable at 4.0ghz only changed multi but I can't seem to get any better it will boot into windows with a 45 multi and 3.5 vcore but when I run prime 95 I get BSOD and now I cant get into the bios it will still boot to windows though and I can still use the system as long as I don't run prime 95. all I changed was the multi and vcore. I really want a 4.5-4.8 system If I could get some guidence I would really appreciate it.
> 
> I have:
> P67A UD7 B3
> i7 2600K
> Corsair H70
> 16Gb Kingston Hyper X 1600 running @ 1333
> 2X OCZ Agility 2 120GB in RAID 0 Boot Drive
> 
> Also CPU Z is not showing a accurate Vcore always says 1.056


Download the latest cpuz it's 1.57.1 (that's what I,m using)

shutdown your pc & clear your cmos, you should be able to go back to the bios.
I was able to reach 4.5 ghz easily by just setting the multiplier to 45 and everything else on auto. Make sure to follow the guide by sin on what to disable on the bios. Hope this helps.


----------



## suicidegybe

I have a P67A UD7 B3 with dual BIOS It will go to the Logo sceen hang for a sec then reboot to the logo screen and continue as normal. Is this because one of the bios is unstable? Or what?

Also trying to start over following guide set everything as stated and 45 multi going to see what happens post In a min with results/ problems.

Thanks


----------



## suicidegybe

With only the multi @ 45 and C1E-DISABLE, EIST-DISABLE,C3, C6 States-DISABLE, CPU Thermal Monitor-DISABLE, and real time ratio in os enabled.
The computer will boot to windows and function until I try to run prime 95 it will run for about 2 seconds and then BSOD. with error 0x124 = add/remove vcore or QPI/VTT voltage (usually Vcore, once it was QPI/VTT. I had adjusted vcore up to 1.365 and still same problem go higher or? new to this not as confident as I felt when I started. Any thoughts


----------



## bratas

Quote:



Originally Posted by *suicidegybe*


With only the multi @ 45 and C1E-DISABLE, EIST-DISABLE,C3, C6 States-DISABLE, CPU Thermal Monitor-DISABLE, and real time ratio in os enabled.
The computer will boot to windows and function until I try to run prime 95 it will run for about 2 seconds and then BSOD. with error 0x124 = add/remove vcore or QPI/VTT voltage (usually Vcore, once it was QPI/VTT. I had adjusted vcore up to 1.365 and still same problem go higher or? new to this not as confident as I felt when I started. Any thoughts


you need to bump your Vcore by alot it sounds. I would say try at 1.4


----------



## Sin0822

yea or try to turn LLC on. 
More vcore or LLC man.


----------



## catcherintherye

Can someone upload the stock F1 bios that came with the B3 revision of this board? I flashed to F2 and F3 and they don't work out for me, and I can't find an original copy of the bios anywhere. Thanks.


----------



## stuiees

Thanks to the help of this guide I am running 4.5GHz @ 1.335v in BIOS and 1.272v-1.284v under full load in cpu-z.

I have not tried to pull back the volts any lower yet, this was the voltage selected with auto. Have been running prime blend for over and hour now.

I might try to max it out once I get my replacement GPU sent to me which is in the RMA process with EVGA now. That way I can at least grab some bench scores with the GPU I plan to use while running the high clock.


----------



## suicidegybe

What do I set the LLC to Auto, Standard, Level 1, Level 2? not sure what the different settings represent. I have bumped up my vcore to 1.4 I did it slowly and prime 95 would run longer and long before BSOD as the vcore was raised so trying 1.4 now.


----------



## suicidegybe

It always shows the same vcore never changes 1.04 same with all other system monitors I have tryed?


----------



## suicidegybe

@ 1.4 still getting BSOD witha 0124 error? will LLC Help this


----------



## stuiees

Have you updated your BIOS? I know a friend's CPU-z doesnt register his VCORE correctly either on the BIOS off the install CD.


----------



## stuiees

Quote:



Originally Posted by *suicidegybe*


@ 1.4 still getting BSOD witha 0124 error? will LLC Help this


I am @ 45x, all power saving features disabled, LLC lvl 5, TDP/TDC 300 max @ 1.335 vcore (auto) in BIOS.

Try the with LLC on @ 1.4v

If you can get it stable, back off the voltage a bit.


----------



## suicidegybe

My LLC only goes to level2 also how do I update the BIOS.


----------



## catcherintherye

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *suicidegybe;13126302*
> My LLC only goes to level2 also how do I update the BIOS.


@bios


----------



## stuiees

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *suicidegybe;13126302*
> My LLC only goes to level2 also how do I update the BIOS.


Yes, if your LLC only allows for the option to go to level 2, you have an older BIOS. You should update to the newer B3 F4a from here : http://ggts.gigabyte.eu/FileList/1069247/p67aud73.f4a

Once you download it, save it to a ubs flash drive (this is the easiest unless you know how to create a boot disk with .iso but then I dont think you would ask for help w/ this).

Ok so once you save the file to your usb flash drive, reboot, open BIOS by pushing del during startup.

Now you need to flash (Qflash) your BIOS with the new firmware. I think the shortcut is F8. It has a list of them on the bottom of the BIOS screen.

Once you do that, it asks you where to load the file from, if you have your usb flash drive pugged in, it probably shows as a HDD. Press enter to open the directory.

Once you open the usb drive you should see the file in there. Select the file and push enter. A progress bar will pop up and it should be done in just a matter of a few seconds. Once finished, it will say hit ESC to restart / quit (cant remember).

Once you do that you can restart.

After you restart go back into BIOS by pushing del key (same as before). Select Load Optimized Defaults and push Enter. Save and exit BIOS. It will restart again... After that you should be good.

Now load all your BIOS settings again.

Hope that helps, let me know if you have any questions


----------



## Kriant

Hello guys. I have a question for you : is F3 bios better then stock F2 that comes with B3?
I'm asking cause max I can push from my cpu atm is x48 multi, and x49/x50 simply won't boot past the initial giga screen.
Also I had 1.32v on vcore with LLC2, which gave me 1.356 under load ( at least if I am to believe ET6 and HWmonitor), which passex LinuX 25 loops with easy, but crashed on idle with x0124. So I've uped the voltage to 1.344 in idle -> same error. Uped vtt to 1.07 -> same error. ATM looking at 1.356 idle... which fluctiates between 1.356 and 1.344 after a while, and goes to 1.378 under load. Just in case that will fail is there any other ideas that you may suggest to stabilize my system. If I can't get to 5ghz, I would love to stay at 4.8ghz 24/7 stable lol


----------



## Merzki

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Kriant;13127263*
> Hello guys. I have a question for you : is F3 bios better then stock F2 that comes with B3?
> I'm asking cause max I can push from my cpu atm is x48 multi, and x49/x50 simply won't boot past the initial giga screen.
> Also I had 1.32v on vcore with LLC2, which gave me 1.356 under load ( at least if I am to believe ET6 and HWmonitor), which passex LinuX 25 loops with easy, but crashed on idle with x0124. So I've uped the voltage to 1.344 in idle -> same error. Uped vtt to 1.07 -> same error. ATM looking at 1.356 idle... which fluctiates between 1.356 and 1.344 after a while, and goes to 1.378 under load. Just in case that will fail is there any other ideas that you may suggest to stabilize my system. If I can't get to 5ghz, I would love to stay at 4.8ghz 24/7 stable lol


I'm currently using the f3 bios & I've stabilized my system at 4.8 ghz with prime95 blend 12 hour run.
I think you need to raise your LLC for more stable voltage so it won't drop much.


----------



## Kriant

Well so far it seems that my last attempt cured my idle bsod issue aand I still get the same ( at least based on HW and other software) voltage under load as before, w00t. Hopefully LLC2 on F2 bios don't throw the voltages too far from what HWmonitor,cpuz, and ET6 show. I would love to stay under 1.4v in all times.









Now... Before I go and experiment with F3 bios or whatever the beta bios you guys will reccomend. Is pushing QPI/VTT up to 1.1 realy worth it? And does PLL overvolt option improves the OC multiplier potential? If it does -> is it safe to stay with this feature on for 24/7 use ?


----------



## PROBN4LYFE

Man, it's people like you that make the world a better place. I would have been straining my brain to figure out why i couldn't go over 4.5GHZ, but your witty sarcasms reminded me that CPU SPread Spectrum has always been bad lol!


----------



## catcherintherye

I'm BSODing after half an hour on prime blend @5.0ghz. I'm thinking of raising the LLC. Is level 10 safe? Also does changing the QTT voltage make any difference?


----------



## silis

Guys, i need your opinion i have a little problem mayb? I cant get my computer stable with default ddr3 voltage which is 1.5v these same modules were in my amd setup they r rated cl9 1T 1.5v 1333mhz and i had to use auto voltage (pumps the voltage if needed) on the memory on my m4n98td evo board or else i ended up having hardware fatal error in prime95 blend test under 10mins and now these modules are in my sabertooth p67 mb and i have to give them 1.55 to not doing the same thing so i am asking is this a safe thing? or could there be some other trick?

Edit: Seems like im still getting prime hardware error even with 1.55 dram voltage

Edit: Ok, ive been strugglin' what the hell is wrong with my setup pumped to 1.6v no problems anymore problem solved.


----------



## valtopps

what do i need to overclock my sb. (intelburntest, realtemp and cpu-z) is what i used for my socket 775. is it the same software?


----------



## Sin0822

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *catcherintherye;13137901*
> I'm BSODing after half an hour on prime blend @5.0ghz. I'm thinking of raising the LLC. Is level 10 safe? Also does changing the QTT voltage make any difference?


Don't use level10, you don't wanna use those levels are they really were tuned down, just us the older BIOS, and use level2 and use more voltage. LLC level2 on older BIOS is stronger and more stable(predictable) so is level1 than the multilevel LLC.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *silis;13171629*
> Guys, i need your opinion i have a little problem mayb? I cant get my computer stable with default ddr3 voltage which is 1.5v these same modules were in my amd setup they r rated cl9 1T 1.5v 1333mhz and i had to use auto voltage (pumps the voltage if needed) on the memory on my m4n98td evo board or else i ended up having hardware fatal error in prime95 blend test under 10mins and now these modules are in my sabertooth p67 mb and i have to give them 1.55 to not doing the same thing so i am asking is this a safe thing? or could there be some other trick?
> 
> Edit: Seems like im still getting prime hardware error even with 1.55 dram voltage
> 
> Edit: Ok, ive been strugglin' what the hell is wrong with my setup pumped to 1.6v no problems anymore problem solved.


Yea that is fine, don't worry about 1.5v max, i run 1.65v 24/7 as do many.A lot of RAM can take more volts than prescribed.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *valtopps;13234433*
> what do i need to overclock my sb. (intelburntest, realtemp and cpu-z) is what i used for my socket 775. is it the same software?


Use Prime95 and IBT and yea cpuz and realtemp should work. In windows changes to OC should be done through easytune.


----------



## valtopps

when ocing dont go into the bios and oc? use easytune to oc?


----------



## Zcypot

sweet this will come in handy.


----------



## catcherintherye

I just RMA'ed my board, 2 of my chips died.


----------



## HootyHoo

My data while climbing the OC ladder. Hope this helps someone.


----------



## EarlZ

Props and rep to you for this very great guide!

I'll be getting a pair of UD4-B3 and 2600K's tom... Can I have some quick tips on testing as which 2600K to keep for better overclocking? Basically the other computer will be for office use and purely kept at stock speed while the other one is for me.

Will be cooled with a D14 if it matters.


----------



## Sin0822

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *HootyHoo;13330003*
> My data while climbing the OC ladder. Hope this helps someone.


cool man thanks, yea it should help someone, but everyones CPU is different. but thanks for the info, i am sure it will help someone.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *EarlZ;13365670*
> Props and rep to you for this very great guide!
> 
> I'll be getting a pair of UD4-B3 and 2600K's tom... Can I have some quick tips on testing as which 2600K to keep for better overclocking? Basically the other computer will be for office use and purely kept at stock speed while the other one is for me.
> 
> Will be cooled with a D14 if it matters.


without cpu pll overvoltage on turn on the computer, increase vcore to 1.5v WITH your best air cooler on them.

Next walk the multiplier up one by one and restart and then see if the board can POST, as in get into the BIOS. See how high you can get WITHOUT CPU PLL Overvoltage.

pick teh chip that can do that at its highest because it can prob do 4-5X multipliers higher than that with CPU PLL Overvoltage on.


----------



## EarlZ

I'll give that a try, so basically which ever boots with the highest multi at 1.5v vcore PLL over voltage off is the keeper.

For 24/7 usage what voltage would you recommend for the VTT/Vcore,VccSA ?


----------



## Sin0822

um 24/7 keep it under 1.45 on water and 1.4v on air, but that should be your load voltage. Id use LLC level1 with those voltages set as your max vcore.

if you use LLC level2 it will overvolt and rise the voltage under load, its for extreme or max clocking. Only the UD7 and UD5 have the Levels the UD4 you should be good with just enabled LLC.

If you have a UD7 don't use the latest BIOS, use BIOS F3H.
vtt 1.2v should be enough.

don't touch vccsa


----------



## EarlZ

I'll be using UD4, in a few hours from now I should be getting 2 pairs of 2600K's and UD4's will post here for any issues I encounter.


----------



## Sin0822

yea man feel free, i am always here. This thread has almost 60K hits wow.


----------



## EarlZ

Oh yeah do you know a site where I can view feedbacks about the bios for the UD4-B3, I cant really narrow it down if its F3,F3B or F3D is the best.


----------



## compudaze

Wow, totally posted in the wrong thread. Woops =)


----------



## Sin0822

Quote:



Originally Posted by *EarlZ*


Oh yeah do you know a site where I can view feedbacks about the bios for the UD4-B3, I cant really narrow it down if its F3,F3B or F3D is the best.


tweak town forums has a section just for GB and hosts all the GB BIOSes.

At xtremesystems there is a P67A-UD4 thread with a lot of good info.


----------



## EarlZ

I just got my parts and both 2600K have the batch# L108A948 any input on this?


----------



## compudaze

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *EarlZ;13375757*
> I just got my parts and both 2600K have the batch# L108A948 any input on this?


It's been proven over and over that you cannot use batch numbers for Sandy Bridge chips to determine their overclockability.


----------



## Sin0822

yea batch number means nothing, so does stock VID, really meaning less compared to clocks. I have seen many batches in where the max OCes at 400-500mhz apart.


----------



## EarlZ

I seem to have hit some weird issue, if I have HT enabled I only see 4 graphs under windows task manager and CPU-Z sees 2C/4T if I disable HT i see 4C/4T


----------



## compudaze

Quote:



Originally Posted by *EarlZ*


I seem to have hit some weird issue, if I have HT enabled I only see 4 graphs under windows task manager and CPU-Z sees 2C/4T if I disable HT i see 4C/4T


start -> run -> msconfig -> boot -> advanced options -> uncheck number of processors -> ok and reboot


----------



## EarlZ

Quote:



Originally Posted by *compudaze*


start -> run -> msconfig -> boot -> advanced options -> uncheck number of processors -> ok and reboot


Thanks, solved the issue.
+rep


----------



## EarlZ

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sin0822;13380671*
> yea batch number means nothing, so does stock VID, really meaning less compared to clocks. I have seen many batches in where the max OCes at 400-500mhz apart.


The one I tried last night can only boot up w/o issues upto x48 @ 1.500vcore and PLL off. Probably a bad clocker?


----------



## compudaze

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *EarlZ;13386117*
> The one I tried last night can only boot up w/o issues upto x48 @ 1.500vcore and PLL off. Probably a bad clocker?


Ouch, 1.5V for 4.8GHz is horrible. Is that manually voltage or auto? I can get my 2600K stable at 4.8GHz at 1.32V.


----------



## EarlZ

Sin0822 advised me on running the chips at 1.500vcore PLL off and all other settings in auto, to find out which is the better 2600K.. I currently have 2pcs here and Im figuring out which one to keep.

Your 1.32v is windows loaded? How are the other voltages set?


----------



## compudaze

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *EarlZ;13386927*
> Sin0822 advised me on running the chips at 1.500vcore PLL off and all other settings in auto, to find out which is the better 2600K.. I currently have 2pcs here and Im figuring out which one to keep.
> 
> Your 1.32v is windows loaded? How are the other voltages set?


He was just saying use 1.5V Vcore to find out which chip would boot with the highest multiplier with PLL Overvoltage disabled. Which ever chip booted the highest at 1.5V, you should keep.

I wouldn't recommend running the chip at that voltage. See back a few pages for Sin's recommend max voltages for an idea on what you should shoot for.

My 4.8GHz 1.32V is 12H prime95 blend stable and 50x LinX AVX stable.

After using Sin's method to finding which chip to keep, now you need to dial in your overclock.


----------



## EarlZ

Thats what I actually did just boot into bios with 1.5vcore with PLL overvoltage off. Im now trying chip B and it can boot up x50 to bios vs x48 on the other one.

I tried 4.8Ghz now with voltage set to 1.380 manual I get the 124 BSOD error code, I upped the VTT to 1.1 and it freezes on the windows loading animation.

Do you have PLL overvoltage on that 4.8 , what VTT are you using?

Also Im just going what what he posted on these:
Quote:


> Stock-4GHz on Stock VID
> 4.0-4.3GHz 1.300v-1.325v
> 4.3-4.5GHz 1.325v-1.375v
> 4.5-4.8GHz 1.375v-1.450v


Pretty nice chip for 1.32 at 4.8Ghz, either im doing something wrong or this is just a bad clocker.

EDIT:

Chip B seems to ultimate fail at all auto even at 4.5Ghz.


----------



## compudaze

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *EarlZ;13387068*
> Thats what I actually did just boot into bios with 1.5vcore with PLL overvoltage off. Im now trying chip B and it can boot up x50 to bios vs x48 on the other one.
> 
> I tried 4.8Ghz now with voltage set to 1.380 manual I get the 124 BSOD error code, I upped the VTT to 1.1 and it freezes on the windows loading animation.
> 
> Do you have PLL overvoltage on that 4.8 , what VTT are you using?
> 
> Also Im just going what what he posted on these:
> 
> Pretty nice chip for 1.32 at 4.8Ghz, either im doing something wrong or this is just a bad clocker.


Sorry, I reacted to your post without knowing the full story. Yeah, 48x isn't terrible. 50x is better of course.

The chip I currently have either maxes out at 48-49x with PLL Overvoltage disabled, can't remember. The chip I previously had maxed out at 51x. Previous chip did 4.8GHz at 1.37V while my current chip does 4.8GHz at 1.32V. However, my current chip runs hotter even though it's a lower voltage.

I keep PLL Overvoltage disabled. I use Vcore 1.335V in Bios with LLC on Ultra High on my Asus board. My personal goal for LLC settings is to use the highest setting which keeps your load voltage below your bios voltage. If you only have on/off then on is preferred. VCCIO (aka QPI/VTT) is default at 1.05V. VCCSA is default at 0.0925V. RAM is default at 1.5V. CPU PLL voltage is 1.7625V. Lowering CPU PLL voltage from default of 1.8V allowed me to lower my Vcore from 1.365V to 1.335V.


----------



## EarlZ

I seem to be getting errors from Prime95 on all auto settings at 4.5Ghz.... Im not sure whats wrong..

EDIT:

Arggh I dunno, I was able to get 4.5Ghz stable and now it errors out again when prime starts!
Must be a mobo or bios issue?

My cpu really wants LLC now its running stable again, does realtemp 3.67 show realtime voltages?

EDIT2:

Im a little bit confused about the Voltage read outs, if I go x45 the bios gives me a 1.360 read out even if I set it to 1.335v, RealTemp also shows me 1.3671v


----------



## compudaze

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *EarlZ;13387801*
> I seem to be getting errors from Prime95 on all auto settings at 4.5Ghz.... Im not sure whats wrong..
> 
> EDIT:
> 
> Arggh I dunno, I was able to get 4.5Ghz stable and now it errors out again when prime starts!
> Must be a mobo or bios issue?
> 
> My cpu really wants LLC now its running stable again, does realtemp 3.67 show realtime voltages?
> 
> EDIT2:
> 
> Im a little bit confused about the Voltage read outs, if I go x45 the bios gives me a 1.360 read out even if I set it to 1.335v, RealTemp also shows me 1.3671v


Latest CPU-Z should give you accurate voltage readings: ftp://ftp.cpuid.com/cpu-z/cpu-z_1.57.1-setup-en.exe


----------



## EarlZ

Thanks, Seems like 4.5Ghz on this chip is 1.285v to get stability with 1.1VTT. I think ill stay with 4.5Ghz as 4.8Ghz is a bit of a pain to stabilize and I dont know whats causing it to error out right away in Prime95 smallFTT.


----------



## Chris Ihao

Hey Sin. I have been using your guide for a day now, trying to stabilize my 2600k on my ud5. Thought I had it figured out last night, but nah... prime 95 crashed during the night.

What I find strange is that llc level 1 seems to actually make my "load voltages" go lower than usual. Having level 1 enabled I have had a really bad day so far and have experienced quite a few crashes. However, after disabling llc I am back in the game and can continue with finding the golden spot









I have manually set my cpu voltage at 1.370. Cpu-z now reads my load voltages at 1.296v, sometimes 1.284v, while with llc it went lower than that. I guess using llc level 2 isnt really a good idea in my situation?

Is this extra vdroop with llc enabled logical at all?

My aim is to get 4.5 ghz up and running without worrying levels of temps (stay under 80c, right?). My true extreme does a less than perfect job in cooling my cpu (same with the last q9550) but it maxes out at 71c so far in my current prime run. I dont think my chip is the best of clockers either, but as long as I can use 4.5 ghz, judging from the results I got in certain cpu heavy games last night, I will be more than pleased.

Edit: EarlZ: Is that 1.285v on load? Generally, are you guys referring to load voltages, not "bios settings"?

Edit2: Oh, and I got HT enabled.


----------



## compudaze

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Chris Ihao*


Hey Sin. I have been using your guide for a day now, trying to stabilize my 2600k on my ud5. Thought I had it figured out last night, but nah... prime 95 crashed during the night.

What I find strange is that llc level 1 seems to actually make my "load voltages" go lower than usual. Having level 1 enabled I have had a really bad day so far and have experienced quite a few crashes. However, after disabling llc I am back in the game and can continue with finding the golden spot









I have manually set my cpu voltage at 1.370. Cpu-z now reads my load voltages at 1.296v, sometimes 1.284v, while with llc it went lower than that. I guess using llc level 2 isnt really a good idea in my situation?

Is this extra vdroop with llc enabled logical at all?

My aim is to get 4.5 ghz up and running without worrying levels of temps (stay under 80c, right?). My true extreme does a less than perfect job in cooling my cpu (same with the last q9550) but it maxes out at 71c so far in my current prime run. I dont think my chip is the best of clockers either, but as long as I can use 4.5 ghz, judging from the results I got in certain cpu heavy games last night, I will be more than pleased.

Edit: EarlZ: Is that 1.285v on load? Generally, are you guys referring to load voltages, not "bios settings"?

Edit2: Oh, and I got HT enabled.


I would use the highest LLC level which keeps your load voltage below your bios voltage. If your load voltage is higher that what you set in BIOS, then back down a level and work with that.


----------



## Chris Ihao

Quote:



Originally Posted by *compudaze*


I would use the highest LLC level which keeps your load voltage below your bios voltage. If your load voltage is higher that what you set in BIOS, then back down a level and work with that.


Hmm. Interesting. Must be a catch however? Voltage spikes? Been running an hour without llc now btw, and doing fine so far. 1.284v under load seems to be the most constant value. 1.36-1.35 or something during idle.


----------



## compudaze

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Chris Ihao*


Hmm. Interesting. Must be a catch however? Voltage spikes? Been running an hour without llc now btw, and doing fine so far. 1.284v under load seems to be the most constant value. 1.36-1.35 or something during idle.


I jumped on the LLC bandwagon w/o any real reason. For some reason, people don't like seeing 1.35V in the BIOS and only getting 1.28V during load even though that's how it's _supposed_ to be. The higher LLC levels may cause higher than usual spikes.

If I use LLC and set voltage to 1.335V it's usually 1.315-1.325 during load.


----------



## EarlZ

@Chris

Yes 1.285v as per CPU-Z but I spoke too soon about 2hrs into priming small FTT i got an error.. I'll try to bump the voltages up.. I also noticed that on both the 2600K i got none of them can do 4.5Ghz stable at stock VTT, it has to be at 1.100 ( I havent tried 1.080 yet )

@Topic

Im trying to get 4.8Ghz stable but I keep getting errors in Prime95 SmallFTT test.. anytime from 10mins to 2hrs after..

I currently have the Vcore at "Normal" with a +0.055 offset, but with this kind of voltage Im already hitting 81c with a Noctua D14 ( full speed ) I have the PLL over voltage enabled and VTT at 1.2000v, vDIMM is at 1.5v stock (1333Mhz for now )

Loaded Vcore shows 1.392
Motherboard is Gigabyte UD4-B3

Is it also possible that at higher speeds the VTT and PLL voltage can be dropped down to gain stability, for example at 4.5Ghz say we need 1.2VTT and 1.80PLL but at 4.8Ghz it can be dropped down to 1.1VTT and 1.76PLL ?

I also get a BSOD 124 with blend in about 10-15mins, I've tried VTT ranges from 1.1 to 1.2v and still get the same BSOD.. Would 1.220 or 1.240 be safe for 24/7 as I might give it a try and see if I dont get BSOD's with that kind of VTT.


----------



## Chris Ihao

Quote:



Originally Posted by *compudaze*


I jumped on the LLC bandwagon w/o any real reason. For some reason, people don't like seeing 1.35V in the BIOS and only getting 1.28V during load even though that's how it's _supposed_ to be. The higher LLC levels may cause higher than usual spikes.

If I use LLC and set voltage to 1.335V it's usually 1.315-1.325 during load.


Yeah. I will be following your method, so thanks for explaining this in such a logical way man. Currently testing at much lower bios settings, and I have to say the droop problem is far less pronounced now at level 4 (set to 1.310v in bios, although it flips around and raise the volts up to 1.320v on idle).

@Earlz: Lol, yeah same here. Lost it after 4 hours of testing at 1.284v. Going to try out llc now.


----------



## compudaze

Quote:



Originally Posted by *EarlZ*


@Chris

Yes 1.285v as per CPU-Z but I spoke too soon about 2hrs into priming small FTT i got an error.. I'll try to bump the voltages up.. I also noticed that on both the 2600K i got none of them can do 4.5Ghz stable at stock VTT, it has to be at 1.100 ( I havent tried 1.080 yet )

@Topic

Im trying to get 4.8Ghz stable but I keep getting errors in Prime95 SmallFTT test.. anytime from 10mins to 2hrs after..

I currently have the Vcore at "Normal" with a +0.055 offset, but with this kind of voltage Im already hitting 81c with a Noctua D14 ( full speed ) I have the PLL over voltage enabled and VTT at 1.2000v, vDIMM is at 1.5v stock (1333Mhz for now )

Loaded Vcore shows 1.392
Motherboard is Gigabyte UD4-B3

Is it also possible that at higher speeds the VTT and PLL voltage can be dropped down to gain stability, for example at 4.5Ghz say we need 1.2VTT and 1.80PLL but at 4.8Ghz it can be dropped down to 1.1VTT and 1.76PLL ?

I also get a BSOD 124 with blend in about 10-15mins, I've tried VTT ranges from 1.1 to 1.2v and still get the same BSOD.. Would 1.220 or 1.240 be safe for 24/7 as I might give it a try and see if I dont get BSOD's with that kind of VTT.


That's very odd. On 3 CPU's, 2 sets of ram and 3 motherboards; I've never had to raise VCCIO (VTT) above the default of 1.050V.


----------



## Chris Ihao

After some more testing I must say that the standard "no lcc" method seems to work best in my case. Basically equal temps and equal vdroop (dont ask why) at even medium llc settings. I find that increasing voltages in 0.005v increments will allow me to find the final stable 4.5 ghz pretty soon. 4 hours at 1.370 in bios without incident should mean that 1.375 (which pans out at 1.356v when idle) could be it.

@EarlZ: Just a tip, while small FFT's have a tendency to create more heat, blend is in my experience an even better way of testing for faults. I have seen Small FFT tests run all day long, while crumbling within an hour of blend testing.


----------



## EarlZ

Quote:



Originally Posted by *compudaze*


That's very odd. On 3 CPU's, 2 sets of ram and 3 motherboards; I've never had to raise VCCIO (VTT) above the default of 1.050V.


Yeah, odd indeed and thats for both 2600K's I have.. Maybe this is a motherboard issue and not a processor issue?

I left the blend test for a few hours with the same settings I have for 4.8Ghz and ran 4.7Ghz instead. I got a BSOD after a few hours with error 124 =(


----------



## compudaze

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *EarlZ;13396073*
> Yeah, odd indeed and thats for both 2600K's I have.. Maybe this is a motherboard issue and not a processor issue?
> 
> I left the blend test for a few hours with the same settings I have for 4.8Ghz and ran 4.7Ghz instead. I got a BSOD after a few hours with error 124 =(


What I like to do is find stability at a certain voltage first. Then dial in the lowest possible voltage.

For instance:

Set voltage to 1.4V in BIOS (or whatever gives you close to 1.4V load)
Set multi to 48x
Run Prime95 blend for 8-12H for stability testing
If it fails, lower multiplier until you eventually find the multiplier that passes at 1.4V
After you find the highest multiplier you can run at 1.4V, now it's time to start lowering voltage by 0.01V-0.02V or so until you fail that same stability test
Once you fail stability testing at a certain voltage, raise it back to the last voltage that passed
Now you've found the lowest voltage for your most reasonably highest multiplier
Instead of running Prime95 blend for hours on end, I've been running 50x passes of LinX w/AVX for testing. 50x passes takes about 2h20m or so. So far, if I've been able to pass 50x LinX w/AVX; I've been able to run Prime95 blend for 12h+ at the same settings.


----------



## EarlZ

With LinX my temps really sky rocket so much as compared to Prime95.. I think it runs about 10-15c hotter.

x47 even fails with blend after a couple of hours @ 1.404v loaded. Im a sad sad panda!

EDIT:

It seems that the F4 bios does not play well with my setup. I moved to F3B and I can run 4.5Ghz at stock VccIO instead of 1.1 (Knocks on wood)


----------



## grassh0ppa

so i followed this guide (step 1) to get the CPU to 4.5ghz. I upped the memory freq to 1600 (which is what the RAM is rated for) and I got bluescreened. any ideas whats up? using sig rig


----------



## EarlZ

First of all try to run the memory at 1333Mhz for now. Since we are using the same board. have you tried F3/F3b bios?


----------



## Sin0822

yea you are going to need to increase your voltages. Its not a big deal, just increase your Vcore 2-3nothces higher than what auto vcore gives you, even more in many cases.


----------



## EarlZ

But for 4.5Ghz I assume/expect all 2500K/2600K can do it with auto voltage.


----------



## compudaze

Quote:



Originally Posted by *EarlZ*


But for 4.5Ghz I assume/expect all 2500K/2600K can do it with auto voltage.


Nope.


----------



## grassh0ppa

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *EarlZ;13400004*
> First of all try to run the memory at 1333Mhz for now. Since we are using the same board. have you tried F3/F3b bios?


that may be the problem. i havent updated the bios yet.


----------



## EarlZ

Quote:



Originally Posted by *compudaze*


Nope.


Have you came across any of those?

@SIN

Hows the raid performance on these mobo's?


----------



## EarlZ

Sorry double post


----------



## Chris Ihao

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Sin0822*


yea you are going to need to increase your voltages. Its not a big deal, just increase your Vcore 2-3nothces higher than what auto vcore gives you, even more in many cases.


Yeah. It seems like thats it. Using no llc, the 2-3 first notches takes care of the vdrop, then some additional notches may take care of the additional vdroop. Tonight I did a run that crashed after 4 hours, best so far, so I am increasing only 1 notch at a time (1.380v in bios, which is up to 1.368 idle). Sure hope I will be able to run a stable stress test soon, as the temps are creeping up the middle 70's.


----------



## EarlZ

I got the 123 BSOD after about 9hrs of Prime95 blend and this is at 1.360VID with a NEGATIVE 0.025 offset.. What seems to be wrong? I've tried VTT upto 1.200v with this and I still get BSOD's a few hours after into blend.. my chip not able to do 4.5Ghz?


----------



## compudaze

Quote:



Originally Posted by *EarlZ*


I got the 123 BSOD after about 9hrs of Prime95 blend and this is at 1.360VID with a NEGATIVE 0.025 offset.. What seems to be wrong? I've tried VTT upto 1.200v with this and I still get BSOD's a few hours after into blend.. my chip not able to do 4.5Ghz?


Try manual voltage.


----------



## EarlZ

I tried to manually volt it at 1.360 w/o any offsets this time

Ran 30 loops of LinX ( I dont really like this as ppl say it degrades the processor so fast )

Right now at stock 1.050VTT
Memory at 1333Mhz 9-9-9 1.5v
HT-OFF, all power savings off

All other voltages in AUTO, PLL over voltage OFF










On the first page 123 says VTT/QPI so I should be playing with the VccIO right and not the Vcore?'

If it matters the chip i have can only boot upto x49 w/o PLL over volt, highest i've tried with PLL over volt is 5.2Ghz but didnt try anything further.. so I recon something about 46-47 is the upper limit for my chip in terms of acceptable voltage+temps in OCing?


----------



## EarlZ

I think my chip really cant do 4.8Ghz, I've tried voltages upto 1.45v (loaded, using a DMM to verify) different PLL/VTT/VccSA/vDIMM voltages and I still get a BSOD in Prime95 Blend.


----------



## Sin0822

you need to use CPU PLL overvoltage man, and 1.45v max with llc level2.


----------



## EarlZ

Already enabled PLL over voltage, UD4 has no LLC levels. I have it enabled.


----------



## grassh0ppa

I noticed that my Vcore in bios is different than what is in CPUZ. I thought I had a bad chip because in bios I set it to 1.34 but in CPUZ its at 1.104V for a mild 4.3ghz OC. Im not sure what the deal is, but my temps are super low and still haven't gone over 50 over the last 20mins... Not sure what the ambient temps are but Im not freezing in here - probably in the 20s.

batch number is L101B216, I got it from NCIX.


----------



## EarlZ

I have around 28-30c ambient temps which shoots even as high as 36-38c during hot afternoons, Im using a D14 and im getting about 58c tops with prime smallFTT this is with stock volts and stock speed, is this result expected or am I getting a little to high on the temps? ( considering the cooler? )

With LinX+AVC @ 1.45V loaded (via DDM) and 4.8Ghz I get around 93c!!


----------



## Chris Ihao

Getting a bit disappointed with my UD5 here. There are huge vdroops even with LLC enabled (like 0.08v-0.09v) and I cant seem to achieve a stable oc at 4.5ghz without increasing the in-bios voltage to 1.395 or more (still testing and increasing). LLC almost seems broken imho. Using F3 bios.


----------



## EarlZ

Initially I had issues with getting 4.5Ghz to be stable, was using F4 and I needed to raise VTT to 1.2 else it would out right fail @ 4.5Ghz even in all auto. I moved back to F3B and full auto with stock VTT made it stable with 4.5Ghz.. maybe you can try another bios?

Im using UD4, Right now im going to make sure that my 2600K can survive 24hrs prime blend before I try to move up to a higher speed, so far its been 8hrs and its pretty stable.. with my 4.8Ghz test it would error out at 2-3hrs after.


----------



## Chris Ihao

I actually managed to do an 11 hour run with 1.385v set in bios, but when I did a 1.390v run last night it crashed after only 30 minutes or so. It may be because I turned off PPL overvoltage, but I thought that were mainly relevant for even higher clocks?

1.395v and PPL on now. Going to do a long run and just leave it at that if it checks out. 4.5ghz is enough for me, but I really dont want to step down from that. 1.380v max idle and 1.308-1.320v on prime load (according to cpu-z). Temps hasnt crossed 74c on any core yet.


----------



## valvehead

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *grassh0ppa;13433819*
> I noticed that my Vcore in bios is different than what is in CPUZ. I thought I had a bad chip because in bios I set it to 1.34 but in CPUZ its at 1.104V for a mild 4.3ghz OC. Im not sure what the deal is, but my temps are super low and still haven't gone over 50 over the last 20mins... Not sure what the ambient temps are but Im not freezing in here - probably in the 20s.
> 
> batch number is L101B216, I got it from NCIX.


Make sure that you are using CPUZ 1.57.1 or newer. Previous versions read the wrong voltage on B3 boards.


----------



## EarlZ

At 4.5Ghz PLL overvolt should not be needed I think. You know even with Prime95 and LinX testing is fairly inconsistent. Sometimes you can get as 72hr prime stable but on some random testing it crashes outright. LinX in which you can get stable 100 runs but crash out on other programs.. I would just guess but if the voltage is still relatively far from 1.45v loaded ( DMM measured ) i would add 1 or 2 notches more just to help with stability. Im not exactly sure how much 1.395 in bios will give you with prime loaded. I'll check on my end with the UD4 tomorrow as Im now at 12hrs Prime blend test. another 12hrs more to claim partial stability.


----------



## Chris Ihao

Ok, cool. Well, I think that the last notch brought the voltage up at acceptable levels (before: droop to 1.296, now droop to 1.308-1.320), but I cant know for sure yet as, like you say, some random test obviously creates a particular heavy load on the cpu and droops the voltage even further. If it holds at this oc I will call it a day as the temps are ok and that this creates a comfortable buffer zone up to dangerous temperature levels.

Edit: Damned. I just called my gf to ask her to check out how the stability test is working out, and she says that the comuter has restarted. Frankly I dont like whats happening and am starting to wonder if the chip already have begun degrading. Now, there is a certain random element here, but the tendency before these latest tests were that I could test for longer and longer periods without fail (4, 8 and 11 hours), with increased voltages. Now I suddenly cant even test for 4 hours before it reboots. Please tell me that I am wrong, and that degradation is very unlikely at these voltages.

Edit2: Perhaps its time I started looking at other factors and voltages. What voltages do you guys manually punch in, and what values do you leave at auto?


----------



## grassh0ppa

Quote:



Originally Posted by *valvehead*


Make sure that you are using CPUZ 1.57.1 or newer. Previous versions read the wrong voltage on B3 boards.


oh ok thanks alot. It's now showing the right voltage.

what is a standard voltage for 4.5ghz?


----------



## Chris Ihao

Quote:



Originally Posted by *grassh0ppa*


oh ok thanks alot. It's now showing the right voltage.

what is a standard voltage for 4.5ghz?


I think its 1.355, at least thats what I think the SVID value was when I set it to automatic and x45 multiplier.


----------



## UNOE

little confused on TDP ... Is this the 'Turbo Power Limit(watts)' and 'Core Current Limit(amps)' Are these two suppost to be set between 200 and 300 ? Or am I seeing this wrong ?


----------



## compudaze

Quote:



Originally Posted by *UNOE*


little confused on TDP ... Is this the 'Turbo Power Limit(watts)' and 'Core Current Limit(amps)' Are these two suppost to be set between 200 and 300 ? Or am I seeing this wrong ?


Yes that is correct. Doing so should eliminate any power draw limitations.


----------



## UNOE

Quote:



Originally Posted by *compudaze*


Yes that is correct. Doing so should eliminate any power draw limitations.


I think the guy in post 135 didn't realize that.


----------



## EarlZ

This just blows, I already had about 17hrs of Prime95 Blend running, I left it running over night and when I got up.. bam, BSOD error code 124.. this is just 4.5Ghz with a loaded voltage of 1.35v ( via DMM ) LLC enabled. It survived 50 LinX runs with AVX.. This is so frustrating!
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *compudaze;13442952*
> Yes that is correct. Doing so should eliminate any power draw limitations.


Is this true for all boards? On the UD4 I have turbo disabled and I see RT measuring TDP over 110W at times. Does this mean my mobo is not limiting power draw?


----------



## Sin0822

no if turbo is disabled then you don't have to worry about those limits. You can increase your vcore or just leave it, as in real life you can't stress as much as prime95 or IBT.


----------



## EarlZ

I think im giving up the Prime95/IBT extended tests.. Maybe just 2-3hrs of Prime95 Blend and if its good its off to real world testing with benchmarks and gaming, Im starting to get concerned that my processor would start to degrade due to this extended hours of prime.

Is the possibility of degradation gonna happen as early as a 1 week old CPU? I've been running this through prime95 at a max loaded voltage of 1.46 ( via DDM ) for just an overnight run and I guessing it BSOD'ed in less than 4hrs. Longest I was able to keep it running blend is 18hrs or so under 4.5Ghz auto volt before it BSOD.


----------



## Sin0822

the only way to tell if voltage/temps is degrading the CPU is by seeing if you keep needing more vcore to achieve the same clocks.

here is teh thing, vcore isn't the only things affecting degradation, there are two more important factors, current which you cannot measure and temperature which you can.

Higher frequency(voltage+current)= higher temperature
Higher freuqnecy=higher current.

Watch your temps.


----------



## Chris Ihao

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *EarlZ;13448296*
> I think im giving up the Prime95/IBT extended tests.. Maybe just 2-3hrs of Prime95 Blend and if its good its off to real world testing with benchmarks and gaming, Im starting to get concerned that my processor would start to degrade due to this extended hours of prime.
> 
> Is the possibility of degradation gonna happen as early as a 1 week old CPU? I've been running this through prime95 at a max loaded voltage of 1.46 ( via DDM ) for just an overnight run and I guessing it BSOD'ed in less than 4hrs. Longest I was able to keep it running blend is 18hrs or so under 4.5Ghz auto volt before it BSOD.


Hey EarlZ. Same here. To summarize again I were able to do a few hours in Prime95 with about 1.365 set in bios, about 4 hours with 1.375 set in bios, 8 hours with one more notch and 11 hours with 1.385. All tests ended with bsod.

I find that I now cant do similar runs anymore, hence I conclude that all these tests have somewhat contributed to degratiation of my cpu (or some other part). I did 50 runs with LinX last night with no issue whatsoever. Havent experienced any crashes during ordinary use either, so I decided to call it quits before I potentially mess up even more. To me testing in Prime95 is a catch 22. If it doesnt hold up long tests it may degrade in the process, but when I dont run it I'm not entirely sure my system is completely stable.


----------



## EarlZ

On my end Im not sure if my processor has degraded but maybe to a certain degree it has, I was expecting that 1.35v loaded is more than enough for 4.5Ghz stability.

Im not sure if this is the Vcore thats lacking or something else, a lot of people I see doing 4.5Ghz in just 1.280 to 1.300.

@Sin0882

The other 2600K I have here only boots upto x47 w/o PLL over voltage, has a higher VID at 3.4Ghz ( 1.225v) and runs a bit hotter, I havent really pushed that chip aside from doing an overnight prime95 which BSOD when I got up ( less than 8hrs ) the chip Im using now can do upto x49 w/o the need for PLL over voltage.

I have a very very limited time to test the other chip, should I go all the way and test it or just keep the one I have installed now ?


----------



## Falkentyne

The TDP and TDC limits only apply if you are using turbo multipliers. If you are not, they are grayed out because they aren't even used. If you run hwinfo32, you will see that the limit will show as "unlimited." The limits only take effect if you are using turbo multipliers or have OS control of multpliers enabled or something (which ungrays the 1 core-4 core options). You can still temporarily ungray them and enter a value, but if you enter a value that's too low, your computer will boot loop forever (until you clear the CMOS), even if the value is grayed, because the values ARE read and used at initial at power up time. Setting TDP and TDC at 30 before going on a long trip is a PERFECT way to stop ANYONE from being able to touch your computer. (But you'll have to clear cmos to stop the boot loops, which means bye to your profiles...)

And yeah, it looks like both of you degraded your cpu's a bit. Just stop running prime on them. And it's highly recommended to use F3G on UD5, F3H on UD7 and F3D on UD4. Not much vdroop on UD4 (seems each board reports different, though), and you can use LLC2 on UD5 or UD7 to have a little vrise if you want...I use 1.405v LLC2 for 1.428v for 5 ghz load for Bad Company 2 (prime will make it go to 1.440v but I am not priming anymore) for nice stable action. I don't trust F3 final or any of the F4 versions...the vcore bugs and the needing 1.2v VTT and the erratic vcore swings with the different LLC levels is just too much for me...


----------



## EarlZ

I dont know if I've degraded my chip since 4.5Ghz with auto voltage was not stable to begin with on my initial testing..


----------



## Chris Ihao

Yeah. My 2600k has most definitely degraded due to my prime95 runs. Couldnt resist trying a bit more to check out some settings, but I am out of 
luck.

I couldnt imagine that this would happen on no llc, conservative voltage runs. Guess I learnt something these last few days.

Like stated I could run 11 hours with 1.385 but now I cant even run half an hour. Sucks to be me.

Anyhow, thats how it is. Does this mean that it will continue to degrade or what? I'm not that familiar with messing up my cpu's.







Not so sure about this whole degradation thing anymore

Edit: Thanks Falkentyne. Will check out that bios and do a 12 hour prime 95 run to feel good about myself (j/k. Well, not the install bios part).

Edit2: What the frack? I never saw 1.404v show up in gpu-z before installing f3g, like you suggested Falkentyne. I actually just booted up with 4.7 ghz instead of 4.5, with 1.405 in bios. Lol. Now, lets see if we can really mess this chip up.









Edit3: Looks like where I previously had 0.080 and more total vdroop/vdrop before I now have approximately 0.020









Edit4: This F3g somewhat confirm my suspicions that the other bioses I have tried have had some serious faults in them. I mean, I previously havent even had torture tests failing threads, simply bsods no matter what voltage. I suspect that there are some serious matter of limiting current on these bioses or something like that.

To put it like this. I just ran 6 runs of successful stressing in LinX at 4.8 ghz, set to only 1.385 in bios with llc level 1 enabled. It drooped down to 1.356 compared to 1.2xx like in previous bioses at up to level 5 llc, and failed after doing 6 successful tests with 2000 mb tested. Will make a final edit once I get a stable run.

What on earth happened with final F3, beta F4?









Again, thanks a bunch Falkentyne. Wow. Clearest +rep in a while for me


----------



## EarlZ

So using another bios helped you ?


----------



## Chris Ihao

Quote:



Originally Posted by *EarlZ*


So using another bios helped you ?


To put it like this: Yeah!










Like shown idle voltages is at 1.380 idle. Set to the same in bios. On load the voltage droops down to 1.356, and very occasionally to 1.340, with LLC level 1 enabled. Like you can see the 20 loop ibt test is run at "high" stress level. Temps are kind of borderline, but still within what I call acceptable for 4.7 ghz on air.

I just cant believe how much better the F3g bios is at maintaining the voltage levels. Now, this doesnt necessarily mean that there will be no deterioration in future, but how often will I actually max out all cores? Not often. Anyhow, 20 loops with IBT was the goal I set for myself (due to Sins feedback via PM) and its now finally done. Prime 95 will sit quietly and look at me play some games instead.

Now, if I could I would give Falkentyne a big hug for his post. Would never have figured out this on my own.









Cheers guys. This will be a good day indeed.


----------



## Sin0822

different BIOSes will show different results in terms of LLC levels and other settings, some are more stable, but all in all tho0se are the BIOSes you want to use ATM.


----------



## EarlZ

I might be mistaken but that IBT does not fully stress the SB, you need the one that has support for AVX. But LinX is already way too extreme.. with the AVX I think your supposed to get 119Gflops at 4.7.

Im also following his advice to use F3D, gonna see about voltages but I doubt ill run LinX more than 10 loops and blend probably a max of 3-4hrs?

I just wanna void premature degradation on my chip, if its 3yrs old i would not care if it starts to degrade. My Q6600 on the other hand which is fed 1.475 24/7 for the past 3yrs and runs at 83-87c with prime never degraded.


----------



## Chris Ihao

Quote:



Originally Posted by *EarlZ*


I might be mistaken but that IBT does not fully stress the SB, you need the one that has support for AVX. But LinX is already way too extreme.. with the AVX I think your supposed to get 119Gflops at 4.7.

Im also following his advice to use F3D, gonna see about voltages but I doubt ill run LinX more than 10 loops and blend probably a max of 3-4hrs?

I just wanna void premature degradation on my chip, if its 3yrs old i would not care if it starts to degrade. My Q6600 on the other hand which is fed 1.475 24/7 for the past 3yrs and runs at 83-87c with prime never degraded.


Its stressed enough I say


----------



## tgawn

Quote:



Originally Posted by *EarlZ*


I think im giving up the Prime95/IBT extended tests.. Maybe just 2-3hrs of Prime95 Blend and if its good its off to real world testing with benchmarks and gaming, Im starting to get concerned that my processor would start to degrade due to this extended hours of prime.

Is the possibility of degradation gonna happen as early as a 1 week old CPU? I've been running this through prime95 at a max loaded voltage of 1.46 ( via DDM ) for just an overnight run and I guessing it BSOD'ed in less than 4hrs. Longest I was able to keep it running blend is 18hrs or so under 4.5Ghz auto volt before it BSOD.


Silly noob question, but what is DDM?


----------



## compudaze

Quote:



Originally Posted by *tgawn*


Silly noob question, but what is DDM?


Maybe he means DMM (digital multi-meter).


----------



## EarlZ

Yes, Digital Multi-Meter. I've been wondering why a such an expensive motherboard cant come with a very accurate voltage reading or just easier read out points.


----------



## Chris Ihao

Quote:



Originally Posted by *EarlZ*


Yes, Digital Multi-Meter. I've been wondering why a such an expensive motherboard cant come with a very accurate voltage reading or just easier read out points.


Not related EarlZ, but what I meant with my last comment is that I think we both have been a bit careless in terms of running long, longer and longest stress tests (thats what I learnt when I first started oc'ing). Thing is, by overly testing our current oc's with our air cooling we will probably end up pushing it and pushing it until there is no alternative but degrading our cpu's sooner or later, in next turn with having spent several years of operative lifetime on testing while ending up with lesser chip capabilities than initially were there.

I just decided that if these 20 runs went through I would call it a day. If I suddenly bsod while gaming I will then worry about being stable or not, but honestly I dont think that will happen anytime soon. Its much easier to be happy, potentially hit a blue wall and then back down a bit imho. Now, there may be others here that think otherwise, but for me this is more about getting great performance in certain cpu intensive games than anything.

That said. I will probably try to do a final LinX run at 2000mb... bah.









Edit: Did 20 runs of LinX. 64 bits, 8 threads. Here it is:










It actually seems to put less strain on the cpu than IBT, if you look at the temps. Also seemed to be a tad less vdroop.


----------



## compudaze

Maybe some are just unlucky? Have bad chips? Or something else is going on?

I've ran well over 10 days worth (yes, over 240 hours) of prime on my chips and never saw any degradation. I don't even know much much LinX/IBT. Maybe I'm just lucky I guess.


----------



## Chris Ihao

Quote:



Originally Posted by *compudaze*


Maybe some are just unlucky? Have bad chips? Or something else is going on?

I've ran well over 10 days worth (yes, over 240 hours) of prime on my chips and never saw any degradation. I don't even know much much LinX/IBT. Maybe I'm just lucky I guess.


Frankly I have walked away from my previous theory about deterioration (christ, what a difficult word) and think that I very well could have run prime 95 just fine, at least for a few hours, now. Its more a question of potentially pushing "weaker" chips for too long by doing 12 hour or longer runs, which in practice is very unrealistic compared to real world applications (for most of us that is).

Anyhow, to me it seems like some of the bioses for the UD5 at least are capping the available power and and employ some crazy drooping even with LLC enabled. I feel that the LLC was in fact pretty much dysfunctional in the final F3 and the F4 beta bioses, seeing as how there were no rise in voltages but rather the opposite.


----------



## Falkentyne

Thank you for the message in the note.
You won't have any droop bugs if you use bios version f3g for UD5 (F3h for UD7) and use LLC2. Vrise should be about 0.02v at 1.25v and 0.04v at 1.4v under load (less if all cores are not at 100%). If you DO get droop and NOT rise with F3G (which should NOT happen, period), then clear the cmos with the power unplugged, after flashing, for at least 30 seconds.

And @compu:
Some people have degradation, some don't. Some chips will degrade on their lowest vcore/high clocks within the first hour, even if no stress test is run. Just because it didn't happen to you doesn't make it fantasy. Just count yourself lucky. I had 0.03v of degradation (needing 0.03v higher) just due to repeated prime tests at 5 ghz trying to join that club. And I never did 12 hour prime runs. Just a bunch of 30 minute to 1 hour 30 minute runs, which either bsod or bsod later (a few passed). And the result of all that...degrade. So far, 2 days of BF BC2 at 1.405v bios, LLC2 (1.428v load, occasionally hitting 1.440v) and no BSOD; we'll see if that maintains or if I'll eventually need 1.41v in bios for even higher


----------



## EarlZ

@Chris Ihao

Assumed thats the corrected version of LinX for SB you may need to install Windows 7 SP1, since 50Gflops is not AVX enabled, at 4.7Ghz you should have 112-115.


----------



## compudaze

@Falkentyne

I never meant to intend degradation was a fantasy. I'm sorry if you were offended.

I guess I'm just lucky. None of my six Sandy Bridge chips show any signs of degradation. If I primed at 4.8ghz 1.32v on day one, went through hell at 5ghz prime, went through hell at 1.6-1.7V benches, it still primed at 4.8ghz 1.32v just like day one. I have, however, killed one chip. It wouldn't even run stable at stocks speeds. I think that's far beyond degradation though.


----------



## Chris Ihao

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *EarlZ;13456849*
> @Chris Ihao
> 
> Assumed thats the corrected version of LinX for SB you may need to install Windows 7 SP1, since 50Gflops is not AVX enabled, at 4.7Ghz you should have 112-115.


I do have SP1, but no. Obviously AVX is not enabled. Anyhow:

http://www.overclock.net/intel-general/948337-avx-nuts.html

You really want to go through that stuff? 90+ degrees in a few seconds with decent air cooling? Good luck









Like cmeeks says: "This is definately a job for custom WC only."

Just be careful Earl.

PS: In real life testing now I got 72c max on one core testing Shogun2. Hot enough for me, and considering my 580 is hot like heck when loaded (in particular at 99%) I dont doubt if I'll see even higher temps in some games. I'll test for a few days while gaming and see if I want to settle at 4.5 ghz.

Update: Humm. Testing Arma 2 for about an hour, which is indeed VERY cpu dependent (and benefits greatly from HT), the max on the hottest core was 66c. Not too shabby in my book. I count the hotter Shogun 2 result comes from gpu being bbq'ed


----------



## EarlZ

Im not using LinX anymore, Im limiting prime to a very max of 4hrs and thats it. I dont think my chip has degraded as well.

How do we even turn off AVX in LinX?


----------



## compudaze

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *EarlZ;13460622*
> Im not using LinX anymore, Im limiting prime to a very max of 4hrs and thats it. I dont think my chip has degraded as well.
> 
> How do we even turn off AVX in LinX?


You can't turn it off. You would need linpack binaries that don't support AVX.

However, using LinX w/o AVX is pointless on Sandy Bridge. LinX using SSE simply does not stress SNB enough to test stability. I've ran LinX w/SSE 500x but crash in prime blend within ~5m.


----------



## EarlZ

I was thinking of using it as a memory tester idea, I'll go back to HCI memtest then









How many hours do you normally go with Prime blend?

I can run my CPU upto 4.9Ghz but instant BSOD in blend, no issues in gaming XD


----------



## compudaze

Quote:



Originally Posted by *EarlZ*


I was thinking of using it as a memory tester idea, I'll go back to HCI memtest then









How many hours do you normally go with Prime blend?

I can run my CPU upto 4.9Ghz but instant BSOD in blend, no issues in gaming XD


I usually do 12-24H of Prime95 blend. Many would say thats a waste or damaging to the CPU, but I've never had a problem. _Stable_ means whatever *you* want it to.

For mem testing, I usually load up X instances of HCI Mem Test and divide my memory up between them. X being the # of threads I have. If it can go through 1-2 passes I'm happy. Most of the time if I run into errors, it happens rather quickly.


----------



## EarlZ

Thats what I noticed with RAM's they error out so fast or not even allow the system to post or boot into windows.

Im looking at my temps right now and its quite sad, 75-82-83-78.. Wish it normalized to 75-76-76-75 hehe.. 32c ambient for now, this will rise to 38-39c ambient in about 2hrs from now as afternoon peaks.

Would any gigabyte UD4 user know what app that can monitor the PWM/VRM temps on the board is?
(Wondering if its the Temperature 3 on HW3info under the mobo tab)


----------



## neoroy

Hi sin, really complete tutorial for oc SB








Here my tes with IBT v.2.51 which is now support for SB procie just take alook at speed Gflops and power consumption also heat, wow its bigger then IBT v.2.50 :


Uploaded with ImageShack.us


----------



## Sin0822

Hey i am glad it worked out for you!

Quote:



Originally Posted by *EarlZ*


Thats what I noticed with RAM's they error out so fast or not even allow the system to post or boot into windows.

Im looking at my temps right now and its quite sad, 75-82-83-78.. Wish it normalized to 75-76-76-75 hehe.. 32c ambient for now, this will rise to 38-39c ambient in about 2hrs from now as afternoon peaks.

Would any gigabyte UD4 user know what app that can monitor the PWM/VRM temps on the board is?
(Wondering if its the Temperature 3 on HW3info under the mobo tab)


No there isn't a way to monitor it, but it won't be high at all. The VRM will shut down past 120C.


----------



## EarlZ

I just made a 15mins Prime95 blend run @ 4.8Ghz with 1.443v load via DDM. I got a round off error.. Whats the best thing to increasE?


----------



## Chris Ihao

Argh. I should stop reading this thread. Just HAD to try prime 95 this morning, and of course it had to come mess up my joyous feeling of "stability" and bsod'ed within 5 minutes. Stepped back to 4.5, set my voltage at 1.390 in bios with LLC1 (mainly 1.356 at load), started up Prime 95 and went to work. I will run approximately for 6 hours, but if that goes through I will finally say enough is enough. Shame on you compudaze for luring me into going for Prime95 stability.









Oh, and a question. If Prime 95 doesnt correctly discover the hyperthreading "cores" (prime starts assuming core 1, 2, 3 and 4 is physical), this is an indication that there is not enough power being fed into the cpu, right? Also, do hyperthreading enabled require more voltages?


----------



## EarlZ

Some have reported that enabling or disabling HT does not effect their required voltage or temps, I have mine disabled for now for easier testing.

Can anyone elaborate to me the real difference between DVID and Manual voltage, as far as I can tell DVID relies on offset from the requested voltage by the CPU right and manual voltage is purely manual. So I if I know with DVID + offset = 1.356 loaded I can just easily use manual voltages right? When does DVID come in and offer a better solution or advantage?

Also Im wondering what goes on if i have "Normal" selected under voltage and "Auto" under DVID vs "Normal" Voltage with "Normal" DVID.

isochronous support = enable or disable?


----------



## compudaze

Quote:



Originally Posted by *EarlZ*


Thats what I noticed with RAM's they error out so fast or not even allow the system to post or boot into windows.

Im looking at my temps right now and its quite sad, 75-82-83-78.. Wish it normalized to 75-76-76-75 hehe.. 32c ambient for now, this will rise to 38-39c ambient in about 2hrs from now as afternoon peaks.

Would any gigabyte UD4 user know what app that can monitor the PWM/VRM temps on the board is?
(Wondering if its the Temperature 3 on HW3info under the mobo tab)


It's 32C in the room where your computer?!? You can't really complain about temps then.


----------



## EarlZ

Thats the normal "low" ambient temps in the Philippines during summer. If its outside summer its about 30-32c on warm afternoons. Probably the coolest we get here is 26c when it rains with strong wins.


----------



## Chris Ihao

Like indicated, stepped down to 4.5 ghz and ran 8 hours of prime 95. Higher clocks is just too hot for my semi-silent air setup. Dont want to stress it anymore now, but I bet it could have run for many more hours. Hope thats enough to please even you EarlZ (j/k)


















I think the temps are ok as well as it has been a really hot day today (not like in the Philippines though). I have to agree that Prime 95 still is the most reliable stress tester all in all, as it made my previous oc's crumble in no time. Even stepped down my gtx580 from 900 to 880 core as it needs much more voltage at the former (1.1v vs. 1.063v) and the difference really isnt that noticable.

Regarding degradation of the cpu I think there occured an initial burn in which reduced a somewhat higher tolerance, and that it now have "stabilized" somewhat.

Thanks again Sin and Falkentyne.


----------



## EarlZ

Im not any doubtful with your results, Looking at your CPU-Z we have the same chip that shows 1.368v and another one that does 1.332v

Im not sure which chip to keep for my desktop usage!

You seem to be getting 80c, did you run LinX before priming or is that 80c from prime ?

Rounding errors with Prime95 is a lack of Vcore?

Somebody in XS posted that running the memory at 1T command rate instead of 2T requires HIGHER vcore??? Can you guys verify this?


----------



## Chris Ihao

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *EarlZ;13466226*
> You seem to be getting 80c, did you run LinX before priming or is that 80c from prime ?


Yupp. Its from prime blend, 8 hours. In my experience Prime blend for long enough time produce quite a bit of heat due to the blended small fft's. LinX doesnt produce as much heat in my version (which is without AVX), and IBT produce a tad more correction: IBT also produce less heat. Approximately 77c. The newest Prime is HOT.

Anyhow, its not an ideal temp, but I got pretty slow spinning fans mounted on the True cooler because I want to keep the noise down. I also got all cabinet fans set to lowest speed (some in the front at maybe 5% of max), and very little ventilation. Bought a couple of boxes of compressed air to blow out some dust, but honestly I dont think it will help that much. I see 80c as acceptable for this level of voltage and 24/7 usage.


----------



## Falkentyne

No idea about the 1T vs 2T requiring higher vcore. I run at 5 ghz with 1T, though XMP profile sets 2T. Though TBH when I tried 2T, it didn't make a difference.

I've done about 10 hours of Bad company 2 and a few hours of black ops at 1.405v BIOS with LLC2 (that way I don't have to set 1.475v in BIOS for LLC1)at 5 ghz without BSOD (1.400v did result in a 0x124 BSOD), and that is about 1.428v load vcore (goes to 1.440v in something like Prime which I refuse to run now), and temps reaching about so far 72C max in the games, so if I can keep playing BC2 without crashing, I think that's good enough to call stable.

I'll have to see if this holds up or there is any more degradation. Hopefully it will hold up.


----------



## EarlZ

Is bad company 2 CPU heavy?
I have another 2600K here and I'll be able to test it for a day before sending it away.. Cant decide which to keep xD


----------



## Falkentyne

If you can pass bad company 2, nothing else besides an unrealistic stress test will make your system crash.

BTW do you have a link about that 1T vs 2T thing?


----------



## Sin0822

1t is better in general for benches, but you wont notice a difference.

yea BFBC2 stresses the CPu a lot.


----------



## soldierblue

So I've had my B3 board for three weeks, but I'm still trying to get by $190 deposit back. This is getting unreal. They keep telling me new dates that my refund was supposedly processed, getting later and later.


----------



## EarlZ

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Falkentyne*


If you can pass bad company 2, nothing else besides an unrealistic stress test will make your system crash.

BTW do you have a link about that 1T vs 2T thing?


Will playing single player be fine as a test or it should be multi player?


----------



## Chris Ihao

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sin0822;13473319*
> yea BFBC2 stresses the CPu a lot.


Much due to the destructible environments I would think. And yeah, my cpu maxed out at 72c in bc2.


----------



## EarlZ

Would any of the power saving features on the Gigabyte board cause any instabilities or performance loss when overclocking ?

I've settled for 4.7Ghz for everyday use with 1.5200v PLL and Normal Vcore with +0.050 offset.


----------



## Sin0822

um C1e, ESIT, and C3/C6 states are intel power saving features you should turn off.

GB has DES2 but id just not use it.


----------



## EarlZ

So any form of power saving will cause instabilities? I kinda like the voltage drop from 1.404 to 0.9xx when Im idle.. extends the CPU's life and probably slow down degradation.


----------



## valvehead

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *EarlZ;13486215*
> So any form of power saving will cause instabilities? I kinda like the voltage drop from 1.404 to 0.9xx when Im idle.. extends the CPU's life and probably slow down degradation.


No. I have been using all power-saving features (EIST, C1e, C3/C6) with DVID at 4.7 GHz for a few months now. I even had it working at 4.8, but I backed down to 4.7 since my load temps were a little high.

You probably don't need to disable power-saving features unless you're going for a higher overclock.


----------



## EarlZ

It actually BSOD's in SuperPI 1.5 ModXS in 32M with just 1 thread because the voltage does no go up beyond 1.280.

Maybe I need a higher offset, whats the offset that your using ?


----------



## Oppo

I'm starting to get discouraged, just got my parts yesterday, using asus maximus iv extreme mobo with the 2600k, I cant even get 5 minutes of stability at 5ghz I went as far as 1.52v, trying to get 4.8 and its already hard, not sure whats happening, ram is at 1600 and other options are prepped up for OC'ing as they should, using latest bios =( most of the time if I start p95 stressing it freezes/bsod instantly


----------



## EarlZ

Try 4.5Ghz with all auto settings and work from there, SB chips are off the charts when overclocking some simply cannot get stable with just 4.5Ghz.
If possible work with 2 sticks of RAM for now...

Dont get discouraged too easily when you see results from others some only tested it with the old prime95 and old LinX and they claim 24hrs stability with it, little do they know when they try it with the new LinX and Prime95 they will also get instant BSOD's. I can easily pass the older versions of LinX and Prime95 with just 1.340v loaded in 4.8Ghz but with the new versions made for SB its a LOT LOT harder!


----------



## Oppo

Thanks Earlz glad to hear something isnt wrong on my side, there was a spreadsheet on the official sandy thread and the voltages of people are so drastically apart some will write Prime95 Stable at 1.35v for 5ghz so I was really starting to wonder hehe


----------



## EarlZ

Well 1.35v is very possible at 5Ghz assumed you have a very very very nice chip!

Would leaving HT on require more voltage to be stable? Would it make some games run slower?


----------



## Sin0822

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Oppo*


Thanks Earlz glad to hear something isnt wrong on my side, there was a spreadsheet on the official sandy thread and the voltages of people are so drastically apart some will write Prime95 Stable at 1.35v for 5ghz so I was really starting to wonder hehe


5ghz at 1.35v is one of a kind.


----------



## EarlZ

Im wondering if I enable power saving features that will bring the processor down to 1600Mhz @ 1.xxxv vs having it 24/7 with 4.8Ghz @ 1.450v idle ( 1.428-1.440v loaded ) would increase its lifespan or it would not matter even if it idles at 1.450v since its idle?

I want to fine tune my other voltages, maybe playing around with the PCH/VccSA/VccIO/PLL could potentially get me lower vcore, I just dont know where to start.


----------



## grassh0ppa

I'm using CPUz 1.57.1 and when I input 1.35 vcore it shows up as 1.32 and 1.355 shows up as 1.332. What is the actual vcore being used? Sometimes under load it drops to 1.27 or 1.29... I'm not really sure whats going on.

A couple of times I thought I had a stable OC at 4.5ghz and 1.35 vcore but then when I try overclocking the ram I get BSOD. I switch the ram settings back but keep the other settings the same and I can't pass the IBT test anymore, even at 1.355 vcore.

This leads me to another question... At these relatively low voltages how susceptible am I to CPU degradation?


----------



## EarlZ

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *grassh0ppa;13507331*
> I'm using CPUz 1.57.1 and when I input 1.35 vcore it shows up as 1.32 and 1.355 shows up as 1.332. What is the actual vcore being used? Sometimes under load it drops to 1.27 or 1.29... I'm not really sure whats going on.
> 
> A couple of times I thought I had a stable OC at 4.5ghz and 1.35 vcore but then when I try overclocking the ram I get BSOD. I switch the ram settings back but keep the other settings the same and I can't pass the IBT test anymore, even at 1.355 vcore.
> 
> This leads me to another question... At these relatively low voltages how susceptible am I to CPU degradation?


Those are quite low voltages for CPU degradation to occur at this early stage I think, maybe theres a messed up setting some where?? Clear CMOS and load optimized defaults and start again.


----------



## grassh0ppa

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *EarlZ;13507787*
> Those are quite low voltages for CPU degradation to occur at this early stage I think, maybe theres a messed up setting some where?? Clear CMOS and load optimized defaults and start again.


Yea I reloaded the defaults and started at x40 with no other changes made yet, other than bringing my RAM up to 1600 (rated specification). Seems to run fine but I'm weary of running a stress test. Should I bother stress testing or should I try to boot at x45 with no other changes and go from there?


----------



## EarlZ

Set the voltages/settings that you had before then probably do a 1-2hrs MAX prime blend run. If its stable then use it for everday!


----------



## compudaze

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *grassh0ppa;13507331*
> I'm using CPUz 1.57.1 and when I input 1.35 vcore it shows up as 1.32 and 1.355 shows up as 1.332. *What is the actual vcore being used?* Sometimes under load it drops to 1.27 or 1.29... I'm not really sure whats going on.
> 
> A couple of times I thought I had a stable OC at 4.5ghz and 1.35 vcore but then when I try overclocking the ram I get BSOD. I switch the ram settings back but keep the other settings the same and I can't pass the IBT test anymore, even at 1.355 vcore.
> 
> This leads me to another question... At these relatively low voltages *how susceptible am I to CPU degradation*?


Measure with a DMM.

Every CPU is different and only time will tell.


----------



## grassh0ppa

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *compudaze;13508185*
> Measure with a DMM.
> 
> Every CPU is different and only time will tell.


I actually have a DMM laying around but I have no idea how to use it.


----------



## EarlZ

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *grassh0ppa;13508226*
> I actually have a DMM laying around but I have no idea how to use it.


This is where to measure the voltages, I also measure it there.










Dots in red and blue are measure points, Im not 100% sure which one is more accurate but the dots in blue show +0.010v more.

@compudaze
If the processor runs at an idle voltage of say 1.458 will it still accelerate degradation as compared to it idling at 1.2v?

Because as of now Im using DVID for my 4.8Ghz but with a very large offset to make it stable for low load games as the voltages dont increase that much if only 1 or 2 cores are used when power saving is enabled.


----------



## compudaze

Quote:



Originally Posted by *EarlZ*


@compudaze
If the processor runs at an idle voltage of say 1.458 will it still accelerate degradation as compared to it idling at 1.2v?

Because as of now Im using DVID for my 4.8Ghz but with a very large offset to make it stable for low load games as the voltages dont increase that much if only 1 or 2 cores are used when power saving is enabled.


No idea, but I would imagine 1.458V with ~80 amps (load) is a lot more stressful than 1.458V with ~10 amps (idle).


----------



## EarlZ

I idle at 1.458 and load at 1.428v but anyway I got a BSOD (01E) after like having my PC idle for about 20hrs, Was watching a youtube video and them bam!! Must have been the power saving causing this as I have it enabled..

EDIT:

After doing some googling, a lot of site posted that 1.380v is the 24/7 safety limit for SB.. this information roughly dated late January.


----------



## stickybuds

That was a great review!! I have the same board and the same chip so I am learning quite a bit from your hard work and expertise, THANK YOU!!!


----------



## Sin0822

just read from the top point like i showed, its hard to read the vcore from under the board. if you want the most precise voltage read point, its on the top of the board, but very hard to hit. The inductors are accurate enough for this type of measurement, then are the MLCC on the back of the socket, which are pretty easy to figure out, but they are best insulated from electrical noise.

Stickybuds: you are welcome


----------



## EarlZ

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sin0822;13545615*
> just read from the top point like i showed, its hard to read the vcore from under the board. if you want the most precise voltage read point, its on the top of the board, but very hard to hit. The inductors are accurate enough for this type of measurement, then are the MLCC on the back of the socket, which are pretty easy to figure out, but they are best insulated from electrical noise.
> 
> Stickybuds: you are welcome


I have easier access at the back of the board, which one gives a more accurate reading, the one with the blue dots or the green dots? the blue dots give me about 0.010mv higher.


----------



## suicidegybe

I have flashed my bios to f4a I was wondering how to switch between bios. So I can have one set for everyday (stock) and one OCed. And also do I need to flash each bios seperately or when I did the one did it do both.


----------



## EarlZ

AFAIK, theres no bios switching its just main and back up bios.. its recommended that the main and backup bios always match.

Flashing is only done to the main, when you power on your PC hold alt and spam F12 till you get the copy main to back up message.


----------



## grassh0ppa

eh, Im not sure what I'm doing with the DMM. I don't really care either, I'm just frustrated my 4.5ghz is only stable at 1.36Vcore when I've heard of people getting 5ghz @ 1.365vcore. Must have gotten a crappy chip.

Then again, my temps still dont rise above 50 so I suppose that's something to be happy about.


----------



## EarlZ

I think I need more than 1.360v for 4.5Ghz, I havent really tried getting 4.5Ghz to be stable.. Just playing around with 4.8Ghz so far its stable at 1.452v


----------



## BionicAcid

I'm getting 4.7 at 1.36 stable. Not a bad chip I think. Btw THANKS alot for the Guide.
When I got this chip I asked for L04 batch but I didnt find one so I got this L1 batch. ( Never saw an L1 batch btw. ( Got here in Japan )


----------



## Sin0822

I am glad it helped!


----------



## zaeed

Hitting 4.5Ghz @ 1.308 Vcore


----------



## Mofoo

Hey! This is an amazing guide. I have learned a great deal - thank you so much. One thing that I can never find solid info on is temperatures. e.g. what are good idle temps (based on ambient i know) and what are safe, every day max temps and what are max temps for a 25/600k without risking damage. It seems many people feel safe in 65-70 as max, but why are gfx cards allowed to go so much higher? up to even 100? This might be some interesting info to add to your guide.

Thanks again!


----------



## EarlZ

Idle temps dont really matter, a lot of ppl just prefer 75c max but it makes you wonder why intel has these chips at 98c thermal throttle and about 100c shutdown.. doesnt mean its safe to run at 97c.

For everyday usage i think 79c would be fine for the next 5-8yrs of the processor's life.


----------



## Mofoo

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *EarlZ;13796486*
> Idle temps dont really matter, a lot of ppl just prefer 75c max but it makes you wonder why intel has these chips at 98c thermal throttle and about 100c shutdown.. doesnt mean its safe to run at 97c.
> 
> For everyday usage i think 79c would be fine for the next 5-8yrs of the processor's life.


Thanks - but what is your theory based on? That's what I'm looking for .. evidence/proof of what's acceptable. Where does intel state their max? Maybe they reco' a different max for safe operation?


----------



## jackbrennan2008

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mofoo;13796845*
> Thanks - but what is your theory based on? That's what I'm looking for .. evidence/proof of what's acceptable. Where does intel state their max? Maybe they reco' a different max for safe operation?


Its mostly guess work by us but added heat puts more stress on the internal components, so as always, lower is always better.

The safe 24/7 max might be 85c, but its better to play it safe and if you're bumping 80c your cooling isn't good enough anyway.

Sent from my HTC Vision using Tapatalk


----------



## EarlZ

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mofoo;13796845*
> Thanks - but what is your theory based on? That's what I'm looking for .. evidence/proof of what's acceptable. Where does intel state their max? Maybe they reco' a different max for safe operation?


If you want Intel published numbers then read their technical documentation and forget about overclocking.


----------



## Sin0822

I thought i stated max load temp of 80C? load and idle temps should be greatly different unless you have good cooling in which case you wouldn't bee at 80C, but ill think about adding something about temperatures.

I wrote this based on the notion that most reading it would understand that cooling is required to OC their CPUs, but it turns out there are a lot of new overclockers who have no clue, so ill add it in there.


----------



## catcherintherye

What's the best bios to use now? Still F3H?


----------



## Sin0822

for LLC yes, otherwise just use the newest beta and use level 7


----------



## rubema

WOW... That's what i was looking for








Thank you very much


----------



## themedesign

So basically for 4.5 ghz 2600k just type in 45x restart run prime95+realtemp if no errors you done ?


----------



## Sin0822

yea, but most of the time your going to need to increase the vcore or turn ON cpu pll overvoltage.

rubema youare welcome.


----------



## rubema

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sin0822;13858890*
> yea, but most of the time your going to need to increase the vcore or turn ON cpu pll overvoltage.
> 
> rubema youare welcome.


I just managed to get 5.1 with good temp as idle @ 1.5 vcore and LLC 2. Take a look please to my voltage. I followed your instruction and i never over clock the RAM.. I am feeling when i am oc the ram iam unstable...

I am coming from 58x UD7 to this one, i noticed that the LED Blue light which was for the OC'ing in the old MB, not appear in this one.. Any advice!!

Again thank you very much for the great work and nice explaining..

Here is my current OC. Please advice if i should do any thing else.. I am gaming most of the time..


----------



## M_T_M

I have i7 2600k and Gigabyte Z68X-UD7-B3 and I have a problem that shows me a BSOD 0x0000124. What does this BSOD?


----------



## donrapello

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *M_T_M;13878420*
> I have i7 2600k and Gigabyte Z68X-UD7-B3 and I have a problem that shows me a BSOD 0x0000124. What does this BSOD?


Reading the first page of this thread would've helped you







:

BSOD Codes
0x124 = add/remove vcore or QPI/VTT voltage (usually Vcore, once it was QPI/VTT)
0x101 = add more vcore
0x50 = RAM timings/Frequency add DDR3 voltage or add QPI/VTT
0x1E = add more vcore
0x3B = add more vcore
0xD1 = add QPI/VTT voltage
"0x9C = QPI/VTT most likely, but increasing vcore has helped in some instances"
0X109 = add DDR3 voltage
0x0A = add QPI/VTT voltage


----------



## catcherintherye

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Sin0822*


for LLC yes, otherwise just use the newest beta and use level 7


Ok I just DL the latest beta bios for the UD7-B3 on the tweaktown forums, its called F4. Why level 7 specifically? Anything wrong with the other levels?


----------



## Olepolecat

After some tinkering mine boots up 4.5, but fails prime95. Any voltage adjustments I make, result in a message that I failed to boot. If I try and use LLC at all, my computer won't even boot and I have to clear CMOS. Any ideas?


----------



## catcherintherye

did you enable overvoltage?


----------



## Olepolecat

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *catcherintherye;13954900*
> did you enable overvoltage?


Yep, it's enabled.


----------



## Sin0822

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *catcherintherye;13943306*
> Ok I just DL the latest beta bios for the UD7-B3 on the tweaktown forums, its called F4. Why level 7 specifically? Anything wrong with the other levels?


Level 7 just has teh least difference between idle and load.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Olepolecat;13954761*
> After some tinkering mine boots up 4.5, but fails prime95. Any voltage adjustments I make, result in a message that I failed to boot. If I try and use LLC at all, my computer won't even boot and I have to clear CMOS. Any ideas?


Hey you are using a voltage offset for the vcore? DVID voltage offset + multi level LLC doesn't work.


----------



## Olepolecat

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sin0822;13955971*
> Level 7 just has teh least difference between idle and load.
> 
> Hey you are using a voltage offset for the vcore? DVID voltage offset + multi level LLC doesn't work.


I can reset the BIOS to default, swap to a x44 overclock and if I use LLC my computer won't POST. Just cycles over and over until I unplug it.

Now, if I do nothing else, but just try to modify Vcore. My PC reboots and I get a message that I had boot failures due to voltage, every time.


----------



## Sin0822

try re-flashing the BIOS, also load optimized defaults after you flash or before, and save and reboot. Its important that you save optimized defaults and do a reboot.

But honestly it sounds like the BIOS might be corrupt or somthing, b/c that is very wierd.


----------



## Olepolecat

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Sin0822*


try re-flashing the BIOS, also load optimized defaults after you flash or before, and save and reboot. Its important that you save optimized defaults and do a reboot.

But honestly it sounds like the BIOS might be corrupt or somthing, b/c that is very wierd.


I thought so myself, but wanted to inquire first just to be sure. It's still on the factory F5 BIOS, I haven't attempted to flash it yet. I'll flash it today when I get home from work and see what happens.


----------



## Olepolecat

So, I flashed it to the F6 BIOS, restarted, loaded optimized defaults, restarted again. Tried to change voltage up one spot and got a message that I had a boot failure; so I tried to change a few things up and try again, and got an endless reboot loop until I unplugged it. This motherboard i've determined is a POS, i'm gonna try and send it back to Newegg and get a better one from a different company.


----------



## Sin0822

you should RMA it b/c your problems sound like a bunk board. BTw you should try the beta BIOSes. Maybe if you took a picture of your BIOS screens or listed all the settings you changed i could help you more.


----------



## k3anan

I recently made an upgrade to my main system with this board and cpu and have been tinkering around trying to get it to overclock and stay stable.

For my case it seems that when I up the multiplier to 45 it reports 1.35v. When I boot into the system CPU-Z and EasyTune report the voltage at 1.28ish to 1.308. I recently ran Prime 95 for 24 hours without error but when I actually tried to use the system it blue screened. Any Ideas? It seems that I may need to manually set my voltage on this board or perhaps there's something else going on...


----------



## catcherintherye

Try manually setting the voltage to 1.35 in bios. If it runs without problems decrease it a bit and see how low it can be and still be stable. If it is unstable at 1.35 then up it slowly until it is stable.


----------



## coleweezy23

How come my core voltage in cpu-z is 1.296 with a core speed of 4.5? why such a high voltage?


----------



## valvehead

Quote:



Originally Posted by *coleweezy23*


How come my core voltage in cpu-z is 1.296 with a core speed of 4.5? why such a high voltage?


What makes you think that 1.296V is a high voltage? You're doing quite well if it's stable at less than 1.3V. My 2600K needs about 1.380V to be stable at 4.5GHz.


----------



## coleweezy23

oh really? i thought it was low because i was just doing a comparison to the images that sin0822 had posted in the beginning of this thread. i'm trying to do research on this all but it's a lot to take in. figured since he was at 5.2 and voltage of 1.092 mine with 4.5 at 1.296 was high...


----------



## valvehead

Quote:



Originally Posted by *coleweezy23*


oh really? i thought it was low because i was just doing a comparison to the images that sin0822 had posted in the beginning of this thread. i'm trying to do research on this all but it's a lot to take in. figured since he was at 5.2 and voltage of 1.092 mine with 4.5 at 1.296 was high...


Oh. You must be referring to this:

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Sin0822*












That's an old version of CPU-z which reports the wrong voltage (Vtt instead of Vcore). You need at least version 1.57.1

If you read the text below Sin's CPU-z screenshots, you'll see what voltage he used:

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Sin0822*


At 5.2ghz that was my problem, I have to use LLC Level2 and 1.53v and well that was just way too much heat at *1.56v* real steady and the high amperage.


AKAIK, nobody has gotten to 5+ GHz at any less than 1.35V.

5.2GHz at 1.092V would require a god-level chip


----------



## coleweezy23

haha ok ok, sorry i kind of skipped a lot of pages in the middle of this thread. ok my version is 1.58.

what's our idle temps around? mines low 40's. i'm using a noctua c14 one fan is on full always and other is monitored by the easytune...i made it so when she gets to 50 it'll go up to full power on the second fan. this temp is probably pretty good.

i wish i had that gtx580 valvehead. -.- i'm jealous.


----------



## Sin0822

yea man sorry to make you think your voltage was too low! that is a great OC with 4.5ghz with only 1.26v!!

your temps are fine, for future reference idle temperature really means nothing, load temp is what you want to worry about. Just focus on load temp, your idle temp is a bit high for your load temp to be only 10C higher. Either your cooler is excellent or your CPU is really not using that much power.


----------



## coleweezy23

No problem no need to say sorry you give me more information than i could ask for, which i am very grateful of.

oh no i typed that wrong, when i'm under load it'll go up to mid 60 ish i'll find the exact tomorrow...

but i used EasyTune to turn my second 120mm fan on 100% when my cpu temperature gets to 50C. that's what i meant.


----------



## Sin0822

ohh ok, well you are fine man, really if your temps are under 80C you are good to go, as long as your not at stock speeds and at 80C


----------



## coleweezy23

could the overclock have slowed down my start up? after the windows screen and i click my user i get a black screen for about 20 to 30 seconds and then my desktop shows up. anyone know what could be the problem?


----------



## Sin0822

check your RAM settings, is your SSD in AHCI MODE?


----------



## coleweezy23

last night i ran in to a bit of a problem with my computer, apparently Lord Xeb told me that if i overclock with the C states disabled and sleep my computer it will get messed up which i did not know.

so i was just wondering if i had actually damaged my parts by putting my computer to sleep.


----------



## suicidegybe

to follow up on what coleweezy23 said I also have had my start slow down. It hangs on the windows Icon for a about 20-30 seconds longer since OC. Any Ideas? Thanks


----------



## Alepale

That kind of hang happened to me when I set RAM timings to unstable values.


----------



## coleweezy23

I haven't touched the RAM settings...it's not that it's a terrible thing just inconvenient.


----------



## Sin0822

you do know that you cannot recover from sleep at all with CPU PLL overvoltage enabled on any sandybridge board?


----------



## coleweezy23

I know that now Sin...:/ i had to take out the CMOS battery and it worked again. Now I know NEVER SLEEP OVERCLOCKED SB.


----------



## kzinti1

As energy conscious as most people are these days, motherboard manufacturers should make the "sleep" function able to be used in any situation. Most especially for OCers so they don't risk falling asleep while overclocking or waiting while a stability test is running.
I doubt that I'm the only one that slept through a temp. alarm and toasted a card after a long day and most of a night trying out some new OC settings. I don't remember which it was, but I toasted a very nice video-card just this way. I suppose it's possible to start a fire like this, so the designers should also consider the sleep function as a safety device that would be possible to be enabled under any circumstances. Either PLL overvoltage on or off.


----------



## compudaze

Quote:



Originally Posted by *kzinti1*


As energy conscious as most people are these days, motherboard manufacturers should make the "sleep" function able to be used in any situation. Most especially for OCers so they don't risk falling asleep while overclocking or waiting while a stability test is running.
I doubt that I'm the only one that slept through a temp. alarm and toasted a card after a long day and most of a night trying out some new OC settings. I don't remember which it was, but I toasted a very nice video-card just this way. I suppose it's possible to start a fire like this, so the designers should also consider the sleep function as a safety device that would be possible to be enabled under any circumstances. Either PLL overvoltage on or off.


Enable PLL Overvoltage at your own risk. Overclock at your own risk. Yatta, yatta.


----------



## EarlZ

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sin0822;14154413*
> you do know that you cannot recover from sleep at all with CPU PLL overvoltage enabled on any sandybridge board?


Interesting, I'll give this a try.


----------



## rprice06

Thanks so much for this this has helped me a great deal


----------



## Doodles

just following up on this sleep issue. I never heard this until just now. shutting down C-states makes sense. but enabling pll overvoltage also screws up sleep? i wonder how. I'm manual fixed at 1.225v for 4.2ghz... but i can still sleep and whatnot.


----------



## Hoodcom

Hey, Sin0822.

Your guide has bee very helpful to me so far, but I was wondering if you might know why I am having issues with my P67A-UD7-B3 on tightening timings for my RAM overclock.

The RAM I have is the same this guy has, and has successfully overclocked, here.

I tried what he managed to do in 1866MHz 7-9-7-24 at 1.5v, but that caused the system to not boot and load the default BIOS settings.

(Stock rated is 1600MHz 6-8-6-24 1T at 1.5V)

He also was able to run the RAM at 2133MHz with 7-10-8-27 1T at 1.65V. (I tried 2133MHz with it all on auto, and won't work.)









My BIOS version is F2, and I tried upping the VTT to 1.14V

I'm kinda clueless what is wrong at the moment... or if a new BIOS release could fix this?


----------



## Sin0822

hey man you definitely need to update your BIOS, try F3H, or even the latest BIOS that released today, it will be a beta.

Increase your ram voltage to 1.65v and then increase the qpi/vtt voltage to 1.15 or so, just to make sure voltage isn't in your way.

don't expect the same OCes, from what i have sen companies will release a really good kit, and then change the revision and put some **** memory in it. Corsair did this with their DDR3 2133mhz 9,10,9,27 T2 1.5v kit, a buddy got a rev A that was so good, and my rev B sucks.

In that section of XS you don't know if that is sponsored post or not, guys with RAm that are sponsored, direct RAm sponsorship = pre-tested modules. But heck he might just have better luck than you.

ID first update your BIOS, and then move forward, don't be scared to add voltage, that is PSC based memory its good to around 1.72v.


----------



## Hoodcom

You make a very good point on the RAM, I never really thought about it like that (or knew for that matter).

How good is the F3H BIOS?

Last time I done BIOS flashes on my Core 2 Duo rig, I had a few bad ones that really caused me system issues until I came across a GOOD BIOS release.

I just want to check with other's experiences on what good BIOS version to flash to.


----------



## Sin0822

for the UD7 B3, F3H is the best, but one released last night that should be good two. Just use F3H.

In my experience with my B3 its the best,


----------



## Hoodcom

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Sin0822*


for the UD7 B3, F3H is the best, but one released last night that should be good two. Just use F3H.

In my experience with my B3 its the best,


Where can I obtain the F3H BIOS at? I looked on Gigabyte's site and all they have is "F3".


----------



## beetlespin

what I should have said was my be here

Here

http://forums.tweaktown.com/gigabyte...beta-bios.html


----------



## chromatiq

Hey Sin0822, love this informative guide, but i have a couple questions regarding some issues im having. I'm running a i7 2600k on a ud3h-b3 with 4 x 4 corsair vengeance 1600mhz, it came overclocked to 45x from cyberpower, but i assume they didnt test stability of course. I had to play with the vcore to get it stable at 46x with 1.420 vcore .. then last night all of the sudden i had a BSOD with the 50 code .. now im getting bsod's everytime i try to get into win7 with a 45-46x .. i tried upping the DRAM voltage and QLL like you said, but neither really seemed to make a change, although i only added about 10-20 on each. Any suggestions? I'm confused as why it would be stable for days at that vcore then just not want to work with it anymore.


----------



## chromatiq

update: found the setting to stop the loading windows bluescreens from autorebooting so i could read the error and it was 7B which is odd, so i reloaded the 30% (45x) oc saved setting in bios which uses the recommended by the bios vcore, and worked on first boot.. weird, have only benched it with hyperpi so far though, temps @ 66-68 .. gonna try out some games and see how it's going, i'll still maybe want to squeeze out a bit more from it if i can and keep it stable.


----------



## beletz

hello,

im running a 2600k @ 50x with a z68x-ud7-b3. one of the problems im having is getting my gskill ripjaws x 2133 8gb kit to run at rated 2133mhz. cpu-z reports 1333mhz 1:5 ratio, however, the timings are set as per the xmp profile ive set in the bios. i have tried all bioses listed on gigabyte site, using f8c now.

wondering whether i have to overclock the bclk or something to get windows to recognize 2133 which ive mingled with but seems to yield no rewards. post screen shows ram running at 2133 but cpu-z amongst others such as aida reports wrong figure!!!!! tried doing it manually by setting all the subtimings trfc etc etc and when i do that it won't stay stable with my 5ghz oc. 
if i set 1866, cpuz gives 800 (1600mhz 9-10-8-27 1t)! if i set 2133, cpuz shows 666 with 9-11-9-28-2t. ive tried a variety of configs no joy.

here's my bios settings:

50x
pll overvolt on
no powersaving c states etc
prohot auto
xmp profile 1 on turbo enhance (seems to change it automatically)
spd auto (tried manual too no change)
everything else on auto.
vcore 1.405 in bios
level 10
bclk disabled

cheers


----------



## Sin0822

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *chromatiq;14222266*
> update: found the setting to stop the loading windows bluescreens from autorebooting so i could read the error and it was 7B which is odd, so i reloaded the 30% (45x) oc saved setting in bios which uses the recommended by the bios vcore, and worked on first boot.. weird, have only benched it with hyperpi so far though, temps @ 66-68 .. gonna try out some games and see how it's going, i'll still maybe want to squeeze out a bit more from it if i can and keep it stable.


Try increasing other voltages as well, some BDOS can be caused by other voltages, that list is just a guide, its not written in stone.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *beletz;14222461*
> hello,
> 
> im running a 2600k @ 50x with a z68x-ud7-b3. one of the problems im having is getting my gskill ripjaws x 2133 8gb kit to run at rated 2133mhz. cpu-z reports 1333mhz 1:5 ratio, however, the timings are set as per the xmp profile ive set in the bios. i have tried all bioses listed on gigabyte site, using f8c now.
> 
> wondering whether i have to overclock the bclk or something to get windows to recognize 2133 which ive mingled with but seems to yield no rewards. post screen shows ram running at 2133 but cpu-z amongst others such as aida reports wrong figure!!!!! tried doing it manually by setting all the subtimings trfc etc etc and when i do that it won't stay stable with my 5ghz oc.
> if i set 1866, cpuz gives 800 (1600mhz 9-10-8-27 1t)! if i set 2133, cpuz shows 666 with 9-11-9-28-2t. ive tried a variety of configs no joy.
> 
> here's my bios settings:
> 
> 50x
> pll overvolt on
> no powersaving c states etc
> prohot auto
> xmp profile 1 on turbo enhance (seems to change it automatically)
> spd auto (tried manual too no change)
> everything else on auto.
> vcore 1.405 in bios
> level 10
> bclk disabled
> 
> cheers


Hey man sorry to hear about it. Have you tried increase the qpi/vtt voltage when not using XMP?

And no do not increase the BLCK.
BTW if you cannot get 2133mhz to work, please user 1.65v, i know the kit might say 1.5v, but its like teh corsair kit i have it says 1.5v but really needs 1.65v for 2133 at the same timings as you.

Right now I am going to get my Z68X-UD7 on my test bench and try it out. with that 2133 mhz corsair kit, that is a copy of your kit.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Hoodcom;14213951*
> Where can I obtain the F3H BIOS at? I looked on Gigabyte's site and all they have is "F3".


Tweaktown forums.


----------



## TMallory

So basically I just disable the features listed in the OP, change the multi to something like 40, and slowly bump up? The guide made it sound like the voltage changes automatically, is this on all boards? Can I still manually drop the vcore to get better temps?

Also, does turbo boost not matter? I'm not really sure I understand how it works. If I OC to 4.0ghz is it gonna try and turbo boost up to like 4.6? Or is it just irrelevant since its over 3.8ghz?


----------



## Sin0822

hey,
first off yes teh voltage should change upto a point when you increase the multiplier.

And yes you can make the voltage whatever you want it to be, but automatically it should change the vcore when you increase the multiplier.

On certain boards you can only set turbo multiplier, in that case under load it will go upto that multiplier. At stock, turbo multiplier is set above the normal stock multiplier.

With certain boards you also need to have C6/C3 or EIST enabled for turbo to work properly.

just try it out


----------



## beletz

thank you so much for the reply. i think the repeated 101 bsod's have proven to be somewhat deceiving so thank you for pointing out the fact there are other triggers. i have mingled with 1.32vtt and 1.35vtt, though given the randomness of the issue, it got to a point where i started questioning whether the LLC was to blame. one minute im getting a crisp 5ghz stable at 1.405v (bios) 1.464v (idle) 1.428 (load) and 1.488 (peak) and the next it needed 1.48v (bios). It's always a inconvenience when your monitoring tools of choice such as cpu-z and HWmon contains bugs/incompatibilities that prevents certain sensors from being accurately reported. i'd probably be good to go by now if i could have the information i need; but since there were multiple factors involved, i was pretty much shooting in the dark trying to find correlations between configs and stability given prime was the only stressor that induced crashes- 0x101 owned me badly with a sleight of hand there. haha but thats the fun of the game isnt it, thnx again i will try manually increasing vtt qpi and report my findings.


----------



## Sin0822

hey, 1.3v QPI/VTT + is really REALLY high for sandybridge, you want to stay under 1.25, as qpi/vtt only affects teh memory controller and not the CPu overclock.

What you want to do is maybe start again, first focusing on the CPU and then on the memory.

Try not to increase the BLCK at all, enable BLCk control and set it to 1000.

Also I use easytune6 as my HWmonitoring, as it detects everything correctly, just make sure to decrease the polling interval to 1sec.

BTW what BIOS are you using? and what board again?

Can you fill out your system specs in your signature like everyone else? itd help a lot


----------



## Hoodcom

Hey Sin0822,

I don't know what the problem was, but under extreme heavy CPU loads my voltage kept going to 1.260, even after a few small increases in the voltage (in the advanced ET6)... So I decided to use the Load-Line Calibration (there were two options over the intel standard, Level 1 and 2?)

Well, knowing it could make it increase a lot, I turned down my voltage setting before enabling it (glad I did too, that feature really works).

I have it set to Level 2, keeping the BIOS set voltage at 1.255 range, and my load on the Vcore (according to ET6 and CPUZ) on loads have been at 1.296

As long as I keep the voltage with in perfectly safe limits, Level 2 on LLC should be perfectly safe, right?

After 50 runs of Intel Burn Test (With AVX instruction) my temps only peaked at on one core 70C. (Others around the upper-mid to upper 60s)

I just want to be sure I am using LLC properly to help ensure stability on my system.


----------



## beletz

Sin0822,

I made a mistake when i typed 1.32/1.35 qpi/vtt voltage, got it confused with my other rig for a minute there. 
Updated specs as requested, thnx for reminding me









Thank you for your assistance, turns out the main issue was my 8gb ripjawsx 2133mhz / 21.33 spd was too high for the overclock i was aiming for, despite reassurance from gskill. I trusted them enough to be certain they had to work at rated speeds. my bad. Once i dropped the multi down to 1866, the rest of the configuration went along smoothly and consistently as i initially expected.

Current configuration:

F7 bios
51x
bclk disabled
xmp off 
1:7 dram ratio / 18.66 spd
PLL Overvolt enabled
LLC level 7
CPU vcore 1.57v BIOS, 1.536v load (looking to improve this once my practical understanding of LLC increases and i get more familiar with my mobo)
qpi/vtt- 1.08v
pll- auto (1.8v)
pch auto (1.05v) 
DRAM 1.54v bios, 1.536v windows
c1e, c states etc disabled. 
HTT + ALL cores enabled.
Dram performance enhance- Turbo

this config gives me 
10.03 points in cinebench r11.5. 
35800 points 3D06 @ 972mhz core, 2250mem (gtx580) @ 5.1ghz and 
23486 pcmark vantage @ 981mhz / 2228mhz 5.1ghz

Once again thank you for the support, if you have anything to add/ask feel free. I will update the above when im certain i've found my max optimum 5ghz + config.

fyi- all XMP profiles work fine up to 2133mhz as long as the cpu is at 4.9ghz or below. but since xmp forces 1.05v qpi/vtt, any overclocks that require more than 1.05v will result in instability- and manually changing the qpi/vtt singularly also results in cmos clear/post loop. seems theres a conflict with xmp, and/or the memory controller soils itself due to the spikes in voltages since anything past 5ghz and she gets hungry for juice. i could be wrong please advise??. No big deal though, im getting better scores with 1866 than my kingston modules and i had them running at 2400mhz 9-11-9-27-1t 1.66v for my everyday config so theres nothing to sook about there plus the timings are great, these gskill modules are quite flexible timings-wise and rock solid so far.

I've uploaded my aida64 Extreme Edition bench results, if you wouldn't mind taking a quick look to see if the figures look about right?

cheers


----------



## Wogga

Hi!
When i followed step #2 of this guide, i've got a strange situation with Vcore on x49 and x50. Following the guide i've noted Vcore (in BIOS) for all steps from x46 to x50 and got this:
x46 1.296-1.304v
x47 1.344-1.352v
x48 1.392-1.400v
x49 *1.440-1.448v*
x50 *1.432-1.440v*

on x50 under load (1hr blend) Vcore in CPU-Z was 1.496-1.504v

thats all w/o LLC and other stuff so almost on full auto

i'm curious, same BIOS Vcore for x49 and x50 - is it some kind of bug or just lucky with CPU?


----------



## Sin0822

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Hoodcom;14271715*
> Hey Sin0822,
> 
> I don't know what the problem was, but under extreme heavy CPU loads my voltage kept going to 1.260, even after a few small increases in the voltage (in the advanced ET6)... So I decided to use the Load-Line Calibration (there were two options over the intel standard, Level 1 and 2?)
> 
> Well, knowing it could make it increase a lot, I turned down my voltage setting before enabling it (glad I did too, that feature really works).
> 
> I have it set to Level 2, keeping the BIOS set voltage at 1.255 range, and my load on the Vcore (according to ET6 and CPUZ) on loads have been at 1.296
> 
> As long as I keep the voltage with in perfectly safe limits, Level 2 on LLC should be perfectly safe, right?
> 
> After 50 runs of Intel Burn Test (With AVX instruction) my temps only peaked at on one core 70C. (Others around the upper-mid to upper 60s)
> 
> I just want to be sure I am using LLC properly to help ensure stability on my system.


Yup that is how to use it, enable and drop the vcore a bit. LLC level 2 raises the voltage under load, and level1 gives a slight droop. As long as you are under the max for 24/7 you should be golden, and you are.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *beletz;14273297*
> Sin0822,
> 
> I made a mistake when i typed 1.32/1.35 qpi/vtt voltage, got it confused with my other rig for a minute there.
> Updated specs as requested, thnx for reminding me
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Thank you for your assistance, turns out the main issue was my 8gb ripjawsx 2133mhz / 21.33 spd was too high for the overclock i was aiming for, despite reassurance from gskill. I trusted them enough to be certain they had to work at rated speeds. my bad. Once i dropped the multi down to 1866, the rest of the configuration went along smoothly and consistently as i initially expected.
> 
> Current configuration:
> 
> F7 bios
> 51x
> bclk disabled
> xmp off
> 1:7 dram ratio / 18.66 spd
> PLL Overvolt enabled
> LLC level 7
> CPU vcore 1.57v BIOS, 1.536v load (looking to improve this once my practical understanding of LLC increases and i get more familiar with my mobo)
> qpi/vtt- 1.08v
> pll- auto (1.8v)
> pch auto (1.05v)
> DRAM 1.54v bios, 1.536v windows
> c1e, c states etc disabled.
> HTT + ALL cores enabled.
> Dram performance enhance- Turbo
> 
> this config gives me
> 10.03 points in cinebench r11.5.
> 35800 points 3D06 @ 972mhz core, 2250mem (gtx580) @ 5.1ghz and
> 23486 pcmark vantage @ 981mhz / 2228mhz 5.1ghz
> 
> Once again thank you for the support, if you have anything to add/ask feel free. I will update the above when im certain i've found my max optimum 5ghz + config.
> 
> fyi- all XMP profiles work fine up to 2133mhz as long as the cpu is at 4.9ghz or below. but since xmp forces 1.05v qpi/vtt, any overclocks that require more than 1.05v will result in instability- and manually changing the qpi/vtt singularly also results in cmos clear/post loop. seems theres a conflict with xmp, and/or the memory controller soils itself due to the spikes in voltages since anything past 5ghz and she gets hungry for juice. i could be wrong please advise??. No big deal though, im getting better scores with 1866 than my kingston modules and i had them running at 2400mhz 9-11-9-27-1t 1.66v for my everyday config so theres nothing to sook about there plus the timings are great, these gskill modules are quite flexible timings-wise and rock solid so far.
> 
> I've uploaded my aida64 Extreme Edition bench results, if you wouldn't mind taking a quick look to see if the figures look about right?
> 
> cheers


Hey yea they look fine.

Try this, enable BLCK adjustment, but don't change it from 1000.
manually set 21.33, and manually set the timings, I am guessing 9,11,9,27 T2? and then set the vdimm to 1.65v. That should work. You can increase that qpi/vtt upto 1.1-1.2v without any harm.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wogga;14290777*
> Hi!
> When i followed step #2 of this guide, i've got a strange situation with Vcore on x49 and x50. Following the guide i've noted Vcore (in BIOS) for all steps from x46 to x50 and got this:
> x46 1.296-1.304v
> x47 1.344-1.352v
> x48 1.392-1.400v
> x49 *1.440-1.448v*
> x50 *1.432-1.440v*
> 
> on x50 under load (1hr blend) Vcore in CPU-Z was 1.496-1.504v
> 
> thats all w/o LLC and other stuff so almost on full auto
> 
> i'm curious, same BIOS Vcore for x49 and x50 - is it some kind of bug or just lucky with CPU?


Its the thing with SVID, its not perfect, it works to a certain point. if your CPU is stable then just enjoy it


----------



## Duplicated

Sin0822,

I just followed your guide with my z68x-ud3-b3 motherboard. My main problem is that my 2600K couldn't even stay stable at x40 multiplier. I got a BSOD after I tried to start Intel Burn Test.

Yes, I leave the Vcore on auto, but BSOD with x40 multiplier? I feel like either my CPU fails, or I applied TIM incorrectly because my idle temp @ stock speed is around 36 celsius almost all the time (I use shin-etsu x23-7783d btw). Yet, when I push the multiplier up to x47, along with manually adjusting the Vcore to 1.450, I could run IBT without crashing, but the temp is in the 90s.

With Vcore on auto:
Couldn't boot into BIOS at x52
Couldn't boot into Windows at x48

Should I just RMA it? lol...

BIOS Settings (roughly):
Internal CPU PLL Overvoltage & Ratio Change in OS enable
C1E, EIST, C3, C6 States, CPU Thermal Monitor all disable
QPI/Vtt voltage auto
Didn't touch BCLK at all

Edit: I don't really know what is the cause of my problem right now. Just revert the BIOS back to optimize factory settings, bumped it up to x45, tried IBT, and temp hovered around 90s right as I started Stress test maximize/8 threads/5 runs. Quite disappointing for a 2600K.


----------



## Wogga

wasnt satisfied with 1.496-1.504v under load and decided to try other options. now i`m running +0.130 offset with mid lvl of LLC ("High" for asus mobo). under load CPU-Z shows 1.480-1.488v with rare 1.472v
curious what CPU current capability option does (can change from 100% to 140%). i should ask it in asus mobo threads but gigabyte and other motherboards have such option too (ofc name differ along with the numbers) so how can it help? it only makes CPU temps higher as i see


----------



## catcherintherye

Anyone know if a 6990 is compatible with the chipset block for this motherboard? EK states that the PCI-E anchor of some cards will hit the block in the first slot. I know a GTX 580 won't fit.


----------



## Hoodcom

Quote:



Originally Posted by *catcherintherye*


Anyone know if a 6990 is compatible with the chipset block for this motherboard? EK states that the PCI-E anchor of some cards will hit the block in the first slot. I know a GTX 580 won't fit.


On the MSI P67A-UD7/UD7-B3?









I'm using a GTX 580 on mine just fine, unless you are talking about reference design?


----------



## catcherintherye

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Hoodcom*


On the MSI P67A-UD7/UD7-B3?









I'm using a GTX 580 on mine just fine, unless you are talking about reference design?










Gigabyte. I'm referring to the EK waterblock, not the stock chipset heatsink.


----------



## Hoodcom

Quote:



Originally Posted by *catcherintherye*


Gigabyte. I'm referring to the EK waterblock, not the stock chipset heatsink.


Oh! Okay, my bad.


----------



## Sin0822

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Duplicated*


Sin0822,

I just followed your guide with my z68x-ud3-b3 motherboard. My main problem is that my 2600K couldn't even stay stable at x40 multiplier. I got a BSOD after I tried to start Intel Burn Test.

Yes, I leave the Vcore on auto, but BSOD with x40 multiplier? I feel like either my CPU fails, or I applied TIM incorrectly because my idle temp @ stock speed is around 36 celsius almost all the time (I use shin-etsu x23-7783d btw). Yet, when I push the multiplier up to x47, along with manually adjusting the Vcore to 1.450, I could run IBT without crashing, but the temp is in the 90s.

With Vcore on auto:
Couldn't boot into BIOS at x52
Couldn't boot into Windows at x48

Should I just RMA it? lol...

BIOS Settings (roughly):
Internal CPU PLL Overvoltage & Ratio Change in OS enable
C1E, EIST, C3, C6 States, CPU Thermal Monitor all disable
QPI/Vtt voltage auto
Didn't touch BCLK at all

Edit: I don't really know what is the cause of my problem right now. Just revert the BIOS back to optimize factory settings, bumped it up to x45, tried IBT, and temp hovered around 90s right as I started Stress test maximize/8 threads/5 runs. Quite disappointing for a 2600K.


hey man if you can change the Vcore and have a stable OC that is great, that is what you want. I just say see how high it goes on auto b/c its different for every CPU, some are great with that, others suck. Your sucks at that, but if you can get it stable at 47x with that vcore that is great, but those temps are way too high, 90c is unacceptable.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Wogga*


wasnt satisfied with 1.496-1.504v under load and decided to try other options. now i`m running +0.130 offset with mid lvl of LLC ("High" for asus mobo). under load CPU-Z shows 1.480-1.488v with rare 1.472v
curious what CPU current capability option does (can change from 100% to 140%). i should ask it in asus mobo threads but gigabyte and other motherboards have such option too (ofc name differ along with the numbers) so how can it help? it only makes CPU temps higher as i see


Hey that is just part of Turbo mode, if you OC without Turbo mode then it doesn't apply on the GB boards. Id would enable it, it will just allow for burst of high current, which might help.


----------



## kskwerl

Hi Sin


----------



## kskwerl

Quote:



Originally Posted by *kskwerl*


Hi Sin










Sin if you could take a look at this it would be greatly appreciated









http://www.overclock.net/intel-gener...l#post14323925


----------



## beletz

Ok so i started over with the new f8 bios, which has proven to be more stable and less "buggy."

this time i started off at 47x, 1.375vcore (bios) level 7 llc, 1.05v vtt/qpi, dram 1.7v (2133 non-xmp w/ manual 9-11-9-27-50-1t). c1e/cstates/eist/pll overvolt etc disabled, bclk clock enabled but left at the default 1000... ran intel burn test for 10 passes on very high- 115gflops average, consistent and stable. cinebench 9.12pts. load voltage is 1.416v. on idle it sits at 1.452v, max spike 1.476v. lowest temp on core 1 69c, highest temp core 3 72c.

then i bumped it up to 48x using the same settings- still stable except load voltage changed to 1.44v. all other readings were the same as above.
100mhz increase gave me 9.45pts cinebench. lowest temp 73c, highest temp 81c.

at 49x, it required 1.49v (bios). 1.08v vtt/qpi. 
1.488-1.5v load, 1.512v idle, 1.452v min, 1.512v max. lowest temp 82c highest temp 91c. 9.58pts cinebench.

and im thinking thats as far as i should go with current cooling for the sake of getting accurate readings/results from here on in- even though ive done 51x on previous bios and seen highest temp 70c max in games and anything else as long as i didnt use prime/intelburn/linx. soon as i did it would freeze upon reaching max temp so i guess it stops there.

soon as i turned on pll overvolt for 5ghz, i hit a wall and bumping up vcore/qpi didn't seem to help, either that or the voltage jump for 50x was/is too high. though my initial thoughts were that perhaps i needed to change LLC so pll overvolt on would work better, its something ill need to come back to in future once water cooling is involved. the noctua nh d14 has done well so far.

thanks for all the replies, i wonder if there's something you could recommend to help me keep my temps down/reach 5ghz? lowering ram frequency didn't seem to help temps, given vtt/qpi is already quite low!


----------



## Wek

Can someone let me know if I have an absolutely awful chip or if something else needs to be looked at?

Just running off vcore and OC, the only way I can get my 2500 stable at 44x is to set vcore to 4.15 which will read 1.380 in the MIT page. Loading optimized setting defaults my vcore to 1.26, seems much higher than a lot of the ones I've seen.

Furthermore, HW Monitor is consistently giving a vcore in the low 1.3's, usually 1.30-1.32 regardless of what BIOS says.


----------



## compudaze

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Wek*


Can someone let me know if I have an absolutely awful chip or if something else needs to be looked at?

Just running off vcore and OC, the only way I can get my 2500 stable at 44x is to set vcore to 4.15 which will read 1.380 in the MIT page. Loading optimized setting defaults my vcore to 1.26, seems much higher than a lot of the ones I've seen.

Furthermore, HW Monitor is consistently giving a vcore in the low 1.3's, usually 1.30-1.32 regardless of what BIOS says.


You need to pay attention to what the voltage is while under 100% load. 1.3V while under load isn't terrible (but it's not great for 4.4GHz). If you want the load voltage to resemble the voltage set in BIOS, you need to enable LLC.


----------



## Wek

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *compudaze;14364128*
> You need to pay attention to what the voltage is while under 100% load. 1.3V while under load isn't terrible (but it's not great for 4.4GHz). If you want the load voltage to resemble the voltage set in BIOS, you need to enable LLC.


The problem I'm having is reading the voltage under load, which is either incorrect or I'm having an issue with my board (z68x ud3h). For example, no matter the vcore I set in BIOS (even with the 1.415v I mentioned earlier, which reads as 1.38 on the MIT page), HW Monitor will still drop as low as 1.26 at times under load. The max I've had HW Monitor display is 1.37v, which lasted a few seconds, dropped to <1.3, and BSOD.

I have attempted disabling all power saving/state features, as well as upping TCP/TDP to 300 and trying to get any sort of stable using Turbo. Even at the 1.415v vcore 45x crashes within 10-15seconds on IntelBurnIn on high. I've tried various levels of LLC at various temperatures, and at one point of another vcore in HW Monitor still drops to <1.3 under load.

Is it possible my motherboard is the issue, and while it is stable on defualt speeds, cannot hold a higher voltage consistently?

Also in regard to VID, if my vcore defualts to 1.26, but on the MIT page BIOS reads CPU @ 1.224, would my VID be 1.26 or 1.224? Is 1.26 the load the CPU is expected to request @ 100% load? Numbers were taken with power saving states disabled.

EDIT: I think I will try setting up TouchBios tonight to try to get a definite reading of vcore under load. Also EasyTune has been uninstalled for all the previous vcore settings in case it is considered a possible reason for the problems.


----------



## Sin0822

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wek;14366987*
> The problem I'm having is reading the voltage under load, which is either incorrect or I'm having an issue with my board (z68x ud3h). For example, no matter the vcore I set in BIOS (even with the 1.415v I mentioned earlier, which reads as 1.38 on the MIT page), HW Monitor will still drop as low as 1.26 at times under load. The max I've had HW Monitor display is 1.37v, which lasted a few seconds, dropped to <1.3, and BSOD.
> 
> I have attempted disabling all power saving/state features, as well as upping TCP/TDP to 300 and trying to get any sort of stable using Turbo. Even at the 1.415v vcore 45x crashes within 10-15seconds on IntelBurnIn on high. I've tried various levels of LLC at various temperatures, and at one point of another vcore in HW Monitor still drops to <1.3 under load.
> 
> Is it possible my motherboard is the issue, and while it is stable on defualt speeds, cannot hold a higher voltage consistently?
> 
> Also in regard to VID, if my vcore defualts to 1.26, but on the MIT page BIOS reads CPU @ 1.224, would my VID be 1.26 or 1.224? Is 1.26 the load the CPU is expected to request @ 100% load? Numbers were taken with power saving states disabled.
> 
> EDIT: I think I will try setting up TouchBios tonight to try to get a definite reading of vcore under load. Also EasyTune has been uninstalled for all the previous vcore settings in case it is considered a possible reason for the problems.


have you updated your BIOS?

Also what does Easytune6 report your vcore as?


----------



## Wek

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Sin0822*


have you updated your BIOS?

Also what does Easytune6 report your vcore as?


BIOS is latest version for this model, F4. I installed TouchBios and am reading the vcore through that. HW Monitor Pro appears to be accurate and reports similar numbers.

I've messed around with LLC up to level 5. These results are with level 1. The voltages for idle/load I'm reading from the TouchBios PC Status menu for vcore. I'm loading with IntelBurnIn @ High and running 5 passes to get a general idea of stability.

4.0ghz
vcore set to 1.34v
1.30v idle.
1.20 - 1.22v load.
Max Temp - 63C

4.1ghz
vcore set to 1.34v
1.30v idle
1.20 - 1.22v load.
Max temp - 64C

4.2ghz
vcore set to 1.34v
1.30v idle
1.19-1.22v load.
Max temp - 64?
-- BSOD 0x124 (vcore from what I've read) after 2 passes

So a few questions regarding these results:
1) At 4.1ghz for example, assuming I was definitely stable (>5runs), would I be able to assume my 2500K is stable 41x @ 1.20-1.22V? Or would I go off the vcore I set, 1.34V? The latter seems extremely high.

2) What is going on with the vdrop/droop? Set 1.34v -> 1.20v under load? What is lowering the voltage so much? It also seems the vcore I set is more reflective of the temps than the vcore reading (A70 push/pull, well ventilated case, properly mounted/pipe gaps filled).


----------



## beletz

zek,

hwinfo64 has no bugs with sandy bridge unlike other sensor monitoring apps. try it out.

it helped me a great deal to first find the auto vcore value. 
level 7 seems to work best with me without pll overvolt. personally, all i did was set level 7, manual dram voltage and qpi/vtt to 1.08 and set vcore on auto until it booted to desktop. that was a solid starting point considering. for me it was 45x. so i took the bios reading for the automatic vcore at 45x and then inputted the same value manually. when intelburn test was fine for 5 passes on very high, i'd raise the multiplier until it barfed 0x101. then i raised vcore by 2 increments. I found that the 1.375vcore was lovely up to 4.7ghz. (which implies a slight overvolt at 4.5ghz). at 4.8 it needed 1.44 in the bios still with level 7 to be stable. 49x required 1.49v and that is the figure under load.

also for me, incorrect ram timings and voltage gave 0x101 errors which can be quite confusing, careful not to overvolt unnecessarily or change too many settings at the same time.

take note of your bclk as well. even with it disabled the readings can vary by .2mhz and thats enough to make a stable overclock falter as i have found. i have to set mine to 1002 to get 99.8 mhz back up to a perfect 100mhz. this gives me best results.

2 cents from a noob but thought it could be helpful. gl with ur overclock man!


----------



## Wek

Quote:



Originally Posted by *beletz*


zek,

hwinfo64 has no bugs with sandy bridge unlike other sensor monitoring apps. try it out.

it helped me a great deal to first find the auto vcore value. 
level 7 seems to work best with me without pll overvolt. personally, all i did was set level 7, manual dram voltage and qpi/vtt to 1.08 and set vcore on auto until it booted to desktop. that was a solid starting point considering. for me it was 45x. so i took the bios reading for the automatic vcore at 45x and then inputted the same value manually. when intelburn test was fine for 5 passes on very high, i'd raise the multiplier until it barfed 0x101. then i raised vcore by 2 increments. I found that the 1.375vcore was lovely up to 4.7ghz. (which implies a slight overvolt at 4.5ghz). at 4.8 it needed 1.44 in the bios still with level 7 to be stable. 49x required 1.49v and that is the figure under load.

also for me, incorrect ram timings and voltage gave 0x101 errors which can be quite confusing, careful not to overvolt unnecessarily or change too many settings at the same time.

take note of your bclk as well. even with it disabled the readings can vary by .2mhz and thats enough to make a stable overclock falter as i have found. i have to set mine to 1002 to get 99.8 mhz back up to a perfect 100mhz. this gives me best results.

2 cents from a noob but thought it could be helpful. gl with ur overclock man!


So here's a summary of some of the settings I ran after those in my previous post.

Quote:



LLC - 2
4.2ghz
vcore set to 1.4v
1.37v idle
1.28v load
Max temp - 72C

LLC - 3
4.2ghz
vcore set to 1.4v
1.39v idle
1.31-1.34v load
Max temp - 75C

LLC - 4
4.2ghz
vcore set to 1.4v
1.42v idle
1.34-1.38v load
Max temp - 78C

LLC - 5
4.2ghz
vcore set to 1.4v
1.45v idle
1.37-1.42v load
Max temp - 82C

LLC 4/5 seems to be the best middle ground, niether seems ideal though.

At this point I lowered set vcore to 1.35 @ LLC 5.

LLC - 5
4.2ghz
vcore set to 1.35v
1.40v idle
1.33-1.37v load

LLC - 7 (as suggested)
4.2ghz
vcore set to 1.35
1.45v idle
1.39v load

--------------

LLC - 5
4.4ghz
vcore set to 1.35v
1.40v idle
1.33-1.37v load
Max temp - 78C

LLC - 5
4.5ghz
vcore set to 1.35v
1.40v idle
1.33v load
Max temp - ?
BSOD after 2 passes.



Going to try with a higher vcore again for 4.5ghz. 4.4 seems to be the best time before needing a big bump (from past results).

Can anyone comment if my vcore at default on load is high (1.224v @ load)? How likely is it that I received a very bad batch? Are there any other settings I should try adjusting?

*EDIT:*
Finally some success! Last 2 runs:
LLC - 5
4.5ghz
vcore set to 1.36v
1.40v idle
1.33v load
Max temp - 
BSOD after 1 pass

LLC - 5
4.5ghz
vcore set to 1.36
1.40 idle
1.33v load
Max temp - 79C
BCLK - 1002
5 passes!

Time to go read up on managing BCLK. Hopefully I can drop the voltage a bit, perhaps this was the issue after all.


----------



## Sin0822

i suggest using level 6 or 7 honestly, i suggest it to everyone, becuase it gives you close to what you set under load.

Dont worry about idle vcore and idle temps, only load matters, as long as you stay under 1.55v for idle vcore and 1.5v for load vcore.


----------



## Wek

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Sin0822*


i suggest using level 6 or 7 honestly, i suggest it to everyone, becuase it gives you close to what you set under load.

Dont worry about idle vcore and idle temps, only load matters, as long as you stay under 1.55v for idle vcore and 1.5v for load vcore.


I'll give it a go. Only concern is temps are already just below 80C, which I didn't expect at this vcore with an A70.

Since the bumping the BLCK to 1002 appears to have made it more stable, 5 passes vs BSOD at 2, is there any direction I should continue bumping it in slightly to see if I can lower vcore?


----------



## valvehead

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Wek*


I'll give it a go. Only concern is temps are already just below 80C, which I didn't expect at this vcore with an A70.

Since the bumping the BLCK to 1002 appears to have made it more stable, 5 passes vs BSOD at 2, is there any direction I should continue bumping it in slightly to see if I can lower vcore?


You really should heed Sin's advice and use a higher level LLC. The problem you're having is due to the Vcore dropping too low under load. LLC takes care of that.

Playing with BCLK is the last thing you should do, if at all. The fact that it helped you in this instance is a bit of a fluke. Get it stable with Vcore and LLC adjustments first.


----------



## Wek

Thanks to everyone for the help.

So after a few more rounds..

Passed 5 on 1.295 vcore, 1.33-1.34v load.
Passed 5 on 1.285 vcore, 1.33v load.
Passed 5 on 1.275 vcore, 1.32v load.

I'll keep dropping vcore bit by bit, LLC seems to be helping out a lot right now, but given previous results I expect I should start getting BSOD within a couple notches. Is there any explanation as to why a 1.32v load would be enough while earlier I would BSOD instantly at 1.33v?


----------



## Sin0822

becuase it probably dropped even lower and you didn't notice it. Software voltage readings are very inaccurate.


----------



## Krud

Great post! Thanks, got to 5.0ghz stable, should i push to 5.1?
@5ghz I'm at level 2, 1.52v, 1.89PLL, 100mhz BLCK, 70 degrees load.


----------



## Sin0822

i wouldn't push more, that is a lot of vcore. You can't drop the vcore anymore? if its for 24/7 id try to stay under 1.5v or at 1.5v of you have good cooling. You do have more room probably with those temps, but i only 10C about.


----------



## mdemons12

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Sin0822*


*Step #2* Step up the multiplier one by one until the system fails to boot\\


I am able to get my i5 2500k up to 4.6GHz and it boots fine but when I run the stress test it fails to run Prime95 or any stress test software. Is this my CPU been a "dud" or am I not overclocking properly.

EDIT: I would also like to note that at 4.3GHz I am at 1.3V, is that enough. It seems enough by the voltage/frequency chart.


----------



## Wek

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *mdemons12;14401174*
> I am able to get my i5 2500k up to 4.6GHz and it boots fine but when I run the stress test it fails to run Prime95 or any stress test software. Is this my CPU been a "dud" or am I not overclocking properly.
> 
> EDIT: I would also like to note that at 4.3GHz I am at 1.3V, is that enough. It seems enough by the voltage/frequency chart.


Raise your vcore slightly and keep trying to pass stress testing. Just watch your vcore and temps as you raise vcore to see what you need to get stable. Also each chips different, the chart is a very wide range. Some people need more to be stable, some need far less, at the given frequencies.


----------



## xseanx

my 2600k running at 4.6 pass every stress test but get BSOD when surfing web, playing internet java games or watching movies, can anyone figure out why ?


----------



## mdemons12

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Wek*


Raise your vcore slightly and keep trying to pass stress testing. Just watch your vcore and temps as you raise vcore to see what you need to get stable. Also each chips different, the chart is a very wide range. Some people need more to be stable, some need far less, at the given frequencies.


So the Vcore is just the main one that is in Advanced Voltage Settings or something.


----------



## Wek

Quote:



Originally Posted by *xseanx*


my 2600k running at 4.6 pass every stress test but get BSOD when surfing web, playing internet java games or watching movies, can anyone figure out why ?


http://www.overclock.net/intel-cpus/...nna-cry-5.html

Quick read seems that power saving feature configuration may be something to tweak around.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *mdemons12*


So the Vcore is just the main one that is in Advanced Voltage Settings or something.


Yes, take another look at the first post. You'll see CPU vcore on the last 2 pictures. Work 1-2 notch increments so you can find the absolute minimum you need to be stable at a given frequency. If you feel the vcore or temps are too high at the frequency you wanted to run, lower the frequency then begin bumping vcore down until you are unstable, then go 1 above that and confirm to be stable there.

There's no "set" bump in vcore needed for each frequency. You may come across a point where you need a large vcore bump to get stable at say 4.6 vs 4.5, at which point it's up to you and your temps on what you want to do.


----------



## Flagg

Hey guys,

Ive recently gotten my PC updated with the following specs:
Z68X-UD7-B3
i7 2600k (Prolimatech Genesis heatsink, with 2x Coolmaster 120mm fans @ 2000 RPM)
Thermaltake Toughpower 1500w PSU
2x 1TB caviar black in raid 0 (sata3)
HD5970 and HD5870 in x-fire

I have been trying to overclock my CPU, I have read this guide thoroughly several times, however I cant for the life of me get it to go anything above 4.8 Ghz.. Also, I am using a massive amount of vcore and LL to get that clock speed, where I see others using much less voltage and LL settings on other motherboards.

Here is how my bios looks right now (I never use touch bios for OC, I use the normal bios, but this is good to show the settings that I have).























































At the moment, I finally seem to have stabilized it at 4.8 ghz last night. Although I could run games on it before just fine, whenever I prime95'd it, it would crash after about 1 hour.

Although I have selected 1.395 volts for the vcore in bios, ET6 in windows shows it as 1.440 idle and drops down to 1.428-1.416 under load with LL 7, and my temps hit 75 as max (usually sit around 71-73). I have seen other people on different forums achieve 4.8 ghz with as little as 1.360 vcore and have temps in low to mid 60's with smaller coolers than the prolimatech genesis.

I have tried 4.9 ghz with 1.410 set in bios. In windows that shows as 1.452 volts idle, under load it drops to 1.440-1.428, but it just wouldnt survive prime 95 for more than a minute or two.

I have gone all the way up to 1.435v in bios with LL 8 and I still could not prime95 @ 5.0 ghz for more than 15 seconds.. and even within those 15 seconds my temps would rapidly increase into the high 70's and I have no doubt they would go 80+ if I wouldnt get a bluescreen. The code I usually get for the BSOD is 101, 124 and 3B, however I dont understand why such a massive jump from 1.395 up to 1.435 with higher LL would not be sufficient for as little as a +200 mhz gain.

Currently I am using Bios version F5. I know that F8 has been released, but ive heard it has problems with sata3 drive write/read speeds. I am considering upgrading to F7, but I am not sure if that is better or worse than F5.

Any ideas how I could bump my CPU up to 5ghz, have it stable and below 80 degrees?

Thanks for the help!


----------



## Alepale

Flagg, there's pretty much nothing you can do. Apparently your CPU just isn't good. You could possibly get it stable with lower vcore if you set QPI/VTT to 1.1-1.15.

Also, enable BCLK control because by default BCLK is 100.3 on gigabyte boards and it will require a lot more vcore than 100.0 at high multipliers.


----------



## xxpinoyxx

I remember seeing it in this thread but can't find it, has the return from sleep issue been fixed? The issue being P67s/Z68s not maintaining their overclock when returning from sleep?

I've played with my clocks a little bit but haven't had time to max it out. After finding out my clocks wont stay put if I go to sleep I've set everything back to stock.

Sleep >>> 1GHz overclock.

Say what you want but...

5 sec wake > 45 second cold boot
Extremely low power state (saving $$$ on electricity) > Always on
Cooler room when off > Heat from always on


----------



## Sin0822

Quote:



Originally Posted by *xxpinoyxx*


I remember seeing it in this thread but can't find it, has the return from sleep issue been fixed? The issue being P67s/Z68s not maintaining their overclock when returning from sleep?

I've played with my clocks a little bit but haven't had time to max it out. After finding out my clocks wont stay put if I go to sleep I've set everything back to stock.

Sleep >>> 1GHz overclock.

Say what you want but...

5 sec wake > 45 second cold boot
Extremely low power state (saving $$$ on electricity) > Always on
Cooler room when off > Heat from always on


No its an issue with CPu PLL overvoltage and sandybridge, if you don't use cpu pll overvoltage you should be able to resume from sleep fine, you just need to use the right BIOS.


----------



## xxpinoyxx

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Sin0822*


No its an issue with CPu PLL overvoltage and sandybridge, if you don't use cpu pll overvoltage you should be able to resume from sleep fine, you just need to use the right BIOS.


Alrighty, thanks.

F8 (latest) on the Z68X-UD4-B3 with PLL Overvoltage off _should_ work?


----------



## Sin0822

yea it should.


----------



## xxpinoyxx

So I think I have a bad 2600k.

I can't get 4.5GHz to work. Following this guide, I disabled Turbo Boost, Ratio Changes in OS, C1E, EIST, C3, C6, and CPU Thermal monitor. I set my ram to 1333(stock) with XMP disabled (CAS9 instead of 7). With everything else on AUTO, changing the multiplier changes the VCore.

The problem is my system locks up as soon as I start Prime. It either BSODs or just hangs. At a 42x multi I'm able to run Prime95 but I haven't ran it for more than 15 min.

Then I started playing with my VCore, LLC, and QPI/VTT.

At 45x I was able to run Prime95 for 10min before a BSOD.
LLC: Level 5
VCore: 1.365v
QPI/VTT: 1.15v
PLL Overvolt: Disabled

The settings above yield 1.3811v on CPU-Z and 1.356v under load. I peaked at 80C under load (U12P needs to be reseated).

Any thoughts?

EDIT: Forget to mention Prime95 isn't on Blend. I'm testing with Small FFTs.


----------



## valvehead

Quote:



Originally Posted by *xxpinoyxx*


Any thoughts?


Try a higher level LLC. Your Vcore is probably dropping too much under load.


----------



## MixedMotives

can i use this OC tutorial for the GA-Z68X-UD7?


----------



## MGX1016

How come on 2500K with ASrock Extreme4 P67 the multi plays around from 41-45. I have it set at 45 in bios. I know the intel power saving stuff is on but under p95 blend and small fft it doesn't reach up to the 45 multi I set.

I have Level 1 setup for the vcore. 1.35 = 1.37 load and about 1.36 idle


----------



## valvehead

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *MGX1016;14526311*
> How come on 2500K with ASrock Extreme4 P67 the multi plays around from 41-45. I have it set at 45 in bios. I know the intel power saving stuff is on but under p95 blend and small fft it doesn't reach up to the 45 multi I set.
> 
> I have Level 1 setup for the vcore. 1.35 = 1.37 load and about 1.36 idle


Did you increase your CPU power and current limits?

I'm not familiar with ASrock boards, but I think the settings to look for are "Turbo Boost Power Limit" and "Core Current Limit."

I set both similarly-named parameters on my Gigabyte to 300. Someone else will have to give you appropriate numbers for your board.


----------



## Sin0822

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *MixedMotives;14517024*
> can i use this OC tutorial for the GA-Z68X-UD7?


yes same BIOS.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *MGX1016;14526311*
> How come on 2500K with ASrock Extreme4 P67 the multi plays around from 41-45. I have it set at 45 in bios. I know the intel power saving stuff is on but under p95 blend and small fft it doesn't reach up to the 45 multi I set.
> 
> I have Level 1 setup for the vcore. 1.35 = 1.37 load and about 1.36 idle


what about turbo mode is that on?


----------



## MGX1016

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sin0822;14527104*
> yes same BIOS.
> 
> what about turbo mode is that on?


Yes it is, don't see an option to turn it off, however the above post seems to be right on it with the core current limit


----------



## Sin0822

yes that usually is an issue, but its per board, as manufacturers will set the limit at stock higher on certain boards than others.


----------



## Lirik

i5-2500k CPU
G-skill ripjaws 8gb
gtx570 twin fozr 3 
Gigabyte GA-z668x-ud4-b3 mobo

hmmm so, I just got my computer up and running and I'm having trouble OCing to 4.5ghz.

I followed the guide and disabled

C1E-DISABLE
EIST DISABLE
C3, C6 States-DISABLE
CPU Thermal Monitor-DISABLE

I think proceeded to set the multiplier to 45x. Then, I looked to see if my voltage automatically changed but it didn't so I manually set it to 1.350v. I ended up blue screening with the x124 code.

Should I try setting it at 40x or something?


----------



## Lirik

So, I know overclocking capabilities changes from cpu to cpu. So far, I have tried overclocking the 2500k to 4.5ghz @ 1.360 voltage and it was a no go with constant BSOD's. So I dropped it to 4.4ghz @1.360 voltage and blue screened.

Now, I want to run intel burn test but I'm curious what settings to use and how long I should run it for.

I have 6465 available ram. Should I be setting it to Maximum so it uses all of the RAM or another option...

Also, what is the significane of voltage? Why do you want voltage to be as low as possible with you overclock? What is the significance?


----------



## Sin0822

yes you want the system to be stable, while using the least amount of voltage it can use.

So you want to find the lowest vcore were the system is stable.

What is your LLC settings at?

EIST should be in the same menu as C3/C6.

As long as your voltage are under 1.4v for 24/7 you should be fine, of course you can use higher, but not with 4.5ghz that is just a bad OC>

Ratio change in OC, can you enable that option too?


----------



## AliceInChains

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Lirik*


So, I know overclocking capabilities changes from cpu to cpu. So far, I have tried overclocking the 2500k to 4.5ghz @ 1.360 voltage and it was a no go with constant BSOD's. So I dropped it to 4.4ghz @1.360 voltage and blue screened.

Now, I want to run intel burn test but I'm curious what settings to use and how long I should run it for.

I have 6465 available ram. Should I be setting it to Maximum so it uses all of the RAM or another option...

Also, what is the significane of voltage? Why do you want voltage to be as low as possible with you overclock? What is the significance?


What bsod code you getting? 101, 124? increase vcore.


----------



## Lirik

I don't particulraly have an LL option. The closest thing to it is "Multi-steps Load-line" and it has 10 levels "Level 1," "Level 2," ect...

I found EIST and disabled it as well.

I also didn't see anything having to do with "ratio change in OC" other than "real time ratio changes in OS"


----------



## Lirik

Quote:



Originally Posted by *aliceinchains*


what bsod code you getting? 101, 124? Increase vcore.


I have been getting getting 124.


----------



## Sin0822

change LLC to level 7.

and its called ratio change in OS, same menu as where EIST is, and its right before turbo, it will gray out turbo.


----------



## Lirik

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Sin0822*


change LLC to level 7.

and its called ratio change in OS, same menu as where EIST is, and its right before turbo, it will gray out turbo.


I followed what you said and changed those two settings. I am currently sitting at 45x multiplier at 1.355volts which I set in the bios. What i'm confused about is, looking at CPU-ID and CPU-ID hardware monitor it says that my CPU vcore is 1.38v and I have seen it go up to 1.412 currently with the intel burn test that i'm running.

Is that normal?

Stress level: MAXIMUM (6471mb) /// 800mb remaining
Times to run: 5

It also looks like I peaked at 79 degrees celcius.

My results, also notice it going up to 1.392volts on CPU-id? It has even peaked to 1.404... I set the vcore to 1.355 in the bios


----------



## Lirik

I'm currently idling at 1.416 volts on CPU-ID : /

I'm so confused :0


----------



## W4LNUT5

@Lirik - That's because your LLC is set to LVL-7. Instead of seeing the voltage droop under load, level's above 5 will actually increase voltage under load. Keeps you more stable. Myself I use LLC Level 4 as I'd rather it drooped, or remained almost even instead of spiking. Will help to keep temps lower as well, but your mileage may vary.

Also, I just bought the board myself, and mine changed voltages on auto just fine. You need to press f10 to save and reboot, and then go back into the bios when the settings actually take effect. Then you should see that the voltage has changed.


----------



## Lirik

Quote:



Originally Posted by *W4LNUT5*


@Lirik - That's because your LLC is set to LVL-7. Instead of seeing the voltage droop under load, level's above 5 will actually increase voltage under load. Keeps you more stable. Myself I use LLC Level 4 as I'd rather it drooped, or remained almost even instead of spiking. Will help to keep temps lower as well, but your mileage may vary.

Also, I just bought the board myself, and mine changed voltages on auto just fine. You need to press f10 to save and reboot, and then go back into the bios when the settings actually take effect. Then you should see that the voltage has changed.


I'm planning on running at 4.5 ghz 24/7.... so is Level 7 still worth doing? Or should it be lowered for 24/7 OC?


----------



## W4LNUT5

Depends on stability. I might turn it down to level 4 or 5 if you're already stable at 7. If you're still stable under load, you'll save some volts and heat. If you're not stable after lowering it then stick it back to 7 and leave it, or push the vcore up and keep llc at 4 or 5. The end result is having enough voltage to be stable under load.


----------



## Lirik

Quote:



Originally Posted by *W4LNUT5*


Depends on stability. I might turn it down to level 4 or 5 if you're already stable at 7. If you're still stable under load, you'll save some volts and heat. If you're not stable after lowering it then stick it back to 7 and leave it, or push the vcore up and keep llc at 4 or 5. The end result is having enough voltage to be stable under load.


Alrite, I'll try that out thanks.


----------



## Lirik

Question though, what is the disadvantage of leaving it at level 7? Despite the voltage fluctuating from 1.380 - 1.420, my temps hoover around 58-62 degrees while gaming.

I'm assuming it's not recommended for 24/7 usage.


----------



## tompsonn

I've a small question regarding overclock with i5 2500k on a GA-Z68X-UD3R board.
With Vcore at 1.380 I can't get it past 4.6ghz without Intel Burn Test causing a 0x101 BSOD after about 10 seconds of running.

I'm assuming it requires more voltage somewhere... but which.. and how much? Also would it help to turn LLC to level 5 or 6? Does this mean I can keep the voltage a bit lower...

Great guide by the way....
Thanks!


----------



## Lirik

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *W4LNUT5;14582393*
> Depends on stability. I might turn it down to level 4 or 5 if you're already stable at 7. If you're still stable under load, you'll save some volts and heat. If you're not stable after lowering it then stick it back to 7 and leave it, or push the vcore up and keep llc at 4 or 5. The end result is having enough voltage to be stable under load.


So I tried level's 5 and level 6 and both gave me a blue screen of x101. So does that mean I'm stuck at level 7?

Also, if I turn turbo on(it's currently turned off), will my CPU idle at lower GHZ until I do something of intensive CPU usage like gaming?

Also, is it possible that my RAM is causing x124's and not because of my CPU OCing. My ram is defaulted at 1600 MHZ.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004I763AW]Amazon.com: G.Skill Ripjaws-X F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL - Memory - 8 GB : 2 x 4 GB - DIMM 240-pin - DDR3 - 1600 MHz / PC3-12800 - CL9 - 1.5 V - unbuffered - non-ECC: Electronics[/URL]


----------



## tryceo

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Lirik*


So I tried level's 5 and level 6 and both gave me a blue screen of x101. So does that mean I'm stuck at level 7?

Also, if I turn turbo on(it's currently turned off), will my CPU idle at lower GHZ until I do something of intensive CPU usage like gaming?

Also, is it possible that my RAM is causing x124's and not because of my CPU OCing. My ram is defaulted at 1600 MHZ.

Amazon.com: G.Skill Ripjaws-X F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL - Memory - 8 GB : 2 x 4 GB - DIMM 240-pin - DDR3 - 1600 MHz / PC3-12800 - CL9 - 1.5 V - unbuffered - non-ECC: Electronics


Increase your VTTIO to 1.1v.


----------



## Lirik

Quote:



Originally Posted by *tryceo*


Increase your VTTIO to 1.1v.


is that the same thing as QTT/VTT ? mine is defaulted at 1.50v


----------



## Lirik

Just tried

4.5 ghz at 1.390 volts with LLC at 4 BSOD
4.5 ghz at 1.390 volts with LLC at 5 BSOD
4.4 ghz at 1.375 volts with LLC at 4 BSOD
4.4 ghz at 1.375 volts with LLC at 5 BSOD

back to the stable 4.1ghz with no LLC and auto voltage :|


----------



## ErOR

Quote:



Originally Posted by *MGX1016*


How come on 2500K with ASrock Extreme4 P67 the multi plays around from 41-45. I have it set at 45 in bios. I know the intel power saving stuff is on but under p95 blend and small fft it doesn't reach up to the 45 multi I set.

I have Level 1 setup for the vcore. 1.35 = 1.37 load and about 1.36 idle


For the the ratio to stay at the number you stated you need to disable C3 and C6 things in BIOS. I also was like *** since I only switched to SB. I also use level 1, I love that the vcore goes higher under load, it just makes more sense to me that way.


----------



## LautaroX

Tons of data, excellent guide.


----------



## valvehead

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *LautaroX;14672196*
> Tons of data, excellent guide.
> Have you tested Z68MA-D2H-B3 ? F8 Bios has a different voltage input approach and I can't pass 4.8Ghz with this config on a 2600K D2 retail. No CPU PLL Overvoltage option or load line calibration. Any suggestion would be great, thanks.
> http://www.voguehost.com/ims/u/LautaroX/Mercadolibre/Z68.jpg


Unfortunately, Gigabyte has crippled the BIOS options of their cheaper boards. Without LLC and PLL Overvoltage options, that's probably the best you are going to get on that board.


----------



## Markyoneandonly

Hi,I feel compelled to join overclockers.net forum just to thank you for writing such an indepth review of intels sandybridge 2600k.
I found it very informative indeed if not sometimes way outa my understanding but never the less compelling to read especially the benchmarks of the overclocked 930 and the 2600k at stock,stunning results.
I also liked your review of the gigabyte board as I have just ordered GA-z68p-ud4 socket 1155 with hdmi and a 2600k and some gskill 4gb 2133 ripjaws and now the wait is killing me,can't wait to get it and bench it.
Don't mean to blow smoke up your ass but once again thanks for info, absolutely stunning review on the gigabyte board and sandybridge and the over clocking advice.
Can't wait to try it.......I,ll post me results...


----------



## Markyoneandonly

My old system is an ASus a8n sli deluxe/and fx 55/thermalright 120 cooler/2 gig of corsair ram/1x250gig/2x74gig raptors/sapphire3870


----------



## buzzlightweight

hiya this is my first post as this thread seems to be talking the most sence that i have read through.

my question is are these figures ok for 24/7, they are prime stable 4+ hours, but in a lot of forums i read not to go over 1.35volts










many thanks


----------



## Paraleyes

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sin0822;11945966*
> 
> *Voltages:*
> Now let's move to voltages, this is very important and I think anyone looking to overclock should have a thorough introduction to the variety of voltages that the user is able to control.
> Make sure to pay attention to my tid-bits on Vcore(VCC) and VTT(VCCIO), these are most important for overclocking, other voltages can help too.
> Here is a table I put together from Intel's product data sheet; it defines the processors maximum voltages and maximum amperage- These are OFFICIAL Min and Max Values:


I am seeing a conflict here on this chart. Core Current Limit Max says 85, yet my board has stock settings at 98? See photo below:










Then I read in this thread here where he is recommending to set *CPU Current Capability to 140%*. I have Google all over and found very little on this subject. Am I missing something?

I'm having a heck of a time getting a decent overclock on my board. ZOTAC Z68ITX-A-E WiFi My troubleshooting thread is located here if anyone wants to check it out and help out. I posted photos of my very limited BIOS settings in there too. Others have gotten 4590MHz on the same MB and 2500K.

*****For those of you that notice I changed the BCLK, it was just something I messed with at one point to bring my Bus Speed reading back up to 100MHz on CPUZ and it had no effect on my OC results. I just happened to take the photo at that time.


----------



## valvehead

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Paraleyes;14725801*
> I am seeing a conflict here on this chart. Core Current Limit Max says 85, yet my board has stock settings at 98? See photo below:
> 
> http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l265/paralies/IMAG0429.jpg
> 
> Then I read in this thread here where he is recommending to set *CPU Current Capability to 140%*. I have Google all over and found very little on this subject. Am I missing something?


No, that's correct. That limit is very likely to be exceeded when overclocking. However, don't worry too much about current; it's mainly voltage and temperature that need to be minimized.

You should probably increase "IA Core Current Limit," "Turbo Boost Power Max," and "Turbo Boost Short Power Max." If you don't increase those settings, the CPU will be down-clocked when the limits are reached. It seems to happen around x44 to x46 from the reports I've seen.

I'm not familar with Zotac s1155 boards, but I set similarly-named parameters on my Gigabyte to 300. It's probably much more than necessary, but it works fine for me all the way up to x50. Someone else with Zotac experience may be able to tell you what values to set them to.


----------



## buzzlightweight

Quote:



Originally Posted by *buzzlightweight*


hiya this is my first post as this thread seems to be talking the most sence that i have read through.

my question is are these figures ok for 24/7, they are prime stable 4+ hours, but in a lot of forums i read not to go over 1.35volts










many thanks










plz can someone answer me







)


----------



## valvehead

Quote:



Originally Posted by *buzzlightweight*


plz can someone answer me







)


There is a lot of disagreement about what the safe voltages are for SB CPUs. Personally, I wouldn't run 24/7 at 1.472 V. I prefer to stay under 1.4 V, but that's just for my own level of comfort.


----------



## buzzlightweight

Quote:



Originally Posted by *valvehead*


There is a lot of disagreement about what the safe voltages are for SB CPUs. Personally, I wouldn't run 24/7 at 1.472 V. I prefer to stay under 1.4 V, but that's just for my own level of comfort.


well thats cool coz 4.8 is stable at 1.39 and iv benched .2GHz and its not a great deal







) thanks buddy


----------



## Sin0822

i say that 1.45v is the limited for 24/7 air cooling, that is if you are keeping temps down pretty well, and if LLC isn't bumping voltage above 1.45v.


----------



## buzzlightweight

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Sin0822*


i say that 1.45v is the limited for 24/7 air cooling, that is if you are keeping temps down pretty well, and if LLC isn't bumping voltage above 1.45v.


well my h100 (although not a a full wc loop) liquid cpu cooler does an amazing job at keeping the temps low, 4.8 @ 1.39 never tops 60's.

i can get 4.9 stable at 1.43 so i may stick to that as 5 takes my volts to 1.48/9 will lvl 2 llc.


----------



## Sin0822

yea the difference of voltage needed from your max multi to the one below it is pretty great, they don't scale well.


----------



## AlCapwnt

Ok, so I've gone as far as bumping the muliplier up, but my vcore voltages are staying the same. About 1.280-1.288. I'm doing this on an asrock p67extreme. Up to multiplierx47 and it still boots to BIOS. Should I continue to bump this up? All I'm really after is a 4.5-4.6 OC. I don't benchmark and I feel this will be more than enough to run anything for a while. And if I can get a 4.7-4.8 stable, I'm ok with that too









And I'm not exactly sure where to go from here. I really have no idea what to turn off. I understand bumping multi and voltages, but don't know what to turn off. Currently at idle, BIOS H/W monitor says 41.0-41.5 at idle. Room is about 69F. Running the H60 on this. Think I may have it seated wrong or something.

Just unsure where to go next and don't want to fry my CPU or do anything wrong.


----------



## buzzlightweight

Quote:



Originally Posted by *AlCapwnt*


Ok, so I've gone as far as bumping the muliplier up, but my vcore voltages are staying the same. About 1.280-1.288. I'm doing this on an asrock p67extreme. Up to multiplierx47 and it still boots to BIOS. Should I continue to bump this up? All I'm really after is a 4.5-4.6 OC. I don't benchmark and I feel this will be more than enough to run anything for a while. And if I can get a 4.7-4.8 stable, I'm ok with that too









And I'm not exactly sure where to go from here. I really have no idea what to turn off. I understand bumping multi and voltages, but don't know what to turn off. Currently at idle, BIOS H/W monitor says 41.0-41.5 at idle. Room is about 69F. Running the H60 on this. Think I may have it seated wrong or something.

Just unsure where to go next and don't want to fry my CPU or do anything wrong.


have a look at my set up im using an asrock z68 fatal1ty i have stablised [email protected] and [email protected] using offset volts below is my original post

Quote:



Originally Posted by *buzzlightweight*


hiya this is my first post as this thread seems to be talking the most sence that i have read through.

my question is are these figures ok for 24/7, they are prime stable 4+ hours, but in a lot of forums i read not to go over 1.35volts










many thanks












and here is my 5 stable @1.44


----------



## AlCapwnt

I was under the impression I did not want to use OC tools through windows. I was able to boot into windows @4.5 and 1.288 vcore (auto) and make 5 passes on intel burn in. Bumped up to 4.6 and it wouldn't get past mono screen. Bumped vcore up by.05 until 1.35 and it was still bluescreening me. I'm sure I'm doing something wrong. Gonna pick up a USB flash drive tonight and try to flash bios to 1.7 later. I'm sure I'm doing something wrong here


----------



## buzzlightweight

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *AlCapwnt;14776136*
> I was under the impression I did not want to use OC tools through windows. I was able to boot into windows @4.5 and 1.288 vcore (auto) and make 5 passes on intel burn in. Bumped up to 4.6 and it wouldn't get past mono screen. Bumped vcore up by.05 until 1.35 and it was still bluescreening me. I'm sure I'm doing something wrong. Gonna pick up a USB flash drive tonight and try to flash bios to 1.7 later. I'm sure I'm doing something wrong here


dont get me wrong i only use them as HW monitors i only use the bios to change settings


----------



## AlCapwnt

Ah, got ya. Still, gonna try to flash the bios, then go from there. Think the chipcodes at stock are messing with me


----------



## Sin0822

ok well what about LLC? can you bump it up a few levels? or just turn it on? That will help stabilize load voltage. You are doing well. Now you have to decide if you want power saving features to apply or not to apply. That means do you want your computer to be at 4.5ghz 24/7 even in low load tasks, or at 1.6-4.5ghz depending on the load?


----------



## buzzlightweight

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Sin0822*


ok well what about LLC? can you bump it up a few levels? or just turn it on? That will help stabilize load voltage. You are doing well. Now you have to decide if you want power saving features to apply or not to apply. That means do you want your computer to be at 4.5ghz 24/7 even in low load tasks, or at 1.6-4.5ghz depending on the load?


do you have speed step enabled or c1e? or are you alwasy at max oc?


----------



## AlCapwnt

Can't try these right now as I am at work. Flashed to 1.7 last night. Will try later and post results. And as for the power saving, this is strictly a gaming rig. Would a 4.6 even be worth having on constant? I just want to get this OC'd to take full advantage of my gtx580 SLI, and I've read a lot that more and more games are favoring high clock speeds. May get into maxing OC and benching later, but for now I'm just trying to get my hardware set up before BF3 and MW3 come out.









Really appreciate the quick replies, oh and almost forgot. Great review sin. Wishing I would've forked out the extra cash for the UD7. Loved my gigabyte board with my lga775, should've know to stick with them.


----------



## YouHaveRROD

Hi.

I just want to do a very modest overclock(3.6GHz)and all this voltage stuff is pretty confusing...
Also,what's wrong with Turbo Mode?

I'm using a 2600k with a Sabertooth P67 BTW.


----------



## pablov3d

Hello there,

im new in this, i hope someone could help me a bit . 
so far i've got a stable oc at 4.3 1.365 to start, palying now whit the voltages trying to getthem down.

I want to get a 4.5 when needed- 1.6 when idle, stable OC for every day use.

so.. i have a few questions:

1) what should i use to check the voltages (CPU Z is giving me 1.368v when idle and 1.298 when is stressed) is that correct?

2) when i enable " change ratio in os" , even when the multipier is 4.3 in the bios, in cpu z and intel ext tuning utility shows 3400 mhz when i runt the tests. the only way to get the 4.3 is to enable "turbo" and set each cores to 4.3. Is there something wrong with my bios?

3) TDP and TDC are they called different in my motherboard bios ( power turbo limit, ocre current limit) ?

4) and the last one for now







should l leave cpu pll on auto fo r 4.5 ghz? and multi step load line enable or disable?

thanks,

Pablo.

2600k- GA-Z68X-UD4-B3 
16GB 4X4 VENGEANCE 1600 88824
COSAIR H80- AX850- XFXHD 6950.


----------



## buzzlightweight

Quote:



Originally Posted by *pablov3d*


Hello there,

im new in this, i hope someone could help me a bit . 
so far i've got a stable oc at 4.3 1.365 to start, palying now whit the voltages trying to getthem down.

I want to get a 4.5 when needed- 1.6 when idle, stable OC for every day use.

so.. i have a few questions:

1) what should i use to check the voltages (CPU Z is giving me 1.368v when idle and 1.298 when is stressed) is that correct?

2) when i enable " change ratio in os" , even when the multipier is 4.3 in the bios, in cpu z and intel ext tuning utility shows 3400 mhz when i runt the tests. the only way to get the 4.3 is to enable "turbo" and set each cores to 4.3. Is there something wrong with my bios?

3) TDP and TDC are they called different in my motherboard bios ( power turbo limit, ocre current limit) ?

4) and the last one for now







should l leave cpu pll on auto fo r 4.5 ghz? and multi step load line enable or disable?

thanks,

Pablo.

2600k- GA-Z68X-UD4-B3 
16GB 4X4 VENGEANCE 1600 88824
COSAIR H80- AX850- XFXHD 6950.


you may find it a little harder to oc with four sticks of ram, try two if it doesnt stableize

"1) what should i use to check the voltages (CPU Z is giving me 1.368v when idle and 1.298 when is stressed) is that correct? "

A) you need to set your LLC higher to reduce vdrop which will help stableize your oc, if it runs at 1.298 without crashing then set your volts to that in the bios and test again to see if it is stable

"2) when i enable " change ratio in os" , even when the multipier is 4.3 in the bios, in cpu z and intel ext tuning utility shows 3400 mhz when i runt the tests. the only way to get the 4.3 is to enable "turbo" and set each cores to 4.3. Is there something wrong with my bios?"

B) it sound like you still have all your c states enabled, disable them and speed step to keep a perminant oc

"4) and the last one for now







should l leave cpu pll on auto fo r 4.5 ghz? and multi step load line enable or disable?"

C) enable pll overvolt and set it to 1.079 and enable llc, you dont need extream maybe two lvls down for your oc









hope that helps


----------



## wermad

I need a bit of help to hit 5.0. Any suggestions? I'm stable @ 4.9 using the oc guides and ram @ 1600. Any attempts to go higher will either hang in during windows boot or not get to windows load. I think my ram might be holding it back or my cpu just doesn't go any higher







.


----------



## pablov3d

thanks buzzlightweight,

i've got it to 4.5ghz 1.35v, run a few passes on intel burn, standard an very high and is stable so far.

does, c1e, c3/c6, eist enable and dropping to 1.6ghz when not streesed, make a difference in performance or stability? or is just for energy saving?
does it hut the procesor in the long run to be all the time at 4.5ghz?

so.. i've set llc to level 4

internal cpu pll overvoltage enable, but i don't have options to set the voltage.

now cpu pll is set to auto to 1.800 v ( do you mean seting that to 1.79)

qpi/vtt voltage is 1.05v should i chanche it or leave it?


----------



## valvehead

Quote:



Originally Posted by *pablov3d*


does, c1e, c3/c6, eist enable and dropping to 1.6ghz when not streesed, make a difference in performance or stability? or is just for energy saving?
does it hut the procesor in the long run to be all the time at 4.5ghz?


FWIW, I have gotten my 2600K stable at 5 GHz with all power-saving features enabled. It didn't seem to make a difference in stability whether or not they were enabled. However, I have a UD7, so maybe it's more capable at handling sudden changes in current and voltage than other boards. I don't know.

Regardless, you don't need to disable them at 4.5 GHz. The overclocking rules that applied to Nehalem don't necessarily apply here.

You also probably don't need to enable PLL Overvoltage at x45 either. I didn't need it until around x48 on my CPU, and mine is definitely not a golden chip. You will know when you need it; at some multiplier you will run into a wall, and more Vcore does not make it stable. Only then should you enable PLL Overvoltage.


----------



## buzzlightweight

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *pablov3d;14802914*
> thanks buzzlightweight,
> 
> i've got it to 4.5ghz 1.35v, run a few passes on intel burn, standard an very high and is stable so far.
> 
> does, c1e, c3/c6, eist enable and dropping to 1.6ghz when not streesed, make a difference in performance or stability? or is just for energy saving?
> does it hut the procesor in the long run to be all the time at 4.5ghz?
> 
> so.. i've set llc to level 4
> 
> internal cpu pll overvoltage enable, but i don't have options to set the voltage.
> 
> now cpu pll is set to auto to 1.800 v ( do you mean seting that to 1.79)
> 
> qpi/vtt voltage is 1.05v should i chanche it or leave it?


all those c state are power saving and some would argue chip saving, if you plan to have your chip for 10 years then enable speed step and c1e and it will throttle back the clock to 1.6GHz and about 1v. if you plan on maybe upgrading in 3-5 years leave them off.

as for your llc how many lvls do you have? i have an asrock fatal1ty mobo, to give you an idea what mine is set to

lvl 1 <

max
lvl 2 <

mine is set to
lvl 3
lvl 4
lvl 5

your pll overvoltsage can be set one below 1.79, it will reduce heat from your cpu helping you get a better oc

leave vtt and pch, you only really need to increase them if you start playing around with the baseclock and oc'ing your ram in which case you will need to bump the ram volts up also


----------



## buzzlightweight

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *wermad;14801700*
> I need a bit of help to hit 5.0. Any suggestions? I'm stable @ 4.9 using the oc guides and ram @ 1600. Any attempts to go higher will either hang in during windows boot or not get to windows load. I think my ram might be holding it back or my cpu just doesn't go any higher
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> .


to get 5GHz stable will take a lot more volts than your 4.5 oc try upping it to 1.45v but make sure your llc is not on max! back you llc down one notch, you will boot in to windows then, once in windows start cpu-z and a HWMonitor and keep an eye on your temps and volts then run a prime blend test.

WHAT COOLER DO YOU HAVE?


----------



## wermad

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *buzzlightweight;14806061*
> to get 5GHz stable will take a lot more volts than your 4.5 oc try upping it to 1.45v but make sure your llc is not on max! back you llc down one notch, you will boot in to windows then, once in windows start cpu-z and a HWMonitor and keep an eye on your temps and volts then run a prime blend test.
> 
> WHAT COOLER DO YOU HAVE?


Running water, shouldn't be an issue as far as temps. I'm running 4.9 right now and ~1.45v and she'll hang there throughout the benchmarks (mainly gpu benchies). I'll give that a try, +1 & thanks


----------



## Sin0822

you are using the board in your sig right?


----------



## wermad

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Sin0822*


you are using the board in your sig right?


Yes. I think I know what might be going on (same thing happened with my old 1366 i7 950 when I pushed it to 4.4), the os is lagging. For some strange reason its does this when I'm running high clocks. I'll go 5.0 this weekend.


----------



## alextech

Do all the thermal features increase the life of a OCed CPU?
I mean i have 4.5 ghz 2600k and stopped at that because i had to set 1.35vcore, and to be honest 200 mhz are not worth more vcore the difference is minimal, i dont know much and i thought that lowering clocks and speed when processor is idle would increase its life, isnt that the real matter? or you recommend turning all off and stay overclocked all the time?

thanks


----------



## wermad

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *alextech;14835770*
> Do all the thermal features increase the life of a OCed CPU?
> I mean i have 4.5 ghz 2600k and stopped at that because i had to set 1.35vcore, and to be honest 200 mhz are not worth more vcore the difference is minimal, i dont know much and i thought that lowering clocks and speed when processor is idle would increase its life, isnt that the real matter? or you recommend turning all off and stay overclocked all the time?
> 
> thanks


For every day use and most gaming it really doesn't make much difference. For benchmarking, every little bit counts.

I run 4.5 (@1.305v) 24/7 and its perfectly fine for my gaming needs. For benchmarks, I can achieve a high 4.9 (still looking to crack 5.0







).


----------



## terminator2k2

hi there , i have a core i7 2600k and a gigabyte z68ud7 main board....

ive tried to follow this guide.......so far all i can get to is 4.0ghz by adjusting the multiplier.....ive tried 42 = 4.2ghz this is hit and miss......

my aim is to get 4.6ghz if its possible......i set the multi to 46 and left the voltage on auto......i get to where the windows logo starts and it freezes...bsod.

now ive tried to adjust voltage and dont seem to get any where, possibly cause im not sure im doing this correctly......

i go into bios and advanced voltage.

and where it says:

cpu vcore 1.365 [auto]

am i supposed to adjust the voltage next to where it says [auto]
from the drop down menu?

the reason i ask is the cpu vcore values never change to what i have set....

and also the vcore on the pc health never matches any of these numbers......just a bit confused........


----------



## Alepale

Quote:



Originally Posted by *terminator2k2*


now ive tried to adjust voltage and dont seem to get any where, possibly cause im not sure im doing this correctly......

i go into bios and advanced voltage.

and where it says:

cpu vcore 1.365 [auto]

am i supposed to adjust the voltage next to where it says [auto]
from the drop down menu?

the reason i ask is the cpu vcore values never change to what i have set....

and also the vcore on the pc health never matches any of these numbers......just a bit confused........


The 1.365 that the BIOS shows is the amount the board would provide on auto setting. You just set it to what you want from dropdown menu (or type it yourself) and that's it.


----------



## tempest3

hey sin thanks for the OC GUIDE.
i did what was in this guide and i was relatively stable at
[email protected] & LLC = level 6
im on a gigabyte z68xp-ud4, kingston hyper x (2x4gb), i5 2500k.

i tried changing the qpi/vtt voltage from 1.05 to 1.10 and my computer would not boot.
it would power up and then power off before even making it to the beep.

i cleared the cmos and was able to boot with stock settings.

now if i make any changes in the bios to the multiplier or vcore voltage or anything like that it will just power on/off continuously until i turn off the psu and clear the cmos again for default settings.

thanks in advance


----------



## valvehead

Quote:



Originally Posted by *tempest3*


now if i make any changes in the bios to the multiplier or vcore voltage or anything like that it will just power on/off continuously until i turn off the psu and clear the cmos again for default settings.

thanks in advance


Have you tried updating the BIOS? I believe that there was a recent fix for boot loop issues. Take a look at this thread on the Tweaktown forum. Note that these are beta versions, so flash at your own risk.


----------



## tempest3

what are the risks of flashing the bios? could i brick the whole system or could i clear the cmos or pull the battery for like 5 minutes and im reset on my settings?


----------



## valvehead

Quote:



Originally Posted by *tempest3*


what are the risks of flashing the bios? could i brick the whole system or could i clear the cmos or pull the battery for like 5 minutes and im reset on my settings?


Fortunately, with Gigabyte's dual BIOS, the risk of bricking a board is reduced. If the main BIOS is corrupted, then the backup BIOS should take over.

The main concern these days with flashing a beta BIOS to your board is that there may be new bugs introduced, some of which may cause instability. Check out that thread I linked, and look for comments related to the particular beta release that you may be considering. People will often state whether or not things are working well and bugs were fixed. There may also be threads on this forum (including this one) with comments about particular beta releases.


----------



## Sin0822

some BETAs do better than normal, i wouldn't worry about it.

BIOS flashing is very easy on GIGABYTE boards.


----------



## ingalonzo

@Sin0822, and everyone else.

Hi, nice guide and to be honest is the best one i could fine.
I manage on my 2600k an OC of 4.5GHz @ 1.37 vcore on Air (Corsair A70 Cooler) stable for 25hs on P95 blend test.

Bios Vcore: 1.37v on F7 Bios Version
Idle Vcore: 1.38v on Gigabyte Easy Tune 6
Load Vcore: 1.368v on Gigabyte Easy Tune 6

Idle temps where:
Core#1: 38C
Core#2: 40C
Core#3: 37C
Core#4: 36C
Note: Those temps are from the MIN temps of Real Temp 3.67

Max load peak temps where:
Core#1: 73C
Core#2: 80C
Core#3: 79C
Core#4: 74C
Note: Those peak temps i only saw them on MAX temps of Real Temp 3.67

Max load temps that I witness where:
Core#1: 69C oscillating between 66-69
Core#2: 77C oscillating between 74-77
Core#3: 74C oscillating between 72-74
Core#4: 69C oscillating between 67-69
Note: I just watch the temps for a few minutes every hour to take notes for the first 8hs and the last 5hs of the 25hs on P95 blend test.

So, after all the info my question are:
1. Is my OC ok for heavy use 24/7 for about 3 or 4 years?
2. How long can my 2600k hold that overclock without presenting any issues?

Note: I know that is impossible to answer my questions with a 100% accuracy, I am just looking for opinions of everyone ho would like to share them.


----------



## RolandG

Hello Sin0822,

Very nice work, congratulations on all effort you made to help others

*My System:*

GA-Z68XP-UD5 - Bios F4
CPU 2600K D2
CPU Cooling - Cooler master Hyper 212 Plus
GPU ATI Radeon 5870
Memory Corsair 2x4GB DDR 3 - 1600
SSD - Intel X25-M 160GB x 2 - Raid 0 configuration (For one reason or another Aida64 only spots my back-up HDD and not my Array)
CD/DVD Lite-on
Antec case P193
PSU Antec CP 850

Overclocked and stable at 4.5 Ghz on loads like Prime95 - Aida64 and others - Temp low 35 - High 70.

Problem - On Idle for about 40 min or less gives me frequently BSOD 0x125 very strange why on idle?

If all possible I would appreciate your help,

Thank you,
Roland

My set VCore 1.30









Roland


----------



## Sin0822

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ingalonzo*


@Sin0822, and everyone else.

Hi, nice guide and to be honest is the best one i could fine.
I manage on my 2600k an OC of 4.5GHz @ 1.37 vcore on Air (Corsair A70 Cooler) stable for 25hs on P95 blend test.

Bios Vcore: 1.37v on F7 Bios Version
Idle Vcore: 1.38v on Gigabyte Easy Tune 6
Load Vcore: 1.368v on Gigabyte Easy Tune 6

Idle temps where:
Core#1: 38C
Core#2: 40C
Core#3: 37C
Core#4: 36C
Note: Those temps are from the MIN temps of Real Temp 3.67

Max load peak temps where:
Core#1: 73C
Core#2: 80C
Core#3: 79C
Core#4: 74C
Note: Those peak temps i only saw them on MAX temps of Real Temp 3.67

Max load temps that I witness where:
Core#1: 69C oscillating between 66-69
Core#2: 77C oscillating between 74-77
Core#3: 74C oscillating between 72-74
Core#4: 69C oscillating between 67-69
Note: I just watch the temps for a few minutes every hour to take notes for the first 8hs and the last 5hs of the 25hs on P95 blend test.

So, after all the info my question are:
1. Is my OC ok for heavy use 24/7 for about 3 or 4 years?
2. How long can my 2600k hold that overclock without presenting any issues?

Note: I know that is impossible to answer my questions with a 100% accuracy, I am just looking for opinions of everyone ho would like to share them.


Hey, yes it probably will last. But you should think about some better cooling in the future. 80C is the limit in my mind for 24/7 loading on air or cheaper water. But at 1.37v the thing that will hurt you the most is the temp. but I look at it from another angle, if you don't stress it 100% every day I htink you will be fine, games don't stress CPU 100% and nor does anything else really like Prime95 does. Id say you are good to go.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *RolandG*


Hello Sin0822,

Very nice work, congratulations on all effort you made to help others

*My System:*

GA-Z68XP-UD5 - Bios F4
CPU 2600K D2
CPU Cooling - Cooler master Hyper 212 Plus
GPU ATI Radeon 5870
Memory Corsair 2x4GB DDR 3 - 1600
SSD - Intel X25-M 160GB x 2 - Raid 0 configuration (For one reason or another Aida64 only spots my back-up HDD and not my Array)
CD/DVD Lite-on
Antec case P193
PSU Antec CP 850

Overclocked and stable at 4.5 Ghz on loads like Prime95 - Aida64 and others - Temp low 35 - High 70.

Problem - On Idle for about 40 min or less gives me frequently BSOD 0x125 very strange why on idle?

If all possible I would appreciate your help,

Thank you,
Roland

My set VCore 1.30









Roland


Hey Man maybe you should try bumping vcore a bit.


----------



## hella

I'm about to overclock my 2600k once I assemble my computer next week.

What are some benchmark voltages-to-clock rates, and what's average for a 2600k?


----------



## Not A Good Idea

Sin helped me OC my first ud7, thanks







with the B1 i was able to do 5ghz with 1.4 now with B3 i need 1.465


----------



## Sin0822

yea the LLC changed, you can try BIOS F3H for the B3.

4.5ghz is the average ppl settle with, voltages differ, some can do under 1.35v some need more.


----------



## 808MP5

Got my rig up...
I think i finally got a stable windows install...
i was spinning in circles because of the BSOD list on the first page... i was getting them even with stock clocks... 
After an entire day of fresh Win7 installs and random BSOD's at BIOS optimized defaults, i think my headaches are over, hopefully
I'm pretty sure I narrowed down the BSOD errors to the RTTOOL teaming driver...
i'll probably keep everything stock for the next few days to ensure i have a stable Win7 install with everything i wan installed... then i'll retest my overclock


----------



## ZealotKi11er

LLC doesnt work too well for me. I set Voltage 1.425v in Bios and i get 1.475v with lv 7. Whats the best lv to use?


----------



## hogans

Hi all,

I just got a new Gigabyte Z68XP-UD5 and Core i7 2600K. Here are some screenshots of my MIT settings in the bios as well as what I am running for settings at the moment.

I am looking for any good tips and advice.....

Thanks,

Hogans.


----------



## jackbrennan2008

Quote:



Originally Posted by *hogans*


Hi all,

I just got a new Gigabyte Z68XP-UD5 and Core i7 2600K. Here are some screenshots of my MIT settings in the bios as well as what I am running for settings at the moment.

I am looking for any good tips and advice.....

Thanks,

Hogans.


Why are you disabling all the power saving functions? Unless you are benchmarking there is no point turning them off.

You also don't need to disable Turbomode either if you manually set the multiplier.

When i was benching at 5.5Ghz all i did was turn off the power saving features for benchmarking, everything else was left on. For 24/7 use all you need to do is set the various voltages/memory multi and the CPU multipler and hit reset.

1.500Vcore is actually too high for 24/7 use. There have been reports from both sides of the fence: "I'm at 1.50v for 6 months, no problems" and "I've been at 1.50v for 6 months and my CPU is dead"

I'd wind it down a bit if you really need that much Vcore for 4.8Ghz.

Oh and good motherboard choice by the way


----------



## Sin0822

hey hogen, you can leave turbo and those power saving things disabled, they wont really help improve anything, and then you load being at 4.8ghz all the time, and even thought you might not jack, a lot of people do. A lot of people also run prime 95 for 9 hours a day. Id leave them disabled, but you need to turn CPU PLL Overvoltage to enabled. You should also think about increasing OCP, maybe it will help, i have never worked with your board before tho.

but yea your voltage is too high, you need to lower it


----------



## hogans

Thanks for the tips guy's!


----------



## Tipless

subbed!!! awesome thread. will be doin this when i get out of class


----------



## ericie

Thanks a lot for the help man!
Got my 2600k OC'ed and running at a nice speed









+rep


----------



## Thebuyologist

So I'm trying to overclock my 2500k and when I go to change the CPU Max Ratio value to 45 from 33, any number I press on the number row automatically puts 16 in as the value. What gives?

It seems any number I try to put in anywhere in the bios does not register the correct number key i press and gives some weird random value.


----------



## Chobbit

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Thebuyologist*


So I'm trying to overclock my 2500k and when I go to change the CPU Max Ratio value to 45 from 33, any number I press on the number row automatically puts 16 in as the value. What gives?

It seems any number I try to put in anywhere in the bios does not register the correct number key i press and gives some weird random value.


Not sure what's going on but you can usually navigate to the setting you want, press enter (return button) and press the up and down key to flick through the possible options available for that setting and then press enter again to confirm it, give that a go.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ericie*


Thanks a lot for the help man!
Got my 2600k OC'ed and running at a nice speed









+rep










lol thats either some blip by coretemp or a new world record I think lol


----------



## WonderMutt

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ericie*


Thanks a lot for the help man!
Got my 2600k OC'ed and running at a nice speed









+rep










Ya know, I think something might be a bit wrong here...









I always wondered what a SB chip could do at just above absolute zero!!









That is awesome, how did you get that?? Was it by accident or is it just b/c is CPUz 1.0?


----------



## ericie

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *WonderMutt;15325500*
> is awesome, how did you get that?? Was it by accident or is it just b/c is CPUz 1.0?


I have no idea what causes it, my speeds just went up to 22ghz while i was multi clienting a game









Cpu-z will say 4,5 and the right voltage
the voltage core temp reads is off too, it maxes out at 1,272 volt, not 1,3


----------



## mollywopped

so far I've only changed clock ratio to 44x and vcore auto'd to 1.36. ran IBT at standard (should I do maximum?) to test for initial stability. When I set it at maximum though, cpu-z reads core speed and multiplier at 4.4/44x, but during the test it would drop down to 3.5/33x. Is that normal? I also have it set at 8 threads. At maximum and normal they both complete successfully. I'm on Step #3 now and just set cpu vcore to fixed and at 1.34v, which is two notches down. I'm about to test for stability again. Am I doing this correctly so far? lol
nevermind, my cpu speed keeps throttling during stress tests. lowered my multiplier and samething, think I'm just gonna run stock; I'll give it another try on the pc I'm building.

Running:
I7-2600k
Biostar TZ68A+
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB 1333


----------



## John-117

I just wanted to thank you *Sin0822* for this guide. Very helpful!

They say every chip is different... I can do 4.5Ghz with 1.308V but I need 1.356V for 4.6 and1.380V for 4.8Ghz, at least with this board. Not worth it, right?
Power consumption for the rig below (from the wall), with 2 HDDs, 3 200mm fans and a PSU probably below 80% efficient at loads under 20% is:
~92W idle, 190W load (Prime95, 4.5Ghz), 176W (Cinebech).


----------



## catcherintherye

Is it safe to use LLC 7 on the p67 ud7 b3 with the new F5 bios?


----------



## MercurySteam

Hey, I've been reading some guides and I was wondering about at which frequencies do you need to start manually adjusting VCCIO and PLL voltage?


----------



## solar0987

Is the chip or the board that makes it need alot of volts to be stable?
I think i might have got a not so good chip.
even at 4.5 i need 1.416 to be stable
update.... that wasn't stable......
So im lost


----------



## Alex Pilot

Hi guys! I am new here.

I wanted to ask somebody to help me with OC of i5 2500k on Z68X-UD3-B3

It's actually the first time I found tutorial with BIOS as mine.

What I want is settings of BIOS which works for you. I don't think 2600k is much different, so please post 2600k setting as well.

I just can't get, how to set-up all feautures. For example what's better, to OC via offset or LLC? Do i need turbo boost, and so on.

Thanks in advance, Alex


----------



## Ichirou

I currently have a P67X-UD3-B3 with a D2 Revision i7-2600K, currently untouched and running fine at stock.

My RAM sticks are currently G.Skill Ripjaws X DDR3-1333MHz PC3-10666, 4 x 4 GB (total 16 GB), 9-9-9-24 @ 1.5V.

I would like to overclock my CPU and my RAM to a reasonable, stable speed. I'm not extremely greedy on getting the best.

I'm still a newbie to this whole overclocking thing, so if somebody could explain it in simple terms, I would truly appreciate it.

What I want to know is which clock speed I could safely change the multiplier to, without having to change anything else.

Like basically, a clock speed which is guaranteed to work 100%, no problem at all.

I currently use an Antec KUHLER H20 620 as a liquid cooling solution for my CPU.

As well, how does RAM overclocking work? Thanks a bunch.


----------



## valvehead

There are no guaranties when it comes to overclocking, but you might make it to around 4.3 to 4.5 GHz simply by changing the turbo multipliers.

I recommend that you read Sin's guide at the beginning of this thread if you haven't read it already. It may take some time for all that info to sink in, but you need to understand what each setting is for and how to set it. Patience is a necessity when it comes to overclocking.

Concerning RAM overclocking: Your RAM is rated at 1333. You might be able to crank it up to 1600 if you're lucky, but it might require a lot more voltage. The fact that you are using 4 modules means that it could be more difficult. Of course the performance difference between 1333 and 1600 is not that big anyway because the Sandy Bridge memory controller already has more bandwidth than most applications can effectively use. Going beyond 1600 brings little benefit.


----------



## Ichirou

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *valvehead*
> 
> There are no guaranties when it comes to overclocking, but you might make it to around 4.3 to 4.5 GHz simply by changing the turbo multipliers.
> I recommend that you read Sin's guide at the beginning of this thread if you haven't read it already. It may take some time for all that info to sink in, but you need to understand what each setting is for and how to set it. Patience is a necessity when it comes to overclocking.
> Concerning RAM overclocking: Your RAM is rated at 1333. You might be able to crank it up to 1600 if you're lucky, but it might require a lot more voltage. The fact that you are using 4 modules means that it could be more difficult. Of course the performance difference between 1333 and 1600 is not that big anyway because the Sandy Bridge memory controller already has more bandwidth than most applications can effectively use. Going beyond 1600 brings little benefit.


Yeah, I've already read his guide at the front page of this thread. I understood a lot of it, and I do have the patience.

I just want to know of a speed I could probably jump straight to, without really worrying about changing any of the voltages or anything like that.

Is 4.3 GHz a good start, if I'm purely changing the multiplier? If that works I'll probably just with it, since 4.3 GHz is actually quite suitable for me.

And I see. Seems like my RAM's pretty much just going to stay as it is. Alright, no problem about that.

However, my G. Skills are quad-channel though? I heard that the GIGABYTE motherboards can support upping it via dual-channel? How do I use that?


----------



## valvehead

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Ichirou*
> 
> Yeah, I've already read his guide at the front page of this thread. I understood a lot of it, and I do have the patience.
> I just want to know of a speed I could probably jump straight to, without really worrying about changing any of the voltages or anything like that.
> Is 4.3 GHz a good start, if I'm purely changing the multiplier? If that works I'll probably just with it, since 4.3 GHz is actually quite suitable for me.
> And I see. Seems like my RAM's pretty much just going to stay as it is. Alright, no problem about that.
> However, my G. Skills are quad-channel though? I heard that the GIGABYTE motherboards can support upping it via dual-channel? How do I use that?


You might be able to achieve 4.3 GHz simply by increasing the multiplier. If the Vcore is left on auto, then the motherboard will increase the voltage as needed. This works up to a certain multiplier after which you have to increase the Vcore even more. That's what DVID is for, and it is activated by setting Vcore to "Normal." You then set the DVID offset to give you more (or less) Vcore than what the auto setting gives you.

For higher overclocks, it helps to use a fixed Vcore when testing for stability. After you have settled on a set of settings that you are happy with, then you switch to using the DVID offset to give you the same Vcore under load. It takes a bit of trial and error to find the right offset, but the results are worth it. Using DVID in combination with EIST and C1e allows the CPU to downclock and reduce voltage when the CPU is not under load.

You have 4 sticks of RAM and 4 slots on the motherboard, but Sandy Bridge only has two channels. Each channel is routed to two slots on the motherboard. You will be perfectly fine filling all of the slots. I only brought it up because I have read that overclocking RAM with all slots filled is a little more difficult. There is a small performance increase going from 1333 to 1600, but that is mostly in programs where the CPU needs fast access to RAM (i.e. [email protected]). There is little benefit beyond 1600 since SB processors only have up to four cores anyway.


----------



## Ichirou

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *valvehead*
> 
> You might be able to achieve 4.3 GHz simply by increasing the multiplier. If the Vcore is left on auto, then the motherboard will increase the voltage as needed. This works up to a certain multiplier after which you have to increase the Vcore even more. That's what DVID is for, and it is activated by setting Vcore to "Normal." You then set the DVID offset to give you more (or less) Vcore than what the auto setting gives you.
> For higher overclocks, it helps to use a fixed Vcore when testing for stability. After you have settled on a set of settings that you are happy with, then you switch to using the DVID offset to give you the same Vcore under load. It takes a bit of trial and error to find the right offset, but the results are worth it. Using DVID in combination with EIST and C1e allows the CPU to downclock and reduce voltage when the CPU is not under load.
> You have 4 sticks of RAM and 4 slots on the motherboard, but Sandy Bridge only has two channels. Each channel is routed to two slots on the motherboard. You will be perfectly fine filling all of the slots. I only brought it up because I have read that overclocking RAM with all slots filled is a little more difficult. There is a small performance increase going from 1333 to 1600, but that is mostly in programs where the CPU needs fast access to RAM (i.e. [email protected]). There is little benefit beyond 1600 since SB processors only have up to four cores anyway.


So if I'm staying with 4.3 GHz, do I need to touch things like DVID or anything like that? Or at 4.3 GHz, the auto voltage is fine as it is?


----------



## valvehead

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Ichirou*
> 
> So if I'm staying with 4.3 GHz, do I need to touch things like DVID or anything like that? Or at 4.3 GHz, the auto voltage is fine as it is?


You will have to try it and see. Every CPU is different.


----------



## Ichirou

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *valvehead*
> 
> You will have to try it and see. Every CPU is different.


Mine is the same as your Silent Screamer II's i7-2600K, except just at stock, and mine is a D2 (not sure about yours).

I use liquid cooling, which should make a bit of a difference. But yeah, I'll test it out and see how it goes out. Thanks a bunch.


----------



## UNOE

Just got my UD7. im playing with overclock around 5.0. I keep getting 124 bsod with c1e disabled. With c1e enabled I have no bsod. What is going on here. I have qpi 1.22v because of 16gb x4 4gb dimms at 2133mhz.
Current settings are
1. llc level 6, vcore 1.43v, Multiplier x50, qpi 1.22v, c1e enabled = stable
2. llc level 6, vcore 1.43v, Multiplier x50, qpi 1.22v, c1e disabled = 124 bsod

even with more vcore up tp 1.47v with c1e disabled i bsod with 124 error. Do I need more vtt voltage because of sli and 16gb x4 4gb dimms at 2133mhz it is already at 1.22v ?


----------



## Sin0822

You can just leave C1E enabled, or you can mess with LLC. Try to flash your BIOS, what BIOS are you on?


----------



## UNOE

I'm on F9.
I'm wondering why would c1e stablize the OC ? This is opposite of what I seen in the past. What LLC direction should I go towards level 1 or higher levels (right now im on level 6) ?
Does SLI have anything to do with vtt voltage or is it only for ram.


----------



## UNOE

hmmm. bump

At this stage I'm at 4.9ghz with llc level 6, vcore 1.435v, Multiplier x49, qpi 1.22v, c1e disabled. Seemed to just need more voltage to get stable without c1e.

I'm still wondering if llc when I get past 5.0ghz should be doing higher llc levels or lower llc levels. And also does sli effect the need for more vtt voltage ?

I had 1.2v on vtt/qpi and my 3dmark scores where low and my GPU overclock was unstable. With 1.22v I get better 3dmark score.


----------



## Sin0822

Sli shouldn't need more voltage.

but LLC will drop more with heavier load, so yea you can use higher level. But yea maybe you need more qpi/vtt even though i don't see how it would help..


----------



## UNOE

Thanks, So I can do level 7, level 8 even with high voltage (1.5v) or 5.2ghz.


----------



## Paraleyes

Why do I constantly get emails about updates to this thread when I am NOT subscribed?! Somebody please help me figure this out! It is NOT in my subscriptions list. Pfft... till now! Does that mean I'll get two emails everytime someone posts? ahaha New server settings are annoying!


----------



## PatrickCrowely

This is very handy. Reading as much as I can. Thank You


----------



## PatrickCrowely

Great Thread, will come in handy....


----------



## Border201

subing this to read at work tomorrow!


----------



## Sin0822

yea guys if you have questions, just ask.


----------



## OCNuB3

I posted this on another forum/website, but have not gotten any response. I was hoping someone could help me here!

I have the ASUS P8Z68-M Pro + i5 2500K, which doesn't seem to be a popular combination for overclocking, but anyways...

In the BIOS, I set the multiplier to 45x for all cores, and left everything else to auto.

At Idle, CPU-Z shows my Vcore fluctuating anywhere between 0.85 to 1.25 (usually around 1.0, though). When I run Prime95, CPU-Z jumps to around 1.38, but all my temps are safe (rarely hit 70C). I can run Prime95 stable for 2 hours at this OC.

When I change the multiplier to 43x for all cores in the bios, Vcore maxes at about 1.35.

I tried using the offset mode, but as soon as I offset by -0.01V at 45x, I could not boot into Windows (blue screen, error 124, right as windows starts up). I'm guessing the offset made my idle Vcore to low.

Does anyone have advice? Is 1.38V Vcore too high? I don't keep my computer on 24/7. The most I do is a couple hours of gaming at a time, and not super often at that. Are there any other settings I could tinker with to lower the Vcore without getting the startup blue screen?


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## Border201

I wouldn't worry about it to much with what you are planning on using the rig for. those Vrises are only going to happen when you to a hard stress test like you did with Prime 95 et al. If you were to also Fold 24/7 then I might be concerned but even then I think you'd still be fine as if I remember correctly 1.52v is Intel's rated cap for the CPU that won't affect the life of the CPU.


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## motokill36

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *OCNuB3*
> 
> I posted this on another forum/website, but have not gotten any response. I was hoping someone could help me here!
> I have the ASUS P8Z68-M Pro + i5 2500K, which doesn't seem to be a popular combination for overclocking, but anyways...
> In the BIOS, I set the multiplier to 45x for all cores, and left everything else to auto.
> At Idle, CPU-Z shows my Vcore fluctuating anywhere between 0.85 to 1.25 (usually around 1.0, though). When I run Prime95, CPU-Z jumps to around 1.38, but all my temps are safe (rarely hit 70C). I can run Prime95 stable for 2 hours at this OC.
> When I change the multiplier to 43x for all cores in the bios, Vcore maxes at about 1.35.
> I tried using the offset mode, but as soon as I offset by -0.01V at 45x, I could not boot into Windows (blue screen, error 124, right as windows starts up). I'm guessing the offset made my idle Vcore to low.
> Does anyone have advice? Is 1.38V Vcore too high? I don't keep my computer on 24/7. The most I do is a couple hours of gaming at a time, and not super often at that. Are there any other settings I could tinker with to lower the Vcore without getting the startup blue screen?


ound about the same as mine for 4.5
im at 1.41 for 4.7 at moment


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## RockThePylon

Does "Internal PLL Overvoltage" do the same thing as increasing the voltage manually on the Voltage menu?


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## Sin0822

no it doesn't it decreases the amount of internal clipping of the CPu PLL voltage that the board provides. you can lower CPu PLL Voltage and increase it as much as you want and have no affect on that setting because you can't lower it enough to affect the clipping persay as most boards only allow down to 1.3v


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## RockThePylon

I'm still not really following it's effect.

What is the difference between Internal PLL Overvoltage, and just raising the PLL Voltage to say, 1.85v?

Does it change the voltage to the same part of the CPU?


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## Sin0822

CPU PLL Voltaeg is one of a few voltages derived from the motherboard that supplies the CPU. The voltage is used for more than just PLL voltage, so the input should have little affect on the input to other CPU functions that use the voltage.

Let's say the PLL voltage is clipped to 500mv, so input of 1.3v-2.0v(standard 1.8v) for the CPU PLL voltage after the CPU internally clips the voltage input is 500mv either way, the heat from taking 1.8v to 500mv is more than taking 1.3v to 500mv, so why not always have it at 1.3v instead of 1.8v? Because other devices clip the same input for their voltage, maybe even at higher levels right at 1.3v or so.


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## RockThePylon

So Internal PLL Overvoltage is a funtion used internally by the CPU?


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## Sin0822

yes it is one of many which users aren't really given the ability to change, but Intel found it had a significant impact on SB, but on Sbe there is almost 0 impact.


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## RockThePylon

Wild.

So how does lowering/raising the external PLL voltage have any effect on stability when it's internally clipped?


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## Sin0822

nothing to do with that setting, just to do with lowering temps when lowered and that will help stability. On a few boards tho, it seems that it has some positive affect by raising the voltage, but that is only because the CPU PLL Output isn't being delivered properly, but on gigabyte and asus boards that isn't an issue, you can lower it as much as you want really.


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## RockThePylon

Well that's just silly.


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## Molten

I've followed this guide twice now and the overclock doesn't seem to be working :/. I go to check cpu-z and it doesn't pick up the OC, yet i've followed everything, what do you think the problem is? I've tried gigabyte touch bios and just normal bios.


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## Border201

some CPUs don't run at the max clock speed unless there is a program that demands it. When doing those CPU-Z checks have you had a stress tester running such as prime 95 or [email protected]?


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## Jiia

I have a little question about temperature monitoring.

According to CoreTemp and RealTemp my Core#0 seems to idle at 35C while cores #1-3 idle at 40-42C.

Now when I turn on prime the Core#0 will stay at tolerable temps, hitting the maximum at 65C. But cores 1-3 go 70C and beyond quickly. Is this just a monitoring problem or is there something wrong with my heatsink? (Scythe Mugen 3 PCGH)

I'm trying to run 4.5GHz (45x) @ 1.375V.

LLC = disabled
Phase Control = Extreme
PPL overvoltage = Disabled
CPU power supply = 130%

NEW THREAD HERE: http://www.overclock.net/t/1219727/question-about-temperature-monitoring


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## karnige

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Molten*
> 
> I've followed this guide twice now and the overclock doesn't seem to be working :/. I go to check cpu-z and it doesn't pick up the OC, yet i've followed everything, what do you think the problem is? I've tried gigabyte touch bios and just normal bios.


It hasnt' worked for me either so I just reverted back to factory settings and use turbo to OC. So I get the most of my cpu when I really need it. :/ wish I could get it too... a vid tutorial would be great but im sure that's asking too much..


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## karnige

Alright i'm having trouble, i'm trying to freakin OC it and can't







I put the clock ratio to 4.0GHz the VID is at 1.340v. I also changed the turbo mode to on and off. Still when I start my comp and go into CPU-Z it shows me everything like it's stock - 

Anything to help fix this would be appreciated


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## King Who Dat

does anyone know if the z68xp ud-7 has trouble with 2133 ram ? I have tried using xmp profile and also disabled it and set everything manually. my gskill 11-11-11-30-2t 1.5v 2133mh won't allow me to post at the rated timings and speed. I have tried at 1.5 and 1.65 and no dice. 1866 works fine. I am running bios F10c. Anyone have any thoughts or is this thread dead ?


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## DG170775

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sin0822*
> 
> Here it is in PDF format if you want to print it or read it on the go.
> http://www.mediafire.com/?ala55zrlaaloqa7


Hi, is there any other way to get my hands on the PDF version, as i'm unable to access MEDIAFIRE.

Thanks.


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## hammer24p

hi do have to turn turbo off?i can run lower cpuv,with it on. thanks


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## King Who Dat

I'm looking and looking for a way to disable my onboard sound in bios on my z68 ud-7. It's making me feel, not smart, shall we say that I can't seem to find it.

Ok, I feel like a moron.

Anyone ?


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## Amo

It's not called "On Board Sound" it's labeled something else. I can't remember what it was called, but read the descriptions on the right side for each selection and you should find it.


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## Alepale

It's labeled "Enable Azalia Codec" if I remember correctly.


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## bluefire808

I have been AMD all my life. Just took out a 8month old purchase of a Crosshair Formula IV and a Phenom x6 1090T and put it in my closet. Swapped it for a Maximus IV Extreme Gen 3.0 and a 17 2600k. im not even going to joke around. figuring out that i can only clock the CPU ratio took me 3 days to wrap my head around. I only clocked the base clock on my AMD. How ever i am already stable at 5Ghz and pumped! cant wait to get a gtx 680 and not be CPU bottle necked like i was told i would be on my old rig. gotta say. Im loving this decision, kinda bummed that i now know i waist like $600 on amd mobo and cpu to now rebuy the same setup but on Intel for the same price with a wicked amount of increased performance


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## King Who Dat

I did the same thing. Bought a 1090t and 990fxa-ud5 and got rid of it 3 months later. Live and learn.

Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk


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## Aprimm

Howdy! Long time thread lurker.

I'm interested in clocking my system past what Easy Tune will allow me, been hesitant to do so since this will be my only computer for the next 4 years. I've read the entire post but kinda having a hard time wrapping my head around at the things to change and the items to leave alone.

I guess my first question is that i can change the multiplier in BIOS first without having to touch much else right? So I suppose I'll start there. Should there be a check list in what order i should bump things up and when i should bench it before making any further changes?

much appreciated. FYI my specs are on my profile.


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## ASUSfreak

hmmm a whole new way of OCing awaits me (tomorrow







) now sleep, but subbed (a bit late but oh well







)


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## shremi

Thanks for the amazing guide









I was using another guide that used the turbo option and left everything on auto ... but my motherboard decided that @4.5 my vcore should be 1.34 i wanted to lower the Vcore and got really frustrated because the DVID option got me either blue screens or an instant power off when starting prime.

However i dont want to run @45 the whole time i want to use the turbo option. But i have a new strategy on how to achieve it.

I am following the guide right now .... I disabled all of the power saving energy crap and went straight with multiplier OC and i am just lowering the Vcore to see until when i am stable and when i get my lowest stable Vcore ill figure out how to make it work with the turbo boost and the power saving features. However i have a couple of questions.

1.- I am testing with prime doing a custom test and just changing the ram section to use 80% of my ram is that ok ???? I am also doing 20 rounds of IBT on high bc i only have 4gb of ram..

2.- How long should i test on prime before lowering to the next level of Vcore ???

3.- Right now i am @ 1.290 Vcore but in windows fluctuates a bit is this normal ??? I am reading and seeing that usually people need much more Vcore to get to 4.5 so is my chip really special or do you think i am messing something up ???

Thanks for the guide again

Shremi


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## kuss

hi atm i got a stable OC at 4.6ghz but i dont know if im safe with my settings if i go lower on the Vcore(1.35-1.38) i get BSOD 5mins in window but with this setting i can run prime 30mins with no BSOD and temps are (idle-23 max-49) any info/help would be great thx


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## james888

I have had overclocking my i5-2500k in the past. The best I could do was 4.4ghz. After reading this I am trying again. My goal is 4.7ghz. My motherboard is the msi-p67-gd53.

I am currently an hour into stress testing with the below settings.


Spoiler: Settings







I just realized there is a typo on the ram voltages. Just add .1v to the ram voltages and that is what they are. As I show in the picture, current vs actual, my motherboard rounds down some settings. I am pretty sure some of those voltages are a bit high. But I keep getting these two bsod codes.

0x124 -- I usually get this one.
0x9C -- If I try a lower vcore I get this one.

Any help would be appreciated.


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## Sin0822

Vcoreis what you need. Can you try to increase the VCore more? Is your BIOS up to date?


----------



## Sin0822

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *kuss*
> 
> hi atm i got a stable OC at 4.6ghz but i dont know if im safe with my settings if i go lower on the Vcore(1.35-1.38) i get BSOD 5mins in window but with this setting i can run prime 30mins with no BSOD and temps are (idle-23 max-49) any info/help would be great thx


it looks good man


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## Sin0822

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *shremi*
> 
> Thanks for the amazing guide
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I was using another guide that used the turbo option and left everything on auto ... but my motherboard decided that @4.5 my vcore should be 1.34 i wanted to lower the Vcore and got really frustrated because the DVID option got me either blue screens or an instant power off when starting prime.
> However i dont want to run @45 the whole time i want to use the turbo option. But i have a new strategy on how to achieve it.
> I am following the guide right now .... I disabled all of the power saving energy crap and went straight with multiplier OC and i am just lowering the Vcore to see until when i am stable and when i get my lowest stable Vcore ill figure out how to make it work with the turbo boost and the power saving features. However i have a couple of questions.
> 1.- I am testing with prime doing a custom test and just changing the ram section to use 80% of my ram is that ok ???? I am also doing 20 rounds of IBT on high bc i only have 4gb of ram..
> 2.- How long should i test on prime before lowering to the next level of Vcore ???
> 3.- Right now i am @ 1.290 Vcore but in windows fluctuates a bit is this normal ??? I am reading and seeing that usually people need much more Vcore to get to 4.5 so is my chip really special or do you think i am messing something up ???
> Thanks for the guide again
> Shremi


if you want the multiplier to drop you will need to use the power saving features and DVID. More importantly just make sure EIST is enabled.

For testing time, you can try 1 hour of prime, and then when you think are are stable do 4 hours, if you pass, keep going until you feel good about it. Yea vcore always fluctuates.


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## james888

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sin0822*
> 
> Vcoreis what you need. Can you try to increase the VCore more? Is your BIOS up to date?


Bios are up to date. That vcore seems really high to me. It should be fine right?


----------



## josgba2002

Thank you for this guide. It help me a lot.


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## DaForce2000

Firstly, great guide, really good!!

So, i've hit a little snag. And would like some advise before I continue trying to OC my rig.

I'm running the following.

Gigabyte P67A-UD7-B3
i7 2600k (D2) w/ Noctua NH-D14
16GB G.Skill Ripjaws X
Corsair TX850 PSU
Nvidia 680GTX
Intel 520 240GB ssd, and a bunch of random xTB drives.

I've followed the guide, and set the multiplier to 45 and with vcore on auto and it settles on around 1.372 ( i think ) in the bios and I've disabled all the power saving crap etc as the guide suggests.
And it boots into windows just fine at 4.5ghz

But as soon as I run IntelBurnTest the pc will hard lock (still with the desktop displayed) or BSOD with 0x124
I've tried lowering vcore to 1.34 and increasing to 1.38 and it still locks up.

Is it simply a matter of adding more vcore? going above 1.38 seems a little high for just 4.5ghz, then again I guess each cpu is a little different.
HWMonitor I dont think ever showed the vcore over 1.34 .....
Temps are fine, didn't get higher than mid 50's before it freezes (it will run 5-10s then lock)
I'm thinking I might need to go down the turbo mode with set TDP and TDC ??

Another oddity, if i enable load line calibration (either 1 or 2) I wont even boot past bios properly. Just reboots over and over, turn it off and it boots fine.

Thanks for any and all help in advance


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## FloJoe6669

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sin0822*
> 
> If you enable Turbo Mode (which you do not have to and I recommend not doing) you will need to set each multiplier. Note that on many motherboards you do not have the option to OC without turbo, its ok, 52x multi is 52x multi whether its turbo or not. On GIGABYTE boards, enabling turbo shouldn't make your multiplier go crazy, I have tested on the latest and even old BIOSes and you can use Turbo and the multiplier not drop. *Turbo Mode or no Turbo Mode, your multiplier will stick steady*. If for some reason it is jumping around, you have the option to disable Turbo Mode.


soooooooooooo... theres no point in turbo mode when its OC'd? i cant get it to downclock to say 1.6GHz when i don't need it and go to my 4.4Ghz oc when i need it?

also thanks for the guide, was very very good














im getting 4.4Ghz @ 1.35v with sub-65C temps on load


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## bloodfx

I can't seem to get past this 7e error code, does anyone have an idea?

060513-8500-01.dmp 05/06/2013 11:54:32 SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED 0x1000007e ffffffff`c0000005 fffff800`289d492e fffff880`0456e438 fffff880`0456dc70 ntoskrnl.exe ntoskrnl.exe+3d092e x64 ntoskrnl.exe+3d092e C:\Windows\Minidump\060513-8500-01.dmp 8 15 9200 289,904


----------



## topet2k12001

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *bloodfx*
> 
> I can't seem to get past this 7e error code, does anyone have an idea?
> 
> 060513-8500-01.dmp 05/06/2013 11:54:32 SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED 0x1000007e ffffffff`c0000005 fffff800`289d492e fffff880`0456e438 fffff880`0456dc70 ntoskrnl.exe ntoskrnl.exe+3d092e x64 ntoskrnl.exe+3d092e C:\Windows\Minidump\060513-8500-01.dmp 8 15 9200 289,904


Based on this post, BSOD 7e is related to the OS (being corrupted, possibly due to overclocking).
Quote:


> 0x101 = increase vcore
> 0x124 = increase/decrease vcore or QPI/VTT...have to test to see which one it is
> 0x0A = unstable RAM/IMC, increase QPI first, if that doesn't work increase vcore
> 0x1A = Memory management error. It usually means a bad stick of Ram. Test with Memtest or whatever you prefer. Try raising your Ram voltage. Can also mean more juice for the south bridge ICH volts
> 0x1E = increase vcore, or lower RAM frequency/ increase RAM voltage
> 0x3B = increase vcore, or lower RAM frequency/ increase RAM voltage
> 0x3D = increase vcore
> 0xD1 = QPI/VTT, increase/decrease as necessary
> 0x9C = QPI/VTT most likely, but increasing vcore has helped in some instances
> 0x50 = RAM timings/Frequency or uncore multi unstable, increase RAM voltage or adjust QPI/VTT, or lower uncore if you're higher than 2x
> 0x116 = Low IOH (NB) voltage, GPU issue (most common when running multi-GPU/overclocking GPU)
> 0x00000109 = Not enough or too Much memory voltage
> *0x7E = Corrupted OS file, possibly from overclocking. Run sfc /scannow and chkdsk /r*
> 0x24 = Disk corruption (Did you OC the PCI-E bus?)
> 0x19: memory voltage


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## bloodfx

Did that does nothing for me, Still get 7e error.


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## james8

can anyone tell me what Performance Enhance does?

spent half an hour searching it up on the net but couldn't find anything definite


----------



## Quetzalcoalt

I have a few question / problems with this board and a 2500k
I know this thread is dead so will first ask if there is someone who reads this thread and can help before i start writing my block of text.
Thanks


----------



## GaryR

Just want to say thanks for this fantastic guide, I took my (3 years old on 1/11/14!) i2600 to 4.5Gz yesterday on the stock cooler as a test. Booted right into Windows 8.1, ran a few programs quick and saw the temp (CPUID HW Monitor) approaching 80C so I shut her down and went back to 3.6 until my Noctua D14 arrives. Can't wait to run some benchmarks once I know she's stable! If she cooks i'll get another one and add Intel's "Tuning Coverage" to it..


----------



## GeorgeM269

Thanks, with your guide i took my 2600K from stock to 4.5 GHz prime95 10+ hours stable, vcore on bios is 1.445 v, on cpu-z 1.392 v on load.


----------



## GaryR

Amazing isn't it? My system has been running 24/7 for well over a month with only one very minor issue. Every once in a while (3-4 times in 6 weeks of everyday use) the system locks during a CPU/Video intensive game, video goes solid light blue with some broken up stripes, and I get a loud HUM through the speakers. As the ATI cards have built in sound I tried disabling that but it still happens. Minor annoyance but I would like to try and eliminate it as everything else works great 99% of the time!


----------



## Bhemta

Hello,
i have
i7-2600K
GA-P67A-UD3-B3
Noctua NH-D15
1000W PSU

Bios ua1 UEFi

i cant be stable at 4.8 lower than 1.510V
and cant stable at 5.0 lower than 1.550V

that's is too high voltage > so to high temperature

i see in the sheet people who is OC at lower volt how is that ?!
there is any advanced voltage should i edit not just CPU voltage to be stable ?

last thing which is the best stable OC for my CPU & MB


----------



## mannitu78

nice, old thread, but it answered some questions for me.

Seems like 1,18 Volt VTT/QPi is not too much if youre running 4 sticks of 1866mhz xmp memory with Sandy Bridge. Unfortunately, theres no good tool to test ram-stability. I always have to play my favorite game to see if my ram is stable, for example it crashes when i set VTT Voltage lower than 1.15. Takes me a few minutes to find out, while damn Prime95 runs absolute fine. And no, im not gonna let that run for hours/over night...it just cant stress the Ram/IMC as much as this game does. And if it means i have to die everytime i test something









and yeah i know Sandy Bridge was long time ago and most people dont bother anymore but im still interested and just cant afford to upgrade just for fun every year

@Sin 0822: Why did you stop making Youtube-Videos/Reviews?

And one more thing id like to say that really pisses me off because it confuses me...why does everybody think he must make an ultimate OC guide and the whole world is gonna appriciate it if youre not even knowing wht youre doing to 100%? Because i just read another "Sandy-OC-Guide" where someone explained you should use the system-agent-voltage in the same way you do it with IMC/VTT/QPI...meaning juts put it up to 1,25 Volt..while now i must read its supposed to stay at stock (0.925 Volt)









(still answering to the first post from sin0822)

greetings from germany


----------



## Haades

I find conflicting information about the vtt voltage from google. What would you consider the max for this voltage, if vcore is 1.4v and temps max 80c?

E: Ok, missed it in the first post, it's 1.250v. Another question, which would be the prime95 fft lenght to test this particular voltage?


----------

