Looking to give my i7 920 a small overclock...

Clawz114

Clawz114

Clawz114

Associate
Joined
17 Apr 2007
Posts
271
Hi

I am very new to overclocking, so i need a bit of help/guidance.

Ive just recently got myself a new computer and im interested in giving it a small overclock. About 10% - 20%. I would quite like to get to 3.00Ghz

I have the following...

Lian-Li Armorsuit pc-p60
Intel i7 920
EVGA x58 motherboard
Noctua NH-U12P cpu cooler

Now, i havnt overclocked before and ive spent the last few days having a little read about i7 overclocking and it hasnt made much sense. So far, i understand that you need to adjust several variables in small incriments and then raise the voltage slightly if its unstable or doesnt boot windows...

Something like that. I also understand its not as simple as just typing in the same numbers that someone else is using...

So anyway, i just want some very simple, non technical speak about how i would go about giving it a small overclock. I dont necessaraly have to know what it means, i just would like to know which variables i need to change and how much i should raise each one by at a time before i test it out.

I was expecting it to be a little easier than it currently seems :(
 
Go into the BIOS and set the BCLK to 150.

Leave everything else on auto.

Save & Exit.

Test with a program called Prime95, & monitor the CPU temps with a program called Realtemp 3.0 (both can be found using Google).

Report back.
 
Go into the BIOS and set the BCLK to 150.

Leave everything else on auto.

Save & Exit.

Test with a program called Prime95, & monitor the CPU temps with a program called Realtemp 3.0 (both can be found using Google).

Report back.
Click to expand...

So i just need to change 1 number for the time being?

Also, how long should i test with Prime95 for?

Thanks
 
you should be able to see the temps in the first few minutes. If the temps are acceptable then run for a few hours to see if its stable. I would say anything over 70c is too hot.
 
I usually say 5 hours of Prime is enough, but some people advise 8. For a small overclocck though, such a length of time may not be necessary.
 
Thanks for the help everyone.

The ram im using is; Corsair 3GB DDR3 Dominator PC3-12800C8 1600MHz

I will change the BCLK tonight and leave it on prime overnight. I will report back with the results tomorrow...
 
Jurassic Pork said:
how do you check your ram ain't running to high?
Click to expand...

I am guessing that you are either using 1333Mhz or 1600Mhz speed RAM? Edit - Didn't see your above post, 1600Mhz it is!

You should see something in the BIOS relating to DRAM FREQUENCY (or similar). As long as the number that corresponds to this setting is equal to, or less than 1600Mhz then you should be fine.

The DRAM FREQUENCY is linked to the BCLK by a multiplier of (I think the default setting) x12, but this can be changed. So setting the BCLK to 150 will probably set your RAM to run at 1800Mhz (unless the motherboard doesn't defualt it to a lower speed automatically). You'd better check this because it might result in an failed overclock message when trying to boot.

Have you got a digital camera? Perhaps post some pics of your BIOS screens where you can see these settings?
 
Last edited:
Took some pictures of the bios. I think i photographed the correct pages... it looks like it to me :)









*edit*

Where is the BCLK setting?

Im guessing its "CPU host frequency"

I would like to change the BCLK tonight to 150 so i can leave it overnight on prime95, so if anyone could confirm this is the correct number to change, that would be appreciated. :)
 
Last edited:
Just woke up and checked my computer.

It ran prime95 for 6hours 35mins and in each of the little boxes it says;
"0 errors, 0 warnings"

I presume that is good :)

Maximum tempretures recorded in real temp were;

64 - 63 - 63 - 61



In my windows control panel, under system spec. it says this about the processor...

Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU 920 @ 2.67GHz 2.99GHz

I take it, the speed is actually the figure on the far right now that ive changed the BCLK to 150? Just want to be sure that i have actually overclocked it :p
 
If its the same principle as Core 2 Duo's, the BCLK you changed to 150 the equivalent to the FSB on Core 2's, and as the Core 2 has a multiplier of 9x so this means whatever the FSB is (In my case 445) times the number by 9 so 4005Mhz aka 4Ghz.

From what I remember the Mulitiplier is 20x on the Core i7 so that work out about right:

150x20 = 3000Mhz aka 3Ghz

So you have Overclocked it :) good work.

I think my explanations is right, correct me if I'm wrong.

Ninja
 
Thanks for the help guys :)

Next question...

How would i go about pushing it up to 3.2?

Im guessing i would need to change a few more things other than the BCLK?

Out of curiosity, what kinda temperatures are considered too high?
 
Up the CPU Host frequency to 160 and use prime again to test stability and keep and eye on the temps.

Also have CPU-Z open and check the core voltage in there, make sure this doesn't go over 1.4.
 
80+ is starting to get too hot in my opinion.

I would just up the BCLK to 160 tbh, test in Prime95 for 10-20 mins, record temps. If Prime crashes or it doesn't boot then you might have to manually adjust your voltages.
 
Last edited:
ok... So i need to change the BCLK to 160.

Whats the verdict on the voltages? Is it safe to just change it to 160 and try it, or can that be bad :/

Once i get to 3.2 im going to stop at that, i understand the BCLK now though, just have no idea when you need to change the voltage :confused:
 
The idea is to get the system stable at the lowest voltage setting thsi will create the lowest amount of heat. Its very much a case of trial and error to find the right voltages.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom