Beginner Z68AP-D3 guide for Intel i5 2500k

my main issue is that idling its sat at 1.392v, but when under load its down to around 1.344v, if i want to go to 4.7 id have to bump the volts to over the recommended 1.4v for 24/7 ocing
 
BIOS update?

Hi Peeps,

Using the Z68AP-D3 & i5 2500K combo. Having trouble getting stable over 4.3Ghz. I still have the "FB" BIOS on a Ver 2.0 board - could this be problematic or, to put it another way, will I get more mileage by updating to the latest Award BIOS? (I understand UEFI locks out some O/C settings).

On higher O/C's it runs IBT no problem and will run Prime95 for about 10-15 minutes before it BSOD's with the following error: 0x00000101 "A clock interrupt was not received on a secondary processor within the allocated time period". Temps hit 80C which I'm not too pleased with given that ..

.. I Installed a Noctua NH-D14 yesterday - voltages at stock, clock at 4.3Ghz it's hitting 70C running Prime95 for an hour with ambient at about 25. Idle it's all gravy at 30C. Think I may have been a bit slap-happy with the thermal compound or just have a hot chip - it's always been run at stock everything until recently.

Two other potential issues to throw in the mix:

- Samsung 840 Pro SSD: I'm using the "RAPID" mode which uses (in my case) 1GB of system RAM as a disk Cache. "Shouldn't" be an issue as there's 16G in the rig but maybe if OC'ing? Benefit: It ups Disk read/write from ~510/495MB/s to 1000+ MB/s.

PSU: is an OCZ ZS650 80+ which is an OK supply (main issue is the distance between SATA connectors is less than standards and awkward) - however the 12V rail fluctuates between 12.074 and 12.172V under load - am wondering if this could also be an issue with the OC'ing at higher clocks.

Key system info for anyone who has sigs turned off:
i5 2500K @4.3ghz | Gigabyte GA-Z68AP-D3 | 16GB Corsair XMS3 1600
OCZ ZS Series 650W 80+ | Sapphire HD5670 1GB DDR5
Noctua NH-D14 | Samsung 840 Pro 256GB
Win 7 Home Premium 64 bit

And yeah, before ya says, I know the GPU is weak ... I don't game and mainly want the power on this machine for video editing so I'm saving up for a Quadro GPU, eventually, and once the proc has been upgraded to an i7.

Advices welcomed ...

Crazy B
 
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@OP Thanks for the guide, using the settings for 4.4Ghz (2x4GB RAM so left it at 1T instead of changing to 2T) for the past few days without issue. 12 hours over night prime and a couple of 2 hour gaming sessions and it's been running perfectly so far. Revision 1 board with F8 and temps didnt go higher than 55C even after hours under prime with a Silver Arrow.

I had been thinking of upgrading the 2500k and mobo but after trying this i don't think i will just yet. Had a little mess around and it seemed fine up to ~4.8Ghz but i don't really know what i'm doing yet so running your settings for day to day until i read up a bit more.

Last time i tried overclocking i think it was an Opteron CPU i had when they were all the rage :p
 
Link to rev1.0 overclock settings for user- kiel367

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/motherboards/2011/10/11/gigabyte-ga-z68ap-d3-review/7

"images clearly show they are using the rev1.0 noted in the boards screenshots lower left hand side of the mobo's PCB

our test chip running at a heady 4.9GHz, However, we did have to pump an extra 0.16V through the CPU Vcore to keep this overclock stable - a marginally higher amount than the more expensive boards we’ve tested. This indicates that the Z68AP-D3 suffers from slightly more Vdroop than boards built around more premium components, which is unsurprising. We also had to push the QPI/VTT to 1.24V, the SA voltage to 1.055V and the PLL to 1.94V. ;)

Ive got the rev 1 board also, and i find this guide worked best for me out of many
 
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4.9 Ghz set-up for Rev1.0 GA-Z68AP-D3

M/B Intelligent Tweaker

Advanced Frequency Settings - 49x
CPU Ratio - 49x
Advanced CPU Core Features - Press Enter
Internal CPU PLL Overvoltage - auto
Real Time Ratio Change in O/S - Enabled
Intel Turbo boost tech - Disabled
Press Esc
System Memory Multiplier - 16.00
Press Esc

Advanced Memory Settings - Press Enter
Performance Enhance - Standard
set the next line down to Expert
Channel A - Press Enter
9-9-9-28 - then command rate 2
Channel A - Press Enter
9-9-9-28 - then command rate 2
Press Esc

Advanced Voltage Settings - Press Enter
Load-line Calibration - Auto
Dynamic Vcore - 0.160V
System agent - 1.055V
QPI/VTT 1.24V
PLL - 1.94V
Dram Voltage - 1560V
 
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Thought about having a dabble again with my i5 2500k as I've never been able to get a 4.5ghz+ stable overclock.

So will try your settings above. One thing I use 1.6v for DRAM to get those timings as it seems more stable and its the recommended Volts for 1600mhz on my memory.
 
1.6V is fine for youre memory i only put that in as thats the most common type , low voltage for memory common profile nowadays are 1.5 while for high end or gamers its 1.6V memory types. All you need to concentrate on the other settings chum!.

ie- Advanced Frequency Settings - 49x
CPU Ratio - 49x
Advanced CPU Core Features - Press Enter
Internal CPU PLL Overvoltage - auto
Real Time Ratio Change in O/S - Enabled
Intel Turbo boost tech - Disabled
Press Esc
System Memory Multiplier - 16.00
Press Esc

Advanced Voltage Settings - Press Enter
Load-line Calibration - Auto
Dynamic Vcore - 0.160V
System agent - 1.055V
QPI/VTT 1.24V
PLL - 1.94V
Dram Voltage - 1560V

Advanced Memory Settings - Press Enter
Performance Enhance - Standard
set the next line down to Expert

(then apply youre own memory voltage and apply youre timing manually for both lanes, than using quick mode which programs it fast one for both , i find doing both by expert is far safer and makes sure the board is defo telling it to use both lands at the same timings etc!)


Also i was like you before couldnt get a stable overclock on the rev1 over 4.5 but now im getting 4.9 stable and even lowered my dynamic vcore :D Dynamic Vcore - 0.120V im on atm and prime stable 10 hours \o/ go me :D

*** also im using bios version F8 ***

9SPOUx0.jpg
 
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