Core i5 Overclocking Help (first time)

[harryc05]

just built my new system which includes

>i5 750
>Gigabyte P55A-UD4
>Corsair 4GB 1333mhz RAM
>Corsair H50 CPU Cooler
>Coolermaster 700w PSU
>ATI Radeon 4850 'XXX' Edition from XFX


Now idle temps at stock are at 17c, an i know that even in my inexperienced overclocking brain, theres quite bit of head room there.

Can you guys help me to overclock this thing? i don't want to go nuts, but with the temps i'm getting at stock, overclocking a little couldn't hurt.

I have read that certain settings have to be turned off i.e C.IE, Turbo boost. is this true? and are there more i have to disable?

Also what are healthy idle and load temps? i don't want to overclock and constantly be at unhealthy high temps when idle or on load.

i also already have downloaded software such as coretemp and prime95, but also the intelburn test. Which is better for stability testing?

and lastly isit it better to keep the multiplier low and the base clock higher, or the multiplier high and just raise the baseclock a little?

i am a noob at this, so please go easy with me lol, plus any further tips/helps you can give please do.

Thanks

 

[barkl0r]

I did my i5 build recently - http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18098455

In there I mention some voltages (though they are from memory and I know not 100% right), also my build is a work in progress, but I am pleased with how this is currently running.

I can tell you what I did, and people feel free to add/correct etc etc...

Firstly, my temps, which I am happy with:

Temps:

Intel says that the chip temp shouldn't get above 72.7*c, going above this will shorten the lifespan substantially. This is 5*C lower than the core temps, so theoretically about 78*C is your core max. Keep her south of 80*c someone one here said!

Using only air cooling I am at a stable 4.1GHz with temps as follows:

Burn test (CPU temp):
59, 62, 63, 63, 64 with a core peak of 74

Those figures represent the 5 runs of the test (on standard) in a cold room. Currently the room is warmer (rare for my house) and the temps are only a couple of degrees higher.

Idle (cool room - few degrees warmer in my warm room now):

Case: 19
CPU: 20
C0: 30
C1: 26
C2: 27
C3: 21
GPU: 30

Running OCCT/Prime95/LinX for a few hours usually gives me a core max of 74-76.

Keeping it brief for you - and me - tired!

Gigabyte have turbo functions as programmes that are bundled, and if you are happy with 3.2GHz this is a very simple, non-BIOSy way to overclock. all they do is change the FSB from 140 to 150 or 160MHz. The multiplier is 20x.

If you want to get more, then it is BIOS time.

Turn off Turbo, OS emulation or visualisation (my check list isn't handy). There is an option you should set to 64bit from 32bit. You might find that on your own.

Firstly go in small increments and check stability with the aforementioned programmes. Check temps. Run benchmark tests etc... decide how much more you want from the system.

There are several things to play with now:

FSB
VCore
Vin
Multiplier
DRAM Multiplier

As you increase speed, so you must increase Vin and Vcore, but on the presets after you disable "auto" you should get to about 3.6GHz, beyond that you need more juice!

Vin is the power for the RAM
VCore is the chip power

My settings (roughly):

Vin: 1.64
VCore: 1.338 (CPU-z says 1.31v, but it is higher than that on the BIOS)

Base clock: 216Mhz
Multiplier: 19x
DRAM multiplier: 6x

Now the DRAM gets its timing from the base clock, so the implication there is obvious: with 6x 8x 10x multipliers to choose from, you want to get close to the RAM recommended clock - 1333 for you - mine is the same. My settings get 1296MHz RAM and 4104MHz CPU. Now if you want the CPU to run cooler or less than this, lower the multiplier to suit.

This is terribly shallow - I urge you to read more, I am just tired and I don't have my notes handy or I would give you more help!

Remember:

FSB - Multiplier - VCore = CPU speed
FSB - DRAM multiplier - Vin = Memory speed

I have heard that odd CPU multipliers give better results - I cannot comment.

Always do small adjustments - I spent 2 days on mine tweaking. The i5 is amazing, and there are many write ups of people successfully doing this - that is where I went first. Balance up the opinions and facts of every article - not everyone knows what they are doing, so read more than one

Best of luck!
Mike

 

[harryc05]

Thanksyou for the information barkl0r.

using the information you provided and looking into other peoples overclocks ect on forums. This was my first attempt (i didn't want to crank it too high so no laughing you overclocking pros lol).


i used a 20x multiplier and a baseclock of 166, which took me up too 3.3GHz. The highest temp under max load was around 57-60c and idles at 27-30c. i used 10 runs of the intelburntest program and it said that it was succeseful. i disabled all of the energy saving tools that i needed too (found on a forum).

i also set the Load Line Calibration to Enabled, as i found that having this on would adjust the voltages for a good overclock (even though i did not push it that high). and using cpu-z it says the cpu voltage is at 1.312v, good or bad?

i also put the system memory multiplier to 6.0 as i noticed it gave me the 1333mhz my RAM is labeled for. Can i put the ram frequency over the 1333mhz mark? how high can i go with it?

Thats also one of the reasons i kept the overclock low so that i could keep the memory within its frequency, i don't know if it can be chnaged or not.

i would try go higher but as i said am i imited by my RAM?