i5 2500K with ASRock Board... OC noob!

Narj

Narj

Narj

Soldato
Joined
19 Feb 2010
Posts
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Location
London
Hi chaps,

I'm satisfied that my system is stable now at stock so am really keen to see what extra I can squeeze out of the chip. I'd be happy with a moderate overclock (4.2GHz or so?).

i52500K @ 3.30 GHz
Asrock Z68 Extreme4 Gen3 Motherboard
Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (set to 9-9-9-27)
ThermalRight Silver Arrow.

Current full load temps:

loaded.png


So I think there is some headroom here... :D

Does anyone have the same setup and is there any chance some kind soul could get me started? It seems that modifying FSB these days is a no-no (previously I was changing BCLK and memory multiplier to get the result I wanted on the old rig).

I'm not used to this UEFI stuff either, it came as a bit of a surprise.
 
First thing to do is set your memory to the XMP profile in the DRAM section, the just pick one of the speeds below, disable spread spectrum and save and exit.
Test for stability with Intel Burn Test (quicker than prime) take note of vcore in CPU-Z, temps in Real Temp. Also find out what your VID is using Core Temp.
I'd just skip 4GHz and jump straight to 4.2 or 4.4GHz, and work your way up.
Once you've settled on a good speed, let's say 4.6GHz, you'll need to take vcore off auto and put it on offset. Then slowly reduce it until it's at the lowest vcore without bsod under max load. To find the offset take vcore reading from CPU-z and take the VID off. So if vcore reads say 1.34v and your VID says 1.35v the offset will be -0.01.

110826132505.jpg
 
The XMP profile will set the DRAM voltage to 1.65V which is too high for Sandy Bridge.

Your RAM usually runs fine at ~1.5V which is what's recommended for Sandy Bridge (1.575V maximum).

I suggest you set the DRAM voltage manually to around 1.55V and if that's stable you can try reducing it a little further.
 
Thanks, I need to dash out but hopefully will give this a try tonight. The CPU only gets a 7.5 score in the windows scoring so hopefully this will do something about that.

Once I'm all stable I can then look at overclocking the GPU (seems quite easy through MSI afterburner...)
 
Hrm I've got CPU-Z Installed and the Vcore is fluctuating.. normally around 0.952-0.968V. This throws me a bit when it comes to the instructions above. Also I'm not sure what VID is?

EDIT: Ah I see VID in Core Temp now. Thanks!

I presume this is normal and something to do with speed-stepping or similar?

So basically, I can load the XMP profile as long as I manually change the RAM voltage to 1.55V? I can then run Prime or Intel Burn for a while to check stability then try the built in 4.2GHz profile?

Sorry for the stupid questions but I'd rather look like an idiot than fry my new chip... Directions that a 3 year old could follow would be helpful!

Thanks!
 
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Take the vcore and VID readings when you're running Intel Burn Test under full load.
Try to keep the Temps under 75C.
The auto settings will probably overvolt slightly, so if it uses say 1.3v on auto you'll probably get it down to 1.2v on manual :D

After looking at your spec, I'd forget 4.2GHz and jump staight to 4.6GHz. Should do it easily unless you've been unlucky and got a poor CPU.
 
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Thanks all,

I've set my DRAM voltage down to 1.545v now, and I've passed an Intel Burn test @ 4.2GHz.

Intel Burn seems to bring the max temps up much more than Prime, although the maximums only last for a second or so before dropping right down! :eek:

This is a peak screenie... so I need to change the offset to:

Vcore 1.256 , VID: 1.3561

= -0.1 ?

So Vcore mode offset (or whatever the setting is called) and change it to -0.1 ?

25% extra free performance, I'm liking this! :D TBH 4.2 will probably do me as I'd rather compromise with being able to keep my fans all on minimum.

4_2_oc.jpg
 
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OK... I went for 4.6 and it passed Intel Burn but it's a bit warm for my liking:

4_6_oc.jpg


Or is that about normal? I screenshotted around the peak temp. All fans are on minimum which probably doesn't help.
 
Those temps at 4.6GHz are pretty low, but you're not fully stressing the CPU.
You need to set Stress Level to Max and set Thread to 4 on IBT.
As long as your temps stay under 80C (Tj max is 98C) it's fine, normal use and gaming will never stress it this hard, you'll probably only hit 45-50C while gaming.

Here's mine @ 4.6GHz

46ibtmax.jpg
 
Cheers mate, I'd missed that! Looking good... hopefully it'll pass.

4_6_oc2.jpg


I'm presuming that dropping the VCore with offset will reduce temps a bit? I'll try a -0.1 offset once this completes and run again. I've run Hyper-Pi a few times on 32M setting and checksums all tally up so things are looking promising. :)

Thanks a million for the help :D


EDIT: Hurrah - passed!
 
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Hrm, -0.1 offset was a bit too aggressive... BSOD on loading windows, it seems to be behaving on -0.03 though. I'll see how it goes... I really appreciate the guidance!

GPU next methinks! ;)
 
rating_at_4_6.jpg


Thanks so much guys! That's an extra .2 on the CPU rating now, up from 7.5! You chaps are amazing. :D

Do I dare try 4.8GHz? I think that would mean ramping the fans up, and I don't really want the noise if it works. :(
 
Ouch.. just had a bsod shutting down and applying updates. Should I just forget the offset voltage and leave it on auto?
 
You could try upping the CPU Load-Line Calibration to level 4, that'll reduce the vdroop.
Sandy Bridge CPU's tend to bsod when not under load if you're running -offset because it lowers the idle vcore too.
 
Davefran said:
You could try upping the CPU Load-Line Calibration to level 4, that'll reduce the vdroop.
Sandy Bridge CPU's tend to bsod when not under load if you're running -offset because it lowers the idle vcore too.
Click to expand...

Thanks, will try this!
 
Right, I'm currently getting a VCore of 1.280V when running IBT @ 4.6GHz. It sounds like that might be a little on the low side then? It passes every time but I'm occasionally getting idle BSODs/lockups despite the Level 4 LLC (I assume the LLC change is why I'm now getting different VCore).

On max stress I get VCore of 1.280v and VID of 1.3911v - I think I'm a bit confused about how the offset should be set in this case? Can some kind soul please clear this up? :) -0.1 just stops the machine from booting and I'm currently down to -0.03. It seems to me like a positive offset is needed?
 
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Keep it on level 4 and try -0.01 offset, that should give you 1.3v vcore.
If it runs stable @ that you've got a really good CPU, mine needs +0.01 offset @4.6GHz.
 
Cheers!

Kept it on 4 and -0.01. Played Skyrim for 2 hours and left it idling for a while.. no further issues and it applied updates without BSOD. My Gpu is also running at 950mhz nice and cool.

Thanks for the help. Fingers crossed the stability will continue. If there are no problems over the next 2 weeks I might try for 4.8!
 
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