New build - Needs overclocking

rebel rebel · 19 Jun 2010 at 23:28

Ok here we go.. I recently purchased and built my new pc, here are the stats.

Intel Core i7 920 D0 Stepping (SLBEJ) 2.66GHz (Nehalem) (Socket LGA1366) - OEM
Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R Intel X58 (Socket 1366) DDR3 Motherboard
OCZ Obsidian 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600Mhz Triple Channel Kit
Fractal Design Define R2 Midi Tower Case - Titanium Grey
Corsair H50-1 High-Performance CPU Watercooler
OCZ ModXStream Pro 600w Silent SLI Certified Modular Power Supply
Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM
Asus ATI Radeon HD 5770 CuCore 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
Windows 7 Ultimate.

I've had it running for about a month now all at stock and eveythings been fine, so thanks for helping me choose the items. I added 3 more fans and they are all set up as shown in this pic.

If the fans are positioned wrongly please. let me know.

I wanted to overclock it but im a complete novice when it comes to adjusting the bios. I've read a few of the stickys and gone through other peoples threads but still don't feel confident changing things, so I was wondering if some kind person could walk me through what i need to change, and how to test it afterwards. Ideally I would like to get it to around 4.0Ghz but if that's not possible then anything close is fine.

I have cpuz, coretemp, realtemp and prime95. But im not sure if thats all I need. I can take pictures of whatever stats/bio settings are needed.

Thanks for taking your time to read this and hopefully someone can help me.

rebel rebel · 19 Jun 2010 at 23:36

I will most probably change the 2 fans on the h50 to vipers at some stage. I'll use the leftover Fractal on the side of the case to cool the graphics card.

rebel rebel · 21 Jun 2010 at 14:55

Does anyone with some time on their hands want to mentor/help me overclock this?

rebel rebel · 21 Jun 2010 at 17:49

Ok first of all thanks for helping, I've done what you said.

cpu ratio 21

bclk 191

dram frequency 1528

9-9-9-28-2

cpu vcore 1.3v

dram voltage 1.64v (it didn't let me choose an odd number)

Booted fine but temps at idle are high.

That's about 22c higher than the stock temps.

rebel rebel · 21 Jun 2010 at 20:05

I've put it all back to stock because those temps are just to high.

rebel rebel · 21 Jun 2010 at 21:10

Qpi was set to auto 1.2.

I changed it to 1.24 and the system never loaded, I changed it down to 1.22 and same thing. Its now back to auto. Should I try it lower than 1.20?

rebel rebel · 21 Jun 2010 at 21:20

It only goes up in even numbers so i'll try 1.26 and keep raising it. Just so I don't blow something, how much is too much?

rebel rebel · 21 Jun 2010 at 21:37

I tried 1.26 - didn't load.

1.28 and it got as far as the windows loading screen then failed.

1.30 and windows has loaded and temps are 57 - 54 - 55 - 51.

So the temps have come down 6c.

rebel rebel · 21 Jun 2010 at 22:07

I replaced the thermal compound last week and the temps stayed about the same. It might be because I have 2 different make/speed of fans on the h50 cooler. I think im going to order 2 apache vipers just incase.

I will now try turning on the load line calibration level 2.

Thank you for all your help, im definately making progress.

rebel rebel · 21 Jun 2010 at 23:15

update:

cpu ratio 21

bclk 191

dram frequency 1528

9-9-9-28-2

dram voltage 1.64v

LLC level 2

Qpi 1.30

vcore 1.18750

idle temps are 48 - 46 - 48 - 44

Should I carry on lowering the vcore?

rebel rebel · 21 Jun 2010 at 23:26

Ahh ok I was lowering it until it wouldn't load. I'll raise it a couple and test it in I B T.

rebel rebel · 21 Jun 2010 at 23:41

Right I tried testing it in Intel Burn Test with the vcore at 1.25, and the system rebooted within 5 seconds. So where do I go from here do I lower or up it?

rebel rebel · 22 Jun 2010 at 16:26

bifday2k said:
You have to up the vcore when a stress test fails, untill it will run and pass without fail, its a pain, but thats how it goes if we want nice clocks on lower volts then auto settings.

You may not have to add a lot, just alittle, so raise it slowly 1 step at a time, and test each step, untill it passes IBT.

rjkoneill said:
if your temps are that high under those reasonable settings. i would consider a reseat of the HSF

thingemajib said:
personally, i would swap the h50 fans around, so that they blow out of the case.

Day 2

I figured as the 2 140mm fans at the top are both blowing out, the 2 on the h50 would be better used blowing in.

I have taken the advice and made sure the h50 is seated properly with Arctic Cooling MX-3 Thermal Compound, and the temps seem a little bit better.

cpu ratio 21
bclk 191
dram frequency 1528
9-9-9-28-2
dram voltage 1.64v
LLC level 2
Qpi 1.30
vcore 1.25

I tried the above settings in a 10 minute prime95 blend test. Temps never went over 71c but it bsod'd during the last minute. (so close)

Before this I tried the same test with the vcore one step below and it bsod'd after about a minute.

So next I will try upping the vcore another step.

Thank you to all that have offered advice.

rebel rebel · 22 Jun 2010 at 18:03

Things seem to be getting better

cpu ratio 21
bclk 191
dram frequency 1528
9-9-9-28-2
dram voltage 1.64v
LLC level 2
Qpi 1.30
vcore 1.3125

The idle temps are still a bit high but its a big improvement.

How long should I test it for in prime95?

rebel rebel · 22 Jun 2010 at 19:10

lol it lasted 2 seconds before I got the bsod, with 8 worker threads. Thought it was going too well.

rebel rebel · 22 Jun 2010 at 19:27

It was a blend test. Ok I'll wait for some more input before I change anything else.

rebel rebel · 23 Jun 2010 at 14:25

I dont know what to do now

rebel rebel · 23 Jun 2010 at 21:25

Thanks mate im going to try these settings now.

rebel rebel · 23 Jun 2010 at 22:11

With those settings its idling at 63 - 63 - 62 - 60.

rebel rebel · 24 Jun 2010 at 21:04

bifday2k said:
Some thing is seriously wrong if you are idleing at those temps, even on air cooling that should idle no more then mid 40's.

i don't want to this to sound wrong, or that you take offense to it, but have you 100% made sure that the coolers waterblock is attached right, those idle temps are way way to high, and we really can't go futher untill thats sorted out, becuase as soon as u stress it will fail due to temps.

I would take the time to make sure the cooler is 100% correct, and the thermal paste is'nt to little or to much.

I know the vcore and qpi volts i gave u will hot things up for now, but still should'nt be idleing at that.

1: Check you can hear the pump on the H50 (stop the fans and put ur ear near it if needs be)
2: Recheck seating and thermal paste

Here is an example, im currently folding (F@H) at those temps you are idleing at and my cpu is at 100% load, so as u can see, idleing at those temps something is wrong somewhere, and everything seems to indicate the cooler, either seating, paste or combination of all.

admoo said:
As pointed out by everyone else, there's something seriously wrong with those idle temps. I wouldn't attempt to go any further until you find out why they are so high. In comparison, I went for a milder OC yesterday (3.34GHz, VCore and QPI at 1.2v or less) and my temps were maxed out at 64 degrees from Prime95, in my room which is like an oven

Its definately seated properly, but the last lot of thermal compound is looking messy now due to me taking a look at it.

I can hear water flowing when I stop the fans.

I've taken off the 120mm fractal fan because I don't think having 2 different speed of fan is beneficial. The temps hardly changing at all without it supports this theory.

I am going to order some more thermal paste and 2 new fans tonight. Im thinking 2 apache vipers but im open to suggestions. If anyone can suggest some decent thermal compound too that would be great.

I will resume the overclocking once the new fans and thermal compound arrive.

Thank you everyone for your help.