Overclocking i7 quick guide

rexehuk

rexehuk

rexehuk

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Can anyone give a step by step runthrough on overclocking the i7 from stock 2.66 to 3.5Ghz in one go?

I seen the information around the forums but it doesn't seem to all be in the same place for the i7?

If anyone could help with this it would be greatly appreciated :D

Thanks in advance
 
Its' a very simple process if you're after a moderate clock. If you do a google with your thread title you'll get some very detailed guides which should help you out a lot:

This is a simplistic guide quoted from CustomPC to get you started:

custompc said:
Overclocking a Core i7 processor is surprisingly easy, and the performance gains are massive

HOW TO OVERCLOCK A CORE i7 PROCESSOR

There have been many rumours circulating online that Core i7 CPUs will either be a nightmare to overclock or won’t overclock much at all. Neither report could be further from the truth.

As the memory controller and X58 link (usually called IOH in BIOSes) in Core i7 processors are not directly linked to the base QPI clock of 133MHz, you can ramp up the QPI without thinking of much else. Overclocking a Core i7 CPU is therefore very similar to overclocking a Core 2 CPU – you increase the QPI just as you would the FSB, and add voltage to CPU, QPI and IOH as necessary.

For finer or more extreme overclocks, you can then adjust the PLL, other voltages and so on. The only thing you have to remember is that to raise the QPI, you’ll probably have to use the menu option labelled BCLK or Base Clock.

Here’s an example of how we overclocked the 2.66GHz Core i7-920 to 4GHz in the Asus P6T Deluxe motherboard:

1. MEMORY VOLTAGE: 1.6V

Even if you don’t want to overclock your CPU, you should always give your RAM the amount of voltage that it requires. Our Corsair Dominator memory is rated at 1.6V and didn’t require any extra voltage to run at 1.6GHz. Check the label on your DDR3 or the manufacturer’s website for the required voltage.

2. SPREAD SPECTRUM: DISABLED

No matter what system you’re overclocking, this should always be disabled when overclocking. It modulates the frequency of buses by a few megahertz to avoid a build-up of electro-magnetic interference when numerous PCs are housed in the same room.

3. MEMORY RATIO: 1,600MHz

There are just two options for the memory ratio on the Asus P6T Deluxe. The 1,600MHz option was rock-solid and gives superior memory performance.

4. BCLK FREQUENCY: 200

This is an acronym for Base Clock, the 133MHz ClockGen that governs the frequencies of the Core i7 CPU – increasing this clock increases the QPI. As the 2.66GHz Core i7 has a multiplier of 20x that can’t be changed, a BCLK of 200MHz resulted in a 4GHz Core i7 and some epic benchmark scores.

5. ICH VOLTAGE/IOH VOLTAGE: 1.3V

Core i7’s Southbridge and chipset only required minor voltage increases.

6. VCORE: 1.475V

Some additional voltage for the CPU was needed to ensure that the overclock to 4GHz remained stable.
Click to expand...
 
Plec said:
Its' a very simple process if you're after a moderate clock. If you do a google with your thread title you'll get some very detailed guides which should help you out a lot:

This is a simplistic guide quoted from CustomPC to get you started:
Click to expand...

Oh, look - it's almost identical to overclocking... pretty much everything else since... ever.

On a silghtly less patronising note, it is very similar in practice to any other processor since about 2001/2 (i.e. when BIOS-based overclocking really became ridiculously easy), but it simply has more options and acronyms in terms of voltages, timings and frequencies.

Don't be afraid to read your motherboard manual, play with BIOS settings, etc. That is the best way to learn and will give you the most satisfaction and the ability to troubleshoot your own problems (PC-related, naturally).
 
EDIT: Mis-read reply - your post was briefly lost in translation then mrthngyx ;) - my bad. (i have a bad habit of scan reading replies when doing tasks on my other monitor.)

But as mrthingyx states - it's as simple to overclock as any other recent INTEL setups (it's just that some of the terminology has changed.) - so if you have any experience on previous builds you'll be fine.
 
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ok i dont get the above guide... i did this to start with, 1600mhz ram, and 1.4 volts etc and was told the voltage was way too high etc etc, yet it wouldnt be stable with lower voltage, any ideas if going by the custom pc guide as to how i can lower cpu voltage and still get the pc to be stable? (at 4ghz etc)
 
You don't want to be lowering the voltage tbh becuase otherwise there just won't be enough juice .. if anything, leave it on AUTO.

It could be the memory voltage .. you should check the manufacturers web site for recommended settings, including the latency :)
 
^ Ditto.

Also, are you trying to jump straight to 4GHz or have you been gradually working your way up to it?

If it's the former - i would get it stable at your last known clock, that you think is stable, and then stress test it to the n'th degree and then use and abuse it with apps and games for few days.

Get a feel for the sytem at that clock and then work from that base clocks settings - but only go up in small increments until you need to fiddle with settings again.

Repeat process...
 
Sounds far too high vcore settings there, when I phoned up tech support yesterday they told me any voltages above 1.300 is not recommended. As far as I am concerned, you shouldnt need to ever go above 1.350 to get the overclocking you deserve.

As a side note, my i7 used to reach 4.0 fine, but now it is only stable at 3.2, any more and Prime 95 brings up errors. Does this mean anything to anyone, can someone help me out with what it could be?
 
Thanks for all the help guys, sure this will help a few others as well with the same questions.

Another unrelated question is my hot air extraction... I have a noctua fan like many others for the CPU with a another fan venting air out of the rear . Should I use this? Or just let the noctua fire the air out of the case, it seems the other fan runs slower so might block air flow?
 
As long are the fans are blowing air in the same direction then this is fine. Your CPU HSF should blow air into an extraction fan at the rear. Make sure you have a good fresh supply of air coming in from the front bottom :)
 
rexehuk said:
Thanks for all the help guys, sure this will help a few others as well with the same questions.

Another unrelated question is my hot air extraction... I have a noctua fan like many others for the CPU with a another fan venting air out of the rear . Should I use this? Or just let the noctua fire the air out of the case, it seems the other fan runs slower so might block air flow?
Click to expand...

*Sigh*

There are loads of threads about overclocking i7 chips. No, they're not in the same place, but it really isn't that hard.

And I have never trusted a magazine article on overclocking. Much better to refer to online sources like the site W3bbo contributes to, XtremeSystems.org forums, etc.

If you're air-cooling, 1.4V is pretty high. Only ever touch this if your CPU is unstable - start from auto and increase the BCLK until the computer starts failing Prime/Orthos/your favourite game, then increase it by very small increments

. Ironically, too high voltage could make your CPU unstable by virtue of it getting too hot. Read the overclocking sticky at the topic of this sub-forum: it's a great guide as to the principles of overclocking. Follow them, and you really won't have a problem.
 
Hi,
This is really helpful - but still a bit too technical for me. I guess I could just stay with the basic 2.66 i7 - or would anyone happen to know if there is a REALLY simple guide using screenshots/ pictures. Please be patient and don't laugh too much - tying shoelaces used to be hard too! LOL. Thanks for any simpler pointers.
Max
 
I got a rampage 2 extreme myself, but would not want to choose the i7 965 as the CPU in case it gave me some settings that would not be compatible with my i7 920. Once I get some revised settings from rjkoneill my 3.8 (to 4.0 with turbo boost) this setting will be Prime stable
 
Max007 said:
Hi,
This is really helpful - but still a bit too technical for me. I guess I could just stay with the basic 2.66 i7 - or would anyone happen to know if there is a REALLY simple guide using screenshots/ pictures. Please be patient and don't laugh too much - tying shoelaces used to be hard too! LOL. Thanks for any simpler pointers.
Max
Click to expand...


If what mrthingyx wrote is too technical then I would REALLY suggest reading up more on i7 overclocking as he could not of put it any simpler
 
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