Hi flibby.
I had read about C1E/EIST in the interim but I still have many questions.
Would there be a chance to communicate via email with you?
Do you use SKYPE?
Unfortunately I do not use Skype, and only browse this forum and sometimes on IRC.
1) Speedfan and CoreTemp are giving me differing readings for the temps of the 4 cores. Why could this be?
Not sure which you mean by this, so I'll explain both.
If you mean that CoreTemp and SpeedFan are reporting difference temperatures it's normally because SpeedFan doesn't report them correctly and sometimes reports them up to 15c below what they should be. Wherever possible, I would advise using CoreTemp instead of SpeedFan because CoreTemp normally always reports to the temperatures of the cores correctly. If you mean that the core temperatures themselves are different, it's always normally down the IHS (Integrated Heat Spreader) on the CPU which is never perfectly flat - therefore some cores get more contact with the heatsink that others do. This is a very common issue however and nothing to worry about so long as the cores are not more than 10c difference, over that then it would probably indiciate that the IHS is very uneven. Whilst it wouldn't cause issues with the running of the machine, it would limit the overclock unless you lapped the top of the processor to make it more flat.
2) I upped the clock to 333, leaving the multiplier at x9 to get my 3GHz without changing anything else. It wouldn't boot. Is this because I need to up some voltages?
Will answer this one last, so see the bottom of the post for a more detailed response.
3) You say it is better to make changes in the BIOS rather than using an Overclocking applications such as uGuru but due to some indifferences with the iX38 Quad-GT it is sometimes necessary to clear the CMOS after a crash has occured due to an overclock failing. Would it be possible to "try" thing in uGuru and if they work then make them permanent in the BIOS?
I'm not 100% sure how uGuru from Windows works to be honest. Whilst I have looked at it, I'm not sure if the settings it makes are applied directly to the BIOS so the next time you reboot they are in effect, or whether it just changes them when you enter Windows. I would still however use the BIOS for changing stuff. You could try the overclock from the uGuru, but really it won't help much because you could get an overclock seemingly stable in Windows but when you reboot it might not boot properly and you'd have to reset the CMOS anyway.
4) Am I correct in thinking that uGuru (which starts at bootup) "temporarily" applies the selected settings to the hardware? i.e. it applies any modifications to the standard BIOS settings each and every time it starts up?
As mentioned I'm not sure if it loads the settings when the computer starts or if it directly adjusts the BIOS from the Windows program.
5) If I select "Turbo mode" in uGuru it makes the following changes (from and to). Please can you explain them?......
ExtClk: 272 > 293
Target Voltage: 1.3 > 1.45 (CPU VID remains at 1.3_Auto)
CPU Offset: 0.000 > 0.150
CPU VTT: 1.00 > 1.27
MCH 1.25: 1.25 > 1.37
ICH 1.05: 1.05 > 1.12
ICHIO 1.5: 1.50 > 1.60
Turbo mode is just like a built in overclock setting that the manufacturer has made, although normally they are well over the settings they should be at. Those settings mean:
Target Voltage: This is the CPU voltage
CPU Offset: I'm told this to help combat vdroop
CPU VTT: This is the voltage for the CPU FSB from the CPU to the Northbridge
MCH 1.25: This is the Northbridge voltage
ICH 1.05: This is the Southbridge voltage
ICHIO 1.5: This is the Intel IO Hub Controller voltage
6) There appear to be so many modifications when selecting "Turbo mode". Would I be correct in thinking that all of these would need modifying in an attempt to get to 3GHz?
Lots of the settings that it changes don't need to be changed, BIOS turbo modes and "auto" settings tend to go a bit mad with the voltages and changing settings.
7) Which applications should I use to monitor my core temps and load my CPU to check it under load?
Use CoreTemp to monitor the temperatures for the cores, it's the best program. If you want to properly load the cores to test stability then use the Quad version of Prime95 which is the best program for that type.
8) Once I am happy with my CPU at 3GHz would it be a simple task to get my RAM performing at 1066? How would this be achieved?
Yes this would be the best idea. I would underclock the RAM and just work on the CPU to 3Ghz, then once you have the CPU stable, work on getting the RAM back to stock. This eliminates any problem with the RAM causing issues with your overclock. See below on how the best way to do this is.
Okay in response to No. 2 and a little of No. 8....
Try the following:
1. Go into "Advanced BIOS Features", then into "CPU Feature" and disable: "C1E Function" and "EIST Function" --- This turns off Speedstep, we are doing this so you eliminate any problems with instability caused by Speedstep reducing the vcore when the CPU is idle.
2. Go into the "uGuru Utility" and change the following:
CPU Operating Speed: User Defined
External Clock: 266 Mhz *** Note: This is 266 Mhz on purpose ***
Multiplying Factor: X 9
DRAM Speed (CPU : DRAM) -> 1:1.20
PCI Express Clock: 100 Mhz
3. Then go back to the main BIOS selection pages and go into "Advanced Chipset Features" and set the timings of the RAM (it's the first option) to "By SPD" if you have them on manual.
4. Go back into the uGuru Utility and then go into the Voltage Control and set these options:
CPU Core Voltage: 1.3500v
DDR2 Voltage: 2.1v
CPU VTT Voltage: 1.2v
MCH 1.25v Voltage: 1.33v
ICH 1.05v Voltage: 1.15v
ICHIO 1.50v Voltage: 1.55v
When you have changed all those options, save and exit the BIOS and if the machine restarts, boot into Windows and make sure you don't get any restarts. When you are in Windows, just restart the machine and go back into the BIOS. When you are back into the BIOS, go into the "uGuru Utility" and change the "External Clock" to 334 Mhz (note: 334, not 333). Then save and exit and hopefully the machine should restart normally and you should get into Windows. What you want to do from here is immediately check the temperatures of the CPU using Core Temp. Then if all looks swell, run Prime95 for 8hrs+ to ensure stability and after that it's just a case of getting the RAM back to what you want it at (i.e 1000 - 1066 Mhz).
Let me know how you get on!
RAM ratio
