Wow... so many settings, so little time

Stevolution

Stevolution

Stevolution

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20 Aug 2012
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150
:eek:

The system is finally up and running, no thanks to Win 7:rolleyes:

Anyway, I have read through the guide to overclocking and its pretty complicated to use non-clever, never overclocked before folk.

I have the following:

Gigabyte Z87X-D3H Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard
MSI HD 7950 Twin Frozr III Boost Edition 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
Intel Core i7-4770K 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor
Patriot Viper "Black Mamba" Generation 3 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-17000C11 2133MHz Dual Channel Kit (PV316G213C1K)

My first question is regarding the memory. In Bios, it is showing memory frequency as 1600Mhz. Surely this should be saying 2133Mhz?
I can't find anywhere in Bios to alter this.

Then, I would really appreciate any guidance on how to overclock the motherboard and graphics card.

I have worked out the the GPU can either be altered using the Catalyst control centre or the MSI Afterburner software. I believe the MSI software allows you to alter the voltage, but the Catalyst doesn't.

I don't want to go extreme and take risks, but it would be nice to ramp the performance up a few notches.

Any guidance gratefully received.

If it helps... Tara (who this rig is basically for) will be draping herself scantily clad over the tower tonight for your viewing pleasure (is that gonna get me banned?)

Steve
 
Stevolution said:
:eek:

The system is finally up and running, no thanks to Win 7:rolleyes:

Anyway, I have read through the guide to overclocking and its pretty complicated to use non-clever, never overclocked before folk.

I have the following:

Gigabyte Z87X-D3H Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard
MSI HD 7950 Twin Frozr III Boost Edition 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
Intel Core i7-4770K 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor
Patriot Viper "Black Mamba" Generation 3 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-17000C11 2133MHz Dual Channel Kit (PV316G213C1K)

My first question is regarding the memory. In Bios, it is showing memory frequency as 1600Mhz. Surely this should be saying 2133Mhz?
I can't find anywhere in Bios to alter this.

Then, I would really appreciate any guidance on how to overclock the motherboard and graphics card.

I have worked out the the GPU can either be altered using the Catalyst control centre or the MSI Afterburner software. I believe the MSI software allows you to alter the voltage, but the Catalyst doesn't.

I don't want to go extreme and take risks, but it would be nice to ramp the performance up a few notches.

Any guidance gratefully received.

If it helps... Tara (who this rig is basically for) will be draping herself scantily clad over the tower tonight for your viewing pleasure (is that gonna get me banned?)

Steve
Click to expand...

Can't help you with the memory question but as to the second one in the parentheses, no pics = ban.
 
Fast RAM usually defaults to 1600MHz for compatibility purposes. You can either set the speed/timings manually (there should be appropriate timings listed on the box or the sticker) in the BIOS, or if your BIOS supports XMP you can try one of those profiles and they should set the correct speed.

XMP is basically like preset settings for your RAM; you have to enable which profile you want to use in the BIOS.

Not sure how wise it is to offer up pics of the Mrs on random internet forums, but to each their own.
 
Not 100% on exatly where it is in the bios for your board, il have a gander later. But their should be some form of xmp profile for your bios to load, on my own board if I highlight the ram setting/speed and hit enter it will load up a selection of predetermined ram speed eg 1600.1333,2133 etc
 
look for spd system memory multiplier

not sure on z87 but it should say something like that in the bios then choose 2133mhz from the pulldown list

or enable x.m.p/profile 1 for your memory if it supports it,x.m.p will set the speed/timing/dram voltage for you
 
Thanks all...

As for the Mrs.... Ha! ... is her idea as a thank you for the advice (see isn't going to be naked and covered in cream or anything.... you should be so lucky)

Still working my way through the madly complicated process of downloading all the free games that came with the graphics card.
 
For a simple, straight forward overclocking guide try googling (not sure if I can post links here): 3 Step Guide to Overclock Your i7 / i5 Haswell Platform
 
My gorgeous gaming wife...

The sign says 'Thanks Overclockers, let the gaming commence....' but I don't think anyone is reading that ;)


Hope the mods don't remove the pic

Oh how we laughed as she scored the case with her wedding ring :rolleyes:

Thanks for help so far and any future assistance.
Steve & Tara
 
Last edited:
Well I altered memory multiplier to 21.33 and it now shows 2133Mhz... so I think that is sorted.

I read the 3 part guide to overclocking your Haswell....

First step... increase your CPU voltage to 1.25v .... and watch it fail to reboot.

That's as far as I got.
I am assuming that Vrin External over-ride is the CPU voltage.
What is CPU Vcore?

I did find on the Gigabyte Motherboard App Centre the 'Smart Quick boost' facility.

I can select medium (4.30Mhz) or extreme (4.50Mhz). Would I not be better off just doing that?
 
CPU Vcore is the voltage you want to set to 1.25V as per the 3 step guide to OC'ing Haswell ... I'm not sure what Vrin External override is, but if that's the external voltage being passed to the CPU then that's a value that has to be at least 0.4v higher than the Vcore setting, and you probably should leave it at default.

Sure, you could fiddle with the "smart quick boost" as well though for best results you still need to work on getting the voltage just right, or your temperatures would probably higher than needed.
 
I completely understand why you'd spend lots of money keeping her entertained indoors while you work away :)

Now all you need to do is move her PC into the kitchen ;)
 
Thought I would update on performance and progress.

Basically, I download the latest version of the Gigabyte Motherboard App Centre and used the 'Smart Quick boost' facility.
Selected 'Extreme' - 4.5Ghz and all seems fine.

Fans running normally.

Tried Tombraider benchmark - maxed out on all settings. At first I was getting 25 FPS.

I turned off V-sync and got really bad screen tearing.
Changed the refresh rate from 25hz to 60hz, it now pulls in a perfect image at 65 FPS - even with the dreaded TressFX turned on.

I am sure there will be tweaks and alterations to come, and I want to try some overclocking without using the preset function. But its great for now.

All in all... pretty damn fine setup

Oh as a side thought (I will try this later)... will I be able to have two copies of Steam on the same PC? - One for Tara and one for me. Pain in the backside having to keep changing screennames and passwords depending on who bought the game.
 
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