Follow up questions to Overclocking guide - Can ne one help?

[FEEDTHEADDICTION]

Hi all,

 

After having read the 1.7 quad core guide (and even checking out other forums on the subject), there is still a lot of concept surrounding overclocking that I cant seem to get a good grasp around.

 

NOTE: my stiker II extreme bios (rev 1202 stable) is a little bit different from the bios used in the guide.

 

First things first, question about voltage:

 

1-When I set my Vcore to a certain value in the bios (leaving all other settings to auto, except for memory which I set to the values suggested by the manufacturer), a cpuid in windows will always give me a vcore .02XXv to .04XXv more than what I set it to. Is there a way of calculating the final vcore value from the one you put in the bios?

The same happens to my memory, I set it to 1.6v, it goes to 1.64v in windows.

 

2-In going through other peoples experience with overclocking a Q9550, I noticed several achieved results superior to 4Ghz. From what I could tell from what it took me to get to 3.89Ghz, they definitely have to go over the 1.41v limit suggested by intel. Some even did so with air cooling. Aside from obvious heat issues, does anything else stand in ones way of raising vcore above intel max specs?

 

3-I would need more details about the PCIE SLOT1&2, Mhz: 100 / PCIE SLOT3, Mhz: 100 / SPP<->MCP Ref Cloc: auto - Cant find this part in the guide... There is similar, but i need to be sure before touching.

 

4-Are the only factors to consider for a stable overclock Vcore and fsb (and memory ratio of course)?? (considering everything else is done properly, like disabling power saving at first, proper boot config, disabling all that needs (vander, spectrum) The guide says to deal with the advanced stuff after a stable oc is attained. Please clarify.

 

5- Some say they had to crank the voltages on their memory, or change the frequency a little to get it stable, please comment.

 

6-When Unlinking my memory (i have 5:4 3:2 or unlinked), My real fsb (i always leave the desired one at 1333 (my memory speed) varies depending on the cpu fsb I try (1833Mhz = 1333mhz ram fsb, but 1834mhz = 1312mhz ram fsb (not exact figues, just gives you an idea). Should I stick with the speeds that give me 1333 fsb? or should I raise my fsb till the actual fsb is properly reflected?

 

7-My board supports 2000(OC) 1800(OC) 1600(OC) 1333 1066 ram, I am using 1333. What would have happenned if I would have gone with 2000mhz ram? I just wouldnt have used to full potential at fsb under 2000? what does this notation mean? why are some values with the (OC)??? is that just to say to cpu with those fsb stock exist???

 

Ill leave it at that for now, but Ill bet anything ill have more very soon.

 

Thanks for your patience and help!!

 

Also, are there courses (university, college, certificate, private) out there specifically about overclocking today's hardware???? Where did you all pick all this info up?

If I am serious about overclocking and want to do it as perfectly as I possibly can, is going through forums and posting questions the best way to go about learning the ropes?

 

CHEERS!

 

 

 

Striker II extreme (790i Ultra)

Q9550 stock 2.83Ghz @ 3.68Ghz

Sunbeam Core contact freezer

Evga 9800GX2 @ 700/1750/1100

Corsair XMS3 XHS 4GB DDR3-1333 9-9-9-24

Vista Ultimate 64-bit

640GB @ 7200rpm

Blu ray read

[cold_snipe]

Well I'm no expert but I'll try and clarify a few things i know.

1. Your motherboard might be overvolting these components. that is, it gives them a bit more voltage then what you assign in the bios. setting your voltage to 0.03 less then desired would be good enough, or fine tune it until you get a value you're happy with in windows

2. It will probably shorten your chip's lifespan. If you don't plan on keeping the chip for years and are SURE your cooling is adequate, then you can play with the volts above intel's max.

3. The pcie slot ones are the frequencies of your pci express slots. should be left at 100. apparently spp <-> mcp is the southbridge to northbridge connection speed and doesn't affect performance, should be left at auto/stock values

4. Nope. Most options in those sections of your bios can help lead to a stable overclock. for example northbridge voltage might have to be raised on certain volts for higher clocks, etc.

5. for some people, giving their memory extra voltage helped run it without errors at frequencies higher then what it's rated at.

6. not sure

7. not sure

 

i doubt there are courses specifically about overclocking, but pretty much any knowledge about computers internally will help you understand what you're doing more

yes, posting questions is a great way! be sure to search the forums quickly for questions like it in the past tho. experimenting with settings in bios (within reasonable limits) can also help. remember that no two systems will overclock the same way~

 

sorry if some of this is incorrect, it probably is. it's 3 am on a friday night.

[Andrewr05]

Every single chip is different, there could be a Q9550 that goes to 4.5Ghz on air and there could be some that barely make it to 3.5Ghz, its a luck of the draw kind of thing...

[owcraftsman]

First off for a novice you have picked a board that is for seasoned veterans hence the EXTREME moniker. I can tell you this board does not like auto settings if you want easy check out an EVGA mobo. The good news is once you master it you've got the finest Nvidia chipset they have to offer. Basic methodology applies when overclocking but you will need to tune in your GTLref voltages to get stable with high (25%+) clocks.

I would be happy to lend you a hand but first I recommend you read and thorough understand the following articles. Then post up your progress with your bios settings complete with any error you my be receiving and I can help from there.

 

http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.aspx?i=3283&p=1

http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/as...ikerii_extreme/

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=180445

http://www.evga.com/forums/tm.asp?m=476249

http://www.thetechrepository.com/showthread.php?t=87

 

Read All before you begin.

[FEEDTHEADDICTION]

Thank you very much for your answers, very helpful!

 

owncraftsman, thanks for the links, im going to go through them right now.

I will post my progress after I have read up.

 

Thanks again.

[Verran]

1: This is very common with voltages. For one thing, voltages can vary. The better the power supply, the less the variance (at least in theory). But to a certain extent, software measurements will almost always be different from BIOS settings. Everyone has their own tactic, but for me I go by what I tell the BIOS to run and not what software says. Some people get out their multi-meters and measure the voltage on the board terminals. That's fine for them, but then you really can't compare to other peoples' voltages unless they've done the same thing.

 

2: Lots of people go over the recommended voltage.

 

 

3: I dunno.

 

4: There are TONS more settings, but I recommend sticking to vCore and FSB first, and then learning a few more at a time if you want to. You can get pretty darn far with just vCore and FSB. That's pretty much all I use (shhh, don't tell anyone ). A lot of people have been pretty impressed with my clocks on my E7400 and I pretty much just used those two settings and set the memory to 1:1.

 

5: Yes, you need to keep an eye on your memory because raising FSB will raise memory speed. If they get too far out of spec, they'll be unstable. I always recommend setting it to 1:1 when you're overclocking. Just keep it low and make sure you're using recommended voltages and timings. Keep the memory as low and simple as possible until you find the max for your chip. Then once you know that, you can dial in the memory more specifically if you want (raise multiplier, tighten timings, lower voltages).

 

6: See answer for #5.

 

7: Higher rated memory just lets you run your FSB higher without worrying about it. It works both ways though. If you have a chip that you know won't go over 400FSB, then it makes sense to buy DDR2-800 because it's rated speed is 400FSB and it will have tight timings because it's lower speed. Putting DDR2-1066 on that same chip won't hurt anything, but it'll still be stuck at 400FSB but just have worse timings. So ultimately, the faster ram makes things a little slower. But if you've got a chip that's going to go well over 400FSB, then DDR2-800 probably isn't the right choice because you're going to need to go faster than that. At that point, it's worth getting DDR2-1066 with worse timings because it allows you to go much higher in FSB without worrying about whether the RAM can take it.

 

College courses about overclocking? I somewhat doubt it, but you never know I guess

[ccokeman]

Also as a follow up. Running linked and synced offer the highest possible level of performance with that board.

[FEEDTHEADDICTION]

So technically, if I want the meanest most stable OC, I have to get faster memory? Or should I overclock my memory clock (against advice given in guide)???

 

I also noticed that, when set in auto, my memory is juiced with 1.84v, corsair recommends 1.60v. Is that bad? Or should I send my ram more Vs if Im OCing?

[owcraftsman]

L&S on this board is 2:1 and remember it's DDR3 memory

 

I & many others recommend Linked and Sync for best overall performance.

 

For example a QDR of 1600 or FSB 400 L&S will run your memory @ 1600 effective, but 800 actual.

 

Edit: I didn't see your post

 

Short answer Yes faster memory I recommend 1600 minimum with your CPU.

 

Most memory will/should run without over volts when running at rated specs. Only If over clocking the memory would you need additional volts.

 

The Asus S2E as you are well aware overvolts which is a good thing especially when Overclocking

My memory for example is rated to run between 1.8 and 1.9 and is running perfectly well at 1.76v set in bios reporting 1.8 in windows.

Edited March 8, 2009 by owcraftsman

[FEEDTHEADDICTION]

Can memory (DDR3 in general) be run at any frequency within its rating and perform at the desired level.

 

i.e.: I decide to install DDR3-2000Mhz but chose to run it only at my desired overclock fsb of 1866, what should I expect? Can I link and sync it @ 1866?

 

 

Another totaly unrelated question:

 

When running my 1333 unlinked, at most cpu fsb i input, the actual frequency drops of my memory varies from 1310ish to 1334mhz, what is the best way to correct this? setting mem freq higher till it balances? or simply chosing the fsb frequencies that pull a match (1733 1778 1833 2000 perhaps others)