Help me get 4GHz stable on my E8500 plz =)

[HD4850]

My 24 hour prime95 stable OC on my Q6600 failed in minutes when running IntelBurnTest. It's a lot more stressful.

 

Well since you're such a nut about stability, then go for CoreDamage:

http://damage.vigilantesoftware.com/

 

Have fun =)

[Waco]

Well since you're such a nut about stability, then go for CoreDamage:

http://damage.vigilantesoftware.com/

 

Have fun =)

IntelBurnTest gets it hotter.

[HD4850]

IntelBurnTest gets it hotter.

I don't think so lol.. the guys at XS tested CoreDamage and it's MUCH hotter than IBT.

 

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=221897

 

 

*EDIT*

New official OC:

E8500 @4.2GHz (526x8) ~1.30v

OCCT 10hrs+ stress test stable!

Screenshot Here

Edited April 27, 2009 by HD4850

[Waco]

I don't think so lol.. the guys at XS tested CoreDamage and it's MUCH hotter than IBT.

I hit 80 C with IBT and only 74 C with CoreDamage. :shrug:

 

 

EDIT: IBT doesn't support hyperthreading, that's why they didn't see higher temps. They all have i7s.

Edited April 27, 2009 by Waco

[wevsspot]

HD,

 

What was the final magic bullet for getting it stable at 4.0ghz?

 

On the subject of stress tests, I think it's fair to say that Orthos, Prime95, OCCT, IBT or core damage will all stress your CPU more than any normal day to day usage or fragging will.

 

Everyone has their own personal favorites when it comes to stress tests.

[HD4850]

Settings for 4.0GHz (501x8):

BIOS: F6

vCore: 1.25V

vtt: 1.28V

PLL: 1.57V

CPU Ref: Auto

Advanced Clock Control: 700mV/700mV/0ps/0ps

MCH Core: 1.30V

MCH Ref: 0.688 (0.65 in ET6)

DRAM Performance Enhance: Standard

DRAM Timings: 6-6-6-18

DRAM Frequency: 1002MHz

DRAM Frequency Strap: 2.00D

DRAM Voltage: 1.9V

DRAM Ref: Auto

PCI-E: 100mhz

Loadline Calibration: Disabled

EIST & C1E: Enabled

Virtualization & Thermal Monitor: Enabled

 

Those are the settings for 4.0GHz. I had EIST & C1E disabled, but I re-enabled them since they don't seem to affect my stability at all while running OCCT. I actually ran OCCT with those settings enabled lol.

 

The trick is to use 8x multiplier, then increase NB voltage & vtt voltage. My motherboard is VERY good and can easily handle over 500fsb with 1.3-1.34V.

Edited April 27, 2009 by HD4850

[RJR]

I've tried that already. Doesn't work.

The problem here is definitely not voltage.. trust me, I've set all sorts of voltages. Played with this thing for a few days now =)

Tried all of them. Raising mch & vtt voltages didn't help.

The trick is to use 8x multiplier, then increase NB voltage & vtt voltage.

 

Oh, what a few days can do.

 

Your pretty good, your giving OCing advise already.

[wevsspot]

HD4850,

 

Thanks for posting up your settings. They may help some other forum member with a similar setup somewhere down the line. Nice that you can run your CPU power saving features and still maintain a stable overclock.

 

The only change I'd recommend at this point is to Enable Loadline Calibration. It will help minimize the voltage spikes and valleys, offering increased stability and possibly prolonging the life of your CPU.

[RJR]

The only change I'd recommend at this point is to Enable Loadline Calibration. It will help minimize the voltage spikes and valleys, offering increased stability and possibly prolonging the life of your CPU.

 

Don't know how accurate this article is but it's interesting reading. If it's true I'm in bad shape because I've done a pencil mod to my board a couple years ago that completely eliminated both vdrop and vdroop. The second page (pg 6) says I'm in bad shape for doing that, but I haven't had any problems yet.

 

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/intel...?i=3184&p=5

[wevsspot]

With no disrespect to Anandtech - I seriously don't ever put a penny on the reliability of the information they provide over there, technical, hardware reviews or otherwise.

 

I believe that a thorough cross referencing on this subject will yield a majority of overclockers who recommend leaving it enabled unless you are doing insane overclocks and voltages.

 

As for me I've tried it both ways with two socket 775 boards while doing reviews. Both reviews were done using the same E8400, memory, power supply, video card etc. - the only difference was the motherboard. One Gigabtye and one Abit board. In both cases OCCT voltage graphs during extended runs of OCCT indicated fewer and less extreme voltage fluctuations during stress testing with Loadline Calibration enabled.

 

Now this doesn't really speak to day to day activities, since OCCT essentially bangs your processor to 100% utilization - nothing that most of us experience in our normal daily computing tasks for an extended period of time.

 

With all of that being said, I'd love for any of the hardcore clockers here at OCC to pipe in with your thoughts. You may change my mind

 

But my final recommendation - until convinced otherwise is to leave it enabled (sans pencil mods of course )

[HD4850]

Finally, let's take one last real-world look at the consequences of removing Vdroop. ASUS' implementation of this feature, labeled as Load Line Calibration and included with their latest line of motherboards, is particularly worthy of our attention for a number of reasons. The first is that setting lower voltages with this option enabled actually results in a condition in which the CPU voltage under load is higher than the idle voltage. Imagine our confusion as we desperately struggle to understand why our system is Prime95 stable for days yet continues to crash under absolutely no load. What's more, in spite of the absence of droop and for reasons unknown, enabling this feature artificially raises our CPU's minimum stable core voltage at 4.0GHz from 1.28V to about 1.33V. As a result, our system uses more power under load than is otherwise necessary. Our efforts to reduce our processor's supply voltage backfired - instead of lowering the system's total power consumption we managed to affect a 20W increase.

 

That's the most important quote about LLC from Anandtech's review.

 

It seems ppl have mixed opinions about it. I've heard on 45nm CPUs, it's better to leave it disabled. Whereas on 65nm, it's safe to enable it.

 

Plus, when you enable it, your idle temps are much higher, so I don't like it.

 

 

My opinion on LLC is as follows: Enable it only if you need it. My crappy VID 1.325 Q6600 CPU needed it for stability lol

[RJR]

As for me I've tried it both ways with two socket 775 boards while doing reviews. Both reviews were done using the same E8400, memory, power supply, video card etc. - the only difference was the motherboard. One Gigabtye and one Abit board. In both cases OCCT voltage graphs during extended runs of OCCT indicated fewer and less extreme voltage fluctuations during stress testing with Loadline Calibration enabled.

 

I can't say one way or another, it doesn't make any difference at all with my board (not the newest), enabled or disabled I get the same exact graph from OCCT. I don't get any voltage ripples at all either way. I'm not prepared to go out and purchase a scope to find out for sure (if someone wants to donate one I'll take it and let everyone know the results).

Edited April 27, 2009 by RJR