Oc Voltage Question/issue

[king21092]

All my rig information is in my Xfire profile, parts of it are in my sig.

 

My issue started with me being unable to O.C. my memory to the 2000MHz rated speeds. The pictures uploaded below show all my current BIOS changes related to O.C. the memory/CPU. I have since fixed that problem, thanks to another tech forum which I obviously am not supposed to be mentioning. The information I received was that I should increase the QPI Voltage to 1.65v since it wasn't high enough. Magically, that worked, but the downside to the voltage increase is that Google, and other posts on this forum, lead me to believe that 1.65v for QPI is extremely high. TurboV, a program supplied by ASUS for BIOS changes only allows for the QPI voltage to be set top 1.7v max. When I try to lower the QPI voltage to 1.60v or lower I get the BSOD or instant restart at moderately high CPU usage (stress test).

 

So now, I'm happy that my system is finally running smooth with my memory set to it's rated speeds and my i7 920 O.C. slightly. Again, the downside to all this joyful celebration is that my system QPI voltage is set, way too high!

 

I've heard in many places that OverclockersClub is a trusted source for knowledge on overclocking. So I'm now turning here in efforts to see if I can lower the QPI some way, some how, probably meaning other settings will have to be traded off.

 

Anyway, thanks for reading my post and to any responses ahead of time.

 

~King

[sack_patrol]

I've heard in many places that OverclockersClub is a trusted source for knowledge on overclocking.

You got that right buddy.

 

If I understood correctly your voltage used to be 1.60 then u changed to 1.65 and that worked but now the problem is too high but you can't get it back to 1.60. What I'd suggest is that your clear your CMOS and redo your overclock using only the BIOS. It's not very wise to use programs to modify the BIOS. Before doing that, make sure that your current votage is in fact too high...maybe the information you got was wrong and you'd be wasting your time. Although the issue to why you wouldn't be able to go back to your 1.60 setting remains. I'll make a guess and say that it has something to do with the whole overclock all all the settings together.

[RJR]

Well, I'm not really a die-hard Intel spec kinda guy, but, your VTT at 1.65v is .30v over the Intel max spec. I run my QPI/VTT on my 1156 platform over the Intel spec (that is crazy low at 1.21v) over a little bit at 1.29v so it's only .08v over and I'm sure there are a lot of people with 9xx series running between 1.4-1.7v. It's completely up to you as long as you know the risks and are willing to take them. I personally know you won't see any difference between say 1800 and 2000 ram speed, but if you want to run it at 2000 and are willing to take the risk it's your computer. You could also try and loosen up your timings a little to run it at 2000 with less VTT voltage, like 10-10-10-28.

[ccokeman]

1.65 is going to be to high for daily use as you will kill your memory controller earlier than it should have to die with long term use.

 

Is your chip a CO or DO stepping !

 

 

First off set your overclocking to Manual instead of XMP and manually set the parameters for your system. Turn off C1E and EIST set your vltages manually

 

Set your timings manually as well.

 

Set them to this 9-9-9-24 auto-72-auto-8-auto-auto 1n Memory to 1.65 v to 1.7v Qpi starting around 1.25 and moving up. If you have an older CO stepping you may need 1.45V to 1.65 to get there but start lower and work your way up manually. My DO 920 only needs 1.30 to get to 2000Mhz

[king21092]

First I figured I would put up what G.Skill suggests for the timings on their website.

Ai Overclock Tuner - Manual

CPU Ratio Setting - 16

Intel SpeedStep Tech - Disabled

BCLK Frequency - 200

DRAM Frequency - DDR3-2000

UCLK Frequency - 4000MHz

QPI Link Data Rate - AUTO

 

DRAM Timing Control

CAS Latency - 9

tRCD - 9

tRP - 9

tRAS - 24

Command Rate - 2N

 

CPU Voltage - 1.30V

CPU PLL Voltage - 1.85V

QPI/DRAM Core Voltage - 1.50V

IOH Voltage - 1.35V

IOH PCIE Voltage - 1.6V

ICH Voltage - 1.20V

ICH PCIE Voltage - 1.60V

DRAM Bus Voltage - 1.66V

 

Load Line Calibration - Disabled

 

Ok, to clarify a bit more as I probably mixed things up in my first post.

 

I do everything through the BIOS, I only use the TurboV program to check myself and see what the "max" setting is. The program said the max setting was 1.7v, which is just another source that pointed me to thinking that 1.65v is extremely high.

 

The revision on my i7 920 is D0, so O.C. should be easier, so I hear.

 

Back to the QPI voltage. The only times I ever manually set the QPI voltage was when I followed the exact specifications from the G.Skill website (also at the top of this post). The other time I set the voltage was when the sources from another tech forum said that it needed to be bumped to 1.65v. I did however try to change it to 1.5, 1.55, and 1.6 with all failing an OCCT test or just crashing on the spot. Ballistic1x, I don't even know what it set them to on auto, all I know is it wouldn't post on auto, as well as there was no "used to be voltage" it was always set on "auto." Note that I changed them with the Turbov, which I haven't ever had a problem with. I used (back when I was the experimental type and wanted to learn on my own) it to modify CPU voltage and BCLK frequency just fine.

 

With lowering the timings, I would much rather run them at rated specs for better performance, but dropping the speed to around 1850 wouldn't hurt. I bought them for performance, so I kind of want to get my moneys worth... otherwise why not just other memory for cheaper at lower values.

 

Also, I've spent hours with phone support from Asus and G.Skill, since it's their board and their memory, with no success. The phone support is ridiculous, they hire monkeys, give them a phone, teach them to pick it up and put it down, and then they expect monkeys to provide answers, it's a joke.

 

If it isn't obvious, I absolutely know jack and squat on how to overclock this new architecture, lol.

 

Last thing last, 'Ccokeman' what is "C1E and EIST?"

 

CPUz current settings are 9-9-9-24-98-1t (I'm pretty sure I have it set to 3N in BIOS).

Here is CPUz and the details it provides. Hopefully it may help somehow. http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=1230526

 

On another note, what's the different between the BIOS settings at 1N, 2N, 3N, while most programs show 1T, 2T, and 3T?

 

I will try settings the voltages manually and post back probably tomorrow morning.

 

Once again, thanks for any tips that are shared. I appreciate them all and it shows the kindness of people online willing to spend time to fix another persons problems.

 

~King

[RJR]

With lowering the timings, I would much rather run them at rated specs for better performance, but dropping the speed to around 1850 wouldn't hurt. I bought them for performance, so I kind of want to get my moneys worth... otherwise why not just other memory for cheaper at lower values.

I understand your point about buying cheaper ram, but the thing you have overlooked is that the higher speed ram will give you very little (won't even be noticeable under normal usage) performance gain over lower speed DDR3 ram.HERE is an article about ram and a reference article about memory scaling. You will have a noticeable speed boost by OCing your CPU a little farther, say 3.4-3.6Ghz and lowering your ram to 1600-1800 Mhz. Your 2000 Mhz ram gives you many more options when OCing at various Bclk frequencies, that is the reason most people buy the higher frequency ram.

[Nicckko]

Hello and Welcome,

 

Remember to stay between limits that Intel recommends. 1.6 v on your QPI would produce tons of heat and probably fry the memory controller on your CPU, its way beyond the limits for 24/7 use.

 

Your QPI and Vcore should stay below 1.35 v. Also, the difference between your QPI and Dram voltage should be less than 0.5 v.

 

Take a look at this post:

 

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=207972

 

 

These are my BIOS settings, I think they might be helpful ... I don't like to leave things on AUTO.

 

Here the CPU is running at 4011 MHz, on 19 x 211. By some weird reason on the 19 x multiplier the CPU seems to overclock better, even do the ram is running at higher speeds.

 

For 20 x 200 I need more voltage on Vcore and QPI, 1.26875 exactly.

 

With those settings it is stable on LinX 20 passes max memory usage. As well as OCCT.

 

Asus Rampage II Gene

 

Bios Version - 1033

 

Tuning Mode - Extreme OC

AI Overclock Tuner - Manual

OC From CPU Level Up - Auto

OC From Memory Level Up - Auto

CPU Ratio Settings - 19

CPU Turbo Power Limit - Disabled

 

Ratio Status: (Min:12, Max:21)

 

CPU Ratio Setting - 19

C1E Support - Enabled

Hardware Prefetcher - Enabled

Adjacent Cache Line Prefetcher - Enabled

Intel Virtualization Tech - Enabled

CPU TM Function - Enabled

Execute Disabled Bit - Enabled

Intel HT Technology - Enabled

Active Processor Cores - All

A20M - Disabled

Intel Speedstep Tech - Disabled

Intel C-STATE Tech - Disabled

 

BCLK Frequency - 211

PCIE Fequency - 100

DRAM Frequency - Auto

UCLK Frequency - Auto

QPI Link Data Rate - Auto

 

Dram Timing Control: Auto

CPU Load-Line Calibration - Auto

CPU Differential Amplitude - Auto

NB OCP - Auto

DRAM OCP - Auto

Extreme OV - Disabled

CPU Voltage Control - Absolute VID

CPU Voltage - 1.25000

CPU PLL Voltage - 1.82917

QPI-Dram Voltage - 1.25000

 

IOH Voltage - 1.16641

IOH PCIE Voltage - 1.51106

ICH Voltage- 1.11341

ICH PCIE voltage - 1.51106

 

DRAM Bus Voltage - 1.63031

 

Debug Mode - String

Keyboard TweakIt Control - Disabled

 

CPU Spread Spectrum - Auto

PCIE Spectrum - Auto

CPU Clock Skew - Auto

IOH Clock Skew - Auto

[ebarone]

Something looks off... the SPD reported in your BIOS (and the newegg specs for your RAM) say that the memory should consume 1.60V, but you have it set to 1.66V under "DRAM Bus Voltage"... have you tried setting them both to 1.6?

[king21092]

Something looks off... the SPD reported in your BIOS (and the newegg specs for your RAM) say that the memory should consume 1.60V, but you have it set to 1.66V under "DRAM Bus Voltage"... have you tried setting them both to 1.6?

The only reason I am using 1.66v is that's what G.Skill's website says. Guess I shouldn't believe a company that makes great products but absolutely fails with tech support.