OC FIRST TIME

[Foozle]

Hey guys,

 

First of all great site you got here, pretty much my go to for all reviews and tech support i have ever needed

 

Just wondering if i could get some help with overclocking my i7.

 

I just recently built myself a new computer, im pretty computer literate and work with a technology company, so it shouldnt be too hard to teach me. But basically i know nothing, none of the programs you need, nothing about what voltages to use or how to tell if i have gone to far or anything like that. This is completely my first time in delving into this so im going to need help from the beggining of the proccess

 

My CPU is an i7 920 currently running at the stock 2.8Ghz with turboboost on.

My motherboard is a MSI X58 Pro-E

 

Let me know if you need any other specs and i can post them up, but yeh, really just looking for a rough guide, what programs i need, where to start, what to look for and all that jazz.

 

Thanks in advance guys.

 

Oh and as an afterthought i was kinda hoping i could push it to 4Ghz but if not then as close as possible to that. My cooling is good, i am not using the stock cooler and my case has alright airflow.

[sack_patrol]

Alrighty... first thing you'll need for any overclock, is a new cooler because the stock cooler that comes with the CPU does nothing more than keep your CPU alive. Going up to 4GHZ without any high end cooling solution is extremely lucky, and even if you do get a badazz cooler, you still might not be able to reach 4GHz simply because the CPU can't do it. So the first thing you need to know about overclocking is that every single CPU will overclock differently. You might be able to overclock to 4Ghz, and your friend that got the same exact CPU might not even be able to raize it to 3GHz.

 

I'll leave it to someone else to suggest coolers for you because I'm not that good with Intel.

 

Next, you'll need a handful of software for testing and info.

CPU-Z for all your system info. Very helpful and every overclocker must have this downloaded on their machine.

HWMonitor another info showing program, only this one has more voltages info than CPU-Z so it can be helpful too.

Lavalys Everest Another program that shows info but it's much more detailed. It also shows things like fan speed on probably all the fans you've connected to your system, shows temps on anything that has a temp sensor in your system and has some small benchmark utilities that show how your CPU is doing compared to all the other CPUs.

OCCT is a stress testing utility that... well stresses your CPU. When you overclock, you run this to see if the overclock is stable. It should be ran for about 30min after each overclock you perform, and when you've decided that you've reached the end of the overclocking and want to settle with what you've got, you run this for 12 hours minimum. If it passes - you're solid, if not, adjust your overclock.

Prime95 is another stress testing utility which works just as well as OCCT... it's personal preference when it comes to the question of which program to use. Some people use both, just to be sure.

Intel Burn Test is yet another stress tester... stresses CPU...bla bla bla.

LinX is the last stress testing utility that I know of. Same as all the others... use which ever u want or use a few to be extra sure.

Just don't run two stress testers at the same time cuz if nothing elese...it could mess up your system.

 

Now, the way you want to actually overclock the CPU goes like this: First of all, you want to overclock using your BIOS because it's simply the best way to do it, and the safest. You should know that no matter what you do, and even if something goes wrong, the WORST thing that will happen is that your computer wont post which means that you won't be able to enter Windows or whatever your OS is. The way to fix this is to simply reset the CMOS and everything will be back to normal. All this to say that, it's really hard to harm your hardware so don't be scared.

For Intel CPUs, the way to overclock is to increase the Bus Speed which should be set to 200Mhz by default. By increasing this you get higher Ghz aka cpu speed. if you want to calculate the speed it goes like this: Bus Speed x Multiplier = CPU speed in Mhz. For example: 200x15.5=3100Mhz. This is the speed of my CPU on default. So if I raise the Bus to let's say 210, this will happen: 210x15.5=3255Mhz. So, I've just overclocked my cpu with 155 Mhz. That's basically it for the beginners.

When you overclock, you'll sooner or later hit a wall where your PC won't post, this means that you need to raise the Voltage a bit. To do that, just find the CPU voltage settings in your BIOS. It will be different for every Motherboard Brand so in order to be sure, just ask... surely someone with the same model will help you out.

So you increase the voltage, and you continue overclocking. Make sure you overclock bit by bit, you don't want to just to 4Ghz from 2.8 cuz that will fry your stuff. Do little overclocks and after each, go into the OS and test with one of the stress testers. If all is good, go back to the BIOS and push a bit more. Also make sure to always monitor your temperatures. You don't want to go above 60C...even that might be high but I'm not sure because I use AMD but in any case 60C is pretty damn hot so watch it.

 

This is the basics of overclocking... if you have questions, just ask... OCC will help.

[Foozle]

Thank you ballist1x that reply really is a testament to the quality of users that this forum has, thank both for the time it must have taken to type that out and the knowledge you have imparted, i have taken it all on board and will get started bit by bit on my days off.

 

If anyone else has any input, for example they have the same motherboard as me and want to let me know where in the bios i should go for these settings, or just has something to add please still feel free to do so

 

Just by the way, i do have another cooler in there, not the stock, its this one here: http://www.fierysource.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/thermaltake_contact_29_multi_socket_cooler.jpg called the contac 29, if anyone is using this or knows of its performance or reckons i need a better one that would be a great help so post up your opinion

 

Thanks again ballist1x mate, its really appreciated!

[Foozle]

Oh just downloaded CPU-Z and realised my original post was wrong, its actually a 930 CPU not a 920, sorry about that.

 

I actually just encountered a problem when using the OCCT test, as soon as it starts the test, so after the 1 minute monitor period, the temperature shoots up to almost 90 degrees celcius and then the test cuts out, i turned up the cut off temperature in OCCT just to see if it was an initial spike and its not, it stays at just under 90.

 

This cant be right can it? I mean even with the stock cooler you would get lower temps than that and i have a better one in there, its running fine, BIOS had it at just over 2000 revs i think. What could be the problem?

[Foozle]

Sorry to keep posting one after the other, i should really edit my previous posts but the questions are kinda separate, of its a big issue i will edit in the future.

 

I realise that everyone's system is different, but i found some settings in a step by step guide from someone who has the exact same motherboard as me and was wondering if i could get peoples opinion on them, whether they thought they looked alright.

 

1. On the mobo, (with the system TURNED OFF!) manually set the Hardware Overclock Base clock Switch: CPU_CLK1 to use 200 (Up,Dn,Up), other settings were 133 (default) and 166.

 

2. Turn on the system and get into the BIOS to set the following:

 

****NOTE - If it isn't listed, I didn't change it... leave it alone!*****

 

3. Advanced BIOS Features | CPU Feature | Hyper-Threading Function - Enabled

 

4. Advanced BIOS Features | CPU Feature | Execute Bit Support - Disabled

 

5. Advanced BIOS Features | CPU Feature | C1E Support - Disabled

 

6. Advanced BIOS Features | CPU Feature | Overspeed Protection - Disabled

 

7. Advanced BIOS Features | CPU Feature | Intel Virtualization Tech - Disabled

 

8. Advanced BIOS Features | Chipset Feature | HPET - Enabled.

 

9. Green Power | CPU Phase Control - Disabled

 

10. Cell Menu | Intel EIST - Disabled

 

11. Cell Menu | Intel C-STATE tech - Disabled

 

12. Cell Menu | Base Clock (MHz) - 200

 

13. Cell Menu | Adjust CPU Ratio - 21

 

14. Cell Menu | QPI Configuration | QPI Links Speed - High-Speed Mode

 

15. Cell Menu | QPI Configuration | QPI Frequency - Auto

 

16. Cell Menu | Advance DRAM Configuration | 1N/2N Memory Timing - 1N

 

17. Cell Menu | Advance DRAM Configuration | CAS Latency(CL) - 9

 

18. Cell Menu | Advance DRAM Configuration | tRCD - 9 DRAM Clocks

 

19. Cell Menu | Advance DRAM Configuration | tRP - 9 DRAM Clocks

 

20. Cell Menu | Advance DRAM Configuration | tRAS - 24 DRAM Clocks

 

21. Cell Menu | Advance DRAM Configuration | Advanced Memory Setting - AUTO

 

22. Cell Menu | Extreme Memory Profile - Disabled

 

23. Cell Menu | Memory Ratio - 4

 

24. Cell Menu | Uncore Ratio - 8

 

25. Cell Menu | CPU Voltage (V) - +0.240 *****(this you can play with reducing or increasing after you get a stable boot, but this should put your Vcore to just under 1.5 V)

 

26. Cell Menu | CPU PLL Voltage (V) - 1.88

 

27. Cell Menu | QPI Voltage (V) - 1.25

 

28. Cell Menu | DRAM Voltage (V) - 1.65

 

29. Cell Menu | All remaining Voltages - Auto

 

30. Cell Menu | Spread Spectrum - Disabled

 

31. Save & Exit

 

 

Also i am kind of stumped with all this talk about RAM, what does overclocking the CPU do to your RAM and what do you need to watch out for? Im running 6GB of G-Skill DDR3 RAM at 2100MHz.

 

Thanks in advance for any replies about anything i posted tonight, will check back at end of work tomorrow!

[sack_patrol]

First of all: Your cooler seems decent enough to keep your CPU cool, even with an overclock. This means that there is either a sensor problem meaning that it's not actually 90C, or that there is a problem with the heatsink. This could be caused by a bad positioning of the cooler, or by not applying the thermal paste properly. You should know that the thermal paste is important too for keeping the CPU's temperatures low. Also, every time that for any reason, a heatsink has to be removed from the CPU and put on again be it a new cooler or whatever, ALWAYS reapply the thermal paste. It should be a thin, equally spread layer. Then the cooler goes on top. So I'd suggest that you check your cooler and it's placement... make sure it's placed well and also remember if you put thermal paste when you were changing it. Or if it wasn't you who put the cooler, the you should probably take it off and get some nice Arctic Silver 5 Paste and put some. Sometimes the people at the shops do a sloppy job of putting the paste or they don't put enough, or they put too much.

 

Second: Since all systems are different, I'd wait for someone to approve of those BIOS settings before you copy paste them since they might not apply directly to your case and could cause more problems that actually help. What you could do until then is just poke around in your BIOS and learn them...know what is what. Also, a good thing to do is to change all the values that are set to "Default" to their real value. I personally prefer to see exact numbers when I go in the BIOS, rather than "Default". At first it might be difficult with all those things that are different that what you imagined them to be, but it'll clear up the more time you spend tweaking.

 

And Finally: The RAM is also an important part of overclocking the CPU since it is connected with it in a way that I don't exactly know. The DRAM settings you see in the BIOS above are the RAM timings which could be different than your if your RAM is different than the one of the poster of the BIOS. You can check your RAM timings with CPU-Z in the "Memory" tab. What you'll be looking for is:

CAS# Latency (CL)

RAS# to CAS# Delay (tRCD)

RAS# Precharge (tRP)

Cycle Time (tRAS)

Those also correspond to the values you see in the BIOS but when changing those make sure you are changing the right thing because sometimes they can be shown in a different order...I think on my mobo that is the case with 2 values which I don't remember right now. Anyways..it's nothing to worry about.

The connection that the RAM has with the CPU is that the RAM can bottlenekc the CPU's ability to overclock meaning that it will overclock less because of the RAM while it has more potential. Sometimes tighening the RAM timings (tighten=smaller values), or loosening them (loosen=bigger values) increases the CPU's overclockability but this is at the later stages of the overclock when simply adding more voltage to the CPU doesn't help anymore for a higher overclock, and new things come into play so don't worry about the RAM just yet.

[Nyt]

Just wanted to add to ballist1x's post , be very careful with artic silver 5 paste if you are applying it yourself or if someone inexperienced in a store is applying it as it is highly conductive for electricity and will short out your mobo if it touches it . If you dont want to take that risk then get some Coolermaster Nano Fusion paste as it is doesn't conduct electricity and is only one degree celsius hotter than artic silver 5 . I've used Nanofusion and havent had any problems .

[sack_patrol]

Just wanted to add to ballist1x's post , be very careful with artic silver 5 paste if you are applying it yourself or if someone inexperienced in a store is applying it as it is highly conductive for electricity and will short out your mobo if it touches it . If you dont want to take that risk then get some Coolermaster Nano Fusion paste as it is doesn't conduct electricity and is only one degree celsius hotter than artic silver 5 . I've used Nanofusion and havent had any problems .

or he can apply the paste on the cpu before putting in on the mobo. Just put in on the plastic box it came with and when he puts the paste he can just grab the chip by the sides of the actual chip (where it's pointy) and drop it on the mobo. Done deal.

[Drdeath]

Just raising the Bus (Bclock) is not the best way to overclock your CPU. The 920's love 19X for multi so that is best to use. Ballistics recommended do not go over 60. A very acceptable temps to keep it under load is 75 degrees celcius. I tend to push higher but all overclockers on the i7 920 will say 75 and under your good to go.

[Foozle]

thanks for the replies guys, also just keep in mind i made a mistake in my first post, i have a 930 not a 920.

 

I will try altering all those settings away from auto when i get the chance, probly tomorrow or the day after when i am off work.

 

In the mean time is there any way for me to rule out those ridiculous temperatures being a sensor issue? Because if they are not i have a real problem here.

 

Many thanks again,

[sack_patrol]

thanks for the replies guys, also just keep in mind i made a mistake in my first post, i have a 930 not a 920.

 

I will try altering all those settings away from auto when i get the chance, probly tomorrow or the day after when i am off work.

 

In the mean time is there any way for me to rule out those ridiculous temperatures being a sensor issue? Because if they are not i have a real problem here.

 

Many thanks again,

The only way is to have one of those digital infrared thermometers that you point onto something and it shows you the temperature in real time. No other way that I know off.

You could also go into the BIOS and normaly there should be place wheres all the temperatures are shown along with set voltages n stuff... so you can check there, just to be sure that there isn't an issue with the programs that show you the temp. In the BIOS the readings are always 100% correct.

[Foozle]

Ok so i got some Arctic Silver 5, when i applied it i made sure it was a thin layer spread evenly over the CPU and my temepratures are still WAY WAYY too high. Take a look at the screenshot, and this is at 1600MHz cos of a low multiplier, 12x, so not only idle, but idle at lower than the stock speed. It must be a sensor problem? But the sensors seem to work fine, the temp goes up when i stress it, all be it they go to 90 degrees plus.

 

I have no idea what to do, but i defs cant start to overclock with these temperatures!

 

Any help would be much appreciated