Overclocking on the MSI P67A-GD65 (B3)

El_Capitan · April 3, 2011

Note: I'm trying out new things for stability, so I'll be editing this frequently. Scroll to the bottom if you want to find the good stable settings to use.

In comparison, overclocking on the ASUS P8P67 Deluxe was a breeze. However, for $80 less, the MSI P67A-GD65 brings a lot to the table. However, I'm not going to go in depth with a review, but am going to share my findings.

There's been many known issues in forums regarding the 0x0000124 Blue Screen of Death issue attributed to high voltages for overclocks not being met for idle sessions. I experienced this problem, and spent many hours trying to figure it out. So far I'm lucky, as none of the forums have seemed to have an answer besides a few at the MSI forums. What happens is, even though the system may be stable running Prime95 Blend tests, when you are running the system with the CPU idle and then decide to do a simple task like open a web browser, you get the BSOD. It makes it difficult to troubleshoot, since it's pretty random.

My goal was trying to attain a stable 4.6GHz overclock. In comparison, I was able to reach a stable 4.6GHz on the ASUS P8P67 Deluxe at a +.005 offset in the BIOS, with Vcore fluctuation readings in CPU-Z from 1.360V - 1.368V.

Initial Failed Attempts due to idle BSOD issue

First off, I updated the BIOS to version 1.9.

I then ran CHKDSK on my SSD.

I then booted into Windows and reboot.

I then booted into Windows and installed all the drivers found here: http://www.msi.com/product/mb/P67A-GD65--B3-.html.

My latest Intel Matrix Storage Manager Driver Version 10.1.0.1008 was not able to be installed, there was an error. Therefore, I had to settle for version 8.9.0.1023.

I then re-installed my graphic drivers.

Once all my drivers and software was updated, I rebooted and began to set my overclock settings.

In the UEFI BIOS, I went to Green Power and Disabled EuP 2013, CPU Phase Control, and C1E Support (due to issue of voltage not dropping when idle/low load).

Finally, I started my overclock. This was my final settings for a stable 4.6GHz overclock. There's high CPU Core Voltage mainly due to the idle BSOD issue. Notice the higher Current CPU Core Voltage, lower Current DRAM Voltage, and lower Current SA Voltage.

I then set my Advanced DRAM Timings.

Then I finish my setup by going into CPU Features.

Enable Execute Disable Bit, and I enable Intel Virtualization Tech only because I use Windows Virtual PC (most of you probably don't). Pretty much everything else is Disabled besides Hyper-Threading.

So, the end result? Still BSOD during idle! I also had to set the CPU Core Voltage in the BIOS to 1.375V, with Vcore fluctuation readings in CPU-Z from 1.376V - 1.434V, which is really high. However, my watercooling can handle the temps, so I'm not too worried.

For 4.5GHz, I set my BIOS CPU Core Voltage to 1.360V.

For 4.4GHz, I set my BIOS CPU Core Voltage to 1.295V.

Hopefully there's a BIOS update soon that will handle the lower and upper extreme voltage fluctuations.

Latest Successful Attempts using Speedstep Turbo overclocking

I updated the BIOS to version 1.10.B6.

In the UEFI BIOS, I went to Green Power and Disabled EuP 2013, CPU Phase Control, and C1E Support, but left Intel C-State on Enabled, and Package C State limit to No Limit.

This time, I left Internal PLL Overvoltage on, EIST Enabled, and Intel Turbo Boost on. I also left my Adjust CPU Ratio to default.

I then set my Advanced DRAM Timings.

Inside CPU Features, Enable Execute Disable Bit, and I enable Intel Virtualization Tech only because I use Windows Virtual PC (most of you probably don't). I then change the Long and Short duration power limits and change the Core Ratio Limit to 46.

These are my final stable settings: