trace_87

Thanks for writing this, I just got one of these just a few weeks ago!

It looks like if I run 47 multi I would sit at 68c and lower when I'm encoding. I run a few encodes a week and they can take between 3 and 10 hours pretty much 100% load throughout. Do you think I would be damaging the CPU over time at temps like this (at 46 they max at 63c).

I'm afraid auto voltage will make my OC quite inefficient. EDIT: ^What he said.

This is really encouraging to hear. Maybe I'm not stuck at 46. I use the machine primarily for gaming and video encodes. IIRC, the encodes push it about as hard as p95 does. I may end up choosing based on encode temps.

I'm using LinX over IBT primarily because I had to crank the vcore up so much higher to achieve stability with IBT (stable 45 multi required 1.41). I'm hoping that p95 and LinX work out fine. I kept pushing to stabilize the 47 multi, and I did. Unfortunately, that was at 1.455 vcore in bios, 1.312 max vdroop which went to 75C. So I guess for now I will stick with 46 multi. 1.41 bios / 1.280 max vdroop / 70C. Ran an hour of p95 blend and 5 LinX passes so far. Maybe I will get bored one day and lap my HSF or something, but I guess this is where I'm gonna stop tweaking for now. Now that this issue is close to being resolved, I wonder what your guys thoughts are on overclocking memory. I'm considering pushing either timings or freq at stock voltage once this is stable.

That's good to know. I guess I will forget about tweaking that for now.

47 multi / 1.425 BIOS vCore / 74c max vdroop takes it to 1.288 I will probably run p95 blend overnight. Should I be playing around with custom PLL and VTT voltages? Perhaps I could run it a bit more efficiently. If this turns out to be stable, I will probably stick at 47 multi. The temps are about where I want them.

It hasn't seemed weak at all to me. It runs 10c hotter than any other stresser I've tried. Do you mean Linx? Isn't that basically just a different GUI from IBT? They both run Linpack. I suppose it's worth a shot. EDIT: Linx only pushes my hottest core to 69c. I bet I can just stay at this voltage and up the multi to 46 or 47 and be stable with it.

Config: i5 2500K 8gb G.Skill DDR3 1600 Radeon 5770 @ 925 / 1400 ASRock Extreme3 Gen3 Z68 Crucial m4 64gb SSD Antec 300 case OCZ SilentXStream 600W PSU Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo BIOS Settings Altered: Turbo Boost Power Limit: 300 (short) 300 (long) 1 (whatever third option is) Core Current Limit: 150 LLC: 5 (Stock but notable) Spread Spectrum: Disabled PLL Overvolatge: Enabled My system runs perfectly @ 44 multi / 1.33 (1.216 load) vCore (fixed) / 65C Load (hottest core IBT max) / ran 10 IBT passes / 9hr p95 blend To get it stable at 45 multi, I have to crank the vCore to 1.41 (1.264 load). Here it maxes out at 78C, which is as far as I felt comfortable pushing it before asking here. I will probably end up running at 44 multi, but I wanna test it out some more. What are the max safe temps you would recommend for IBT stress tests? Under normal use, the hottest it gets is about 8-10C less than IBT load temps. Do you see any errors in my BIOS settings? I may go back later to mess with offset voltage, but I don't see it being necessary for this. Or, I could ignore IBT altogether and try to find stability through p95. I feel like this stresses the system as much as I can through normal use. I'm sure I could lower the voltage a ton to achieve p95 stability.

I'm going to be picking up a Crucial m4 64gb SSD in the next few days. I have been trying to find a decent 2.5" to 3.5" adapter but it seems like they all have different issues. My case is an Antec 300. Has anyone used this case / SSD combo? Could you recommend a bracket to me? It would be extremely annoying to have everything here but have the wrong bracket. Thanks

I'm not worried about my temps at all. I'm loading at around 56C.

Yes, I'm being sarcastic about the 6ghz. I've run into a few issues with this build. My two 4pin atx connectors can't reach the jack when I have my video card installed. I bought two 4pin extensions but half doesn't fit the slot. I figure I have a few options: Buy a new PSU with actual 8pin connectors (might need an extension too). Mod the male part of a 4pin extension so it fits. Run a low voltage overclock. This is what I'm currently doing. The vcore is set to 1.3 and nothing else is taking any additional power. I managed to get 4.2ghz at this voltage. It has been stable 7hr p95 blend and 20 passes of intel burntest 4core / max. Am I pushing it with this config? Will I be damaging the mobo / PSU over time?

Why occt in addition to burntest? Aren't they both linpack or whatever?

Aww shucks, I thought I could push 6ghz on this setup.

I'm completely new to this Sandy Bridge overclocking thing, but I have a decent amount of experience with this sort of thing. I want to tell you what I've done to see if you see any errors in my method. I gathered all of my tips from random google searches and youtube videos. Setup: i5 2500K (Hyper 212 Evo) ASRock Extreme3 Gen3 G.Skill 8gb 1600 9-9-9-24 Radeon HD 5770 OCZ SilentXStream 600W Antec Three Hundred Case Ambient Room: 65F - 68F Idle Temp: 24C BIOS Settings Altered (everything else is default): Multi: 45 Fixed Vcore: 1.35v Turbo Boost Power Limit: 250 (short) 200 (long) 1 (whatever third option is) Core Current Limit: 200 LLC: 5 (Stock but notable) Spread Spectrum: Disabled Stress Test Method & Results: Intel Burn Test: (4 threads, max stress, 10 pass (planning on running 50 tonight)) Load Vcore: 1.232 - 1.272 Max Load Temp: 60c A few questions I have: Is my stress testing method sufficient? Are you going to make me use P95? Are my settings good? Do you have any recommendations or warnings? I really have no clue what I'm doing with the Turbo Boost Power Limit and Core Current Limit, do they look ok? What settings do you foresee needing to be changed if I attempt a higher overclock (I will probably push it harder, maybe 65C load or so). I know I will probably have to enable PLL Overvoltage for anything much higher than this. Is it OK that I'm using a Fixed Vcore? I've seen multiple places recommend using either LLC or an Offset. My initial preference is to leave it at Fixed and just work around the vdroop (that's what I've always done before). I really want to try and keep the power saving options enabled, I plan on using this setup for a long time. Is there a problem with keeping these enabled? Additional Turbo Voltage is an option that sounds extremely scary, is it OK that I've left it on Enabled/Auto? Thanks in advance!