Core i7 4Ghz Club & Overclocking Guide

[etdavenport]

what do you try to achieve, 4 or 4.2?

because you your air cooler cant handle it, therefore your problem could be two issues, voltage and temperature.

Im after 4.2 but if I can hit 4.0 with my ram running at least at its rated speed at this point I will be happy. I have read that anything under 90C was safe [for testing purposes] on the i7950 an nothing I would be doing real world would come close to creating temps that high anway. All the testing I have done at around 1.4 V has been under 80C in prime 95 and intel burn. Is that to high?

I think you are right though. I have been running Intel burn since this last post edit at 3993.3mhz with a 1.395 vcore [successfully..but it has only been an hour] and I hit 87C There is no way this cooler could handle the temps that would result from the Vcore I would need with this chip to reach 4.2ghz or more. I am missing one case fan and My system profile is on silent so I have some opportunity to cool the case down a bit at least. I can also attach one more fan to the CPU cooler itself and make it a push pull which I think I will do just because. Even If I end up on a lower clock I would like it as cool as possible [its winter here in utah, summers get hot...]

This is all still with my Ram memory running pretty low. When I first built the system, I clocked the memory to 2000 9-9-9-24 and had it running stable no problem, but that was a t a stock CPU clock. Do you think I can gt my memory up to its rated 1600 without raising the heat? I do not mind just tightening the timings either if that would work better. Im over 1333 either way so its not like I could tell the difference, and Im not shooting for benchmarks.

It is currently at 695.5 mhz [2:8] 8-8-8-24 tRFC 74 command rate 2T. If I am going to run them at 1333 speeds I would like to at least run 1333 timings. The Ram is CL8 to start.

[Deton]

First of all, the first 5 images is broken, can't see it.

Second, have you take a look at our 4Ghz Club thread?
It has most information relating to how to OC i7 bloomfield over 4Ghz or beyond.

Third, I don't care whoever say i7 can operate up to 90°C or even only few minute for benching. I would said they are full of hot air. High heat will degrade the chip life expectancy even in a short period of time. You will have more chances of stability if the chip temperature is under 80°C, you might survise few odd stress test here and there but you have the unpredictable crashes in one for awhile.

It's no doubt the 950 can go beyond 4.2Ghz as long you can keep the temperature under 80°C.

Your BSOD have serveral issues;
1) Incorrect voltage for bothe Vcore, QPI/DRAM
2) You push your RAM to hard
3) Temps
4) if you use XMP profile you don't modify the timing, right?
5) your D0 950 doesn't need that much of voltage

Ok, if you can fix the broken images and give me your RAM specs and I will move your posts over the 4Ghz Club thread so we can keep everything relate to OC i7 over 4Ghz in there. This will help people to find all the information they need in one place. I think we have to many thread discussion how to OC the i7

Then I will guide you through 4Ghz first and if you still have super temps then you can push it to 4.2Ghz but be warnned, the heat & voltage jump big time from 4Ghz to 4.2Ghz.

[Deton]

@Paul; if you have read or ask for my advise the you're probably wouldn't spend $115 on the cooler and end up have to upgrade it.

Now don't forget you jump from a single rad to triple, better highflow pump and CPU block. That's a big factor of the improvement.

I've chatted to Daz once.

@Sony; sure shoot away.

[etdavenport]

I have been trying for days to get this Rig running stable at 4.2Ghz I have read a million threads saying it can be done even higher than that with my setup and with voltages that are just amazing. I I have followed the guides line for line found my max bclk etc found my qpi/vtt etc but any time I try and go over 4.0 with the ram speed anywhere near what they are rated for stock, Boom BSOD of one type or another [usually one ending with oxooooa or something like that, nothing thats come up as a known indicator by any forum]

I finally just started over and set my CPU to 23x 174 [4.0] 1.35vcore but this left my ram down at 1390 8-8-8-24-74 @1.65V Everything else is on auto.
LOAD-LINE ENABLED
CPU spread Spectrum Disabled
Pcie Spread Spectrum Disabled

intel burn temps are 67C full load and even that BDOS after 10 minutes with a 0x000000D1 DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

I cranked the Vcore up to 1.38 and tried again. After a few passes of intel burn I tried prome 95 for about a45 minutes then BSOD'd with this error. 0x00000003B. The Temp went up quite a bit though. [full load was about 75C]

I know this Rig can do better than this. But as soon as I move anything it BSODs...

Ive even tried [on other previous attempts, not the one Im posting about now] it as high as 1.45 vcore with the QPU/vtt anywhere from 1.25-1.6v and it still wouldn't work.

What Am I missing? My memory has passed memtest so I know thts not the issue, dID i JSUT GET A BUM CHIP?

I only posted 2 images originally, it just took me 7 tries to figure out which link in imageshack to use to post them right, lol sorry about that.




[Everything in these pictures is the same except my vcore is now 1.3925 and running stable at that setting. But it just seems way higher than it should be to be stable and technically i have only run prime 95 and intel burn for a few hours so i haven't even done a true overnight stability test] and the last line that states PCIe spread spectrum is disabled got cut off in the pic too but it is disabled

[here is the third and last pic I took earlier and forgot to include originally]

I have read through the 4.0 threads and even tried a lot of the settings. I realize that my quest here has probably come up a million times in a million posts since the i7 came out but for some reason, my chip isnt working like it should be or I am doing something terribly wrong because even with everything on auto and my RAM settings ultra low as they are, I cant stay running without an abnormally high Vcore. This is what inspired my original post and all of my frustrations.

Your BSOD have serveral issues;
1) Incorrect voltage for bothe Vcore, QPI/DRAM
2) You push your RAM to hard
3) Temps
4) if you use XMP profile you don't modify the timing, right?
5) your D0 950 doesn't need that much of voltage

1. Your totally right, this is where I am having most of my trouble. According to all the threads I have read, i should be able to get 4.0ghz done with way less vcore and QPI/VTT. This last attempt with everything jsut on auto [the one I posted the pics of] I jsut left the QPI/VTT voltage where teh X.M.P. profile set it. When I set it to XMP it autoamatically adjsuts the Dram Voltage to 1.65, memory timings to 8-8-8-24 and sets the QPI/Dram Core voltage [QPI/VTT voltage] to 1.4

2. How do you mean pushing the RAM to hard? the QPI/vtt Voltage? ITs rated for 1600mhz at 8-8-8-24 and Ive got it set at 1391mhz at 8-8-8-24, 209 hmz under its rated speed. What do i need to adjust here. This is just where it set everything when I set the X.M.P. profile except the frequency I lowered to make the clock easier to achieve

3. At 1.395v [the voltage it took to get this setup with everything just set on auto to stay running for more than an hour or so with prome95 and intel burn] I hit 87C which is hotter than I want to be at, but I should be able to hit 4.0 at way less voltage than this, This is why I am wondering if i just got a bad [not necessarily broken] Chip. Some take more or less Volts than others... Or if I am really doing something that wrong. My RAM is way underclocked and everything is on auto. From all the posts I have read, this should be running stable at way less volts.

4. right. It sets the DRAM voltage to 1.65 the QPI/VTT to 1.4 [not sure why, my board just does that] and the timings to 8-8-8-24

5. Thats what i thought. but lowering it makes it unstable... Ive followed so many guides for overclocking the i7950 and every one of them has failed for my chip. I even went though this guide, http://www.techreaction.net/2010/09/...-and-gulftown/, line for line [and many others] But I have still not been able to find the correct qpi/VTT and Vcore combination.

The only guy who posted his settings I saw in this forum that had a successful i7950 /sabertooth x58 overclock over 4.1 had his ram down under 1066 or close to it...but his vcore was really low.

Thanks in advance for the help guys. Like I said, I know there has got to be a million threads about this same thing, but Im missing something or I have a bad Chip and I need help figuring it out. I threw basically everything I had already posted in other threads into this one so if you need to move it it is all there.

[Deton]

Ok, first let try get you to 4Ghz with solid stable then will try higher clock later on.

CPU Ratio Setting: 20 - DO NOT leave it on Auto
Speed Stepping - Disabled - for now, if you want constance OCed speed at idle
Bclk Fre: 200 - This will give you 1600Mhz memory speed
Unclk Fre: 3200Mhz - lowest setting possible
QPI Link: lowest setting


CPU Voltage: 1.38V - starting point, you need to fine tune it to get the sweet spot for your chip
CPU PLL: 1.88V
QPI/DRAM voltage: 1.38v - fine tune it later, for now try to keep it the same as Vcore. This voltage much higher if you OC the RAM.
CPU Differential Amplitude: 800mn

The only guy who posted his settings I saw in this forum that had a successful i7950 /sabertooth x58 overclock over 4.1 had his ram down under 1066 or close to it...but his vcore was really low.

I think I know who were you talking about. Try the above settings, do stability test, check temps and report back then we'll work to get you to 4.2Ghz.

[etdavenport]

Same thing as before when these settings were tried. critical error after 3 rounds of Intel burn test at 1.38125. This is where i kinda get lost. Should I be just upping the vcore at this point or both the vcore and the QPI/VTT? I have been here before and last time I jsut kep upping the Vcore.

[Deton]

What was the temps?

Leave QPI/DRAM as is for now, just pump up the Vcore to 1.4v and let see.

[etdavenport]

What was the temps?

Leave QPI/DRAM as is for now, just pump up the Vcore to 1.4v and let see.

Too high...I was at 84C but it didnt BSOD or crash, intel burn just popped up and gave me the error. Thats a good sign..isnt it? lol

[etdavenport]

Vcore 1.3875
Uncore 1.38125
QPI link 3600mhz
uncore 3200
DRAM 800mhz @ 8-8-8-24 88 2T

Intel Burn Test passed 5 runs. Good start... Temps hit 87C though so I would rather fine tune from here and try to either bring down the QPI/VTT or jsut make it stable period until I can get another fan on my Hyper 212 and my case airflow up to par.

I have read that raising the CPU/PLL a bit may help lower the QPI and Vcore requirements? Any truth to this?

I have also heard that Raising the PCI-e Frequency to 101 or 102 may allow for dropping the QPI/VTT a bit also or could just completely screw everything up. Worth a shot though eh? ?

YOur right, nothing is wrong with my CPU, I was totally just expecting better results at lower voltages. There are either a lot of lucky people out there with awesome chips or people are flat out lying or not stress testing enough because some of the v core settings people claim to be stable at are just not right....they cant be.

I shouldn't be getting happy yet anyway, i just passed a 30 min stress test. I haven't even run prime 95 or lineX yet. lol

[gonvise]

Hello everybody, my first post ;-)... (ah! and sorry for my english )

I've been reading the forum for several days... and I can only say three things: thanks, thanks and thanks! , reading this forum has helped me to overclock my system to my main goal: 4GHZ stable, although I would like to improve the voltages.

These are my settings for 4Ghz:

CPU MULT=20
BCLOCK=200
DRAM Freq=1600Mhz (x8)
UNCORE Freq=3200Mhz (x16)
QPI LINK SPEED=AUTO

CPU Voltage=1.3375
QPI/VTT Voltage=AUTO
DRAM Voltage=1.64 (8-8-8-24 fixed)
CPU PLL Voltage=AUTO
IOH Volateg=AUTO
ICH Voltage=AUTO

LOAD LINE CALIBRATION=LEVEL1 (In Gygabyte MOBO, there are four options: auto, standard, level1 and level2)
Intel HT Technology=Enabled
Intel Virtualization Tech=Disabled
Intel Turbo Mode=Disabled
All energetic functions (EIST...) Disabled

The core temps after one hour of prime95 are (aprox)
Core0=75
Core1=72
Core2=71
Core3=72

It is curious that core 0 always has 3-4ºc more than the others cores (is normal?)

well... with the QPI/VTT voltage in Auto, I don't know which is the voltage actually applied for QPI/VTT. In my MOBO, the QPI/VTT has these possible values: auto, normal, and numerical. With AUTO, I have passed IBT and prime95 for several hours. If I change it to 1.2 (normal), prime95 freeze (without BSOD) after one hour aprox...

Must I to go up with QPI/VTT voltage from 1.2 to achieve a stable system with minimal QPI/VTT voltage? ...
or the AUTO value is the best option?
Some advice to improve this configuration?

Thanks!!!!!!!!

[etdavenport]

Hello everybody, my first post ;-)... (ah! and sorry for my english )

I've been reading the forum for several days... and I can only say three things: thanks, thanks and thanks! , reading this forum has helped me to overclock my system to my main goal: 4GHZ stable, although I would like to improve the voltages.

These are my settings for 4Ghz:

CPU MULT=20
BCLOCK=200
DRAM Freq=1600Mhz (x8)
UNCORE Freq=3200Mhz (x16)
QPI LINK SPEED=AUTO

CPU Voltage=1.3375
QPI/VTT Voltage=AUTO
DRAM Voltage=1.64 (8-8-8-24 fixed)
CPU PLL Voltage=AUTO
IOH Volateg=AUTO
ICH Voltage=AUTO

LOAD LINE CALIBRATION=LEVEL1 (In Gygabyte MOBO, there are four options: auto, standard, level1 and level2)
Intel HT Technology=Enabled
Intel Virtualization Tech=Disabled
Intel Turbo Mode=Disabled
All energetic functions (EIST...) Disabled

The core temps after one hour of prime95 are (aprox)
Core0=75
Core1=72
Core2=71
Core3=72

It is curious that core 0 always has 3-4ºc more than the others cores (is normal?)

well... with the QPI/VTT voltage in Auto, I don't know which is the voltage actually applied for QPI/VTT. In my MOBO, the QPI/VTT has these possible values: auto, normal, and numerical. With AUTO, I have passed IBT and prime95 for several hours. If I change it to 1.2 (normal), prime95 freeze (without BSOD) after one hour aprox...

Must I to go up with QPI/VTT voltage from 1.2 to achieve a stable system with minimal QPI/VTT voltage? ...
or the AUTO value is the best option?
Some advice to improve this configuration?

Thanks!!!!!!!!

This is a perfect example of what Im talking about. Not to discourage, offend or berate you in any way Gonvise, but I just dont buy it. How the heck are people getting stable clocks over 4.0 with a vcore that low? There is no way. You need to run prime 95 all night without an error and make sure non of the workers stop. Prime 95 is a very misleading test because when a worker fails it doesnt let you know and the test keeps going. If your temp suddenly gets a bit cooler and prime isnt eating 100% of your CPU anymore, the test failed. A lot of people do not know that so thy come back 12 hours later and its still running so they assume its still good to go.


i would love to know what that board set the QPI/VTT, PLL and everything else at to achive a 1.3375 stable vcore at 4.0. I just dont buy it at all...

[gonvise]

This is a perfect example of what Im talking about. Not to discourage, offend or berate you in any way Gonvise, but I just dont buy it. How the heck are people getting stable clocks over 4.0 with a vcore that low? There is no way. You need to run prime 95 all night without an error and make sure non of the workers stop. Prime 95 is a very misleading test because when a worker fails it doesnt let you know and the test keeps going. If your temp suddenly gets a bit cooler and prime isnt eating 100% of your CPU anymore, the test failed. A lot of people do not know that so thy come back 12 hours later and its still running so they assume its still good to go.


i would love to know what that board set the QPI/VTT, PLL and everything else at to achive a 1.3375 stable vcore at 4.0. I just dont buy it at all...

Hi etdavenport...

¿My 1.3375 is low for you? I have seen guys with Vcore under 1.3 at 4GHZoc

My tests were...

6 hours of prime95 blend tests -> passed (No freeze, No BSOD, All workers running after 6 hours)
30 past of ibtest standard -> ok
5 past of ibtest maximum -> ok

Perhaps I must to run prime95 for more hours...

Ah! In my case, with a worker fails, the test keep running, but this worker stop, and I can see it.

[etdavenport]

I'm just totally jealous of all you under volted i7 owners.


I think that most would agree though ultimately when you think you have found your end clock you need to run a few different tests and for at least overnight. everyone has a different opinion but I would say at least 12 hours each test. At least.

A system is only truly stable until it fails, there is no 100% stabel IMHO. The point is just to make sure it doesn't fail when you need it not to.

[Paul J]

This is a perfect example of what Im talking about. Not to discourage, offend or berate you in any way Gonvise, but I just dont buy it. How the heck are people getting stable clocks over 4.0 with a vcore that low? There is no way.
i would love to know what that board set the QPI/VTT, PLL and everything else at to achive a 1.3375 stable vcore at 4.0. I just dont buy it at all...

ASUS P6T, i7-950 D0, (all in my sig) and it runs at (bios) vcore - 1.35, cpu pll - 1.86, qpi/dram - 1.34.

4.2 gig.. solid, w/59.8 average GFlops.

[SonyJunkie]

Ok, first let try get you to 4Ghz with solid stable then will try higher clock later on.




I think I know who were you talking about. Try the above settings, do stability test, check temps and report back then we'll work to get you to 4.2Ghz.

Thanks Deton, I'm going to give these settings a go seeing as it's the same CPU & MoBo I've got.

But first I need to diagnose and solve why the bloody thing keeps rebooting randomly for no reason in standard configuration!!!

[Deton]

Too high...I was at 84C but it didnt BSOD or crash, intel burn just popped up and gave me the error. Thats a good sign..isnt it? lol

Yes, that's a good sign.

Vcore 1.3875
Uncore 1.38125
QPI link 3600mhz
uncore 3200
DRAM 800mhz @ 8-8-8-24 88 2T

Intel Burn Test passed 5 runs. Good start... Temps hit 87C though so I would rather fine tune from here and try to either bring down the QPI/VTT or jsut make it stable period until I can get another fan on my Hyper 212 and my case airflow up to par.

are you possitive your CPU is D0 stepping? Because it takes a little high voltage to get it runs at 4Ghz compared to the other D0 chips.

However, you do need high voltage to juice up the chip when the cooler is weak. For example; Gonvise has Noctua NH-D14 and his Vcore is 1.3375v @4Ghz, and I think his temps is in mid 70s to 80, right Gonvise?

Ok, now you know your CPU needs 1.3875v to run it @4Ghz. Now try to back down QPI/DRAM voltage down a notch or two to see if it's still good.

I have read that raising the CPU/PLL a bit may help lower the QPI and Vcore requirements? Any truth to this?

Yes, but I wouldn't go over 1.90v for 24/7. I think you're already at 1.89v.

I have also heard that Raising the PCI-e Frequency to 101 or 102 may allow for dropping the QPI/VTT a bit also or could just completely screw everything up. Worth a shot though eh? ?

I don't know about this. Do you think it's worth to OC this with a small fraction?

YOur right, nothing is wrong with my CPU, I was totally just expecting better results at lower voltages. There are either a lot of lucky people out there with awesome chips or people are flat out lying or not stress testing enough because some of the v core settings people claim to be stable at are just not right....they cant be.

I shouldn't be getting happy yet anyway, i just passed a 30 min stress test. I haven't even run prime 95 or lineX yet. lol

could be a bad patch, check CPU stepping version, or cooler is not efficient to give you low Vcore.