Hello Everyone... First time post - and a question too... please be gentle!
I have a machine based around a 2013 X79S-UP5 Motherboard. Since new this has run with a 4820 Quad-Core i7, which has effortlessly overclocked from the stock 3.5GHz to 4.3GHz. [ I am using an XSPC waterblock and dual radiator and it runs cool and silent]. However, funds have just allowed me to replace my original nVidia GTX-680 GPU with the new GTX-980 [both also water-cooled] and I took the opportunity to secure myself a now quite scarce EE 4960X.
The swap worked perfectly - absolutely zero issues - and the machine runs rock solid and cool if I set the new chip to run at stock speed [3.6GHz]. However, since it has the same TDP as the 4820 it replaces, I know I have plenty of cooling headroom, so would like to try and tease out just a little more performance [I was thinking that 4.0GHz would be nice]. Unfortunately I've hit a major problem, which is:-
I can set the machine up to run the CPU at 4.3GHz, and in this form it will run at 100% CPU for an 8-hour [overnight] soak test, without skipping a beat. But the moment I switch off power and then power back up again, the BIOS reverts back to stock speed and gives me the "something went wrong" warning. I should probably mention that in order to get the board to even recognise the newer 6-Core, I had to upgrade from the shipped BIOS to the latest edition, so I am running the latest BIOS for this board...
Everything I've read suggests that both the board and this CPU should overclock effortlessly, but unlike the Quad-Core 4820, the 4960 seems to be throwing tantrums... I am at a loss as to what to try... However, before we get to that, I have a little more information.
I had originally ordered 32Gb of Kingston HyperXBeast DDR3 Quad-Channel RAM, and I would have been prepared to testify in court that I had ordered the 2133MHz version. In the process of swapping out the Intel chip today, however, we spotted that in fact I have 32Gb of the slower, 1600MHz RAM. I am not sure if this is going to be an issue [at first I thought unlikely, given the slightly lower clock speed I am trying for, I'd hoped the multiplier would be less of a stretch]. However, I have now ordered a replacement set of RAM. I could not get 2133MHz, but did secure 32Gb of Kingston HyperXBeast DDR3 at 2400MHz. I am hoping that this will be more than enough to allow the board to stretch to it's full potential.
So, apologies for the length of the post... but... I am a bit lost as to how I can safely set this configuration up to over-clock reliably, without risking damage to the new 6-Core chip [heck, they are seriously rare now, and this one cost me £770!]. I wonder if anyone
1. Has this combination working and overclocked, and would be able to tell me what settings they were able to get the configuration to work safely please? [ I am wondering if I am supplying enough of a vCore voltage level, but am terrified of cooking the new CPU... ] I did try it briefly at an increased vCore of approx 1.4v, but that seemed to make no difference to the overclock potential, so backed off.
2. Failing that, if anyone would be able to direct me to a robust, reliable and safe set of guiding notes that could walk me through the safest way to experiment with an overclock for this configuration please?
At this point I'll take any good advice I can get... My fall-back position will be to benchmark the two configurations - the 4820 @ 4.3GHz against the 4960 @ 3.6GHz - then see which gives the best performance at typical high-CPU tasks [gaming, rendering, video processing being the main candidates] - but I'd *really* like to be able to get something back for this £770 investment.
Any advice much appreciated.
Thanks in advance!
C
