GA-EX58 EXTREME OVERLOCKING

[techno2k8]

hi guys new to forum, and in need of real help.

yesterday i bought the gigabyte ex58 extreme mobo with a core i7 920 do stepping and 6gb of patriot 1600mhz ram, i have tried overclocking my cpu but it will not overclock the whole pc crashes at 2.8ghz which is only 140mhz above stock speed under watercooling.

i can get it to boot in to windows at 2.8-4.0ghz and it runs fines for ages but as soon as i try to stress it or play any games or do anything other than browse the net, the temps go to about 60-70c on each core and then the board forces the pc to reboot.

anyone got any ideas that might help.

watercooling system is the corsair h50 with artic silver thermal paste and i also have the additional heatsink on the northbridge aswell.

[Elemental_Dragon]

GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD4P - i7 920 @ 4Ghz
MB Intelligent Tweaker(M.I.T.)
Advanced CPU Features {Press Enter]
CPU Clock Ratio*..............................:20
CPU Frequency .....(Ghz)...................:3,840Mhz (4,032Mhz Turbo)
Intel(R) Turbo Boost Tech..................:Enabled
CPU Cores Enabled............................:ALL
CPU Multi Threading..........................:Enabled
CPU Enhanced Halt (C1E)...................:Enabled
C3/C6/C7 State Support....................:Disabled
CPU Thermal Monitor.........................:Enabled
CPU EIST Function............................:Enabled
Virtualization Technology...................:Enabled
Bi-Directional PROCHOT.....................:Enabled

Uncore & QPI Features [Press Enter]
QPI Link Speed*..............................:x36
QPI Link Speed* .............(Ghz)....... :7.59
Uncore Frequency...........................:x16
Uncore Frequency..............(Mhz).... :3,072
Isochronous Support.......................:Enabled

Advanced Clock Control [Press Enter]
>>>>>Standard Clock Control
Base Clock (BCLK) Control*..............:Enabled
BCLK Frequency (Mhz)*...................:192
PCI Exxpress Frequency (Mhz)...........:103
C.I.A.2..........................................:Disabled
>>>>>Standard Clock Control
CPU Clock Drive (mV).......................:700mV
PCI  Express Clock Drive (mV)............:700mV
CPU Clock Skew (ps)........................:0ps
IOH Clock Skew (ps)........................:0ps

Advanced Dram Features [Press Enter]
Performance Enhance......................:Turbo
Extreme Memory Profile (X.M.P.)........:Profile1
System Memory Multiplier (SPD)........:x8
Memory Frequency (Mhz).................:1,536Mhz
DRAM Timing Selectable (sPD) ..........:Quick

Advanced Voltage Control [Press Enter]
>>>>CPU Voltages
LoadLine Calibration.....................:Disabled
CPU Vcore.................................:1.29375v
QPI/VTT Voltage.........................:1.22v
CPU PLL.....................................:1.800v
>>>>>MCH/ICH Voltrage
PCIE.........................................:1.500v
QPI PLL.....................................:1.100v
IOH Core...................................:1.110v
ICH I/O.....................................:1.500v

Try those and see how it goes. I have other settings you can try but those are my working settings - ytour chip might need more voltage than mine but try it at that

~Bex
ICH Core...................................:1.100v

[techno2k8]

i managed yesterday to get it to 4.0ghz, buy using a the following

cpu @ 20x 200 1.3500v
qpi @ 1.355v
ht turned off and the turbo functions turned off

temps for the core's seem high as they are hitting 77c but whole cpu hits around 45c, using the corsair h50 but im getting the adaptor plate for my xspc block and i'm going to try that on my swiftech water loop and see what the temps are with that, as it is thicker tubing and also a double radiator.

but i also want to try and get a new siftech loop for the cpu on its own as i think the temps will be better still with that and then if they are i reckon i might be able, to get a higher oc with the northbridge watercooled aswell.

[Elemental_Dragon]

Thicker tubing makes no difference, bigger rads do. Your temps are ~10c higher than the norm at that OC, which indicates poor mounting. Reapply the TIM (I suggest MX2 over Silver or get the liquid metal tabs from watercoolinguk.co.uk)

~Bex

[techno2k8]

Thicker tubing makes no difference, bigger rads do. Your temps are ~10c higher than the norm at that OC, which indicates poor mounting. Reapply the TIM (I suggest MX2 over Silver or get the liquid metal tabs from watercoolinguk.co.uk)

~Bex

it is mounted properly it's just the waterloop that it is on is a poor unit imho.

i disagree with the thicker tubing makes no difference though as thicker tubing means more water is being pushed through the waterblock which means more heat can, be taken away faster as the pipes that are on the corsair h50 loop are really thin they are not much thicker a normal pen.

i will get some of the mx2 paste as i need some more paste anyway and give that a try.

i am also going to get it on to my swiftech loop with the dual rad on it and look at adding a 2nd radiator into the loop aswell so that it goes like this:

resovour - pump
pump - dual rad
dual rad - cpu
cpu - single rad
single rad - gpu
gpu - res

i may also look at adding a 4rd rad in to the loop after the gpu so the water is cooled before going in to the res, just need to get the funds 1st.

[Elemental_Dragon]

Thicker tubes makes 0.5c difference max! Offer slightly better flow but the percent is so marginal it's not worth considering.

Trust me, remount your CPU block. It's the most common fault of high temps. But remember i7's are hot little mofo's anyway!

~Bex

[techno2k8]

well i have got it on a diff water loop with thicker pipes and 2 rads which has my gtx280 on it and it has reduced the temps below 70c, so when i get time i will fit the 3rd rad and see what happens.

[Chris_Waddle]

Here are my settings for a 4.2ghz overclock. It's prime95 stable for me for several hours.

I am using the F7 bios.

CPU Clock Ratio – 20x

Advanced CPU Features:-
CPU Clock Ratio - 20x
Intel (R) Turbo Boost Tech. - Enabled
CPU Cores Enabled - All
CPU Multi-Threading - Enabled
CPU Enhanced Halt (C1E) - Disabled
C3/C6/C7 State Support - Disabled
CPU Thermal Monitor - Disabled
CPU EIST Function - Disabled
Virtualization Technology - Disabled
Bi-Directional PROCHOT - Disabled

QPI Link Speed - x36

Uncore & QPI Features:-
QPI Link Speed - x36
Uncore Frequency - x19
Isochronous Support - Enabled

Base Clock (BCLK) Control - Enabled
BCLK Frequency (Mhz) - 200

Advanced Clock Control:-
Base Clock (BCLK) Control - Enabled
BCLK Frequency (Mhz) - 200
PCI Express Frequency (Mhz) - 100
C.I.A.2 - Disabled
CPU Clock Drive - 800mv
PCI Express Clock Drive - 900mv
CPU Clock Skew - 0ps
IOH Clock Skew - 0ps

Performance Enhance - Turbo
Extreme Memory Profile (X.M.P.) - Disabled
System Memory Multiplier (SPD) - 8.0
DRAM Timing Schedule (SPD) - Manual

**The following 5 options need setting for each stick of ram and are dependant on your ram**
CAS Latency Time - 8
tRCD - 8
tRP - 8
tRAS - 20
Command Rate (CMD) - 1


Advanced DRAM Features:-
I haven’t changed any of the sub settings in here

Load-Line Calibration - Disabled
CPU Vcore - 1.31875v
QPI/Vtt Voltage - 1.26v
IOH Core - 1.20v
DRAM Voltage - 1.66v

Advanced Voltage Control:-
Load-Line Calibration - Disabled
CPU Vcore - 1.31875v
QPI/Vtt Voltage - 1.26v
CPU PLL - 1.84v
PCIE - 1.54v
QPI PLL - 1.16v
IOH Core - 1.20v
ICH I/O - 1.58v
ICH Core - 1.16v
DRAM Voltage - 1.66v
**Rest of settings in here on Auto**

[techno2k8]

well with the settings i posted above i have it running at 4.0ghz, and it is faster with ht turned off than it is with ht turned on.

prime95 won't run for more than 5 mins before it reboots my comp but i can sit on it for hours playing games with no trouble, wonder whats wrong there?

[Pottypete]

well with the settings i posted above i have it running at 4.0ghz, and it is faster with ht turned off than it is with ht turned on.

prime95 won't run for more than 5 mins before it reboots my comp but i can sit on it for hours playing games with no trouble, wonder whats wrong there?

but you are stating that, quote,.(Here are my settings for a 4.2ghz overclock. It's prime95 stable for me for several hours.)
What has changed to get it to only run for 5 mins now!
could be just luck

[Chris_Waddle]

well with the settings i posted above i have it running at 4.0ghz, and it is faster with ht turned off than it is with ht turned on.

prime95 won't run for more than 5 mins before it reboots my comp but i can sit on it for hours playing games with no trouble, wonder whats wrong there?

but you are stating that, quote,.(Here are my settings for a 4.2ghz overclock. It's prime95 stable for me for several hours.)
What has changed to get it to only run for 5 mins now!
could be just luck

Different people posting. Mine's stable, the next posters isn't.

Saying that, I'm now experimenting with turning on LLC. I can actually get it stable on a lower voltage with it enabled. Have read several threads saying that it is fine to enable this. Does anyone else here run with it enabled?

[Chris_Waddle]

well with the settings i posted above i have it running at 4.0ghz, and it is faster with ht turned off than it is with ht turned on.

prime95 won't run for more than 5 mins before it reboots my comp but i can sit on it for hours playing games with no trouble, wonder whats wrong there?

The reason yours is crashing after 5mins of prime is that your overclock isn't a stable one. When you are gaming, it's highly unlikely that you will run your CPU / Ram at 100%. If you have most voltages set to auto, the overclock with probably cope fine on lower usage. Once you start maxing the system out, it will demand more that your overclock allows, causing it to fail.

Try running prime without the ram being tested. If it still fails after 5 mins then you know there is definately something wrong with your cpu overclock. It could still be ram too, but at least you know you need to work on the CPU settings.

I would try adjusting the voltages for other settings rather than leaving them on auto. If mine is fine with an overclock of 4.2ghz, you could try those voltages and work your way down. I would say that a boost to the IOH voltage should make yours more stable and let you reduce your cpu voltage too. 1.35v seems high for a 4gig overclock.

What are you using to measure your cpu temps? Temps in the 70's do seem a little high. It's hard for me to judge as my system is fully watercooled and only goes in the 60's, even when I kick it up to 4.5ghz at full load.

[Pottypete]

Hi chris
Well spotted m8,
Post up some piccies of your rig/setup! 

[Chris_Waddle]

My system has two cooling loops. The first cools the CPU and chipset using 1/2" tubing and a D5 pump. The 2nd loop uses 3/8" tubing with a D5 pump to cool the GPU.

I have a triple rad in the bottom of the case and a double rad in the roof. The triple rad cools the CPU/Chipset and the double rad cools the GPU.

It’s still work in progress. I’ve gone down the two loop route as my GPU (GTX280 H20C) has died twice in the last 12 months. It’s a pain having to drain the whole system down and not be able to use whilst waiting for a new graphics card. Fortunately, BFG keep replacing it under warranty. This way, if it dies again, I’ll only have to drain down the GPU and pop in an air cooled replacement whilst I get my broken one swapped over.

Sorry for hijacking the thread. Here are some links to pics. Apologies for the rubbish camera work, I have no idea about taking photos:

Open Side View
Closed Side View
Front View

[Chris_Waddle]

Interestingly, I tried running my system with Load Line Calibration enabled. I found that for my 4.2gig overclock, with a few tweaks here and there to the settings posted earlier, my system would run with the Vcore reduced to 1.275v

The tweaks I made still mean I have to run the system with a Vcore of 1.30v if I disable LLC. I didn't notice much of a change in temperatures, under full load it hit the mid 60's (room is around 28deg). It idle's around 40deg.

I think I'll play about a bit more and see if I can get 4.4gig stable and cool enough to run 24/7.