Guidance please

[Vale]

Hi all,
I just got some proper good advice on what cooler i needed to OC my pc and now i want to learn how to OC it safely, hopefully reaching 4GHz

My system is self built by me and here are a few internals listed.

Intel i7 950 LGA1366 3.06GHz
GA-X58-USB3 mb
12gig OCZ DDR3 1333MHz Triple channel XTC (will be removed)
XFX Radeon 6870 GPU
2x1TB Samsung F3 HDD
CoolMaster Silent Pro500W PSU
Antec 300 with 5 case fans (3xExhauts 2xIntakes)

On Order........

Corsair H80 Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler

Corsair Memory Vengeance Black 24GB DDR3 1600MHz CAS 9 XMP Triple Channel RAM

Cpuz added for further info...


Now, i know diddly squat about OC'ing so i am at your mercy so to speak. I figure there will be much reading and learning to do but i am prepared to listen and learn so i get it right.

All i know is OC'ing is usualy done in the bios to which i am not afraid to venture into with your guidence but Gigabyte also do a utility program called "EasyTune6" which appears to easliy OC the system but i await your opinions on how to do this the correct way.

Any further screen shots or info i will get for you so here goes i guess lol

Thanks for any advice/info offered,

Regards,
Vale.

P.S.... before you ask lol i need to max out the RAM and get the max out of my CPU for the high end 3D software i use for modeling and animation, Texture maps and lighting are very CPU and RAM depenant.

[absic]

Hi there,

well, having just switched to Intel from AMD I have been on a steep learning curve when it comes to overclocking an Intel rig as there are so many options in BIOS.

I don't have your configuration but the one thing I would note is that your PSU is only 500 Watts and I wonder if that is going to be powerful enough to run a good O/C. I'm running an I5 2500k CPU and when I pushed it to 5.2 GHz the thing was drawing over 225 Watts (check here for screenshot: http://forum.giga-byte.co.uk/index.php/topic,8039.msg66344.html#msg66344 )

From my O/C experiences across platforms a good and powerful PSU is essential to give stability and a consistent power draw 24/7 and I am currently using a Gigabyte Odin 800 watt unit to do this.

[Vale]

Hi absic,
Thanks for the reply
When i built the pc i was advised that the silent pro was a good all rounder for general use so didnt plan ahead thinking i would ever OC, so....
On the assumption i am not going to go extreme in the OC'ing department do you think my current PSU would stand an up to or including a 4GHz OC ?
I appreciate nothing is written in stone so i wont hold you to any advise but i do understand that maybe i would have to replace the PSU if i cant get 4GHz

[Dark Mantis]

Hi

I would have to go along with absic's advice there and especially with your GPU I feel that you are lucky that it is working alright now without overclocking it. I would be looking at about 650W as a minimum for your system.

[Vale]

Again, thanks peeps.

So, on the assumption that possibly in the future i would want to get another 6870 and go crossfire and i want to try to OC to 4GHz will the Odin 850 still be ok or is there another top end PSU i should be looking at getting before i verture into OC'ing ?

My budget is £150 ish

[absic]

Although I am currently using a Gigabyte PSU I really like Corsair Power Units and for your budget here are three I would be looking closely at. Links are for Scan UK but you could well find them cheaper from other retailers if you are prepared to shop around.

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/750w-psu-corsair-enthusiast-series-tx750m-modular-85-eff-80-plus-bronze-sli-crossfire-eps-12v-quiet-

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/850w-psu-corsair-hx-cmpsu-850hxuk-modular-90-eff-80-plus-silver-sli-crossfire-eps-12v-fan-atx-v291

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/850w-psu-corsair-professional-series-gold-850ax-modular-90eff-80-plus-gold-sli-crossfire-eps-12v-qui

All three are modular units and the main reason I would opt for this kind of PSU is that you only need to use the cables that are required and therefore you can keep things tidy.

[Rolo42]

I like Enermax but you'll pay for it.

OC isn't the concern for your PSU; the gfx card will pull 250W by itself loaded and the rest of the PC might pull just as much, which puts you at the PSUs rated maximum, which is not something you want to do unless you have a top-shelf PSU (again, Enermax).  However, this doesn't mean your middle-of-the-road PSU won't cut it; I've had good fortune with a lot of Rocketfish 700W PSUs (which are Huntkey 650W, not a quality brand) but it did well on reviews/tests and in systems similar to yours.  Ultimately you won't know until you're there.

Anyway, to the OP re: OC.  I'm regularly able to hit 4.2GHz without changing anything except the clock multiplier, disabling turbo, and enabling XMP.  This keeps it power efficient and realises most of the CPUs potential.  For your comparison, this system (sig block) pulls ~500W AC at the UPS when playing Skyrim (includes monitor, KB, switch, modem) so your PSU should be fine if it performs up to its label.

[Vale]

Ok, thats great peeps, i will go and get a quality PSU and be back when ready to start the OC'ing fun lol

Thanks a bunch thus far

[Vale]

Hi All,
I got the H80 installed along with a Corsair 850w PSU as linked and my Vengeance RAM !! although i made a grave error here ;p

I installed 24gig to max out my MB but didnt realize W7 Home Premium only sees 16gig !!!! DOH !!! lol so i will upgrade at some point to W7 PRO

I will run the system for a few days to see if she runs fault free and then be back to start the OC'ing process

Thanks again, talk soon.

Vale.

[Aussie Allan]

 Hiya Vale and welcome to the Forum.

  Breezed over all the posts and all the recommendations are "good advice" ..... Corsair PSUs are right up there and excellent value for money ATM .... as far as the wasted memory till the W7 upgrade ...... if you can utilize a scratch disc for your editing ...... there's an app called "RamDisc" by "DataRam" that can turn the unused 8 gig into a 4000Mb/s+ scratch disc ....... 4gig free and unlock the lot for under 10 pounds, worth looking at anyway.

  As far as getting to 4 Ghz on a 950 ..... unless you are really unlucky with a CPU that doesn't have the legs ...you should have no problems getting to 4 Ghz .....turn off Turbo and "C" states, keep the memory under 1600 ....set the multiplier x23 and wind it up to 3.8 to begin with and check temps and stability under load.

  Running 24 gig of memory will lower the ceiling a tad ..... when you do get some BSODS (and you will) ..... take a note of the 000x00000 error code ..... this will give you the ammo of what to look at and tweak in Bios

  Read and bookmark this Doc for reference ..... you'll find yourself going back to it again and again ..... http://www.overclock.net/t/538439/guide-to-overclocking-the-core-i7-920-or-930-to-4-0ghz

  Take note of the really handy BSOD code index towards the end ..... really handy .....and the only thing to look out for is , ....filling all the slots (memory) might require a little extra QPI/VTT voltage to run stable ....... don't exceed the 0.5Volts that is discussed ..... with the memory controller on the die now ...... damage can ensue if you flout this limit.   If you don't understand it, ask for clarification.

  Enjoy!

  Aussie Allan