GA-MA770-UD3 rev 2.0 - increasing vcore

[Merlin]

Hi. I've started overclocking my Phenom II 550BE, and have taken it from 3.1 to 3.4Ghz, stable after 8 and a half hours of orthos. I didn't do it via FSB, I just increased the multiplier from x15.5 to x17. It's now at x17.5 multiplier 3.5ghz, currently stress testing. So far, cpu vcore is still at stock 1.34v. Problem I'm having is that when I set system voltage control to manual so I can increase vcore, the system won't post, completely blank screen, and I've had to reset the cmos 3 times. Even leaving vcore at 1.34v, it won't post, just by the system voltage control being in manual mode.

So basically, it boots when system voltage control is auto but not when system voltage control is manual, where I haven't changed any voltages.  

I have EPP enabled. Is it anything to do with EPP voltage conflicting with the manual DRAM setting?

Or, am I meant to leave everything on auto and will the bios raise the vcore automatically for me as the multiplier increases? I ask this because next to system voltage control it says "[Auto] Warning:  Voltages may be raised for optimising overclock"      

I also noticed something else. Next to DRAM voltage control, it says "Voltage settings for DDR3 memory". Is that a mistake? The voltage it shows is 2.120v which is about the same as my EPP voltage. Yet I have DDR2 ram.                  

My target is 3.8ghz to 4Ghz. Thanks for any help.


edit: oh, just realised that easytune has overclocking features. Can I continue overclocking with that? Looks like I can increase vcore from easytune instead of bothering with the bios.


http://j.imagehost.org/0454/Capture_6.jpg
http://j.imagehost.org/0764/Capture1.jpg



This is my system:

Phenom II x2 550BE o/c @3.5GHz
HIS ati 4870 1GB
OCZ ModXstream Pro 700w
Coolermaster Dominator CM690
WD 1TB RE3 sata-II 32mb
Patriot Viper 2x2GB DDR2 6400@ EPP 4-4-4-12
GA-MA770-UD3 rev 2.0 motherboard bios FD
TRUE Rev C + Arctic Cooling MX-2
Thermalright HR-03-GT vga cooler
120mmm fans: Enermax Twister blue LED
Xigmatek XLF-F1253 orange/white LED
4 x AC Ryan Blackfire 4 UV/LED blue - blue/orange -blue/green.
Sharkoon 'golfball' silent eagle 2000

[absic]

Hi there,

Before we get started on trying to squeeze anything else out of the system what BIOS version are you using?
The latest is FKJ which might address some of the issues you are facing. You can download it here: http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3097&dl=1#dl

If your not sure how to update BIOS check out the FAQ regarding how to do it here: http://forum.giga-byte.co.uk/index.php/topic,2441.0.html

If you disable the EPP settings are you then able to use the Manual voltage settings? (Have you tried this?)

Personally I wouldn't use EasyTune 6 on a regular basis, it is a great little tool for getting some basic figures together but, it is much better to take control yourself and actually make the settings in BIOS. It is a bit more of a challenge but much more rewarding when it works.

[Merlin]

Hi Absic, yeah, I've done bios updates a few times, and I'm on FD still with no problems.

If you disable the EPP settings are you then able to use the Manual voltage settings? (Have you tried this?)

That indeed was the solution!    I've now solved the problem with my bios.  I disabled the evil EPP and the pc posted with system voltage set to manual.

http://j.imagehost.org/0783/Evil_EPP_disabled.jpg

EPP was putting my ram on auto while system voltage control was putting DRAM on manual and must have been conflicting. Now I can continue overclocking via the bios and start increasing vcore. EPP was set to 4-4-4-12, and voltage was 2.120v. As you can see in the screenshot above, voltage has gone down to 1.920v so my ram timings are back to default.

I had a brainwave. I enabled EPP again, went to DRAM settings and it showed all the settings EPP uses, 4-4-4-12 plus a bunch of other timings. I then disabled EPP again, looked at DRAM settings again, and  it still kept the EPP settings. Very handy! Means I didn't have to change them one by one, it was already done. Then I went to DRAM voltage and increased it to 2.120v as that's what EPP voltage was. Rebooted, and it's fine, and at 4-4-4-12 again. Brilliant. Now I'm at x18 3.6Ghz, increased vcore to 1.4v (as orthos failed at stock voltage after an hour) and it's stable as I tested it overnight already for 8 hours. So now I'm going for 3.7Ghz. Don't know yet if it'll need more voltage. I'm quite happy with all this and thanks for your help so far.

[absic]

Pleased to have been able to point you in the right direction. Happy overclocking and you know where we are if you run into any other problems. 

[Merlin]

Thanks, yeah.   

Well, I just tried at x18.5 (3.7Ghz) and increased vcore to 1.42v but orthos gave me an 'execution halted' after a few minutes so now I need to increase vcore some more. My temps stayed very low though during orthos. I believe I can go safely up to 1.55v?

[absic]

Not too sure of the max VCore on the 550 but I don't think I would like to push it too much above 1.50.

Not sure if you have seen this article but it might be useful: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/overclock-phenom-pentium,2366-6.html

[Merlin]

Interesting article absic, thanks. I've now got a stable 3.7Ghz on 1.45v, tested for over 5 hours on orthos. I'm trying for 3.8Ghz next. It would be nice to achieve the 3.94Ghz that they got at toms hardware, and it looks like they got that stable by changing the fsb from 200 to 202. If I can get stable at 3.8, I'll certainly give 3.9 a go.

Is small FFTs good enough for testing stability, or should I be testing on blend for overall computer stability? And what do you think of stressing with intelburn test on 100 runs, and also, is it worth installing OCCT which I've heard is very good but very demanding?

[absic]

Not sure if I will be able to point you in the right direction as I'm not a believer in over stressing things. There are others on the forum who are more into Overclocking who would be much better at helping you through the next stages but I think.......

You really need to ask yourself a couple of questions.
What are you going to actually use your PC for?
How much time do you want to spend just pushing things until they fall over or, worse still, fail completely and need replacing?

Remember the more stress testing you put your Rig through, the more voltage you throw around the motherboard, the shorter the life expectancy of everything. And, you are not covered by any warranties if things go belly up.

What I tend to do is get what seems to be a stable overclock and then I use the PC. If it's going to fall over it will do it and I will know I have gone too far and pull things back. If everything rocks and the system runs fine for around a month, I will then try another slight increase. I don't let the challenge of overclocking, stop me from using my PC. In this way I have hit 4.8 Ghz with my X61090Ton air and the PC did everything I wanted from it. I know what my Rig can do but now, I have pulled everything back to the stock settings. As I said, I'm not really into O/Cing.

[Dark Mantis]

I too would like to agree with what absic has been saying regarding stress testing. Alright you want to test your overclock but apart from a quick check what better way is there than just plain using it. Play a good few hours on some high end game like Crysis  and that will stress your system fine.

[Merlin]

Thanks guys. You're right, it's easy to get carried away with all the minutia of overclocking.  
I too just wanted to see what my chip is capable of. I find the stock speed of 3.1ghz fast enough so when I find the limit I can go to, I might also revert back to stock, or perhaps 3.5ghz where I wasn't using any extra volts.

[Dark Mantis]

It makes more sense and your equiptment lasts longertoo. Especially at the moment when we are in a position of hardware leading software there is no real need to try and get more speed out of your system. 

[Merlin]

Yes indeed.

This is interesting. Crysis GPU benchmark now gives fractionally lower maximum and average fps, but the minimum fps has increased by 3fps. I know it's a GPU bench and not the CPU bench, but someone did say that overclocking can increase the minimum frames in a game. So I guess it does.