I am desperate for help!

[nvidiaintelftw]

I am been spending weeks trying to get my system stable again since its been at 2.66ghz for a while now. I have a evga classified with most recent 82 BIOS release, core i7 920 D0, and G. skill Pi 1600mhz 1.6v 6-8-6-20(when cpu is overclocked wont boot till the timings are 7-8-7-20). I just got the memory 2 weeks ago thinking it would help overclocking but it really hasnt or im just really bad at overclocking?

So yesterday i got it to boot at 4.0ghz 200x20 at 1.28v
VTT=+200mV
QPI=AUTO(1.10v)
Vdimm=1.6v
IOH=1.25v

It passed 10 hours of Prime95 blend perfectly, but the thing that has just left me dumbfounded is that fact that today i go to start the system up it boots to windows(except hte little screen that says welcome is black then it goes to the desktop) and within 5 minutes at hte desktop it restarts and basically shuts down and wont boot back to windows till i force powerdown and power it back up. It runs fine at stock clocks, but this is very annoying, ive been contemplating RMA'ing my classified again.

Could someone help me out before i rip the hair out of my skull!

Thank you

 

[Rifter]

your QPI is low, mine needed 1.3V+ to get over 4Ghz. This is what held me back the most when overclocking my chip i forgot about the QPI and it took me a long time and lots of changing settings to figure it out.

 

[Spikesoldier]

yeah you need to jack up QPI and probably add some more voltage and maybe you can hit 4.2 or 4.3. approaching or going north of 4.0, you may be limited thermally rather than electrically.

i also wouldnt worry too much about memory OC or memory frequency. you have triple channel memory and that should provide plenty of bandwidth for your 920. remember CPU speed is king.

 

[nvidiaintelftw]

at 1.32v on the QPI it still takes a shitter and restarts randomly winthin 5 minutes? Do i need even more, ive kind of come to the conclusion that the IMC on this chip is quite weak

Tomorrow im going to try 1.32v on the vcore and like 1.36 on the QPI

 

[Ben90]

i also wouldnt worry too much about memory OC or memory frequency. you have triple channel memory and that should provide plenty of bandwidth for your 920. remember CPU speed is king.

True that. Using multipliers, DDR3-1333 can take your 920 up to 4.6Ghz before going 1Hz out of spec. That is before the memory is ran out of spec for clarification

 

[Jacky60]

I'd put QPI to 1.35v (intel max) and up the core voltage from 1.28 which is very low for a 4ghz overclock on that cpu. I'd certainly try in the 1.35-1.4v range for the core. You need to add more voltage to get stable then work down from there not the other way around.

 

[tweakboy]

QPI and also voltage is low boost it above 1.30v gl AND DONT OC your RAM ,, bring it down if you have to, dont change those timings like that. Just need to get past 1.30 even 1.32 or 1.34 for 4.2Ghz or something.. gl

 

[bryanW1995]

my evga x58 with an i7 920 d0 has 3 default settings for QPI: 4800/5600/6400. Drop the base QPI down to 4800, then when you get that 200 bclk you won't have to go so crazy on the QPI volts. PM me tonight to remind me and I'll give you all of my settings. I think I'm at 1.20 or 1.25v, and I'm also at 20x200. I recommend dropping your memory down to more relaxed timings before you do anything else, however, because that could well be your issue.

BTW, I was able to get 20x205 stable in linx + crysis/3dmark the other day when I was just messing around, but after about 3 minutes of seti@home it would restart no matter how high I went on voltages.

 

[nvidiaintelftw]

my evga x58 with an i7 920 d0 has 3 default settings for QPI: 4800/5600/6400. Drop the base QPI down to 4800, then when you get that 200 bclk you won't have to go so crazy on the QPI volts. PM me tonight to remind me and I'll give you all of my settings.

yeah i left that at auto too and it seemed low at like 3500 according to CPUz when it would actually stay long enough in windows for me to check

 

[nvidiaintelftw]

QPI Voltage: 1.35
Vcore:1.32
Memory Timings:8-8-8-24
QPI Link Freq.:4800

At QPi voltage 1.325 it would boot and i could see the little welcome screen for a second go to the desktop and last like 5 minutes or longer, better then before. Going to 1.35 it works good now, saw the welcome screen like before as if i was at stock clocks, and it has run long enough for me to type this post.

Now you guys say 1.35v was the max QPI voltage, so am i at a wall now, like will 4.2 or 4.4 be basically impossible for me even if i turn turbo on??

EDIT: okay nvm, failed like 5 minutes later when i went to go open steam to tell a friend thinking i got 4.0 working, but it black screened. Went back to the bios and up the QPi to 1.37 and that made it worse. now what? i dont dont think 4.0ghz is workable on this system anymore. when i first had the system it was SO EASY! but not its a pain like its all degrading from use, or my evga classified is taking a shit on my dreams of having a 4.0ghz system again, cuz this is a rma board i got a year ago

 

[bryanW1995]

Sounds like you need to start over from scratch. When doing a proper OC you're supposed to find max bclk, max memory, and max multi/final oc each separately. Normally what I do is first go down to stock clocks and verify that memory is ok at the rated specs. I don't bother to OC memory anymore b/c of the diminishing returns, but if you want to then keep pushing the memory with everything else at stock until you're satisfied with the memory settings. Once you have the memory dialed in, focus on your max bclk without overclocking the cpu; ie, drop your multi down to 6 or 9 or whatever the minimum is and start overclocking just the bclk. Even though you think you know the settings for this, I strongly recommend doing it "right" without any preconceived notions, so put all your voltages back to stock before you start. Most 1366 cpus/mobos will get somewhere between 200 and 214 once all is said and done. After you've figured out your max bclk and max memory timings then the actual overclocking is very easy and actually quite boring. Just plug in your max bclk/memory timings and keep raising the multiplier until you need more vcore/vtt, rinse and repeat until temps become an issue or you're satisfied with your OC. Only potential issue in this phase is if you're in some strange odd-numbered bclk like 197 or 211 or whatever. Normally with i7's I just make sure that 200 works and leave it there unless I'm tinkering and have lots of time/desire to mess around, but your mobo is much much better than the ones that I've used so I wouldn't be surprised to see you get 210+ if you have good cooling in your case.

 

[Rifter]

QPI Voltage: 1.35
Vcore:1.32
Memory Timings:8-8-8-24
QPI Link Freq.:4800

At QPi voltage 1.325 it would boot and i could see the little welcome screen for a second go to the desktop and last like 5 minutes or longer, better then before. Going to 1.35 it works good now, saw the welcome screen like before as if i was at stock clocks, and it has run long enough for me to type this post.

Now you guys say 1.35v was the max QPI voltage, so am i at a wall now, like will 4.2 or 4.4 be basically impossible for me even if i turn turbo on??

EDIT: okay nvm, failed like 5 minutes later when i went to go open steam to tell a friend thinking i got 4.0 working, but it black screened. Went back to the bios and up the QPi to 1.37 and that made it worse. now what? i dont dont think 4.0ghz is workable on this system anymore. when i first had the system it was SO EASY! but not its a pain like its all degrading from use, or my evga classified is taking a shit on my dreams of having a 4.0ghz system again, cuz this is a rma board i got a year ago

Lower ram and QPI dividers as low as possible to eliminate them being the problem, and disable speedstep and turbo if you havent already.

 

[Spikesoldier]

yup, lower memory frequency to 1333 and loosen timings to cas9. you have three channels of memory, you have plenty of bandwidth.

memory frequency/timings is the final thing you tweak on a OC.

 

[nvidiaintelftw]

yup, lower memory frequency to 1333 and loosen timings to cas9. you have three channels of memory, you have plenty of bandwidth.

memory frequency/timings is the final thing you tweak on a OC.

but why should i have to do that?

 

[Rifter]

but why should i have to do that?

because the memory is holding you back with your oc and memory will have no effect on performance where as cpu speed will.

 

[nvidiaintelftw]

because the memory is holding you back with your oc and memory will have no effect on performance where as cpu speed will.

how are you able to run at 1600mhz then, i know what your saying im just wondering

 

[Rifter]

how are you able to run at 1600mhz then, i know what your saying im just wondering

because i fought tooth and nail to get to 4.2 so the memory divider worked out in my favor. And i have corsair ram which IMO is better than gskill.

Edit

Also im runnniing 9-9-9-(something high 30 maybe) timings

 

[nvidiaintelftw]

because i fought tooth and nail to get to 4.2 so the memory divider worked out in my favor. And i have corsair ram which IMO is better than gskill.

Also im runnniing 9-9-9-9 timings

I have always loved G. skill ram, it always works well for me except for right now haha! I had XMS3 but sold them for my Pi's

Alright so if i were to try this tweaking thing again, so i just lower the ram divider the lowest one and then increase the bclk and lower the multi for the CPU so i can stay at stock clocks and till i find the max BCLK is when i increase the multi in increments and go from there?? Obviously i bump the VTT voltage up a notch each time i increase the bclk, but if im trying ot stay at stock clocks for now to find max bclk do i even change the vcore if the ghz isnt increasing??

 

[Rifter]

I have always loved G. skill ram, it always works well for me except for right now haha! I had XMS3 but sold them for my Pi's

Alright so if i were to try this tweaking thing again, so i just lower the ram divider the lowest one and then increase the bclk and lower the multi for the CPU so i can stay at stock clocks and till i find the max BCLK is when i increase the multi in increments and go from there?? Obviously i bump the VTT voltage up a notch each time i increase the bclk, but if im trying ot stay at stock clocks for now to find max bclk do i even change the vcore if the ghz isnt increasing??

I would leave vcore and VTT at high settings and just lower ram divider and qpi. keep bclock high as well with the lower divider it wont matter.

 

[nvidiaintelftw]

I would leave vcore and VTT at high settings and just lower ram divider and qpi. keep bclock high as well with the lower divider it wont matter.

wait why vcore high if im trying to find my max BCLK right now and not worrying about the multi

 

[Rifter]

i would keep clock multi high. lower memory.

 

[nvidiaintelftw]

i would keep clock multi high. lower memory.

i want to try what bryan is talking about, seems to make a lot of sense to me

 

[Rifter]

i want to try what bryan is talking about, seems to make a lot of sense to me

then lower voltages for now.

 

[Spikesoldier]

but why should i have to do that?

to quote post #3, CPU speed is king.

temporarily scale back memory frequency and timing. this will allow you to find your MAX CPU frequency.

then, once you have found your MAX CPU frequency, then try to increase the DRAM frequency and tighten timings for small performance gains.

to say it one more time, CPU speed is king.

 

[nvidiaintelftw]

so right now heres what i have

BCLK:133
Multi:20
Turbo Mode: Off
QPI Freq:4800
memory:1600 6-8-6-20 timings

Voltages

Vcore:stock 1.25v
VTT: +0mV (1.0v)
QPI PLL: 1.1v
Vdimm: 1.6v
IOH: 1.12v


So i should drop the Memory to the lest it can go and then lower the CPU multi the lowest itll go to but click the BCLK to find the max BCLK but still at stock 2.6GHZ, then once i find that(is booting and seeing if itll run int windows be good or should i do like 15 runs on LinX?) increase the multi till i get to a desired clock or till temps hold me back. then last thing would be memory stuff??