Q6600 to 2500K for BF3?

[Smartazz]

I think 4.5GHz is probably overkill for BF3. I picked 4.5GHz because it was achievable with only 1.3v. I figure chip degradation will be minimal at 50c and 1.3v.

 

[suklee]

One strange incident occurred tonight, on resuming from sleep my CPU was apparently stuck on 1.6GHz. I only found out after looking at the RealTempLog file. BF3 was noticeably choppier than before, so somewhere between 1.6 and 4.5GHz would be the sweet spot

Assuming the log file is correct, not sure why the CPU would have gotten stuck on 1604.71MHz. I've disabled auto-sleep for now.

 

[Smartazz]

Try 4GHz, which should be achievable at around stock voltage. It should be more than enough for BF3. I personally don't use sleep so idk what to say about that problem.

 

[fastamdman]

With z68 motherboards and SB chips there is an issue with internal cpu pll over voltage and resuming from sleep if I recall correctly. Just disable cpu pll overvoltage and you should be ok to resume from sleep.

Although I don't let my system sleep anyway sooo ya.

 

[badnewcastle]

I've been messing around with sleeping on Z68 and P67 systems. Seems like unless you make sure that you either leave an application open and sleep it or wait a minute or two after closing an application, sleep can cause BSOD.

Firefox seems to take a minute to shutdown and if I sleep it too quickly after closing it, I can look forward to a BSOD within 1 hour of waking it. Totally weird, thought it was my SSD and it still might have something to do with my SSD.

Anyways, thought it might be something to consider.

FWIW, 2600k in sig destroys BF3 or really anything else. So the 2500k on Z68 shouldn't be far behind.

 

[fastamdman]

The 2500k and 2600k are very close when looked at in the gaming aspect. As I just said in my post above, if you are having problems resuming from sleep, disable cpu pll over voltage.

 

[suklee]

Try 4GHz, which should be achievable at around stock voltage. It should be more than enough for BF3. I personally don't use sleep so idk what to say about that problem.

I'm now back on 4GHz on default auto voltage. I like that it automatically throttles down the voltage when on idle...

I've also disabled the CPU PLL overvoltage as suggested.

 

[fastamdman]

Auto voltage is not what throttles down the voltage, that would be EIST aka intel speed step. You can set your voltages with offsets and still use EIST. That way you aren't using to much voltage.

Also, you should be running 4.5ghz 24/7 cough, no reason not to.

 

[alfa147x]

I say the Gigabyte Z68X-UD3H-B3

It's the easiest to hackintosh:
http://www.kakewalk.se/compatibility/


Edit. Looks like I was a bit late. Still good choice!

 

[suklee]

Auto voltage is not what throttles down the voltage, that would be EIST aka intel speed step. You can set your voltages with offsets and still use EIST. That way you aren't using to much voltage.

Also, you should be running 4.5ghz 24/7 cough, no reason not to.

Confused as to how to get offset to work on my Gigabyte board though... I've read this Asus post a few times and think I finally understand what offset voltage means, but don't see the same BIOS setting on my Z68XP-UD3. I think I have to use the Multi-Steps Load-Line? It's rather cryptic though - the options just say Level 1 - Level 10. Or is it Dynamic Vcore (DVID) that I need to use?? DVID only becomes available after I set the CPU Vcore to Normal.

Edit. Looks like I was a bit late. Still good choice!

Heh, yep. I tried to look for those specific models listed under kakewalk compatibility page but the shop didn't have them. Remember I asked you about getting my board working on the Apple forum? You gave me a few links but I still haven't had time to look through them...

 

[alfa147x]

Confused as to how to get offset to work on my Gigabyte board though... I've read this Asus post a few times and think I finally understand what offset voltage means, but don't see the same BIOS setting on my Z68XP-UD3. I think I have to use the Multi-Steps Load-Line? It's rather cryptic though - the options just say Level 1 - Level 10. Or is it Dynamic Vcore (DVID) that I need to use?? DVID only becomes available after I set the CPU Vcore to Normal.



Heh, yep. I tried to look for those specific models listed under kakewalk compatibility page but the shop didn't have them. Remember I asked you about getting my board working on the Apple forum? You gave me a few links but I still haven't had time to look through them...

Ah great! I hope one link was this:
http://tonymacx86.blogspot.com/2011/10/unibeast-install-mac-os-x-lion-using.html

 

[suklee]

The 2500k and 2600k are very close when looked at in the gaming aspect. As I just said in my post above, if you are having problems resuming from sleep, disable cpu pll over voltage.

Just locked up on resuming from sleep, maybe it's time to disable sleep once and for all

 

[carling220]

I've got a stock 2500K and a 560ti and play BF3 fine.

On MP i run on a combo of high/some ultra and it's never slow or anything. I don't measure any specs etc i'm not in to it that much, just saying what I see! Looks really good too.

Good thing about the 2500K I thought when buying was future proofing.

In the future, my plan at least, simply over the clock the cpu, chuck in a 580(when price goes down) or something and you're set with a better rig.

 

[suklee]

Auto voltage is not what throttles down the voltage, that would be EIST aka intel speed step. You can set your voltages with offsets and still use EIST. That way you aren't using to much voltage.

Also, you should be running 4.5ghz 24/7 cough, no reason not to.

OK *think* I finally figured out how to do offset on my Gigabyte mobo:

1) Set CPU Vcore to 'normal'
2) Only then is Dynamic Vcore selectable

Currently testing IBT on 20 passes/Very high/1.28V/61C, with DVID is set at -0.065v. (edit: passed - hopefully means it's stable for now?)

I got a BSOD when it was set at -0.075

edit2: passed 2 hours of BF3, but my CPU was logged at 1.6GHz again! (WTF?) Is RealTemp always assumed to be accurate? I guess it is cuz my temps were in the high 30s/low 40s, and load % was always near 100!

 

[sm625]

Where I live I'll be forking out about US$430 for 2500K + mobo + 8GB RAM and I figure I can sell my Q6600 + mobo + RAM on eBay for ~ US$130.

Watch this thread: http://www.ebay.com/itm/LGA-775-EVG...ory-/170754841112?pt=CPUs&hash=item27c1c81a18

I think you can get much more than $130.

 

[suklee]

Will do, thanks for the link sm625!

I will probably include the 9800GTX+ as a combo as well.

 

[Smartazz]

I say the Gigabyte Z68X-UD3H-B3

It's the easiest to hackintosh:
http://www.kakewalk.se/compatibility/


Edit. Looks like I was a bit late. Still good choice!

Thanks for the link! I think I'll repurpose my old Q6600 with a Gigabyte EP45-DS3L as a Mac for my parents. I have all the parts, but I think I'll invest in a cheap $30 video card like a GT210 which should be fine for basic use.

 

[badnewcastle]

The 2500k and 2600k are very close when looked at in the gaming aspect. As I just said in my post above, if you are having problems resuming from sleep, disable cpu pll over voltage.

Yep yep, I'm well beyond that point. Was still having issues until I found some evidence leading to my post. Anyways, it's OT at this point.

 

[gramboh]

Yo wont notice jack of difference if your LGA 775 was OCed to 3.6 or above. My BF3 1080ps 8xCSAA 16xAF high detail, vsync on , game details Ultra tweaked, FPS is locked @ 60fps never goes down below 55fps ,,, once in a while goes to 51 percent for a split second,,,,,,,,

The CPU usage is 65 percent AVG.

The CPU usage on a Sandy would be 35 percent.

Pointless upgrade... Wait until a 8 core 16 thread desktop comes out man your fine.....gl

This is an older post, but I am calling shenanigans.

I have a similar setup, although slower OC at only 3.3GHz and 4GB RAM, but my 560Ti is clocked slightly ahead of yours. I play BF3 at 1920x1200 (so higher res), but on all high settings with no AA, vsync off, and while running around in low intensity scenes is 60-80fps, in big firefights on 64 player CQ, it will drop to 30-45fps. There is no way a Q6600, even at 3.8GHz, with a 560Ti is 60fps constantly in BF3 64player CQ with ultra settings and 8X CSAA, that is not possible.

 

[suklee]

More BF3, this time correctly clocked at 4513MHz. The load voltage would have been 1.27/1.28. I may need to give up on sleep, but not a big deal breaker.

CPU peak: 58C
GPU peak: 66C (RealTemp) 64C (MSI Afterburner)
GPU usage: 99%, occasional dips to 97%
GPU memory usage: 910MB
FPS: 60 average (64 player Metro)

 

[suklee]

This is an older post, but I am calling shenanigans.

I have a similar setup, although slower OC at only 3.3GHz and 4GB RAM, but my 560Ti is clocked slightly ahead of yours. I play BF3 at 1920x1200 (so higher res), but on all high settings with no AA, vsync off, and while running around in low intensity scenes is 60-80fps, in big firefights on 64 player CQ, it will drop to 30-45fps. There is no way a Q6600, even at 3.8GHz, with a 560Ti is 60fps constantly in BF3 64player CQ with ultra settings and 8X CSAA, that is not possible.

Pretty sure he was talking about single player :sneaky:

 

[watek]

All you need for BF3 is 4ghz and anything over hasn't shown any improvement, for SB.

Especially in heavy areas in B2K.

 

[Mhorydyn]

OK *think* I finally figured out how to do offset on my Gigabyte mobo:

1) Set CPU Vcore to 'normal'
2) Only then is Dynamic Vcore selectable

Currently testing IBT on 20 passes/Very high/1.28V/61C, with DVID is set at -0.065v. (edit: passed - hopefully means it's stable for now?)

I got a BSOD when it was set at -0.075

edit2: passed 2 hours of BF3, but my CPU was logged at 1.6GHz again! (WTF?) Is RealTemp always assumed to be accurate? I guess it is cuz my temps were in the high 30s/low 40s, and load % was always near 100!

Dumb question: what program are you using to create graphs like that?

 

[suklee]

Logged with real temp, upload to google docs and boom! Easy graph

 

[gramboh]

Pretty sure he was talking about single player :sneaky:

BF3 has single player?

Never even loaded BC2 single player and haven't yet in BF3 either hehe.