[Solved, I think] Problems OC'ing 2500K and Asus Z68 board

[Charlie98]

RE: GAME in sig below.

I bought a used 2500K to drop into my Asus Maximus Z68 board to use as a dedicated game rig... but I'm having a problem with the OC, specifically the CPU multiplier.

I can set the multiplier in the BIOS, save it, boot up... and it will show up for about 2 minutes (as verified by CPUID and Asus ATI monitor) and then, no matter what, revert back to stock 3.3GHz. I even shut off C-states to get it to run 100%... and it still reverted back to 3.3GHz.

Now, I had this board and my original 2500K in my work rig... OC'ed to 4.3GHz where it ran for about the last 6 months with no problems whatsoever. ...and now I can't get it to stabilize. And, no it's not throwing BSODs, either... it just drops the ratio.

3603 BIOS, fresh W8.1 install. I did have some problems finding good drivers... W8.1 wouldn't load off the driver CD, so I had to go hunting at ASUS for drivers, but everything seems to be working. I've reset the BIOS to optimized defaults... can anyone help me out, here?

EDIT: Ok, how about this: It runs at my OC... until I open RealTemp? As soon as I hit the shortcut... bam! it drops down to 3.3GHz.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

RE: GAME in sig below.

I bought a used 2500K to drop into my Asus Maximus Z68 board to use as a dedicated game rig... but I'm having a problem with the OC, specifically the CPU multiplier.

I can set the multiplier in the BIOS, save it, boot up... and it will show up for about 2 minutes (as verified by CPUID and Asus ATI monitor) and then, no matter what, revert back to stock 3.3GHz. I even shut off C-states to get it to run 100%... and it still reverted back to 3.3GHz.

Now, I had this board and my original 2500K in my work rig... OC'ed to 4.3GHz where it ran for about the last 6 months with no problems whatsoever. ...and now I can't get it to stabilize. And, no it's not throwing BSODs, either... it just drops the ratio.

3603 BIOS, fresh W8.1 install. I did have some problems finding good drivers... W8.1 wouldn't load off the driver CD, so I had to go hunting at ASUS for drivers, but everything seems to be working. I've reset the BIOS to optimized defaults... can anyone help me out, here?

EDIT: Ok, how about this: It runs at my OC... until I open RealTemp? As soon as I hit the shortcut... bam! it drops down to 3.3GHz.

I WANT to give advice on this, but at this point it also leaves me stymied.

Let's start from scratch. Can you follow the thorough procedures for clearing the CMOS on that MIVE board?

Second thought. Have you installed the ASUS AI Suite software and especially the Turbo-EVO overclocking app for windows? If so, I suggest you find the options or settings menu for AI Suite and disable Turbo EVO.

See where these things get you.

Where did you obtain the MIVE board? Did you buy it new back at a time when it was offered by resellers? Or did you buy it used?

The MIVE board was the top-end choice for the Z68 chipset. But you can find lower-tier ASUS boards with the same phase-power design, only fewer "special" features. For instance, it may be that Ascendtech.com still has some refurbed, tested P8Z68-V Pro/Gen3 boards (so Ivy-Bridge-ready, also). These sources -- corporate IT asset and surplus handlers -- offer such boards at a price competitive with Ebay "used" offerings. I picked up the Pro/Gen3 board for $85.

But I think you might explore these other preliminary paths before writing off the MIVE board.

 

[Charlie98]

Well, this board was a rock star for the last 6 months in my business rig... I had no problems taking my original 2500K to 4.3 stable (and it looked like there was plenty left.) All I've done is transplant it to a different case and drop in a used 2500K. The new CPU was a little beat up... and I'm always leery about getting a bad chip used, especially a K-chip.

I uninstalled AI Suite... it kept locking up... and then going in and starting my machine one program at a time. Finally... it seemed like when I would open RealTemp... the multiplier would immediately drop... so I deleted that file. After that, I was able to startup and run LinX at 4.1GHz (my preliminary OC) for 3 passes with no problems. I reenabled C-states and was able to run LinX again. I downloaded a fresh copy of RealTemp... and, again, was able to make 3 passes of LinX without the multiplier dropping. So... I THINK I've found the culprit.

Asus software claims you can change the multiplier in the OS, but I have never seen the utility that does so... and I wonder if that wasn't the root of the problem. I have not reinstalled AI Suite... I probably will just to see if it conflicts with RealTemp so I will know.

Although the Asus board may be a OC'er dream, I hate it. The BIOS is tooooo detailed and their manual is a complete fail. That is not to say it isn't a good board, it certainly has everything... I just don't care for it.

Sooo.... let's call this a conditional [Solved]

 

[the_stigma]

I have the same mobo and CPU and recently just did a round of OCing it, so I could probably assist if you need further help.

You can change multis in windows via one of the OC tools in AI suite (some like "turbo EVO" or whatever - I don't really use it much, although it seems to work fine. Might need the TPU enabled to use that (I don't often use that either, prefering manual control).

multi dropping seems weird. Even weirder that realtemp should cause it. AFAIK that program has no direct features to control OC ... and I assume that you have checked that its not just Intel speedstep lowering your multi at lower loads as would be normal.

-Stigma

 

[Charlie98]

I have the same mobo and CPU and recently just did a round of OCing it, so I could probably assist if you need further help.

You can change multis in windows via one of the OC tools in AI suite (some like "turbo EVO" or whatever - I don't really use it much, although it seems to work fine. Might need the TPU enabled to use that (I don't often use that either, prefering manual control).

multi dropping seems weird. Even weirder that realtemp should cause it. AFAIK that program has no direct features to control OC ... and I assume that you have checked that its not just Intel speedstep lowering your multi at lower loads as would be normal.

-Stigma

The RealTemp file must have been corrupt or something... the newly downloaded file doesn't seem to bother it, now.

I'll probably reload the AI Suite and see what all is in there... I'm just very cautious with those 'easy' OC utilities... my Gigabyte EasyTune6 utility was a disaster, and I prefer to undervolt my CPU, not pump the voltage up, let alone the BCLK.

 

[escrow4]

See that pretty CD that comes with mobo's? Throw it out the window. Never install any junk utilities. They are trash. Official manufacturer drivers for your OS and that is it. Screw RealTemp too, use HWiNfo, its frequently updated and can hook into other programs like Rivatuner/Afterburner.