i7 930 overclocking thread

ChucklesC6 said:
bump again. 4.3 Linx stable. higher temps though, 38 idle, 74 loaded.
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Nice! Maybe I should switch to water too. My main problem is my high ambient temps in my LianLi PCA05B case (40c+). I've seen water cooled rigs in this case, but they had to cut holes in the top to fit the reservoir/fan/heatexchanger unit and ended up loosing the last PCI slot. Maybe I'll try a H50 first. BTW, is there a higher end self-contained water cooler like the H50 that works better.
 
dude the a05b is an epic case for air cooling! the rear intake blows right on the cpu cooler so you get fantastic temps.

you should upgrade the fans in the a05 if you haven't already as the stock ones are a little wimpy.

get 2 x high speed yate loons (maybe a third for your HSF) and a $20 fan controller and you will be set with very nice temps. I have the same case so I know this can be one of the best cases for CPU temps.
 
So my components came in and I quickly got it to 4.0ghz. However, after only 20 minutes of Prime95 my hottest core is at 75C. I'm seeing where a lot of you guys have temperatures in the 80s and seem comfortable with that. 75C seems a bit warm to me.

I plan to use this rig for a few years to come. What's the maximum temperature I should aim for to keep it running for that long?
 
sfsilicon said:
Nice! Maybe I should switch to water too. My main problem is my high ambient temps in my LianLi PCA05B case (40c+). I've seen water cooled rigs in this case, but they had to cut holes in the top to fit the reservoir/fan/heatexchanger unit and ended up loosing the last PCI slot. Maybe I'll try a H50 first. BTW, is there a higher end self-contained water cooler like the H50 that works better.
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not really anything like the H50. Swiftech has come out with a new line of radiators with the pump and reservoir built in though. You can research those and see if they'll fit your needs? You'll still need to pick out a CPU waterblock and run the tubing for it, but it's not that hard. Just make sure you use compression fittings and you shouldn't have any leaks. I hooked my setup up outside of my rig for 24hr leak test before i put it in my case.
 
Headcase_Fargone said:
So my components came in and I quickly got it to 4.0ghz. However, after only 20 minutes of Prime95 my hottest core is at 75C. I'm seeing where a lot of you guys have temperatures in the 80s and seem comfortable with that. 75C seems a bit warm to me.

I plan to use this rig for a few years to come. What's the maximum temperature I should aim for to keep it running for that long?
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I'd keep the temps in the 70's under P95/Linx loads. Realistically, is your CPU going to normally see that type of loading? A lot of places said load temps in the low 80's were ok.

I had an E8400 for a couple years running at 4.05ghz, but temps were good. Still is running today in my workstation actually, but downclocked to 3.6ghz on a crappier mobo.
 
My concern is that during gaming my GPU will be generating a lot of heat that it isn't under Prime95, driving the CPU temperatures up further. I have decent airflow in my case, so maybe that won't be a problem.

But hey, if you guys say 75C at load is fine who am I to argue? I'll run Prime95 for 24 hours and see how hot it gets.

Edit: Just ran Linx 20 times and didn't see it go over 74C. It appears to be idling in the mid to upper 40s. I'm guessing that's pretty decent?
 
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what are your system specs? my 5870 blows all the hot air right out the case, as did my 9800gtx+ before it. I've seen little to no change in case ambient temps from graphics cards. My 5870 does warm up the case if I forget to turn up the fan though.

Turn up your GPU fan if you think it may be a problem. Or watercool. I barely saw 50-something under load @ 4.0ghz, but my waterblock has issues.
 
I7 930
EVGA X58 SLI
6GB GSkill 7-8-7-24 at 1.5v
ATI OEM 5850, stock cooler
Corsair H50 cooler
Antec 902 chassis

I'm going to run some games on it (the real test I suppose), but so far it's been solid under short duration Prime95 and 20 runs of Linx.

Very happy so far though.
 
Headcase_Fargone said:
My concern is that during gaming my GPU will be generating a lot of heat that it isn't under Prime95, driving the CPU temperatures up further.
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When I'm gaming the CPU temps are a good 10-15 celcius lower than when doing prime even with a GTX295 warming up the air in the case.
 
So LINX passes fine but Prime95 keeps BSODing on me after a few minutes. I'm getting lots of "machine_check_exceptions" and not sure what to do about it aside from further upping the vcore. I'm already hitting 80C under Prime95...
 
Headcase_Fargone said:
So LINX passes fine but Prime95 keeps BSODing on me after a few minutes. I'm getting lots of "machine_check_exceptions" and not sure what to do about it aside from further upping the vcore. I'm already hitting 80C under Prime95...
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Sounds like ram.
 
It's my understanding that the "small FFT" test in Prime95 is primarily (hah, see what I did there?) a CPU stress-test and if that causes you problems it's likely the CPU and not the RAM. Is that correct?

Also, I fiddled with some of the other voltages and just managed about an hour of Prime95 with no BSODs as well as 20 LINX runs. Highest temperature was 79C for core 1 and 76C for the rest. I'm idling in the mid 40s. Higher than I'd like but I'm tempted to just leave well enough alone.
 
haadij404 said:
dude the a05b is an epic case for air cooling! the rear intake blows right on the cpu cooler so you get fantastic temps.

you should upgrade the fans in the a05 if you haven't already as the stock ones are a little wimpy.

get 2 x high speed yate loons (maybe a third for your HSF) and a $20 fan controller and you will be set with very nice temps. I have the same case so I know this can be one of the best cases for CPU temps.
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What is your ambient case temp? Mine is 40C+. I also see a creep of temps when I run Prime95 in a longer loop (e.g. overnight). Going from the low 80c to erroring out at 85c. I pass 20 Linx without problem at low 80C.

I've tried replacing my rear fan with a strong fan, the front case fan will require me to remove my drives. Not sure if I have to remove the drive bay which will require drilling. I tried using the same fan on the heatsink. This is the one I used. Supposed to be 100cfm, but it is a lot stronger than the stock Cogage and case fans. Running them at full speed (noisy buggers) but I didn't notice a major drop in temps when the case was closed.

BTW, I have rotated my PSU so that it pulls air in from the drive bay. I also have a side fan blowing cool air in (that might be hindering the air flow so I'll play around a bit).
 
thats why i switched to watercooling. my old aircooled e8400 had great temps, but that thing was noisy. I could not leave my computer on and sleep. it was also in an antec 900, not known for its silence, but had HUGE airflow in and out of the case.

Anyway, those are MONSTER ambients. my case ambient is 20's, low 30 max @90F outside, idk how hot inside my room with no window open. Might want to take care of that...
 
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Headcase_Fargone said:
It's my understanding that the "small FFT" test in Prime95 is primarily (hah, see what I did there?) a CPU stress-test and if that causes you problems it's likely the CPU and not the RAM. Is that correct?

Also, I fiddled with some of the other voltages and just managed about an hour of Prime95 with no BSODs as well as 20 LINX runs. Highest temperature was 79C for core 1 and 76C for the rest. I'm idling in the mid 40s. Higher than I'd like but I'm tempted to just leave well enough alone.
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Yeah, the Linx would let you know your RAM was erroring out better than small fft. I would take the VTT up a few notches. I'm @ +200mv :eek:. Which is more than people said I would need. I can run stable 4.4-4.5 with room for more, but that took +300mv and 1.43+ vcore. I'm pretty happy with 4.3 , +200mv. YMMV. I have a bit of a voltage hungry chip/ram combo. I honestly don't see how people are making 4+ not even into 1.3's. Wish mine was that frugal. Someone here has theirs up to 1.488V! and only 59c load on a H-50. Luck of the draw?

AFAIK, the cooler on the 5850 is similar to 5870, excepting being you have plugs in one vent. Turn up the fans, and it should shoot all the hot air out the back of the case. My case has mobo rotated 90degrees, so all the hot air is vented upwards, pretty effective at removing heat from my case, so IDK how it would be in a normal case.
 
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Headcase_Fargone said:
It's my understanding that the "small FFT" test in Prime95 is primarily (hah, see what I did there?) a CPU stress-test and if that causes you problems it's likely the CPU and not the RAM. Is that correct?

Also, I fiddled with some of the other voltages and just managed about an hour of Prime95 with no BSODs as well as 20 LINX runs. Highest temperature was 79C for core 1 and 76C for the rest. I'm idling in the mid 40s. Higher than I'd like but I'm tempted to just leave well enough alone.
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Welp, I fired up Prime95 to run it overnight just now and with the same settings as earlier it BSOD'ed after less than 15 minutes. Machine_Check_Exception again. Looks like I'm taking her down to 3.6.

This is proving much more difficult than I thought it would be...
 
Headcase_Fargone said:
Welp, I fired up Prime95 to run it overnight just now and with the same settings as earlier it BSOD'ed after less than 15 minutes. Machine_Check_Exception again. Looks like I'm taking her down to 3.6.

This is proving much more difficult than I thought it would be...
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ditto. I was expecting a bulletproof easy overclock to 4.0ghz and beyond, because that was what was being said.
It didn't take any extreme measures, but it wasn't so easy.

also, did you boost VTT? On our evga boards, it wont ask what voltage, but plus mv. Take it up a few notches. I started at 300mv and worked my way down per OC guide @ EVGA forums.
 
The EVGA tuning utility is showing 1.1V for CPU VTT. I think that may be stock? You say 300mv, does that mean you started at 1.3 or 1.4?

I'll give a try whatever you recommend if you're running a similar setup.

For now though I have it running 3.8 at 1.25v and I'm liking the temperatures I'm seeing much more. I might just leave it here if Prime95 is stable.

One more question for anyone that can answer (cross-posting from someone else's thread):

If one core is running 4-5C hotter than the others, does that likely mean uneven coverage of TIM? The H50 moved around a bit when I first seated it, and I ended up having to rotate it a good 90 degrees before clamping it down. I'm wondering if core #0 didn't get good coverage. Or does that one typically run hotter?

Awesome thread, by the way, guys. I'm getting more solid information here than anywhere else.
 
Headcase_Fargone said:
The EVGA tuning utility is showing 1.1V for CPU VTT. I think that may be stock? You say 300mv, does that mean you started at 1.3 or 1.4?

I'll give a try whatever you recommend if you're running a similar setup.

For now though I have it running 3.8 at 1.25v and I'm liking the temperatures I'm seeing much more. I might just leave it here if Prime95 is stable.

One more question for anyone that can answer (cross-posting from someone else's thread):

If one core is running 4-5C hotter than the others, does that likely mean uneven coverage of TIM? The H50 moved around a bit when I first seated it, and I ended up having to rotate it a good 90 degrees before clamping it down. I'm wondering if core #0 didn't get good coverage. Or does that one typically run hotter?

Awesome thread, by the way, guys. I'm getting more solid information here than anywhere else.
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In my experience, a non-uniform reading of temperatures is normal in the neighborhood of a 4-5 degrees. Typically, the cases where people are getting uniform temperatures are ones in which they Lap their processors for flatness. AFAIK, there is to be no lapping done on waterblocks, though some aircoolers may benefit.

My Q6700 had a 6degree difference from core0 to core 3. My 930 has about 4 degrees. I've seen some cases of 10+, but I'm sure reapplication/reseating would help that. I also normally see core0 running hottest.

You can use EVGA E-Leet, but I was talking about going into the BIOS and adjusting it there. In E-Leet it will ask you what voltage you request, but in BIOS it will ask how much +xxx mv. I would recommend you do it through BIOS. If you use E-Leet, for reference, my voltage states 1.37 under the "Monitor" tab.
 
Also, being p95/linx stable is just for assurance, IMO. My E8400 was @ 4.05ghz for years without being tested for stability, then when I did find out about stress testing, it failed to pass and I adjusted to compensate.

So really, P95/Linx is really for finding out if your system can put up with high intensity workloads. Gaming and normal usage is not going to be affected. I can turn down my voltage on my 4.3ghz oc and run BC2 all day long, but will not hold 2 passes of Linx.
 
Couple other changes I made, but are probably more than necessary.

VCore is @ 1.4 edit-W/out VDroop
DIMM @ 1.65 (But this is stock for my RAM, I wouldn't play with this much?)
QPI PLL @ 1.4
CPU PLL @ 1.8v
IOH VCore 1.4v
CPU VTT 1.38v (+200mv or so in BIOS iirc)
IOC/ICH/I/O 1.65v
ICH 1.25v

But as they say what works for one, may not boot the other.
Good luck!
 
Is 1.375v too high for a 4.2 overclock? I can't seem to sustain a 4.2 overclock with anything less. 4.1 works but not 4.2. Is it possible that my cooling isn't sufficient enough?
 
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t1337Dude said:
Is 1.375v too high for a 4.2 overclock? I can't seem to sustain a 4.2 overclock with anything less. 4.1 works but not 4.2. Is it possible that my cooling isn't sufficient enough?
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What are your temps in linx? Air or liquid?
 
t1337Dude said:
Is 1.375v too high for a 4.2 overclock? I can't seem to sustain a 4.2 overclock with anything less. 4.1 works but not 4.2. Is it possible that my cooling isn't sufficient enough?
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If your temps are OK, then you should be good to go. Some chips are just more voltage hungry than others. My 4.2 took quite a bit to be stable as well.
 
ChucklesC6 said:
If your temps are OK, then you should be good to go. Some chips are just more voltage hungry than others. My 4.2 took quite a bit to be stable as well.
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My temps aren't great but they aren't terrible either. They definitely shoot up there under repeated stress tests, but how often do games push the CPU to the equivalent of stress tests anyways? I'm afraid to say what my temps are specifically because you guys might shoot me down. What temps would you say are too high? I'm using air cooling, my heatsink is a Hyper 212 Plus. I have the fan speed set to automatic, so it runs at 1500rpm idle instead of the default 2000rpm.
 
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just curious, are the voltages posted on the first post read from BIOS or cpuz? for example, my i7 only needs 1.22v in bios (1.26v in cpuz) for 4ghz linx/p95 stable. for comparison sakes, should i use my bios voltage or what's read from cpuz?
 
t1337Dude said:
My temps aren't great but they aren't terrible either. They definitely shoot up there under repeated stress tests, but how often do games push the CPU to the equivalent of stress tests anyways? I'm afraid to say what my temps are specifically because you guys might shoot me down. What temps would you say are too high? I'm using air cooling, my heatsink is a Hyper 212 Plus. I have the fan speed set to automatic, so it runs at 1500rpm idle instead of the default 2000rpm.
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in the 80's is getting too toasty. I think in the 70's under heavy load that your CPU won't typically see anyways is a good place to bet (like P95 of Linx).
 
WhiteFireDragon said:
just curious, are the voltages posted on the first post read from BIOS or cpuz? for example, my i7 only needs 1.22v in bios (1.26v in cpuz) for 4ghz linx/p95 stable. for comparison sakes, should i use my bios voltage or what's read from cpuz?
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sweet chip. I wish I only need 1.22 to be stable @ 4. That means you could probably get up to 4.2-4.3 really nicely.

I've read once somewhere (so take with salt) that CPUZ isn't completely accurate @ measuring voltage? I'm not sure, but it's good enough for me. I would take the higher estimate to be on the safe side.
 
User Name: morgs36
CPU: i7 930
FPO/Batch #: 3001A962
Store: CPL Melbourne Australia
Purchased In: March 2010

OC: 3885 ghz
Stability: occt 3.1/prime95 5hrs
Temp (Idle / Load): 44C / 76C
Hyper Threading / Turbo Boost / Multiplier: Yes / No / 21x
Stepping: 5
Revision: D0
Vcore/Core Voltage: 1.30 Bios /cpu-z 1.28
Cooling: Air
Cooler brand/model: Venomous X 1366

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R Rev.1.0
Bios Version: F5
Operating System: Win 7 64 bit Pro

RAM brand & type: GSkill Ripjaws
RAM Part #: F3-16000CL9T-^GBRH
RAM rated speed: 2000 MHz
RAM actual speed: 1480 MHz
RAM Latency: 8-8-8-20 1T
RAM Voltage: 1.6V

Hello to everyone saw your thread on i7 930 o/c thought id join and say hi and post my current specs .
 
t1337Dude said:
My temps aren't great but they aren't terrible either. They definitely shoot up there under repeated stress tests, but how often do games push the CPU to the equivalent of stress tests anyways? I'm afraid to say what my temps are specifically because you guys might shoot me down. What temps would you say are too high? I'm using air cooling, my heatsink is a Hyper 212 Plus. I have the fan speed set to automatic, so it runs at 1500rpm idle instead of the default 2000rpm.
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Anything over 90c is toasty, generally keep the full load (prime/lin) under 85c.
 
Morgs36 said:
User Name: morgs36
CPU: i7 930
FPO/Batch #: 3001A962
Store: CPL Melbourne Australia
Purchased In: March 2010

OC: 3885 ghz
Stability: occt 3.1/prime95 5hrs
Temp (Idle / Load): 44C / 76C
Hyper Threading / Turbo Boost / Multiplier: Yes / No / 21x
Stepping: 5
Revision: D0
Vcore/Core Voltage: 1.30 Bios /cpu-z 1.28
Cooling: Air
Cooler brand/model: Venomous X 1366

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R Rev.1.0
Bios Version: F5
Operating System: Win 7 64 bit Pro

RAM brand & type: GSkill Ripjaws
RAM Part #: F3-16000CL9T-^GBRH
RAM rated speed: 2000 MHz
RAM actual speed: 1480 MHz
RAM Latency: 8-8-8-20 1T
RAM Voltage: 1.6V

Hello to everyone saw your thread on i7 930 o/c thought id join and say hi and post my current specs .
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Push that RAM further!
 
Rossi~ said:
Push that RAM further!
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If i push ram further wont it make o/c unstable? being new to i7 overclocking im still play around with all the settings etc current settings is what bios choose by itself i only put the manual timings in .

cheers :)
 
CPU: i7 930
FPO/Batch #: 3001A786
Store: Fry's Electronics
Purchased In: April 2010

OC: 4032 ghz
Stability: LinX Max test, 56gflops, 20 passes.
Temp (Idle / Load): 36C / 78C (23C amb)
Hyper Threading / Turbo Boost / Multiplier: Yes / Yes / 21x/22x
Stepping: 5
Revision: D0
Vcore/Core Voltage: 1.31 Bios /cpu-z 1.306
Cooling: Air/sealed liquid
Cooler brand/model: H50 two fans

Motherboard: MSI x58 Pro-E
Bios Version: v8.8
Operating System: Win 7 64 bit HP

RAM brand & type: Kingston
RAM Part #: KHX1600C8D3K3/6GX
RAM rated speed: 1600 MHz
RAM actual speed: 1536 MHz
RAM Latency: 8-8-8-24 1T
RAM Voltage: 1.60V

Other voltages: Vtt/Vqpi: 1.28
 
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Lowres, try increasing your vcore to 1.35v. Bsods normally mean insuficient vcore. Keep you linx temps below 83c. Check out post 2 for cecil's ocing guide.
 
Hey all, my i7 930 is running at stock, and I believe it to be bottlenecking my two 5870s in certain games (Crysis, Metro 2033).

With using a Corsair H50, what's the steadiest/safest adjustments to meet a modest 500-700mhz boost? Say, 3.4Ghz would be what I'm aiming for.

I'm somewhat new to overclocking processors (specifically the core i7 ones) and am using a Gigabyte UD3R. I've looked at a couple of the how-to websites, but all that stuff is mostly for finding a threshold, which I don't really want. I just would like a safe boost that could run in any condition.
 
RaiseR RoofeR said:
Hey all, my i7 930 is running at stock, and I believe it to be bottlenecking my two 5870s in certain games (Crysis, Metro 2033).

With using a Corsair H50, what's the steadiest/safest adjustments to meet a modest 500-700mhz boost? Say, 3.4Ghz would be what I'm aiming for.

I'm somewhat new to overclocking processors (specifically the core i7 ones) and am using a Gigabyte UD3R. I've looked at a couple of the how-to websites, but all that stuff is mostly for finding a threshold, which I don't really want. I just would like a safe boost that could run in any condition.
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With a H50 and a case with normal ambient temps you should be able to hit 4.2GHz. Check out post 2 for Cecil's guide. Follow that to hit 4GHz. You can then either scale back to the lowest temps and voltages to maintain a stable OC to 4GHz or try for 4.2GHz or higher. If your going for the former once you have the lowest voltage settings for 4GHz you can always back it off further by doing 3.8GHz or 3.5GHz then repeat the voltage lowering process to get even lower temps.
 
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