Help/advice with overclock

[nrage]

Hi,

I have read the official/sticky thread on overclocking intel cpu's and it mostly makes sense however when it comes to using my bios to follow those instructions I'm stumbling in the dark a bit. I'm hoping you guys can help me out.

MOBO:

I have an Asus P5N32-SLI (I know not the best choice for overclocking but to be honest I'm not looking to push my hardware to the limit - thus no water cooling - I just want to give it a go, nice and slow). I have the latest BIOS 0901. This MOBO should do FSB 1066 and/or 1333 (in the few attempts I have made I did get 1333 stable)

PROCESSOR:

I have an E6750, on spec it should run @ 2667mhz (1333 FSB or 333 x 8.0) @ 1.35v but it's currently @ 2133 (1066 x 8.0) @ 1.296v. I have managed to get it running at spec but I can't seem to get it and the memory there at the same time.

MEMORY:

I have some Crucial Ballistix (D9GMH chips) ram which should run either:

4-4-4-12 @ 400mhz (tRC:24T CR:2T tWR:6T)

5-5-5-15 @ 500mhz (tRC:30T CR:2T tWR:8T)

both @ 2.2v but are current at:

5-5-5-18 @ 400mhz (tRC:23T)

COOLING:

CPU, Coolermaster Hyper TX heatpipe cooler. 1 large front case fan (Coolermaster Centurion 532), no rear. Silverpower 600W PSU with large fan. Crucial ram has heat spreaders. I've been as tidy as I can with cables.

GPU:

XFX 8800GTS "XT", 560mhz clock

Now for the BIOS options, this is where I get confused. I have tried a number of things but often when I think I'm being gentle with my overclock it fails to boot, or hangs while booting (that has happened twice) so I think I am missunderstanding something fundamental here.

You could download the manual here:

http://support.asus.com/download/download.aspx?SLanguage=en-us&model=P5N32-E SLI

But here are the settings I think are important...

Jumperfree config:

AI Tuning [auto, manual, standard, AI Overclock, AI N.O.S]

(w/ AI Overclock)

Overclock Options [disabled, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%,

FSB 960/800

FSB 1280/800

FSB 1000/667

FSB 1333/667

FSB 1200/800]

(w/ AI N.O.S)

N.O.S Options [disabled, 3%, 5%, 8%, 10%]

(w/ manual)

Frequency Control:

NB PCIE Frequency [100]

SB PCIE Frequency [100]

FSB Turbo [disabled, enabled]

MEM Turbo [disabled, enabled]

System Clock [auto, CPU precision, cpu-mem manual, Mem precision]

(w/ cpu-mem manual)

New FSB Speed [1066] can enter (1056 - 2100)

Current FSB Speed [1066]

Target FSB Speed [1006]

New MEM Speed [800] can enter (400 - 16000)

Current MEM Speed [800]

Target MEM Speed [800]

Voltage Control:

VCore [auto, 1.225 thru 1.6]

Mem [auto, 1.8 thru 2.55]

1.2v HT [auto, 1.2 thru 1.35]

CPU VTT [auto, 1.2 - 1.55]

SB [auto, 1.5 thru 1.65]

NB [auto, 1.4 thru 1.75]

vcore over voltage [disabled, 200mV]

PEG Link Mode [auto, disabled, normal, fast, fastest]

SLI Ready Memory [disabled, mem max, 0% thru 5% CPU OC, CPU max OC]

Finally, a bit of searching in the ASUS forums turned up this example, on the same MOBO, different CPU, different RAM, and water cooling though so it's not exactly what I would be expecting to get.

<quote>

i run at 350mhz fsb daily on intel 6420 C2Duo.

Maximum achieved is 1440mhz `360mhz with all volt settings at maximum..

My hardware is:

Asus P5N32SLI Premium

2 X 512 DDR Geil 667 cas 3 run @ 1066mhz 2,35v

Water cooling kit Corsair

Silverstone Zeus 650W power suplly

Nvidia 7900GS

3 X 320 WS JS raid 0

more setings:

NB PCIE Frequence [110]

SB PCIE Frequence [110]

FSB Turbo Mode [Enabled]

MEM Turbo Mode [Enabled]

System Clock Mode [CPU/MEM manual-mode]

FSB Speed [1440]

MEM Speed [800]

Voltage Setting

Vcore [1.5000] Procesor voltage

Memory [2.35V] Memory voltage

1.2 HT [1.35V] Hypertransport voltage

CPU VTT [1.45V] FSB Voltage

SB Core [1.50] Southbridge Voltage

NB Core [1.70] Northbridge Voltage

VCore Over Voltage [Disabled]

</quote>

I suspect I should concentrate on "CPU/MEM manual-mode" and ignore the AI overclock and N.O.S options.

I have CPU-Z, Orthos Prime and Everest ready to stress test. Let me know if there is any more info you need... this post is big enough it should have everything

Helooo.. Is there anybody out there..

 

[Ham]

Ok ive read through that twice and you haven't actually posed any direct questions. What exactly is it you need too know?

 

[nrage]

My question is... "if you were in my shoes how would you go about overclocking, given the options in the bios".

Like for example the sticky/guide thread mentions setting the clock multiplier but I dont seem to have direct control over that at all.

So, how do I go about finding the max fsb for the mobo, cpu, and memory if it's going to keep changing things around by itself.

Also, I have no idea what to expect from air cooling, what sort of level of overclock is reasonable.

How much juice/voltage can my NB and SB take, given they're passively cooled? and what are the default voltages, I found the SB default but I have not idea for the NB.

Likewise the memory, it has heat spreaders so does that mean it can take a bit more voltage? 2.2v is the performance voltage, but will it be okay at 2.25 or 2.3? Where can I find that info, the crucial site doesn't seem to mention it.

What does the PEG link actually do?

What do you suppose the FSB and MEM turbo settings do?

What about the PCIE frequency, should I be increasing that or leaving it alone (locked, as mentioned in the sticky/guide).

What exactly does the SLI ready memory setting do? Is this useful for OC'ing?

As you can see I am a total begginner at this sort of thing and I think it's important I know exactly what each thing does, otherwise I'm just plugging numbers in and hoping and that's unlikely to get me anywhere except by luck.

 

[Dav0s]

My question is... "if you were in my shoes how would you go about overclocking, given the options in the bios".

Like for example the sticky/guide thread mentions setting the clock multiplier but I dont seem to have direct control over that at all.

looking at your Manual, the overclocking options are under advanced, jumperfree configuration, then change AIoverclocking to manual. Now you have access to overclocing features.

the clock multiplier might be able to be changed downwards, but it is most likely to be locked at a maximum of 8.

So, how do I go about finding the max fsb for the mobo, cpu, and memory if it's going to keep changing things around by itself.

whats changing by itself? i dont understand what you are saying.

Also, I have no idea what to expect from air cooling, what sort of level of overclock is reasonable.

it isnt what you want to hear, but it all depends on the chip, and loads of other varying features. the guide, and our help should allow you to gage the max overclock for yourself. if you like though, you could set a target of 3ghz, get that if you can, then work from there.

How much juice/voltage can my NB and SB take, given they're passively cooled? and what are the default voltages, I found the SB default but I have not idea for the NB.

sorry i cant help you there, hopefully somebody else is more knowledgable than me

Likewise the memory, it has heat spreaders so does that mean it can take a bit more voltage? 2.2v is the performance voltage, but will it be okay at 2.25 or 2.3? Where can I find that info, the crucial site doesn't seem to mention it.

heatspreaders are basically just for show (in most cases), but if i were you i would worry about how far you can get the cpu for now, and worry about the memory after. just leave the voltage at 2.1/2.2 for now.

What does the PEG link actually do?

What do you suppose the FSB and MEM turbo settings do?

sorry, no idea. someone else should know.

What about the PCIE frequency, should I be increasing that or leaving it alone (locked, as mentioned in the sticky/guide).

locked at 100

What exactly does the SLI ready memory setting do? Is this useful for OC'ing?

sorry, again im not sure.

As you can see I am a total begginner at this sort of thing and I think it's important I know exactly what each thing does, otherwise I'm just plugging numbers in and hoping and that's unlikely to get me anywhere except by luck.

its ok, we all start somewhere. as you can see, i also know very little about c2d overclocking. good luck with the overclocking, and hopefully somebody can answer the rest of your questions. if you have any new ones, post them up, we will see what we can do!

HTH

 

[nrage]

the clock multiplier might be able to be changed downwards, but it is most likely to be locked at a maximum of 8.

whats changing by itself? i dont understand what you are saying.

I was referring to the clock multiplier. I assumed it was changing from 6x to 8x depending on the rated?/total? fsb I entered i.e. 1066 or 1333 or whatever.

i.e. what clock would it use if I entered 1596 (which is 266 x 6) or 1998 (which is 333 x 6), would it use a x6 clock or would it set the FSB to 199.5 (1596 / 8) or 249.75 (1998 / 8).

Everest tells me my CPU does 6x and 8x, not sure where it gets that info.

 

[Mr. Smith]

You need to set your FSB to 1333 - the new e6x50's require this to work properly.

I don't have time to look through the manual (although you do/should!) but the CPU multi is sometimes found under advanced/cpu/multi. Something like that.

If your mem settings/CPU settings are changing on their own you must have the software OC enabled in the bios. As previously stated by Dav0s set to manual.

OC depends on chip. Cooling has no effect of max stable OC (orthos etc) if chip has a limit. I have 1st hand experience of this Extreme cooling lets you bench/boot in @ higher speeds but did nothing for stability (for me...)

SB can be left at stock - maybe a little extra on a big OC.

NB can stay at 1.5v for most OC's - over 400fsb then it needs more.

In the past, I had my NB at 2.0v 24/7 passivly cooled, no probs...

Depends what your mem is rated for. I would only go 0.1v over rated volts WITH a ram cooler. Pumping extra volts in for short periods is OK, done at your own risk!

SLi mem is for when you buy... SLi memory. This mem has tighter timings etc and can be used when this option is enabled.

 

[nrage]

You need to set your FSB to 1333 - the new e6x50's require this to work properly.

I don't have time to look through the manual (although you do/should!) but the CPU multi is sometimes found under advanced/cpu/multi. Something like that.

Believe me, I've looked, and looked.

If your mem settings/CPU settings are changing on their own you must have the software OC enabled in the bios. As previously stated by Dav0s set to manual.

The thing I suspect might be changing by itself, even with manual mode enabled is the cpu clock multi. I can't find a manual setting for it anywhere. I suspect when I enter a FSB i.e. 1333 it automatically selects the clock multi and FSB speeds (in this case 333 x8).

I forget, does CPU-Z tell you the current multiplier?

As mentioned Everest tells me my clock can be x6 or x8 but perhaps my mobo will only use x8 or something like that.

OC depends on chip. Cooling has no effect of max stable OC (orthos etc) if chip has a limit. I have 1st hand experience of this Extreme cooling lets you bench/boot in @ higher speeds but did nothing for stability (for me...)

Good to know. So basically each chip has a limit above which extra volts make no difference (and thus extra cooling doesn't help).

SB can be left at stock - maybe a little extra on a big OC.

NB can stay at 1.5v for most OC's - over 400fsb then it needs more.

In the past, I had my NB at 2.0v 24/7 passivly cooled, no probs...

Good to know. My NB/SB have heatsinks but no fans (it came with optional fans but they wont fit due to the larger size of my CPU cooler).

Depends what your mem is rated for. I would only go 0.1v over rated volts WITH a ram cooler. Pumping extra volts in for short periods is OK, done at your own risk!

By "ram cooler" you don't mean heat spreaders do you? You mean an actual heatsick/fan/something actively cooling the ram?

I'll stick to the 2.2V specified by my ram then.

SLi mem is for when you buy... SLi memory. This mem has tighter timings etc and can be used when this option is enabled.

My memory is "SLI ready" according to:

http://www.crucial.com/uk/store/partspecs.aspx?IMODULE=BL2KIT12864AA804

and it should run 4-4-4-12 @ 400mhz or 5-5-5-15 @ 500mhz. Are you thinking I need to set "SLI Ready Memory" to something in order to get those timings?

I can get 4-4-4-12 @ 400 but 5-5-5-15 @ 500 will boot as far as the desktop then freezes. I wondered if I needed to OC the PCI-E or SB/SB to get it running at 500mhz, as the memory is, or if that was even related/important at all.

Thanks for all the great info and advice guys, I'm slowly coming to understand all this There will definately be +reps for y'all.

 

[Ham]

I was referring to the clock multiplier. I assumed it was changing from 6x to 8x depending on the rated?/total? fsb I entered i.e. 1066 or 1333 or whatever.

i.e. what clock would it use if I entered 1596 (which is 266 x 6) or 1998 (which is 333 x 6), would it use a x6 clock or would it set the FSB to 199.5 (1596 / 8) or 249.75 (1998 / 8).

Everest tells me my CPU does 6x and 8x, not sure where it gets that info.

If ive understood this right....

The multiplier and the FSB are two separate variables used too obtain the cores clock speed. When set up in 'manual' mode these should have no effect on each other. The hardware configuration you have can use multis between 6 and 8.

If its changing by itself you'll need too turn off speedstep or CE1 or w/e intel decided too call thermal throttling.

 

[nrage]

If ive understood this right....

The multiplier and the FSB are two separate variables used too obtain the cores clock speed. When set up in 'manual' mode these should have no effect on each other. The hardware configuration you have can use multis between 6 and 8.

The problem is I cannot set the multiplier or the FSB, I can only set the cores clock speed. I can set 1067 or 1333 (or any number I want). It must be selecting a FSB and multiplier from this value.

If its changing by itself you'll need too turn off speedstep or CE1 or w/e intel decided too call thermal throttling.

I have those disabled. By 'changing by itself' I meant when I enter the cores clock speed it sets the FSB and multiplier. It doesn't change during boot, or while running, as far as I know.

The sticky/guide mentions setting the multiplier as low as possible and increasing the FSB to find the max FSB speed. But as I can't set the multiplier, or the FSB, what do I do?

i.e. when I set 1333 for the core speed, it selects 333 FSB and 8x multiplier. When I set 1067 it selects 266 FSB and 8x multiplier.

I guess I just start from a core speed of 1333 with a low voltage and slowly increase the core speed until it wont boot, then increase the voltage, repeat till I have a max core speed.

Does that make sense?