Msi z77a club

Anyone got any opinions on what that guy said on the Newegg video further up the page, about not using prime95 to stress test? And does the Aida64 software trial do the same thing as the full version for someone looking to overclock and test stability?

Cheers guys, this is my first build in about 5 years and ive had no real overclocking experience in the past.
 
pete21121 said:
Anyone got any opinions on what that guy said on the Newegg video further up the page, about not using prime95 to stress test? And does the Aida64 software trial do the same thing as the full version for someone looking to overclock and test stability?

Cheers guys, this is my first build in about 5 years and ive had no real overclocking experience in the past.
Click to expand...

I recently switched from prime over to IBT, just because it's newer and really tests CPU stability more than Prime. Also, it tells you whether you passed or failed, while with prime its always been blue screen or no blue screen for me.
 
PapaSmurf6768 said:
I've said it before on here and I'll say it again: the core voltage is NOT locked on the newest 10.5 UEFI, you just have to type it in manually. The software is just so terrible that I had to figure it out, currently have 4.5 Ghz at 1.185V with no software. Really wish there was an offset somewhere, it would help get idle temps down.
Click to expand...
Funnily enough the volts on my gd55 comes in the usual drop down list. Go figure. Also my mouse doesn't lag in the bios anymore...it's perfectly smooth.

pete21121 said:
Anyone got any opinions on what that guy said on the Newegg video further up the page, about not using prime95 to stress test? And does the Aida64 software trial do the same thing as the full version for someone looking to overclock and test stability?

Cheers guys, this is my first build in about 5 years and ive had no real overclocking experience in the past.
Click to expand...
I've never heard of prime causing any issues. It's just tests the cpu in quite a narrow way (which is where AIDA is better). Assuming you don't let the CPU get to hot (ideally keep it under 80C) then all you all doing is causing everyday wear & tear.

Ultimately any of these benchmarks will only get you so far down the road for stability. You have to try out programs that you will use. Once it is benchmark stable (prime, AIDA, IBT) I know that the temperatures are safe so I just begin using the pc like I would everyday. I play games, rip blu-rays, render videos and generally just forget that I am essentially still stability testing but in the back of my mind if I get a BSOD or lock up then I'll just add 0.005v and carry on.

For the record I've got a copy of AIDA64 Extreme and I think it is great. You get an entire package with hardware monitoring, benchmarks, thorough stability tests and plenty of other stuff which is good if you use it as much as I do. Is it worth $40? Maybe.
 
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Thought I had, just checked and I'm on v1.1 though. Might take a look at it later since 1.4 is available though from what you guys are saying I might not bother!

In the meantime there is a very easy way of getting automatic voltage offset overclocking (to a moderate clock) if anyone is interested. It just involves editing the turbo speeds.

From a default bios:
1.
Make sure "EIST", "Intel Turbo Boost" and "Enhanced Turbo" are all set to "Enabled".

2.
i) Go into "CPU Features" at the bottom of the "Overclock Settings" tab. 4 previously hidden lines now appear at the bottom of this page entitled "x-core ratio limit".

These are how the motherboard determines which cores to turn off and which are turbo'd. For those who don't know the way turbo works is that the mobo won't necessarily increase the speed of all the cores under load. It has the option of turning off 1, 2 or 3 cores and boosting the remaining core(s) to a higher speed as a result.

ii) Anyway, editing the 4 "x-core ratio limit" options (dialling in the numbers rather than drop-down on my bios) will allow you to edit the turbo frequencies.
Mine seems pretty happy at 42x for 4-core and 43x for 3,2,1 core limits. Again, I cannot find an offset voltage so this is limited by the automatic voltage profile which seems to range between ~0.9-1.2v under these turbos I've just mentioned. For reference my system is currently under stress testing with these settings giving 4.2GHz on 4 cores at 1.136-1.152v.

I'm pretty happy with that to be honest. For 24/7 use that gives you a much more gentle voltage range with speed step down to 1.6GHz but you still get ~4.2GHz on all cores when you need it. I'll stick with that for everyday use and write a full on performance fixed voltage profile for when I need more than that.
 
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so overall people recommend this series. I'm getting the gd-43a because I'm on a bit of a budget and it suits my needs but overall it is/they are good then?
 
I'd recommend the G45 rather than the 43 if you can afford it because the G43 goes too far onto the budget side for me. Besides the fact that the G43 is equipped with vertical SATA ports and a virtually locked Vcore which heavily limits overclocks, reviews suggest that performance at stock is not on par with other z77 mobos either. The G45 doesn't have these issues and isn't many more ££s.

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/motherboards/2012/06/11/msi-z77a-g43-review/7

However
That was all based on getting the i5 or i7. If you are thinking about making an i3 build then the G43 is pretty much perfect other than for the vertical SATA slots (makes cable management awkward).
The performance of the mobo doesn't need to be that big because the i3 isn't terribly powerful and equally you can barely overclock on an i3 anyway so the Vcore limit is more than enough.

Otherwise, ignoring the fact they don't have offset overclocking, I highly recommend this series of boards.
 
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Master&Puppet said:
I'd recommend the G45 rather than the 43 if you can afford it because the G43 goes too far onto the budget side for me. Besides the fact that the G43 is equipped with vertical SATA ports and a virtually locked Vcore which heavily limits overclocks, reviews suggest that performance at stock is not on par with other z77 mobos either. The G45 doesn't have these issues and isn't many more ££s.

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/motherboards/2012/06/11/msi-z77a-g43-review/7

However
That was all based on getting the i5 or i7. If you are thinking about making an i3 build then the G43 is pretty much perfect other than for the vertical SATA slots (makes cable management awkward).
The performance of the mobo doesn't need to be that big because the i3 isn't terribly powerful and equally you can barely overclock on an i3 anyway so the Vcore limit is more than enough.

Otherwise, ignoring the fact they don't have offset overclocking, I highly recommend this series of boards.
Click to expand...

thanks alot, gd-45 it is. I didn't know about the locked vcore and that's a fairly major thing for me. Surprised information like that isn't more known well maybe it is and I'm just out of the crowd but oh well thanks a lot m8
 
ruairi.C said:
thanks alot, gd-45 it is. I didn't know about the locked vcore and that's a fairly major thing for me. Surprised information like that isn't more known well maybe it is and I'm just out of the crowd but oh well thanks a lot m8
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No worries. Actually that kind of stuff isn't well known and isn't easy to find either. I just happened to stumble across it in one particular review!
 
Yea I suppose so, it depends on what you want. If someone is considering overclocking though it seems to make sense to me to pay the extra £15 and get the g45 so you don't have that issue just in case you want to play with higher clocks.
 
Hello guys !! I have an MSI z77a-gd65 and after shutting down the pc yesterday I can't boot into windows !! The debug led indicates the code 55 which means early memory initialisation !! Do you have any idea why this happened and how I can sort it out ???

Thanks in advance !!!
 
Sup guys. So ive got my 3570k arriving tomorrow, and im gonna spend a few hours playing around with the overclock. Any tips with these motherboards? Its my first time trying to overclock, but ive read a fair few guides, and almost every page of the Ivy Bridge thread on OcUK, but any extra info would be appreciated :D

Ive got the GD55, and im aiming for 4.4ghz, but if the temps stay within a reasonable range, ill try for 4.5. Wont be going any higher.

Cheers :)
 
Sounds like you've already done the research but since I've got the same setup I might as well chime in!

I'd suggest starting by disabling EIST and Intel Turbo.
Also set the LLC to level 4.
Then begin clocking from x40 with about 1.10v of vcore.
Work your way up the multiplier doing short stability tests for heat (IBT, prime95 on small ffts) between each increment. Temperature wise it depends on what you are comfortable with but somewhere in the 80sC should be your limit.
Add 0.01v if you get an instability.
Once you get to your 4.5ghz then try reducing the core by 0.005v incrementally and test for stability overnight (8+ hours).
Lastly you can play with the LLC (which is called something like vdroop control on our mobos) add a level to get more stability or take off for lower temps and you can reduce the CPUPLL too - start from 1.6v and make your way down to about 1.45-1.5v testing whether it boots in between.

Hopefully I haven't forgotten anything!
 
giannakos23 said:
Hello guys !! I have an MSI z77a-gd65 and after shutting down the pc yesterday I can't boot into windows !! The debug led indicates the code 55 which means early memory initialisation !! Do you have any idea why this happened and how I can sort it out ???

Thanks in advance !!!
Click to expand...
Any luck with this? It's an issue that crops up fairly often. Contact MSI, they'll probably want to RMA it.

M&P
 
Thanks man. Ill be aiming for <= 75C average across the cores i reckon. Should be fun, ill post any results i get here by tomorrow night :)
 
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