Look guys! I did a thing!

[Toothless]

Okay, so I reset some settings and now when the core goes to 4.1 on turbo, the core voltage maxes at 1.428. I've heard that going over 1.4 is bad.

Ignore the idiot in the reflection. This isn't my room.

 

[cadaveca]

Hey man, if you have FAT32 formatted USB stick and plug it in when in BIOS, you can hit 'F12" in BIOS to capture screenshots.

 

[Toothless]

Hey man, if you have FAT32 formatted USB stick and plug it in when in BIOS, you can hit 'F12" in BIOS to capture screenshots.

Yeah, issue is I can't find my flashdrive.

EDIT.: Found it.

 

[Toothless]

OKAY, HERE WE GO. And apologies if I seem ignorant and/or stubborn.

Should I limit the voltage to (insert voltage here) so it won't go over 1.4?

 

[Vario]

Again: Don't run auto on your offset voltage.

 

[Toothless]

So set it manually like this?

EDIT: I set the CPU voltage to 1.33 due to the turbo bringing it to 1.48v. Now it the turbo sets it to 1.428 under load. I feel like I'm doing something wrong.

 

[R00kie]

Xfire, not SLI.

Ain't internet a bitch.

 

[Toothless]

Ain't internet a bitch.

Oh, I was thinking about my motherboard. Sorry.

Yeah, about that PSU.. I saw that Raidmax isn't quite the best brand, but it a good amount of cases it ran fine. I've had no issues with it so far.

Could two GTX660OCs run off of 530w?

 

[R00kie]

Oh, I was thinking about my motherboard. Sorry.

Yeah, about that PSU.. I saw that Raidmax isn't quite the best brand, but it a good amount of cases it ran fine. I've had no issues with it so far.

Could two GTX660OCs run off of 530w?

Not this one, no.

 

[Toothless]

Just a picture to plop in.

 

[Toothless]

So are there any more changes I should make before I finalize it? Voltage or clock changes?

 

[R00kie]

Still, what are you trying to achieve here? Overclocking? Undervolting? I don't understand. If you're overclocking - stop, and buy a new cooler first, that blob of metal you have there is good for nothing, and excess of heat in your case is not needed - it's summer time. If you're undervolting, make sure that you stress test every single time you lower your voltage and see if it is stable, once you're stable you can turn all of your power saving features on, to keep your power bill in shape so to speak.

 

[Toothless]

Still, what are you trying to achieve here? Overclocking? Undervolting? I don't understand. If you're overclocking - stop, and buy a new cooler first, that blob of metal you have there is good for nothing, and excess of heat in your case is not needed - it's summer time. If you're undervolting, make sure that you stress test every single time you lower your voltage and see if it is stable, once you're stable you can turn all of your power saving features on, to keep your power bill in shape so to speak.

So basically, the voltage is fine, correct? (Ranging from 1.332 - 1.428) I know the issues that having the voltage turned too high brings, but I'll go back and check the power saving features on if they're off.

And what about the EPU?

Apologies for being like this, I guess I'm just paranoid.

 

[Vario]

So basically, the voltage is fine, correct? (Ranging from 1.332 - 1.428) I know the issues that having the voltage turned too high brings, but I'll go back and check the power saving features on if they're off.

And what about the EPU?

Apologies for being like this, I guess I'm just paranoid.

-Disable your Load Line Calibration first. That's why your read voltage is so much higher than your set voltage. You don't need LLC, just run a higher offset value instead. If its not stable without LLC than its probably not worth running long term anyway.
-Enable all the default power saving modes, you can run these modes and still run an overclock. It will make your system last longer by underclocking and undervolting it when you aren't using it, definitely worthwhile.
-Go to voltage screen and set it to offset mode.
-Below that setting, instead of auto, change it to -.010v. Make sure the symbol is '-'. Keep decreasing it by -.010v until its unstable. Then once you find that point of instability, increase it back to the prior setting. If its still unstable, increase it a little bit more. Pay attention the voltage in CPU-Z at full load (prime 95/IBT etc) rather than the bios.

-Every multiplier speed setting has a corresponding "automatic" voltage that the chip asks for. This is called the VID.
-By leaving it on auto, you are feeding it that voltage. If you use offset, it lowers or raises the voltage from that VID value to the amount you desire.
-That VID voltage is usually too high. So instead, you can adjust it by offset so that when it goes into full power mode it doesn't run more voltage than it needs.

IIRC EPU is the Asus automatic overclocking utility, I would recommend NOT using it. You should do it manually via the above DIY method.

Also if you want greater stability, adding a small fan over your VRM will help cool it, as it is only a 4 power phase motherboard. You could also consider a small fan on the northbridge too.

 

[Toothless]

-Disable your Load Line Calibration first. That's why your read voltage is so much higher than your set voltage. You don't need LLC, just run a higher offset value instead. If its not stable without LLC than its probably not worth running long term anyway.
-Enable all the default power saving modes, you can run these modes and still run an overclock. It will make your system last longer by underclocking and undervolting it when you aren't using it, definitely worthwhile.
-Go to voltage screen and set it to offset mode.
-Below that setting, instead of auto, change it to -.010v. Make sure the symbol is '-'. Keep decreasing it by -.010v until its unstable. Then once you find that point of instability, increase it back to the prior setting. If its still unstable, increase it a little bit more. Pay attention the voltage in CPU-Z at full load (prime 95/IBT etc) rather than the bios.

-Every multiplier speed setting has a corresponding "automatic" voltage that the chip asks for. This is called the VID.
-By leaving it on auto, you are feeding it that voltage. If you use offset, it lowers or raises the voltage from that VID value to the amount you desire.
-That VID voltage is usually too high. So instead, you can adjust it by offset so that when it goes into full power mode it doesn't run more voltage than it needs.

IIRC EPU is the Asus automatic overclocking utility, I would recommend NOT using it. You should do it manually via the above DIY method.

Also if you want greater stability, adding a small fan over your VRM will help cool it, as it is only a 4 power phase motherboard. You could also consider a small fan on the northbridge too.

This is perfect. I wish I could use the "Thanks" button more than once. I'll post how stable this setup works, as I've been getting BSODs.

Also, are there any "dedicated" NB/VRM fans?

 

[Lopez0101]

Usually just use a spot fan.

 

[Vario]

Usually just use a spot fan.

Yes you could use a spot fan or just use a 40-60mm fan and some zip ties. Personally I have a 40mm Gelid fan zip tied over my UD3H's non-heatsinked VRM section because space is tight. On my board, some of the VRMs don't have a heatsink. Spot cools are great though and you can remove the LED with a wirecutter (cut them off).

I think your board has a full heatsink across the VRM, its the large blue heatsink to the left of the socket. If you have a small fan you can zip tie over that to blow down on it, it might help with stability. Try carefully touching the VRM heatsink (don't touch any circuitry) and see if its hot when you are running full load, if so the fan should help. Same for the NB (below the CPU socket). Just don't short out any components. Be careful LOL.

 

[Toothless]

Voltage ranges from 0.888 to 1.368. Clocks go from 1.4-4.1 (x7-x20.5)

Rated bus speed is at 2400mhz. Everything looks good. I just need to put the RAM back to 1866.

 

[Vario]

Voltage ranges from 0.888 to 1.368. Clocks go from 1.4-4.1 (x7-x20.5)

Rated bus speed is at 2400mhz. Everything looks good. I just need to put the RAM back to 1866.

Cool! That sounds much more ideal then before. Are you going to stability test it for a few hours?

 

[Toothless]

Cool! That sounds much more ideal then before. Are you going to stability test it for a few hours?

I would if setting the RAM to the factory 1866mhz wouldn't cause a "OC issue" keeps getting set to 1333, still running at 1.5v.

Update: 1600mhz runs fine.

 

[Lopez0101]

You adjusted timings right? Are they lower than the default timings? You can always increase the voltage going to the RAM a little.

 

[Toothless]

You adjusted timings right? Are they lower than the default timings? You can always increase the voltage going to the RAM a little.

I see the issue. It went to 13-15-13-35 while it should be 9-10-9-28.

As Windows updates rudely interrupts and refuses to let me reboot.

 

[Vario]

Your CPU's memory controller might not be capable enough. I think overclocking your CPU-NB speed will help. I'd advise setting your ram to 1333, stability testing it at that setting, and then use that as a base to explore CPU-NB overclocking.

Are you using JEDEC profile or XMP?

For what its worth I am running my XMP 1600 rated ram at JEDEC 1333 in this board since I don't feel like overvolting my i7's memory controller and it isn't stable at the XMP unless I run more VTT. I can't tell the difference between 1333 and 1600. The same ram overclocks to 2200 with overvolting but I only benchmark at that speed.

With the FX it will make more of a difference but for now I'd just lock in that CPU speed, get it stable, then start messing with the ram.

 

[Solaris17]

You're annoyed with lowering your power bill? (these days power saving features are pretty damned good, in the olden days it was almost a point to turning such things off, but not now)

I used to hate power saving features and back in the day C state switching would seriously mess up your clocks and stability. But technology gets better and eventually you grow up and pay your own electric bill and max speed 24/7 becomes less of an issue.

 

[Toothless]

OKAY. So the CPU is running fine, and here is the RAM.

Here is what I bought.