Maximum PC

Ok so my knowledge in overclocking is fairly basic so far. I only have a working knowledge of this type of processor at the moment, though I hope to expand to the older 775 socket soon.
So here is what im not getting. If I set the multiplier in the bios to 20, does it automatically up to 21 when you run it at full load? The widget I have for my cpu will register the frequency I have set it to with a multiplier of 20, but evga E-LEET shows my frequency at a 21 multiplier speed. Now I would be inclined to trust it more than a widget but what going on here? My temps on the rig that this is giving me problems are idle of around 45C with Vcore of 1.10, 168.9Mhz * 21 = 3547.6 MHz according to E-LEET. This is after I have messed with it some and find that if i left the multiplier at 20 in the bios E-LEET would always say it was 21... So I have changed it to 21 and downed it from 175*20 to what i have now. The widget reports the speed as if i still had a multiplier of 20 ie about 3.38 GHz. So at full burn using these numbers I have temps of 65-70C on the cores, which seem quite low which makes me think im not really running at 3.5.... oh and it crashed as im writing this.
What do you think i should do guys? I had it stable for a few days at the bios settings (20*170)= 3.4 GHz. I know that the person I bought the chip from had it running stable at 3.6, but of course different mobo and all I cant use the same settings. I have turbo turned off.

So my main question is just which i should be trusting here?

Just as an edit i just bumped the vcore to 1.15 and the multi is at 20 (thats what it set to in the bios E-LEET says 21 and Core Temp) so im either running at 3.46 GHz or 3.633... Well 3.6 would be awesome its no locking up right away, but im not sure if thats what its really at haha. Temps of 73, 73, 78, 79.

First, i7 920 are locked by Intel at 20x multiplier. If, in some strange way, your board is actually able to violate the lock and get a x21 multiplier, then your widget may be assuming that it can not and will show you the 20x. Other than that, I would be inclined to believe what I see in the BIOS before any utility application.

CPU speed and multiplier should be failry reliably reported, but you're apparently having problems with the ones you have. Try using some other utilities, such as CPUz and/or PC Wizard. I have learned not to trust one single utility (especially when it comes to temperatures, but that's another subject), but taking a sampling of a couple different ones gives me an "average" reading of sorts.

Yeah I really dont know. On both boards I can set the multi to 21, thought he default is 20. I used core temp along with e-leet (ill try cpu-z later on) and they both say 21x multi. If i use the widget or go into where windows says what hardware you have it says its clocked at the 20x number. Considering the temps I have on my high clocked machine I would think I would be at the higher number, but I cant be sure. Its making me scratch my head for sure...

Here is a screen shot.
Link

Some motherboards are able to take advantage of Intel's TurboBoost function and allow you to change the multiplier on your CPU to any multiplier that the CPU can access.

TurboBoost allows the CPU to ramp up the multiplier by 1 or 2. If this feature has not been disabled, this probably accounts for the variation in reported multiplier values.

Well im thinking that it must be running at 21x since all utilities are saying that. It dosnt seem to matter whether i set the multi in the bios to 20x or 21x it always goes to 21x on the utilities and never does on any of the windows reports/widget.

My next question would be what kind of temps are people dealing with when they have there proc at 4GHz? I am hitting a bit of a thermal wall here at about 3.6 as my temps begin to go into the 80s after this point. I think I have my cooler figured out so I must just be getting to the limitations on this. What kind of performance gain would I get from a water cooling setup with a triple rad?

You mentioned that you've disabled TurboBoost so it seems that the board is doing what it wants.



Do some research on watercooling. A triple-rad used to cool a CPU is a waste. You only need a single rad in most cases to overclock a CPU. If you're adding other components to the loop, you can look at adding more / larger radiators to the loop.

You haven't mentioned how you're cooling your CPU currently, nor your motherboard model. We need more information to help you.

Having said that, 3.6 - 3.8 is commonly the first wall for overclockers with i7 920 chips .. especially novice OCers and / or air-cooled chips.

Well I would like to have the upgrade-ability to add a video card or two into the loop later one. I was also going off of this post. Water cooling is something I have always looked at but thought it was too expensive to jump in. This Christmas though I might look into it when I have lots of free time as it really does look neat.

First is first though (I dont know why i never mentioned this haha) I have a Hyper 212+ on the machine in question. The mobo is a Gigabyte X58A-UD3R, 6 gigs ram, and a GTX 285 that i have oc'd to 660/1565/1242. I have AS5 tim on it and used the application method. So Assuming its running at 21x then I have a stable oc of about 3.6 GHz right now. I would like to go higher if possible but this chip dosnt seem to like voltage as if i bump it a bit the temps go up quite a bit. This is compared to my other i7 which I cannot get past 3.3 GHz even with a vcore of 1.35v and a Zalman 9900. This is not a heat issue though as the temps never get high enough as it locks up immediately. This is a C0 stepping model where as my new one is a D0 stepper.

Is there a good site for water cooling that anyone knows of. Like whats the best tubing size, what size of rad you need for how many components etc? I have only ever looked at it from afar but I think ill make the leap in December.

Now im wondering if i am pushing my ram too far when ocing? How can I check what MHz its running at? What is a good speed for the Northbridge?

What applications are you using to track temperature and performance? CPUz does a great job of displaying the important information that you need.

There are a lot of watercooling sites out there (Google) but you'll find lots of argumentation without much consensus. Honestly, use common sense and think about what you're trying to accomplish. Common sense and a basic knowledge of physics will help you design a better loop than hours of Googling and reading the flame wars over tube size and loop design.

Yeah im going to get my friend to help me out with the water cooling since he has a machine set up and can walk me through it. As for what im using I have cpu z, evga e-leet (almost the same), core temp, etc. Ill post a screen shot of it tonight when I get a chance. Im confused by what its saying but besides that dosnt increasing the base clock oc the ram as well? or am I barking up a tree with no cat in it...

Increasing the base clock will also bump up ... your cat is appropriately treed.

Ill just put a link to the pics so they are not too big for the forum.
Link 1
Link 2

So if im right my memory is ocd way too much... which could be why im having stability problems on both of my machines. What do you guys think?

Play with other multipliers too. On the 920 and 1600 memory (3.6Ghz OC), my NB freq is showing 2800 and 720 on the memory. As a generic guideline, I'm also running the CPU at 1.28v, 180 bus, QPI at 3240MHz. I have the CPU multi to 21, but turboboost is off so it only runs at x20. By-21 only comes into play when in auto and TB is enabled. With a Manual overclock of all 4 physical cores...turboboost is not needed at all.

There's no reason we can't talk about water cooling in here at all. We can give good walk throughs too...wouldn't be the first time I'd suggest a DIY loop that you can start small and build into for years to come. A good 1x120mm rad can handle a CPU and a single GPU just fine with 3/8" tubing. The temps you see with this basic loop should be equivalent to what you'd see with a single HS/F at stock speeds, yet you'll be cooling both parts in one shot/one fan and shoveling the heat right out of the back of the case. If there's even a slight chance you'll add more to the loop and your case can fit it, then consider a 2x120 rad. The parts won't run cooler individually, but you'll have the capacity to cool the water more (that's all the rad does anyway).

More on that as it's often confused. The radiator just cools the water, the water transfers from the back side of the block. If you ever see a claim that CPU temps dropped by adding a larger rad, then the prior rad was under sized to begin with. An undersized rad leads to saturated water temps. Saturated water doesn't readily accept more heat. I ran a 1x120 for years (2004-2010) and never saw the water temp rise until very recently (i7, 470 GTX's...they just overpowered it finally and we had to part ways. Hear it has a good home though!). The block should move the same amount of heat to the water, the water will equalize the temp in the loop, if the flow remains the same.

I like 3/8" as the pump will make the water move faster through it than 1/2" tubing (again, given the pump's output remains the same). As it exits the tube and enters the block, the velocity gives a great cooling effect of it's own. A pump like Danger Den's CPx works great with 3/8" tubing where a big Laing D5 is best for 1/2".