Any advice on my 2500K overclock?

[Puppies04]

Hi,

I am happy with my OC at 4.7 but was wondering if anyone has any tips I could try to lower my VCore, I don't mind it at 1.41 and temps are fine (75-76C on the hottest core with a very high IBT run 4-5C lower on the other cores) but obviously lower would be better...

Anyway here are my settings, let me know if i forgot anything.

VCore 1.41v
LLC ultra high
RAM 1866mhz 9-10-9-27 1.5V
CPU PLL 1.9V
VCCIO 1.10625V
PCH 1.1395v
47x 100mhz

Any advice would be apprieciated, thanks in advance for your time.

 

[Ken g6]

The only thing I can think is that temps are fine for the CPU, but obviously lower would be better...

What TIM are you using with that Arctic cooling freezer 13 pro? How did you spread it? Done any lapping? Maybe add a second fan for push/pull?

 

[Puppies04]

The only thing I can think is that temps are fine for the CPU, but obviously lower would be better...

What TIM are you using with that Arctic cooling freezer 13 pro? How did you spread it? Done any lapping? Maybe add a second fan for push/pull?

I used Akasa AK-455 TIM I haven't lapped it yet do you think it would make a big difference? Will look into a second fan for the cpu heatsink. Thanks

p.s Any idea where to look for a second fan to set it up push/pull? I assume I need one designed for this cooler with a special bracket

 

[fastamdman]

You can lower your CPU PLL to help out temps and stability. Try 1.7 and lower your vcore down just a notch or two.

 

[Puppies04]

You can lower your CPU PLL to help out temps and stability. Try 1.7 and lower your vcore down just a notch or two.

I will try the vcore it is 1.9 from my previous overclock when it stabilized my system. I can't drop my VCore it is at 1.41 because that is what my system needs at 4.7ghz I'm not in the habit of pumping voltages through a CPU without it being necessary.

 

[Smoblikat]

I will try the vcore it is 1.9 from my previous overclock when it stabilized my system. I can't drop my VCore it is at 1.41 because that is what my system needs at 4.7ghz I'm not in the habit of pumping voltages through a CPU without it being necessary.

You seem to be ignoring the advice given to you. Pot calling the kettle black much?

1.75PLL usually stabalizes overclocks, at least it does for me.

 

[IonusX]

my quesiton is, why bother ocing the 2500k NOW. its already lightning fast? all your doing is wasting your time. its like asking if theres any meaning to switching your tires after the 1st lap of a nascar race XD

 

[Kenmitch]

Hi,

I am happy with my OC at 4.7 but was wondering if anyone has any tips I could try to lower my VCore, I don't mind it at 1.41 and temps are fine (75-76C on the hottest core with a very high IBT run 4-5C lower on the other cores) but obviously lower would be better...

Anyway here are my settings, let me know if i forgot anything.

VCore 1.41v
LLC ultra high
RAM 1866mhz 9-10-9-27 1.5V
CPU PLL 1.9V
VCCIO 1.10625V
PCH 1.1395v
47x 100mhz

Any advice would be apprieciated, thanks in advance for your time.

I'd say for 4.7ghz your vcore looks fine. You could try some more voltage tweaking and see if it'll help. Maybe save a profile just in case things turn for the worst.

My old 2500k needed 1.432v looking thru my notes. I figure my 2700k will do 5ghz with same voltage but I'm saving that adventure for later. Only made a test run at 1.40v with a quick load so far. Don't wanna tap my chip out so early

 

[fastamdman]

I will restate a few things. The LOWER the CPU PLL is the more stable the system will be. There is NO I repeat no reason why it should EVER be above 1.8 max, let alone 1.75 or 1.7. MAXIMUM you should run is 1.8, so lower it.

As far as your vcore, continue DROPPING IT, not raising it, until you see instability. You can probably run 4.7 at around 1.37 give or take, I know a few of my chips do it between 1.35 and 1.39. It just depends on the chip though.


IonusX Said
"my quesiton is, why bother ocing the 2500k NOW. its already lightning fast? all your doing is wasting your time. its like asking if theres any meaning to switching your tires after the 1st lap of a nascar race XD"

Your cooralation of overclocking the 2500k and changing the tires on the 1st lap are completely off. It's more like running a 200hp engine instead of a tuned 300hp engine. Why would you not want more power? Changing the tires helps with traction, but doesn't change the actual power out put. Changing the speeds of the processors can actually help with A LOT of applications. For example I run folding at home, the difference between stock and 4.5, or 5.0 is absolutely drastic. I can save myself hours and hours in a very short amount of time

There are many people who overclock for the fun of it, just like modifying cars. Some do it because they actually NEED the power for the track *think of benchmarks for computers or folding / science programs or other cpu intensive applications* and then there are some people who just enjoy doing it. I have a very high horsepower car thats a 4cyl because I enjoy working on it and beating brand new camaro's and mustangs that continue to come out. Just like my overclocked 2500k can spank newer cpu's as can my 2600k etc. It's the same principle there is FUN behind it and then there is reasoning behind it also.

There is NO reason to NOT overclock a K processor. If you don't plan on overclocking buy a regular 2500/2600. The K processors are MEANT to be overclocked, plain and simple. Overclocking is NEVER a waste of time and the majority of people that do it, enjoy it!


OP - I have you ran memtest86+ yet?

 

[Puppies04]

I will restate a few things. The LOWER the CPU PLL is the more stable the system will be. There is NO I repeat no reason why it should EVER be above 1.8 max, let alone 1.75 or 1.7. MAXIMUM you should run is 1.8, so lower it.

I will try it and see what happens, I guarantee you though my system was BSODing before i moved to offset mode and It seemed to want way too much vcore I had a little snoop around and found 3 different guides in pc mags and several more online that all advised upping CPU PLL to 1.9v which I did and my system was as solid as a rock.

2 secs quick google.....

Like this one http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cpus/2011/01/03/intel-sandy-bridge-review/5

I know you are trying to help and I apprieciate it but why are several sources saying one thing and you saying another. I also agree leaving it at 1.9 might not be required anymore but when I moved to offset mode I didn't want to keep upping the vcore to stabilise my system only to find out that it was still crashing because of the CPU PLL again.

I will lower it to 1.7 now and do some testing, will report back later with my findings.

 

[fastamdman]

I can post you TONS of guides that state that LOWERING the cpu pll helps with stabilizing systems. Going above 1.8 CPU PLL is absolutely stupid and will NOT help stabilize your system. If you are stable at 1.9 you will be stable at 1.8.

I am just trying to help you understand that tossing more volts for no reason is stupid.

From the guide you posted
"1. Enter the BIOS by pressing Delete as the PC starts
2. Enter the Advanced menu by clicking the button in the top-right corner
3. Set the CPU multiplier to 45x
4. Enable Load-Line Calibration
5. Set the CPU voltage to 1.3-1.35V
6. Set the CPU PLL to 1.9V - Worthless and should be 1.7 to 1.8
7. Set the VCCSA to 1.1V - Doesn't need to be done unless you are pushing higher frequency ram, LEAVE THIS OPTION STOCK
8. Set the VCCIO to 1.106V - Once again should be left at stock
9. Hit F10 to save and restart"






Just because one guide says something, doesn't make it true. I have pushed plenty of SB chips to there limits and then some and I know how to get a good solid stable system. Using more CPU PLL voltage is not one of the ways, using LESS is however. As far as the other 2 options leave them stock. If you are using super duper fast ram, or anything other then ddr3 1600mhz, you might need to up the vccsa / vtt a bit, but if you are at 1600mhz or slower, leave it stock.

Edit2: Also if you check the date of that posting it was when SB was still pretty new. There have been TONS of tests done since then and plenty of reviews have been done to back up what I am saying.

 

[Puppies04]

Ok Just to update what my overclock is at now as it has changed from the one I started this post with...

Offset mode +0.020 @x45 (shows max 1.37v during IBT 0.9v at idle)
LLC - high
RAM 1866mhz 9-10-9-27 1.5V
CPU PLL - working on it as advised
VCCIO 1.10625V
PCH 1.1395v
45 x 100mhz

1.7 CPU PLL crashed about 10 seconds into an IBT standard run just now I am going to try it at 1.75 and see what happens, will report back (Just so you know I updated the bios since my first post I don't know if that will have allowed me to drop the CPU PLL from 1.9 and remain stable but fingers crossed)

 

[fastamdman]

Personally I would run memtest86+ first to make sure your ram is stable before testing the ram and cpu together. SB chips don't really like high frequency ram so stabilizing them can be a little tricky. As far as the CPU PLL if it isn't stable at 1.7 or 1.75, run 1.8 and it will be. You never need to raise CPU PLL to stabilize a system.

As far as your settings go things look pretty good. Some chips take more voltage vcore wise and some take less for a 4.5ghz overclock. Your chip is on par with the majority of chips.

 

[Puppies04]

Going above 1.8 CPU PLL is absolutely stupid and will NOT help stabilize your system.

Look i'm not argueing with you I asked for help and you gave it. I am taking your advise but I absolutly guarantee you with my previous OC 1.9CPU PLL stop my BSOD problem. I can't explain to you why but I changed nothing else and it became rock solid.

Just booted at 1.75v CPU PLL and it has run a normal and high IBT run 5 times. going to try very high x5 now and if that passes will run maximum then run a very high x100 runs.

Once this is sorted and stable I will take your advice and start on lowering the VCCIO and see if I can get it back to stock while remaining stable on this new bios.

 

[Puppies04]

Personally I would run memtest86+ first to make sure your ram is stable before testing the ram and cpu together.

I ran memtest when I first built the system and it ran all night without a hitch. If I run into any probs I will run it again. Just running an IBT very high x100 run now haven't run into any probs yet @1.75 CPU PLL

 

[fastamdman]

Sounds good, I am not arguing either I am just stating that the guide is incorrect and shouldn't be used. If a system is stable with a high cpu pll it will be stable with a stock cpu pll and it will probably be stable with less cpu pll. SOME systems have GAINED stability by DECREASING cpu pll, but not all. It's just a setting to try and see how it works with your machine.

As far as the vccio/vtt setting the higher the frequency the ram is the more voltage you need generally. Since you are running very high ram frequency you might need to run at 1.1 instead of stock, but it really just depends. I would try stock voltage and if it's unstable then keep raising it until you hit a stable point, or start at 1.1 and drop down until you become unstable and up it slightly.

Either way I am just trying to help you become stable with less voltage going through your chip so it lasts longer and has less heat output. Also make sure you watch your package temps instead of just core 0-3. A good program for that is cpuid hardware monitor.

 

[Puppies04]

Either way I am just trying to help you become stable with less voltage going through your chip so it lasts longer and has less heat output. Also make sure you watch your package temps instead of just core 0-3. A good program for that is cpuid hardware monitor.

Thankyou I apprieciate it, Just installed CPUID hardware monitor, which temps am I supposed to be looking at and I will report them here to make sure you think they are ok. I am about 15 runs through this very high IBT run at the moment so I sould be getting close to max.

 

[fastamdman]

I would skip the very high testing and just go straight to maximum at this point. As far as temps obviously watch core 0,1,2,3 and then directly below that it says core package temp, or package temp. Keep an eye on that because you really want that to stay as low as possible.

Go ahead and post a SS of cpuid hardware monitor fully open and I will take a glance at everything for you .

Have you thought about pushing the chip further at all? You would be just fine as you know running anywhere from 1.4 to 1.425 vcore so maybe you can hit 4.7 or 4.8ghz 24/7 stable at that

 

[Puppies04]

Will get a SS in a sec. I was running 4.7 and 4.8ghz before but I decided that 4.5 was a good compromise as I plan on giving this chip to the missus when IB drops and don't want to cook it. Also I was seeing no discernable increase in speeds of anything I was doing other than benchmarks so 4.5 seemed to be a nice number to stick at.

 

[Puppies04]

It is very hot in here at the moment (about 29 degrees), I usually dont see temps above 70 on my hottest core but the missus has had the heating on full. About 1/3 of the way through this IBT run now, no problems yet.

 

[fastamdman]

Looking good man!

 

[Puppies04]

By the way I will do a maximum test overnight, the only reason I did very high now is because I can still post here without things becoming a slideshow .

 

[fastamdman]

If you load up firefox first and then start the test you can usually still get by with browsing =P

 

[Puppies04]

Ok the IBT run finished without a hitch. Will leave it on maximum overnight and if there aren't any probs I can look at lowering some other voltages. I'm thinking of seeing if I can drop LLC by one or 2 steps aswell... Thanks for all the help guys especially you fastamdman

 

[fastamdman]

No problem man. The first thing I would do actually before running the maximum test is simply lowering your vcore until you bsod. For example if you are fine at 1.37 try 1.36 if that passes 5 quick tests on maximum do 1.35 if that passes 5 do 1.34 if that fails and bsod's try 1.345 and that might pass and be your perfect vcore.

Then go to your vccio/vtt voltage for the ram and see how low you can get that

The whole goal is to use the lowest voltages possible