ASUS BIOS settings to OC i7 980X ?

[Spike99]

OK, So I'm getting i7 980X this week. I'm a noobie in OC and my understanding is that to OC, I only have to change multiplier & vcore. I don't plan on OC'ing memory... planning on using XMP for memory (Corsair CMG6GX3M3A1600C7).

I'm checking to see what other BIOS setting I need to update and I was reading a review for Intel Core i7 980X review from guru3d and it says the following:
"Now if you want to overclock extensively, first off in the BIOS please disable Speedstep, C1E and TM functions preventing the processor from clocking down or up dynamically based on diverse variables including heat and CPU load."

Speedstep & C1E is clear, but can anyone tell me which TM functions they are referring to ? I'm getting ASUS P6X58D this week and I was checking BIOS settings... Does this mean any settings with "TM" I should disable ?

Under Advanced settings, I see the following with TM:
CPU TM Function - Enables overheated CPU to throttle its clock speed to cool down
Intel (R) SpeedStep (TM) Tech - CPU speed controlled by OS

So should I be disabling these both or only SpeedStep ?

Thanks in advance.

 

[aigomorla]

so you bought a 1000 dollar processor without any knowledge of overclocking?

First off gulftown is different from bloomfield.
There a lot more fragile.

So you really should read some overclocking guides and know what to do and what not to do.

Second gulftown has lower voltage maximums then bloomfield, because its 32nm vs 45nm, so please know what your doing when you overclock it.

But the answers to your question is yes, for a lazy man's oc, you up vcore, up vtt, and up multi.
But u probably wont notice much of a difference in speed.

For a real OC you play with Bclk as well, and you begin to notice things, however u need to do whats called tuning to get a good bclk down.

 

[Spike99]

so you bought a 1000 dollar processor without any knowledge of overclocking?

First off gulftown is different from bloomfield.
There a lot more fragile.

So you really should read some overclocking guides and know what to do and what not to do.

Second gulftown has lower voltage maximums then bloomfield, because its 32nm vs 45nm, so please know what your doing when you overclock it.

But the answers to your question is yes, for a lazy man's oc, you up vcore, up vtt, and up multi.
But u probably wont notice much of a difference in speed.

For a real OC you play with Bclk as well, and you begin to notice things, however u need to do whats called tuning to get a good bclk down.

Yes, my understanding is that Bloomfield is different from gulftown... But being a novice in OC... I'd like to keep OC as simple as possible hence I would like to play with multiplier and vcore...

Won't notice much of a speed difference ? If I up vcore (1.42max) and multiplier (33max) doesn't this translate to 4.389Ghz ? Not sure what u mean that I won't see a speed difference...

What about the TM functions I was asking about... ?

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

I left all that on. I like my CPU throttling back if it gets too hot and I enjoy the power savings I get when my CPU drops the multi when idling. I also undervolted and overclocked my CPU All of those are suggestions and what works for someone might not work on your particular overclock, too many variables.

 

[Spike99]

I left all that on. I like my CPU throttling back if it gets too hot and I enjoy the power savings I get when my CPU drops the multi when idling. I also undervolted and overclocked my CPU All of those are suggestions and what works for someone might not work on your particular overclock, too many variables.

OK, So these BIOS settings are optional vs requirements for OC'ing.

Yes, Since I'm a novice, I prefer not to change too many varialbles... and keep it as simple as possible.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

I think he is trying to say you'll see more of a difference with upping baseclock because you're not only increasing the CPU speed but uncore speed as well. I'll give the same advice as Aigo that you should do some reading up on the 980. It would suck to fry a $1000 chip!

 

[Spike99]

Yes, I wouldn't want to fry my CPU... that's why I'm here... to get advice

 

[aigomorla]

1.4vcore without water is too high...
:X

and try to keep your VTT no higher then 1.3

 

[Spike99]

1.4vcore without water is too high...
:X

and try to keep your VTT no higher then 1.3

OK... When I OC... I'll be checking temps when running prime/intelburn test. If too high then I'll be reducing vcore.

VTT ? I checked ASUS user manual and I was not able to see this option...

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

Vtt is voltage to the QPI.

 

[guskline]

Here's my advice. Build the Gulftown rig and run it stock a week or 2 and read as much as possible before you overclock. I have the fastest AMD at the time 965 BE C2 and honestly I've tried overclocking but really don't need too. My game play is great. The Gulftown is an absolute beast but it costs $1,000.00! It's already and likely to remain the FASTEST!!!!!!!!!! CPU out there. Do you really need to overclock it if you aren't sure how to?

 

[Spike99]

Here's my advice. Build the Gulftown rig and run it stock a week or 2 and read as much as possible before you overclock. I have the fastest AMD at the time 965 BE C2 and honestly I've tried overclocking but really don't need too. My game play is great. The Gulftown is an absolute beast but it costs $1,000.00! It's already and likely to remain the FASTEST!!!!!!!!!! CPU out there. Do you really need to overclock it if you aren't sure how to?

Actually, that was my intention... I was planning on leaving it at stock... test it out... get familiar with it... and then try to OC it later.

Yes, this CPU will be the fastest for some time... Probably will last 4years... before I even consider updating...

I do have an idea on how to OC... just getting all info I can at this time...

 

[Dark Shroud]

Actually, that was my intention... I was planning on leaving it at stock... test it out... get familiar with it... and then try to OC it later.

Yes, this CPU will be the fastest for some time... Probably will last 4years... before I even consider updating...

I do have an idea on how to OC... just getting all info I can at this time...

Are you sticking with the stock cooler or going after market?

The cooler intel is packing with the 980x actually looks like it will work well for non-oc.

 

[Spike99]

Are you sticking with the stock cooler or going after market?

The cooler intel is packing with the 980x actually looks like it will work well for non-oc.

No, I won't be using stock cooler... I got a Corsair H50 CPU cooler that I'll be using. From my signature, I'll be changing CPU, MOBO & RAM.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.p...k=view&id=432&Itemid=62&limit=1&limitstart=20
Actually the stock intel heatsink on the 980X would probably work better than your H50. It's one of the better air cooling solutions available. I know the H50 is water but it can't compare to the top tier air coolers.

 

[Spike99]

http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.p...k=view&id=432&Itemid=62&limit=1&limitstart=20
Actually the stock intel heatsink on the 980X would probably work better than your H50. It's one of the better air cooling solutions available. I know the H50 is water but it can't compare to the top tier air coolers.

In this review, the H50 is not included.
When comparing coolers, Intel is actually the worst from the bunch in this review. Review states the following:
"Switched to Quiet-mode the Intel DBX-B cooler produces 20 dBA @ 800RPM, while Performance-mode creates a very-audible 35 dBA @ 1800RPM. "

When used with Quiet-mode, it was in last place. When used with Performance-mode it was in 15th place. The noise level at 35dBA @ 1800RPM is also unacceptable.

The ProlimaTech Megahalems is the best of the bunch.

I probably will test the intel's stock cooler but I don't expect it's gonna be better than the H50.

 

[Markfw]

In this review, the H50 is not included.
When comparing coolers, Intel is actually the worst from the bunch in this review. Review states the following:
"Switched to Quiet-mode the Intel DBX-B cooler produces 20 dBA @ 800RPM, while Performance-mode creates a very-audible 35 dBA @ 1800RPM. "

When used with Quiet-mode, it was in last place. When used with Performance-mode it was in 15th place. The noise level at 35dBA @ 1800RPM is also unacceptable.

The ProlimaTech Megahalems is the best of the bunch.

I probably will test the intel's stock cooler but I don't expect it's gonna be better than the H50.

I liked his comment that the megahalems had the best mounting system he had ever seen. That is why I love it so much (aside from it was best in the review)

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

The stock 980x hs was within 5c of the megahalems. From what I've read the H50 is up to 10c away from the Megahalems. If you already bought an H50 then enjoy it but if not I'd strongly reconsider it.

 

[Rubycon]

1.4vcore without water is too high...
:X

and try to keep your VTT no higher then 1.3

Depends on speed and (ultimately) loaded temps.

I'm getting conflicting information on VTT maximums. Some say 1.5V+ is OK others say NEVER go above 1.4V if you want the chip to last longer than a case of beer. (for some that basically means use the asus repair kit on it!)

In my findings (so far) it seems that VTT jacking does NOT benefit higher clocks with these CPUs as it did/could with Bloomfields.

As far as fragility is concerned...

Remember even if you use water/chillers/LN2, etc. you CANNOT get around OHM's law! The socket can still take a hit. Even without heavy o/c it cannot be stressed to keep the socket in top notch shape! If the CPU is removed even for a minute the plate should be placed over the pins! The cleaner this area stays the better! Also the pads on the CPU MUST be as clean as possible. If they are touched with a finger this area MUST be cleaned with high concentration (90%) alcohol wipes. Otherwise you run the risk of malfunction. Losing some ram if you're lucky. Smoking the socket/cpu if you're not...

 

[Spike99]

OK, I need some help.

I received I7-980X and left at stock. I was checking temp and what is odd is that idle temp is almost 60C. I was like... this can't be right. I reseated H50 and no difference. I was hesitant to stress test with... with IntelBurn Test/Prime 95 ver 25.9 but when stress testing highest temp is 44C.

When stress testing I did see all CPU's 100% from task manager.

How can this be that idle temp is lower load temp ?

I'm not sure how to attach CPU-Z, But Core = 3474, MP = 26, BUS Speed = 133.7, QPI Link = 3207, Core Voltage = 1.240

The only BIOS Change I did was changing "Ai Overclock Tuner" I set it to XMP

Any ideas ?

 

[Spike99]

OK, I think I see my mistake... these temps read "66C to TJMax" and I was seeing this as temp. Not sure what this means...

I downloaded Real Temp GT and I see Idle temp is ~ 36C and I also see distance to TJ Max in the 60's.

Uff, I thought something was wrong.

Is there a way to see temp in C for Core Temp(ver 0.99.5) vs C to TjMax ?

 

[eva2000]

besides the mentioned settings, if your Asus board has Turbo power limit disable that as you push higher cpu multi otherwise your cpu multi may drop when it hits the turbo power protection limits http://i4memory.com/f55/intel-core-...ur-results-here-22703/index13.html#post128503

on my Asus P6T6 WS Revolution

 

[Rubycon]

I wish they had that on the P6T7 board. That option is NOT there AND even though it's claimed that a "special bios" has it turned off, it doesn't. Tested here on Bloomfield and Gulftown Xeons, etc. and it still switches turbo on and off under heavy load. Between that and cranky EVGA Classified BIOS' overclocking six core cpus has turned into a left field cluster. Sure it works but not like it should.

besides the mentioned settings, if your Asus board has Turbo power limit disable that as you push higher cpu multi otherwise your cpu multi may drop when it hits the turbo power protection limits http://i4memory.com/f55/intel-core-...ur-results-here-22703/index13.html#post128503

on my Asus P6T6 WS Revolution

 

[eva2000]

Yeah Gary/Bingo13 is working with Asus on bios update/fix for P6T7 and 980x apparently, so might be good news at the end of the tunnel if they can do it for P6T6 WS Revolution

 

[Spike99]

The stock 980x hs was within 5c of the megahalems. From what I've read the H50 is up to 10c away from the Megahalems. If you already bought an H50 then enjoy it but if not I'd strongly reconsider it.

UPDATE:
OK, So I've been playing around with 980x. With H50 I was getting terrible numbers.

Stock - I found this to be OK..
Idle 37C Load 82(max)

I started OC'ing and was getting temp over 100C. I found this too high so stopped. With out changing vcore, I found that leaving vcore in AUTO, I was able to up MP to 29 (3.88GHz). Below are results with H50 & Intel Heat Sink
Idle 46C Load 100(max) - H50 (Re-installed like 2 times and rechecked temp)
Idle 48C Load not tested - Quiet setting
Idle 46C Load stopped at 100C - Performance setting

Thoughts about Intel's Heat sink... I don't know how high it would have gone with fan highest setting... but I can tell you the whining sound it makes is terrible. On the lowest setting (Quiet)... It's just down right terrible... and setting it to highest setting... uff "NO WAY". I don't know how they could include this loud fan with this heat sink. Also installing Intel's Heat sink was difficult. There were 2 screws that were very hard to get to and screw down.

Although I was not happy with H50, In reality... Temp does not go higher than 61C during normal use. For both H50 & Intel cooler I used same Thermal compound which I had sitting around for 3 years - OCZ Freeze.

When Installing back H50, Just for kicks, I used Intel's compound that they included with 980X. Below is the result
Idle 30C Load 67C (max)

WOW, what a difference thermal compound makes.... 16C difference in Idle and 33C difference in Load. I thought OCZ Freeze was good but I don't know with time (3years) some how it decreases in performance ?

In any case, I'm sure that Intel's cooler would also have better temps using Intel's compound but H50 is definitely better... just in the horrible whining noise it makes in the lowest fan setting is just terrible.

I guess I can now play with vcore and up core speed... Let's see.