Beginner overclocking Core i7 920

[Stamps]

I've never overclocked anything before, but now I'm really wanting to squeeze some extra power out of my Intel Core i7 920. I'm trying to go from 2.67 GHz up to 3.8 GHz. I've found a couple guides on the internet to help me with this, but my computer won't boot up after I finish saving the settings. It'll turn on and the fans will spin, but my monitor won't get any input. So I have to reset the CMOS and try again.

I might be doing something wrong, but I pretty sure I followed the instructions as precisely as I could. My BIOS seems to use different terminology than what's standard, so it's been a bit difficult to figure out exactly what I need to change.

My CPU is an Intel Core i7 920,
my motherboard is a DFI Lanparty DK X58 T3eH6,
and my PSU is a 610 watt model from PC Power and Cooling (not sure if this matters).

Can someone help me figure out exactly what I need to change in my BIOS to get up to 3.8 GHz? It's been difficult to find any guides that were straight forward.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

Can you take a pic of your bios screen with the current settings?

 

[Stamps]

Presently it's all at the default settings because that's the only way I can get my computer to boot up fully. I'm running the same BIOS that can be seen in the screenshots here.

I can take some photos of my monitor myself if you still want me to, but it'll take me a while to dig up a digital camera. Will these screenshots work okay?

 

[Stamps]

So after fiddling with the settings for a little while, I opened up the case to see what the motherboard's error code reported to see if I could get a better idea of what I needed to change for the overclock. According to the error code (which I referenced in the mobo manual), there wasn't enough voltage going into the DRAM. So I reset the CMOS and tried it again.

I started incrementally increasing the voltage of the DRAM by about 0.05 volts at a time to see if I could get that error code to go away. I got up to about 1.75 volts and it still wasn't working. I shut it off and reset the CMOS one last time, but now the computer won't boot up. Usually after resetting the CMOS, it would go back to normal with no trouble at all. I'm worried that I might have added too much voltage, even though according to the manual, I still hadn't added enough.

Presently, the computer will pop to life for a fraction of a second when I press the power button. If I press and hold the power and reset buttons simultaneously, it will run for about 10-15 seconds (or until I let go of either button) before shutting down. Nothing boots during this time, but the fans spin and the computer comes to life a bit. So did I fry my motherboard, fry my RAM, or is it something else? Am I screwed?

 

[manimal]

Dont do anything over 1.65 on the ram or your chip will go poof. Intel says anything over 1.65 on mem will cause problems. What I do is set the ram at 1.64 and go from there.

For a moderate overclock set your Pll to 1.88. QPI to 1.2, and vcore to something like 1.275. Start with those voltages and try for 3.6 with a low memory divider.

What ram are you using? The dfi boards are much harder to oc since they have more things to fiddle with.

 

[Stamps]

I already went higher than 1.65 on the ram. That's when my computer stopped turning on. Do you think I permanently fried it? I thought I heard that it would take longer than that to cause any permanent damage to your hardware, but maybe I heard wrong. Is my CPU fried now? I would think that by going too high on DRAM that my ram would be fried, not my CPU...

The ram I'm using is three 2 gig sticks from Super Talent.

And since I made my last post, my computer has gone from popping on for a second when I hit the power button, to nothing at all. No semblence of life is coming from it whatsoever. Is it permanently ruined?

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

Take the battery out of the motherboard for a couple mins. That might reset it.

 

[qazwsxokmijn]

Wait, what cooler have you got? If stock, don't go over 3GHz.

 

[biostud]

it also depends on wether the CPU is a D0 or an early 920.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Another one bites the dust...

Hint: Don't just keep increasing voltage willy-nilly.

 

[Axon]

It's unlikely that you fried the machine. Take out the battery from the motherboard and unplug the machine for about 20 minutes. Then replace the battery and boot.

Don't mess with voltages too much. 1.65 for RAM and 1.3v for CPU should be your max for now until you get more experience under your belt. With the i7 920 platform, I've found that RAM timings and QPI frequency to be more critical than voltage for overall stability (voltage being the last thing I change).

Set your block to 160 and make sure your RAM timings are entered manually as per the RAM's precise specs. CPU voltage to 1.21. Then boot. Then raise it to 180. Boot and test for stability. If you have a d0, you should easily boot at 3.6 ghz. Then it gets a little trickier. Also, advise us of your cooling solution. If you're on the stock heatsink and fan, you may not want to push much at all.

 

[Stamps]

I just tried remmoving the battery like you said, but I still can't get any power. It seems pretty busted to me, but it seems like it shouldn't be. Not really sure what else to try, though.

 

[PsiStar]

I just tried to download the tech manual for your board. Their web site does not like either my firefox or MS explorer installation as both would flash a list of manuals & then nothing useful.

BUT what I was planning to look for was a couple of pins or pads to short together to force a bios reset. Assuming that you have a printed manual, you might look for something like that.

 

[GLeeM]

Try booting with one stick of ram, if that doesn't work try a different one, maybe something happened to one of the sticks?

 

[Stamps]

Okay, I'm back up and running after replacing a fried motherboard and messed up PSU. I'm pretty sure that my motherboard frying had nothing to do with my overclocking attempt, because even the guy at the shop I took it to said that I should have just been able to reset the CMOS and be on my way. I've had bad luck with this board in the past, so I'm on to a new one. It's pretty fancy, too!

It's an ASUS P6X58D Premium. It's got a number of heatsinks on it which will help cool the CPU. Will that help me get a little more juice out of this overclock? For now I just want to get up to 3.8 GHz. I'm a little afraid to mess with overclock settings too liberally after what happened last time, but I really have no idea what to do besides trial and error. Can anyone help?

 

[konakona]

I thought a tad over 1.65v on vdimm isn't all that scary as long as you keep it with 0.5v of VTT? Maybe I am wrong. I haven't had issues with that kinda setting for months, but eventually backed down to 1.65v when I upgraded my RAM to something better.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Yeah please don't just jump from stock to 1.35 vcore etc etc...

1.65 vdimm isn't bad. I wouldn't go over 1.70 on air. Keep it at 1.65 for 24/7 though as your max.

QPI is a trickier thing. I was taught the Intel Max is 1.35 but it seems a LOT of those sticks of RAM (gathering from GSkill and Corsair forums) are programmed to go higher on QPI voltage. Like 1.4+ or even 1.5+. I'm slowly getting over my fears to push past that.

 

[Bartman39]

Beginner or not here is what I think is a pretty fair OC`ing guide for the I7 CPU`s...

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/core-i7-920-overclocking.html


I had the guide up on my C2D machine while I worked the basic bios settings in my I7 machine and it really helped... I worked one setting at a time to get it ready to OC and with a C0 stepping I7 920 I made it to 4.0Ghz no problem and am currently running 3.5Ghz on stock volts cool and stable... But you for sure need good cooling DO NOT try this with a stock cooler it just wont work... Also for sure monitor your IOH temps as some boards do not have all that good of cooling for it... Dont know on yours but might be ok...?

 

[Ben90]

Wait, what cooler have you got? If stock, don't go over 3GHz.

I'm at 4 Ghz with the stock cooler. IBT throttles within minutes, but I don't run Linpack for a living so temps are not an issue.

A lot of enthusiasts hate to see their temps over 70*C, but these processors get way hotter than that in 1U rack servers seeing load 24/7

 

[GLeeM]

It's got a number of heatsinks on it which will help cool the CPU. Will that help me get a little more juice out of this overclock?

Those heatsinks are for cooling other things not the CPU.

Wait, what cooler have you got?

Did you answer this?

 

[Stamps]

My CPU/Heatsink is a stock one from Intel, but it's not the one that came with my CPU. The one that came with my CPU had bum latches, so I had to buy a new one a year or two ago to replace it. I did buy one pretty similar to the stock one though, it may even be the same model.

Incidentally, I just tried to run Prime95 and check my CPU temps on my machine with factory settings. It went up to almost 100 degrees C. So after that, I'm thinking of calling the people who built my computer and asking them what the heck they did wrong. It should never get that high on factory settings. I'm definitely not gonna try overclocking it until it's stable at the most basic of settings. @_@

 

[manimal]

Ya man buy a better heatsink like the 212 or go all out and get a megahalems. Stock intel barely cuts it...

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Yeah, go ahead to buy a better cooler. I dropped $90 on a Noctua NH-D14. Probably the best air cooler now. Beats Megahalems barely though. I think either would be fine.

I'm at 4 Ghz with the stock cooler. IBT throttles within minutes, but I don't run Linpack for a living so temps are not an issue.

A lot of enthusiasts hate to see their temps over 70*C, but these processors get way hotter than that in 1U rack servers seeing load 24/7

lolwut? you seriously run 4ghz with the stock cooler? that's kinda foolish. It's not enthusiasts with 70. I believe 85 is a better mark people use. That leaves room for inaccuracies, new components like a new GPU in your system that can add more heat (GTX 480), hot days, etc. 85 on Linpack corresponds to probably 70s or high 60s in general use.

Why would you want a setup where IBT causes your CPU to throttle? That just shows insufficient cooling. It's like saying "If I come within 1k of redline my engine breaks down and my car stalls, but I don't ever gun it and I drive like a grandma so my car will be fine for a commute." I'd be worried even if I didn't drive with a lead foot.