Do you see any glaring issues with my i7 940 overclock?

[balane]

I'm a very new i7 user, less than 24 hours at this point. All of the new methods are a bit overwhelming and I'm wondering if I've made any serious mistakes.

I don't really need to overclock, I just like to because it feels like I'm getting more for my money.

I upgraded from a Q6600 platform and I didn't intend to, it just all came together easily. I was in Frys and saw they were selling an Asus P6T customer return motherboard for $169, they had 6GB of Corsair RAM for $129 (After MIR) This stuff; http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820220399 After I saw that I used my phone to check for a used i7 on Craig's List and found a new, sealed retail 940 for $200 and I just decided to jump on it.

A nice platform upgrade for, what I figure to be, around $150 after I sell my old gear. (Q6600 G0, 8GB Corsair Dominator 1066MHz, MSI P35 Neo2.) I just couldn't resist.

So I have installed everything and it tested out OK. I want my computer to run trouble free and I use it for pretty much everything, including games (Metro 2033 currently.) Mostly I wanted a smallish OC that would be very stable.

Currently I have it at 3.65GHz on the OEM Intel retail cooler. My settings are as follows;

Ratio: 23, BCLK 159, PCIE 100, DRAM at 1594MHz

The only voltage changes I made from Auto are
CPU 1.32, CPU PLL 1.90, QPI/DRAM 1.35, DRAM BUS 1.64

I've run some real quick stress tests and benchmarks on it, no issues at all.
3DMark06: 23,128
3DMark Vantage: 19,864
Heaven (19x12): 673 - AvgFPS 26.7
WEI: 7.6 - 7.8 - 7.8 - 7.8 - 7.2 (OCZ Vertex 120gb SSD for hdd)

Video is a Sapphire HD 5870 with a slight BIOS flash OC to 900/1300 I run a 1920x1200 LCD

Temps are:
CPU -
Idle: 37c
Orthos 30 minutes (no errors): 57c
Intel Burn Test (Five passes, Standard): 77c

Video -
Idle: 36c
Furmark 30 minutes: 86c (Mem controller at 96c)

Now I don't really know but it's possible I missed even the basics of i7 overclocking and made some huge mistakes here. I would just like a little feedback on this if possible and see if it looks OK to you guys.

Thanks for any help.

 

[Sp12]

Can you return the 940? They're only C0 revisions, whereas the 920/930/950 are D0 and OC better.

 

[balane]

It was purchased sealed from a Craig's List private sale for just $200. It's now opened and installed. I'm very happy with the OC where it's at right now, assuming I have all the settings in a reasonably intelligent manner. That seemed like a very nice deal to me.

 

[balane]

Just found the Intel Burn Test program, nice application. It overheated my CPU on the fifth pass of five. Temp got into the high 80's right before it locked up.

So I lowered my CPU voltage to 1.288 from 1.35 and it passed without ever breaking 80C, I think 77 was the highest I saw.

This was on the standard setting for the test.

Does this mean things are all good?

 

[Ben90]

While D0s on average overclock better than C0s its not a huge deal breaker in the long run, especially because it looks like the OP isn't trying to run the chip to the maximum. Besides for $200 that's a pretty sweet deal.

For the overclock everything looks good. Nothing out of spec. To just make sure its running stable, I would try to run IBT on maximum settings. In my experience, 5 passes of standard just isn't long enough. Note that your processor will heat up a lot more on maximum because the test is longer so watch your temps.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Just found the Intel Burn Test program, nice application. It overheated my CPU on the fifth pass of five. Temp got into the high 80's right before it locked up.

So I lowered my CPU voltage to 1.288 from 1.35 and it passed without ever breaking 80C, I think 77 was the highest I saw.

This was on the standard setting for the test.

Does this mean things are all good?

dont worry about 80s. I can hit 80s on my max which was around 4.1ghz in open air.

in closed air on hot days at 4ghz i'll hit 80 too. These CPUs can take up to 100 or so before damage. Plus, you're not gonna hit 80 without IBT or Linx. Even typical gaming will probably only drive you to 70 and thats with your GPU spitting out heat too (Assuming your airflow isn't top notch).

I typically try for 24 hrs prime + 8 hrs LinX under terrible ambient heat. If that passes, I'll let Prime run for as long as I can up to 36 hrs. Say the 24 hr testing period expires at night. I'll just keep it running as I go to bed and the next day up until I return from work. Might as well right? Can't hurt to test for extra stability.

 

[balane]

I just found IBT so it's new to me. IBT is the absolute hottest your CPU will ever get? That's what it sounds like. I can't make 15 passes on the highest setting without the computer restarting.

 

[jvroig]

I just found IBT so it's new to me. IBT is the absolute hottest your CPU will ever get? That's what it sounds like. I can't make 15 passes on the highest setting without the computer restarting.

With only the stock Intel cooler, that's not really surprising. If you wish to keep the 3.65GHz overclock or climb a bit higher, you'd need a good aftermarket cooler.

Try to ask around for those with i7 chips that overclocked only with the stock cooler and see if they get the same results as you. Maybe there is something you can do before needing an aftermarket cooler.

 

[coffeejunkee]

Might as well right? Can't hurt to test for extra stability.

Not sure, some people will tell you it's bad for the cpu. It's definately bad for your powerbill.

Also depends on your definition of stable. If you oc your cpu and it works fine for everything you do, no lockups, bsods or whatever, is it really a bad thing if an error occurs after 8 hours Prime95? Vice versa, ive still had crashes in apps/games even though Prime95 was stable for hours.

And what's the limit? No errors after 12h could still mean errors after 24h could still mean errors after 36h. Just let Prime95 run for as long as you use your pc? That being said, personally I consider an overclock completely stable after 20 runs Linx using all available memory and pretty stable after 5 runs. Nothing will even come close to that during normal use.

A little more ontopic: you're cpu pll seems a bit high, did you need to set it to that voltage? I believe consensus is that 1.9 is max safe value.

 

[balane]

I caved in and bought an after market cooler. I didn't really want to take my motherboard out and the clip on aftermarket coolers just weren't doing it for me. I ended up putting a Scythe Mugen on it and replaced the fan with a 4 pin Arctic Cooling F12 which I really like, although it took a little MacGyvering to attach.

I can run any stress test I want now and load temps barely get over 60, and it's super quiet as well which is nice. The Arctic Silver hasn't even had a chance to set up yet so it will maybe get a little better.

I'm very happy right now, thanks for the help.

(I'll play around with my CPU PLL, I just saw that number recommended by some posters with the same motherboard as me and went with it. I'll turn it down to under 1.9 and see how she runs.)

 

[balane]

OK, set CPU PLL to Auto and did a quick IBT 5 pass run on High and it got through it just fine. I'll push it a little harder but it seems good right now. Thanks for the tip.

Edit: Ugh, Mass Effect 2 crashed right away, rebooted the computer. Moved CPU PLL up to 1.9 from Auto and it plays fine now.

 

[VirtualLarry]

What case is that?

 

[balane]

Some five year old Cooler Master. I think it was called a Centurion. I should probably get a new one but it's easy to work on and I know it inside and out.

 

[M1A]

u should not need quite that much cpu volts for that OC? Try to lower that a bit and it may help with heat and power.

 

[aigomorla]

940 != D0

1st gen 920+ 940+ 1st Gen 965's = C1/C0

920 + 930 + 950 + = D0.

return it for a 930 even if you have to pay more.

If your an OC, you really really really really really really really really really really really want a D0.

Well, you want a D0 period, as they run cooler, and overclock much better.