e6750 + EVGA 680i SLI Overclocking Troubles

[Viper753]

(I've been lurking on these forums for the past few days, but I haven't been able to find someone with the same setup as me. I apologize if there is already a thread on this, please just. point me in the correct direction)

I recently built a new system that was meant to be cheap with lots of over clocking potential. However, I've ran into a wall on my CPU speeds and I was hoping you guys would have some suggestions.

Specs:

CPU: E6750
Cooler: Zalman 9700
MoBo: EVGA 680i SLI
Ram: 2GB OCZ Platnium Rev 2 DDR2-800
GPU: EVGA 8800GT
PSU: 550W Antec

I can't seem to reach speeds greater than 3.3ghz. I purchased this particular CPU after reading multiple reports with OC'd speeds somewhere in the 3.6-3.8 range with STOCK cooler and little to no voltage increase.

My current settings are:

FSB (QDR) 1600 (so 400mhz)
Unlinked Mem
Mem 800mhz

Voltages:
CPU CORE: 1.45v
CPU FSB: 1.4v
MEM: 1.9v (stock)
nforce STP: auto
nforce MCP: auto
nforce STP<->MCP: auto

nvidia cpu Ex: enabled
CPU thermal control: disabled
C1E Enhanced Halt State: disabled
Execute Disable Bit: enabled
Virtualiaztion Technology: enabled
ALL spread spectrums are disabled

Temperatures never exceed 100f (38c)

It is stable up to 400mhz FSB, after that it starts to fail SP2004 Orthos. Windows won't even start at 425mhz even with the vCORE set to 1.5v.

I'm not new to overclocking, but I've always done very mild overclocks, perhaps there is something I missed. I've had my system running stable at stock speeds/voltages for a couple weeks with no problems.

Thanks for the help!

 

[zach0624]

try running your mem at 1:1 (for the 680i it is sync mode) you may be having problems with your mem being unlinked and trying to run slower than the fsb (just a guess haven't tried 400 or above on my q6600).

 

[PCTC2]

WELCOME TO AT FORUMSi

t's probably the 680i chipset.

1) It might be overheating at any FSB over 412 so try touching the heatpipe while it's on. it'll probably be burning hot cuz the nVIDIA chipsets are notoriously hot.
2) Try bumping the SPP voltage a bit.
3) the 680i chipset isn't much good for above 470 FSB. I got my E6400 (basically just an older stepping of your chip with less L2) to 3.5 stable MAX in winter and 3.2GHz stable in summer. i know the board is limiting b/c i couldn't boot at 500*6 with any setting (+/- 20 FSB)

 

[Viper753]

Thanks for the tips. Unfortunately, they haven't seemed to get me past the 400mhz FSB barrier. I tired running the mem in sync mode at FSB settings and windows wouldn't boot/memtest would freeze. I checked my northbridge/southbridge, they are running cool as a cucumber. I'm going to fiddle around with the SPP voltage a bit, but I bumped it to 1.45v with no change. It seems like I may have been mislead when I was told of this boards awesome overclocking potential, but I only want to achieve an FSB of 425mhz or so, maybe 450mhz. I have tried jumping up to these higher settings to make sure it wasn't an FSB Hole in the northbridge.

So am I stuck with a bunk motherboard/cpu or are there a couple other tricks I can try?

 

[badnewcastle]

I had the same problem, I can run the system stable up to 3.6 at least, haven't tried farther but if I put mem higher then 425mhz(x2=900mhz) windows won't boot... So I've set FSB @ 425 and Mem @ 425 for 1:1 running stable @ 3.4Ghz.

I don't have the EVGA but I have the MSI 680i supposed to be stable up to ~475.

Here are some tips I found on my particular 680i, though I know MSI has a little different memory achitecture...

Check you VTT voltage, make sure your only upping it by 2-4% if that even. (tip from MSI OC'ing forum...

Check your NB voltage, should be ~1.375-1.5v for above 400 mhz FSB (from PCstats)

Also, are you using coretemp for checking your temps? If not go here to get it. Your temps seem a little low especially for stock HSF.

 

[bfdd]

The 680i is a lot easier to deal with too without a 1:1 ratio. It's not as strict as the intel chipsets.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

This is just off the top of my head. Useful to note here that I'm running a B3 Q6600 with Crucial Ball'x and a 680i Striker Extreme mobo.

The E6750 is rated to a stock speed of 2.66 Ghz with stock multiplier of what I deduce is 8 at 8 x 333 or 2.66 Ghz. A 20% over-clock excluding memory settings would, at this point be 400 Mhz or 3.2 Ghz. To go higher, say-- to 450 Mhz or 3.6 ghz, you'd probably need both extra juice and looser memory timings.

You're using OCZ modules, and different models have different potential. For instance, I believe I picked up the same Platinum DDR2-800's that you have for what seemed like a song, or $35 per (2 x 512) 1GB. I wanted the cheap bargain for them so I'd have something to test a motherboard while I await choice of better parts.

Forum posts and other sources tell me that these modules are not stellar, and I extrapolate further -- "not stellar for over-clocking."

However, I've been through enough iterations on this hot-dog-enthusiast-over-clocking game to discover that you can misinterpret PRIME95/ORTHOS stress-testing failures. You might get to a point where you keep bumping up VCORE, but the problem may really be a memory voltage that's just too low to handle what you're throwin' at it. AND -- you said you were running your modules at the 1.9 (stock) voltage.

OCZ has a life-time warranty for something called "EVP" if I'm not mistaken -- "extended voltage protection." Find out what the warranty-recommended voltage limit is, and look into EVP because it may give you some wiggle-room a few percentage points beyond that spec.

If you're going to run the system to 450 Mhz and 3.6, you'd best probably do one of two things:

1) look for DDR2-800 memories and solid benchtest reviews which show some extensibility beyond 400/800 Mhz at the same as well as looser timings
2) Look for a pair of DDR2-1000's with good latency specs at that speed, and which may be flexible in the opposite direction -- with tighter latencies and below-1000 speeds.

It may be true that the 680i chipset has some limitation on FSB speeds, but I had a successful OC of an E6600 to just over 400 Mhz at a lower multiplier, and I' hadn't gone beyond the median setting around 2.1V on my Crucials (rated at 2.2 max).

If you'd wanted to get to 3.6 Ghz, though, the better bet -- with your chipset -- would've been the E6850, allowing for a stock multiplier of 9 and only needing a 20% over-clock to get to 3.6. That would mean only running the FSB up to 400.

With my 680i, I was getting close to 390 with latencies that were seriously lower than the default DDR2-800 spec for my DDR2-1000's. that is, a schedule of test latencies for the 1000's @ DDR2-800 posted latencies that were looser at that speed.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

[Anyway, as I've posted here and in the "memory" forum with the concurrence of others, if you find the right memory modules, you won't NEED to run the processor to an extreme over-clock to get similar performance at tight latencies and lower FSB. At least with your mobo, you have a setting for the tRC bank-cycle-time which can be adjusted downward somewhat from its stock setting with modest impact on stability and high increases in memory bandwidth.]

 

[Viper753]

Badnewcastle:

I've bumped my NB voltage up to 1.45v, but it hasn't seemed to make much of a difference. Surprisingly I don't seem to have any more overclocking potential when I manually set the voltages, if I leave them at Auto I can achieve the same speeds/stability.

I ran coretemp and it gave me

tjunction: 85C
core #0 10C
core #1 10C

That is even lower than reported in the bios (with the exception of the tjunction, whatever that is). I'm not using stock cooling however, I'm using a Zalman 9700.

BonzaiDuck:

I have heard the same thing about my memory modules. However, I am currently running them in "unlinked mode" so they remain at 800mhz. I have tried running them 1:1, it doesn't seem to make any difference. Both settings are stable at 3.4ghz, but not above.

I am going to try messing around with my memory voltages a bit, they are EVP'ed to 2.1v. Maybe it doesn't like the unlinked mode and needs more juice to run 1:1.

I am currently at 825mhz 4-4-4-12 @1.9v I'll try dropping those to 5-5-5-15 @2.1 and see if I can't get a little more FSB out of it. Can you give me any tips on particular memory timings I should be aiming for if I wanna reach the 3.5-3.6ghz range?

Thanks for the help!

 

[Viper753]

[Note: I restarted my system and bumped vcore, fsb, and spp voltages all to 1.5v as well as moving my memory from unlinked to synced and moving mem voltage to 2.1v. I'm going to play around with the FSB settings and see if I can't get 3.6ghz. Core temp seems to be putting out slightly more sane readings now: 31c for both cores.]

 

[badnewcastle]

Originally posted by: Viper753
[Note: I restarted my system and bumped vcore, fsb, and spp voltages all to 1.5v as well as moving my memory from unlinked to synced and moving mem voltage to 2.1v. I'm going to play around with the FSB settings and see if I can't get 3.6ghz. Core temp seems to be putting out slightly more sane readings now: 31c for both cores.]

Let us know how you do, I'm playing with mine trying to get it to run as stable as possible at the highest FSB and Mem @ 1:1, so far I'm up to 438:438 or FSB of 1752mhz and mem @ 876mhz with cpu @ 3.504ghz.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Originally posted by: Viper753
Badnewcastle:

I've bumped my NB voltage up to 1.45v, but it hasn't seemed to make much of a difference. Surprisingly I don't seem to have any more overclocking potential when I manually set the voltages, if I leave them at Auto I can achieve the same speeds/stability.

I ran coretemp and it gave me

tjunction: 85C
core #0 10C
core #1 10C

Something's not right. You could try a newer revision of CoreTemp, but these values are way out of whack, and Coretemp has been a reliable utility. There's advice in another thread on "Temperature Guide" per calibrating these temperatures, but for your over-clock, the values should be way above what is shown here.

Originally posted by: Viper753
Badnewcastle:


BonzaiDuck:

I have heard the same thing about my memory modules. However, I am currently running them in "unlinked mode" so they remain at 800mhz. I have tried running them 1:1, it doesn't seem to make any difference. Both settings are stable at 3.4ghz, but not above.

I am going to try messing around with my memory voltages a bit, they are EVP'ed to 2.1v. Maybe it doesn't like the unlinked mode and needs more juice to run 1:1.

I am currently at 825mhz 4-4-4-12 @1.9v I'll try dropping those to 5-5-5-15 @2.1 and see if I can't get a little more FSB out of it. Can you give me any tips on particular memory timings I should be aiming for if I wanna reach the 3.5-3.6ghz range?

Thanks for the help!

I don't really see how "unlinked" vs "linked" would make a difference. You would either run those things at 1:1, or run them at a divider.

Look "where you're comin' from," though. You start with a 1333FSB processor running stock at 2.6. You're trying to get it -- and the FSB -- to go with 1:1 on the memory, but you're running out of string on the processor's over-clock expectations, and the memory isn't exactly acting like a rubber-band or bubble-gum, either. I'd only expect a reasonable "high-end" over-clock" on this configuration just a few percentage points above the 28% OC you're at.

It may or may not be true about 680i OC'ing as you get to a 400 Mhz threshold. But I think your goal-setting like "gotta get it to 3.6" is not the right approach.

Here's an example. I've got the B3 stepping for the Q6600. Stands to reason that more cores on the CPU is going to make for a lower limit to OC -- without pushing the voltage to greater risk. I got it to 3.2 (from 2.4), 356 Mhz and FSB 1424. But I can't run memory at 1T command rate without either loosening the timings, or adding juice beyond the warranty recommended.

And I'm looking at heat. A 25% OC for me is 3 Ghz, 333Mhz, FSB 1333. The timings are tight enough that I get just a few hundred points below the bandwidth at 356. The system runs cooler. I can hardly tell the difference between game-playing at 3.2 with a 2T command-rate, and at 3.0 with a 1T command rate -- with the same timings, lower memory voltage and lower VCORE at the slower 3 Ghz.

I got my E6600 to about 3.4 -- up from 2.4 -- with very tight timings, and I think I had the frequency to 375. At lower multipliers, it would go to 390, but I'm imposing my own parameters and limits about how much to over-volt, with no preconceived goals. I watch the temperatures, performance and stability.

So like I said, you might have got there with a 20% over-clock with the E6850. I'd say -- look at speeds around 3.4 Ghz, get some better memory, and focus on tightening the latencies, instead of loosening them. Or run the memories on a divider (whether or not you choose the "linked" option -- just do the integer math) -- so you can run the memories close to spec and still over-clock the processor to a reasonable -- but not extreme level.

On the voltages, I do not recommend twisting all those voltages up right away to 1.5. Focus on VHT, VTT(FSB) and NB. Goosing up the FSB to 1.4 or 1.45 and the NB to about the same level may help you with the FSB speed. Small increases in the VHT won't hurt. But do these things 0.05V at a time, and if one doesn't help, reset it to previous and try another one. You might also look at some forums for people with your motherboard, and some reviews with serious examples, to see how those voltages were set for a range between 370 and 400+.

These boards provide for some extreme adjustments, and the tendency is to attempt using them to go "all the way." I look at it more like a war-story a friend's father once told us as teenagers, about going to radio-school in the army in the jungles of the South Pacific. They'd put conical paint filters on the radio knobs and paint a brown 2"-dia nipple on the filters at their pointy end. The instructor would then make his OWN point:

"Gently . . . . gently . . . . "

 

[Viper753]

I reached 3.5ghz at 5-5-5-15 memory timings with mem @ 2.1v, vcore @ 1.45c, vTT @ 1.4, and SPP/MCP @ 1.4. I decided that I'd rather have the faster memory timings, so I backed it down to 3.4ghz and lowered my timings to 4-4-4-12-T1. I've been messing around with the tRC like you mentioned and it's amazing the performance gains you can get. I haven't messed around too much with lowering voltages, so they may be higher than they need to be, but both the bios and coretemp but my CPU at 30C idle 34C load and the MCP temp never gets over 35C, so I'm pretty happy. I did a moderate overclock on my 8800gt with rivatuner and messed with my fan settings (core: 702mhz, Shader: 1728, mem: 1001mhz). It runs a little hotter, but is almost as quiet as stock. Ran 3dmark06 and pulled a 13501.

Thanks for all the help guys! I'll definitely keep frequenting this forum.

P.S. I could get it to 3.6ghz, but the stability wasn't perfect and the mem timings were crap.