Epic fail attempting i7 920 overclock last night

[Jeeebus]

So I got around to building my new system over the weekend. Got everything assembled, got Win7 installed, and decided to give it a whirl at attempting a mild overclock... things didn't quite go as planned.

Specs:
i7 920 D0
Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD5
ZALMAN CNPS9900ALED CPU cooler
12 GB OCZ Gold (6 x 2GB) 2DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
2x Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB drives in RAID 0
Corsair HX 850 PSU
Radeon 5850 GPU
X-fi XtremeGamer sound card

It was late and I was lazy, so didn't do any stability testing ahead of time. Only really checked idle temps, which were about 26/27 across the board.

And then came the problems. No matter what I did in BIOS, the overclock failed. Didn't matter what frequencies/voltages I raised or did not raise - didn't matter if I left most ratios on automatic - every overclock I tried failed. It was actually quite puzzling - at one point the only thing I changed was to raise base clock to 140 (from 133), and even that came back as a failed overclock.

And now for the epic fail. After playing around a bit more, the motherboard decided it had enough and apparently reset all settings, including my RAID, and I got the dread "Missing Operating System" message. Sigh. Another hour of Windows and driver installs.

Never failed this hard before at overclocking. And I'm totally puzzled where the problem is.

 

[yacoub]

I dunno, I think to be "epic" you'd have to start a fire in the case or something. I would just go with "fail".

 

[Jeeebus]

I dunno, I think to be "epic" you'd have to start a fire in the case or something. I would just go with "fail".

fair point... but that just means I have something to look forward to for my next attempt.

 

[n7]

First thing that jumps out @ me is that you have 12 GB RAM.

That's going to make OCing more of a challenge for you, no doubt.

I'd suggest setting it well below stock speeds to be certain it's not getting in the way.

So look for the setting that puts it @ DDR3-800 or maybe 1066 @ most with primary timings set very loose & command rate locked @ 2N.
Loosening B2B CAS Delay is something you might eventually have to fiddle with as well, though i'd leave it alone for now.

Then work on increasing BCLK.
You're likely going to need more QPI/VTT voltage for higher BCLKs.

As you aren't sure yet what's holding you back, i might also suggest (on top of the lowered RAM speed) using a lower CPU multi while you increase BCLK to see if it's a board/RAM thing.

So for example, try 15x150.
You'll be running underclocked, but this way you know it's not CPU, it's mobo/RAM you need to work on.

Isolating issues like this will make your life a lot easier.

 

[Rubycon]

Most i7 OC issues are caused by incorrect settings of memory dividers. Make sure your RAM is running at its rated frequency or lower. If slightly higher (and good quality ram) you may be OK. Check timings as well. Most ram will run faster with looser timings and the reverse is true - slower with tighter timings.

12GB should not be an issue with a quality MB and memory modules. Get sloppy and you will have issues even at default settings!

Most importantly, load your OS and get up and running STOCK and ONLY after you have made an image of the OS try overclocking. As you can see without a decent image a mistake is costly. (time wise!)

I recommend Acronis True Image - www.acronis.com.

 

[Golgatha]

Just rebuild the RAID0 array from the discs you used the first time. Should give you your OS back without the need to reinstall.

However, as Rubycon said, install at stock settings, image with Acronis, and then go crazy with your overclocking attempts. This is the most time efficient way to go about it. I'd even go one further and say restore the image once at stock settings just to make sure it will recover successfully.

 

[exar333]

I saw "epic fail" and thought I would at least get a cool story about a fire or singed car-fur.

Back on topic - are your OCZ modules the standard (1.7) or the low-voltage (1.65)? Is the build stable at stock settings? Did you run stability tests to make sure?

I agree with the previous posts, and it might be smart to start with 6GB of RAM and find the best overclock there, and see if it translates to 12GB. If not, it might tell you there is an issue with the 12GB, and you need to up voltages or relax timings. Remember that you really don't need any speeds >1333 for a triple-channel i7 build, so don't be afraid to go a little under-spec. Clockspeed is king, and there is no reason to hold back your OC just to gain a little bit of memory bandwidth that is only useful when benchmarking.

 

[Hyperlite]

Does it fail if you ONLY enable Host Clock Control? I've seen this crop up on a UD3-L, turns out the cause was a new 4890...

 

[Jeeebus]

Does it fail if you ONLY enable Host Clock Control? I've seen this crop up on a UD3-L, turns out the cause was a new 4890...

you mean if I only change the base clock (from 133)? I believe that was one of the last options I tried - left EVERYTHING on auto and just upped base clock to about 140, and it still failed. I was very confused at that point.

I need to run some stability tests at stock speed because something can't be right. I'm just seriously at a loss as to what is killing even a couple mhz of an overclock.

 

[RussianSensation]

I previously purchased 4GB (2x2GB) OCZ Gold Ultra Low Voltage DDR3-1600 1.65V. It failed my MemTest86+ and I had to return it to Microcenter.

Before you start overclocking, always make sure your system is 100% stable at stock speeds, including Prime95/OCCT or whatever else CPU tests and MemTest. I know it's a pain in the a** to run because you are eager to OC right away. But sometimes it saves you all the pain of having BSOD or crashing (thinking it's related to an overclock).

 

[Shmee]

I agree, probably has to do with memory/uncore. Uncore must be > 2x RAM ratio. Recomend 2x+1 for the UD5. May help if you get the latest beta bios for your UD5 as well.

Try 150x21, try using the 8x memory ratio. Ram will run 1200 MHz, use auto timings, rated VDIMM. Try 17x uncore. Up QPI VTT slightly, and set vcore manually, try using stock vcore for now. Hope this helps.

It should work, at least boot, if unstable after testing, you may need to up Vcore or QPI more.

 

[Jeeebus]

well I ran four instances of Memtest overnight - not a single error.

My most obvious culprit was the RAM, so this leaves me clueless at this point.

I'm pretty sure when I was trying to overclock, one of my options was just to set RAM timings/voltage/frequency to the manufacturer default (8-8-8-24, 1.65v, DDR3 1600), and even that failed to boot, so I'm totally puzzled.

 

[Jeeebus]

well I ran four instances of Memtest overnight - not a single error.

My most obvious culprit was the RAM, so this leaves me clueless at this point.

I'm pretty sure when I was trying to overclock, one of my attempts was just to set RAM timings/voltage/frequency to the manufacturer default (8-8-8-24, 1.65v, DDR3 1600), and even that failed to boot, so I'm totally puzzled.

 

[Shmee]

what is/was your uncore multiplier? It is very important. Must be >= 2 times the memory ratio.

Did you try my recommended settings?

Anyways, good to know that memory works at stock.

 

[Jeeebus]

what is/was your uncore multiplier? It is very important. Must be >= 2 times the memory ratio.

Did you try my recommended settings?

Anyways, good to know that memory works at stock.

I'll have to check later tonight when I get home. Haven't changed any settings on this current install - everything is at basic BIOS defaults.

The memory works - but at "auto" settings. If I set them to the manufacturer stock settings, it didn't even boot ( I think - it was late at night lol).

 

[Shmee]

sounds to me like you set the memory up a few notches, and your uncore was too low. Happened to me early on when I was still learning about the x58 board.

 

[Kyanzes]

Strolls in
Sniffs the air

What? No somke and fire???

Strolls out

 

[Jeeebus]

UPDATE:

Well I'm crossing my fingers, but thanks to Shmee, we now at least boot with 150 x 20 (turned turbo off) at 1.2 vcore. Going to do some stability testing tonight at these settings and then keep fiddling around with it.

Big thanks to the fellow UD5 user - didn't think this would ever even boot lol.

FYI at these settings it looks like I'm getting about 29/30 degrees idle and anywhere between 46-51 at load (torture testing with Prime95), so that's encouraging... assuming Prime95 doesn't flake out.

 

[n7]

UPDATE:

Well I'm crossing my fingers, but thanks to Shmee, we now at least boot with 150 x 20 (turned turbo off) at 1.2 vcore. Going to do some stability testing tonight at these settings and then keep fiddling around with it.

Big thanks to the fellow UD5 user - didn't think this would ever even boot lol.

FYI at these settings it looks like I'm getting about 29/30 degrees idle and anywhere between 46-51 at load (torture testing with Prime95), so that's encouraging... assuming Prime95 doesn't flake out.

Err, what did you do to get that working?

Would be nice to know.

 

[Rubycon]

51 Prime temps? Time to ratchet up that BCLK!

 

[douglasb]

Clicked on this thread hoping to hear about some OC tragedy ending in bodily injury or a house fire...found neither...very un-"epic" fail, sir

 

[Jeeebus]

Err, what did you do to get that working?

Would be nice to know.

all I changed were Shmee's suggested changes above.

 

[Jeeebus]

51 Prime temps? Time to ratchet up that BCLK!

ya, I'm up to 175 x 20 and sitting around 57 degrees max under load with Prime95. Going to let Prime95 run overnight to make sure it's stable, but I doubt I'll go too much further than this.

 

[plastick]

yeah i have about the same system as you and I couldnt get mine to oc... I never have luck with overclocking as idkwtf im doing

 

[fffblackmage]

Geez, I thought you fried your brand new i7 920, at the very least, when you said "epic"....