LGA1156 Core i7 & i5 Overclocking Guide

Discussion in 'CPUs and Overclocking' started by andy5174, Dec 27, 2009.

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Is it worth being a sticky?

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  2. No

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  1. andy5174

    andy5174 Member

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    This guide was written based on Intel Core i5-750 CPU and Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD5 M/B!

    This is for peoples who want to OC their PC but lazy to comprehend the basic knowledge of overclocking!
    Thus, please don't criticize it for its unprofessional way of writing.

    Warning: Overclocking DOES void the warranty. Neither AnandTech nor I will be responsible for any damage caused by overclocking!


    0) HSF & Thermal grease

    1) Decision making on the OC

    2) How to start?

    3) Voltages tweaking

    4) Torture test


    0) HSF & Thermal grease

    (This is just my cooling solution but not recommendation! Click here to visit Cases & Cooling board for cooling advice.)

    - Prolimatech Megashadow heatsink paired with 2x 2000rpm 19dB CoolerMaster SickelFlow Fan

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    - Arctic Silver 5 thermal compound

    [​IMG]

    (Check here for the guide on thermal compound application)


    1) Decision making on the OC

    What is the best OC?

    Performance-efficiency wise

    - The maximum OC that can be achieved near stock core voltage(1.20V shown on CPU-Z at 100% load).

    - Power consumption increase is in LINEAR region! (The power increase in an exponential form after 3.6GHz -> Bad efficiency!)

    (For LGA1156 CPUs, 3.6GHz OC satisfies these two conditions.)

    Performance ONLY

    The maximum frequency that can be achieved within the absolute maximum core voltage(1.55V for LGA1156 CPUs).

    To be safe, you want to be within the maximum core voltage which is 1.40V for LGA1156 CPUs.

    [FONT=&quot]LGA1156 CPU Documentation from Intel![/FONT]


    2) How to start?

    1. Enter the BIOS by pressing Delete key during POST(Power On Self Test)/Boot Screen.

    2. Set BCLK, CPU multiplier/ratio, QPI Clock multiplier/ratio and Memory multiplier/ratio so that you can achieve the frequencies you want.

    3. Manually set the memory timing according to the specification of your RAM, leaving everything unspecified as Auto.
    (You have to set the DRAM Timing Selectable to Quick or Expert in order to do this in P55A-UD5!)

    4. Disable the Turbo Boost Technology!

    5. If it's impossible to get your system stable, disable C1E, C3/C6/C7 and EIST.

    (p.s. C1E, C3/C6/C7 and EIST are power saving features and CPU will always run at highest clock when ALL of them are disabled.)

    For i7-8xx CPUs, disable HT (Hyper Threading Technology) as well under this situation.


    3) Voltages tweaking

    1. To achieve the absolute maximum OC, begin with applying the Maximum voltages(to be safe) or Absolute Maximum voltages(at your own risk) in BIOS.

    (LGA1156 CPU Maximum/absolute Maximum voltage by Intel: Vcore= 1.40/1.55, Vtt= 1.155/1.21, Vram= 1.575/1.65, PLL= 1.89/1.98) with PCH=1.10

    For i5-750 ONLY: The following settings are good points to start with!

    2. Set BCLK=210 with CPU Multiplier=20, (210,20), OR BCLK=200 with CPU Multiplier=21, (200,21), to make the CPU 4.2GHz which is the maximum on average chips.

    3. Check for stability of your system:

    - Stable: Jump to the next step, 4) Torture test, for thorough stability test. OR Set the BCLK and CPU Multiplier to (215,20 ) or (205,21) to get higher frequency.

    - Unstable: Up the voltages at your own risk. OR Lower the BCLK and CPU Multiplier to (200,20) or (190,21) to be on the safe side. Keep repeating this until your PC is stable.


    4) Torture test

    1. Software required: CPU-Z, HWMonitor, Core Temp, Memtest86+ and Prime95

    2. Run at least 12 hours Memtest86+ test and Large FFTs test of Prime95.

    Go back to 3) Voltages tweaking and up the voltage a notch if it's not stable!

    *Tip*: The best way to find out which voltage is causing the instability is setting the voltage that might be too low according to your 6th sense to its maximum value with ALL other voltages staying unchanged and see if the system is stable after this. If the system is stable, then it's the voltage you need to tweak. If the system is still unstable, try tweaking another voltage in the same way.

    For i5-750 ONLY: You might be extremely unlucky to have a chip that is much worse than the average with the stable voltages being much higher than those values given by me. What I would do under this situation is setting all the voltages to their maximum(NOT absolute maximum) values and lowering them ONE at a time until you get instability. However, try it again with C1E, C3/C6/C7 and EIST disabled before doing so.
    (p.s. Maximum/absolute Maximum voltage by Intel: Vcore= 1.40/1.55, Vtt= 1.155/1.21, Vram= 1.575/1.65, PLL= 1.89/1.98)


    N.B. Any OC below 3.8GHz should be very easy and don't go above that if either of your core temperatures or core voltage is already near its maximum specification at the point.


    Good luck!
     
    #1 andy5174, Dec 27, 2009
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 29, 2010
  2. kranky

    kranky Elite Member

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    Nice guide and thorough explanations!
     
    #2 kranky, Dec 27, 2009
  3. Ayah

    Ayah Platinum Member

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    Pretty good guide for the newbies. And your English is fine. ;)
     
    #3 Ayah, Dec 27, 2009
  4. andy5174

    andy5174 Member

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    Thank you guys. :)
     
    #4 andy5174, Dec 27, 2009
  5. Markfw900

    Markfw900 Super Moderator <br>Elite Member<br> CPUs & Overcl
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    OK, whay don't you change the title a little (add guide) and add a poll as to whether is is encompassing enough to have a sticky. And if people add suggestions, edit the main post to indicate that.
     
    #5 Markfw900, Dec 27, 2009
  6. andy5174

    andy5174 Member

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    How to do that? I couldn't find any "poll" option there.
     
    #6 andy5174, Dec 27, 2009
  7. andy5174

    andy5174 Member

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    Just found it.....
     
    #7 andy5174, Dec 27, 2009
  8. Markfw900

    Markfw900 Super Moderator <br>Elite Member<br> CPUs & Overcl
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    Andy (I assume thats your name) Since this website is virtually owned by the users, thats why I had you add a sticky. If they want it, and this is a good one, I will sticky it.

    Good luck.
     
    #8 Markfw900, Dec 27, 2009
  9. Gillbot

    Gillbot Lifer

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    IMHO, i'd leave the product suggestions out of the mix, but that's just me. It's bound to create an unneeded debate in a thread.
     
    #9 Gillbot, Dec 27, 2009
  10. Voo

    Voo Golden Member

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    I'm not that comfortable with advising everyone to disable EIST and Co per se - personally I'm fine with a little lower OC, but EIST, though that's just me (and at least for 3.6/3.8ghz I can't imagine it to be necessary)


    Other than that, good guide (although I wouldn't like 1.52V Vcore on air - but you outlined it as being rather high, so it's their own responsibility) and your English is fine ;)
     
    #10 Voo, Dec 27, 2009
  11. imported_RJR

    imported_RJR Junior Member

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    Everything looks pretty good, but, I would recommend you mention to monitor temps in an earlier part of your guide. If the person is new to OCing and follows your guide without reading the entire guide first, he/she could get into a little trouble with temps. You have them adjusting voltages and doing torture tests before mentioning the fact that monitoring temps is very important and must be done through the entire process. I would definitely mention this as soon as any voltage change is considered, especially max voltages.

    Overall, not a bad beginners guide.

    Oh, almost forgot, Prime95 blend is not only for testing ram, but you are correct that Memtest would be the way to go if you are only testing ram. Blend has been a staple for many people for quite some time now as it stresses both cpu and ram.

    @Gillbot, I would have to agree, people can make up their own minds about what cooler and Tim they use, I don't think suggestions should be made even though I use a Mega Shadow myself.
     
    #11 imported_RJR, Dec 27, 2009
  12. andy5174

    andy5174 Member

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    I will remove them if this happen.

    "Turn off C1E, C3/C6/C7 and EIST if it's impossible to get your system stable" was what I originally put in that place. I will change it back then......

    OK. I will change it now.
     
    #12 andy5174, Dec 28, 2009
  13. Piano Man

    Piano Man Diamond Member

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    Agree 100% here
     
    #13 Piano Man, Dec 28, 2009
  14. andy5174

    andy5174 Member

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    How about now? (IN MY OWN OPINION. NO DEBATING, please!) added. ;)
     
    #14 andy5174, Dec 28, 2009
  15. Adrenaline

    Adrenaline Diamond Member

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    It is nice to see a thread on OC an 1156 but I would get suggestions for the other models of chips as well to put in a setup like you did for the i5-750. put them into a nice format like yours and give credit to whomever gave the numbers.

    I have the suggested heatsink. I had to cut part of my fan bracket wall in my CM Stacker 830 to get it to fit. I am going to clip it more when I put my new HDDs in.

    For HSF suggetions, you could just post a link to the thread on these forums. I blieve RussianSensation made the list or he commeneted in the post with some good suggestions.
     
    #15 Adrenaline, Dec 28, 2009
    Last edited: Dec 28, 2009
  16. andy5174

    andy5174 Member

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    No voltage settings were given for i7-8xx as I don't have one myself.

    In addition, the numbers given by others are hardly reliable most of the time, considering a lot of peoples determining the stability by running the torture test for merely 1 hour or even less AFAIK.

    However, I will be more than happy to add numbers given by peoples who did In-place Large FFTs test of Prime95 for at least 12 hours.

    p.s. I don't trust Small FFTs test, because I had experience in failing Large FFTs in just 4 hours SEVERAL TIMES given it was 24 hours stable in Small FFTs test.
     
    #16 andy5174, Dec 28, 2009
    Last edited: Dec 28, 2009
  17. andy5174

    andy5174 Member

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    Some very useful information added in 3) Voltages tweaking after a more thorough reading of Intel datasheet.
     
    #17 andy5174, Dec 28, 2009
  18. Gillbot

    Gillbot Lifer

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    Remove them before it happens. Otherwise the thread will get derailed and locked. Depending on the mess, it may not get cleaned up and will ruin an otherwise informative thread.

    IMHO, not sufficient. Leave any product suggestions out completely.
     
    #18 Gillbot, Dec 28, 2009
  19. Markfw900

    Markfw900 Super Moderator <br>Elite Member<br> CPUs & Overcl
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    On the HSF, just say "an example of a decent mid-range... and example of a good high end... HSF". That leaves the recomendation out, but then you can leave the pictures in.
     
    #19 Markfw900, Dec 28, 2009
  20. andy5174

    andy5174 Member

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    I had left out all "the best" in the descriptions so that peoples won't argue what are the best or which is better.

    Hope that make you feel better.

    If you are still uncomfortable with them... OK, let me know and I will remove them.
     
    #20 andy5174, Dec 28, 2009
  21. andy5174

    andy5174 Member

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    That is exactly what I had just done.

    Thank you for the advice!
     
    #21 andy5174, Dec 28, 2009
  22. Gillbot

    Gillbot Lifer

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    Personally, i'd leave it all out and let the user do their own research.

    The above bolded items seem like a sales pitch to me and could cause debate.

    If you are insistent on leaving them in, i'd reword it to be something along the lines of:

    Inevitably, someone will buy one of the two you recommend and NOT hit a high OC, then the thread will be filled with debate and turn into a mess. We've all seen it a thousand times.

    Personally, I'd leave it all up to the user to the effect of:
     
    #22 Gillbot, Dec 28, 2009
  23. andy5174

    andy5174 Member

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    Done.
     
    #23 andy5174, Dec 28, 2009
  24. Gillbot

    Gillbot Lifer

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    You still don't get it.....

    These are your OPINIONS, not fact. This is why I suggest leaving them OUT completely.
     
    #24 Gillbot, Dec 28, 2009
  25. andy5174

    andy5174 Member

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    I just put both the suggestions from you and Markfw900 together....
     
    #25 andy5174, Dec 28, 2009
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