System seems to be underperforming -- how do I optimize?

[Sekkai]

Also, Antialiasing Mode and Filtering Mode. There are options like 4, 8x MSAA, etc, and under Filtering we have things like Ansiotropic (up to 16x) with lower options being bi and trilinear. What do these options do for video, and is it damn near impossible to tell the difference past a certain point?

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Ansi makes the image more detailed - not that stressful on the card
AA - the higher you go, the harder it stresses the video cad

 

[dguy6789]

My Radeon HD 4870 card gets 9700 marks in Vantage. Your GTX 295 which is supposed to be a little more than twice as fast gets 20,000. That seems to be spot on to me.

Anti Aliasing tries to remove jaggies from games. It helps make individual pixels become less noticeable and make it look more like a real image rather than a bunch of pixels by using blurring techniques.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wi...a/ae/Anti-aliasing.jpg

Anisotropic filtering helps make textures look good even when viewed from steep angles or long distances.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wi...nisotropic_compare.png

There are diminishing returns for both. Anti Aliasing is a major performance killer as well. Anisotropic filtering is almost free. I'd suggest always running Anisotropic filtering at 16x. For anti aliasing, 4x is probably the sweet spot between visual improvement with minimal performance penalty.

 

[Sekkai]

If my card is 20,000, how is that other guy able to get as high as 40k with a 295? Is this implying quad SLI?

I assume shaders are also intensive?

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

sorry, his cpu is overclocked really high, like 5Ghz

 

[dguy6789]

It's likely he has two GTX 295s. It's also likely that he used a liquid nitrogen cooling solution and overclocked his processor to way beyond dangerous levels to do a suicide run. He likely built that computer with the sole intent of getting an insane 3dmark score. The machine may have died not long after as well. It's almost certain that he wasn't using a cooling solution that could be maintained for any extended period of time. That's what is called extreme overclocking. These people don't build computers for general use or gaming, they use them to break benchmark score records and that's it. It's a (very expensive) hobby.

 

[Sekkai]

On Lost Coast, everything maxed (even resolution) on the Video Stress Test, with VSync, I get 60 FPS. Without VSync? 200 FPS. Holy what

dguy: Makes sense. I wasn't really taking into account that there are people that deliberately push their systems to dangerous levels.


Note: First time I tried it at the 1600 res, though, there was a LOT of pink artifact (?) everywhere. Restarting the stress test though got rid of them.

 

[dguy6789]

Almost all LCDs run at a refresh rate of 60Hz. Enabling Vsync tries to force your video card's fps output to match the refresh rate of the monitor.

 

[Sekkai]

Let me pose this question, however. I remember hearing somewhere that the human eye can't really tell the difference past something like 30 or 40 constant FPS. Would this imply that VSync is a good option since, even a 60 FPS cap without tearing would look better than 200 FPS with tearing? Is there any logic in this?

 

[Sekkai]

I also notice your system is running at 3.40 Ghz. Is that overclocked or is a Core 2 Quad Q9550 inherently faster stock than a stock i7 920? Do you notice any difference from, say, 2.6 to 3 Ghz? Or from 3 to 4? etc

I'm not quite sure why my chip has Speed Step, either. Is it just because these chips run hot? Is there a certain point where all chips need Speed Step in order to save heat/energy? Are all chips like this?

 

[dguy6789]

The human eye arguments are largely full of nonsense. The truth is that every person is different, and depending on what kinds of frame rates they have been exposed to on a long term basis, their level of pickiness for framerate preference will be different.

I can certainly assure you that I can tell the difference between 30 and 60fps. Around the 60fps mark, games seem to be really really smooth to me. I can't tell a difference much higher than around 60. 60 has always been my goal for frame rate in games.

As long as you can tolerate the input lag introduced with vsync(You might not even notice it, some people don't, all depends on how picky people are) then vsync will look better.


Edit: I put this cpu to 3.4Ghz right away the first time I booted it up. I have never run it at stock before. At 3.4Ghz, the Q9550 probably is a bit faster than the i7 920 at stock. Performance differences obtained from overclocking can be noticed, but not always.

Not all programs react to increased processor power the same way. The i7 920 is a great processor for overclocking, but I really wouldn't suggest overclocking on a brand new expensive pc you just built until you read a lot more about it. When you're experienced and knowledgeable, overclocking is pretty much free performance. But when you're not sure what you're doing, you could end up shortening the life of components or breaking them altogether. I generally suggest not overclocking if you can't afford to replace things if they break.

Speed Step is just a power saving tool. Nothing about it is totally necessary or has anything to do with running too hot. The idea is that when you're just web browsing or listening to music, doing simple tasks, you don't need all of that huge amount of processing power. So instead of letting all of that go to waste and increase your electric bill, speed step lowers your clock speed to something that is still fast enough to do all of the tasks at hand, but it will use much less electricity.

 

[rgallant]

/1100 ----- P29,142

Furykid -- Phenom II X4 940@ 3.60GHz --- (2) 295 685/1380/1115 ----- P28,566



johnksss's FutureMark Link: http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dmv=1332110

Vantage
Member -------------- CPU_ / Speed ------- GPU /C /SH / M_ / ---- Score
johnksss ---------- i7 920 D0@ 4.56GHz --- (1) 295 825/1825/1260 ----- P31,064

Q56_Monster ----- i7 920 D0@ 4.50GHz --- (1) 295 820/1817/1257 ----- P30,796
Q56_Monster --------- i7 920@ 4.36GHz --- (1) 295 817/1809/1267 ----- P30,392
johnksss -------------- i7 975@ 4.65GHz --- (1) 295 805/1800/1242 ----- P30,206

waltlove_99 ---------- i7 920@ 4.62GHz --- (1) 295 775/1737/1276 ----- P29,952
bluehaze013 --------- i7 920@ 4.50GHz --- (1) 295 785/1728/1270 ----- P29,682
SHAkA ------------ i7 920 D0@ 4.19GHz --- (1) 295 777/1765/1240 ----- P29,496
hallowen -------------- i7 975@ 4.44GHz --- (1) 295 829/1787/1165 ----- P29,381
waxking1 --------- i7 920 D0@ 4.39GHz --- (1) 295 818/1780/1188 ----- P29,375
iride4u ------------ i7 920 D0@ 4.55GHz --- (1) 295 770/1670/1270 ----- P29,118

jason002 ------------- i7 920@ 4.20GHz --- (1) 295 763/1651/1265 ----- P28,744
iride4u ---------------- i7 965@ 4.23GHz --- (1) 295 770/1670/1270 ----- P28,692
carguy83 -- Xeon W3580 ES@ 4.40GHz --- (1) 295 790/1730/1250 ----- P28,441
mcj3671 -------------- i7 920@ 4.10GHz --- (1) 295 748/1660/1250 ----- P28,307
3oh6 ------------------ i7 965@ 4.20GHz --- (1) 295 756/1692/1260 ----- P28,234

vasgto --------------- i7 920@ 4.00GHz --- (1) 295 745/1606/1245 ----- P27,842
wilsonsm0302 -------- i7 920@ 4.10GHz --- (1) 295 771/1674/1269 ----- P27,697
Lcorsa ---------------- i7 920@ 4.15GHz --- (1) 295 763/1644/1274 ----- P27,488
kpablo ---------------- i7 920@ 4.40GHz --- (1) 295 735/1570/1200 ----- P27,359
Emmett --------------- i7 920@ 4.58GHz --- (1) 295 692/1570/1180 ----- P27,181
andrey130885 ------- i7 920@ 3.90GHz --- (1) 295 752/1621/1192 ----- P27,006

Halo_003 ------------- i7 920@ 4.20GHz --- (1) 295 734/1557/1202 ----- P26,963
bigpoppa ------------- i7 920@ 4.00GHz --- (1) 295 740/1600/1170 ----- P26,941
BlackHawk3G -------- i7 920@ 4.06GHz --- (1) 295 725/1561/1250 ----- P26,768
Dregato --------------- i7 920@ 4.20GHz --- (1) 295 733/1580/1200 ----- P26,698
hoostie ---------------- i7 920@ 4.09GHz --- (1) 295 725/1563/1220 ----- P26,693
Woody2k ------------- i7 965@ 4.10GHz --- (1) 295 739/1559/1151 ----- P26,589
killerx718 ------------ Q9550@ 4.10GHz --- (1) 295 740/1630/1250 ----- P26,550
motaro101 ----------- i7 920@ 3.60GHz --- (1) 295 720/1584/1224 ----- P26,450
NexusPhase ---------- i7 920@ 3.80GHz --- (1) 295 725/1566/1188 ----- P26,445
waxking1 ------------- E8600@ 4.65GHz --- (1) 295 710/1782/1242 ----- P26,425
Maliki ----------------- i7 920@ 4.23GHz --- (1) 295 694/1496/1195 ----- P26,248
_Darkstormz_ ------- Q9550@ 4.11GHz --- (1) 295 729/1620/1188 ----- P26,240
MrCrusher ------------ i7 920@ 4.10GHz --- (1) 295 730/1584/1242 ----- P26,085
BioHazardSperm --- QX9770@ 4.05GHz --- (1) 295 735/1584/1250 ----- P26,054
nateman_doo -------- Q6600@ 4.22GHz --- (1) 295 730/1574/1245 ----- P26,001

atfrico ----------------- i7 920@ 4.11GHz --- (1) 295 700/1530/1160 ----- P25,986
=Afterburner= ------- i7 920@ 4.10GHz --- (1) 295 695/1496/1165 ----- P25,887
Roofus ------------ i7 920 D0@ 3.61GHz --- (1) 295 701/1511/1066 ----- P25,713
xPSYCHOTRONx ----- E8600@ 4.75GHz --- (1) 295 704/1536/1205 ----- P25,690
gatecrasher ---------- i7 920@ 3.83GHz --- (1) 295 700/1500/1150 ----- P25,659
Ancile90 -------------- i7 950@ 4.00GHz --- (1) 295 675/1455/1160 ----- P25,491
bigpoppa -------------- E8400@ 4.60GHz --- (1) 295 740/1595/1170 ----- P25,414
Sgt Hoit --------------- i7 965@ 3.59GHz --- (1) 295 708/1531/1150 ----- P25,177
thesphinx37 ---------- i7 920@ 4.20GHz --- (1) 295 680/1466/1140 ----- P25,120

Tragedies ------------ Q9550@ 4.00GHz --- (1) 295 720/1566/1200 ----- P24,866
Serem ---------------- Q9650@ 4.05GHz --- (1) 295 690/1565/1110 ----- P24,819
onesavior ------------- i7 920@ 3.80GHz --- (1) 295 680/1466/1175 ----- P24,794
s14sh3r -------------- Q9650@ 4.01GHz --- (1) 295 702/1782/1215 ----- P24,670
freakysqeeky -------- Q9550@ 3.93GHz --- (1) 295 680/1510/1210 ----- P24,624
Triggs75 -------------- i7 940@ 3.67GHz --- (1) 295 674/1453/1184 ----- P24,620
The Boatswain ------- Q9550@ 4.00GHz --- (1) 295 750/1600/1242 ----- P24,575
sthester3 ----------- QX9650@ 4.05GHz --- (1) 295 702/1458/1200 ----- P24,292
Talonman ------------ Q6600@ 3.81GHz --- (1) 295 679/1548/1224 ----- P24,252
ewitte ----------------- Q9550@ 3.80GHz --- (1) 295 725/1584/1225 ----- P24,135
Hifi311 ---------------- Q9650@ 4.20GHz --- (1) 295 700/1509/1050 ----- P24,122
x-rated --------------- Q6600@ 3.80GHz --- (1) 295 725/1600/1200 ----- P24,008
MorganMac ----------- Q9550@ 3.98GHz --- (1) 295 680/1466/1230 ----- P24,008
brndnzlda ------------ Q9450@ 3.55GHz --- (1) 295 720/1566/1188 ----- P24,005

pgr13 ----------------- Q9450@ 3.20GHz --- (1) 295 729/1584/1204 ----- P23,772
aTeam ---------------- i7 920@ 3.20GHz --- (1) 295 621/1512/1215 ----- P23,704
hoostie --------------- Q9450@ 3.60GHz --- (1) 295 720/1552/1220 ----- P23,658
brandtdespain -------- i7 920@ 3.60GHz --- (1) 295 680/1466/1055 ----- P23,585
elcarra21 ------------- Q6600@ 3.60GHz --- (1) 295 748/1666/1215 ----- P23,423
5thduke ------------- QX9650@ 3.80GHz --- (1) 295 637/1439/1150 ----- P23,374
HD580 ---------------- Q6600@ 3.70GHz --- (1) 295 774/1692/1188 ----- P23,370
henky21 -------------- E8400@ 4.30GHz --- (1) 295 652/1499/1121 ----- P23,331
Elganja ---------------- i7 920@ 3.80GHz --- (1) 295 601/1296/1026 ----- P23,214
MrCrusher ------------ Q6600@ 3.70GHz --- (1) 295 680/1476/1188 ----- P23,173

s14sh3r --------------- Q6700@ 3.60GHz --- (1) 295 700/1509/1200 ----- P22,901
Furykid -- Phenom II X4 940@ 3.40GHz --- (1) 295 700/1509/1130 ----- P22,712
zodduska ------------- Q6600@ 3.40GHz --- (1) 295 702/1512/1188 ----- P22,704
yang88she ----------- Q9650@ 4.05GHz --- (1) 295 680/1466/1230 ----- P22,677
dionysus2112 -------- Q6600@ 3.40GHz --- (1) 295 690/1487/1240 ----- P22,598
Nivekt ---------------- Q6600@ 3.60GHz --- (1) 295 741/1656/1215 ----- P22,368
SkyJuce ------------- QX6850@ 3.33GHz --- (1) 295 700/1509/1008 ----- P22,203
roofus ----------------- E8400@ 3.82GHz --- (1) 295 664/1431/1008 ----- P22,148

reaper~ -------------- i7 920@ 3.60GHz --- (1) 295 576/1242/0999 ----- P21,805
Rainfrog ---- Phenom II 940@ 3.45GHz --- (1) 295 640/1444/1152 ----- P21,760
ronerik --------------- Q6600@ 3.20GHz --- (1) 295 666/1440/1220 ----- P21,515
gatecrasher ---------- Q6600@ 3.50GHz --- (1) 295 700/1476/1150 ----- P21,453
Corrosivity ----------- i7 920@ 2.66GHz --- (1) 295 576/1242/1000 ----- P21,113

YerBuddy ------------- i7 940@ 2.93GHz --- (1) 295 576/1242/0999 ----- P20,838
NovaCX12 ---------- QX6800@ 4.00GHz --- (1) 295 576/1242/0999 ----- P20,754
darthyoda75 --------- Q9300@ 2.88GHz --- (1) 295 700/1544/1253 ----- P20,171
InSaNe182 ----------- Q9400@ 2.66GHz --- (1) 295 690/1487/1200 ----- P20,002

HD580 ---------------- Q6600@ 3.50GHz --- (1) 295 594/1296/1026 ----- P19,926
The Boatswain ------- Q9550@ 2.80GHz --- (1) 295 594/1296/1026 ----- P19,116
vasgto ---------------- E7300@ 3.20GHz --- (1) 295 625/1450/1100 ----- P19,070

Rainfrog - AMD 64x2 5400+@ 3.00GHz --- (1) 295 700/1476/1152 ----- P17,395

 

[Sekkai]

Ahh I see -- seems like a pretty neat feature, then.

What would the downside be of, say, overclocking a 920 to 4 GHz and also overclocking the video card? Does OC imply shorter lifespan?

And yes I can tell the difference between 30 and 60, but I can't really tell the difference between 60 and, say, 200 (although I'd probably have to test this). My question is, here, if being capped by monitor refresh is really that bad if we're getting 60 FPS anyway?

 

[rgallant]

1. Does anything look glaringly wrong or inefficient or anything in ANY of these pictures/numbers/figures?
2. How would I overclock the CPU correctly/how do I adjust the relevant voltage settings and to what extent? What else must I change?
3. Should I OC the gfx card? If so, to what extent?
4. In general, given these figures/pictures/specs/results, how can I change things to maximize my computer's potential?

-I do not own A i7 or a gtx295 ,but you never seem to get a lot of help ,so here maybe this will help

-you did a great job getting that put together , but you need to proceed with very slow changes to the system ,baby steps ,until you get up to speed ,with drivers ,voltage adjustments for your own set up ,and to compile a base line for temps and stable operation.
-then oc the cpu -mb slowly

-#1-you have the ram set @ 1.5v for 12 gigs could be a issue if you overclock ,not sure ,keep it in mind. max is 1.65v
-I think you had the high temp warnings shut off ?if so - that might not be good for a untested system

-#2 ,read up on overclocking the i7 ,starting with your mb site they know the stable bios settings , find out what not to leave on AUTO when overclocking
-here's some evga settings
http://www.evga.com/forums/tm....=100494809&mpage=1&key

-#3 I would not OC the card at this time until you know how hot it run's and you know it's stable ,with the set up before putting a card OC into the mix.

-#4 I would oc to 3.0 then to 3.2 then to 3.4 then to 3.6+ over time.

-you have a evga card check there for issues

http://www.evga.com/forums/tt.asp?forumid=59
-video drivers -these guys are on top of them
http://forums.guru3d.com/forum...21258cce8d2abf030&f=21

-keyboards with lcd read outs are great to monitor temps ,speeds volts , I have a G15 & G13 ,one keeps track of the system ,other for the cards -rivaturner ,I find the G13 great- small foot print , buttons are very easy to find [ for old fingers]

-also take pic's of all your bios setting ,print them , keep as a running log of the settings
-maybe something in that might help you.

 

[Sekkai]

Thank you for the detailed reply. What is defined as a "stable" OC? Absence of BSODs? I would just worry about potentially causing irreparable damage.

 

[elconejito]

Hey sekkai, I think I mentioned it in another thread, but if not....

SLOW DOWN



Take a deep breath. Step away from the machine for a little bit. You're doing fine. You've ordered the whole system yourself. You've put it together yourself. You've learned a lot. And it hasn't exploded.

So first things first. Get your system running stably first. Get all windows updates, office updates, game updates, driver updates etc installed. Run stability tests like Prime95, OCCT, etc to make sure that everything is stable at stock speeds.

Then, go do some research. Start with what rgallant pointed out. Google that mobo model and i7 overclocking guides. Somebody somewhere has that same mobo and processor and has overclocked it and documented it. Look up general i7 overclocking guides to see what settings do what.

PROCEED CAREFULLY. Don't just jump to 4Ghz because you've seen other people get to 4Ghz. Start going up in small increments like to 3Ghz, 3.4, 3.6, etc.

KEEP NOTES. I have spreadsheets for every overclock I've done (5 systems so far) with every setting detailed. That way, when i get instability (BSOD, restarts, freezes) it is much easier to keep track of the voltages i've used and which changes were effective versus which ones weren't. You don't necessarily need a spreadsheet, but screenshots or even yellow sticky notes will be a great help.

And don't forget to ask questions.

 

[Cogman]

It hasn't been mentioned, but do you have the latest drivers for all your parts? Sometimes you can see a bit of a performance increase from getting the latest drivers. Other then that, I would say things look fine, so don't worry.

Don't tweak windows, out of the box it is about as fast as it will get. Updates are fine, but tweaking is generally not fine.

The guy that said to disable the page file is an idiot, Paging only hurts you when your computer is out of memory. (and even then, it is saving you from a dreaded "Out of memory" error. Its better to have reduced performance then having your app of choice crash on you.).

 

[Sekkai]

What things do I generally want updated drivers for/how can I ensure everything's up to date? I've got the latest video drivers, and I would assume sound drivers, etc? But not sure what else I'd need.

I ran Prime95 and wasn't really sure what I was working for. All eight workers started doing their thing, and my CPU core temps went up as my loads went to 100%. After that, it was a bit anticlimactic.

It almost feels like I need to be an electrical engineer to understand all this voltage stuff with respect to overclocking (either that or it's actually really simple. I mean hell, V=IR right? What exactly does overclocking do and what are the effects with respect to current/voltage/etc? If we are overclocking a processor by giving it extra cycles somehow, I am assuming this means there is purely more being processed, and possibly more current, and therefore more voltage required? I'm sure that's totally wrong, but I'm just trying to understand what's going on).

That was a needlessly long parenthetical that I am too lazy to edit.

Regardless, I would just assume that more V -> more energy being supplied -> needed for something running at some higher level/faster speed. What happens if you OC without changing voltage? How do I know how much to change things by without causing damage?

 

[cusideabelincoln]

Originally posted by: Sekkai
What things do I generally want updated drivers for/how can I ensure everything's up to date? I've got the latest video drivers, and I would assume sound drivers, etc? But not sure what else I'd need.

Updating the video card drivers is all you'll need to do.

I ran Prime95 and wasn't really sure what I was working for. All eight workers started doing their thing, and my CPU core temps went up as my loads went to 100%. After that, it was a bit anticlimactic.

It almost feels like I need to be an electrical engineer to understand all this voltage stuff with respect to overclocking (either that or it's actually really simple. I mean hell, V=IR right? What exactly does overclocking do and what are the effects with respect to current/voltage/etc? If we are overclocking a processor by giving it extra cycles somehow, I am assuming this means there is purely more being processed, and possibly more current, and therefore more voltage required? I'm sure that's totally wrong, but I'm just trying to understand what's going on).

By overclocking you make the processor run at a faster frequency, so yes more is being processed. More voltage isn't always required, to a point, depending on how far you overclock. The voltage that the processor comes with at stock is enough to overclock a little to a lot.

That was a needlessly long parenthetical that I am too lazy to edit.

Regardless, I would just assume that more V -> more energy being supplied -> needed for something running at some higher level/faster speed. What happens if you OC without changing voltage? How do I know how much to change things by without causing damage?

You can overclock without changing voltages. The system will either be stable or not stable. If it isn't stable, then you either increase the voltage (reasonably) or decrease the overclock.

Intel releases recommended operating voltages for the chip. I don't know what it is for Core i7, but someone else can chime in. Just don't exceed the upper safe limit (probably around 1.4V) and the processor will not be damaged and should last as long as you effectively need to use it. As for increasing the frequency, increase it as much as you can while keeping the system stable.

To test for stability, you run stress tests. Prime95 is a stress test. OCCT is another. If you pass these tests then the processor is pretty well stable.

As for temperatures, definitely keep them under 70C. Try to keep them under 60C as much as you can, which will be difficult if you're using the stock cooler. If you want to do overclocking I suggest getting a better cooler.

 

[elconejito]

Originally posted by: Sekkai
I ran Prime95 and wasn't really sure what I was working for. All eight workers started doing their thing, and my CPU core temps went up as my loads went to 100%. After that, it was a bit anticlimactic.

anti-climatic is good. Make sure you have error-checking turned on. Let prime95 run for 8-12hours (some say 24hrs or more, personally 8-12 is good enough for me. YMMV). If the system does not crash, freeze, BSOD, restart, overheat, or otherwise show problems then you can consider it stable... at STOCK speeds.

If it's stable then, and only then, you can start overclocking.

Originally posted by: Sekkai
It almost feels like I need to be an electrical engineer to understand all this voltage stuff with respect to overclocking (either that or it's actually really simple. I mean hell, V=IR right? What exactly does overclocking do and what are the effects with respect to current/voltage/etc? If we are overclocking a processor by giving it extra cycles somehow, I am assuming this means there is purely more being processed, and possibly more current, and therefore more voltage required? I'm sure that's totally wrong, but I'm just trying to understand what's going on).

That was a needlessly long parenthetical that I am too lazy to edit.

Regardless, I would just assume that more V -> more energy being supplied -> needed for something running at some higher level/faster speed. What happens if you OC without changing voltage? How do I know how much to change things by without causing damage?

Did you look up the overclocking guides? These questions are answered already. And probably in more detail and more clearly than someone will post here.

There is a process to overclocking. Usually, it goes something like:
1) set all your voltages manually to the default
2) stress test
3) increment your speed upwards
4) stress test
5) if successful, go to #3 again. If not, then increase your voltage a LITTLE and then goto #4.

Follow the guides...

 

[Sekkai]

I honestly find the guides confusing. I just want to know what I need to change. Is it ONLY things like VCore? I don't know how I must optimize my settings. I just want a very simple "this is what you change. These levels are safe. If you are over this limit, it's unsafe. If these lights go off, it's okay/not okay for these reasons with these effects. Make sure you change this and this option when overclocking past this point (Turbo? Speedstep for instance? etc)"

Thing is, even at stock load, my cores hit 60 C.

I tried changing the 133 thing to 150 to get a new max of 3.15 GHz. Idle temps were around 46 C at 1.8 Ghz, 70 C at full load, which is bothersome because that implies I'll hit 80C or so if I overclock to 3.5 GHz, assuming the same pattern.

The thing that bothers me is that I use a Prolimatech Megahalam with AC5 thermal, and 11 fans in my case. I feel like I should be getting cooler temps, here.

Also, a level-1 overvoltage light is on for both my CPU and RAM (green light, where yellow=moderate, red=severe). Is this a bad thing?

Also, my voltage at idle right now for the core is 1.312, but under load it DROPS to 1.296 or so. Is this normal?

 

[Sekkai]

I moved my heatsink fan to the bottom to push, and moved my side fan to the top of the heatsink as pull. Not much change at all in core temps, but I think my gfx card is staying evenly cooled (both GPU's at 49, whereas before one would be 49 and the other 54 or something)

 

[Eureka]

Originally posted by: Sekkai
I honestly find the guides confusing. I just want to know what I need to change. Is it ONLY things like VCore? I don't know how I must optimize my settings. I just want a very simple "this is what you change. These levels are safe. If you are over this limit, it's unsafe. If these lights go off, it's okay/not okay for these reasons with these effects. Make sure you change this and this option when overclocking past this point (Turbo? Speedstep for instance? etc)"

Thing is, even at stock load, my cores hit 60 C.

I tried changing the 133 thing to 150 to get a new max of 3.15 GHz. Idle temps were around 46 C at 1.8 Ghz, 70 C at full load, which is bothersome because that implies I'll hit 80C or so if I overclock to 3.5 GHz, assuming the same pattern.

The thing that bothers me is that I use a Prolimatech Megahalam with AC5 thermal, and 11 fans in my case. I feel like I should be getting cooler temps, here.

Also, a level-1 overvoltage light is on for both my CPU and RAM (green light, where yellow=moderate, red=severe). Is this a bad thing?

Also, my voltage at idle right now for the core is 1.312, but under load it DROPS to 1.296 or so. Is this normal?

The guides are confusing, but they do cover all the nuances of overclocking.

Simple explanation, your CPU speed is based off of your FSB and a multiplier value. Assuming that the FSB is 266.67, it is multiplied by 10 to reach 2666mhz. Your vcore keeps the CPU stable at its speed, regardless of how its reached. 133x20 and 266x10 means the same thing in regards to vcore. A slightly higher vcore will give you more stability, at the cost of more heat and more power consumption.

Now, if you're overclocking by raising the FSB (say 300x10 to reach 3000mhz), then you have to increase the northbridge voltage, because the FSB is a property of the motherboard's northbridge. Likewise, you'll have to raise that as well to keep the system stable.

FSB overclocking is a bit more tedious, because FSB is controlled by the motherboard. Your RAM also depends on the FSB... you raise the FSB, your RAM is also pushed higher. You'll also need to check if your overclock isn't limited by the memory.

I primarily toy around with my Phenom... which has an unlocked multiplier so I can simply just pump up that and the vcore. If you're limited to raising the FSB, then you have to figure out what the required vcore/nbv values are. Just raise the speed by a bit (start with 200mhz jumps, then lower it to 100mhz when you're starting to top out), and test with Prime 95/ OCCT. If it passes (doesn't crash within 10minutes to an hour), then you can move on. If it crashes, bump up the voltages until it doesn't. Then rinse and repeat. Keep an eye on your temperatures. Eventually you'll get to a point where you'll have to raise the voltage a ridiculous amount to gain any more speed (where your high voltages are creating overheating problems). Then you've topped out. Lower the speed a little, and then run prime 95 for 12 hours (or OCCT for whatever the recommended time is). This will give you 100% stability, as very little will stress your system like 12 hours of prime 95.

At that point, try lowering your voltages/speed a little... there's no reason to have your system running at max temperatures.

 

[Sekkai]

I am just very confused on finding the optimal point -- that sweet spot in the system where the CPU, graphics card, and RAM are operating at safe, high-performance levels that won't cause damage or lead to temperatures that are way too high.

I finished watching a YT video, and even then it's frustrating me.

However, I did see these: Would you agree?
Max CPU voltage 1.25
Max Uncore voltage 1.45 (whatever that is for)
Max Memory voltage 1.65

Can one reach 4.0 GHz by staying within these thresholds?

As an aside: See, now I thought FSB was a thing of the past, now replaced by this QPI thing?

I feel like there's so much not explained. What about Speedstep (in my system it seems to be called C1E?)? Is it safe to keep on even when overclocked? What about Performance Enhancement (standard versus turbo)? What about that extra turbo mode that adds one to the CPU multiplier (21*133 stock instead of 20*133)? QPI Link multipliers? Memory multipliers? How to reconcile voltages? Is there a difference between 133*20 and 266*10? Do most people keep it at 20 and fiddle with the baseclock as the bottleneck?

I've tried reading these guides repeatedly and it feels like I am going in circles. There has to be some way to simply explain what to do and what levels to watch out for in a very systematic, algorithmic way in order to find the maximum levels for everything, when to disable/change which features, which levels should be considered excellent/good/poor/etc.

 

[Eureka]

Originally posted by: Sekkai
I am just very confused on finding the optimal point -- that sweet spot in the system where the CPU, graphics card, and RAM are operating at safe, high-performance levels that won't cause damage or lead to temperatures that are way too high.

I finished watching a YT video, and even then it's frustrating me.

However, I did see these: Would you agree?
Max CPU voltage 1.25
Max Uncore voltage 1.45 (whatever that is for)
Max Memory voltage 1.65

Can one reach 4.0 GHz by staying within these thresholds?

Bottom line: pump voltages until your core temps start to reach their threshold.

However, if you're starting out, yes those voltages will be safe guidelines, use them and then check your temperatures.

If they're well within your recommended range (no clue on what i7s run), then you can move up the voltage.

As for 4ghz... no clue... I'm not sure if i7s can do 4ghz on air.