Overclocking an Intel i7 930

In the search for better performance I am interested in overclocking my Intel i7 930 processor. I would very much appreciate any guidance as to the process and steps which need to be taken to increase the speed while still being stable.
My System:
MB: Asus P6X58D-E
CPU: Intel Core i7 930 2.8GHz
CPU FAN: Noctua NH-D14 Dual Radiator CPU Cooler
RAM: 12GB (6 x 2GB) Corsair Dominator DDR
Graphics: 1.28GB Asus GTX 470 3.3GHz
Case: Coolermaster ATCS 840
Many thanks.

Thanks Harm. I read that thread and several other guides. I'm still trying to get my head around what needs to be changed. There are so many options and many of them have different names, so following them through the different guides is difficult.
I did find someone who had posted the details of what BIOS items they'd changed for the same MB and CPU, which I tried. I did boot into Windows and run the Prime95 TortureTest for about 5 mins before I decided that although it was working and the temperatures were fine, I really felt that I needed to find out more about what settings I need before committing to keeping it overclocked. It was running at 3.5GHz.
I'd like to get the CPU close to 4GHz, however as I won't be using the full power of the processor all the time I'd like to keep some power saving features, like SpeedStep.
If anyone has the same motherboard, processor and memory that I do and would like to share their overclocking settings or experience, I'd very much appreciate it.

Similar Messages

Better Cooling for STOCK Intel i7 930

The Intel i7 930 comes with cooling http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115225 which is probably OK
But, even though I am NOT going to overclock, I am going to use PPro CS5 which is CPU intensive for AVCHD, so want better cooling
I don't think I need (nor can my miniscule budget afford) a "monster" $100 CPU cooler... but I can manage one for $50 or less
So... has anyone used any of these... and comments?
Scythe Mugen SCMG-2000 http://www.aerocooler.com/shop.cart?action=ITEM&prod_id=FANSCMG2
XIGMATEK S1283V http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233029
Cooler Master N620 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103066
Again... NO overclocking

John,
I have similar setup: i7-930 and Cooler Master case (mine is CM 690series).
I used originally the Intel's stock heatsink. It is ok for work with .avi files
but you will run into high temps (80C) when you start working with AVCHD content.
The CPU comes under heavy load during encoding of avchd files in progs like Cineform, for example.
All 8 cours run at 100% in such applications and the temps go up. Although Intel say that the CPU
can sustain up to 120C it is not recommended to run it for prolong intervals of time above 75C as this will shorten its life.
In short, after reading tons of CPU coolers' reviews I ended up installing XIGMATEK S1283V http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233029(which is on your list).
This is a German engineered cooler produced in Taiwan. I'm very satisfied: well manufactured, solid,
silent (compared to Intel stock cooler) and easy to install. My idle temps remained the same (around 40C) but
my temps under max load dropped to 68-70C.
I used Arctic Silver 5 paste.
Hope this helps.

Overclocking Primer? i7 930 P6T SE

I see lots of comments about overclocking, but I have no come across a link to a primer or basic how to. I saw the comments on the quality of some i7's; I don't appear to be in the danger zone (manuactured March 2010). But I need to get educated on how to monitor, assess whether overclocing is working, etc.
My comment when building this system was that my PC had developed problems, and I had to build without enough money. I had hoped this system was sufficien to add RAM and an upgrade path to hardware MPE.
Any links or suggestions for basic overclocking on this system? I don't feel a need to push it, just to stretch a bit.
(My obvious number 1 need is more RAM, but that will have to wait.)
(My ppbm5 results did not post, but I need to redo them with the few tweaks I have in place. They look in the lowest quartile, which is probably about right for stock i7 with 7G ram.)
Thanks, Stan
Mainboard
ASUS P6T SE LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard
CPU
i7-930 Bloomfield 2.8GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor BX80601930
Case
AZZA Solano 1000 ATX Full Tower Case
Power Supply
CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 Power Supply
Graphics
EVGA GeForce 9400 GT 512MB 128-bit DDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
RAM
G.SKILL PI Series 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7T-6GBPI
System Drive
WD Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s
Media Drives
WD Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s (3 @ $87.99 ea)
OS
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM

yes that post listed is a very good guide.
over clocking your ram will help alot with your ram problem because you only have 6 gb ram overclocking your cpu will not do much for programs that use alot of ram like AE and PP.
but it will make cpu intencive tasks go much faster like rendering 3d and such.
adding a fan to your system and making sure its in a ventalated area will help you get better performance also and pervent overheating on hot summer days.

New to overclocking with intel and msi

really need help knowing what to disable and leave enabled ,can some one who knows alot tell me
specs
z77a g45
i7 3770k
psu-antec 900w high current gamer
gpu-(2)evga 660 ti sc in sli not clocked
ram- 8gigs 1333mhz
HDD-2 1tb spinners

Here is a pretty good thread to have a read through;
https://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?topic=169491.0

Is Canon Vixia HFS100 best for $700?

I've changed my mind from SD only - it's time to think about selecting a flash memory camcorder
My Sony 8mm (analog) tape camcorder still works, but it IS aging... and the batteries have never had really great shooting life due to the tape motor, plus I'm going to have to replace my set of OLD style batteries one of these days 'cause they no longer want to hold a good charge... so, it's time to select a flash memory camcorder
NO hard drive models (several notes about drive problems) and NO models that write to a DVD
After lots of Googling and looking at specifications and reading reviews, my current choice is the Canon Vixia HFS100... which will cost me about $700, plus just under $100 for a 32Gig class 6 SDHC memory card
CS5 and the (NOT overclocked!) Intel i7-930 64bit computer I am going to build should edit the AVCHD files fairly easily... WITH buying an nVidia 285 card to use Cuda/MPE instead of the less expensive ATI card I was going to buy
In my price range (total of $800 is already more than I want to spend, along with building a new computer, but the HFS100 reviews are good) is there anything else I should consider for a flash memory camcorder?

Yes, budget is important since I don't do this to make $$, only as a family hobby
I'm already up to about $2,500 for (revised) computer and software... so another $900 to $1k for camera and accessories is a big addition for me
The HFS100 does get good reviews for overall camera and video quality and low light filming (the biggest problem I have for impromptu family movies) so unless I come across something at the same $700 basic cost, that is what I will buy some time after the computer is finished

Overclocking Intel i7-3770k on MSI z77a-g45

Hello!
I am interested in overclocking my intel i7-3770k to a bare minimum at which my FPS can be increased in a game callled StarCraft II.
I understand I have to do a various amount of changes, including something called XMG,vcore, cpu volt and cpu ratio, and I also understand my core should be tested in something called prime 95 while slowly adjusting these settings to a point where the CPU should probably hit 65-70 degress celcius.
Now, I have read a couple of guides and seen some screenshots of other bios systems, but since my cooler and power supply, (750 mw power supply and CoolerMaster 212 hyper evo cooler) I have gotten unsure whether I am able to take these steps without putting my own CPU at risk.
I am making this thread and i am able to follow some screenshots of my BIOS very rapidly if necessary.
Luckily the bios UI looks fairly easy to navigate through and I believe myself to not be an idiot and easily guided.
I believe it is necessary for you to know theese things:
1. I do drop down to about 20 FPS in a standard StarCraft II 400 food fight in a very late game situation, but more than 95% of the time I will be above 80 fps. I have GTX 560 TI, 8 gb ram, so I believe only my CPU is causing issues with fps.
2. My CPU temperatures goes around 30 degress celcius in bios, and 40-47 (mostly around 42) at windows with background programs running.
3. My current CPU runs at 4.2 GHz, the standard, obviously.
4. I intend only to increase my CPU performance to an amount where I bottom to 40-50 fps at max.
Any help is much appreciated.
Thank you!

I mostly use it for gaming, but I'm full screen so can't see how high it gets. I do plan on getting the Cooler Master Evo. I went back to the stock settings so that means Intel EIST and Turbo Boost are on, but Enhanced Turbo is not. Right now it idles around 32c-35c but can and does instantly shoot up to about 50-60c if I do ANYTHING that maxes out a core. Multithreaded video encoding can easily get up to 80c. OCCT easily 90c. I shaved some heat by dropping the PLL voltage to 1.65v.
I understand that having the CPU increase the voltage when the multiplier changes is smart, but I would rather lock the multipler at a lower voltage. For example, if I lock at 34x, it really runs 1.1v. I'd like to be able to control that voltage and see if I can run 34x at 1.0v, or even 0.9v.
Honestly I guess it is fine since I have been running it like this since I built the machine in February. I was just curious why the board ignores the setting. I would expect it to with EIST and Turbo on, but when locking the multiplier at a set rate, I would expect it to respect the user voltage setting. Then again, I haven't tweaked settings like this since the Q6600 days so I guess these chipsets act differently.
On the subject of voltages, I been experimenting with my RAM. I have G.Skill SNiper 1866. Most people say they can get theirs to 2133 but mine only goes to 2000 (ways of manufacturing I suppose). But the curious part is I have to set the RAM voltage to about ~0.02v under what I really want it to be. For example, 1.48 = 1.505v, 1.58 = v1.602v. I manually set this because Auto jacks my RAM voltage up to 1.65v when I overclock it to 2000mhz, but it is not needed (v1.60 is running fine and passed a complete memtest cycle). Anyway, is the voltage drift normal?

Overclocking: Intel HD 4000 (on Lenovo Thinkpads - example: X230 & X230T etc.)

(I did a search for this topic and not sure where to post this- so please move to the appropriate forum, thanks.)
Has anyone download and tried the Intel Extreme Tuning Utility to tweak and overclock the Intel HD 4000 graphics chip? Found here: Intel Extreme Tuning Utility
Does the Lenovo Thinkpad in general support this Utility?
I stumbled across these links from Semiaccurate.com that describes the process:
Overclocking Intel HD 4000 Part 1
Overclocking Intel HD 4000 Part 2
Overclocking Summary
I downloaded the latest Intel Extreme Tuning Utility on my X230T and tried to get it to work but after installing and running the program the window opens and just hangs there- not able to get into the GUI.
If it is only Developer or Manufacturer specific and not able to work on Lenovo laptops then I say a mod or someone start shaking the trees and get the Lenovo developers / coders on this!
thanks.
Rob

This works fine on my X1 Carbon running a clean install of windows 8.
Its actually a pretty well featured program and shows some good data but trying to extract any more power from the pretty average 4000 is going to be a hard ask regardless.

Extreme overclocking... is it really necessary?

Recently, I found out that my i7 930 is an overclock dud... Apparently, I have one of the worst batches for overclocking and i've been bummed out about it since I can't return it. So this has me wondering... Sure overclocking helps put out impressive benchmark scores and gaming performance but does premiere get any significant gain out of this? Or does the real benefit come from a good hard drive configuration and more ram?
For those who haven't purchased there i7 930 and plan on overclocking, take note of this...
"Stay far away from 3013A572. Can't hit 3.6GHz at 1.34Vcore an EVGA x58 SLI under a Tuniq 120 Extreme."

Mobo: gigabyte ud3r --already purchased--
CPU: intel i7 930 *crap batch... * --already purchased--
GPU: Palit gtx 470 ($290)
Harddive: 3x 1tb Samsung Spinpoint F3 2x Intel x25m80gb
Ram: Corsair Dominator DDR3 1600mhz Cas 7 12gb
Case: Cooler Master 692 Advance II
Additional Cooling: Corsair H50 CPU cooler with 2 gentle typhoon 1800rpm 120mm fans. push/pull
PSU: Corsair 850hx

Overclocking the i7, a beginners guide

To give credit where credit is due: This was not written by myself. I have only edited parts of it.
I found this on the internet, but it was such a great article, that I wanted to draw your attention to it. Credits go to Chad. Thanks for all the effort you put into this.
What is overclocking?
Overclocking is a process of making various components in a computer to go faster than their stock speeds. So if you buy a processor (lets say an i7-920 2.66 GHz) and make it go faster (lets say 3.6 GHz), that can be deemed as overclocking.
HALT! Do not proceed any further until you have read this:
Dell, Gateway, eMachine, etc... do not overclock very well, so proceed at your own risk. You break it, it is your fault.
A little bit more of some explanation:
This guide is intended to explain how to overclock and its uses. It was made for those who have computers (moreover, motherboards and other components) that support overclocking. If you bought a brand of computer like Dell, Sony, Gateway, HP, eMachine, or any other crappy PC (not saying all of them are) that comes for a store like Walmart, Best Buy, or Circuit City, then this guide does not pertain to you. Even though it is possible to overclock these systems with software, it is not recommended nor advised. This guide is meant for anyone who has a motherboard made by ASUS, GIGABYTE, Abit, DFI, (sometimes Intel), or any other well known brand known for their boards and overclocking abilities. But be forewarned, not all boards made by these companies are made to overclock. Check and see if yours does before going any farther than this final line.
Note: There are ways to bypass hardware overclocking via software, but it is not recommended and can make your PC unstable, even rendering it unable to stay stable till the system is returned to normal. Overclocking software is made for boards that supports overclocking so that changes can be made without having to restart.
Further notes:
-Motherboards not designed for overclocking will not go as far in overclocking, become unstable sooner, and heat far quicker.
-Computers with boards that do not support overclocking do not have adequate cooling.
Why would you want to overclock if it could be damaging?
Simple, to get more out of what you payed for. Overclocking is similar to going and upgrade a car's engine by boring out its piston chambers and adding better fuel injection, air intake, transmission, etc..., but there is always a risk in doing so. But it all boils down to one thing: performance. It is hard to fry your system if you are careful and know what you are getting yourself into. If you are careful about what you do, then it is rather hard to do any kind of permanent damage to your system by pushing it to its sheer limits.
As with any kind of performance enhancement, there is a level of risk involved. The first and foremost danger is heat. Heat will degrade and damage your components beyond repair if left unchecked and will most definitely lower your system's life span. When you overclock, you are making your computer do more work than it is used to, thus it is going to generate more heat, so having a good cooling system is essential. If you do not have sufficient cooling, then your system could and will overheat. Overheat by itself cannot kill your computer though, the only way for that to happen is to repeatedly overheat it time and time again past the recommended temperatures. YOU SHOULD ALWAYS TRY TO STAY AT OR BELOW YOUR CPU's MAX RATED TEMPERATURE! If you go above this, you can risk harming your CPU. Do so at your own risk. Run your CPU at 5-10C above its max temp for short periods only and ONLY for benchmarking purposes only. DO NOT DO IT FOR LONG TERM!
And as luck would have it, you do not have to be overly worried about your system overheat as there will be signs before you system becomes a fried potato. Random crashes are probably the most common sign. Overheat is easily prevented by the use of thermal sensors which can tell you how hot your system is getting. If you see temperatures that you think is too high, then either run at a lower speed, or get better cooling, which I will cover later on.
The other danger of overclocking is voltage. Too much, and you can significantly shorten your components' lifespan. A small boost will not do much, but if you plan on a rather hefty overclock, you may want to be aware that it will decrease the lifespan of your computer's components. But this is usually not an issue since most people who will overclock do not use their components for more than 4-5 years and there is a good chance your components will not fail before 4-5 years regardless of the voltages running through it. Most processors are designed to last in upwards of ten years. So most of the time, loosing a few of those years is worth the performance gained for overclocking.
Disclaimer for my own protection:
WARNING!!! READ THIS DAMN WARNING!!! I DO NOT WANT TO HEAR YOU WHINE YOU BROKE YOUR COMPUTER SO READ THIS WARNING!!!!!!
Overclocking can really mess things up, and it wares down your hardware and its life-expectancy. In other words, the more you overclock, the shorter your computer will live (like how an F1 car's engine must be replaced after every other race). If you attempt to overclock, then I am not responsible for any damage or destroyed hardware when using this guide. Follow at your own risk.
Overclocking
This guide is meant for beginners and not for people looking to squeeze out every last bit from their processor. That’s when things become extremely motherboard specific. The goal of this guide is to try to make overclocking the core i7 an easy and enjoyable experience. Overclocking your core i7 is a must; if you don’t you’re a chump. This guide will focus more on core i7 920s, but ideas will probably carry over into EE and higher end chips with locked multipliers.
Recommended hardware:
1. A good cooler (Do not use stock if you plan to go past around 3.5. You will run your processor way too hot) (Noctua, ThermalRight Ultra Extreme or Megahalem are my preferred ones but read around.
2. DDR3 1600+ - You can get away with 1333 but with ram being as cheap as it is, why not.
3. Pretty much any x58 board (although some are better than others, read some reviews).
4. A good PSU with an EPS(8 pin) plug.
5. Paper, Pencil, and Patience – Write things down so you can remember your successes and failures. There is not much to play with in terms of the i7, but keeping track of what you tried can eliminate any frustrating experiences and also allow you to go back to a known stable settings.
Recommended software for stability testing:
1. Prime95.
http://www.mersenne.org/freesoft/
2. Memtest86+ http://www.memtest.org/
3. Realtemp http://www.techpowerup.com/realtemp/
4. CPUZ - http://www.cpuid.com
Many people have personal favorites but the above are what I use.
Not all I7s are created equal:
1. So you read on a thread that someone hit 4 ghz on a C0 stepping processor with only 1.28 vcore and you’re wondering if yours will do the same. It’s doubtful, but who knows. It may take you up to 1.4 volts at least with a C0. That’s life; if you're unhappy, sell it and buy a D0.
2. Not all i7s have the same quality IMC (Integrated Memory Controller). Some are more temperamental than others and will refuse to run your ram at its rated speed without a huge raise of qpi/uncore (VTT). This is not common and often it can be a sign of the quality of the ram.
3. For the most part, D0's overclock higher and at lower voltages than C0 chips, due to refinements in the fabrication process. Late C0 chips benefitted from the same refinements, and random other batches hit 4.0 ghz at really low volts. I have been told that some D0's do not hit 4.0, but most will do so at a lower voltage than most C0's. A D0 is a more desirable chip, but it's not a must and this guide is still useful to owners of C0's.
4. Toms Hardware article about speed vs power consumption is flawed and based on one really terrible C0 that needed 1.5 vcore to hit 4ghz. Is a D0 at 1.2v at 4 ghz going to consume more power than a C0 at 3.6 and 1.32 volts? No. The D0 will use less. Power consumption at any given voltage will increase about 3-11 watts (avg 5 for every 100 mhz you increase). Something brough to my attention recently though is that this may differ because some chips are leakier than others. A D0 is by no means a guarantee that it will consume less power.
5. If you want to reach higher clocks, you may need a better motherboard, cooler, chip or whatever. This guide is not for advanced overclockers.
Key Terms and Settings Quick Guide:
BCLK – Base Clock - This clock controls your memory speed, QPI speed, and core speed based on whatever multiples for those settings you have. It's the most important part of overclocking the Core i7. It's stock setting is 133
Uncore – This is basically the speed of everything which isn't your core (i.e. L3 cache, IMC, etc). It should be 2x your memory speed but allows for multipliers higher than 2x as well. Stability will be greatest at 2x.
QPI – Quickpath interconnect - It's basically the intel equivalent of AMD's hypertransport. It's how the CPU and the X58 chipset communicate. It has multipliers of 18x, 22x, and 24x. The 920 should be left at 18x creating a 9:8 ratio between the uncore and the memory multiplier assuming you use the 8x ratio, which some claim offers the greatest stability. Although people have been able to run it at all sorts of ratios.
Memory - Memory is calculated based on either a 6x, 8x, 10x, 12x, or 14x of your base clock. I recommend 6x and 8x. Depending on your mobo bios it may be called ratio or multiplier.
Ram Timings – This guide will only deal with the first four and the command rate. There are other guides regarding these. You can use XMP (intel's memory profile system) to have these values plugged in but it may set your QPI/uncore voltage automatically to 1.35 which may be more than you need (although it will be stable).
Turbo mode – This enables the 21x multiplier on the chip. Most boards allow you to do this with eist disabled, but some boards require it enabled. See if a newer bios lets you change things.
CPU Multiplier – On the 920 the range is from 12x – 21x (22x on one core when at stock speeds). It has been found that the 19x and 21x multipliers are more stable than the 20x.
Vcore – Voltage of your cpu. See below for tweaking instructions.
PLL – phase-locked loop – Just use the settings recommended below (1.8 – 1.88 is within specification).
QPI/Uncore (VTT) – This voltage is the VTT although it does play a role in feeding the IMC with voltage enough to overclock your ram, the L3 cache and a number of other things (Specification is that it should be less than 1.35 but when taking droop into account you can go higher, probably 1.4 is safe. Some ram modules have XMP profiles which call for higher QPI so some will argue that this is safe. I'm not going to argue one way or the other.)
Vdimm – Your ram voltage (Specification says 1.65 max but 1.66 is fine and so is a bit higher depending on your QPI/uncore voltage).
Important to do before you overclock:
EIST – Enhanced intel speedstep technology - It's a power saving tech that should be disabled while testing overclocking stability. This should be disabled while finding your OC, but can be enabled after you are stable (Disable if you have stability issues).
C1E – Another intel power saving technology. Disable while overclocking, enable afterwards.
Anything Spread Spectrum – Disable it.
PCIE frequency – Always at 100, but see FAQ questions below.
LLC - Load Line Calibration - This gets rid of vdroop when enabled and can help stabilize overclocks. It breaks intel spec, but it is highly recommended to enable it, since it will reduce the needed vcore for a stable OC. The argument for vdroop is that it's a standard and reduces voltage spikes. I have not been able to find anyone who's done any damage by enabling LLC and thus disabling vdroop. In an old anandtech review from 2007 they found that it increased power consumption on an X38 asus board; a newer xbitlabs article using X58 found that it actually decreased with more threads or was otherwise the same. This guide pretty much assumes you use it, but like anything else you are taking the risk. Then again, on my board, enabling it doesn't give you any red letter warning like when you maybe tap your vdimm above 1.65.
All other settings leave at auto unless needed for stability.
Initial steps:
If you've played around with any settings before reset your bios to its stock options. There's probably no need to reset your CMOS, but it can't hurt; if you don't know how to reset your CMOS then I suggest you learn to do so. It's unlikely that you will have to as most modern motherboards will usually have some sort of protection against bad overclocks and automatically allow you to reset the bios upon a bad boot.
Once your bios is at its stock configuration disable EIST, turbo mode, C1, and any other power saving options that may interfere with an overclock as well as any spread spectrum settings. Now, boot into windows (If you want to use the 21x multiplier then go right ahead and set it as long as you can do so without enabling EIST). Open up cpuz, load up prime and see where the voltage goes. This is your approximate vid for stock. The chip may very well run under this voltage, but this is the vid that the bios is seeing.
From here we have a number of different methods we can try. I always change my BCLK in my bios settings so that anything set to auto will adjust itself if need be, although you are free to use whatever windows based tools you want although beware of any problems they may cause you.
You should always set your memory to 8x or 6x depending on what you have and your uncore to 2x the memory. Leave the QPI at the lowest setting.
Set windows not to restart on a bsod (You want to know what the error was):
Windows XP and Vista Directions, but it is the same for Win7.
Method #1: Optimizing for max performance per watt.
This method takes by far the most amount of time but for many its worth it in terms of its power efficiency.
Begin by going into the bios and changing your voltage to your vid and setting QPI/uncore (VTT) to 1.25 (I have raised this due to concerns about droop at 1.2) and vdimm to 1.65 (Most boards can't do this; 1.66 is safe, ignore your spaz bios warnings; you are not going to explode anything, although if you do, it's not my fault. Set it to 1.64 if it helps you sleep easier. I recommend at this point to be working with either the 21x multiplier if possible in order to keep your ram as much out of the equation as possible. 20X has known problems and 19x will land you with high ram speeds quicker which will require raises in the QPI/uncore voltage sooner.
Open up real temp and run Prime 95 with 8 threads and check stability for an hour at least (The more the better. I recommend overnight just to make sure all is good). Record your settings on a piece of paper or email them to yourself. Make sure to have Realtemp open in order to watch your temperatures. Temperatures should not exceed 80-85 during Prime. During normal use for extended periods, they should never see these kinds of temperatures. I like to keep mine below 70 for normal usage.
After its stable go into the bios and increase the BCLK by 10 and repeat the process. Find the max BCLK for your stock vid (or any voltage, if you'd like by lowering by smaller amounts when you find an unstable clock. This will help you know what you can run at any given voltage.
See below for known Prime 95 errors and how they relate to your settings (also some settings to try for stability). Once you get to the clocks you want, I recommend running Prime for at least 16-24 hours. I have in fact had errors in the 14th hour so it's good to know that you're truly stable.
See also below for optimizing your ram settings.
Method #2: Quick and dirty method for 4ghz aka screw efficiency
Set your ioh and ich to 1.2, your vdimm to 1.65, your cpu pll to 1.88, and your QPI/uncore to 1.35.
For D0 users set your vcore to 1.275 and for C0/C1 users set your vcore to 1.4 and BCLK to 190/191 or 210/211 and multiplier to 21 and 19 respectively. Check for Prime stability. D0's should be fine, but C0/C1 still may not make it, at this point your temps may be too high if you're not on water, so I suggest you start working backward in order to hit a much lower vcore or use method 3.
Method #3: Quick and dirty vcore boosting.
Set your ioh and ich to 1.2, your vdimm to 1.65, your cpu pll to 1.88, and your QPI/uncore to 1.35. Set BCLK to 190/191 or 210/211 and multiplier to 21 and 19 respectively.
The D0 chip usually hits 4.0 in the vcore range of 1.175 and 1.25. Try those voltages until you find whats right for your chip.
The C0/C1 is a much more difficult beast with a much larger range of 1.27 to around 1.4 and up to 1.5 (Do not attempt on air unless you live somewhere really, really cold). Some may not hit 4ghz at all.
This method is more difficult as some chips may not boot until you give them the proper vcore
How to use Prime95 to test stability:
Open up Prime95 and Realtemp to check your idles and loads. Set Prime95 to whatever priority you'd like. I prefer 4 or 7 so that realtemp still updates but some people prefer 10 and will run without a temperature monitor. Either is fine, but I'm always paranoid that my cooler will somehow become unlatched spontaneously. Set windows not to restart on bluescreen by setting [insert settings here] so that you can catch the error (although windows will record it somewhere). Start a mixed torture test and let it run for however long, depending on if you're only doing a temporary stability test in order to raise (about 1 hour) or a true stability test (16-24 hours). Once you've passed Prime95 you can run any other stability test that you want.
Prime 95 Errors:
Freeze: Increase the vcore
Other errors can indicate instability with the chip if they are during small fft (increase vcore by .125) or instability with ram large ftt (Try raising the ioh and/or running memtest).
BSOD code 101: Increase the vcore. I recommend increasing by +.025 if you get a bsod
BSOD code 124: Increasese or decrease the QPI/uncore by .25. Depending on where you are in your stability tests you'll probably need to increase it. 1.375 is the max I'm comfortable with although people say 1.4+ is safe. This is for you to determine and research. Don't do anything you're not comfortable with. Intel says do not go above 1.35 so 1.375 with droop and loss is safe and not too far outside specification.
It is important to note that sometimes QPI can be too high and that might cause this code. That's why it's not a good idea to just set things to 1.35 and hope for the best. If you find that increasing QPI/uncore voltage is not increasing stability, try decreasing it. Just remember of course, to keep track of your settings. I recommend not increasing, unless you have to (Don't be arbitrary about it).
D0 exclusive BSOD weird 2 letter/number codes: Treat this as a 101 and increase vcore by +.025. Update: It seems that these error codes can crop up for other reasons. Depending on where you are in the process you should take a look at your other voltages. I realize this is vague, but you may need to experiment.
If any worker fails, especially during small fft then it's cpu voltage. Bump it once or twice. If it fails during large fft then its probably memory error you can try running memtest/upping ioh. I would try running small fft at that point for a good amount of time and make sure its not the cpu voltage. If it passes 8-12 hours of small fft then work on making it pass large fft. Just remember to keep track of your settings. That's not to say that a large fft error won't be the result of cpu voltage, it's just not what I would try. Be methodical. If something allows Prime to run significantly longer then keep it. Significant depends where you are in the process. If your workers fail as soon as you start and a setting change gets you through a test then I'd say its good. If you get crashes during the 8th hour, and the setting change only gets you another 5 minutes in the 8th hour, it's probably just random and not the setting.
Testing Memory Stability with memtest 86+:
Personally, I do not run memtest until I actually encounter what could be memory errors( I assume things work until proven otherwise). Begin by setting your ram timings in the bios and setting your QPI/uncore to 1.35 and your vdimm to 1.64-1.66. Do not oc your cpu. Just run your ram at its rated spec to make sure that the ram is stable and not defective. You can also check it again with an oc'ed cpu as well. If it's unstable try raising the ioh to 1.20 or higher. If you are still getting errors try each dimm one at a time and see if you need to RMA (A pain in the *** but necessary).
Optimizing ram with memtest86+:
Assuming your ram is stable you can either overclock, lower voltage, tighten timings, or all of the above.
1. Lowering voltage. Run memtest86 for 20 minutes, if you get errors, stay where you are. Otherwise lower the vdimm by .02 and repeat until you get an error within 20 minutes. Then run it overnight.
2. Overclocking. You may be able to run your ram faster than you thought. Loosen the timings(make them higher) and then increase BCLK. You can optimize your voltage with the above number one. Depending on the ram, you may be able to overclock quite a bit or not at all. Running your ram at anything above 1066 is in fact overclocking the IMC.
3. Tightening timings. Timings should be decreased as such. Assuming you begin with 9-9-9 your next step should be 9-9-8 then 9-8-8 then 8-8-8. You can also try 8-9-8 but this is going to depend on your memory. You may need to raise voltages to tighten the timings.
The usefulness of overclocking your ram is limited. See the useful links sections below to see how certain ram settings will impact your real life performance.
Frequently asked questions:
Q: I can't raise my BCLK over some number. How do I fix it? What's the deal?
A: Not all chips and motherboards are made the same. You can try playing around with voltage amplitude, pll, skew or pcie (pcie is probably best not raised as it can cause damage). This is a question that is better asked on a thread dedicated to a specific board. You may end up being out of luck.
Q: What are safe voltages?
A: According to Intel or common knowledge the following are the safe air temperatures:
Vcore: ~1.4
QPI/uncore (VTT): 1.35
PLL: 1.88
Vdimm:~1.65 (Some will say that you are safe within .5 of your QPI/uncore allowing for a max of 1.85 on vdimm. See the link to the xtreme systems forum below on this subject for a long thread).
IOH: Less than 1.3
ICH: Less than 1.3
Q: My chip is too hot before I can reach 4 ghz. What can I do?
A: Disable hyperthreading or buy a better cooler (Noctua, TRUE or Megahalems recommended).
Q: But don't I want hyperthreading?
A: It's certainly nice to have a feature you paid for, but it sometimes decreases performance and it definitely causes a lot of heat. It's up to you.
Q: How do I go past 4ghz?
A: Same way as you got there in the first place. Just keep increasing BCLK. Past this point though it's up to you to do some research on your own.
Q: What is this multiplier throttling I've heard about?
A: Some boards will throttle down the 21x multiplier if the wattage becomes too high. The culprits without public fixes are the Asus P6T Deluxe and vanilla (The Deluxe v1 has a bios available on the xtremesystems forum which can be crossflashed onto the v2 which will fix this problem) It really only becomes a problem at high voltages with high frequencies. Other boards have ways of disabling it.
Q: Why would I want to optimize my voltages?
A: Save money on power bills and leave more wattage for other devices.
Q: My chip was stable for X amount of time and now it's not?
A: Have you added any hardware? How are your temperatures? High voltages and high temps can cause decay and make the chip require more voltage for an overclock. It may also be that your PSU is starting to go or maybe your motherboard is. Do your best to troubleshoot this.
Q: My temperatures seem really high? Is X degrees ok?
A: A better question is whether or not you are ok with X degrees. How long do you plan to won this chip? What are your ambients? If your house is 40 degrees centigrade, don't expect your chip to drop below that unless you are using extreme cooling (also try to move somewhere cooler cause that's really hot or get some AC, are you trying to cook yourself?). A cpu well taken care of can last over a decade when run within spec. How long do you really think you're going to keep this chip? A rule of thumb I go by is never push a part that I can't afford to replace if I break it (I do this anyway, but its a good rule nonetheless). Your temps will always get higher than normal when stress testing so do some normal stuff to see if your temperatures are acceptable. Try backing down a bit if you are unhappy.
Q: I heard this will work or this needs to be this way?
A: Try it. This is a general guide, not a set of hard and fast rules.
Q: My computer restarted while priming; how do I find out the error?
A: If you haven't already, disable bsod restarts in windows. Sometimes, though, it decides to restart anyway.
Open Computer Management by right-clicking the Computer icon on the start menu (or on the Desktop if you have it enabled) and select Manage. Navigate to the Event Viewer. Note: If you did not disable UAC then you will be prompted to consent to the action you're about to perform. Click Continue. Note: You can also open the Event Viewer by typing Event Viewer in the Search box and pressing Enter, or typing eventvwr.msc in the Run command.
Also check the results.txt in your Prime95 folder for a log of when it ultimately crashed and what it was doing at the time.
Q: Whats the deal with PCIE frequency? Can it help break my BCLK wall?
A: Yes, but I advise caution. Raising this too much can damage things running on the pcie bus or cause them to not work. I would not raise it personally more than a few mhz. You are probably safe at 103, but I take no responsibility of course.
Voltages/settings you can try to use to increase stability:
PLL: 1.88
IOH: 1.2+
ICH: 1.2
CPU voltage amplitude: +800mv
CPU Skew: +300ps
Command rate: change from 1n to 2n
You should really check in on your specific board as not all boards have the same settings. Be methodical in testing settings since you want to know whether something helped or hurt by itself before you combine.
Useful Links:
http://www.overclock.net/intel-cpus/538439-guide-overclocking-core-i7-920-4-a.html
Intel Info on the i7
QPI/Uncore voltage (XS) (Do not take this as gospel try to stay in spec unless you feel like really pushing things)
Info on multiplier throttling (XS)
Memory Scaling on the Core I7

My i7 rig is with a socket 1156 board, an Asus P7P55D mobo, and an 860 CPU. I know the Corsair DDR3 memory @ its stock 1.65v simply doesn't run at 1600mhz like it says on its box - 1333mhz seems to be its stability wall.
I upgraded my Q6600 and Asus P5B deluxe rig because so many people said to never consider overclocking on an editing rig. Was that over-cautious advice?

Overclocking Guide

Overclocking Guide
Disclaimer: Overclock at your own risk!
Data and information provided in this guide are for informational and educational purposes only, and are not intended for trading purposes. Neither MSI nor any of this thread’s authors shall be liable for any errors or delays in the content or be held responsible for any damage caused by modifying or overclocking your computer. Manufacturers may or may not honor the warranty on any overclocked or modified computer components. Perform any modifications to your systems at your own risk.
Why Overclock?
Today, overclocking is not any secret. It has become more popular and almost become an addiction to some people. The definition of Overclocking is simple: it means operating an Integrated Circuit beyond its specified clock speed.
But why overclock? Some people say to get more out for the same money. “It’s there; why not get more out of it?” However, the best business reason for overclocking is that it can make “out of date” equipments useful again. If the equipment is already out of warranty, the risk is very limited. (I personally suggest any beginners to overclock any out of date PC first just to have some first time experience.)
Know more about the Central Processing Unit (CPU)
Processor speed is based on two factors. The first is the interface between the motherboard and the front side bus (FSB). From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page (Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia), FSB is the speed at which the CPU communicates with RAM (memory). Many system components - including the PCI and AGP buses usually run at speeds derived from the frontside bus' speed. In general, a faster frontside bus means higher processing speeds and a faster computer. The other factor controlling a CPU's speed is the clock multiplier. It defines the ratio of processor speed to the FSB.
The FSB on new processors ranges from 400 MHz to 800 MHz. These are not straight clock speeds but instead they are quad-clocked speeds. These processors actually transmit data four times per clock cycle, for example, 800 MHz FSB is actually four times the 200MHz clock (200 MHz x 4 = 800 MHz).
The core speed of the CPU is the product of the front side bus clock and the multiplier. A processor running at 3600MHz (i.e. 3.6 GHz) might be having 800 MHz FSB, this means there is a clock multiplier setting of 4, and thus the CPU is set to run at 4 times the MHz speed of the front side bus.
But we said earlier that they are quad-clocked speeds, so 3600 MHz actually came from 18 times 200 MHz (200 MHz x 18 = 3600 MHz).
Please note that not all processors have quad-clocked speed FSB. For example, the Intel Pentium 4 (Northwood core) has quad-clocked speed FSB. But for example, the Intel Pentium III, AMD Athlon XP and AMD Duron have dual-clocked speed FSB only.
To know more, please read:
http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2178
Let’s lock the clock multiplier
Few years ago, you could overclock processors by choosing a higher multiplier. This option was eliminated in order to fight CPU remarking. Counterfeit processors have regularly appeared in the market, as the CPU speed was only defined by your setting. Nowadays, the restriction to only one multiplier is both of overclocking and counterfeit prevention.
As you can see, the only way of overclocking today is choosing a higher front side bus clock and the offer of small increments e.g. 1MHz in today's motherboards give us a great advantage in overclocking.
However, some CPUs nowadays are still unlocked, for example, the AMD Athlon MP and AMD Athlon64 families. And some motherboard companies offer the chance to unlock the Pentium 4 (Socket 775 CPUs only) overclocking potential by using special bios, for more please read:
http://www20.tomshardware.com/motherboard/20040916/index.html
Look at your motherboard
Before you overclock anything, have a look if your motherboard can overclock CPU. Look at the CPU installation section in the motherboard manual. Normally you will find either BIOS setup options or jumpers on the motherboard that allow you to adjust the FSB, CPU voltage, PCI/AGP ratio etc.
If you have a computer that came from a major manufacturer like HP, it is likely that your motherboard does not provide any overclocking function although it is very rare nowadays.
You need more Power!
This is also the time to check the power supply in your computer. Like a car, speed requires power, and unstable power inevitably leads to unstable processors, so I would recommend the power supply has to be at least 350 Watts. You can find six power supply guides in this forum below:
A Power Supply Guide
AND
Powersupplies(Written by Bas)
AND
Choosing The Right Power Supply
AND
Powersupply calculation....
AND
http://www.extremeoverclocking.com/articles/guides/Power_Supply_Guide_1.html
Both Intel and AMD processors are power hungry, consuming 40 to 100 watts (e.g. the new Prescott) of power. Also, your graphics card may take another 55 watts of power. Now you are consuming more than 100 watts of power for merely two components in your system.
You can also voltmod your Power Supply Unit, for more please read:
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/other/display/psu-voltmodding.html
Using higher voltages
Today, almost each processor can be run faster than the speed it was labeled for. This applies even more if you raise the core voltage a little bit. This is just like a car running at higher speed requires more power. But this is one of the “riskiest” aspects of overclocking - by using too much power you could burn your CPU. You should always raise the voltage step by step and never go higher than 15% beyond the specification. This way it is quite easy to get a faster system without risking the processor. Apart from raising the voltage of the CPU, similarly you can raise the voltage of memory as well. One problem is of course the increasing chip temperature, so cooling is very important. We will cover that later.
Memory Speed
Memory speed is often tied to the FSB. For example, a Double Data Rate (DDR) 400 memory has frequency 200MHz and the module rating is PC3200. Half the performance increase you may see from overclocking a CPU comes from increasing the speed at which the processor can talk to the memory.
When you buy memory, you may see it has label 2-3-3-7-1T. And you may also hear people saying my memory is a 2-3-3-7 one. But what does it mean? The answer is:
CAS Latency = 2 clock cycles
tRCD = RAS to CAS delay = 3 clock cycles
tRP = RAS Precharge = 3 clock cycles
tRAS = Active to Precharge = 7 clock cycles
Command Rate = 1 clock cycle
Different motherboards may call the above differently and not all of them will appear in the BIOS. You may need to check with your motherboard’s support team and the motherboard manual. If you have any option above in your BIOS, you can also start to adjust them. Obviously, the smaller the number the faster the memory will be.
To know more about memory please read:
http://www.corsairmicro.com/corsair/products/tech/memory_basics/153707/index.html
AND
Memory Roundup
AND
http://www.anandtech.com/memory/showdoc.aspx?i=2223
Video Card
To overclock video card, we need a third party utility to overclock the card. Although increasing numbers of manufacturers include utilities to allow customers to overclock their cards in their drivers or through an extra application, most of them do not provide this facility. Simply because overclocking stresses the system and voids manufacturer warranties. Third party utilities tend to be universal that they work on different cards irrespective of manufacturers.
Some utilities and the places to download included:
1. OMEGA Drivers
http://www.omegacorner.com/
2. StarStorm Drivers (Nvidia cards only)
http://downloads.guru3d.com/download.php?id=10
3. RivaTuner
http://www.guru3d.com/
4. PowerStrip
http://www.entechtaiwan.com/
5. Rage3D Tweak (ATI cards only)
http://www.rage3d.com/index.php?node=r3dtweak
6. RadLinker (ATI cards only)
http://www28.brinkster.com/chrisww1942/
7. ATITool (ATI cards only)
http://atitool.ocfaq.com/
Please read their own manuals in their corresponding web pages. Also, if you want to be able to have the hidden functions in Nvidia card, create a file with notepad and put this in it (thanks for Deathstalker to provide this source):
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\NVIDIA Corporation\Global\NVTweak]
"Coolbits"=dword:ffffffff
"NvCplEnableHardwarePage"=dword:00000001
"NvCplEnableAGPSettingsPage"=dword:00000001
Save it as agpsetting.reg to your desktop or anywhere you like. Then run it and it will give you all the hidden options from Nvidia which include extra resolution settings for your desktop and overclocking for both the memory and core.
For ATI Radeon X800 Pro softmod, please read (link provided by mopey):
http://www.ocforums.com/showindex.php?t=312063
For ATI Radeon X800 Pro voltage mod, please read (link provided by NovJoe):
http://www.vr-zone.com.sg/?i=817&s=1
For ATI Radeon 9800 XT voltage mod, please read (link provided by NovJoe):
http://www.vr-zone.com.sg/?i=760&s=1
To can change your Radeon 9800 Pro 256MB graphic card to Radeon 9800XT card, please read (in English):
http://www.rojakpot.com/(jiljtv55hwgq5uabzft0f5re)/default.aspx?location=3&var1=92&var2=0
To change your GeForceFX 5900 graphic card to GeForceFX 5900 Ultra, please read (in Traditional Chinese):
http://www.oc.com.tw/article/0403/readocarticle.asp?id=2410
To change your GeForceFX 5700 Ultra graphic card to QuadroFX 1100, please read (in Traditional Chinese):
http://www.oc.com.tw/article/0403/readiyarticle.asp?id=2387
Get the temperature down
Cooling is probably the most important aspect of overclocking. Overclocking causes circuits to cycle faster, generating more heat. If the CPU is not cooled properly, your CPU will not run reliably and there is a very good chance that you will permanently damage your CPU.
The heat sink and fan unit that Intel and AMD ship with its CPU are fairy good. However, for maximum stability, we need to get something better than that. For example, for CPU fans, we have Vantec Tornado, Thermaltake volcano 7+, CoolerMaster Aero 4 and Zalman CNPS7000A-AlCu etc.
Be sure that the cooling solution you choose is specifically designed for your processor. Improperly mounting a heat sink, using the wrong model can damage your processor.
Also, the airflow in the case is very important. If heat cannot escape the case, the CPU is still at risk. Thus, more case fans are needed apart from the power supply's exhaust fan. Tidying up the cables inside the case can help too. In addition, clearing the dust in the case by using canned compressed air can enhance the airflow but never use vacuum cleaner as it may generate electrostatic and harm the IC components.
For more about cooling, you can also read these:
http://www.antec-inc.com/pdf/article/info_DIYArticle3.html
AND
http://www.antec-inc.com/pdf/article/info_DIYArticle2.html
AND
Cooling guide(Written by J*A*G)
AND
http://www.community.tomshardware.com/forum/postlist.m?Cat=&Board=over_cooling
For more about CPU fan, please read:
BEST Overclockers CPU cooler????
For more about Water Cooling, please read:
Water cooling...
Keep the Noise Down
Unless your computer is cooled by a water cooling system, it will be pretty noisy. To keep the noise down, please read this:
http://www.antec-inc.com/pdf/article/info_DIYArticle_quiet_computing.html
Overclocking Process
Essentially, overclocking processors consists of increasing the FSB in the BIOS, booting the computer, and then testing for stability. You repeat the process until you identify the maximum stable speed.
In case your board offer 1 MHz-increments (which most of your boards do), you have the chance to find out the maximum clock speed by slowly closing in on the final limit MHz for MHz. Of course this cannot be done in an hour, but you will have to spend one or two days just playing with different clock speed settings. In the end you should have your CPU running at the highest possible core speed. The Most important thing to remember is that you must go Slowly!
Also, you can overclock the processor by using software although it may not be as effective as overclocking using the motherboard BIOS. Such software includes:
1. ClockGen
http://www.cpuid.com/
2. CPUFSB
http://mitglied.lycos.de/podien/
3. 8rdavcore
http://www.hasw.net/8rdavcore/
Here is a thread that talks about overclocking an Intel Pentium 4 2.4cGHz to 3.0GHz using Intel 865PE chipsets. (You may treat it as an example of overclocking.):
Best 865PE Overclock for 2.4C to 3.0+
Changing the FSB is a relatively simple matter of entering the computer's BIOS setup screen, switching from automatic to manual configuration and selecting the FSB speed you want. Here are some utilities that you can check your computer’s setting, especially CPU speed:
1. CPU-Z
http://www.cpuid.com
2. WCPUID (Linux supported)
http://www.h-oda.com
3. AIDA32
http://www.aida32.hu/aida32.php
http://aumha.org/freeware.htm
4. PC Wizard
http://www.cpuid.com/
5. EVEREST
http://www.lavalys.com/
6. Motherboard Monitor
http://mbm.livewiredev.com/
7. HWiNFO and HWiNFO32
http://www.hwinfo.com/
8. SpeedFan
http://www.almico.com/
http://www.almico.com/speedfan.php
9. Motherboard Monitor
http://mbm.livewiredev.com/
http://mbm.livewiredev.com/download.html
10. Intel Processor Frequency ID Utility (Intel CPU only)
http://support.intel.com/support/processors/tools/frequencyid/
11. AMD CPU Information Display Utility (AMD CPU only)
http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/TechnicalResources/0,,30_182_871,00.html
For more, you can go to the following to have a browse:
http://www.3degs.net/
Bear in mind that if the processor is capable of a 20-percent or more speed increase say, it is unlikely that your video card or memory can have the same amount of increase. And the one thing that you must remember to do if you overclock the FSB is to Set (i.e. Lock) your AGP/PCI Buses, to as close to their Default Frequencies as Possible (to PCI bus at 33 MHz and the AGP port at 66 MHz for example), or you will most definitely experience problems across the whole board e.g. your graphics card, onboard sound and IDE channels may start giving you data and other errors.
Test for Stability and Benchmarking
The purpose of testing is to apply a heavy workload to every aspect of your system to ensure that there are no hidden problems and stability issue. You can do testing by using special testing suites, software and games. The aim of benchmarking is to measure the performance of your system. In overclocking, benchmarking can tell you how far the system’s performance has increased when you adjust certain settings.
For a test suite, you may try Winbench, which you can download from:
http://www.etestinglabs.com/benchmarks/winbench/winbench.asp
Special software for testing and benchmarking included:
1. CPU Burn (Linux supported)
http://users.bigpond.net.au/cpuburn/
2. PCMark 04
http://www.futuremark.com/
3. Aquamark 3
http://www.aquamark3.com/
4. SiSoftware Sandra Standard 2004
http://www.sisoftware.net/
5. Prime95 (Linux supported)
http://www.mersenne.org/
(For more about Prime95, please read: how to use prime 95 properly)
6. Memtest86 (Linux supported)
http://www.memtest86.com/
7. Memtest86+ (Linux supported)
http://www.memtest.org/
8. Super PI (Linux supported)
http://pw1.netcom.com/~hjsmith/Pi/Super_Pi.html (Windows version)
http://ftp://pi.super-computing.org/Linux/super_pi.tar.gz (Linux version)
9. ScienceMark
http://www.sciencemark.org/
10. SETI @home (Linux supported)
http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/
For testing video card, you can run Games like Quake 3 and Unreal Tournament demo mode and left running in loops. You should be able to run a game in a loop for at least two hours after a reboot without a problem. Also, you can use 3DMark05 from FUTUREMARK (download from http://www.futuremark.com/).
1. Unreal Tournament (Linux supported)
http://www.unrealtournament.com/
2. Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory (Linux supported)
http://games.activision.com/games/wolfenstein/
3. Quake (Linux supported)
http://www.idsoftware.com/games/quake/
4. Call Of Duty
http://www.callofduty.com/index.asp
5. X2 - The Thread
http://www.egosoft.com/
6. Colin McRae Rally 4
http://www.codemasters.co.uk/colinmcraerally04/uk/colinmcraerally04.php
7. Nascar Thunder 2004
http://www.easports.com/games/thunder2004/home.jsp
8. Halo
http://www.microsoft.com/games/halo/
9. Farcry
http://www.farcry.ubi.com/
10. Half-Life
http://games.sierra.com/games/half-life/
11. Doom 3 (Linux supported)
http://www.doom3.com/
Tips: The benchmark can be performed by using “demo1” which ships with Doom 3. Open the console (Windows: Ctrl+Alt+~; Linux: ~) and type “timedemo demo1”.
12. Battlefield Vietnam
http://www.eagames.com/official/battlefield/vietnam/us/home.jsp
13. Serious Sam
http://www.serioussam.com/
14. Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness
http://www.tombraider.com/
15. Halo
http://www.bungie.net/
16. Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell
http://www.splintercell.com/
Conclusion
I suggest you to read this guide one more time before you overclock to make sure that you have not missed anything. Wish you have a good overclocking experience, have fun! Here is also another guide to make your have a Happier and Healthier System:
http://www.antec-inc.com/pdf/article/info_DIYArticle4.html
The following teaches you how to change an AMD Athlon XP 1700+ to an Athlon MP 1700+ (in Traditional Chinese):
http://www.oc.com.tw/article/0304/readocarticle.asp?id=1390
Also, for a Step By Step Overclocking Guide and other overclocking guides, you can go to:
1. General overclocking tips
2. more overclocking help
3. Hardware & Overclocking FAQ in bit-tech
http://forums.bit-tech.net/showindex.php?t=51323
4. Overclocking Guide in OC Forums
http://www.ocforums.com/showindex.php?t=263753
5. Link Guide for anyone new to Overclocking in PC Perspective
http://forums.pcper.com/showindex.php?t=173635
6. Overclocking Guide in Help Overclocking
http://www.helpoverclocking.com/english/index.htm
7. AMD Optimal BIOS settings + Overclocking Guide
http://www.madshrimps.be/?action=gethowto&howtoID=43
8. Tom's Hardware CPU Overclocking Forum (contains a few overclocking guides)
http://www.community.tomshardware.com/forum/postlist.m?Cat=&Board=over_cpu (for CPU)
9. Tom's Hardware Graphic Cards Overclocking Forum (contains a few overclocking guides)
http://www.community.tomshardware.com/forum/postlist.m?Cat=&Board=over_graphics (for Graphic Cards)
For a guide on Modding Tools, please read:
Modding Tools
Please post any comment and/or suggestion as well as dead link of this guide (Version 1.49) at the following thread:
Overclocking Guide Suggestion/Comment
I would like to thank for the help and support from Bas and Wonkanoby as well as advice from Raven_, Slimbooyphat and The Fellow in setting up this guide.

Quote from: ferohh on 01-March-05, 04:39:20
I tried to overclock my p4. 2,66ghz to 3.18ghz.
l increased the cpu fsb only since the multiplier is fixed at 20x.
l tried to change it but couldn´t.
l then increased my cpu voltage from 1.525v to 1.732v.
At 3.2ghz, the computer was on and restarts automatically, so l turned it to 3.18ghz.
does it mean the cpu will not overclock further or l need a new cooler?
I did not overclock anything except the fsb.
any help?
I have a 2.6C Northwood pentium 4 on an MSI 875P Neo2-FISR mobo. On air I'm able to get it to about 3.14Ghz stable. I don't believe it's a good idea to go past 1.6 for the voltage, from what I've read, voltage doesn't help too much with the northwoods.
I can overclock mine higher without any significant changes in temperatures, but the overclocks aren't stable and the system freezes up from time to time. I'm using Kingston HyperX PC4000 DDR, which can run at up to 500mhz, so I can do a 1:1 ratio on the overclock. I'm using a modular 500-watt power supply, Arctic Silver 5 and a huge honking Swiftech heatsink with an 80mm fan.

Bios update? overclock help?

hey guys! i need some help with and if its posible to overclock my intel CPU and card.First some system info: Windows 8.1 64Bitsintel Core i7- 3632QM 2,2 Ghz(gets to 3,2Ghz in turbo boost)8GB DDR3 memory 789Ghz3GB SDHC Readyboost CardHP 1842 U3E1 Motherboard2 GB intel HD grafics 4000 650Ghz Core speed 800Ghz memory speed1GB ATI AMD Radeon HD 7600M Core speed 830Ghz 1010Ghz Memory speed698GB hitach Harddisk(gona be replaced by an ssd)Bios insyde F.14 20-09-2012Extended Batterypack 83981 Mwh7,9 A AdapterALL drivers are up to date(except Bios)not a bad cooling system for a laptop. removed the dust gueards for more airflow.cleanded it out, and its standing on a platform with 5 fans. i have already overclocked one of the grafics cards.this is the AMD Radeon 7600m series core speed was 600Ghz memory 900Ghz.ist now set at 830Ghz and 1010Ghz its can go a lot higher but the grafics card crashes, i know it is a unstable overclock if it chrases but can i somehow get the clocks higher without crashing the drivers? so my questions are: -can i update my bios and how(never did this before)-can i increase the processor speed? i can increase the voltage going to the turbo boost mode with intel extreme tuning utility-can i overclock the intel grafic card?-how do i stop amd grafic card chraches? core speed goes all the way up to 900Ghz only thing is the card driver crashes. but no wreid things are displeyed on the screen.-can i increase the voltage to the cards?-can i increase the ram Ghz thanks for the time already and i hope u guys can help me!

Quote from: steffen.agermann1989 on 23-January-15, 08:40:53
Hi soo i have a GT702 PE gtx880m and a 4810mq an currently im stuck on bios 50v and i want to update to 717 but i tried everything and its not working either way
i can flash from 50v to 517 that goes but i cant go any further if i try the laptop only turns on and off alot then boot back into windows logon screen
what am i doing wrong?? hope anyone got a clue i have plans for updating to the latest gtx980m and i realy need that bios update fast :/
If i can get a update order or an explanation how to do it it woud be awesome
man dont do anything with that 717 because your system non raid.am i right?

Overclocking my E5700

Hey! I've been trying to overclock my Intel Dual Core E5700 3000MHz. I managed to clock it to 3405MHz today. The temperatures seem fine, under 50'C when playing games, ArmA II for example. The CPU usage is around 70-80% or so. My motherboard is MSI-7592, ver 5.2, atleast that's what I saw when I opened the case and checked it. Would it be 'safe' for me to overclock it more with stock cooling, if the temperatures are under 50*c right now?

http://ark.intel.com/products/42801/Intel-Pentium-Processor-E5700-(2M-Cache-3_00-GHz-800-MHz-FSB)
You will see the T Case maximum is around 75C
So if you are comfortable pushing the CPU further, do it at your own discretion. You know what the risks are. You have headroom on the temp, so from that perspective you are OK.
Your CPU voltage max also needs to be considered even if your temps are within limits. 0.8500V-1.3625V If you go beyond the max, then CPU deterioration may occur over time.

Overclocking and multitouch hacks please

I have a 5 year old MacBook and I was something I could do to put multitouch capibilities into the system.
I am willing to do any hack in software or hardware even if it might break.
Please include step by step instructions.
I was also wondering if there was a way to overclock th intel gma 950 graphics built into the same Mac, allow the full 4 GB Memory to be used, and maybe overclock the 2.0 GHZ core 2 duo processor.
Finally, is it possible to higher the screen res. more than 1280 by 800?

No one here is going to tell you how to hack your computer. That is not what this forum is for. Look elsewhere on the internet to ask this question.

[SOLVED] Intel Core i7 Unbalanced Load ?

Hi
When im performing heavy processes I noticed that the first core receives a majority of the workload, I tested with irqbalance and intel microcode. but the situation persists
screenshot of a import of dump data php + mysql, takes 5 mins aprox
the result of cat / proc / interrupts seems strange core0 gets much "attention" i dont know if this normal.
My System
Intel i7 930
Asus P6T Board
Linux linuxbit 3.0-ARCH #1 SMP PREEMPT Wed Oct 19 10:27:51 CEST 2011 x86_64 Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU 930 @ 2.80GHz GenuineIntel GNU/Linux
Any Ideas ? it is normal ?
Thanks !!!
Last edited by bitcero (2011-11-04 01:36:01)

ethail wrote:
I don't see a problem, what's the problem?
Does your system get frozen or unresponsive on heavy load?
Try some make -j8 and see if every core gets used. Consider that if your workload is I/O bound and isn't heavy CPU intensive and multithreaded you can't expect all cores to be used equally
Not really unresposive, but its extrage for me that only one core takes majority of work. and after read this post i think maybe its not normal http://www.alexonlinux.com/smp-affinity … g-in-linux
im gonna make some stress test.

Overclock an netbook

Hi,
Is it possible to overclock an Intel Atom N270 1.6 GHz processor in a Compaq Mini 730EO (2 GB RAM)? I think the graphic performance is terrible when running Adobe Flash etc.
With the xf86-video-intel drivers installed glxgears responds with this:
1180 frames in 5.0 seconds = 235.872 FPS
Is this result normal for an netbook?

.:B:. wrote:
Flash is terrible on any Linux system, since there is no hardware acceleration (maybe there is but even then it's minimal).
A netbook is an underpowered device by design, what do you expect? Pay a few bucks and get a supercomputer?
Also IIRC, the Atom CPUs don't even have heatsink fans....terrible idea to try to overclock one.
Flash is hungry for CPU cycles. Even under Windows, my Atom N270 CPU struggles with Flash when running on battery and power-saving mode.

Overclocking an Intel i7 930

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