4 GHz not possible?

[drewis]

Hey all... Cant seem to obtain 4.0 ghz at all.

I keep getting memory errors using 3/4 of the straps available, even though clearly my memory supports these speeds, all the way up to 1600. I've even loosened the timings.. I have also tried bumping up Vcore to 1.4 from 1.300 and nothing. I can post but not load all the way into windows. Changing Vcore doesnt help this at all.
For the most part, I have followed the guides on here but there must be something im missing. Im going to try and cut/paste whats in my bios and report here.

I have loadline disabled, I even tried using 2.00B strap, to no avail.
G MCH + .20
FSB +.20

[drewis]

Everything set to manual.

FREQ 450
PCI E 100
PERFORMANCE STANDARD
XMP DISABLED
MEM MULTI (unstable at anything, can only get it to even post at 2.00D)
MEM TIMING MANUAL
LATENCY TIME 7
RAS TO CAS 7
PRECHARGE 7
TRAS 20
TRRD 4
WRITE TO READ DELAY 4
PRECHARGE DELAY 4
REFRESH TO ACT 60
READ TO PRECHARGE 4
T READ 8
T READ PHASE AUTO
CMD 2T
GTLREF1 NORMAL
GTLREF 2 NORMAL
CPU/PCIEX CLOCK DRIVING 900mV
CPU CLOCK SKEW NORMAL
SYSTEM VOLTAGE MANUAL
DDR3 VOLTAGE +.03 OR +.04 IF GOING OVER 1300 MHZ
PCI E VOLTAGE NORMAL
FSB OVERVOLT +.20
G MCH OVERVOLT +.20
LOADLINE DISABLED
CPU VCORE (1.36 ALLLL THE WAY TO 1.40)


Thanks for any input guys, stumped again. Although probably something rediculous that im missing.

[Psycho101]

I'm not too familiar with DDR3, but usualy if I can't post on a certain strap it's because of tRead values. tRead=8 may be ok for 2.00D but you might need tRead=9 and/or different vDIMM & MCH voltages.

I would begin by setting all reference voltages to [AUTO]. MCH and CPU references are calculated as a % of VTT, AUTO allows them to scale upwards as they should. I'm not sure if Normal does.

RAM errors can be as much about the MCH as the RAM itself. If the pathway the data travels down is unstable, memory can be written to and read from, incorrectly.

Until someone more experienced with X48 and DDR3 replies, it's perfectly safe to set these to AUTO:

• GTLREF1
• GTLREF 2

Not all E0 stepping E8000 series chips are godly, and almost certainly you will need to tweak: PLL (Clock generator) voltage, VTT (CPU Termination), CPU ref 1 and 2 (GTLRef values) and MCH ref/voltage/both.

Worst case, your chip may not be capable of 4GHZ, it's not beyond the realms of possibility. No such thing as a guaranteed overclock. It's not the conclusion I'd draw just yet though.

To make it easier to see what you have set, here is a bios template for your board, you can use [CODE] tags to make it into a list within your post:

MB Intelligent Tweaker (MIT) 
Robust Graphics Booster...........: 
CPU Clock Ratio...................: 
CPU Frequency.....................: 
CPU Host Clock Control............: 
CPU Host Frequency(Mhz)...........: 
PCI Express Frequency (Mhz).......: 
C.I.A.2...........................: 
Performance Enhance...............: 
System Memory Multiplier (SPD)....: 
Memory Frequency(Mhz).............: 
DRAM Timing Selectable ...........: 
Standard Timing Control 
CAS Latency Time (tCL)............: 
DRAM RAS# to CAS#  (tRCD).........: 
DRAM RAS# Precharge (tRP).........: 
Precharge Delay (tRAS)............: 
Advanced Timing Control 
ACT to ACT Delay(tRRD)............: 
Rank Write to READ Delay (tWTR)...: 
Write To Precharge Delay (tWR)....: 
Refresh to ACT Delay (tRFC).......:  
Read To Precharge Delay (tRTP)....:  
Static tREAD Value (tRD)..........: 
Static tREAD Phase Adj............:  
Command Rate (CMD)................: 
Clock Driving and Skew Control 
CPU/PCIEX Clock Driving Control...: 
CPU Clock Skew Control............:  
(G)MCH Clock Skew Control.........:  
System Voltage Control () = Base Voltages 
DDR3 OverVoltage Control...(1.50v): 
PCI-E OverVoltage Control.,(1.50v): 
FSB OverVoltage... 65nm = 1.25v..+: 
(G)MCH OverVoltage Control,(1.25v): 
CPU GTLREF1 Voltage*.......(67%)..: 
CPU GTLREF2 Voltage*.......(61%)..: 
Loadline Calibration..............: 
CPU Voltage Control...............: 
Normal CPU Vcore..................: 
Note: * Hidden Features Press [CTRL] + [F1] from main Menu to Access + FSB 45nm= 1.15v 
Advanced Bios Features 
CPU Multi-Threading...............: 
Limit CPUID Max to 3..............: 
No-Execute Memory Protect.........: 
CPU Enhanced Halt(CIE)............: 
CPU Thermal Monitor 2.............: 
CPU EIST Function.................: 
Virtuaalization Technology........:

Take special note of the hidden BIOS feature accessed by holding down [CTRL] and pressing [F1] while at the main bios screen with "MB Intelligent Tweaker" highlighted. Why Gigabyte hide features on a supposedly high end "Overclockers Board", God himself only knows... Great idea.... ..... NOT!

[drewis]

weird, i have to do that control f1 with mit selected? lol I did that without it selected..

[Psycho101]

Nott 100% sure on your board. Mine has no hidden settings, however the screen does still blink if I hit Ctrl-F1, but onlt if I highlight MBIT.

[drewis]

yea I don't have vtt or termination voltage settings. I tried t read at 20 even and no such luck. I'm gonna use that menu and post what I have... maybe you're right and maybe it can't clock that high... but I'm 100% stable at 3.6 and can't even get into windows at 3.8 weird

[drewis]

MB Intelligent Tweaker (MIT) 
Robust Graphics Booster...........: N/A
CPU Clock Ratio...................: 9
CPU Frequency.....................: 449
CPU Host Clock Control............: enabled
CPU Host Frequency(Mhz)...........: 4.01
PCI Express Frequency (Mhz).......: 100
C.I.A.2...........................: disabled
Performance Enhance...............: STANDARD
System Memory Multiplier (SPD)....: 2.66 D
Memory Frequency(Mhz).............: 1194
DRAM Timing Selectable ...........: MANUAL
Standard Timing Control 
CAS Latency Time (tCL)............: 8
DRAM RAS# to CAS#  (tRCD).........8: 
DRAM RAS# Precharge (tRP).........: 8
Precharge Delay (tRAS)............: 24
Advanced Timing Control 
ACT to ACT Delay(tRRD)............: 5
Rank Write to READ Delay (tWTR)...:5 
Write To Precharge Delay (tWR)....: 8
Refresh to ACT Delay (tRFC).......:  60
Read To Precharge Delay (tRTP)....:  5
Static tREAD Value (tRD)..........: 20-30
Static tREAD Phase Adj............:  AUTO
Command Rate (CMD)................: 2T
Clock Driving and Skew Control 
CPU/PCIEX Clock Driving Control...: 900mV
CPU Clock Skew Control............:  NORMAL
(G)MCH Clock Skew Control.........:  NORMAL
System Voltage Control () = Base Voltages 
DDR3 OverVoltage Control...(1.50v): + 0.3 IF UNDER 1300 MHZ RAM  
PCI-E OverVoltage Control.,(1.50v): 0
FSB OverVoltage... 65nm = 1.25v..+: +0.20
(G)MCH OverVoltage Control,(1.25v): +0.20
CPU GTLREF1 Voltage*.......(67%)..: NORMAL
CPU GTLREF2 Voltage*.......(61%)..: NORMAL
Loadline Calibration..............: DISABLED
CPU Voltage Control...............: TRIED 1.325 - 1.400
Normal CPU Vcore..................: 1.300
Note: * Hidden Features Press [CTRL] + [F1] from main Menu to Access + FSB 45nm= 1.15v 
Advanced Bios Features 
CPU Multi-Threading...............: NA
Limit CPUID Max to 3..............: NO
No-Execute Memory Protect.........: NO
CPU Enhanced Halt(CIE)............: NO
CPU Thermal Monitor 2.............: NO
CPU EIST Function.................: NO
Virtuaalization Technology........:  ENABLED

[Psycho101]

MB Intelligent Tweaker (MIT) 
Robust Graphics Booster...........: N/A
CPU Clock Ratio...................: 9
CPU Frequency.....................: 449
CPU Host Clock Control............: enabled
CPU Host Frequency(Mhz)...........: 4.01
PCI Express Frequency (Mhz).......: 100
C.I.A.2...........................: disabled
Performance Enhance...............: STANDARD
System Memory Multiplier (SPD)....: 2.66 D
Memory Frequency(Mhz).............: 1194
DRAM Timing Selectable ...........: MANUAL
Standard Timing Control 
CAS Latency Time (tCL)............: 8
DRAM RAS# to CAS#  (tRCD).........8: 
DRAM RAS# Precharge (tRP).........: 8
Precharge Delay (tRAS)............: 24
Advanced Timing Control 
ACT to ACT Delay(tRRD)............: 5
Rank Write to READ Delay (tWTR)...:5 
Write To Precharge Delay (tWR)....: 8
Refresh to ACT Delay (tRFC).......:  60
Read To Precharge Delay (tRTP)....:  5
Static tREAD Value (tRD)..........: 20-30 <----10 should be more than loose enough, not sure if way too loose values can also cause instability?
Static tREAD Phase Adj............:  AUTO
Command Rate (CMD)................: 2T
Clock Driving and Skew Control 
CPU/PCIEX Clock Driving Control...: 900mV <---Stock is 800, might make a difference. 
CPU Clock Skew Control............:  NORMAL
(G)MCH Clock Skew Control.........:  NORMAL
System Voltage Control () = Base Voltages 
DDR3 OverVoltage Control...(1.50v): + 0.3 IF UNDER 1300 MHZ RAM  
PCI-E OverVoltage Control.,(1.50v): 0 <----Hmm... PCI-E Overvolt. Could be just the lanes, could be Southbridge. Small bump maybe?
FSB OverVoltage... 65nm = 1.25v..+: +0.20 <---- This is likely to be your VTT seting. More than 1.4v is risky, though 1.5 should be fine 24/7 if other voltages are reasonable.
(G)MCH OverVoltage Control,(1.25v): +0.20
CPU GTLREF1 Voltage*.......(67%)..: NORMAL <----[AUTO]
CPU GTLREF2 Voltage*.......(61%)..: NORMAL ]<----[AUTO]
Loadline Calibration..............: DISABLED
CPU Voltage Control...............: TRIED 1.325 - 1.400
Normal CPU Vcore..................: 1.300
Note: * Hidden Features Press [CTRL] + [F1] from main Menu to Access + FSB 45nm= 1.15v 
Advanced Bios Features 
CPU Multi-Threading...............: NA
Limit CPUID Max to 3..............: NO
No-Execute Memory Protect.........: NO
CPU Enhanced Halt(CIE)............: NO
CPU Thermal Monitor 2.............: NO
CPU EIST Function.................: NO
Virtuaalization Technology........:  ENABLED <----- Disable this unless you run Virtual Machines. You know if you run them because you'll know what they are[/COLOR]

I would certainly try both GTLRef voltages on auto first with no other changes. They will not over volt on this setting. They usually scale with VTT/CPU Term, or what your BIOS calls "FSB OverVoltage". Setting to normal might have locked them, and stopped them being 67% AND 61% of (1.25v + FSB OverVoltage).

Sometimes these reference voltages need tuning to different percentages, but within 58%-70% of VTT.

Clock drive is another likely candidate, as sometimes more is not necessarily better.

Some other suggestions are in the BIOS template. Only change these one at a time. Be methodical, if they don't do the trick one at a time then combine them in stages untill you try all combinations.

I'd be interested to see if AUTO or manually set ref volts helps stabilise things.

[drewis]

will keep messing with it.

[drewis]

thnx psycho. think i need a tad bit more than 1.4 to achieve 4 ghz. i managed to get it to 3.8 orthos stable for atleast 10 mins, whereas i couldnt even get into windows... took 1.37 volts to get into windows @3.8. looks like i need 1.4125 ish to maintain 4.0.. I got into windows at 4.00 ghz but locked up immediately when i opened orthos.


thanks for the help, gonna wait till i get a better then the stock cooler to try and oc any more.