GA-EP45T-DS3R DDR3-1600 So far so good

[ghost707]

I have originally set my system up along the same lines as poster Outer Marker did with his E8400 system - overclocking the system while using stock or close to stock voltages.

Since I was going to have to increase MCH core voltage to accommodate 2X2Gig ram, I figured I might as well get some frequency out of the FSB as well.

I bumped up CPU Core and Termination just a hair to cover the bases.

I have not run Prime95 on this set up yet, have run memtest default for 20 minutes and Flight Simulator X (which hammers CPU and Ram pretty well)for a couple of hours with no problem.

Before I continue with a full on abuse test, I was wondering if ProfJim, Lsdmeasap or Psycho101 had any thoughts.

My goal is a mild to medium overclock with stability being most important.

BTW, this is probably the best forum on the net that I have seen with regards to computers and overclocking. Thanks to all the brains here.

MB Intelligent Tweaker(M.I.T.)
Robust Graphics Booster .............: [ Auto ]
CPU Clock Ratio .....................: 8 X  
Fine CPU Clock Ratio.................: 0  
CPU Frequency .......................: 3.60GHZ (450x8)

Clock Chip Control
Standard Clock Control
CPU Host Clock Control...............: [ Enabled ]
CPU Host Frequency (Mhz) ............: 450  
PCI Express Frequency (Mhz) .........: 100 
C.I.A.2 .............................: [ Disabled ]

Advanced Clock Control [Press Enter]
CPU Clock Drive......................: [ 800 mV ]
PCI Express Clock Drive..............: [ 900mV ]
CPU Clock Skew (ps)..................: [ 0ps ]
MCH Clock Skew (ps)..................: [ 0ps ]

DRAM Performance Control
Performance Enhance..................: [ STANDARD ]
(G)MCH Frequency Latch...............: [ AUTO ]
System Memory Multiplier ............: 3.33D  
Memory Frequency (Mhz) ..............: 1500
DRAM Timing Selectable ..............: [ Manual ]

Standard Timing Control
CAS Latency Time.....................: 7 
tRCD ................................: 7 
tRP'.................................: 7 
tRAS.................................: 15 

Advanced Timing Control
tRRD.................................: 5 
tWTR.................................: 5 
tWR..................................: 10 
tRFC.................................: 70 
tRTP.................................: 5 
Command Rate (CMD) ..................: 2


Channel A
Static tRead Value...................: 8
tRD Phase0 Adjustment................: 0 [ AUTO ]
tRD Phase1 Adjustment................: 0 [ AUTO ]
tRD Phase2 Adjustment ...............: 0 [ AUTO ]
tRD Phase3 Adjustment................: 0 [ AUTO ]
Trd2rd(Different Rank)...............: 9 [ AUTO ]
Twr2wr(Different Rank)...............: 7 [ AUTO ]
Twr2rd(Different Rank)...............: 8 [ AUTO ]
Trd2wr(Same/Diff Rank)...............: 8 [ AUTO ]

Channel B
Static tRead Value...................: 8
tRD Phase0 Adjustment................: 0 [ AUTO ]
tRD Phase1 Adjustment................: 0 [ AUTO ]
tRD Phase2 Adjustment ...............: 0 [ AUTO ]
tRD Phase3 Adjustment................: 0 [ AUTO ]
Trd2rd(Different Rank)...............: 9 [ AUTO ]
Twr2wr(Different Rank)...............: 7 [ AUTO ]
Twr2rd(Different Rank)...............: 8 [ AUTO ]
Trd2wr(Same/Diff Rank)...............: 8 [ AUTO ]


Motherboard Voltage Control
Voltage Type...............
CPU
CPU Vcore............................: 1.25625V
CPU Termination….....................: 1.220V
CPU PLL..............................: 1.570V
CPU Referen..........................: 0.760V [ AUTO ]


MCH/ICH
MCH Core.............................: 1.240V 
MCH Reference........................: 0.760V [ AUTO ]
MCH/DRAM Ref.........................: 0.750V [ AUTO ]
ICH I/O......................….......: 1.570V 


DRAM
DRAM Voltage ........................: 1.880V
DRAM Termination ....................: 0.750V [ AUTO ]
Ch-A DATA VRef.......................: 0.750V [ AUTO ]
Ch-B DATA VRef.......................: 0.750V [ AUTO ]
Ch-A Address VRef....................: 0.750V [ AUTO ]
Ch-B Address VRef....................: 0.750V [ AUTO ]

Advanced Settings
Limit CPUID Max. to 3...............: [ DISABLED ]
No-Execute Memory Protect...........: [ ENABLED ]
Load-Line Calibration...............: [ DISABLED ]
CPU Enhanced Halt (C1E).............: [ DISABLED ] 
CPU Thermal Monitor 2(TM2) .........: [ ENABLED ]
CPU EIST Function...................: [ DISABLED ] 
Virtualization Technology...........: [ ENABLED ] 

USB Legacy Support..................: [ DISABLED ]

[Lsdmeasap]

What are you shooting for, higher FSB or overall speed of your CPU? I guess maybe with stock cooling you may not want to push it much further right?

[ghost707]

I am going to install a Ximgmatek S1283 on the CPU this evening so I don't have to worry about CPU temps and can raise the CPU X up later just if it seems worth it. The side mount fan is blowing directly on to the northbridge and ram and both are just mildly warm (as in I could leave my "finger probe" on them all day long without any problem)

The 450 FSB works fine for me, so I am going to leave it.

I was just wondering about how much heat an increase in frequency (without an increase in voltage) adds.

And I was going to get your thoughts on the RAM advanced timings as well, I wasn't too sure about what I could change. I know through testing, so far, that 8 is the lowest I can go on Static tRead.

Thanks much for your help - always appreciated.

[gampamu]

From what I have seen, the frequency of the CPU effect on the CPU temperature only to a small degree, compared to the effects of the vcore.

I have been playing around with a QX9600 for a couple of days on my EP45-UD3P, a board very similar to yours except it uses DDR2's. Perhaps we can trade some notes.

I am finding these QX's run quite hot. 10-15 degrees hotter than my previous chip, the Q6600, at the same vcores! Not much overclocking would be advisable using the stock cooler. Getting the Ximgmatek S1283 was a good choice. It performs on par with some of the best air-coolers such as the TRUE (which I have) at about half the cost.

[ghost707]

Hello gampamu,
Life intruded on me this evening, so did not have a chance to pick up my cooler.
I think what I will try is dropping the CPU down to around 3 GHZ run some tests and watch the temps, then bump it up to @3.3GHZ and then @3.6GHZ (all at the same voltage) and see what I can see. If my temps approach 70c I will back off.
Currently with the Ram testing, I have been running it @3.15GHZ.

Let me know what you find as well.

Thanks.

Eric.

[gampamu]

So far, I have been able to run my chip stable at 3.6G with 1.25V, 3.7G with 1.2875V, 3.8G with 1.325V and 3.9G with 1.3625V, experimenting with 389-400FSB and 8-10x multiplier. 1.22V CPU Termination/ 1.16V MCH core was used throughout running 4x1G Kingston 1150 DDR2's. The stability was tested using 20 passes of the IntelBurnTest at the maximum stress setting.

A bit disappointed so much vcore was needed for higher clocks, but hopefully they could be reduced with further tweaks.

[profJim]

Using your 3.60GHz (8x450) setup, please post a Memset screen-shot using the SPD and ">>" tabs. It would help if you also included the "CPU" main screen from cpu-z.

I would do some extended stress/stability testing using Prime95 Blend, Small FFT and Large FFT. Each test should run for 8 - 12 hours minimum.
OCCT (v3.01) and Orthos can also be used.
I particularly like OCCT's built-in graphing capabilities for monitoring temperatures and voltages for the duration of each test.

I run Intel BurnTest for 10 - 20 loops as my initial test, as this test only takes 20 - 40 minutes (or less).

Your primary timings are tight for 1500MHz memory speeds. I've never seen tRAS = 15 at these ddr3 speeds, it is usually set to 20 or a bit higher.

Once your system is completely stable, be sure to save your bios settings using the SAVE COMOS to BIOS option (F11) in the main bios screen. If you're not familiar with saving and loading multiple bios profiles, see this post for additional information.

[gampamu]

Agree with profJim regarding the need for a variety of stress tests for 100% stablility. I have seen IBT stable settings fail Prime (and vice verse). I use the IBT exclusively when experimenting with a new chip and exploring its capabilities. For settings I intend to use 24x7, I follow up with overnight Prime small FFT and custom 2048-4096 and fine tune as necessary.

[ghost707]

Thanks for the input guys.

I just got through transferring the guts out of my daily use/internet computer into my Antec 900 case. Since the outside temperatures have been up to 106 degrees F here in Austin, it is getting warmer upstairs where my office is. 78 F downstairs and 81 upstairs. I could hear the fan on my old 7900 GT going full out - so it was a great excuse to buy a CS Sniper for my gaming rig.

My AC works great but costs a fortune to keep the house cool.

I should have the gaming computer up and running in a few hours and will post some shots for you.

The guys at Tom's Hardware gave me the idea for the timings.
I am not sure how long they tested it with their settings (1667 @7 7 7 15) but I figured I would give it a go and see what happens.

Here is the article from Tom's Hardware - see second table on page.
Overclocking and Latency Results - Review Tom's Hardware : Mainstream-Ready? DDR3-1600 Shootout

[ghost707]

Got the system in the new case and tried some tests.

Running IBT did not like the 15 tRAS.
Upped it to 20 and IBT ran for about a minute then system rebooted.
Dropped the FSB down to 430 and I had IBT run 5 passes with no problems.
I have a Xigmate Dark Knight cooler installed on the CPU. One of the cores is running warm, so I need to get a handle on the real core temps.
OCCT and Realtemp are showing different temps.

OCCT is only showing 1.6V on the 12V output, although Easytune shows it at just over 12V - not sure what to make of that.

Here is the screenshot of where I stand now.