Socket 771 Mod Xeon X5460 GA-P35-DS3L Overclock

[profJim]

Step back? No way!!

It's best to post your bios settings template along with your screen-shot if there are any problems.
What is your 3.90GHz cpu core voltage?
Going from 3.80GHz to 3.90GHz or higher will probably require higher cpu core voltages with each new step, possibly 3 - 5 clicks higher!!!
In your bios each cpu core increase is 1/160th of a volt (i.e. 0.00625 volts) higher than the previous setting.

Before you go any further you need to do two important things:

1. verify that your cooling fans are connected to the correct fan headers
2. lower the cpu core temperatures

The attached picture shows the fan headers for your P35-DS3L motherboard.
As I recall, the SysFan_1 header runs the attached fan at ~ 50% of the rated fan speed.
On my system HWiNfO reports fan speed for 3 connected fans: CPU, PSU and Fan4, where PSU is the PWR fan header.

The CPU fan header should power both of your Noctua NF-P12 fans that are (should be?) attached to the cpu cooler.
Are you using a Y-fan splitter cable to connect both of these fans to one header?
If yes, is one of the yellow splitter wires disconnected from one male end connector of the splitter cable?

This shows that one fan connector does not have the yellow fan speed reporting wire.
Do NOT use this type of cable with the exposed male connectors, it can cause a short circuit if the male end comes unplugged.

It is much safer to use a splitter cable similar to the picture below.



Your cpu cooler performs similar to Thermalright TRUE 120 cooler models and your cpu core temperatures should be at least 10^o(C) lower.
Do the following checks:

1. are both cpu cooler fans running at full speed (i.e. about 1300 rpm)?
2. are both fans pushing and pulling air in the same direction out of your computer case?
3. is your cpu cooler attached securely?
4. is your cpu cooling making full contact with the top of your cpu?
5. is the thermal grease contact patter correct?
6. is there too much or too little thermal grease (aka TIM)?

Check out Best Thermal Paste Application Methods and Thermal Grease Patterns -- BenchmarkReviews for more information.

Obviously you will need to reapply new TIM after you have inspected and properly cleaned the contact surfaces.

[lukevega]

Cheers for all the information! You really are thorough!

I'm just about to go to bed but I'll check up on things during revision breaks tomorrow.

I cleaned out my case completely a couple of weeks ago when I undertook the 775 to 771 mod so everything should be clean, I reapplied thermal paste and tidied up my cables so most things should be in order.

I think I may have one of the fans working at 50% power - plugged into the wrong supply? No splitters for the 3 noctua fans but 2 case fans sharing a PSU power cable.

Pretty sure I have the fans pointing in the right directions but find it hard to check :/

Finally, I didn't upload the BIOS settings as I kept everything the same except for the FSB (didn't want to change too many settings like you recommended previously so kept it simple). What vcore do you think I should try next? Also I've seen a vdroop pencil mod for my MB - do you think I should give that a shot?

Cheers profJim and goodnight!

P.S. I was browsing through your graphics card modification photos - that's some awesome work right there, I hope one day I have the tools and skills to be able to do that stuff too!

[profJim]

If your setting is CPU Voltage Control_______ [1.38750V] go up 4 steps to 1.41250 (ouch!!).
This is what happens with most older processors once the overclock reaches very high levels.

I highly recommend that you see if you can find out why your cpu core temperatures are so high before running IBT or Prime85 again.

Also make sure that both cpu cooling fans are running at full speed.
Get creative with some toilet paper to verify the air flow direction of both fans but be careful with the fan that is pushing air INTO the cooling fins.

Thanks for the compliment.
When I started my MSI N460GTX Hawk overclocking thread I knew next to nothing about GPU tweaking and overclocking.
By the end of my thread I REALLY knew how much more I needed to learn.

[profJim]

oopsie, I forgot to include this cpu cooling comparison chart:

from: 6-Way Intel Core i7 CPU Cooler Roundup - Legit Reviews Our First Intel Core i7 CPU Cooler Roundup

Too bad my Noctua NH-C12P downdraft cooler didn't do as well as your NH-U12P cooler.

[profJim]

Good morning!

How's this for a first thing in the morning post?
from one of my earlier posts:


Making assumptions can be dangerous but I'm going to assume that certain members have a good sense of humor.

Q: profJim, what is your reference brand of TP?
A: Any 2-ply, scented, quilted brand that I have.

Q: Is one to assume this is to be accomplished using fresh off the roll, dry and FMF, sheets?
A: Use whatever makes you happy. FMF? flow microfluorometry?

Parsec said "Filters restrict air flow a lot, at least 50%."
This sounds high but it might be true.

The attached picture isn't quite what I have in mind, but it shows the fan's airflow.



SPECIAL OFFER:

Call in the next 20 minutes and order my patented, custom made TP Holder.
This is a high quality tube that works perfectly with any brand of toilet paper.
The price is only $19.99 plus shipping, processing and handling BUT WAIT!! You can get a second TP holder for free, all you have to do is pay additional shipping, processing and handling charges.

Operators are standing by, just call 1-555-IMA-SUCKER.


Please specify your choice of colors.

**edit**
Sorry, the response has been overwhelming and the TP Holder is sold out and is no longer available.

[lukevega]

A good morning indeed!

So I checked the airflow (using a receipt!) and everything appears to be flowing in the correct (way I thought it should go) direction.

I'm not using a Y-fan splitter cable but did have one of the Noctua NF-P12 fans connected to SysFan_2 which was running 50% slower so I now have one fan connected to SysFan_1 and the other to CPU_Fan, both working at ~1300rpm.

I had to double check my cooler and fans after you said mine was one letter different from yours!

Here is a picture of my setup :)



Should I increase the vcore to 1.41250 and re-run the Intel Burn Test, check temps and if they're poor re-check thermal paste and re-add according to guide you sent me?

Also, any thoughts on the vdroop pencil mod? (GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L VOLT MOD - PENCIL MOD - HARD MOD FOUND! - Overclockers Forums)

I can't believe I slept through the custom TP holder offer!!!

Thanks again for the continued support!

Lukevega

[lukevega]

So I upped the vcore to 1.41250 and set FSB to 411MHz.

Here are the idle temps:



Not sure if I should go ahead and stress test yet so I'll wait for your reply.

Robust Graphics Booster___________ [Auto]
CPU Clock Ratio ____________ [9]
Fine Clock Ratio ____________[0.5]
CPU Host Clock Control_ [Enabled]
CPU Host Frequency (MHz)__________ [411]
PCI Express Frequency (Mhz)_______ [101]
C.I.A. 2__________________________ [Disabled]
Performance Enhance = [Standard]
System Memory Multiplier (SPD)____ [2.00]
DRAM Timing Selectable_______ SPD __ [Manual]
 
CAS Latency Time_______________5_[5]
Dram RAS# to CAS# Delay________5_[5]
Dram RAS# Precharge Delay_______5_[5]
Precharge Delay (tRAS)__________18_[18]
 
ACT to ACT Delay (tRRD)_________3_Auto
Rank Write to READ Delay________3_Auto
Write to Precharge Delay_________6_Auto
Refresh to ACT Delay____________52_Auto
Read to Precharge Delay__________3_Auto
Static tRead Value_______________8_8
Static tRead Phase Adjust_________0_Auto
 
System Voltage Control____ [Manual]
DDR2 OverVoltage Control__ [+0.200V]
PCI-E OverVoltage Control_ [+0.1V]
FSB OverVoltage Control___ [+0.1V]
(G)MCH OverVoltage Control [+0.1V]
CPU Voltage Control_______ [1.41250V]
Normal CPU Vcore________1.23750V
 
Limit CPUID Max. to 3....................: [Disabled]
No-Execute Memory Protect............: [Disabled]
CPU Enhanced Halt (C1E)...............: [Disabled]
CPU Thermal Monitor 2(TM2) ..........: [Enabled]
CPU EIST Function.........................: [Disabled]
Virtualization Technology................: [Disabled]
 
Integrated Peripherals
Legacy USB Storage Detect___________________[Disabled]

How do we proceed profJim?

[lukevega]

Sooo I got a little hasty and went for a Prime95 test - ran for a minute then BSOD:



I'm thinking that maybe my temps are high because there's still some dust between the fins of the heatsink that I couldn't get off with the compressed air and vacuum cleaner. Or maybe because I didn't apply the thermal grease properly (haven't checked this yet) or maybe even I may not have screwed the heatsink down tightly enough?!

On the plus side I re-arranged my PCI SATA 6Gbps card and cable for marginally better air flow (although I'm also unsure if my setup is optimal for this!)

Anyways, I bumped up the vcore to 1.41875 (too high?!) and am awaiting further instruction.

Hope you've had a better day than me profJim!

P.S. I read through the thermal paste guide you sent me and wasn't sure what the best method of application was? Also, I have some Noctua NT-H1 and Arctic Cooling MX-2 (both 7 years old) and some brand new Arctic Silver 5 thermal paste - I think I used the MX-2 when I re-built the machine a few weeks ago - Did I make the right choice?

[profJim]

There is a good chance that the BSOD 0x124 BSOD was caused by cpu temperatures were too high.
Until you can improve cpu cooling, you might be at the edge of stability.
Lowering the cpu core voltage setting by one or two clicks might prevent this BSOD, but it's unlikely that you will be able to overclock higher.
Improving cpu cooling might allow higher overclocks.

I've found that overclocking requires little of no cpu core voltage increases initially, but at some point you will need to make larger voltage increases just to overclock 100MHz higher. The EP45 motherboards have better quality hardware and additional bios settings that will provide higher overclocks with the same cpu.
Check out AnandTech | Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P - P45 at its Finest, page 6 for more information.

Use HWiNFO64 with sensor logging enabled so that you can verify voltages and temperatures during the test.

A web search using: xeon x5460 maximum safe voltage might provide information that provides volage guidelines.

A web search using: bsod 0x124 will provide links that can help solve the problem.
In BSOD error message WHEA_UNCORRECTABLE_ERROR with the 0x124 BSOD, they say:

This is usually heat related, defective hardware, memory or even processor though it is"possible" that it is driver related (rare).

TIM application method

I use the small grain of rice in the middle of the cpu where I manually seat the heatsink and then remove the heatsink to verify proper application with adequate coverage and little or no excess TIM. I then thoroughly clean both surfaces with 90% pure rubbing alcohol before I reapply the TIM and mount the heatsink.

Your 7 year old Noctua NT-H1 and Arctic Cooling MX-2 are both very good but your newer Arctic Silver 5 TIM is probably a better option. The contents of both of the older TIM tubes might have settled and they might not provide the proper misture.
The following is from the AS5 website Arctic Silver Incorporated - Arctic Silver 5:

Due to the unique shape and sizes of the particles in Arctic Silver 5's conductive matrix, it will take a up to 200 hours and several thermal cycles to achieve maximum particle to particle thermal conduction and for the heatsink to CPU interface to reach maximum conductivity.

Some have claimed that there will be a 2 - 4^o(C) improvement in cpu core temperatures after the 200 hour heating/cooling cycle has completed.

P35-DS3L LLC pencil mod

I'm familiar with P35-DS3L pencil mod to lower cpu vdroop thread but have reservations about using high load line calibration settings. AnandTech stirred up a lot of controversy with their AnandTech | Overclocking Intel's New 45nm QX9650: The Rules Have Changed article. Pages 5 and 6 have useful information about vdroop and LLC.


My P35-DS3L cooling setup with my E6300 (R0) 3.50GHz overclock uses a single 1800 rpm, 89 CFM fan with my Balder cpu heatsink and the fan above the heatsink is exhausting air out of the case. I remove the heatsink fan 2 or 3 times a year to use a portable 12 volt air compressor to air blast the build up from the fan, heatsink fins and the inside of the case.

Standard fan airflow direction

input airflow from the open side of the fan <-------> output airflow from the side with the arms

[lukevega]

Thanks profJim.

I'll read the articles when I get a break today!

Just wondering... How best do I clean between the find of my cooler and is it a lint-free cloth I need to use with the alcohol to clean the TIM off?