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  • Gulftown, Bloomfield, Lynnfield, Clarkdale, SB Overclocking Guides (1155/1156/1366)

    Many thanks to Miahallen for taking the time to put these guides together!!

    He's an avid overclocker around the community, and the GOOC 2009 North American overclock champion. He just published a few very nice guides on overclocking with the latest Gigabyte motherboards and hopes that they may help everyone to obtain their goals.


    Intel Core i3, i5, and i7 – Buyers Guide


    Step Overclocking Guide – Bloomfield and Gulftown


    3 Step Overclocking Guide – Lynnfield


    3 Step Overclocking Guide – Clarkdale


    3 Step Overclocking Guide - Sandy Bridge *New*


    If you have any questions or comments on his guides feel free to post them here and I'm sure they will be answered!


    Thanks again for all your hard work Miahallen!!
    Last edited by Lsdmeasap; 01-05-2011, 11:14 PM.

  • #2
    Re: Gulftown, Bloomfield, Lynnfield, Clarkdale Overclocking Guides (1156/1366)

    Awesome, just what this forum needed
    You're welcome
    The post counter is not an intelligence meter!



    Heat Team IRONMODS

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    • #3
      Re: Gulftown, Bloomfield, Lynnfield, Clarkdale Overclocking Guides (1156/1366)

      For sure, the guide we have now is getting old :)

      Thanks

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Gulftown, Bloomfield, Lynnfield, Clarkdale Overclocking Guides (1156/1366)

        Viewed the clarkdale part quickly, and it seems to be a reasonable guide. There is also some parts I don't like too much, but in general it's okay.

        What I don't like is that he is aiming quite high, the part where anything below 105c is okay for him and using IBT for testing, but that's my conservative opinion, irl. it might be valid.
        - Z68X-UD3H-B3(rev 1.3), bios F12
        - I5-2500k [3148C059], cooled by scythe mugen2 rev.b with 1500rpm pwm-fan on cpufan header.
        - 8G(2x4G) Corsair Vengeance LP CML8GX3M2A1600C9W,Low profile/Low voltage, DDR1600/C9-1.35v. Slots 1&2.
        - 16G(4x4G) Samsung M378B5273DH0-CH9 1333 @ 2133-c11. w1.55v

        - Seasonic M12D SS850-EM , 850W Semi-Modular PSU with 80A at 12V.
        - 2x EVGA GeForce GTX285-1GB in SLi, 4x 6pin power and bridge connected.[PCIEX_16 and PCIEX_8]
        - Hauppauge HVR2200 PCIE 1x tv-tuner card.[PCIEX1_3]
        - Intel controller in raid mode.
        - 2x WD 500G blacks in raid0 on intel port 0-1.
        - 1x WD 1000G black on intel port 2.
        - 1x OCZ Vertex2 (32nm) on intel port 3.
        - 1x Optiarc DVDRW on intel port 4.
        - 1x Samsung 500G on marvell port 0.
        - 24" LCD monitor @ Geforce 0, lower HDMI port.
        - 17" LCD monitor @ Geforce 0, upper HDMI port.
        - 19" LCD tv @ intel/onboard HDMI.
        - 4ch analoge speakers, cambridge dtt set.
        - internal spdif header connected to Geforce 0.
        - front usb connected.
        - front ac97 connected.
        - front cardreader (usb) connected.
        - rear 4x usb bracket.
        - ms media keyboard, ms comfort mouse. usb, wired.
        - w7x64-sp1.


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        • #5
          Re: Gulftown, Bloomfield, Lynnfield, Clarkdale Overclocking Guides (1156/1366)

          Definitely very well written, clear, concise and ideal for the beginner as a good explanation of the various settings, voltages and values are given.

          Just to make it clear, I'm not knocking an individual's OC methods but , however I must say, in all honestly that isolating components one by one has never been anything but a big fat waste of time for me. From AMD64 single core systems, to X2 dual cores, socket 775 P4, Core2 Duo, Core 2 Quad and now i5 760 I have never been able to first find the absolute max of a certain component, then another and another and end up having them all work at the isolated max speeds with any form of stability what so ever. I could have been unlucky, but that's my experience.

          To give an example: my last system consisted of an EP45-UD3P, E7400 and 4GB of Corsair DDR-1066. The FSB using this CPU topped out at 462MHz (I still have all this written down in the mobo manual in the "notes" section). The RAM was more than happy to run at DDR-1180 ish with the CPU multi dialled down and the FSB/RAM multi being tweaked upward. Putting all this together however was impossible. I already knew that the CPU was capable of at least 3.8GHz on air with 1.45V as I bought it as a known quantity. However after considerable effort, it just was not possible to lower the CPU multi and get to an approximate 3.8GHz by adjusting the FSB to its "Max stable frequency". It turned out that the "Max my FSB will run at" is not that at all but merely "the max my FSB will run at when everything else is dialled down, which is a bit useless as I'm not going to EVER be using a 6x multiplier and sub DDR1 speed RAM".

          Maybe I'm impatient, but I prefer to OC by feel. I know with a reasonable level of accuracy what all day OC I should be able to achieve with a given group of components. I also know that RAM over clocking is rarely all that productive in that it makes very little real world non synthetic difference when you consider the somewhat limited OC headroom on most modern kits at sensible 24/7 voltages. I'm not saying this is the right way for everyone to do it, and also those with limited experience may want to take it a bit slower. Having said that, I already have my i5 760 running 4GHz 12 hours Prime Large FFT stable. It took a couple of restarts to tweak voltages and the same amount of initial tests using IBT to arrive at rough voltages of 1.3V QPI/VTT, 1.9V PLL and 1.3250V Vcore with LLC on. Ram is being run at the rated 1.65V (1.66V in BIOS ofc), just underthe rated speed due to a Bclck of 191 and a RAM multi of 8 (CPU multi is 21). Now I know that these settings are somewhat "stable" as far as 12 hours of prime are concerned I can first concentrate on upping the CPU speed further while staying within my personal limits of 85-90c core temp while Priming and a max Vcore of 1.4V with LLC on. Note that if temps stay low, I may go above 1.4V if it seems worthwhile. After that and when time allows I'll try a max Bclck while maintaining at least 4GHz on the CPU. All these "stable" overclocks will be saved as profiles.

          Doing this also means that when I'm not actively over clocking I can at least be using a relatively stable over clocked system within hours of a build.
          Coolermaster CM 690 II advance Case
          Corsair HX750 (CWT, 91%(80+ Gold rated @230V) single 62A 12V rail
          P55A-UD4 v2.0 @ F14
          Core i5 760 @ 20 x 201, 4.02GHz
          TRUE Black with a single Noctua NF-P12 pumping out 55 CFM @ 19db .
          2 x 2GB Mushkin Ridgeback (996902), @ 7-10-8-27, 2010-DDR, 1.66v
          2 x Gigabyte GTX 460 1024MB in SLI (Pre OC'd to 715MHz core and 1800MHz VRAM) @ 850 Core / 4100 Mem.
          Intel X25-M Boot Drive (OS and Programs) 200MB/s Read & 90MB/s Write
          Corsair X32 200MB/s Read & 100MB/s Write
          WD Caviar Blue 640GB C (Steam, Games, Storage, Temp Files & Folders, etc)
          Samsung F3 500GB Backup/Images
          Noctua 1300RPM 19dB case fan (rear extraction)
          3 x 140 MM Coolermaster LED fans (one front intake, one top extraction, one side intake)
          Dell Ultra Sharp 2209WAf E-IPS @ 1680x1050

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Gulftown, Bloomfield, Lynnfield, Clarkdale Overclocking Guides (1156/1366)

            Originally posted by Psycho101 View Post
            Doing this also means that when I'm not actively over clocking I can at least be using a relatively stable over clocked system within hours of a build.
            Following my guides (to the T) from start to finish should take roughly 8 hours.

            I sympathize with your arguement, that is how I OC all the time for benching, but not when I'm OCing a 24/7 rig....in that case, your arguement is not logical....it's just guesswork. If you booted up for the first time with the settings which you believe should be about stable (as you suggest)....but it's not stable, then you'll have no idea for certian what is causing the instability. You are left to back-track and troubleshoot things one at a time anyway (the point of my method), or make guesses based on your past experience or advice you'd heard. This type of troubleshooting is MUCH more time consuming.

            Based on what you've said, I cannot comment on your past experiences with LGA775...but I can say it was a much different beast. I have aleady had dozens of users reporting back about success using this guide....IT WORKS! Try it :)
            The post counter is not an intelligence meter!



            Heat Team IRONMODS

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            • #7
              Re: Gulftown, Bloomfield, Lynnfield, Clarkdale Overclocking Guides (1156/1366)

              Problem is, finding "Max Bclk" and then testing it with three runs of LinX that pass don't mean you've found a "Stable" max Bclk, just one that's stable for 3 runs of LinX.

              I've tried guides like this before and they just don't pan out howI'd expect. Not on Socket 775, 1156, 476, 754, 939, 940 or AM2. One tests each "Maxed" component for a couple of LinPak runs, then puts the maximums all together and the system fails either an extended LinX run or fails Prime. This means I've just wasted several hours fannying around raising frequencies by minute amounts, booting, testing, rebooting, entering the BIOS etc. For me there are better faster and more effective ways.

              As for backtracking, if the above scenario plays out, you're still going to have to back track. There really isn't much back tracking to be done though, especially with Lynfield. There are only a few settings and voltages to tweak. They have a fixed Uncore Multi, so all that could possibly be the problem are:
              Vcore
              QPI/VTT
              CPU PLL
              VDIMM
              RAM Timings

              If you've left the RAM alone, as I have then you can remove the last two from the list.

              When I said "I can at least be using a relatively stable over clocked system within hours of a build." I meant 2 hours tops, "relative meaning it'll pass 20 runs of LinX. When I have the time I'll then reduce voltages incrementally as far as possible. Then it's time to run Prime. 12 Hours of both Large and Small FFT, followed by 24 hours of Blend and then the extraction of some large RAR files of different file sizes. After all that the only real test of "stability" is to use the machine.

              I actually don't like the word "Stability", it's a misnomer. There's no such thing as a "100% stable OC". One can only prove stability in a certain scenario such as "24 hour Prime Stable" or "LinX 50 runs stable". I've litterally had times when a system will pass Prime for 24 hours and complete 50 runs of IBT/LinX but will not extract a large RAR file without insisting the RAR is corrupt, or won't install programs from DVD without throwing up CRC errors. Again, backtracking is minimal, as experience usually wins out.

              I'm not saying that guides like this don't have a place, they do. Like I said, you can't write down knowledge gaind from years of practical experiance based on good judgement, you have to write down a "First do this, then do that" format because that's what a guide is. Me writing a guide by saying "Increase the Bclk to X because you've used this board before with this CPU combo and know within a tight range of MHZ what is possible" would be both foolish and useless because the reader will likely have little to no experience at over clocking if they are seeking to read a guide on the subject.
              Coolermaster CM 690 II advance Case
              Corsair HX750 (CWT, 91%(80+ Gold rated @230V) single 62A 12V rail
              P55A-UD4 v2.0 @ F14
              Core i5 760 @ 20 x 201, 4.02GHz
              TRUE Black with a single Noctua NF-P12 pumping out 55 CFM @ 19db .
              2 x 2GB Mushkin Ridgeback (996902), @ 7-10-8-27, 2010-DDR, 1.66v
              2 x Gigabyte GTX 460 1024MB in SLI (Pre OC'd to 715MHz core and 1800MHz VRAM) @ 850 Core / 4100 Mem.
              Intel X25-M Boot Drive (OS and Programs) 200MB/s Read & 90MB/s Write
              Corsair X32 200MB/s Read & 100MB/s Write
              WD Caviar Blue 640GB C (Steam, Games, Storage, Temp Files & Folders, etc)
              Samsung F3 500GB Backup/Images
              Noctua 1300RPM 19dB case fan (rear extraction)
              3 x 140 MM Coolermaster LED fans (one front intake, one top extraction, one side intake)
              Dell Ultra Sharp 2209WAf E-IPS @ 1680x1050

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Gulftown, Bloomfield, Lynnfield, Clarkdale Overclocking Guides (1156/1366)

                Well I appreciate the guides

                I know, you probably don't mean to bash, but it sounds like you are in a way and that doesn't leave people with positive thoughts in mind, so they may not even try out these guides.

                I still have not had time to read through them all, but I think overclocking and stability would really be different guides. Many people can't even get an overclock started, and for that reason I really appreciate guides like this, they help people get going!

                As for stability, that is something users would need to look to others for help with or other threads where stability is more of a discussion. As I said though I have not read these guides fully yet so if stability is a larger part of the guides, more than overclocking, you may have a valid discussion here.

                * This is not meant to bash you either, I just saw your comments and it made me feel like you would be turning others away from giving these guides a chance *

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Gulftown, Bloomfield, Lynnfield, Clarkdale Overclocking Guides (1156/1366)

                  I've said several times that they're fine for beginners, and I'm not trying to discourage anyone from reading them. I was told the way I do things is illogical, guess work and requires back tracking. I was pointing out thast there is potential for just the same amount of back tracking, especially using a poultry 3 runs of IBT for testing.

                  Just giving my honest feedback. People are free to make up their own minds.
                  Coolermaster CM 690 II advance Case
                  Corsair HX750 (CWT, 91%(80+ Gold rated @230V) single 62A 12V rail
                  P55A-UD4 v2.0 @ F14
                  Core i5 760 @ 20 x 201, 4.02GHz
                  TRUE Black with a single Noctua NF-P12 pumping out 55 CFM @ 19db .
                  2 x 2GB Mushkin Ridgeback (996902), @ 7-10-8-27, 2010-DDR, 1.66v
                  2 x Gigabyte GTX 460 1024MB in SLI (Pre OC'd to 715MHz core and 1800MHz VRAM) @ 850 Core / 4100 Mem.
                  Intel X25-M Boot Drive (OS and Programs) 200MB/s Read & 90MB/s Write
                  Corsair X32 200MB/s Read & 100MB/s Write
                  WD Caviar Blue 640GB C (Steam, Games, Storage, Temp Files & Folders, etc)
                  Samsung F3 500GB Backup/Images
                  Noctua 1300RPM 19dB case fan (rear extraction)
                  3 x 140 MM Coolermaster LED fans (one front intake, one top extraction, one side intake)
                  Dell Ultra Sharp 2209WAf E-IPS @ 1680x1050

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Gulftown, Bloomfield, Lynnfield, Clarkdale Overclocking Guides (1156/1366)

                    Straight out of the guides:
                    Determining methods for finding a stable overclock are highly controversial, everyone has their own definition of a stable system, but when I refer to “stable” in this guide, I am referring to the stability of your selected “stability test.” So for a power user or gamer who wants a reliable system that won’t ever crash due to an overclock pushed too far, you’d need to test with a program that will load all of the cores and threads applicable to your CPU, OCCT and IntelBurnTest are two popular choices. OCCT uses the same algorithm as Prime95 but has a more friendly interface. IntelBurnTest uses the Intel linpak binaries to stress the system and also has an easy to use interface. In this guide I may use testing that is insufficient in your opinion. It is only a guidline and if you feel more testing is necessary for your system, by all means feel free.
                    After you have found your highest stable speed to within 2MHz accuracy, lower the bclock by 2MHz and run your test again, this time let the test run for a full hour. If it passes the test - Congratulations! – you have found your highest reasonably stable bclock frequency.
                    This 1 hour test is repeated at the end of each of the three steps. ;)
                    The post counter is not an intelligence meter!



                    Heat Team IRONMODS

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Gulftown, Bloomfield, Lynnfield, Clarkdale Overclocking Guides (1156/1366)

                      Just to emphasize my thoughts mate, I think you have done a great job with those guides!

                      Everyone has their own method and as long as it works for them, it's a good method IMO. I am greatful personally for you writing them as they do give very good explanations for what various voltages do. Also for the beginner, as LSD says, it gives the extreme novice a starting point on how to get going on an OC. The guides are logically laid out and well presented. Sounds like a minor detail, but I also like the dark background. I find it much easier to read than white backgrounds with black writing.

                      I have used my method for as long as I can remember with immense success, however I am open minded to suggestions. For example I freely admit I've only built nine i7/i5/i3 systems, so the intro and voltage explanations were useful to help me clarify in my head what does what.

                      I also agree that the best "stability" test is using the system for what ever you do the most, be it 3D gaming, modeling, encoding or simply web browsing and word processing. The only reason I usually emphasize a vigorous testing regime (50 IBT runs and 24 hours total of Prime 95 as a minimum) is because I've had problems before where a slightly unstable system has corrupted my precious data. There were always backups, but unless one runs a RAID array with redundancy, there is usually some data loss as nobody really backs up every day, unfortunately.

                      Don't know if it's worth mentoining or adding to your guides, but having an image of the OS drive before you start clocking is a God-send, especially if clocking the RAM too.Since getting Acronis, I can now simply re-image a slightly corrupted OS in about 3 minutes... amazing. I'm a bit over cautious, but as I often deal with other people's PC's, you can never be too careful with another person's data.
                      Coolermaster CM 690 II advance Case
                      Corsair HX750 (CWT, 91%(80+ Gold rated @230V) single 62A 12V rail
                      P55A-UD4 v2.0 @ F14
                      Core i5 760 @ 20 x 201, 4.02GHz
                      TRUE Black with a single Noctua NF-P12 pumping out 55 CFM @ 19db .
                      2 x 2GB Mushkin Ridgeback (996902), @ 7-10-8-27, 2010-DDR, 1.66v
                      2 x Gigabyte GTX 460 1024MB in SLI (Pre OC'd to 715MHz core and 1800MHz VRAM) @ 850 Core / 4100 Mem.
                      Intel X25-M Boot Drive (OS and Programs) 200MB/s Read & 90MB/s Write
                      Corsair X32 200MB/s Read & 100MB/s Write
                      WD Caviar Blue 640GB C (Steam, Games, Storage, Temp Files & Folders, etc)
                      Samsung F3 500GB Backup/Images
                      Noctua 1300RPM 19dB case fan (rear extraction)
                      3 x 140 MM Coolermaster LED fans (one front intake, one top extraction, one side intake)
                      Dell Ultra Sharp 2209WAf E-IPS @ 1680x1050

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Gulftown, Bloomfield, Lynnfield, Clarkdale Overclocking Guides (1156/1366)

                        Yeah, I hear ya :)

                        Concerning the stability testing bit. I've had really mixed results....for instance I had a Q6600 that was 24hrs prime95 stable but would crash if I was encoding video and playing a gmae at the same time. Once I got it gaming/encoding sable I was happy. On the flip side, the next rig I built (QX9650) would crash in prime95 within 30 minutes (everythime) yet was 100% stable for my daily uses (including encoding/gaming). Since those experiences I've changed my views on stability testing a bit. But since I know that there are plenty of people who would be quite to disagree with me, I don't push my views in my guides, but leave it up to the individuals. My 3 loops/1hr recommendations in the guide were chosen in the interest of finding decent stability in a short amount of time.

                        Thanks for the feedback Psycho ;)
                        The post counter is not an intelligence meter!



                        Heat Team IRONMODS

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Gulftown, Bloomfield, Lynnfield, Clarkdale Overclocking Guides (1156/1366)

                          I agree, I've found the same thing myself with both my old Q8200 and my E7400. I was 24 hour pPrime Blend, 12 hour large AND small FFT stable along with 50 IBT runs, yet I could not extract any large RAR files without WinRAR stating the RAR was corrupt (it was actually perfectly fine). After some minor tweaking I discovered it was CPU Reference voltage causing the problem on the Quad ( I added an extra tick at default VTT then increased VTT back) and MCH Ref voltage on the Dual Core (took away three ticks at stock VTT then increased VTT back).

                          As you suggest, I do what ever stress tests reassure me that the system won't fall over just sitting on the desktop, then I use the PC for a little while. Again, this is why I always quote a 3 day wait after a build if the customer wants an over clocked system. I don't build many machines so I have the time to use each build as my main machine for a couple of days, simply watching TV progs, encoding/time-shifting TV and if they spec a decent GPU I game on it too.

                          Coolermaster CM 690 II advance Case
                          Corsair HX750 (CWT, 91%(80+ Gold rated @230V) single 62A 12V rail
                          P55A-UD4 v2.0 @ F14
                          Core i5 760 @ 20 x 201, 4.02GHz
                          TRUE Black with a single Noctua NF-P12 pumping out 55 CFM @ 19db .
                          2 x 2GB Mushkin Ridgeback (996902), @ 7-10-8-27, 2010-DDR, 1.66v
                          2 x Gigabyte GTX 460 1024MB in SLI (Pre OC'd to 715MHz core and 1800MHz VRAM) @ 850 Core / 4100 Mem.
                          Intel X25-M Boot Drive (OS and Programs) 200MB/s Read & 90MB/s Write
                          Corsair X32 200MB/s Read & 100MB/s Write
                          WD Caviar Blue 640GB C (Steam, Games, Storage, Temp Files & Folders, etc)
                          Samsung F3 500GB Backup/Images
                          Noctua 1300RPM 19dB case fan (rear extraction)
                          3 x 140 MM Coolermaster LED fans (one front intake, one top extraction, one side intake)
                          Dell Ultra Sharp 2209WAf E-IPS @ 1680x1050

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Gulftown, Bloomfield, Lynnfield, Clarkdale Overclocking Guides (1156/1366)

                            Originally posted by Psycho101 View Post
                            I agree, I've found the same thing myself with both my old Q8200 and my E7400. I was 24 hour pPrime Blend, 12 hour large AND small FFT stable along with 50 IBT runs, yet I could not extract any large RAR files without WinRAR stating the RAR was corrupt (it was actually perfectly fine). After some minor tweaking I discovered it was CPU Reference voltage causing the problem on the Quad ( I added an extra tick at default VTT then increased VTT back) and MCH Ref voltage on the Dual Core (took away three ticks at stock VTT then increased VTT back).

                            As you suggest, I do what ever stress tests reassure me that the system won't fall over just sitting on the desktop, then I use the PC for a little while. Again, this is why I always quote a 3 day wait after a build if the customer wants an over clocked system. I don't build many machines so I have the time to use each build as my main machine for a couple of days, simply watching TV progs, encoding/time-shifting TV and if they spec a decent GPU I game on it too.

                            OMG I was having this exact problem with rar files not extracting without crc errors with my overclocked IBT 20 pass stable E8400, but I followed your suggestion about tweaking cpu & mch ref voltage and viola, all errors are gone now!! Thank you so much for sharing this great info mate! I tried all sorts of stuffs to eliminate this error but all in vain(upping voltage didn't help but made things worse). This is probably one of the best piece of info I could ever find on entire internet. Sorry I'm bit too excited to write proper English now but hope you understood my gratitude. Again, THANK YOU!

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Gulftown, Bloomfield, Lynnfield, Clarkdale Overclocking Guides (1156/1366)

                              In Miahalen's guide:
                              My suggestion with QPI, is to set it to the lowest multiplier available (but not “slow mode”).
                              Recently saw a post by LSDmeASAP saying "Slow Mode" had been fixed for Bloomfield, but I'm finding nothing enlightening on it by Google search.

                              What is Slow Mode, and what is it useful for? High bclk? I can see a high bclk in a validation of nearly 252MHz and ram at 1007MHz, but what do you do with other bios settings to get there? Any insight welcome.....





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                              Ram = 3x2gig Corsair TR3X6G1600C8D G
                              Video = 2 X Palit GTX460 Sonic Platinum 1GB OC sli
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