Another over clocking Thread. (Alienware I860 over clocked to 3.586GHZ, needing direc

Another over clocking Thread. (Alienware I860 over clocked to 3.586GHZ, needing direction).

Ok first of all..I am a total Newb. I have been out of computers for several years and didn’t even know the difference between a regular quad core and an icore a few weeks ago. (for the most part)
I learned everything I needed using Google and reading guides....but it was really really hard since the Alienware bios uses non-standard terminology in their bios.
With some bravery and a bit of luck..I have pretty much got the bios figured out with only one “oops” close call where something was labeled “ratio” and was actually a multiplier value..(Resulted in me over clocking the RAM to over 1900mhz and failure to even be able to get back into the bios to correct….corrected with 10 minute unplug/depower maneuver..although there does appear to be a re-set jumper on the mother board..but I digress).

I am now seeking some more advanced guidance on where to go from here…and when to call it a day on this little project. Here are the details below:

Manufacturer: Alienware Aurora R2
Chipset P55
Bios: A04
Actual mobo manufacturer: Foxconn
CPU: I860
Ram:
2x2 Samsung PC 10600 8-8-8-1
1x1 (off brand) PC10600 8-8-8-1

Cooling: H20 liquid cooling (I think it’s made by asteck or whatever they are called) seems very efficient.

Current settings I’m using:
Spread Spectrum: Disabled
Turbo Boast: enabled
Hyper-threading: enabled
Speed step (power saving down clocking): enabled

CPU multiplier is locked at 22, can’t do anything about that one.
Blck: 163
DRAM Issues:
I was running stable at 10x160 for a nice Ram OC to 1600mhz at 9-9-9-25-1…it was actually pretty stable at 8-8-8-24-1 also. I got memory dump error messages at BLK of 162 so I had to change the DRAM multiplier to 8x163 (after first screwing it up once and setting it to 12x163) so am now running stable ram @ 1304mhz with settings back at 8-8-8-24-1 (will try and reduce/tweak these later).
At 164x22 (3.586ghz) I get errors/crashes when stress testing under Prime 95. I know the issue is not the ram because it ran at much faster settings when I was at 160x10 on it….
So……I assume I am now needing more voltage to the CPU?
Am I correct in that assumption?

I really do not want to over-volt this box so my project for tonight is to disable Hyperthreading (I hear that frees up voltage and heat issues to run the BLCK higher…… does that sound about right)? And see how high that can take me.

Also…what is this DMI setting? I know it’s the Direct Memory interface but I really don’t know how it relates. It has three settings. Auto. 4.8ghz and 4.2ghz. At auto..its currently running at well over 5.4ghz (if memory serves me I’m not in front of my PC right now but you get the idea) so I tried to lock it back down at the 4.8ghz level using the settings….no dice..it appears to OC even when setting is manually changed. Explanations Please? Tips? Could this be the barrier that’s causing instability? Much appreciated
Core temps shows my temps maxing out at around 67 C at 3.586ghz with all 8threads going and all 4 cores under 100% load in Prime 95. With turbo still enabled it automatically scales up to 4.238ghz in single threaded mode, but spends most of its time running between 3.749ghz to 4.075ghz (using 2 or 3 of the cores).

Like I said, stable at this point and I plan to disable HT tonight for a big more head room.

All advice and comments welcomed. I do not want to over volte and I do not want to disable turbo mode or speed step for this box, as I don’t see the benefits of running that way...even if it gets me a higher OC. (comments also welcomed on my thinking here).

Thanks
Allen

Just FYI info below, nothing really helpful

CPU is "Intel Core i7 860" It's a quad core with HyperTreading (yes, it's back with a vengence).
DMI is "direct media interface" the link between the NB and the SB. Intel effectively moved the NB onto the the lower range of the "Core i series" (Core i3, Core i5, Core i7) CPU. Don't mess with it (I think...)

HT isn't too bad of a thing to have, though you will be very hard pressed to even exceede the 4 threads your quad core can execute already.

jeremyshaw said:

DMI is "direct media interface" the link between the NB and the SB. Intel effectively moved the NB onto the the lower range of the "Core i series" (Core i3, Core i5, Core i7) CPU. Don't mess with it (I think...)
.

Click to expand...

That probably explains why even though i manaully try and lock it in at 4.8ghz it still overclocks itself when i increase the FSB.

I remember reading some articles about this and the uncore (built in pci-e controller) on these chips creating a voltage drain that makes it necssary to add more voltage to get an equal OC to an 1366 based I7 set up....but wtih the benifits of lower latencies clock for clock... (much of it is over my head but i struggle to get the "gist" of it"). Ill set it back to auto????

Some of the benchmarks i have seen comparing the I5 750 to the I7 860 seem to minimized the importance of hyperthreading as the two chips bench nearly the same in most tests...on that line of thinking..i had concluded the system performance would benifit more from a higher OC made possible by disabling it then it would by a lower clock with it left on.... Thoughts?

Also..anyone have any additional helpful tricks or responses to the original post...keep em coming please!

Edit: A BLCK of around 160 is about all the alienware will do on stock voltage..its got great water coolign so i am sure she can go higher with an over volt but thats not for me..im sticking with 3.533GHZ..not bad tough as it the Turbo mode it lives between 3.7GHZ and 4.1GHZ on stock voltage and stable....

The ram is cheap and only rated for 10700 but all 4 sticks are running at 1600 (160x10 in the DRAM rations settings) without a hicough.

My brother has one that came with an I650 and a 5770 he got for $880 and his runs at 160x25 for a nice 4.0ghz OC and his turbos up to about 4.2ghz also, his ram humms along at 1600mhz without any issues as well.

Not bad, i ended up paying $1,120 for mine and he paid $880 for his including tax and shipping)