Intel Core i7 920 Overclocking and Heat @ [H]

[Flexion]

Need some help overclocking for the first time later this year. I currently have a C0 i7-920 CPU and I want to get a stable safe overclock between 3.5-4.0Ghz. My parts will likely be:

1. Asus Rampage II Gene Mobo
2. Mega Shadow CPU Cooler
3. Silverstone FT02 PC Case
4. Three FT02 180mm Intake Fans / Two 120mm CPU Fans / One 120mm Exhaust Fan
5. XFX 5850
6. Corsair or Crucial RAM, 6-12GBs

Is it worth selling my Summer 2009 C0 CPU for a D0 on an air cooled only system? I was thinking of selling the C0 i7-920 CPU with my Noctua Dual Fan NH-U12 SE1366 CPU Cooler as a set. Get most of what I need for the D0, then aquire the CPU Cooler I really want, the Mega Shadow.

It's not really worth it to sell your C0, because you're talking about 100-200 MHz difference in overclockability tops. Also, not all D0s run on low volts, clock high, or run cooler. I've got one and I had to watercool it for 24/7 use at 4.0GHz, just to keep it under 75C full load. There are folks doing that with C0s on air, so YMMV. IMO it's not worth the trouble.

 

[SylarPowers]

It's not really worth it to sell your C0, because you're talking about 100-200 MHz difference in overclockability tops. Also, not all D0s run on low volts, clock high, or run cooler. I've got one and I had to watercool it for 24/7 use at 4.0GHz, just to keep it under 75C full load. There are folks doing that with C0s on air, so YMMV. IMO it's not worth the trouble.

Thanks. I'll keep the Mobo and CPU and just sell the Noctua CPU Cooler. I really want that Mega Shadow! If only for looks. Does that make me shallow?

An interesting thing is I looked at Mobos/CPUs today and mine are still the ones I like 6 months later. Lynnfield did nothing to change this, though I imagine there will be more Lynnfield than Bloomfield products to come.

 

[Makaveli@BETA]

It's not really worth it to sell your C0, because you're talking about 100-200 MHz difference in overclockability tops. Also, not all D0s run on low volts, clock high, or run cooler. I've got one and I had to watercool it for 24/7 use at 4.0GHz, just to keep it under 75C full load. There are folks doing that with C0s on air, so YMMV. IMO it's not worth the trouble.

What were your load temps before WC? I see many people saying just keep it under 85c.

 

[Flexion]

What were your load temps before WC? I see many people saying just keep it under 85c.

My load temps before OC at 1.35V for an i7 920 D0 @ 4.0GHz were in the low 90s. This is on LinX... During the summer I had my chip at the same settings on a warm day and LinX with HT/ON with watercooling at below 75C. Currently it never passes 70C.

Although the chip is fine below 100C, I just don't want it getting that hot. Don't feel comfortable with it. Prior to this build I didn't want to ever go watercooling again but I discovered the idea of kill coils, and now besides cleaning out for dust (which you have to do for aircooling anyways) I don't really have any other maintenance to do.

 

[Makaveli@BETA]

low 90's damn what were you using for an Air cooler?

 

[vjcsmoke]

Thanks. I'll keep the Mobo and CPU and just sell the Noctua CPU Cooler. I really want that Mega Shadow! If only for looks. Does that make me shallow?

An interesting thing is I looked at Mobos/CPUs today and mine are still the ones I like 6 months later. Lynnfield did nothing to change this, though I imagine there will be more Lynnfield than Bloomfield products to come.

Mega Shadow/Megahalems outperforms the Noctua cooler, so it just won't be the looks that you are upgrading. Depending on the fans you pick, it may be noisier than the Noctua though. I'll give em one thing, they make quiet fans.

 

[Rossi~]

Question:

Current setup and overclock is in my sig. Now, im thinking of changing the memory ratio to give 1863MHz, im pretty sure the memory can handle it, but that would mean the UnCore would be 3726 the same as the QPI. Would this cause issues? How high can the UnCore go?

 

[Flexion]

low 90's damn what were you using for an Air cooler?

Interestingly enough I had a Thor's Hammer, which was supposed to be the mother of all coolers, 7 oversized heat pipes, staggered fins, holograms on the retail box, etc... But the reality was that it was no better than a True.

When I found out that I had a hot chip (probably the IHS shape or something like that) I decided not to get a True as I would be at max 5-10C cooler. I was aiming to have the chip cooler than 80C under LinX load with HT on. So I went WC. I have a quiet system, closed case and since this is my 3rd WC build, I went in with some experience, I can say it's pretty easy now, if you know what you're doing.

 

[Rossi~]

Question:

Current setup and overclock is in my sig. Now, im thinking of changing the memory ratio to give 1863MHz, im pretty sure the memory can handle it, but that would mean the UnCore would be 3726 the same as the QPI. Would this cause issues? How high can the UnCore go?

Scrap this, Im not able to change the ratio to get 1863MHz unfortunately, im not sure why. Can anybody help me out here.

Thanks,

 

[EvilNando]

I have a little question sorry if im derailing ...

Im planning buying an i7 and overclock it but I see that all of you are willing to get weird DRAM:CPU ratios in order to achieve high ghz values

So my question is: Does your system feels much more responsive with such an overclock? do you actually notice an improvement in speed?

Sorry but I got stuck in the era where having a 1:1 ratio was the most desirable thing to have

 

[Makaveli@BETA]

Ya this is no longer the socket 939 era where 1:1 ratio was important. If you go i7 I suggest you look at some overclocking guides, also go with atleast DDR3 1600 memory. If you are coming from a rig older than Core2duo even at stock speed the i7 will seem like its from another planet when it comes to speed

 

[groebuck]

I have a little question sorry if im derailing ...

Im planning buying an i7 and overclock it but I see that all of you are willing to get weird DRAM:CPU ratios in order to achieve high ghz values

So my question is: Does your system feels much more responsive with such an overclock? do you actually notice an improvement in speed?

Sorry but I got stuck in the era where having a 1:1 ratio was the most desirable thing to have

actually if you are aiming for 4ghz then 1600 ddr3 is the option - I just built a second one d0 stepping mixed with 12GB of patriot 1600 ddr 3 - hit 4Ghz no problem everything turned on.

 

[EvilNando]

are u using water or air?

 

[CC_Pirate]

auto voltages, except 1.65v ram..

Really? 4.2 on auto?

 

[Battleneter2]

Really? 4.2 on auto?

Not sure what ur asking cause that pic shows him at 3.8?

Most people need to bump there Vcore as they approach 4.0 and beyond.

Also I believe "Auto" means the board may increase and decrease voltages as required so your better off setting the Auto's to "Normal" or at least setting manual stock voltages as appropriate. Not big on the use of "Auto".

 

[CC_Pirate]

Not sure what ur asking cause that pic shows him at 3.8?

Most people need to bump there Vcore as they approach 4.0 and beyond.

Also I believe "Auto" means the board may increase and decrease voltages as required so your better off setting the Auto's to "Normal" or at least setting manual stock voltages as appropriate. Not big on the use of "Auto".

Yeah his sig showed 4.2 when I quoted him. But whatever, never mind.Its just that I had to do A LOT of tweaking to stabilize 4.2, auto just seems to easy.

 

[sear]

Hi, I've been running my Core i7 920 D0 at 4.0 Ghz solid for the last while now. Works great, though I had to relax my memory timings to 2T instead of 1T to get it working. However, what concerns me is the voltage. I decided to follow a guide released by Gigabyte, which recommended setting BCLK to 200, CPU voltage to 1.4v, QPI/VTT to 1.515, and the multiplier to 20x. The memory is running at 1600 Mhz. I have hyperthreading disabled and power-saving settings enabled. I'm wondering if there's a way I can achieve a stable 4.0 Ghz overclock with lower voltages, since I know that the D0 stepping CPUs should be able to run at much lower voltages (it runs at around 1.36v in practice, but I'd rather be safe).

Here's my CPU-Z Validation if anyone wants it: http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=795987

 

[davidm71]

Hi, I've been running my Core i7 920 D0 at 4.0 Ghz solid for the last while now. Works great, though I had to relax my memory timings to 2T instead of 1T to get it working. However, what concerns me is the voltage. I decided to follow a guide released by Gigabyte, which recommended setting BCLK to 200, CPU voltage to 1.4v, QPI/VTT to 1.515, and the multiplier to 20x. The memory is running at 1600 Mhz. I have hyperthreading disabled and power-saving settings enabled. I'm wondering if there's a way I can achieve a stable 4.0 Ghz overclock with lower voltages, since I know that the D0 stepping CPUs should be able to run at much lower voltages (it runs at around 1.36v in practice, but I'd rather be safe).

Here's my CPU-Z Validation if anyone wants it: http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=795987

Mine got stable at 1.325 volts. The guide I followed at the Evga forums recommended starting at 1.3 and then if you get instability raise the vcore and or vtt (mine is 1.4). Though some guides shoot for stability first and then have you tweak down the voltages. Either way works.

 

[the_transporter]

Just overclocked my i7 920 to 3.2GHz (3.351GHz with Turbo Mode on). Are my voltages correct? Like within Intel specs and specs in general? Just want to make sure. QPI PLL Vcore (1.15) and Dimm voltage (1.5) should be within .5 of each other, correct? (which in this case is .35)

CPU Clock Ratio ( 21X )
CPU Host Frequency (Mhz) ( 160 )
CPU Uncore Frequency (Mhz) ( 16x )
Spread Spectrum ( Disabled )
PCIE Frequency (Mhz) ( 100 )

Memory Feature
Memory Control Setting ( Enabled )
Memory Frequency ( 2:8 )

EVGA VDroop Control ( With VDroop )
CPU VCore ( 1.200 )
CPU VTT Voltage ( +0 )
CPU PLL VCore ( 1.800 ) (default)
DIMM Voltage ( 1.500 )
DIMM DQ Vref ( +0 )
QPI PLL VCore ( 1.150 )
IOH VCore ( 1.100 ) (default)
IOH/ICH I/O Voltage ( 1.500 ) (default)
ICH VCore ( 1.050 ) (default)

 

[sxr71]

Well I have 4.11 with just brain dead BCLK increase and RAM to 1.62 and multiplier such that the RAM does not exceed 1600MHz. That's it. Everything else is auto.

 

[Acejam]

Hey all,

I have the following setup:

D0 i7 920
Asus P6T Mobo
6GB OCZ Gold 1600 RAM
BFG Tech 1GB GTX285

Any thoughts on some "safe" settings to start with? I'm used to Core2Duo overclocking with a FSB x multi.

Also, any good links to any i7 920 overclocking guides?

Thanks!

- Ace

 

[DougWD]

I'm just now getting ready to OC my 920 C0/C1 and in reference to Intel burn tool, I was reading somewhere last night that when testing an overclock the Intel Burn tool would show a pass, but P95 would not. Why not just use P95 for all your OC testing?

Also, this guide by Gigabyte tech is really easy to follow and gives you a good idea what's moving when you change X,Y, and Z properties. This guy got the 920 C0 to 4Ghz stable using a good fan and never got over 68C Tcase.
PDF: http://images.tweaktown.com/imagebank/Core i7 920 oc 4G 2008.12.12_(ENG).pdf

What's more interesting is that he did it using 1333 RAM at 1T. He then increased the RAM to 1600Mhz and passed Memtest.

The only thing that bothers me is that he tested with 3DMark Vantage. I don't know if that's a legitimate burn test or not, but it's surely more real world than running small FFT full blast through your CPU, which it will never see gaming, ripping, encoding, etc.

I just ordered the Cogage fan plus 2 Gentle Typhoons for my 830 case, which will bring the case up to four fans, two of which came with the case (which I might add seem like some wussy air movers). I'm going to order a Yate Loon 140 for the top also. So I'll have one rear exhaust--which is all the 830 can take--one 140 top, and 3 front. And since the 830 is a mesh case, literally full of hole, which means the air isn't going to flow from the front to the back like you would expect, I'm going to aim all the fans to blow INTO the case, except the 140mm Yate Loon on top, which will be the exhaust. I might even turn that around to blow down into the case. The only fan that will be pointing out of the case will be the CPU cooler fan.

I'm going to use the same setting as the Gigabyte instructions and i'll write back and let you know how it went. At this point I'm just hoping with fingers crossed that my 920 isn't a binned model, so I can OC it to 4Ghz.

Last, I'm going to use the Cogage cooler with it's stock push pin mounting also, just to see if it can really work w/o back-plate screw mounting hardware. It's a very light fan compared to other 920 fans, at 1.5 lbs. I think the Gigabyte x58 will be rigid enough for it to work. We shall see.

If anyone has any comments on my information please do respond. I don't have a lot of time to spend OCing, so getting it right as fast as possible is important.

 

[DougWD]

Hey all,

I have the following setup:

D0 i7 920
Asus P6T Mobo
6GB OCZ Gold 1600 RAM
BFG Tech 1GB GTX285

Any thoughts on some "safe" settings to start with? I'm used to Core2Duo overclocking with a FSB x multi.

Also, any good links to any i7 920 overclocking guides?

Thanks!

- Ace

See above for the guide, but it's with a Gig board.

I just Oced my stock cooled 920 to 3.2 using the BClt setting only and it was solid, but warm.

 

[QES]

I've got a 920 C0 @4.0 with 1.325v. My rams running at 1600, G.Skill ripjaws 6GB, it was at 2T but I didnt realize that and just changed it to 1T recently without any problems yet. This cogage true spirit really has me impressed. OC'ing this has been easy as pie and staying cool. Yet my friend just got a noctua with dual fans and he cant get a 4.0 OC on his 955 BE in a safe heat range, 3.8 is his max. (apples and oranges I know)

 

[DougWD]

I've got a 920 C0 @4.0 with 1.325v. My rams running at 1600, G.Skill ripjaws 6GB, it was at 2T but I didnt realize that and just changed it to 1T recently without any problems yet. This cogage true spirit really has me impressed. OC'ing this has been easy as pie and staying cool. Yet my friend just got a noctua with dual fans and he cant get a 4.0 OC on his 955 BE in a safe heat range, 3.8 is his max. (apples and oranges I know)

Did you mount the Cogage with or without the back plate?

 

[QES]

I just used the push pin bracket. Think that's what your asking me about.

 

[DougWD]

I just used the push pin bracket. Think that's what your asking me about.

Yeah that was it. Sounds like a good fan. Mine should be here any day now.

 

[Rossi~]

I've got a 920 C0 @4.0 with 1.325v. My rams running at 1600, G.Skill ripjaws 6GB, it was at 2T but I didnt realize that and just changed it to 1T recently without any problems yet. This cogage true spirit really has me impressed. OC'ing this has been easy as pie and staying cool. Yet my friend just got a noctua with dual fans and he cant get a 4.0 OC on his 955 BE in a safe heat range, 3.8 is his max. (apples and oranges I know)

Grrrr, i need about 1.37v for my C0 to be 4.0GHz stable and my heatsink sucks utter testicles.

 

[Taodragon00]

i had my C0/C1 at 4.2 (200x21) stable 24/7 with 1.43v in the bios (shows 1.424 in windows) with a R2E. Current D0 i have did 4.4 right out of the box (210x21) with the same voltage and I've pushed it to 4.83 (230*21)with 1.45v using the OCZ 1600 platinum triple channel kit. Just had to loosen the timings to 9-9-9-24. I'm using a custom watercooling system currently. Idle is 48C but 100% load it gets to 68-71C. During normal game play (WoW, L4D2, UT3) it gets to about 58-62C.

 

[USMC2Hard4U]

I had my D0 @ 4Ghz (200x20)... Uncore @ 3.6GHz, Ram at 1600 8-8-8-24-1T

1.35 VCore on Air... Full load ~ 80C but 100% stable.

Sold the Rig tho because I made $300 on the build because of the soild OC. So waiting for the 6-Core i7's.

 

[FaRKle0079]

I've got my i7 920 D0 at 4ghz on 1.3v (in BIOS) on an Asus P6T6 WS Revolution. I can run either 200x20 or 211x19 stable.

Cooler is a Cogage TRUE Spirit w/ Scythe GT 1850rpm fan.

Ram is Corsair XMS3 running at 1600 or 1688mhz.

 

[DougWD]

Did you plug the GT into the PWM? I think I'm going to try a TC fan one the CPU and free up that PWM slot for another case fan, preferably the loudest one.

 

[FaRKle0079]

Did you plug the GT into the PWM? I think I'm going to try a TC fan one the CPU and free up that PWM slot for another case fan, preferably the loudest one.

Yeah, I plugged it into the 3pin CPU fan socket, although I don't use the PWM function as the GT is quiet already.

Forgot to mention in my post I can get 4.2ghz stable (200x21), but at 1.375v BIOS setting.

 

[Rossi~]

i had my C0/C1 at 4.2 (200x21) stable 24/7 with 1.43v in the bios (shows 1.424 in windows) with a R2E. Current D0 i have did 4.4 right out of the box (210x21) with the same voltage and I've pushed it to 4.83 (230*21)with 1.45v using the OCZ 1600 platinum triple channel kit. Just had to loosen the timings to 9-9-9-24. I'm using a custom watercooling system currently. Idle is 48C but 100% load it gets to 68-71C. During normal game play (WoW, L4D2, UT3) it gets to about 58-62C.

Very nice temperatures!

Damn my C0

 

[DougWD]

Yeah, I plugged it into the 3pin CPU fan socket, although I don't use the PWM function as the GT is quiet already.

Forgot to mention in my post I can get 4.2ghz stable (200x21), but at 1.375v BIOS setting.

What is your temp under load (core temp, tJunction) not tCase and how are you measuring it?

 

[FaRKle0079]

What is your temp under load (core temp, tJunction) not tCase and how are you measuring it?

Temps got up to 89C, but not higher than that. That was running 8hrs of OCCT Linpack test. I use realtemp to get temp readings.

I supposed I could get even cooler temps by using the stock COGAGE fan, but at the expense of some noise. I've very happy with the TRUE Spirit/Gentle Typhoon combo.

 

[DougWD]

Quote:

Temps got up to 89C, but not higher than that. That was running 8hrs of OCCT Linpack test. I use realtemp to get temp readings.

I supposed I could get even cooler temps by using the stock COGAGE fan, but at the expense of some noise. I've very happy with the TRUE Spirit/Gentle Typhoon combo.

I was going to ask if you tested it with the Cogage fan. What are your temps at 4ghz? can't you use the PWM with the Cogage fan and have it silent when not under load? I'd really like to know what your temp is using the Cogage fan. It about 2 hours I'm going to go home and install my Cogage true. Just got it today. And you said you mounted it with the push [pin option and no back plate?

89 is pretty hot, but for normal things like gaming and other activities, you'll never see that. Might be a viable OC for real computing. I think Intel says 73C? for sustained periods, and that's at tJunction, or Core. So you'd be fine.

 

[FaRKle0079]

I was going to ask if you tested it with the Cogage fan. What are your temps at 4ghz? can't you use the PWM with the Cogage fan and have it silent when not under load? I'd really like to know what your temp is using the Cogage fan. It about 2 hours I'm going to go home and install my Cogage true. Just got it today. And you said you mounted it with the push [pin option and no back plate?

Yeah, I didn't bother testing with the COGAGE fan. I haven't ever used it lol. I don't use the PWM function with it because if it does ramp up all the way it'll end up louder than my Gentle Typhoon. Running the GT at full speed is still quiet.

At 4ghz and 1.3v idle temps are around 34C and load didn't get above 80C running 10hrs of prime95, 10hrs of OCCT linpack test, 8 passes of IBT, and 1 hr of OCCT testing.

I use the thermalright 1366 bolt thru kit and the washer mod. My TIM is AS5. The cooler is on there rock solid. I cant twist it side to side like before.

 

[DougWD]

Ah so you actually did use the back plate. I'm going to put mine on right now, but with the push pin stock mount. We'll see what it does. If I take the MB out, I'll probably sell this Cogage and go with the V10. The V10 is just starting to hit its stride at 70C.

 

[FaRKle0079]

I'll probably sell this Cogage and go with the V10. The V10 is just starting to hit its stride at 70C.

The V10 doesn't look at all appealing to me. Way too massive. I don't like obstructing a bunch of stuff in my case with a cooler that large.