Assistance Required Overclocking i7-5820k with MSI X99S Gaming 7 Motherboard and Bios

[Danny_UKDM]

I have recently completed a new build and have started to overclock, so far reaching stable results at a clock speed of 4.3Ghz - 1.25 VCore (Noctua NH-D14 cooling) with a maximum CPU temperature of 71C under a maximum CPU load (Aida64). I was wondering if anyone has used the MSI X99S Gaming 7 motherboard for overclocking their CPU and RAM yet?

So far I have found it fairly easy to use but there are a ton of options to enable/disable/auto features which are named differently compared to other BIOS I've used for overclocking in the past. If anyone has found a specification for the CPU options within this BIOS which will aid with a stable overclock I will be very very grateful.

I am intending to push the overclock to 4.5Ghz whilst hopefully keeping the VCore below 1.3volts then slowly push up the Northbridge frequency as high as it will go.

Here is my current overclock:

If anyone has any advice at all relating to overclocking the i7-5820k, DDR4 RAM or the MSI Gaming 7 motherboard I would greatly appreciate it!

UPDATE:
I Managed a stable overclock at 4.4Ghz:

CPU stress tested with Aida64 at full load, no throttling or automatic adjusting of the multiplier.
Temperature is at a constant 76-78C mark. I will run a longer test soon using a selection of benchmark utilities.

(Side question: What's the highest frequency someone has managed to overclock this processor to, out of curiosity?)

 

[prepper2010]

Glad you were able to do it. I'm in the process of creating a similar post. I've used Gigabyte boards for years with no issues. Switched to ECS and am a bit lost. Looks like you have it licked.

 

[Danny_UKDM]

Unfortunately managed to brick my BIOS when the northbridge frequency was raised over 3.6GHz. BIOS will no longer post and so far been unable to figure out how to Flash it in attempt to reset it. Fortunately i have an extra BIOS profile i can switch between using a switch on my mobo. Not sure yet how to go about resetting the bios when it doesn't post.

 

[Keith Fisher]

I understand this is a old thread and I'm a novice overclocker at best, but I was able to reset my cmos with a button the back of my msi x99s sli and it fixed my problem on the next boot,.I believe I had overclocked the the cache too high, or maybe there wasn't enough voltage. Anyways all I was getting was blue screen. I switched to the backup bios and did some research, I then shut it down switched back to bios A and hit a little but at the top of I/O panel on the backside of the computer. It was fixed and ready for some more abuse. Alternatviely, there's jumper to manually reset bios on the motherboard, or you can take out the battery, just make sure everything is unplugged. FYI, I had worries about compatibility after the reset. I.E. 980gtx graphics card and wireless Logitech keyboard k400, but everything was fine.

 

[Danny_UKDM]

I understand this is a old thread and I'm a novice overclocker at best, but I was able to reset my cmos with a button the back of my msi x99s sli and it fixed my problem on the next boot,.I believe I had overclocked the the cache too high, or maybe there wasn't enough voltage. Anyways all I was getting was blue screen. I switched to the backup bios and did some research, I then shut it down switched back to bios A and hit a little but at the top of I/O panel on the backside of the computer. It was fixed and ready for some more abuse. Alternatviely, there's jumper to manually reset bios on the motherboard, or you can take out the battery, just make sure everything is unplugged. FYI, I had worries about compatibility after the reset. I.E. 980gtx graphics card and wireless Logitech keyboard k400, but everything was fine.

I had previously tried what you suggested, and unfortunately for me, profile A on my motherboard is just completely bricked. I tried the CMOS button, shorting the jumpers and removing the battery. I had learned that apparently clearing the CMOS on this particular motherboard only resets the main CPU frequency and voltages and not the Northbridge frequency which is what caused the problem. I have since read that no one has managed a stable overclock of the Northbridge frequency above 3.6Ghz. For anyone reading this post, DON'T PUSH THE NORTHBRIDGE PAST 3.6 - IT AIN'T WORTH IT! haha.

 

[Keith Fisher]

I don't know if it'll work but have you tried a manual flash with a usb drive? Not a reset. And are you talking about the actual cpu clock frequency, i.e. not turbo boost?

 

[i7-E Fan]

I have the same motherboard and cpu, and I'm having a bit of trouble oc the cpu/ram speed my self, as they never perform as well as stock. However I can tell you a bit about overclocking this cpu and motherboard.

Overclocking voltage
First of all, overclocking requires extra voltage, and for the cpu you may need to increase the vccin in addition to the vcore. The motherboard normally suggest 1.890mv. The ram needs an increase of the sa voltage offset in addition to the ramvoltage. Both are being increased on the motherboard if you oc your settings in the bios. You can read more about it here:
http://www.tweaktown.com/guides/6755/intel-core-i7-5960x-extreme-edition-s-spec-qfra-cpu-overclocking-guide/index3.html

Overclocking the ram
I always use bclk 100, which means that the highest memory speed is 2666mhz, as anything above needs a change in the bootstrap to 125mhz. This setting is said to be problematic for stability as it also affect the speed of other hardware like harddisk.
Personally I haven't had any problems running at bclk 100 and a memory speed of 2666mhz at cl14 with some extra voltage, but that can also be due to the ram. I use crucial ballistic sport. Highest stable ram overclock without extra voltage overclock is 2400 cl15. Personally I prefer jedec stock at 2400/cl16 and no xmp.

Overclockin the uncore/northbridge
The uncore can't go any further than 35x on any board besides the asus oc socket, and this is due to a voltage cap, which the extra pins circumvents. But you should be able to increase it to 35, but you need extra voltage. The motherboard suggest 187mv, but you should be able to go lower.

Overclocking the uncore is only relevant if you're gonna oc your ram or have some high speed ram. The uncore makes the ram info available to the cpu, and at 3ghz the write speed is caped at about 47000. You can read more about it here:
www.madshrimps.be/articles/article/1000671/Haswell-E-Part2-Intel-i7-5820K-i7-5930K-Tested/7#axzz3Ulfxceid

The stock ram 2133/2400mhz doesn't go above the cap, so if you stay at these settings the overclocking the uncore is irrelevant. This article show some different ram speed and performance:
www.legitreviews.com/crucial-ballistix-sport-ddr4-2400mhz-32gb-memory-kit-review_151873/4

Personally I had stability and performance issues when overclocking the uncore, and it worried me that I had to feed it additional voltage, which can't be monitored anywhere. This is only something you can do on the asus motherboard.

Bricked bios
I bricked my bios ones when I went too high overclocking the memory, it wouldn't post and constantly restarted with code 67. Removing the battery restored the settings to default, and it should do the same thing for you, as removing the battery clears the memory of any new setting. Maybe you didn't keep the battery out long enough. Try again.

Overclocking and gaming
In games I haven't experienced much benefit from overclocking, and I personally experience better performance at stock than with an overclock. If you have tried comparing gaming experience with and without the overclock please feel free to share on my thread.

Anyways I hope you can use the info and articles and good luck with that overclocking.

 

[Danny_UKDM]

Thank you all for your help with this. I know it's still early days for this chipset. I've decided to hover my overclock of the processor at 4.3ghz with northbridge @ 3.5. I have kept the voltage around the 1.29 mark but i believe i can bring that down some more. I've just run the default 2666mhz xmp profile for the RAM and left everything else as auto. What setting is it best to keep the voltage on if you are maintaing a constant CPU frequency with all C-state techs turned off? I have left it on "Override mode" but i don't fully understand what the other 'offset' and 'override + offset' modes exactly do.

 

[maxoptimus]

I have the same motherboard and cpu, and I'm having a bit of trouble oc the cpu/ram speed my self, as they never perform as well as stock. However I can tell you a bit about overclocking this cpu and motherboard.

Overclocking voltage
First of all, overclocking requires extra voltage, and for the cpu you may need to increase the vccin in addition to the vcore. The motherboard normally suggest 1.890mv. The ram needs an increase of the sa voltage offset in addition to the ramvoltage. Both are being increased on the motherboard if you oc your settings in the bios. You can read more about it here:
http://www.tweaktown.com/guides/6755/intel-core-i7-5960x-extreme-edition-s-spec-qfra-cpu-overclocking-guide/index3.html

Overclocking the ram
I always use bclk 100, which means that the highest memory speed is 2666mhz, as anything above needs a change in the bootstrap to 125mhz. This setting is said to be problematic for stability as it also affect the speed of other hardware like harddisk.
Personally I haven't had any problems running at bclk 100 and a memory speed of 2666mhz at cl14 with some extra voltage, but that can also be due to the ram. I use crucial ballistic sport. Highest stable ram overclock without extra voltage overclock is 2400 cl15. Personally I prefer jedec stock at 2400/cl16 and no xmp.

Overclockin the uncore/northbridge
The uncore can't go any further than 35x on any board besides the asus oc socket, and this is due to a voltage cap, which the extra pins circumvents. But you should be able to increase it to 35, but you need extra voltage. The motherboard suggest 187mv, but you should be able to go lower.

Overclocking the uncore is only relevant if you're gonna oc your ram or have some high speed ram. The uncore makes the ram info available to the cpu, and at 3ghz the write speed is caped at about 47000. You can read more about it here:
www.madshrimps.be/articles/article/1000671/Haswell-E-Part2-Intel-i7-5820K-i7-5930K-Tested/7#axzz3Ulfxceid

The stock ram 2133/2400mhz doesn't go above the cap, so if you stay at these settings the overclocking the uncore is irrelevant. This article show some different ram speed and performance:
www.legitreviews.com/crucial-ballistix-sport-ddr4-2400mhz-32gb-memory-kit-review_151873/4

Personally I had stability and performance issues when overclocking the uncore, and it worried me that I had to feed it additional voltage, which can't be monitored anywhere. This is only something you can do on the asus motherboard.

Bricked bios
I bricked my bios ones when I went too high overclocking the memory, it wouldn't post and constantly restarted with code 67. Removing the battery restored the settings to default, and it should do the same thing for you, as removing the battery clears the memory of any new setting. Maybe you didn't keep the battery out long enough. Try again.

Overclocking and gaming
In games I haven't experienced much benefit from overclocking, and I personally experience better performance at stock than with an overclock. If you have tried comparing gaming experience with and without the overclock please feel free to share on my thread.

Anyways I hope you can use the info and articles and good luck with that overclocking.

mobo x99a sli plus;
mem two dual kits F4-3000c14d-32gtz (4x16Gb)

same problems with xmp that set bclk 125....

with manual config stable with 3200 14-14-14-34

will try more options and try diff configs; or will try to set all other SPD detailed timings;

q-channel is not so fast as I expected but same as other get with simple setttings without cpu overcklock:

56 мб/c read;
50 мб/c write;
65 мб/c copy;

delay 56-62 нс;

with settings 3200 14-14-14-34

bios goes with mobo 1.9 didn't try latest 1.b jet