[SOLVED] i7 3820 overclock on sabertooth x79 unstable. Need help!

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Flyingsparrow101

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Hello! I applied an overclock of 4.6GHz on my i7 3820 using a guide I found online(links to guides below) however occasionally I have been having issues with stability. This would happen in the middle of gaming where the game would freeze and a BSOD with the error "Stop:Clock_watchdog_timeout" would appear. I find it strange as the system would pass Intel Burn test on High no problem, however still, it keeps crashing in game every once in a while. I shall attach screenshots of my Bios configurations for this overclock and hopefully someone can help me figure out what's wrong. I've tried different guides and they seemed to be even more unstable.

Here are my specs:

OS: Windows 10 Pro

CPU: Intel Core i7 3820 @3.6GHz stock Overclocked to 4625Mhz

CPU cooler: Corsair H80

Motherboard: Asus x79 Sabertooth

RAM: Kingston HyperX KHX1600C9D3/4GX 16GB(4x4) DDR3 1600Mhz

Storage: Samsung 960 Evo 1TB SSD

GPU: EVGA GTX 1070 Ti FTW2

PSU: EVGA 750G3 750w

Here are the screenshots of my BIOS overclock settings:

Screenshot 1: BCLK set to 125 and Memory now at 1666MHz
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Screenshot 2: Memory Timings
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Screenshot 3: CPU LLC set to extreme
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Screenshot 4:
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Screenshot 5: VCORE voltage set to 1.32v
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Screenshot 6
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Screenshot 7
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Screenshot 8
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Screenshot 9
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Link1 guide
Link2 guide

I hope these screenshots will suffice. There are some settings that are not present in my BIOS or at least I didn't see them no matter how hard I looked these are Vcore Loadline Calibration, PWM Phase Control and Vcore Voltage Response. Also the guide in the first link recommends turning off Intel turbo boost. I had to keep mine on because otherwise the maximum frequency was stuck on 4500MHz at 125 BCLK as shown in screenshot 8 and 9. Please do not hesitate to ask for any additional information. Any help will be much appreciated!
 

Flyingsparrow101

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I agree on the cooler and is the reason I wasn't inclined to up the voltage any further from 1.32 as my CPU was already hitting 80+ degrees! I'll also switch to Prime 95. Thanks for the tips, I'll make changes and get back with the results.
 

Flyingsparrow101

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So I've tried setting the same frequency but this time using the mutliplier. I can't get the 4.6GHz overclock because my CPU's multiplier caps at 44x. The way I see it it's either I settle 4.4GHz using the multiplier with lower voltages as I can't up the volts anymore with my current CPU cooler anyway. I'll attach a screenshot of what it looks like in my bios. What do you think about my options?
 

Flyingsparrow101

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So I've settled for 4.3GHz @ 1.23v, it's stable and the temps are in the mid seventies at the highest even stopped crashing in gaming. I'm not too sure about that VCORE voltage as it also runs great at default voltage which is around 1.22v maybe it's because I used the multiplier this time for my overclock? Because I'm certain it won't even post if I used the BCLK for the same overclock. What do you think?
 
So I've settled for 4.3GHz @ 1.23v, it's stable and the temps are in the mid seventies at the highest even stopped crashing in gaming. I'm not too sure about that VCORE voltage as it also runs great at default voltage which is around 1.22v maybe it's because I used the multiplier this time for my overclock? Because I'm certain it won't even post if I used the BCLK for the same overclock. What do you think?
I'm surprised that cpu cooler can adequately cool that processor stock under full load. Base clock shouldn't really ever be used in overclocking unless your motherboard does not have the ability to change the multiplier setting. Every processor and motherboard is different so whatever voltage you determine is stable, that falls below max voltage and ensuring it is manual so it can't fluctuate is fine.
 

Flyingsparrow101

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Hehe yeah I actually thought the h80 was a great cooler and was surprised that my processor could hit 80+ degrees with it on a minor overclock. I'm definitely thinking of an upgrade soon maybe noctua nh-d15 as I hear those coolers are quite good plus I wont ever have to worry about the possibility of a leak in the future.
 
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