I7 860 == Unpredictable Blue Screen of Death == Windows 7 64-bit

[rider_eragon]

I think I might have solved the X.M.P. BSoD problem (theoretically).

As already stated be ekoostik or Foolycooly, X.M.P. alters the BCLK, and therefore the memory frequency. I noted that the memory multiplier is set to Auto, but is considered 12.0x, just like when it is off, Auto = 10.0x. Or at least, that's what my observations have told me.

I temporarily ran my CPU at 163 x 21.0 = 3.42GHz + Turbo (whatever that is), with Memory Performance Enhance set to Standard. My RAM was running at 12.0 x 163 = 1956MHz. All voltages except for the RAM were at "Normal", and the RAM at 1.600v.

I did a full IntelBurn Test (and nearly flipped because of the temperatures), and I got no blue screens whatsoever. The only reason why I turned it back down to 153 x 21.0 was because my box made more noise than the motorway to keep it below 83C at load and ~50C at idle. The objective of my case is to keep my machine as cool as possible, but also at a quiet level.

Note that my "full IntelBurn Tests" are 20 passes, ~3200MB RAM and all 8 threads.

The strange thing is, that when I had my BCLK at 157 and MPE at Turbo, I got a BSoD. This tells me one of three things:

1. My CPU doesn't like the BCLK set to XX7 for whatever reason

OR

2. Having MPE set to Turbo beyond say BCLK = 155 causes an instability, therefore creating a BSoD

OR

3. Having MPE set to Turbo beyond say RAM Freq = 1899MHz causes an instability, therefore creating a BSoD



Now, I'd like to try X.M.P. out again, but Intel Turbo (CPU, not MPE) is still disabled, even with the C-States enabled. I'm going to look for a way to enable Turbo WITH X.M.P. enabled. Does anyone caution against this?

 

[ekoostik]

The "performance enhance" controls the memory's Static Read - or tRD - setting. Gigabyte exposes this by offering the 3 settings standard, turbo, or extreme, without giving you complete control over it. It makes sense that at some point Turbo would cause problems as you are pushing the RAM faster and the tRD may need relaxed to Standard because it's just going to fast otherwise.

As long as you've changed the Voltages so they're not on Auto I don't see any reason not to try XMP and Turbo. But I won't be surprised if it crashes. With XMP on your BCLK will get set to 167. To keep Turbo, you'll have to set your CPU multiplier to 21. This is a pre-Turbo speed of 3.5 GHz. I would set the "Performance Enhance" setting to Standard so you can take that out of the equation in the event of a crash. But still, with a 167 BCLK and 21 CPU multiplier, I expect your results to be similar to - or 'worese' than - what you saw with BCLK 163.

 

[rider_eragon]

So the only way to use Turbo is to have your multiplier set to 21? I can't understand why Intel would do this, especially as they support X.M.P. (or so their website says).

I know that my CPU temperatures would soar well over 90ºC if I tried BCLK = 167, so I don't think that's for me. Plus, I think that I'd need to increase the voltage somewhere along the lines too - it wouldn't surprise me either if BCLK = 163 is nearing the end of stock voltage's grace.

Also, now that my memory isn't at 1600MHz, it's beyond that now, do I need to alter my timings? They've been manually entered as 9-9-9-24, but it wouldn't surprise me if it needs to go to something like 9-9-9-25/26/27 (27 being the maximum limit).

 

[ekoostik]

So the only way to use Turbo is to have your multiplier set to 21?

I'm almost 100% certain.

I know that my CPU temperatures would soar well over 90ºC if I tried BCLK = 167, so I don't think that's for me. Plus, I think that I'd need to increase the voltage somewhere along the lines too - it wouldn't surprise me either if BCLK = 163 is nearing the end of stock voltage's grace.

I'm sure you're right about the voltages.

Also, now that my memory isn't at 1600MHz, it's beyond that now, do I need to alter my timings? They've been manually entered as 9-9-9-24, but it wouldn't surprise me if it needs to go to something like 9-9-9-25/26/27 (27 being the maximum limit).

If your stability tests pass I wouldn't worry about it. You may just have good OCable RAM.

 

[rider_eragon]

If that's the case, I'd rather forsake ~100MHz to preserve my CPU's temperatures. It's a bummer that Turbo needs to be 21x though, because I really like the feature.

This has been a most enlightening experience. I've learned quite a fair bit about hardware from here, and it'll serve me well in the future. Thanks so much for your help .

 

[ekoostik]

You're welcome. Enjoy your rig, you earned every MHz after putting this much time into testing it out and setting it up right.