Overclocking QX9770 on Asus Rampage Extreme (x48)

[millerguts]

Howdy all,

I know I'm a bit late to the game, but am wanting to experiment with overclocking. I have read on many forums regarding different configurations, and am a little confused with the optimal setting I should configure.

I have the following:

QX9770 CPU @ 3.2GHz (stock speed)
Asus Rampage Extreme (X48)
8GB OCZ DDR3 @ 1600MHz (OCZ2X16002G x4)

Currently, I have most settings in the BIOS left as "Auto". I manually configured the FSB strap to 400MHz and RAM @ 1600MHz. The RAM is Intel XMP, but I did not configure the BIOS to use XMP. The SPD for this set is:

8-8-8-28

Does anyone have an optimal overclocked setting that you can share? What options should I set in the BIOS, what voltage, etc.?

Thanks!

 

[aatje92]

If you have read on many forums you should know there's no such thinig as universal overclock settings, every chip is different.

 

[millerguts]

If you have read on many forums you should know there's no such thinig as universal overclock settings, every chip is different.

Thanks for your response. Perhaps I posted in haste and was not clear in what I was asking.

I appreciate that there are many configurations exist, and that there is no universal configurations or "one size fits all" settings. Thus, I posted the basic hardware that I have, with the hope that someone with very similar configuration can provide some pointers. In reviewing what I originally posted, I believe I should add a bit more in case they matter.

Storage - OCZ RevoDrive 3 X2 (240GB) PCIe SSD
Power - 1000W Cooler Master (80+ Gold)
Video - EVGA GTX690

I would appreciate guidance on settings, especially those who have similar (or the same) hardware that had successfully overclocked their system.

Thanks!

Miller

 

[aatje92]

Similair hardware =/= the same chip. Just up the multiplier by .5 steps at the time and test stability, if it isn't stable up the voltage and repeat until max voltage / max temp is reached. Then you'll have your own personal stable max overclock.

 

[millerguts]

Similair hardware =/= the same chip. Just up the multiplier by .5 steps at the time and test stability, if it isn't stable up the voltage and repeat until max voltage / max temp is reached. Then you'll have your own personal stable max overclock.

OK, thanks for the advice. I'll look into that.

In terms of increasing the voltage, is that both NB and SB? Is there a good starting point I should aim for before slowly increasing?

Thanks!

M

 

[aatje92]

It's not NB nor SB, it's Vcore voltage

 

[millerguts]

It's not NB nor SB, it's Vcore voltage

OK, I'll give that a go.

However, I'm quite certain I've read that people had to raise voltage on NB and SB as well to increase stability...

Thanks,

M

 

[aatje92]

That's only if you're overclocking from bclk or if you're overclocking nb or sb.

 

[millerguts]

That's only if you're overclocking from bclk or if you're overclocking nb or sb.

Howdy,

After some extensive tweaking, I've managed to o/c to 4GHz stable on air. Also managed to get 8GB RAM to run @ 1600MHz with 9-8-7-24 timing. I think I might be able to tighten it further, but just wanted to say thanks for your advice.

On that, I have additional questions...

I've had to raise my vCore to over 1.4V in the BIOS, but am keeping it below 1.4V when looking at the voltage report in the BIOS. I believe the "real" voltage is lower due to vdrop. However, CPU-Z is reporting Core Voltage between 1.384V - 1.424V. I have Intel Speedstep disabled in the BIOS.

The first question is, is it true that CPU-Z not take vdrop into consideration when reporting the value?

Next target is pushing to 4.2GHz on air. Given that my vcore is already near the "safe" ceiling, I believe FSB tweaking is the next. The second question is, assuming that FSB o/c is the correct next logical step, will I also need to tweak vcore (increase voltage) or simply the CPU VTT (which I believe is the FSB termination voltage)? If only CPU VTT, is it correct that I should not exceed 1.4V for this option?

Anything else I need to consider? Your advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Miller

 

[aatje92]

When you increase FSB you increase everything with it, PCI-E, RAM etc so you need to tweak all voltages. But first look if you can lock the PCI-E bus at 100mhz, because some gpu's fry if it increases too much.

 

[millerguts]

When you increase FSB you increase everything with it, PCI-E, RAM etc so you need to tweak all voltages. But first look if you can lock the PCI-E bus at 100mhz, because some gpu's fry if it increases too much.

Howdy,

OK, thanks. To give you an idea of voltage thus far:

vCore: 1.48V in BIOS (but reporting 1.38V - 1.39V in voltage monitor in BIOS)
CPU PLL: 1.57V
VTT: 1.34V
RAM: 1.84V
North Bridge: Around 1.4V

I didn't touch the South Bridge voltage, so that's still on auto, nor have I adjusted any other voltage settings. I recall PCI-E is already on 100 by default. With this in mind, do I have anymore headroom to increase voltages? I think I'm pretty close to the ceiling already, am I right?

Thanks!

Miller