Unable to Overclock Core i7-920

[snurp85]

I just built this system:

Intel core i7-920
Cooler Master Hyper 212+ Heatsink/fan
Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R Motherboard
CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) DDR3 1600mhz RAM
Sapphire Radeon 5770
75GB WD Raptor hard drive 10,000rpm
250GB Seagate hard drive
Antec Earthwatts 500 Watt Power supply
Antec 300 case
5 case fans

I am running Win 7 Ult


So when I go into the bios and try to overclock, I set the multiplier to x20 and the BsClk to 150Mhz (up from 133), for an overall speed of 3.0Ghz
Also when I do this, the speed on my RAM automatically increases from 1600 to 1800 Mhz. All of the other settings are default (HT enabled, turboboost enabled, ect). I save my settings and reboot.... nothing. the computer then reboots a second time, reverting back to default settings saying that there was a problem overclocking.

So my question is... what is going wrong? Ive read about people easily hitting 4ghz on air with this cpu, and i cant even do a 10% overclock. Ive run prime95 overnight at default speeds and my cpu temp stays around 33C. Memtest86 returns no errors at 1600mhz. Is there something in my bios that i need to disable or something? Could use a little help. Thank you!!!!

 

[Ubrales]

Congratulations on your excellent system!

Please refer to this guide: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:lklBTFbNnbQJ:www.tomshardware.com/forum/253365-29-core-overclocking-guide+Guide+to+overclocking+the+i7&cd=4&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

This is an excellent overclocking guide and I used this guide to overclock my Intel i-7 920. My CPU is now running at 3.45MHz (30% OC).

It clearly explains that we should start out with the lowest RAM ratio and then go ahead with the OC. After a stable and desirable OC is obtained, we can engage turbo and increase the RAM ratio.

Try this guide. If you need further info, please send me a PM. Good luck!

 

[Crashman]

I just built this system:

Intel core i7-920
Cooler Master Hyper 212+ Heatsink/fan
Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R Motherboard
CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) DDR3 1600mhz RAM
Sapphire Radeon 5770
75GB WD Raptor hard drive 10,000rpm
250GB Seagate hard drive
Antec Earthwatts 500 Watt Power supply
Antec 300 case
5 case fans

I am running Win 7 Ult


So when I go into the bios and try to overclock, I set the multiplier to x20 and the BsClk to 150Mhz (up from 133), for an overall speed of 3.0Ghz
Also when I do this, the speed on my RAM automatically increases from 1600 to 1800 Mhz. All of the other settings are default (HT enabled, turboboost enabled, ect). I save my settings and reboot.... nothing. the computer then reboots a second time, reverting back to default settings saying that there was a problem overclocking.

So my question is... what is going wrong? Ive read about people easily hitting 4ghz on air with this cpu, and i cant even do a 10% overclock. Ive run prime95 overnight at default speeds and my cpu temp stays around 33C. Memtest86 returns no errors at 1600mhz. Is there something in my bios that i need to disable or something? Could use a little help. Thank you!!!!

Easy answer, drop the memory ratio BEFORE you overclock. Keep the memory speed BELOW stock until you find the CPU speed you want, and then, when you're finished overclocking the CPU, try to find a higher memory speed.

 

[snurp85]

Best answer selected by snurp85.