Stable E8400 OC - stock voltages

[SBMongoos]

Re: Stable E8400 OC - stock voltages

Yeap tRD (Static tRead Value) first. Did you read the memory sticky I posted, it explains what each one is.

Yeap, start with the higher values, then slowely work your way down one at a time. You can test with "If windows will boot" kinda method but after a few I would test with memtest86+ for some quick single test runs as you start to get them all low.

I usually will run memtest86+ test #2 and #5 for about 20 minutes each or so for a quick check once I think I am getting down there. Then after I think I have them all low as can go and still stable I will run 5-10 passes on memtest86+ and then a few hours on test #5

Voltages is a whole other beast, and that can only be found out by you thru trial and error what works and what does not.

MCH Voltage I would set higher until you are done with tRD tweaking as this one is the most finicky, you may find you need a lower voltage to be stable as opposed to a higher one. But the general area would be where you have it now if you know that is already stable

And really until you are done with it all cause you dont want to lower it after tRD tweaking then need to raise it again due to some other setting, or have it low causing you to think some other setting is failing because it is to low when it is really the voltages that are too low

So you want them all really on the higher side until you are set on what you want for settings, then you can try to lower them all a bit starting with Dram voltage, then MCH, then Vtt, then Vcore

Just get in there and start playing around, you can only harm your PC with extreme voltages, something we have not discussed at all here so you will be fine. Incorrect timings will only fail memtest or cause lower benchmarks, you cannot hurt your board or memory with incorrect timings

Let me see if I understand you correctly. It sounds like the thing to do is go into the BIOS and change the settings to what's recommended above (the list). The ones that have ranges listed (see just below) should be set to the high end.

tRRD........................................... 3-4
tWTR.......................................... 3-6
tWR............................................ 6-8
tRFC........................................... 54-58
Static tRead Value......................... 8-10

Then, one at a time, adjust them as low as possible (lower is better?) without errors. Use Memtest 86+ for this.

Voltage adjustments should be saved to last (meaning the idea is to not have to adjust any more than necessary or ?). I can adjust these one at a time, also, downword (I assume lower is better here for safety reason but higher may be necessary of course for OC'ing). This would be:

CPU Vcore….………......................... 1.25v (Auto) << Here is a HUGE issue, you cannot leave voltage on auto for overclock, this applies to PLL and termination as all. Set 1.25-1.38 and then you can lower later once you get stable

CPU Termination…......................... 1.24-1.32v
CPU PLL…………………....................... 1.5-1.58
CPU Referen.…………....................... 0.76V << Use Auto


MCH/ICH
MCH Core…………….....1.100V........... 1.2v (manual) << 1.24
MCH Reference….……...................... .76v (Auto)
MCH/DRAM Ref.…........................... 0.900V (Auto)
ICH I/O………………........................... 1.500V (Auto) << 1.55
ICH Core…………...……...................... 1.100V (Auto) << 1.14-1.2

DRAM
DRAM Voltage ……....1.800V............. 2.2v (manual)
DRAM Termination .…...................... 0.900V (Auto)
Channel A Reference ...................... 0.900V (Auto)
Channel B Reference ...................... 0.900V (Auto)

Of course the only voltages getting adjusted would be the ones that are listed above with a range provided. Those listed as auto would not be touched.

Sound accurate? Thanks for your patience.

[thepieguy]

Re: Stable E8400 OC - stock voltages

Thank you for this post. I used these settings for the first overclock of my e8400 on my UD3R, slightly modified for my DDR-800 memory. They worked like a charm!

[Outer Marker]

Re: Stable E8400 OC - stock voltages

Thank you for this post. I used these settings for the first overclock of my e8400 on my UD3R, slightly modified for my DDR-800 memory. They worked like a charm!

Glad you were able to use these settings. If you want to go a bit further, may I suggest using the BIOS profiles feature? I have one for 3.6 which is what I originally posted here, and then I have a 3.8 profile for when I want a bit of punch or gaming action. Although I must admit, it's so stable, and so close to stock voltages, that I use it 24/7. You can find the settings for my 3.8 here: http://forums.tweaktown.com/f69/stab...-3-83-a-30823/

Good luck, and enjoy!

[thepieguy]

Re: Stable E8400 OC - stock voltages

Awesome, thanks! Actually, figuring out the BIOS profiles thing is something I want to do now since I'm playing around with further overclocking. I actually just posted a thread about my 4.0-4.2ghz overclocking aspirations so I will take a look at your 3.8 settings for sure. I'm going to stress my 4.0 tonight. Take it easy :)

[SBMongoos]

Re: Stable E8400 OC - stock voltages

Awesome, thanks! Actually, figuring out the BIOS profiles thing is something I want to do now since I'm playing around with further overclocking. I actually just posted a thread about my 4.0-4.2ghz overclocking aspirations so I will take a look at your 3.8 settings for sure. I'm going to stress my 4.0 tonight. Take it easy :)

Keep us posted on how the 4ghz works out. If it test fine I'd really like to see your BIOS tweaks. Haven't had time yet to try the ones above and for some reason not motivated to take the time to try the variables and see what works. I work from home a lot and if I run into problems I have to keep going into the BIOS and make adustments.

[SBMongoos]

Re: Stable E8400 OC - stock voltages

Let me see if I understand you correctly. It sounds like the thing to do is go into the BIOS and change the settings to what's recommended above (the list). The ones that have ranges listed (see just below) should be set to the high end.

tRRD........................................... 3-4
tWTR.......................................... 3-6
tWR............................................ 6-8
tRFC........................................... 54-58
Static tRead Value......................... 8-10

Then, one at a time, adjust them as low as possible (lower is better?) without errors. Use Memtest 86+ for this.

Voltage adjustments should be saved to last (meaning the idea is to not have to adjust any more than necessary or ?). I can adjust these one at a time, also, downword (I assume lower is better here for safety reason but higher may be necessary of course for OC'ing). This would be:

CPU Vcore….………......................... 1.25v (Auto) << Here is a HUGE issue, you cannot leave voltage on auto for overclock, this applies to PLL and termination as all. Set 1.25-1.38 and then you can lower later once you get stable

CPU Termination…......................... 1.24-1.32v
CPU PLL…………………....................... 1.5-1.58
CPU Referen.…………....................... 0.76V << Use Auto


MCH/ICH
MCH Core…………….....1.100V........... 1.2v (manual) << 1.24
MCH Reference….……...................... .76v (Auto)
MCH/DRAM Ref.…........................... 0.900V (Auto)
ICH I/O………………........................... 1.500V (Auto) << 1.55
ICH Core…………...……...................... 1.100V (Auto) << 1.14-1.2

DRAM
DRAM Voltage ……....1.800V............. 2.2v (manual)
DRAM Termination .…...................... 0.900V (Auto)
Channel A Reference ...................... 0.900V (Auto)
Channel B Reference ...................... 0.900V (Auto)

Of course the only voltages getting adjusted would be the ones that are listed above with a range provided. Those listed as auto would not be touched.

Sound accurate? Thanks for your patience.

Lsdmeasap...

Any thoughts on the info above. Just checking as I did not hear back. I'm being careful here. Thanks...[/B]

[zzzing]

Re: Stable E8400 OC - stock voltages

Just posting this in case it helps anybody out there with a similar configuration. This represents a 20% overclock on stock voltages for the E8400 E0 stepping. Full credit goes to LSD for the original template, I just made it a tad easier to read (I'm anal like that ). Perhaps it will help some noobs like I still am

Thanks, I used your baseline to get my E8500 going at 3.8 mhz, zero problems so far. I am researching for a better cooler than the stock Intel one, any suggestions are welcome.

[thepieguy]

Re: Stable E8400 OC - stock voltages

zzzing, I just purchased an Xigmatek HDT-S1283 cooler. It was easy to install, inexpensive, and dropped my temps substantially. I highly recommend it.

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: Stable E8400 OC - stock voltages

SBMongoos, sorry I got a bit behind here!

Ya, your thoughts sound good. You may need to lower your voltages last though if you do plan to tweak your Memory to the best though, at least Vtt/MCH Core and ram voltage anyway as those partially depend on ram settings used

[SBMongoos]

Re: Stable E8400 OC - stock voltages

Awesome, thanks! Actually, figuring out the BIOS profiles thing is something I want to do now since I'm playing around with further overclocking. I actually just posted a thread about my 4.0-4.2ghz overclocking aspirations so I will take a look at your 3.8 settings for sure. I'm going to stress my 4.0 tonight. Take it easy :)

Any details for your testing at 4-4.2Ghz? Curious.

[thepieguy]

Re: Stable E8400 OC - stock voltages

SBMongoos, I'm still working on 4.2Ghz; it's really wanting alot of vcore for it so I think I might stick to 4.0Ghz. I have not taken the time to attempt to tweak my memory timings, mostly because I'm not exactly sure where to start! But I have achieved a stable 4.0Ghz with only a slight bump to the stock vcore, at 1.2625 in the BIOS. Here are the settings I used:

MB Intelligent Tweaker(M.I.T.)
Robust Graphics Booster ...............: Auto
CPU Clock Ratio ..........................: 9x
Fine CPU Clock Ratio.....................:. +0.0
CPU Frequency ...........................: 4.0ghz

Clock Chip Control
Standard Clock Control
CPU Host Clock Control..................: [Enabled]
CPU Host Frequency (Mhz) ............: 445
PCI Express Frequency (Mhz) .........: 100

C.I.A.2 .................................:[Disabled]

Advanced Clock Control [Press Enter]
CPU Clock Drive...........................: 800
PCI Express Clock Drive.................: 900
CPU Clock Skew (ps)....................: 0
MCH Clock Skew (ps)...................: 0

DRAM Performance Control
Performance Enhance...................: [STANDARD]
Extreme Memory Profile (X.M.P.).....: Disabled
(G)MCH Frequency Latch...............: 333
System Memory Multiplier ..............: 2.0B
Memory Frequency (Mhz) ..............: 890 mhz
DRAM Timing Selectable ................: [Manual]

Standard Timing Control
CAS Latency Time........................ 5
tRCD ......................................... 5
tRP'........................................... 5
tRAS.......................................... 18

Advanced Timing Control
tRRD........................................... 3 (auto)
tWTR.......................................... 3 (auto)
tWR............................................ 6 (auto)
tRFC........................................... 56 (manual)
tRTP........................................... 3 (auto)
Command Rate (CMD) ....................: 0 (auto)

Driving Strength Profiles
Driving Strength ............................ 1066 for both channels

Channel A
Static tRead Value.........................: 9 (manual)
tRD Phase0 Adjustment...................:Auto 0
tRD Phase1 Adjustment...................:Auto 0
tRD Phase2 Adjustment .................:Auto 0
tRD Phase3 Adjustment..................:Auto 0
Trd2rd(Different Rank)....................:Auto 6
Twr2wr(Different Rank)...................:Auto 6
Twr2rd(Different Rank)...................:Auto 5
Trd2wr(Same/Diff Rank)..................:Auto 8
Dimm1 Clock Skew Control...............:Auto ps
Dimm2 Clock Skew Control...............:Auto ps

Channel B
Static tRead Value.........................: 9 (manual)
tRD Phase0 Adjustment...................:Auto 0
tRD Phase1 Adjustment...................:Auto 0
tRD Phase2 Adjustment .................:Auto 0
tRD Phase3 Adjustment..................:Auto 0
Trd2rd(Different Rank)....................:Auto 6
Twr2wr(Different Rank)...................:Auto 6
Twr2rd(Different Rank)...................:Auto 5
Trd2wr(Same/Diff Rank)..................:Auto 8
Dimm1 Clock Skew Control...............:Auto ps
Dimm2 Clock Skew Control...............:Auto ps

Motherboard Voltage Control
Voltage Type.………... Manual
Load Line Calibration......................... [Disabled]
CPU
CPU Vcore….……….........................: 1.2625 (manual)

CPU Termination…..... 1.200V*.......: 1.2 (manual)

CPU PLL…………………....1.500V*.......: 1.5 (manual)

CPU Referen.…………....0.755V*.......: .76 (auto)



MCH/ICH
MCH Core…………….....1.100V...........: 1.3 (manual)
MCH Reference….…….0.800V...........; .76 (auto)
MCH/DRAM Ref.…......0.900V...........: .9 (auto)
ICH I/O……………….....1.500V............: 1.5 (manual)
ICH Core…………...……1.100V............: 1.1 (manual)

DRAM
DRAM Voltage ……....1.800V............: 2.0v (manual)
DRAM Termination .…0.900V............: 0.9 (auto)
Channel A Reference 0.900V............: 0.9 (auto)
Channel B Reference 0.900V............: 0.9 (auto)

Advanced Settings
Limit CPUID Max. to 3.....................: [Disabled]
No-Execute Memory Protect............: [Enabled]
CPU Enhanced Halt (C1E)................: [Disabled]
C2/C2E State Support....................: [Disabled]
x C4/C4E State Support..................: [Disabled]
CPU Thermal Monitor 2(TM2) ...........: [Enabled]
CPU EIST Function.........................: [Disabled]
Virtualization Technology................: [Disabled]

Integrated Peripherals
Legacy USB Storage Detect ..............[Disabled]

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: Stable E8400 OC - stock voltages

If any of you need help with settings, let me know and I can help.

Looks like things may be moving right along without me so I will be on my way for now

[SBMongoos]

Re: Stable E8400 OC - stock voltages

So the settings above are stable for 4Ghz? Just checking as I noted you a remark about not know where to set the memory timings but I assume that's for the 4.2 not 4g.

Getting snow in Denver today. Potential for a big spring snow storm!

[thepieguy]

Re: Stable E8400 OC - stock voltages

Yes, those settings are stable for 4.0Ghz. My core temps are 49c under load. What I meant about the memory timings is that they are stable for 4.0Ghz, but I think I might be able to lower them a little bit. I just haven't tried it yet.

Lsd - thanks for offering your help, I saw your reply to my other thread concerning my problems with 4.2Ghz. I will try your suggestions as soon as I get a chance, thank you!

[SBMongoos]

Re: Stable E8400 OC - stock voltages

Man...maybe I'm not patient enough but I've tried the 4 and the 3.83 and under 4 my PC reboots after about 2 minutes of OCCT and locks up after 10 minutes at 3.83.