Socket 771 Mod Xeon X5460 GA-P35-DS3L Overclock

[lukevega]

Re: Socket 771 Mod Xeon X5460 GA-P35-DS3L Overclock

Darn it, I'm always so close but never quite there!

Will it make much difference being lower?

30 minutes in so far and seems to be playing nicely which is better than it has been doing (albeit at 3.85GHz):

[profJim]

Re: Socket 771 Mod Xeon X5460 GA-P35-DS3L Overclock

Darn it, I'm always so close but never quite there!

Will it make much difference being lower?

30 minutes in so far and seems to be playing nicely which is better than it has been doing (albeit at 3.85GHz):

If you want to test with lower reference settings that's OK, but you're probably wasting your time.

So close but never quite there?
Uh sorry but you've missed the boat this time.

3.85GHz?
I don't think so, 9.5 x 400MHz = 3.80GHz.
As I recall, your highest, fully stable overclock is 9.5 x 402MHz = 3.819GHz and you started having stability problems with 9.5 x 406 or 408MHz settings.

With LLC enabled I think that your Cpu Vcore can probably be in the 1.32 - 1.33 volt range.

In case it's not obvious, I think that you should stop the current test immediately, if not sooner.

On a more serious note, when tweaking reference volt settings, start with a setting that is one step higher or lower than the default 0.760 setting with VTT = 1.20 and then restore the desired VTT setting. If the test results don't show an improvement, use a new reference volt setting that is the next step higher or lower, depending on which direction you are going by following the same VTT procedure. As I recall, the best reference volt settings are usually within 4 steps from the original 0.760 setting.

It looks like enabling LLC has raised your core temperatures several degrees.

BTW, don't get confused by Lsdme's incorrect use of percentages in his thread where he mistakenly refers to percentages such as .72% instead of 72%

Don't worry, be happy and better luck with your next test.

[lukevega]

Re: Socket 771 Mod Xeon X5460 GA-P35-DS3L Overclock

Sorry Jim, I think my bad grammar has confused you...

I was trying to check the stability of the 3.8 LLC settings with EIST and C1E enabled (as I realised that they were not enabled). I probably should have retested without making any adjustments but I thought I would try adjusting the MCH core and see if it made a difference.

The '3.85' reference was to the recent tests I have been running which all seem to fail before 30 minutes, so it was nice to see a test last for longer than that (celebrating small margins again due to the number of failures).

The 'so close' reference wasn't to achieving stability but to being able to correctly follow instructions that I'm not 100% sure on - I got everything right except I lowered the voltage instead of increasing... I know that probably seems straightforward to most but I'm still a newbie and I'm sure that I'll make plenty more mistakes!

Well like you said, the test failed overnight and the system restarted. I will try increasing the MCH reference using the same procedure and see if it helps for both my LLC and no-LLC settings.

Thanks for the continued support even when you must feel like your trying to save a sinking ship haha!

[profJim]

Re: Socket 771 Mod Xeon X5460 GA-P35-DS3L Overclock

No problem, I think that the instructions in Lsdme's GTL Reference Volt thread gave examples for dual core processors where you would usually change MCH Ref to a value lower than the default 0.760 setting displayed in the bios.

I don't know if tweaking MCH Ref with your relatively low 400MHz FSB will help or not.
Some overclockers found it helpful with FSB ~475MHz or higher with their Q9550 processors and the 8.5x cpu multiplier.

Give it a try to see if it helps with your overclock.

[lukevega]

Re: Socket 771 Mod Xeon X5460 GA-P35-DS3L Overclock

Ok, well I'm up early and in the mood for trying some crazy settings so here's what I'm about to try (changes in bold - if I can manage to do that right!):

***************************************
***************************************
Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P (Rev. 1.0) - F11d
***************************************
***************************************
******************************
MB Intelligent Tweaker(M.I.T.)
******************************
Robust Graphics Booster ..............: [Auto]
CPU Clock Ratio ......................: [9X]
x Fine CPU Clock Ratio................: [+0.5]
CPU Frequency ........................: 3.80GHz( 400x9.5)
********** Clock Chip Control ********
>>>>>  Standard Clock Control
CPU Host Clock Control................: [Enabled]
x CPU Host Frequency(Mhz).............: [400]
PCI Express Frequency(Mhz)............: [100]
C.I.A.2...............................: [Disabled]
>>>>> Advanced Clock Control..........: [Press Enter]
CPU Clock Drive.......................: [800mV]
PCI Express Clock Drive...............: [900mV]
CPU Clock Skew........................: [  0ps]
MCH Clock Skew........................: [  0ps]
******** DRAM Performance Control ********
Performance Enhance...................: [Turbo]
(G)MCH Frequency Latch................: [Auto]
System Memory Multiplier (SPD)........: [Auto]
Memory Frequency(Mhz).....800.........: 960
DRAM Timing Selectable (SPD)..........: [Manual]
>>>>> Standard Timing Control
x CAS Latency Time................5...: [Auto]
x tRCD ...........................5...: [Auto]
x tRP.............................5...: [Auto]
x tRAS...........................18...: [Auto]
>>>>> Advanced Timing Control.........: [Press Enter]
x tRRD............................3...: [Auto]
x tWTR............................3...: [Auto]
x tWR.............................6...: [Auto]
x tRFC...........................52...: [Auto]
x tRTP............................3...: [Auto]
x Command Rate (CMD) .............0...: [Auto]
>>>>> Channel A Timing Settings.......: [Press Enter]
x Static tRead Value.............8...: [Auto]
x tRD Phase0 Adjustment...........0...: Auto
x tRD Phase1 Adjustment...........0...: Auto
x tRD Phase2 Adjustment ..........0...: Auto
x tRD Phase3 Adjustment...........0...: Auto
x Trd2rd(Different Rank)..........8...: Auto
x Twr2wr(Different Rank)..........8...: Auto
x Twr2rd(Different Rank)..........7...: Auto
x Trd2wr(Same/Diff Rank)..........9...: Auto
x DIMM1 Clock Skew Control (ps).......: Auto
x DIMM2 Clock Skew Control (ps).......: Auto
x DDR Write Training..................: Auto
>>>>> Channel A Driving Settings......: [Press Enter]
x Driving Strength Profile............: [Auto]
x Data Driving Pull-Up Level..........: Auto
x Cmd Driving Pull-Up level...........: Auto
x Ctrl Driving Pull-Up Level..........: Auto
x Clk Driving Pull-Up Level...........: Auto
x Data Driving Pull-Down Level........: Auto
x Cmd Driving Pull-Down level.........: Auto
x Ctrl Driving Pull-Down Level........: Auto
x Clk Driving Pull-Down Level.........: Auto
>>>>> Channel B Timing Settings.......: [Press Enter]
x Static tRead Value.............8...: [Auto]
x tRD Phase0 Adjustment...........0...: Auto
x tRD Phase1 Adjustment...........0...: Auto
x tRD Phase2 Adjustment ..........0...: Auto
x tRD Phase3 Adjustment...........0...: Auto
x Trd2rd(Different Rank)..........8...: Auto
x Twr2wr(Different Rank)..........8...: Auto
x Twr2rd(Different Rank)..........7...: Auto
x Trd2wr(Same/Diff Rank)..........9...: Auto
x DIMM1 Clock Skew Control (ps).......: Auto
x DIMM2 Clock Skew Control (ps).......: Auto
x DDR Write Training..................: Auto
>>>>> Channel B Driving Settings......: [Press Enter]
x Driving Strength Profile............: [Auto]
x Data Driving Pull-Up Level..........: Auto
x Cmd Driving Pull-Up level...........: Auto
x Ctrl Driving Pull-Up Level..........: Auto
x Clk Driving Pull-Up Level...........: Auto
x Data Driving Pull-Down Level........: Auto
x Cmd Driving Pull-Down level.........: Auto
x Ctrl Driving Pull-Down Level........: Auto
x Clk Driving Pull-Down Level.........: Auto
****** Motherboard Voltage Control ******
Voltage Types..........Normal...........Current
-----------------------------------------------
>>> CPU
Load-Line Calibration.................: [Enabled]
[SIZE=4][B]CPU Vcore..............1.23750V.......: [1.32500V][/B][/SIZE]
CPU Termination........1.200V.........: [1.260V]
CPU PLL................1.500V.........: [1.570V]
CPU Reference..........0.760V.........: [Auto]
>>> MCH/ICH
MCH Core...............1.100V.........: [1.200V]
[SIZE=4][B]MCH Reference..........0.760V.........: [0.778V] When set to 0.740V[/B][/SIZE]
MCH/DRAM Reference.....0.900V.........: [Auto]
ICH I/O................1.500V.........: [Auto]
ICH Core...............1.100V.........: [Auto]
>>> DRAM
DRAM Voltage...........1.800V.........: [2.100V]
DRAM Termination.......0.900V.........: [Auto]
Channel A Reference....0.900V.........: [Auto]
Channel B Reference....0.900V.........: [Auto]
******** Advanced BIOS Features ********
CPU Enhanced Halt (C1E)...............: [Enabled]
CPU EIST Function.....................: [Enabled]

HWiNFO, CPU-Z, MemSet and RealTemp all running for 15 minutes (ET6 screenshot taken) and about to try Large FTTs again. I know the MCH Reference is lowered by one notch compared to normal but I will just raise it if it fails

[profJim]

Re: Socket 771 Mod Xeon X5460 GA-P35-DS3L Overclock

As long as you're testing with MCH Ref = 0.740 with VTT = 1.20, you might want to try lowering MCH Ref one more step and testing again to see if the test results are better or worse. Then you can decide which additional MCH Ref values you want to test with, that is, higher or lower.

[lukevega]

Re: Socket 771 Mod Xeon X5460 GA-P35-DS3L Overclock

Gotcha!

Well the test failed at 31 minutes - typical haha!



I will lower MCH Reference one more step like you say and check for differences - I guess to determine if it's better or worse I'm looking at how long the system runs 'stable' for primarily and then if the temperatures are affected?

[profJim]

Re: Socket 771 Mod Xeon X5460 GA-P35-DS3L Overclock

Yes you are looking for stability.

With an optimal and stable MCH Ref setup, you might be able to then lower some of the other voltages which might lower some temperatures.

It looks like your current lower Cpu Vcore = 1.32500 is OK.

[lukevega]

Re: Socket 771 Mod Xeon X5460 GA-P35-DS3L Overclock

Thanks Jim!

Could you please explain how you figure out if the vcore looks ok or not? I'm not able to analyse the results well enough to see the things you can but am trying to learn :)

[profJim]

Re: Socket 771 Mod Xeon X5460 GA-P35-DS3L Overclock

If some of the voltages are too high or too low, your system might not post and/or be able to boot to the windows desktop.

MCH Core that is too far off can lead to repeated boot loops.

With LLC enabled, Cpu Vcore might be stable down to about 1.31 with your current overclock.

There are quite a few Q9550 o/c threads in the Gigabyte forum that have a lot of useful information.
Looks for threads that have a lot of replies and browse them in your spare time.
In some of these threads, the OP changed several different reference volt settings.
Back then there were often several very experienced forum members advising and contributing at the same time.

Happy reading!

[lukevega]

Re: Socket 771 Mod Xeon X5460 GA-P35-DS3L Overclock

Well it's passed the 31 minute mark and temperatures look similar :) Let's hope it keeps going!



I'll get on that reading soon.

[profJim]

Re: Socket 771 Mod Xeon X5460 GA-P35-DS3L Overclock

Core temperatures look excellent.

Vcore = 1.296 V in HWiNFO

[lukevega]

Re: Socket 771 Mod Xeon X5460 GA-P35-DS3L Overclock

2 hour Large FTTs pre-test PASSED :D



Gonna shut down the system and re-test with small FTTs for 2 hours - keep those fingers crossed!

[profJim]

Re: Socket 771 Mod Xeon X5460 GA-P35-DS3L Overclock

Well it certainly took you long enough for Prime95 too run error free for 2 hours.

The settings in MemSet looked tighter than normal and your bios settings has DRAM Performance Enhance = Turbo.
You'll need to see how long your system remains stable with the turbo setting.

Hopefully your next test won't have any Prime95 rounding errors or other problems.

I'll be back in the forum in 10 - 12 hours.

[lukevega]

Re: Socket 771 Mod Xeon X5460 GA-P35-DS3L Overclock

Yeah, I noticed the settings had turbo enabled so that's why I thought I'd revisit them to see if I could progress my overclock with the tighter timings and hit two birds with one stone!

Hope you enjoy your short break from me pestering you!