OC stability Setting for beginners..Relative importance of critical OC settings

[Flatliner]

Hi ROG forums.

Relatively new to OC on a higher end board and was looking for advice.

My Hero+4670K capping out with stability at 4.2 (Multiplier at 42X and volts at 1.25). I can get it to 4.3 by raising the BLK but when I play Starcraft 2 it crashes with the dumps being linked to an error 124. Aida has similar issue at 4.3. I can boot into 4.6 but it crashes within seconds so I am fairly confident I still have some room.
I’ve increased the voltage to 1.25 knowing that the 124 crash dump error is often linked to not enough voltage. This does not correct the problem.

The temps are great, I am getting around 71 degrees for the hottest core even when it’s at an unstable 4.3. I am open to trying adaptive voltage but I figured it would be simpler to get a stable clock by tinkering with other things than fixed voltages knowing that the temps are well in check.
My OC Settings (in UEFI)
1. RAM: All settings on default. XMP
2. CPU : All cores at Multiplier 42x. All rest are on default (including EIST and other power saving stuff)
3. Voltages 1.25. All rest on default.

I know there are a lot of other settings that are supposed to add stability but I’ve had a really hard time finding a guide that says “do this first, then do that” for the maximus VI series UEFI.
The guide is great for the minutia but completely losses noobies like myself for the maximus series, the forum has about 100 recommendations and their does not seem to be a consensus on the relative importance of every setting. I.e. EIST is more important than say having CPU Load line validation at level 😎 http://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?33488-Maximus-VI-Series-UEFI-Guide-for-Overclocking

My question is: For us newcomers, what are there 5-10 settings any OC should have to increase stability in order of importance? I.e. What should even a noob be looking to change first? Thanks for the advice,

Robot 1501

[Nate152]

Hi Flatliner, These boards do come loaded with settings to play with don't they? I find it is best to set up your machine manually for stability, The only thing you need to change for overclocking your cpu is the cpu core ratio and cpu core voltage. You can set up your ram manually too to rule out XMP causing instability. I can help you do this if you'd like it is easy to do. What cpu cooler do you have?

[Flatliner]

Thanks Nate152...

I have it set up manually and adjusted the core voltage to 1.25 and the multiplier to 42x. I can try setting up the RAM. I have the timings on the box. I will give that a shot tonight. i have a hyper 212 evo... Seems to keep the heat in check with the mild oc i've done and does not seem to be the issue when I get to 43x as it still stays very low 70s.

ANy other settings you reco?

Ashley

[Nate152]

No, these boards seem to run best with all other settings at auto. To set up your ram manually go into the bios, Hit F5 to set defaults, not sure of your ram kit but, set AI Overclock Tuner to manual, Set the frequency and voltage of your ram then go to Dram timing control and enter the first 4 timings on the box they came in, let all other ram timings on auto. Set the cpu core ratio to 42 and cpu core voltage to 1.25v. You are now set up manually and ready to test for stability. You want to see 80c or below at all times.

[COLDSTATIC]

This is for nehalem core i7 price but still rings true.....mostly.
Q: Is there a list of BSODs and what I should do?

A: Thanks to Hammer=GOM= there is. He also provided a helpful link to software which will help you see what error code was displayed:
BSOD viewer:
http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/blue_screen_view.html
BSOD codes:
BSOD codes for overclocking
0x101 = increase vcore
0x124 = increase/decrease vcore or QPI/VTT...have to test to see which one it is
0x0A = unstable RAM/IMC, increase QPI first, if that doesn't work increase vcore
0x1E = increase vcore
0x3B = increase vcore
0x3D = increase vcore
0xD1 = QPI/VTT, increase/decrease as necessary
0x9C = QPI/VTT most likely, but increasing vcore has helped in some instances
0x50 = RAM timings/Frequency or uncore multi unstable, increase RAM voltage or adjust QPI/VTT, or lower uncore if you're higher than 2x
0x109 = Not enough or too Much memory voltage
0x116 = Low IOH (NB) voltage, GPU issue (most common when running multi-GPU/overclocking GPU)

[Flatliner]

Thanks Gents,

Ill set up the RAM manually as recommended. I have error 124. I Dont really want to push past 1.25 with what I have.. Temps are <71 degress.

WHat exactly is QPI\VTT ? is this voltage droop? Had this with my last board from 5 years ago.

Ashley

[Praz]

This is most likely just needing more VCORE.

[Nate152]

The QPI/VTT is the voltage rail that feeds the (IMC) Internal memory controller. The system agent voltage is what applies the voltage to the IMC. LLC ( Load Line Calibration ) is what is used to combat vdroop and is found in the DIGI+. You won't need to fool with any of that with such a mild overclock.

[Flatliner]

Made some changes based on feedback

1. So I increase Volt to 1.265
2. LLC = 8
3. DDR manual set to 1.5 volts, 9,9,9,24 DDR 1600 (Corsair vengeance)
4. 42x, blk 102.4 = 4.3GHz

I was not able to find the VCCSA seeting or the QPI/VTT setting (unless that is LLC).. Are they called something else?

Should i just go to 43x and ignore the BLK increase?

Have run AIDA benchmark for about 2 hours with no errors.. Will run it overnight and play some games to test it out.

Thanks,

[Nate152]

On your board the vccsa is the system agent voltage. You won't need to fool with this since you are only running 1600 MHz RAM. With a 4.3 GHz. overclock you can let LLC on auto or set it to medium which is 4,5,or 6. If Aida64 ran for 2 hours with no errors you are completely stable. No need to run it overnight. Are temps still in the low 70's? Increasing the BCLK increases your cpu speed, your ram speed, the speed of your pci express lanes, sata ports, and the speed of your usb ports. You have to watch how far you take the BCLK as it can corrupt your devices if you go too far. For an example, my 3770k's max BCLK is 107.