Out of ideas... OC help needed please!

[IonutZ]

Hello there,

I've been roaming these forums for a while trying every suggestion left and right but I can't seem to get it right. So I've decided to post in order to see what you guys think since you're much more seasoned than me.

My setup:

RIVE running 4901 (Sandy Bridge Version) from BOLTS4BREKFAST's thread.
i7 3930k cooled by Corsair H100 in Push / Pull Configuration
32GB Gskill Ripjaws @ 2400mhz (definitely can't get it to run that high) (4x8GB sticks = Quad channel)
Corsair 900D case with 4 Noctua NF-F12 pulling at the top, (the H100 is set under 2 of the Noctuas with another 2 pushing from the bottom) a Noctua NF-a14 at the top rear, 3x Noctua NF-F12 fans pulling from the front. The case is extremely well vented and it's MASSIVE so there's definitely no airflow problem. All my fans including the H100 are ran by a Aquaero 6 XT controller.
2x EVGA GTX 780s powering 3x Dell U2713HM monitors.
1x LSI / 3ware 9750-4i RAID controller that's hooked up to 4x 3TB WD Blacks
2x Samsung 830/840 256GB SSDs running on AHCI
2x 3TB Baracudas running on RST (intel raid from RIVE)
RME HDSPe PCIE sound interface which is hooked up to an external DAC
and some DVD burner from the 1950s

OS is running on one of the SSDs (Windows 8.1 Pro x64)

I've been trying for the last 2 days to get a stable OC, and I finally got it but it's far from what some of you are describing in terms of what your CPUs can do (and I get it, not all CPUs are the same) but here's mine:

CPU speed:
4250.2 (in TurboV EVO)
4250.0 (OC Key)
4133.80 (in CPU-z)

CPU Strap: 125mhz
BCLK: 125
Multiplier: 34 (can't find anything stable above that for some reason)
VCore: 1.36v
VCCSA: 1.26v
VTT: 1.2v
PLL: 1.3v

Disabled Anti Surge
Disabled C-States
Disabled SpeedStep
Turbo is Enabled

Disabled Spread Spectrums (CPU / PCIE)

BCLK Skew -1
PCIE Clock Skew -10
CPU I/O Skew -63
CPU I/O Drive Str -63

First and second timings on all ram sticks is from the XMP profile:
10-12-12-31 2T (per RAM spec)

DRAM AB: 1.65v (per RAM spec)
DRAM CD: 1.65v (per RAM spec)

I believe the RAM is running at 2000mhz, another option at the 125mhz strap is 2333mhz but it won't post at that.

Cannot run memtest86+ 5.01, it crashes between 50% and 70%, but I ran memtest86 4.37 overnight and got 10 successful passes with 0 errors (this is after I meticulously ran over each stick to make sure it runs fine). Some people can't run memtest86+ doesn't support all configurations apparently. My computer just shuts off during it.

With the configuration outlined above, I can run 10 passes of the IntelBurnTest v2.54 on Very High, getting the results seen below in the attachment. I only get around 133-135 GFlops. I've never gotten more than 140 GFlops and that was pure luck. CPU reaches around 72 Celsius.

Any suggestions or ideas would be welcome. I would ideally like to run the CPU at 4.5Ghz. Maybe you can give me your build, or a base to start out... either a strap of 100 or 125 would be very welcome.

Thank you for your help!

IonutZ

Sorry for the lack of BIOS pics, I can add those as well, wanted to post everything at once. Also if I can provide you with more info, please ask!

[Nate152]

Hello lonutZ, Welcome to the ROG forum.

1.360v for 4250 MHz seems a bit high to me. Unless you got a real dog of a cpu, you should be able to hit 4.5 GHz with the H100 cpu cooler.

Try this:

Go into the bios and hit F5 to set defaults. Go to extreme tweaker tab and set the ai overclock tuner to manual, sync all cores and set the cpu core ratio to 45, F10 and enter. Once in windows open up cpu-z and see what the cpu voltage is reading. Check cpu temps with real temp 3.70 or HWmonitor. Don't use ai suite to monitor cpu temps.

if everything looks ok you can then set the ai overclock tuner to X.M.P. to set your ram at its rated speed. If it doesn't boot after setting X.M.P. increase the vccsa voltage to 1.15v - 1.20v.

Run a stress test and see what the cpu voltage is jumping up to. Monitor temps while running the stress test. If it goes over 90c stop the test immediately.

If all is well you can then set the cpu core voltage manually.

What are temps and what voltage is needed for 4.5 GHz?

[IonutZ]

On the new bios it doesn't post period (with default values). I had to modify values with OC Key while it was shutdown to even get it to post.

To post at 4.5 Ghz I need 1.4v VCORE and it's not stable.

[Nate152]

Ok, your board has 2 bios chips, try the B bios. Is there any improvement?

[IonutZ]

I have 4802 on the A chip which posts on default settings, and 4901 on the B chip which doesn't post on default settings (so it has to be tweaked prior to first boot).

[Nate152]

All right, try the steps I mentioned with the A Bios.

[Arne_Saknussemm]

If BIOS A does not post after a clear CMOS you need to reflash it with a good BIOS. I would try something like 3504 you have a SB-E chip and the later BIOS are IB-E-centric.

Is that RAM a single quad channel kit? Maybe your CPU's IMC is weak and it is having trouble with that much memory and on top you have a lot running through PCIe so maybe the stress on the CPU at higher clocks is too much for that sample.

For best OC I would forget software tweaking and do things in the BIOS.

[IonutZ]

I'm only software tweaking in small increments and then testing after each change, once I get the desired output / stable combination, I take those values into BIOS. Is that approach wrong?

[Nate152]

As Arne said, it is always best to do your overclocking in the Bios. How are things going?

[IonutZ]

Should I try 3602 instead of 3504? The first one after 3602 is 4004 which has support for new CPUs.

I'm just about to start work on the 100mhz strap right now.