Newbie advice needed...

[nightkhaos]

Just a quick update while dinners cooking:

CPU Ratio = 21 (IE Turbo Boost permanently on]
BCLK = 190
Vcore = 1.3000v
QPI/DRAM Core = 1.4000v
Final Frequency = 3989.97MHz (3.9Ghz)

Temps Idle = 37C, Load = 77C (average = 72C)
Stable running Intel BurnTest at maximum/16 threads.

Hopefully the CPU will survive at least 3 years at these settings!

Are the QPI and DRAM voltages coupled in your motherboard?

Further more I have asked you 3 times about memory timings and multipliers, what have you set them too?

[tickleonthetum]

These are the settings:

CPU Ratio Setting       [21]
BCLK                    [190]
DRAM Frequency          [1523MHz]
CPU Voltage             [1.300]
QPI/DRAM Core Voltage   [1.4000]

The timings I manually set are 8-8-8-22

Is that what you wanted to know?

I have now dropped some settings to:

CPU Ratio Setting       [21]
BCLK                    [190]
DRAM Frequency          [1523MHz]
CPU Voltage             [1.280]
QPI/DRAM Core Voltage   [1.4000]
Memory timings          8-8-8-20 2T

CPUID reports that the memory frequency is 760MHz with a 2:8 FSB : DRAM ratio.

So far stable...

[tickleonthetum]

I have now changed the settings to:

CPU Ratio Setting       [21]
BCLK                    [191]
DRAM Frequency          [1531MHz]
CPU Voltage             [1.28750]
QPI/DRAM Core Voltage   [1.4000]
Memory timings          7-7-7-20 2T

CPU Frequency 4.00GHz
Idle = 37C - 39C
Load = 68C - 71C

[scaryjim]

Those temps look pretty good - thinking about trying to push it any further?

[tickleonthetum]

Probably not ScaryJim, I'm just after a balanced system for day to day use, not a benchmarking super Rig. I think I'm getting about the right balance between speed, temperature, CPU life and stability now. I'm just amazed I've managed it so quick for a first timer!

[nightkhaos]

I have now changed the settings to:

CPU Ratio Setting       [21]
BCLK                    [191]
DRAM Frequency          [1531MHz]
CPU Voltage             [1.28750]
QPI/DRAM Core Voltage   [1.4000]
Memory timings          7-7-7-20 2T

CPU Frequency 4.00GHz
Idle = 37C - 39C
Load = 68C - 71C

Looking better... I think the reason Vcore needs to be so high is because your QPI/DRAM voltages are coupled. They are not on my motherboard.

1.28 volts is still pretty high but I think you can be happy with it, compared to 1.35 volts that is.

[nightkhaos]

Probably not ScaryJim, I'm just after a balanced system for day to day use, not a benchmarking super Rig. I think I'm getting about the right balance between speed, temperature and stability now. I'm just amazed I've managed it so quick for a first timer!

i7s are pretty easy to overclock in my experience.

[scaryjim]

I'm just amazed I've managed it so quick for a first timer!

As kaos says, it sounds like i7s do reasonable overclocks fairly easily. I'm having tons of fun at the minute playing with the Athlon 2600+ in my old office rig - although your overclocks on the i7 make mine on the Athlon look decidely paltry

[nightkhaos]

As kaos says, it sounds like i7s do reasonable overclocks fairly easily. I'm having tons of fun at the minute playing with the Athlon 2600+ in my old office rig - although your overclocks on the i7 make mine on the Athlon look decidely paltry

AMDs are clocked high stock, so overclocking them doesn't yeild as greater results as overclocking Intels does.

[tickleonthetum]

No overclock is paltry ScaryJim! My old Pentium 4 couldn't go up by even 1MHz without crashing.

Anyhow, I have now changed the settings (again ) to:

CPU Ratio Setting       [21]
BCLK                    [191]
DRAM Frequency          [1531MHz]
CPU Voltage             [1.28125]  <-CPUID shows this as 1.272v, and did so when it was set 1.30000?
QPI/DRAM Core Voltage   [1.32500]
Memory timings          7-7-7-20 2T

CPU Frequency 4.00GHz
Idle = 37C - 39C
Load = 67C - 69C

I've noticed one core (#4) seems to always be a 3C - 5C cooler than the other 3.

So far, no crashes...! Hope that doesn't jinx it! As you said nightkhaos, no bad considering I started out at 1.35v / 84C!!

[nightkhaos]

I've noticed one core (#4) seems to always be a 3C - 5C cooler than the other 3.

This is normal Core number 4 is diagonally adjacent to Core number 1. As core number one will be loaded the highest under most circumstances (particularly when dealing with single threaded applications) Core number 1 will always be hotter than the other cores. As Core number 4 is the furthest away from Core number 1 this means it will have the highest temperature differential. Cores numbers 2 and 3 should have an apporximately equidistant temperature differentials when compared to Core number 1.

[tickleonthetum]

I jinxed it, it crashed in Intel Burntest on the second set.