To prevent further threadjacking of http://forums.bit-tech.net/showthread.php?p=2615256#post2615256 I have a new Sandy Bridge build which appears perfectly solid when running at stock speeds (I ran Prime95 for an hour or so and generally it seems happy) but as soon as I attempt even the slightest overclock of the CPU or memory Windows freezes at startup when displaying the logo just before the logon prompt. CPU - 2500K Motherboard - Asus P8P67 (B3, BIOS version 1305) RAM - 8Gb Corsair Vengeance (this one) Graphics card - ATI HD4890 Power supply - Seasonic 500W Operating system - Windows7 x64 SP1 Corsair Reactor 120Gb boot drive, WD 640Gb data drive Initial setup: Load optimized defaults in BIOS, turn off Bluetooth & HD Audio What I've tried: * Enable XMP profile in BIOS tried booting with both sticks of RAM or just one stick in each slot * Tried the Windows memory test with the XMP profile enabled which passed fine * Set everything back to optimized defaults and attempted a mild overclock (base clock 38) * Cleared CMOS and tried the above all over again with the same result. Help?
Base clock or CPU Ratio? Is your memory in the right slots? What are your temps? Have you tried the auto-OC functions on the ASUS board? Have you followed the guides on bit-tech?
Whoops yes CPU ratio ofc. Memory is in recommended slots 2 & 4 Temps are ~35C idling and ~60 when running Prime95 when everything is set to auto (ie Turbo'd to 3.7GHz). My case is a bit old so temps are a little higher than I would like. Tried the auto o/c which came up with a CPU ratio of 42 and a slight base clock overclock with memory speed slightly above the 1600 it is rated at. I read this but there didn't seem to be any hard and fast settings to apply, but as stated it crashes with everything on auto apart from the CPU ratio which was set to 38. I also tried the first part of this guide (with the settings for 4GHz) with the same results.
Strange, basically have the same exact set up setting aside the graphics card/psu - thought i have the rev 2 pro version of the board and followed the bit-tech overclocking guide to the letter, did not have a issue...and it clocked straight to the 4.5ghz it stated it would. Downloaded the latest bios and flashed it before hand i take it?
The B3 boards seem to have the latest BIOS already - 1305. I've either done something mind bogglingly stupid or one of my components is knackered I guess. I'll try the bit-tech settings tonight and report back what happens - I wanted to see how far I could go without upping the CPU voltage; with the old case I have the less heat to dissipate the better. I don't hold out much hope though!
Use the bit-tech overclock guide..its "simplesss" and worked for me....what are you using for cpu cooling?
I just pressed the button in AI Suite for an instant 4.33Ghz rock solid stable OC on the same setup. It's enough for my needs.
I'm on air with a Gelid Tranquillo which should be ok. The case is a Coolermaster Centurion 534 with a front intake fan and rear and side panel exhausts. Like I said not ideal but I've had my old E8400 based system running in it for years with no problems. The temps I have been able to see so far haven't seemed excessive - I've been using the latest version of RealTemp for monitoring them, it's been pretty reliable before.
The question is if you use the power saving features or not ? For me it was: 1) turn off turbo. Period. 2) set the multiplier up to higher setting 3) for first, turn off all power saving features. C1E, EIST, C3/C6, thermal protection - everything. 4) Set VCore to reasonably high value (1.38-1.4V). Set QPI/VTT higher (1.15-1.2V). Try to find a good compromise between speed, thermals and voltage. When you are done, turn back C1E, EIST and themal protection, but never turn C3/C6 back (in my case it was responsible for BSOD@4.6GHz). Set the VCore to Dynamic voltage and set the aditional voltage according to the original voltage you had set manually before (in my case i had 1.405V in BIOS, that means +0.045V extra in DVID value to the standard 1.36V VCore. And then sit back and watch if you get BSODs or not. I thankfully managed to OC to 4.6GHz stable this way, it is not the best overclock, but considering my CPU idles at 1.6GHz@1.02V and runs at 4.6GHz@1.392V at load, i shouldn't complain.
On the ASUS boards you should be able to just leave everything auto and up the CPU multiplier. That should work! The voltage will be a little higher than needed but it's the most failsafe method. If that or the Auto-OC function doesnt work, there's another issue somewhere. Set your memory to 1333MHz?
@faugusztin I'm guessing I have the power saving features turned on as all settings are as per optimised defaults right now. But ouch that looks like a lot of voltage. From what I've read I would hesitate to put that much through my setup. If nothing else if I have to go that high I doubt I'll have the cooling to cope. If the bit-tech settings fail I'll certainly try disabling the suggested features though, thanks.
Yeah the memory is back at its default SPD values. Just setting the multiplier to 38 at that point causes the Windows crash. No BSOD, nothing in Windows Event Viewer. I've seen on the Asus forums that resetting the CMOS and removing the battery can sometimes be required to get 1600 rated memory to run at its XMP settings, I'll try that as well. It seems more likely that as you say something else ain't quite right - that shouldn't affect the multiplier overclocking, should it?
I had to do this to eliminate a cold boot issue i first had to get my xmp sorted for my memory to run at 1600mhz, it maybe effecting your ability to overclock so no harm in trying.
Of course it is a lot of voltage. 1.4V in BIOS means 1.38-1.392V real load voltage. And that is the upper limit where you should stop increasing the voltage. That's why i said that you should set the limit voltage, which is the most you are willing to put into it, then find out the max stable clock, and then slowly decrease the voltage until you reach your final stable voltage. I don't really like the "go from standard and slowly increase the voltage until you boot successfully" method . 1.38V is a safe voltage, so why not set it for start and not be bothered with it until you find out what clocks your silicon handles ? And yes, power saving features like C1E and C3/C6 support limit your OC, and if you have Turbo enabled, then even more.
Oh well as expected the bit-tech settings didn't work either, same system freeze just before the windows logo. Off to dismantle my PC again!
Personally i would take photos of all your settings in bios and post them here so we can see what you have done/what needs adjusting...set it like you are doing the overclock so we can have a look...you just may have one of those "cpus"
You know, even if chips are from the same batch, doesnt meen that they can all handle the same OC. It's not really an exact science
Well I'm narrowing things down a little I guess. Clearing the CMOS again with the battery out had no positive effect. Just through experimentation it sees that I can change the voltages without any problem but as soon as it comes to changing the AI overclock tuner from Auto to anything else - even to Manual but with nothing else changed - it freezes on Windows start. Likewise changing the CPU ratio to anything other than Auto will cause a freeze, even lowering it to 34. Re-flashed the BIOS to 1305 again as a last resort, but still no joy. The only other thing I can think of is that it might be my Windows installation that's causing the grief, is that even possible?
Or your Cpu or another piece of hardware like the board or memory..as the blackswordsman has pointed out not all CPUS will always overclock exactly the same or some just may not like Oc-ing. As for windows? well once again i am using win 7 home edition.
The fact that switching to manual without actually changing anything makes me think the mobo is at fault. Try switching to manual and the downclocking everything if it still fails you can bet its some sort of mobo fault.
