# Overclocking an i7 2600k on an asus sabertooth



## rfowler30 (Apr 7, 2011)

im bidding on a core i7 2600k and was planning on getting a the asus sabertooth for the sandy bridge version.  im planning on overclocking this baby to 4.5ghz on air and was curious if it was possible with the asus sabertooth.  i cant afford the maximus IV Extreme but dont want to sacrifice ne overclocking capabilities.  does ne one know if theres a difference, both have really good cooling motherboard components.  im getting 8gb 1600 mhz ram, just fyi.


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## Fourstaff (Apr 7, 2011)

You can probably get the cheapest p67 board out there and still be able to hit 4.5Ghz, Sandy Bridge is very overclock friendly. I am not too sure which p67 boards to get, but you will get your answer soon enough from others.


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## 20mmrain (Apr 7, 2011)

Fourstaff said:


> You can probably get the cheapest p67 board out there and still be able to hit 4.5Ghz, Sandy Bridge is very overclock friendly. I am not too sure which p67 boards to get, but you will get your answer soon enough from others.



Agreed most P67 boards will get yah there. How ever to get there with the least amount of Heat and problems is a different story. 

But yes you should have no problem getting to 4.5 Ghz with the Sabertooth. The motherboard will not be the problem. It will boil down to the Chip and how much voltage you will need. And whether it will be safe for 24/7 use. But since most people are getting overclocks from 4.3 to 4.7 on stock volts you shouldn't have a problem reaching something that will make you happy.


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## PaulieG (Apr 7, 2011)

rfowler30 said:


> im bidding on a core i7 2600k and was planning on getting a the asus sabertooth for the sandy bridge version.  im planning on overclocking this baby to 4.5ghz on air and was curious if it was possible with the asus sabertooth.  i cant afford the maximus IV Extreme but dont want to sacrifice ne overclocking capabilities.  does ne one know if theres a difference, both have really good cooling motherboard components.  im getting 8gb 1600 mhz ram, just fyi.



Just an FYI, I'd get the P867p pro or deluxe instead of the Sabertooth if you want Asus. The Sabertooth is a nice looking board, but it has fewer power phases (8+2 vs. 12+2) and will only allow for memory dividers up to 1866. The Pro and deluxe support 2133 and 2200. Looks aside, the Sabertooth is not a very good value.


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## rfowler30 (Apr 7, 2011)

Paulieg said:


> Just an FYI, I'd get the P867p pro or deluxe instead of the Sabertooth if you want Asus. The Sabertooth is a nice looking board, but it has fewer power phases (8+2 vs. 12+2) and will only allow for memory dividers up to 1866. The Pro and deluxe support 2133 and 2200. Looks aside, the Sabertooth is not a very good value.



what about the sabertooth thermal design, wouldnt it be better than the the pro or deluxe p867p.  also the p8p67 doesnt look like it has sli support which is wut i would like for a future.


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## bpgt64 (Apr 7, 2011)

The P8P67 supports x8/x8 SLI/Crossfire.


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## PaulieG (Apr 7, 2011)

rfowler30 said:


> what about the sabertooth thermal design, wouldnt it be better than the the pro or deluxe p867p.  also the p8p67 doesnt look like it has sli support which is wut i would like for a future.



The TUF design is really just a gimmick. If you have good airflow in your case or run an open bench, thermal dissapation is not a real concern. The Pro and Deluxe support SLI and Crossfire.


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## Deleted member 24505 (Apr 7, 2011)

All really nice boards, i agree with Paulieg though.

The p867p dlx is expensive in the uk though at £199, the sabretooth being £164.


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## newbieguy (Apr 7, 2011)

Paulieg said:


> The TUF design is really just a gimmick. If you have good airflow in your case or run an open bench, thermal dissapation is not a real concern. The Pro and Deluxe support SLI and Crossfire.


Is there a big difference between p8p67 Deluxe and p8p67 Pro?
It's been troubling me sometimes now which mobo to choose.


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## 20mmrain (Apr 7, 2011)

Paulieg said:


> The TUF design is really just a gimmick. If you have good airflow in your case or run an open bench, thermal dissapation is not a real concern. The Pro and Deluxe support SLI and Crossfire.



+1 on that statement .... Although I think it is a very cool gimmick! I almost fell for it because it looks so cool. Glade I went with the Extreme IV though


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## PaulieG (Apr 7, 2011)

newbieguy said:


> Is there a big difference between p8p67 Deluxe and p8p67 Pro?
> It's been troubling me sometimes now which mobo to choose.



The Deluxe has 16+2 VRM while the Pro has 12+2 VRM. The Deluxe also has 2 gigabit ethernet ports vs the 1 on the Pro. Is it worth the price difference? No IMO. 12+2 VRM is plenty, and the extra giga ethernet is not important to me.



20mmrain said:


> +1 on that statement .... Although I think it is a very cool gimmick! I almost fell for it because it looks so cool. Glade I went with the Extreme IV though



I almost did too, but the power phases and lack of DDR3 2133 support were deal breakers.


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## rfowler30 (Apr 7, 2011)

Paulieg said:


> The Deluxe has 16+2 VRM while the Pro has 12+2 VRM. The Deluxe also has 2 gigabit ethernet ports vs the 1 on the Pro. Is it worth the price difference? No IMO. 12+2 VRM is plenty, and the extra giga ethernet is not important to me.



what power phases does the asus sabertooth have.  considering that more because of its color, would go better with a red and black theme(cpu cooler red, fans red, gpu red, ram black, haf x case black and red).


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## PaulieG (Apr 7, 2011)

rfowler30 said:


> what power phases does the asus sabertooth have.  considering that more because of its color, would go better with a red and black theme(cpu cooler red, fans red, gpu red, ram black, haf x case black and red).



As I noted above, it's only 8+2 compared to the 12+2 on the pro, and 16+2 on the deluxe. It's not a good idea to base motherboard purchase solely based on aesthetics.


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## rfowler30 (Apr 7, 2011)

ok never mind considering the deluxe more now lol.


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## PaulieG (Apr 7, 2011)

rfowler30 said:


> ok never mind considering the deluxe more now lol.



The pro is a good middle ground. I'm not sure anything beyond 12+2 is really gonna make a difference.


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## rfowler30 (Apr 7, 2011)

good because newegg is out of the deluxe version


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## heky (Apr 7, 2011)

@Paulieg
It is not just the number of phases that is important. Its the Amps each phase can deliver. So for example if the P8P67 Pro has 12*20A phases for the cpu, that amounts to 240A max, and if the sabretooth has 8*35A phases, that amounts to 280A. Which would acctualy be superior. I am not saying that is the way it is, i am just pointing out, that just the number of phases means sh*t, if it is not the same design!


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## mstenholm (Apr 7, 2011)

heky said:


> @Paulieg
> It is not just the number of phases that is important. Its the Amps each phase can deliver. So for example if the P8P67 Pro has 12*20A phases for the cpu, that amounts to 240A max, and if the sabretooth has 8*35A phases, that amounts to 280A. Which would acctualy be superior. I am not saying that is the way it is, i am just pointing out, that just the number of phases means sh*t, if it is not the same design!



More phases means less ripple, all things being equal.


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## PaulieG (Apr 7, 2011)

heky said:


> @Paulieg
> It is not just the number of phases that is important. Its the Amps each phase can deliver. So for example if the P8P67 Pro has 12*20A phases for the cpu, that amounts to 240A max, and if the sabretooth has 8*35A phases, that amounts to 280A. Which would acctualy be superior. I am not saying that is the way it is, i am just pointing out, that just the number of phases means sh*t, if it is not the same design!



Agree with you here. However, unless I see different, I'm assuming that since it's the same manufacturer, that they are designing it with the same amps per phase throughout the product line. I'd hope that Asus would mention this if there was a superior phase design on the Sabertooth. No documentation I can find suggests it.


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## heky (Apr 7, 2011)

No no, i didnt mean to imply the sabertooth has a superior phase design. I just wanted to say only the number of phases doesnt really tell the whole story. I know a good example was on the P35 motherboards, where the abit ip35pro beat all the other boards that had 16phase design, but the abit only had 4 phases. Although they were rated for much higher Amps.

Although generally i would say more is better, as it divides the load on more components.


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## cadaveca (Apr 7, 2011)

Paulieg said:


> Agree with you here. However, unless I see different, I'm assuming that since it's the same manufacturer, that they are designing it with the same amps per phase throughout the product line. I'd hope that Asus would mention this if there was a superior phase design on the Sabertooth. No documentation I can find suggests it.



I am hoping ASUS will send me one, and I'll let you know.

Just an FYI, does matter the board, they are are all only really 4 phases. Those 4 phases may have double or triple components, but really, it's more about the switching frequency and the current those phases can provide, than the number of components that make up the phases. It's not like memory with additional channels...per se.


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## gero9mo (Apr 9, 2011)

I found this info at hardforum:
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1579273

"
The general semi-truth is that the more power phases you have, the easier it is to have a higher stable overclock. This is only true if the rest of the power delivery system is equal. Here is where "military grade" TUF components come in. Haven't you wondered why all ASUS's top "republic of gamers" overclock boards (like ASUS ROG Rampage III Extreme) have only 8 phase to CPU, while boards like the Deluxe have 16 phase? 

You might find some answer here:



> Microprocessor load current profiles have changed to the point that using single-phase regulators is no longer a viable solution. Designing a regulator that is cost-effective, thermally sound, and efficient has become a challenge that only multi-phase converters can accomplish nowadays. Note that the number of phases utilized is left to the discretion of the designer(s) - no VRD configuration includes this specification. The consensus amongst most enthusiasts is that a greater phase count results in a more "stable" Vcore (Vcc) delivery - a fallacy which motherboard designers and industry marketing leaders are all too willing to promote (it's much cheaper to slap a few more power delivery phases on a motherboard than to create an actual high-performance design). Quality of power regulation is dependent on the robustness of the design, to include proper power and ground plane placement, effective signal routing and decoupling measures, selection, location and rated capacity of correctly matched components and overall adherence to sound engineering principles. Because of this, the design and implementation of a well developed 5-phase solution will, in most situations, out perform a "lesser tuned" 8-phase solution.



http://www.thetechrepository.com/showthread.php?t=126

Basically, quality is better then quantity.
-------------------------------------------------

This board is ment to be more durable than all the other boards ASUS have in the P67 lineup, and that's why the waranty is extended on this board as well. I do believe the higher qualety on some of the power componenets will have an effect, at least it should have. My board is extremely stable and easy to overclock.


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## Ring (Apr 14, 2011)

I have the same problem, and thank all of you very much! 
I have learned more~~~`


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## txsouthpaw (May 12, 2011)

The "armor" concept doesn't really impress me either. I would have given more consideration to the Sabertooth had it's price been lower. Also, I don't care for the color scheme. On the other hand, the extended warranty period is nice. I run a WS Rev. and couldn't be happier with it, but my decision came down to it and the Deluxe.


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## jmarker (May 17, 2011)

I'm running this exact setup.  Core i7 2600K and Sabertooth P67 Rev 3 and I'm clocked at 4.5Ghz on a CoolerMaster V6GT cooler.  Processor runs at full load around 60c +- 2c for 24 hours.  Board barely rises above 45c.  The TUF design might seem like a gimmick to most people, but I'm sold.  This setup is solid. 

The Maximus has a bunch of extra settings, but the 2600k is so overclock friendly that you'll be fine with the Sabertooth.  It's got what you'll need for a solid 5Ghz clock. Maybe even 5.2, if you have a processor from a good batch.  I see no need to go over 4.5 personally.  I may even knock that down to a flat 4.


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## l0ud_sil3nc3 (May 18, 2011)

get a p8p67 or the equivalent z68 board and save some cash over the mive


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## newls1 (May 21, 2011)

Paulieg said:


> As I noted above, it's only 8+2 compared to the 12+2 on the pro, and 16+2 on the deluxe. It's not a good idea to base motherboard purchase solely based on aesthetics.



Come on, you do realize that the choke/phases on the sabertooth are 2 times the size as the chokes on the other asus boards right??  The sabertooth has nearly the same exact power phases / chokes as the maximus board and the WS version P8 board.  Why do people always think, "Oh my board has 37 chokes and a 4*16 power setup so it must be better then a board with only 8 chokes."  I dont understand the knowledge.  I've had both boards the P8P67-PRO, and the Sabertooth.....  My OC using the same 2600k was 200MHz higher on the sabertooth using less voltage...  explain that huh?  Sabertooth is a superior board hands down then the p8p67 series boards, and you do pay a small fee for it.  YES, the board has a "thermal Armour" that is nearly pointless, and YES, the board is somewhat ugly.... WHO CARES!!! the board performs excellent. And maybe im 1 of the few, but I can speak with 100% proof behind my statements as i've used board boards...  Some people just "TALK" cause it's what they have "READ" on the internetz forumz....... but have nothing to back up statements.....  END RANT----------


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## PaulieG (May 21, 2011)

newls1 said:


> Come on, you do realize that the choke/phases on the sabertooth are 2 times the size as the chokes on the other asus boards right??  The sabertooth has nearly the same exact power phases / chokes as the maximus board and the WS version P8 board.  Why do people always think, "Oh my board has 37 chokes and a 4*16 power setup so it must be better then a board with only 8 chokes."  I dont understand the knowledge.  I've had both boards the P8P67-PRO, and the Sabertooth.....  My OC using the same 2600k was 200MHz higher on the sabertooth using less voltage...  explain that huh?  Sabertooth is a superior board hands down then the p8p67 series boards, and you do pay a small fee for it.  YES, the board has a "thermal Armour" that is nearly pointless, and YES, the board is somewhat ugly.... WHO CARES!!! the board performs excellent. And maybe im 1 of the few, but I can speak with 100% proof behind my statements as i've used board boards...  Some people just "TALK" cause it's what they have "READ" on the internetz forumz....... but have nothing to back up statements.....  END RANT----------



Easy there, killer. I've never owned the Sabertooth, so of course we discuss what we've read and compare/contrast it with what we actually know. The wonderful thing about an open forum is that people can add or contradict knowledge based upon their experiences. Members before you already pointed out the difference  in phase design, etc. That is good. I also had issue with the board only having support up to 1866. That was found to not be true too. That's also good, because now others considering the board may now buy it because of that information. I welcome those people in the know to challenge what I or others assume. I just prefer people not be jackasses in doing so.


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## Deleted member 74752 (May 21, 2011)

Consider any of the Biostar mb's...you will not be disappointed.


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## newls1 (May 21, 2011)

Paulieg said:


> Easy there, killer. I've never owned the Sabertooth, so of course we discuss what we've read and compare/contrast it with what we actually know. The wonderful thing about an open forum is that people can add or contradict knowledge based upon their experiences. Members before you already pointed out the difference  in phase design, etc. That is good. I also had issue with the board only having support up to 1866. That was found to not be true too. That's also good, because now others considering the board may now buy it because of that information. I welcome those people in the know to challenge what I or others assume. I just prefer people not be jackasses in doing so.



I 100% did not mran to come off as a jackass, but rather frusturated when I keep reading false info... Good day sir!


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## halninekay (May 23, 2011)

P67 Extreme 6 here.

4.5 GHZ 24/7 in just one mouse click. H70 cooler.
Highest oc I've reached stable was 5.0.


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## LDNL (May 23, 2011)

rickss69 said:


> Consider any of the Biostar mb's...you will not be disappointed.



wait.. 2 cores / 2 threads on a 26k?


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