x58 xeon x5675 overclocking help needed with high speed mem

[sebaskitty]

hello good day.

my main computer is a xeon x5675 x58 build


and to be honest. it is a love hate relationship.

it runs nicely when it does. be harsh to it. and it wil bite you.

so okay. i want to overclock it.

i got a gigabyte g1 guerilla. which is the smaller brother of the assassin but stil a solid board nontheless.

i was at 4.7 ghz before on a previous chip. and i degraded that a bit when i went too high on vcore (1.65v iirc? was just a yolo attempt to see how high it can run)

anyhow i got a new chip here in my system and i was happy with around 4.4ghz oc.

now i had random full system freezes for the last 2 weeks.. and after days of figuring out. swapping cpus. swapping ram.

i figured out half my ram was ecc and half of it was normal. and it was causing weird crashes (no bsod. the os would just slowly crash. first chrome. then audio. then the game freezes. along with the rest)

so i went out bought a second hand pair of 2x8gb corsair 2400mhz ddr3 dimms for 60 euros

and since then i had no more freezing. (thank god the board is fine..i hope hah)


anyways. now i've been stuck on a weird barrier ever since i got that memory.

i reset my stuff to stock prior to installing the ram to prevent stuff from exploding hah.

but.

when on stock cpu speeds. i can enable xmp. and it wil clock the memory to 2288 mhz. and overclock the BCLK by 10mhz.

but i want to go as high as i can on both cpu and ram if possible. (if i cant reach 2400 it wont be a problem tho)

now i've hit a strange barrier of 4.37ghz. and higher. and it wont post.

in matter of fact. if i increase ANYthing it wil not post

so its stuck on uncore 3325mhz. and higher. no post

ram is on 1400 mhz. any higher. no post

same with cpu.

i'm on BCLK 175 with a 25x multiplier.

on my previous chip i used 23x190 iic. that was before i realized this board does not turbo down with 100% cpu usage and it wil stick to the 25x multiplier.

now i've read and watched a bunch of x58 related videos.

and i've not fully came to the understanding what i can do to improve this here.

since i got a gigabyte board. guides using evga/asus boards are even harder to follow by the fact that gigabyte uses different names for voltages ect.


since sure.. a 4.37 ghz oc.. is kinda okay.. i stil have the 1400 mhz memory problem.

i run a game that requires serious cpu and memory performance. so any gains wil add up (going from 3ghz to 4.4 already added about 35 fps to the physics simulation)


what can i do to improve this?

i got an aio atm and tempatures are well within range. worse case scenario. i wil toss my nh-d15 on it. but so far my aio and nh-d15 have been very close in range with each other.

my goal was to have 4.4ghz/4.5ghz cpu. and atleast 2000 mhz ram. now i know the uncore wont reach 4ghz (altho i've seen a dude running one at 4.8 before lmao)

but 3.3ghz uncore seems a bit low.

i have attached pictures of my current bios settings which hopefully wil help a bit. and attached a screenshot of the cpu on stock. with xmp enabled.
(note i know the vcore is kinda high for the freq atm. but it drops like 0.050mv ish under load. and i can cool it so its good enough for initial oc setup)




thank you alot in advance for any help you can offer.

 

[Zyll Goliat]

Well OC on X58 platform is always FUN when you have a lot of time to spare .......joke a side you should try to put manually your memory timings and then try to rise it bit by bit and see how that goes.....also NEVER go that HIGH with CPU voltage.....also I am not sure IF you aware but you have TRIPLE memory channel not dual and you should have 6 memory slots on your mobo so always look to get at least 3 memory sticks and to put them in three slots of the same colour on your board.....

 

[sebaskitty]

Well OC on X58 platform is always FUN when you have a lot of time to spare .......joke a side you should try to put manually your memory timings and then try to rise it bit by bit and see how that goes.....also NEVER go that HIGH with CPU voltage.....

i'm not sure which memory timing to put in.

i saw

11-13-13-31
and
9-9-9-24
on the site.
my memory is currently running the latter.

 

[Regeneration]

You're lucky the world's biggest X58 expert is lurking in this forum.

Meltdown and Spectre Patched BIOS for X58 Motherboards

Linked below is a database of modified BIOSes for X58 motherboards patched with the latest microcode (0x1F for Westmere, 0x1D for Bloomfield) against Meltdown and all variants of Spectre. Make sure the operating system is also updated to be fully protected from speculative execution side-channel...

www.techpowerup.com

Xeon 5600 series have a limited memory multiplier of 10 on Gigabyte motherboards. Either get Xeon 3600 or push BCLK as high as possible and tweak timings.

The best way to maximize memory performance is by boosting both DDR clock and timings. For example: DDR 1800 9-9-9-24 1T is faster than 2400 11-11-11-30.

QPI Pll and IOH voltages can help against clock spikes in high BCLK.

Raise uncore as high as possible within the safe QPI/VTT voltage (1.3v).

Use HCI Memtest (one instance per thread) or MemTest64 or Linpack Xtreme to test memory stability.

Use Prime95 v26.6 custom FFT run of 512k to 1024k with 90 percent of RAM to test uncore stability.

Use Linpack Xtreme to stress test the processor cores.

 

[Zyll Goliat]

i'm not sure which memory timing to put in.

i saw

11-13-13-31
and
9-9-9-24
on the site.
my memory is currently running the latter.



View attachment 158594

Wait man...That's your problem right there...you MIXING 2 different memory sticks with totally different speeds and timings you should ALWAYS avoid things like that......

 

[sebaskitty]

no? i have only these 2 sticks in my system. if i google vengeance pro ddr3 2400 i see the sticks i have

You're lucky the world's biggest X58 expert is lurking in this forum.

Meltdown and Spectre Patched BIOS for X58 Motherboards

Linked below is a database of modified BIOSes for X58 motherboards patched with the latest microcode (0x1F for Westmere, 0x1D for Bloomfield) against Meltdown and all variants of Spectre. Make sure the operating system is also updated to be fully protected from speculative execution side-channel...

www.techpowerup.com

Xeon 5600 series have a limited memory multiplier of 10 on Gigabyte motherboards. Either get Xeon 3600 or push BCLK as high as possible and tweak timings.

The best way to maximize memory performance is by boosting both DDR clock and timings. For example: DDR 1800 9-9-9-24 1T is faster than 2400 11-11-11-30.

QPI Pll and IOH voltages can help against clock spikes in high BCLK.

Raise uncore as high as possible within the safe QPI/VTT voltage (1.3v).

Use HCI Memtest (one instance per thread) or MemTest64 or Linpack Xtreme to test memory stability.

Use Prime95 v26.6 custom FFT run of 512k to 1024k with 90 percent of RAM to test uncore stability.

Use Linpack Xtreme to stress test the processor cores.

what wil these custom bios benefit me from? i currently have spectre and meltdown patches disabled in windows

 

[Zyll Goliat]

no? i have only these 2 sticks in my system. if i google vengeance pro ddr3 2400 i see the sticks i have


what wil these custom bios benefit me from? i currently have spectre and meltdown patches disabled in windows

Ok then that's better....again it will be MUCH better for you IF you could get 1 more stick so that you get advantage of your TRIPLE memory channel...now you should tweak your timing to match the desired memory speed that you configure in the bios...and always start a bit easy with some loose timings and then get more&more tighter......for example 9-9-9-24 1T its pretty common JEDEC timings for the 1333Mhz memory speed.....so If your memory is working now on 1400mhz with that timings it's a bit tighten but should work on 1,5V....Go higher with speed and try to loose a bit timings....tweak and try again&again...having lower(tighten) timings with higher speed is Ideal solution but ain't always easy to get working properly......

P.S.: I guess that DDR3 2400 Mhz could be a bit to much for your motherboard or your Xeon to handle

 

[sebaskitty]

Ok then that's better....again it will be MUCH better for you IF you could get 1 more stick so that you get advantage of your TRIPLE memory channel...now you should tweak your timing to match the desired memory speed that you configure in the bios...and always start a bit easy with some loose timings and then get more&more tighter......for example 9-9-9-24 1T its pretty common JEDEC timings for the 1333Mhz memory speed.....so If your memory is working now on 1400mhz with that timings it's a bit tighten but should work on 1,5V....Go higher with speed and try to loose a bit timings....tweak and try again&again...having lower(tighten) timings with higher speed is Ideal solution but ain't always easy to get working properly......

P.S.: I guess that DDR3 2400 Mhz could be a bit to much for your motherboard or your Xeon to handle

i've never done any ram tweaking stuff in my life before lel

but yeah it doesnt have to run at 2.4 ghz.

i just want the cpu overclocked and have a nice ram boost in the back of it.

so it seems like lowering the ram speed. allows you to run it at tighter speeds/timings.

which is a better idea incase of x58 right?

 

[Regeneration]

Use AIDA64 to read the SPD info, take a photo of it, and enter manually in the BIOS. Go lowest possible in the maximum safe voltage (1.60). Use MemTest86 or bootable Linpack Xtreme as unstable memory can corrupt files.

 

[sebaskitty]

these ?

i just reset my bios.

and first want to do a cpu overclock before touching memory

it is currently at 4.2 ghz with memory close to 1333mhz.

any tips in terms of actual cpu overclocking? i see mixed suggestions between lowering or making cpu pll higher.

 

[Regeneration]

Yes, use these timings, but try lower RFC. You start with uncore first, then memory and last CPU.

 

[agent_x007]

Just a side note : XMP profile calls for 361 tRFC timing value on those RAMs.
Does your motherboard setting for it even go that high ?

Because if it doesn't, 2400MHz XMP profile is useless to you.

 

[sebaskitty]

Just a side note : XMP profile calls for 361 tRFC timing value on those RAMs.
Does your motherboard setting for it even go that high ?

Because if it doesn't, 2400MHz XMP profile is useless to you.

the max this board did was 2288 when xmp was on

 

[agent_x007]

the max this board did was 2288 when xmp was on

OK, but what are exact values it set for secondary timings at this speed ?

^Did it pick random number between 1 and 255, since it can't put 300+ in there ?
Of course I am reading the manual, so with BIOS update(s) it could get changed (that's why I asked what's max. you can set in BIOS).

 

[freeagent]

You need a cpu that you can change memory dividers, like a W series or i7 if you want the big numbers.

 

[sebaskitty]

OK, but what are exact values it set for secondary timings at this speed ?
View attachment 158623
^Did it pick random number between 1 and 255, since it can't put 300+ in there ?
Of course I am reading the manual, so with BIOS update(s) it could get changed (that's why I asked what's max. you can set in BIOS).

i'll check that right now

 

[DR4G00N]

X58 is not usually happy with 8GB Dimm's, that's likely the issue. 4GB or 2GB dimm's should do 2000+ without much hassle if they have the right IC's.

 

[Zyll Goliat]

X58 is not usually happy with 8GB Dimm's, that's likely the issue. 4GB or 2GB dimm's should do 2000+ without much hassle if they have the right IC's.

Well I have 3x8gb and 3x2gb for total of 30Gb...never have the issue...tho' maybe some boards are sensitive on certain memory.....

 

[sebaskitty]

linus made a video of trying 48 gigs on this board and it ran fine for 48hours straight in tests. idk though. depends on the quality of the board.

anyways for some reason the memory now doesnt wanna run above 1480 or so mhz when set to 2288 xmp. it appears to now ignore anything higher than 10.0.

anyways i'm picking up a cheap 5660 tomorrow to see if that chip has more potential even tho its 1 snitch slower.

for some reason this x5675 refuses to run uncore any higher than 3ghz stable.. pretty sure my old chip did 3.6 atleast

 

[Regeneration]

We already told you Xeon 5600 series are limited to memory divider of 10.

If I remember correctly, X5675 is the latest production with improved IMC (uncore).

Uncore can normally be clocked between 3300-3500 for 3 modules at 1T command rate with the proper QPI/VTT voltage

As people told you, your memory comes with high tRFC values (300) the motheroard cannot support.

Use 6-8-8-17 or 9-9-9-24 and respective timings and see how high both goes (by clock). Benchmark with AIDA64 and pick the fastest one.

 

[Zyll Goliat]

Yeah as @Regeneration said above don't waste your time&money on another(X) CPU the result will most likely be identical....instead of that if you have money to waste it will be much better to buy 1 more memory stick to complete your triple memory channel....maybe the BEST solution for you is to sell this ram(or return/change)and get other this time on 1866Mhz instead and that will probably work without any problems...GL

 

[silentbogo]

The thing is, pushing memory on X58 past ~2000MHz is fruitless and unreliable. There are many reasons why it is the way it is (not just tRFC limits, or eventual UCLK matching issues).
When I still had my Rampage II GENE, I was quite content with running my 2133Mhz Ripjaws at 1800-2000, but with tighter timings and at lower voltages.
Also, never trust and never use XMP on x58. I'm surprised your PC posted at all with profile enabled.

 

[sebaskitty]

the xeon w3670 i s the cheapst W chip with a unlocked multiplier right? i can see a few for sale for 20$ on aliexpress

 

[oinkypig]

i never had any problems with the x5765 at 4.6Ghz nor 4.8Ghz. The only difference is your running at 25x instead of the typical base multiplier 23x. try running a lower multiplier and increase the fsb instead.
200x23x=4.6hz and 209x23x=4.8Ghz. Turn Turbo mode off, leaves speedstep on if you want, and dont raise ram above 2050Mhz. 10-10-10-20 should be stable for 2400Mhz memory @ ~2000-2100 Mhz. 25X is 100% not a stable multiplier for the x5675, especially for all cores. I haven't heard of a motherboard that can manually allow you to select it, its supposed to be used for 1-2 cores, not all 6, 25x is bottoming out the system for sure. I wouldn't mess with uncore by the way, there's no need. The only numbers you need to pay attention to for performance are the first 4 memory timings and command rate set at 1t, not 2t. Leave qpi and uncore clock ratios on auto. messing with those is asking for a system freezing bsod. Also make sure you raise the qpi voltage from 1.315 to 1.35v that might be why your starving the overclock. it's perfectly fine.
cpu core-1.45-1.5v
cpu pll-1.88v
qpi-1.35v
dram-1.66v
enable load line calibration
multi-23x
fsb-200 or 209

 

[sebaskitty]

i never had any problems with the x5765 at 4.6Ghz nor 4.8Ghz. The only difference is your running at 25x instead of the typical base multiplier 23x. try running a lower multiplier and increase the fsb instead.
200x23x=4.6hz and 209x23x=4.8Ghz. Turn Turbo mode off, leaves speedstep on if you want, and dont raise ram above 2050Mhz. 10-10-10-20 should be stable for 2400Mhz memory @ ~2000-2100 Mhz. 25X is 100% not a stable multiplier for the x5675, especially for all cores. I haven't heard of a motherboard that can manually allow you to select it, its supposed to be used for 1-2 cores, not all 6, 25x is bottoming out the system for sure. I wouldn't mess with uncore by the way, there's no need.
cpu core-1.45-1.5v
cpu pll-1.88v
qpi-1.35v
dram-1.66v
enable load line calibration
multi-23x
fsb-200 or 209

yeah i've been messing with non turbo overclocks. with both 21x and 23c multiplier.

this chip used to be in my server. i once got 2 of these chips and binned the best one for yolo overclocking til i get a bunch of them in the mail.

the previous one did 4.6ghz ezpz. but this one just does not get stable past 4.35~ ghz. even with pure bclk testing.

i'll give it another shot with alot lower uncore..

i Might swap the old "degraded?" chip back in.

since i swapped my ram that might have been the reason the pc was unstable in the first place.

i made sure i never went over 1.35 for vtt since that is fatal.

but the vcore of that chip has been on 1.65v before for maybe a hour or 4 max


i have not found a setting to disable speedstep in the bios though. is it called something else?

also. my system has no on or off LCC setting. i either have AUTO. Intel SPEC. LEVEL1 and LEVEL2. what would you recommend ?