EVGA X58 SLI3 & Xeon W3680 build & OC

[xrror]

Dropped the multiplier down to 25 from 26 and it started plus passed both test.

So that dropped the proc speed down from 166*26 (4316) to 166*25 (4150) correct?

It's been my limited experience that over 4.2Ghz is when these chips start craving the voltage if they have the thirst. It's also been my experience with the 5 or 6 of these family chips (32nm 6core) that they vary wildly between chips too - not a bad thing, just that don't get disheartened if someone says "well mine only needed 1.35v to run 4.6 (ssuuuurrreee)" while another is "at 1.5v mine still won't run 4.5 stable (raises hand)"

I'm also the first to say, I'm no expert at x58 overclocking either, but by how your chip seems to be behaving try setting 1.4v vcore and then see how much you can get from that. If you can get a sweet spot then try working vcore down to something like 1.38v and around there is probably easy running/cooling.

It's odd that raising QPI/VTT voltage (the onboard memory controller) caused your system to be less stable - normally that's one of the voltages these chips really crave (beware it's also the easiest to KILL these procs with too) which is why I'm thinking maybe your vCore of 1.35v isn't enough vCore over 4.2Ghz.

I'm just guessing, hopefully others here can confirm and/or tell me i'm insane ;p

Also, just as a point of reference - the screenshot I posted of the W3690 above don't take those as recommended voltages. Running 1.54v with a VTT of 1.43v is me literally being a jackass to that proc and it's still not really stable - running rosetta@home on it the machine will "wander off" after a few days which is a fail for me. But that chip also seems to wall at 4450mhz where even stupid volts (1.6v - do NOT do this) and windows won't load consistently so...

But the only reason I'm beating on the poor thing is I finally retired it as my main rig after I thought it died (turned out, 1 bad stick of memory out of 12 after 8 years, who knew?).

Again, these chips vary wildly in fun ways. The W3670 I have, has an uncore that does 3.85Ghz uncore easy but since it's mult locked bclk needs to be over 190 which my gigabyte ud3r board(s) don't seem to really like for 24/7 rosetta stability.

I had another W3670 which was like the leakiest 32nm ever - I couldn't cool it even at 4.2Ghz it was nuts. In retrospect that probably would have been a beast LN2 bench chip for someone but again just crazy variation.

The important part though is just have fun - and don't stress if you can't get an arbitrary speed at this point with socket 1366...

Because even if you do get a full pimp OC on this 10 year old platform, you're still "only" going to be as fast as a stock gen 1 Ryzen 1600
Which I mean, isn't bad, but it's not worth losing sleep over at this point.

 

[rGBurninator]

Interesting, try dropping the VTT down one step below the starting point and bump the multi back up to 26, then try again.

I will have to try it tomorrow, I was up late last night playing with some settings and running tests and now I am paying for it today at work haha. With Vdroop on at the suggested settings you mentioned it did not load into windows but vdroop off it had no issues.

As for Vdroop setting : It's up to you.
Without Vdroop = LLC Enabled,
With Vdroop = LLC Disabled.
I'd say you can have without Vdroop set if you are under 1,4V Vcore (since any spikes that overvolt above should be fine long term). If you plan to use this CPU 24/7 with Vcore above that value, depending on cooling, temp stability and actual Vcore required, you better to have Vdroop disabled for 24/7.

I don't think I will be needing to go over 1.4V Vcore, I hope lol. But, yes this is a 24/7 all around PC for now. Eventually I would like to get a newer system for gaming and streaming but right now can't justify the cost for performance. I mean, I am into my build, including PC peripherals, $520 and can play the newest AAA titles in my game collection at 80+ FPS on high settings with temps on CPU and GPU below 55C, so I am pretty happy with

At 200x21 1.35v my x58 would pull 400w at the wall running Linpack Xtreme. I have a 650 which is enough to run it at stock, and the rails tank when you try to oc

So Far I have not heard any whining, but if that happens I will just have to bump it up to a 1000w!!!! lol

So that dropped the proc speed down from 166*26 (4316) to 166*25 (4150) correct?
Because even if you do get a full pimp OC on this 10 year old platform, you're still "only" going to be as fast as a stock gen 1 Ryzen 1600
Which I mean, isn't bad, but it's not worth losing sleep over at this point.

Yes, that is correct and ran the burn test and benchmark which both passed. I agree about the "only" part but that processor or Intel equivalent would cost half the price of my entire build! I am going for budget PC here with specs that can handle modern day applications/games.

 

[xrror]

it did not load into windows but vdroop off it had no issues.

Yea that's classic "needs more vCore"

Just in case you didn't know, all that the vDroop settings do is try and compensate for voltage drop under load - the voltage controller has a feedback to detect if a given .. rail? drops below the set value and it will "goose" the voltage up a little and try to compensate. It's just a "nicer" way keep a given voltage under worst case conditions (jump from 0%idle to all core 100% max load) than the old school of just setting the voltage higher to begin with and burning that extra power at idle where you don't really need it.

But both approaches work.

(EDIT add: okay to clarify confusing terms. vDroop setting in BIOS might be better named anti-vDroop - it's how hard you want the mobo to "fight against" the voltage droop.)

You can either set vDroop to be more aggressive, or turn vDroop off and simply set the voltage higher to begin with - under full load the end result it pretty much the same. But the vDroop route has the advantage of burning less power when idle.

You usually only turn vDroop off if a given motherboards implementation just isn't doing it for you - but by the x58 era vDroop works really well. Situations where you'd prefer it off are ones where you don't care about overshoot anymore (like, Liquid Nitrogen runs) and overvolting your proc is the least of your worries lol

 

[Tomgang]

I have not read the entire post, so dont known if this all ready have been told. But here goes any way. OP´s Xeon W3680 is a rebranded I7 980X just like my own cpu. That means this CPU has unlocked multiplier. So it is possible to overclock with BLCK and multiplier or a combination.

I can share the bios settings i use for my CPU, that might be a help for OP. Settings are for a 4.4 GHz overclock on my asus board. ULCK clock is what is called uncore on other motherboards.

BLCK bios settings.

http://imgur.com/a/I1zrcZx

multiplier settings.

http://imgur.com/a/9UDJX3B

Ajust voltage accordingly to to your cpu. I it might need less or more depending on how lucky you are with the silicone in the chip.

 

[freeagent]

They can take as much vcore as you can give it, as long as its coolish. I have no qualms feeding 1.6v as long as I can cool it, like in the winter lol.. as for qpi I have no need to go higher than 1.4v on my x5690. I don’t have fast ram, or the divider to run it.

I really wouldn’t mind checking out a W series Xeon.

 

[rGBurninator]

So I played around some more with the settings. I dropped the mv down one step suggested by lex and it didn't really make a difference to much. So I got brave, while in the bios settings if you scroll through each section the color will change on the options you can choose within each category. They go from white to green to red. So I set the voltage to 1.4 and went through each setting and picked all the lowest green settings and restarted with out issues. Ran the burn test, passed that then ran cinebench and passed that with a little bit higher score. Tonight I will play around with those settings in the green and see if I can improve.

 

[lexluthermiester]

So I played around some more with the settings. I dropped the mv down one step suggested by lex and it didn't really make a difference to much. So I got brave, while in the bios settings if you scroll through each section the color will change on the options you can choose within each category. They go from white to green to red. So I set the voltage to 1.4 and went through each setting and picked all the lowest green settings and restarted with out issues. Ran the burn test, passed that then ran cinebench and passed that with a little bit higher score. Tonight I will play around with those settings in the green and see if I can improve.

What speed are you at with those settings?

 

[rGBurninator]

26X166 4.3ghz

 

[lexluthermiester]

26X166 4.3ghz

Ah, ok. You made your target OC work. Nice!

 

[rGBurninator]

Ah, ok. You made your target OC work. Nice!

YEAH! But I am worried about the temps right now. At idle without vdroop I am sitting at about 47-50C and when running that burn test it hit 71 with the settings you recommended. When I play something like the new Modern Warfare it gets to about 63ish but it fluctuates. I would like to have the settings set correctly to be able to utilize the vdroop so the temps are not so high at idle but can't seem to find the sweetspot. I have tried many different settings with vdroop enabled and it either won't pass the windows logo or it will log into windows but freeze up right after.

 

[lexluthermiester]

YEAH! But I am worried about the temps right now. At idle without vdroop I am sitting at about 47-50C and when running that burn test it hit 71 with the settings you recommended. When I play something like the new Modern Warfare it gets to about 63ish but it fluctuates.

That's a common thing for an OC like that. Remind us all what cooler you're using?

I would like to have the settings set correctly to be able to utilize the vdroop so the temps are not so high at idle but can't seem to find the sweetspot. I have tried many different settings with vdroop enabled and it either won't pass the windows logo or it will log into windows but freeze up right after.

Rule of thumb for OCing, if something works, go with it.

 

[rGBurninator]

That's a common thing for an OC like that. Remind us all what cooler you're using?

I am using a Cooler Master Hyper 212 Black Edition with 120mm fan

Rule of thumb for OCing, if something works, go with it.

haha Yeh, by the time you go through all the work trying to figure out what settings are stable! Those temps are not to high?

 

[lexluthermiester]

I am using a Cooler Master Hyper 212 Black Edition with 120mm fan

That's actually a good cooler. However at the levels of OC you're pushing that CPU is likely putting out 155w to 160w of heat under load, which is pushing the limit of what the heatsink can handle(AFAIK). However...

haha Yeh, by the time you go through all the work trying to figure out what settings are stable! Those temps are not to high?

...those temps are not wild and you were running Intel Burn Test which applies the maximum load to an Intel CPU. If 71 was the highest you reached under that load, I think you're going to be fine as is because let's face facts, how often are you going to hit that load level?

Personally? I would drop the OC on that CPU to the 4.2ghz range and drop the voltages accordingly. This will still grant a serious OC but keep power and temps down. Silicon lottery is at play here and I think you've hit the limit for that particular CPU.

If you decide you want to keep the 4.3ghz settings but are still worried about the temps you could go for something like the following for a heatsink;

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Buy DEEPCOOL Neptwin RGB Multiple RGB Modes 6 U-shaped Heatpipes & Twin-tower PWM CPU Air Cooler Metal Mounting Kit AM4 Compatible with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg!

www.newegg.com

You can then either sell your Hyper or pass it along to another system build.

 

[rGBurninator]

That's actually a good cooler. However at the levels of OC you're pushing that CPU is likely putting out 155w to 160w of heat under load, which is pushing the limit of what the heatsink can handle(AFAIK). However...

I love this cooler! I would like to keep it and possibly add another fan on the backside to help pull the air through.

...those temps are not wild and you were running Intel Burn Test which applies the maximum load to an Intel CPU. If 71 was the highest you reached under that load, I think you're going to be fine as is because let's face facts, how often are you going to hit that load level?

Yeah, 71 was max and I agree, I don't think I will ever load it up that much with everyday use. Just feels so hot below the desk, like there's a heater blowing under my desk and it freaks me out but then I check the temps and its at like 55 lol. I also, have 2 200mm fans on top of my PC fan sucking out all that hot air.

Personally? I would drop the OC on that CPU to the 4.2ghz range and drop the voltages accordingly. This will still grant a serious OC but keep power and temps down. Silicon lottery is at play here and I think you've hit the limit for that particular CPU.

I think I will do that tonight. If I can get it to a sweet spot of 10c below what I am at now and be at a stable 4.2ghz I will be happy with that.

 

[xrror]

burn test it hit 71

If that's your worst temp you're totally fine.

 

[lexluthermiester]

I think I will do that tonight. If I can get it to a sweet spot of 10c below what I am at now and be at a stable 4.2ghz I will be happy with that.

Do let us know what you speed & settings you settle on.

 

[rGBurninator]

Do let us know what you speed & settings you settle on.

Yes, of coarse! I have been busy with life lately and haven't been able to mess with it to much but right now I am settled at 4.15GHZ without any issues. I will get the settings tonight and post them up, I am actually still messing around a little to fine tune it but seems to be working great as of now.

 

[lexluthermiester]

I am settled at 4.15GHZ without any issues.

That still a very solid OC!