Asus X299 - Support

[RuleBreaker01]

Here you go, although in Catalina, it's same as Mojave...except the OpenGL score in CB15 is higher in Catalina for some reason.

Is this higher score due to better RAM, or just more RAM?

iMacPro1,1 - Geekbench Browser

Benchmark results for an iMacPro1,1 with an Intel Core i9-7980XE processor.

browser.geekbench.com

*only* using 3200MHz RAM here, but 128GB of it.

 

[izo1]

Is this higher score due to better RAM, or just more RAM?

iMacPro1,1 - Geekbench Browser

Benchmark results for an iMacPro1,1 with an Intel Core i9-7980XE processor.

browser.geekbench.com

*only* using 3200MHz RAM here, but 128GB of it.
View attachment 413341

Generally due to speed of the RAM. Actually 16GB sticks are worse than 8GB sticks because they are single rank vs dual rank, buy if you want to max out the X299 platform, you have no choice other than 8x16GB.

My older ram was 2400 CL16 so it was limited by speed and I couldn't OC much.

Are you running the 7980XE OC'd?

For me, OC stability has always been weird in macOS..what works in Windows won't work in macOS.

 

[RuleBreaker01]

Generally due to speed of the RAM. Actually 16GB sticks are worse than 8GB sticks because they are single rank vs dual rank, buy if you want to max out the X299 platform, you have no choice other than 8x16GB.

My older ram was 2400 CL16 so it was limited by speed and I couldn't OC much.

Are you running the 7980XE OC'd?

For me, OC stability has always been weird in macOS..what works in Windows won't work in macOS.

4.6GHz on all core. The key was to bump a voltage setting, without it on macOS it would randomly crash. I had always avoided to bump that setting as I was under the false belief that it could reduce the lifetime of the CPU.

I have the Fixed Input Voltage set at 2.1V, which is the ASRock default whenever you changed the OC settings.
And in the FIVR, I have the Vcore Voltage set to default with offset of -0.005V.

It's been rock solid for over a year that way.

 

[izo1]

4.6GHz on all core. The key was to bump a voltage setting, without it on macOS it would randomly crash. I had always avoided to bump that setting as I was under the false belief that it could reduce the lifetime of the CPU.

I have the Fixed Input Voltage set at 2.1V, which is the ASRock default whenever you changed the OC settings.
And in the FIVR, I have the Vcore Voltage set to default with offset of -0.005V.

It's been rock solid for over a year that way.

I'm going to experiment with OCing a bit, every time I enable "Sync All Cores" and cap the boost clock to 4.5 macOS just freezes (7900X worked well with this setting with no modifications). This and the RAM issue (as suggested by @Jevens, will be trying a small bump on the voltage on the RAM).

I'll experiment a bit this weekend, on full load the CPU runs at 60c max, there's definitely a lot of room to push this thing.

Have you delidded by the way? I think it's worth it on that cpu.

 

[RuleBreaker01]

I have delidded my 7980xe (not that I saw a big difference really), I wouldn't risk it with a 9980.
With sync all cores to 4.5 in macOS, you must use at least -4 for the AVX offset. macOS makes extensive use of AVX instructions, far more so than Windows. And bumping the input voltage is compulsory.
I never had to touch the RAM settings.

What made the biggest difference with the custom watercooler. Either the Corsair H115i or the ThermalTake didn't do much. The EKWB on the other hand, mind blowing.

 

[izo1]

I have delidded my 7980xe (not that I saw a big difference really), I wouldn't risk it with a 9980.
With sync all cores to 4.5 in macOS, you must use at least -4 for the AVX offset. macOS makes extensive use of AVX instructions, far more so than Windows. And bumping the input voltage is compulsory.
I never had to touch the RAM settings.

What made the biggest difference with the custom watercooler. Either the Corsair H115i or the ThermalTake didn't do much. The EKWB on the other hand, mind blowing.

Yep, der8auer damaged the 9980XE by delidding.

What settings do you recommend for both AVX settings, even on stock or even just by enabling "Sync All Cores" (with speeds set to auto)?

Absolutely agree on the EKWB cooling. I have a 360mm dedicated just for CPU and a 240MM just dedicated for GPU. Really love how cool and quiet the whole system is.

 

[RuleBreaker01]

I used to have the all core sync at 4.8GHz with AVX set at 3 as @kgp had documented.
That was fine for 99.99% on my usage. However, when I attempted to run Prime95, it even made the buzzer on my motherboard scream, with temperature reaching 110C instantly.

While I will never run tasks as what Prime95 does, I didn't want my machine to die due to some dumb code running.
So I run the following settings: All Core 46
AVX2/AVX3 with offset of -5. Even with Prime95 I don't go over 100C with that.
I have set the maximum temperature of the CPU to be 100V (default is 105C).

Input Voltage: "Fixed Mode"
Fixed Voltage: "2.1 (V) (I don't know what that correspond to on the Asus.)
Undervolt as -0.005V (was crashing with some benchmark when I had it at -0.020V but was stable everywhere else)

The Fixed 2.1V is what the BIOS automatically set if you enable All Core OC.

http://asrock.pc.cdn.bitgravity.com/Manual/X299%20Taichi%20XE.pdf

page 71. Referred to "Configure the voltage for the CPU Vcore"
I found a few post stating that despite the setting showing in red, it was the appropriate setting (like here: https://www.overclock.net/forum/6-i...voltage-i9-7900-x299-taichi.html#post26476672)

In the tweaktown skylake OC guide:

Skylake-X Overclocking Guide

Here is everything you need to know to overclock Skylake-X.

www.tweaktown.com

which states:
"The CPU now has two voltages because Skylake-X brings back the Integrated Voltage Regulator. You get a CPU Input Voltage, by default this is 1.8v, but you should definitely increase this voltage. If you don't, you will be bottlenecking performance. I would set 2.0 or 2.1v for the Input Voltage. CPU Input Voltage is also called CPU VRIN External Override or VCCIN Voltage. CPU VCore is the voltage to the cores and derived from the internal voltage regulator. I would stay under 1.3v for LCC CPUs and 1.2v for HCC CPUs. In the case of VCore, you will be limited by your cooling, so you won't be able to get away with 1.4v unless you have a delidded CPU or really good cooling
"

If set to "Default", macOS would typically lock-up after 10 minutes.

On your Asus, it is "CPU Input Voltage" change from Default to 2.1V

TweakTown.com Enlarged Image

An enlarged full size image from https://www.tweaktown.com content.

www.tweaktown.com

Everything else is set to default.

Then play with your "Uncore voltage offset" until it's no longer stable ( I tested that under windows with the Intel application)

For my day to day usage, I never see the temperature going over 85C, and I run compilation jobs for 20 minutes and more regularly that max out the CPU at 100%

Good luck!

 

[izo1]

I used to have the all core sync at 4.8Ghz with AVX set at 3 as @kgp had documented.
That was fine for 99.99% on my usage. However, when I attempted to run Prime95, it even made the buzzer on my motherboard scream, with temperature reaching 110C instantly.

While I will never run tasks as what Prime95 does, I didn't want my machine to die due to some dumb code running.
So I run the following settings: All Core 46
AVX2/AVX3 with offset of -5. Even with Prime95 I don't go over 100C with that.
I have set the maximum temperature of the CPU to be 100V (default is 105C).

Input Voltage: "Fixed Mode"
Fixed Voltage: "2.1 (V) (I don't know what that correspond to on the Asus.)
Undervolt as -0.005V (was crashing with some benchmark when I had it at -0.020V but was stable everywhere else)

The Fixed 2.1V is what the BIOS automatically set if you enable All Core OC.

http://asrock.pc.cdn.bitgravity.com/Manual/X299%20Taichi%20XE.pdf

page 71. Referred to "Configure the voltage for the CPU Vcore"
I found a few post stating that despite the setting showing in red, it was the appropriate setting (like here: https://www.overclock.net/forum/6-i...voltage-i9-7900-x299-taichi.html#post26476672)

In the tweaktown skylake OC guide:

Skylake-X Overclocking Guide

Here is everything you need to know to overclock Skylake-X.

www.tweaktown.com

which states:
"The CPU now has two voltages because Skylake-X brings back the Integrated Voltage Regulator. You get a CPU Input Voltage, by default this is 1.8v, but you should definitely increase this voltage. If you don't, you will be bottlenecking performance. I would set 2.0 or 2.1v for the Input Voltage. CPU Input Voltage is also called CPU VRIN External Override or VCCIN Voltage. CPU VCore is the voltage to the cores and derived from the internal voltage regulator. I would stay under 1.3v for LCC CPUs and 1.2v for HCC CPUs. In the case of VCore, you will be limited by your cooling, so you won't be able to get away with 1.4v unless you have a delidded CPU or really good cooling
"

If set to "Default", macOS would typically lock-up after 10 minutes.

On your Asus, it is "CPU Input Voltage" change from Default to 2.1V

TweakTown.com Enlarged Image

An enlarged full size image from https://www.tweaktown.com content.

www.tweaktown.com

Everything else is set to default.

Then play with your "Uncore voltage offset" until it's no longer stable ( I tested that under windows with the intel application)

For my day to day usage, I never see the temperature going over 85C, and I run compilation jobs for 20 minutes and more regularly that maxout the CPU at 100%

Good luck!

You're a hero. Thanks!!

 

[izo1]

@Rulebreaker01 do you have any recommendations for the AVX settings (both) for stock 9980XE for stability purposes?

Thanks!

 

[RuleBreaker01]

@Rulebreaker01 do you have any recommendations for the AVX settings (both) for stock 9980XE for stability purposes?
Thanks!

I suggest you play with the Intel Extreme Tuning Utility under windows and the Prime95 tool.
I made mine so the CPU clock speed is never higher than 4.1GHz.
So if you set your clock speed to 4.5GHz, you have the AVX offset at 4, use 4.6->5 etc

When running Prime95 you will quickly see if the AVX2 instructions are too much for your cooling system.

In Prime95, make sure you keep your mouse pointer hovering over the stop test button. It can reach insane temperature, instantly regardless of the Tmax value (I've seen the CPU going at 120C for a couple of seconds)