Gigabyte Z390 M Gaming build with working NVRAM

[fFour]

From what I read (and this is all anecdotal from overclockers) was that the Auto setting basically lets the BIOS go wide open with the voltages, so it will over shoot the minimum amount required by the CPU. I used HWMonitorSMC2 (other apps will work too) to monitor the voltages being applied during the benchmarks, and under the Auto Vcore, the voltage would top out at > 1.4V. So I ended up setting it at 1.45V manually and it seemed to be pretty stable.

But I was also trying to hit 5.1 GHz, and I could never achieve that. I think I just ended up leaving it at 1.45V.

With PC's advice though, I revisited that and by adjusting down the voltage I'm getting better benchmarks! I've seemed to hit the floor at 1.35V for 5.0 GHz but I will keep testing in the 0.05V increments.

My crashes then being from not setting the voltage high enough? I definitely didn’t try upwards of 1.4

 

[tedyun]

My crashes then being from not setting the voltage high enough? I definitely didn’t try upwards of 1.4

Maybe, although mine seems to be pretty happy at 1.35V. I am only doing Geekbench. I haven't tried going into the Windows side yet to see if mine is stable.

If you're using the Auto setting, I suspect, like mine, the voltages are going above >1.4V

I'm not an expert at this though! I just started dabbling in overclocking. It is very dependent on the "silicon lottery."

 

[pastrychef]

My crashes then being from not setting the voltage high enough? I definitely didn’t try upwards of 1.4

That would be my first guess. Try with 49 multiplier and see if it runs stable.

 

[fFour]

This is on BIOS f9k, I’m looking to update to the new release, probably before I tinker with vcore again. Do we know if the BIOS profile settings can be carried over the update to new BIOS version by saving and then loading from USB?

 

[pastrychef]

This is on BIOS f9k, I’m looking to update to the new release, probably before I tinker with vcore again. Do we know if the BIOS profile settings can be carried over the update to new BIOS version by saving and then loading from USB?

I don't know. I re-did the BIOS settings manually after updating BIOS.

 

[tedyun]

This is on BIOS f9k, I’m looking to update to the new release, probably before I tinker with vcore again. Do we know if the BIOS profile settings can be carried over the update to new BIOS version by saving and then loading from USB?

When I update my BIOS, I was unable to load the previous version’s profile. It gave the error that the profile was for a different BIOS. But you can try!

 

[pit512]

Hi pastrychef and friends,

I would like to build a new, maybe last, hack and decided to go with the same Gigabyte Z390 M Gaming as you, PC.

But I’d like to put a 9900KF instead of a 9900K inside... It is a bit cheaper and I read somewhere that it heats up less.

What’s your opinion about this? Is it a good choice?

 

[pastrychef]

Hi pastrychef and friends,

I wanted to build a new, maybe last, hack and decided to go with the same Gigabyte Z390 M Gaming as you PC.

But I’d like to put a 9900KF instead of 9900K inside... It is a bit cheaper and I read somewhere that it heats up less.

What’s your opinion about this? Is it a good choice?

I don't know if it will run any cooler than a 9900K, but there shouldn't be any problems with using it. I was using an i5-9400F for a while on my Z370 build and it was absolutely fine.

Just be aware that without an IGPU, iMac19,x system definition will not be an option.

 

[pit512]

No problem, I planned to use iMacPro1,1 SMBIOS...

Thanks!

 

[fFour]

I ran a bunch of geekbench 5 tests on clover EFIs 5120 and 5126, testing iMac19,1 and iMacPro1,1, on Catalina and Big Sur (5126 only of course). I think the problems I was having in FCPX on 5126 seem to show up in the GPU benchmarks. My BIOS settings are same as my recent post, overclocked (with vcore on Auto). Note I left iGPU enabled when switching back over to iMacPro1,1, I didn’t think it messed things up but I’m not certain.

The numbers show a big performance hit after 5120 on Catalina. I didn’t test 5122 but probably will later on. I found the same problems with OpenCore 0.6.3 on Catalina, and didn’t chase OpenCore versions back to find better scores, 0.6.3 was my first OpenCore experience. I’m just guessing, but could this performance hit have to do with the OpenRuntime switch? It seems the wisest to stay on 5120 for a Catalina build, but I’m unsure about compatibilities with future Catalina updates on the older clover.

Even though things seem to have went south on Catalina, the Big Sur benchmarks look promising