Idiots guide to over-clocking CustoMac Pro

[praine]

Hey guys,

I've recently completed my build of a CustoMac Pro, based on tonymac's recommended spec, and it's been up and running stable for a couple of weeks.

I've also installed an after-market CPU cooler (Noctua NH-D14) in the hope that I'll be able to further boost system performance with an over-clock.

So, I'm looking for an idiots guide for a safe 24/7 overclock for my CustoMac Pro. The CPU is an Intel Core i7 with a base speed of 3.4Ghz. 

There is a lot of confusing and conflicting information out there, (on other websites and forums) much of it relating to different motherboards to the one I have installed (Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD3)

Would anyone else with a stable, over-clocked CustoMac Pro mind sharing their BIOS settings? 

I've read a lot of information, and I'm just not sure about whether to adjust the turbo boost figures, or the base multiplier figures, or both, what voltage to use, and what other settings to enable or disable.

Many thanks in advance

Paul

 

[Mcfool123]

Over locking is very easy and there are two main ways to do it. The first is with leaving on turbo boost. This way it will allow the CPU to run at a lower voltage while idle leading to lower temps and only jump to more when needed. The second is a set CPU frequency and set voltage. This is if you will be leaving it on and want it to always run at max processing power. I use the turbo boost method purely for temps. While my max temps are the same the idle temps are now up to 8° C cooler than what they were at set voltage. I have the same cooler as you but don't know what thermal paste you are using so the temps you get may be different than mine. I have 25° C idle for average core and 52° C max for average core temp. That is at 4.2 Ghz. For you to be able to reach this the min voltage you can have is 1.2 volts. If you go in the bios and change the turbo values to 42 this will then set the max multiplier to 42*100 for a frequency of 4.2 Ghz. Next you will want to go into the voltage adjustment tab and set the voltage to normal. This will have it a set value. From there you will want to go to the tab for varying the voltage. Move this to -.12 and you should be good for 4.2 oc. Remember to run prime and see if you get any errors. Also instal cpuz and cpuhardware monitor. Cpuz will give you the voltage of the core and use cpuhardware for the temps. It will show lower volts while idle because of the power management but will jump to max when needed. As a side not I have the ud4 therefore the vdroop may be different and lead to needing to change the variable voltage higher or lower. Come as close as you can to 1.2 for low temps. If you want higher oc just pm or post back and I'll let you know what the min voltage is for the 2600k and good luck.

 

[Didjelirium]

Hey mister Fool !

i have a i7-2600k and wouldn't mind having a few starting cues as to do a basic overclocking...i don't need to have an orc-like machine pushing boulders on top of a mountain, but since i have the 'k' in the name of that processor, i might as well use it since it was designed for that purpose.

I guess i simply need to change some numbers in the bios as well.

If you can point me toward the right edits and things to look for, i'd be generously owing you one !

Thanks for the help !

Bless !

 

[Flexigem]

Hey Mr. Didjelirium,

its so easy to ask for something when there is a plethora of threads going on here for this matter. Did you do some reading on the existing threads which already cover what you are looking for? Seems not.

Otherwise you would have stumbled upon this:
viewtopic.php?f=49&t=43262

and

viewtopic.php?f=49&t=20136

Hope this helps

 

[Mcfool123]

Yes like flexigem says check those posts to learn how to do it and then pm me if you need to know what voltage will go with what multiplier. Also make sure you have an adequate cooler before overclocking

 

[powerpcg5]

EASY PERFORMANCE BOOST WITHOUT OVERCLOCKING: Set memory speed to 16X, this will give you more performance boost.

1-STEP OVERCLOCKING: You can simply change multiplier to 42X and it should work without messing with voltages and other settings. (Assuming you're using a 2500K or 2600K cpu).

MORE EXTREME: At higher settings, 43x and above, you may have to fiddle with cpu voltages... just increment it slowly 0.05V, test with prime, repeat.

AT YOUR OWN RISK: At the extreme end, you can change base clock +2-3% (if youre lucky) and get more boost. example: So say multiplier 46 x 102Mhz = 4692 (almost 4.7Ghz).

At higher clock speeds, you may have to bump memory voltages a bit to keep prime stable and happy.

At 46X and above, you may need to play with load levels to get a stable setup.

CAVEATS: At higher clock speeds, you may find that waking up your computer doesn't work anymore. Disable PLL Overvoltage in BIOS.

TIP: Don't be in a hurry. Do one change, let your computer run for a week or few days on that setting and see if its stable... then try bumping it up again by tweaking another parameter. Keep notes and write everything down, settings, scores, notes, etc... so you have a point of comparison.

DONT FORGET COMMON SENSE: At some point, you'll find it doesn't make any sense to go higher since the added performance gain isn't much vs. the higher voltages you set.

My GB and Cinebench scores below.