My Sandy Bridge Experience: I want to first congratulate those individuals who have successfully overclocked their SB systems above 4GHz. I read on the Official Asus Overclocking forum that 90% of all the SB CPU's can be overclocked above 4.4GHz. I'm in the 10% group as I have not been so successful. Whenever I tried to overclock my system I got BSOD's. I only recently found out it was due to the fact that ASUS changes the memory setting from Auto to something like 1648MHz (the highest speed is rated as 667MHz DDR3 1333). Why ASUS does this is beyond my educational level. When I ran the Windows Memory Diagnostic it would find something wrong with my hardware so I would have to go into the bios and change the memory setting back to Auto and the BSOD's would stop and the memory diagnostic program would show no hardware problems. So I lost the auto overclocking capabilities of my motherboard. I also had to remove 4GB of memory as I had all the DIMMS on the Asus MB filled and I saw that my memory can only be installed in two DIMMS (I didn't know you had to go to the motherboard manufacturers website and read the QVL's before buying hardware!!! ). I installed FSX Deluxe with no addons and with the default settings and I get single digit FPS at times (locked at 20 fps) and lots of stuttering. I have never seen that with my old system (the Dell XPS 720). So something is wrong even though Windows sees no issues with my hardware. I have the highest Windows Experience Index ever (between by computer systems) with a base score of 7.6 (out of 7.9). Only the memory (7.7) and the CPU (7.6) is keeping it from being a perfect score. Even with a higher base score than my previous system, I still get single digit FPS/stuttering in the default startup scenario at Friday's Harbor. That's not right. I realize the config hasn't been tweaked yet but still should get much higher FPS and there should be absolutely no stuttering with a fast CPU and massive graphics card. So, needless to say, I'm a bit frustrated and upset with my Sandy Bridge experience so far. I do like my Crucial 256GB SSD as Windows starts up in less than 10 seconds and I get to the startup screen in FSX in less than 10 seconds. That will only get worse as I add things but I like it so far . I have the SSD and DVD player connected to the 6GB SATA port so I am not exchanging my motherboard as the Intel chipset problem only affects the 3GB ports (maybe). I am happy with my system building experiences though and I'm learning a lot. When I first turned on the system it started up without any problems and I was able to install Windows 7. I thought I was truly a "geek". It was only after installing the OS when the BSOD's began and I had to start troubleshooting. My ego was totally deflated! Only recently, through hours and hours of research on the Internet, did I discover the BSOD's were related to the memory. I think most of the BSOD's with overclocked systems are related to the memory being overclocked and I think most people can resolve it if they go back into their bios and change the memory settings back to auto. Anyway, that's why I look first if I get a BSOD. So it looks like I'm going to have to get into the manual overclocking arena and see if I can bring this baby up to the levels of everyone else. Perhaps that will fix my stuttering in FSX too as FSX uses the CPU more than the GPU. Perhaps.... Thanks for reading my sob story and good luck to others with their new Sandy Bridge system!Best regards,Jim

Hi Jim,If you will PM me with your phone number I will call you and walk you through my settings for default, auto overclocking and my overclock settings. We will all pull you through this out of the dark side!Kind regards,

Hi Jim,If you will PM me with your phone number I will call you and walk you through my settings for default, auto overclocking and my overclock settings. We will all pull you through this out of the dark side!Kind regards,

Thanks Stephen! Greatly appreciated. PM sent.Best regards,Jim

Thanks Stephen! Greatly appreciated. PM sent.Best regards,Jim

Hi Jim,Just PMed you back.Kind regards,

My BIOS settings, just in case it helps someone:AI TweakerAI Overclock Tuner = ManualBCLK/PEG Freq = 100Memory Frequency = 1600OC Tuner = DisabledEPU Power Saving = DisabledEPU Settings = DisabledDram Timing Control = 6-8-7-24Internal PLL overvoltage = Enabled CPU Power ManagementCPU Ratio = ManualTurbo Ratio = By All CoresBy all cores = 48 Turbo Mode = EnabledLoad Line Calibration = ExtremeVRM Spread Spectrum = DisabledVRM Frequency = ManualVRM Fixed Freq Mode = 370Phase Control = ExtremeDuty Control = ExtremeCPU Current Capability = 130%Dram Voltage = 1.65VCPU Voltage = Offset / -0.85VCCIO = 1.15(the rest in Auto)Advanced -> CPU Configuration PageIntel Adaptive Thermal Monitor = EnabledHyper-Threading = Disabled Active Processor Cores = AllLimit CPUID Maximum = DisabledExecute Disable Bit = EnabledSpeedstep = EnabledTurbo = EnabledC1E = EnabledC3 = DisabledC6 = Disabled

Hello,I juste posted a video on youtube with my new rig:

Florian, what's your full load Vcore for 5GHz please?

Spirit Flyer. We have the same MB. Just installed the MB into the case. What did you set the EPU/TPU switch's at?

Issue with BSOD could have been related to MS hotfix KB979444. If anybody else is having idle BSOD issues, give this a try and see if it works. EDIT: Nevermind, tried the hotfix and still got BSOD. Back to my turbo @ 4.8GHz settings... maybe this whole chipset flaw won't be such a bad thing. Maybe by the time I get my replacement, the mobos will be a bit more stable. Until then I get to enjoy brand new technology - that's not a bad deal.

Corey, did you find a fix for your idle BSODs? It just happened to me here too

Spirit Flyer. We have the same MB. Just installed the MB into the case. What did you set the EPU/TPU switch's at?

Hi, I never touched it, so it was set in the down position and has stayed there. What has anyone else done witht his?Kind regards,

Corey, did you find a fix for your idle BSODs? It just happened to me here too

I backed off to 4.8GHz and have had no more problems. In other words, 5GHz probably just needed a bit more vcore. I suppose for idle stability my advice is to add 0.01v (maybe even .02v) to whatever voltage is required for prime95 stability. Possibly it's because my load line calibration is too voltage happy (unless I'm misunderstanding how LLC works). For example at 5GHz, 1.36v in BIOS yields 1.404v at load, so apparently 1.36 becomes a problem at idle. For now I'm running 4.8GHz with 1.36v in the bios and have had 0 BSODs (I could probably even lower the voltage, but I figured why?). I should also mention that I currently have turbo turned on so that I'm idling at 1.6GHz - but trying that with 5GHz didn't fix the BSOD problem.I've been reading around and I'm starting to become convinced that it's OK to run higher voltages (in the 1.4 to 1.5 range). I realize it has only been a month, but there's plenty of people running 1.6+ 24/7 and 1.7+ for benching and I have yet to hear of any problems aside from that "scare" in the first week. Intel supposedly really did design these chips to handle the higher voltages. I wouldn't mind running 1.4 to 1.45v if it meant I could do 5.0 to 5.4GHz.... All that to say that I'm kind of wishing I had gone with a custom water loop now . Oh well, 22nm chips will be out soon enough and I need to save my monies for a Kepler GPU.

I backed off to 4.8GHz and have had no more problems. In other words, 5GHz probably just needed a bit more vcore. I suppose for idle stability my advice is to add 0.01v (maybe even .02v) to whatever voltage is required for prime95 stability. Possibly it's because my load line calibration is too voltage happy (unless I'm misunderstanding how LLC works). For example at 5GHz, 1.36v in BIOS yields 1.404v at load, so apparently 1.36 becomes a problem at idle. For now I'm running 4.8GHz with 1.36v in the bios and have had 0 BSODs (I could probably even lower the voltage, but I figured why?). I should also mention that I currently have turbo turned on so that I'm idling at 1.6GHz - but trying that with 5GHz didn't fix the BSOD problem.I've been reading around and I'm starting to become convinced that it's OK to run higher voltages (in the 1.4 to 1.5 range). I realize it has only been a month, but there's plenty of people running 1.6+ 24/7 and 1.7+ for benching and I have yet to hear of any problems aside from that "scare" in the first week. Intel supposedly really did design these chips to handle the higher voltages. I wouldn't mind running 1.4 to 1.45v if it meant I could do 5.0 to 5.4GHz.... All that to say that I'm kind of wishing I had gone with a custom water loop now . Oh well, 22nm chips will be out soon enough and I need to save my monies for a Kepler GPU.

Thanks for the feedback. I also think it may have something to do with how this new boards handle LLC. With LLC at Extreme sometimes I boot into W7 and at full load my Vcore doesn't go as high as when I run my stability tests (some .02V undervolt) so no wonder Linx fails to pass more than a couple of runs. I need to do more tests because it looks to be happening quite randomly but I hope some near future BIOS release fixes that.As for the save Vcore, I have no idea. It won't be before 1 or 2 years that we'll know for sure, but there's one golden rule for me: there's this point where every chip will need a big bump in Vcore to make it to the next 200MHz stage, and that's where I stop. For mine and most of 2600K it's the 5GHz mark. Mine needs an extra .08V to jump from 4.8 to 5GHz, and with AVX temps get out of control at 1.4+ Vcore / 5GHz. Too close to 80ºC for the winter season considering how often we get close to 35 - 40ºC in the summer here (maybe I need to invest in a good air conditioned system and not so much in my simming computer hehe)

there's one golden rule for me: there's this point where every chip will need a big bump in Vcore to make it to the next 200MHz stage, and that's where I stop.

That's pretty sound logic. I suppose I haven't tried enough settings to really know where that wall is for my chip.

My BIOS settings, just in case it helps someone:AI TweakerAI Overclock Tuner = ManualBCLK/PEG Freq = 100Memory Frequency = 1600OC Tuner = DisabledEPU Power Saving = DisabledEPU Settings = DisabledDram Timing Control = 6-8-7-24Internal PLL overvoltage = Enabled CPU Power ManagementCPU Ratio = ManualTurbo Ratio = By All CoresBy all cores = 48 Turbo Mode = EnabledLoad Line Calibration = ExtremeVRM Spread Spectrum = DisabledVRM Frequency = ManualVRM Fixed Freq Mode = 370Phase Control = ExtremeDuty Control = ExtremeCPU Current Capability = 130%Dram Voltage = 1.65VCPU Voltage = Offset / -0.85VCCIO = 1.15(the rest in Auto)Advanced -> CPU Configuration PageIntel Adaptive Thermal Monitor = EnabledHyper-Threading = Disabled Active Processor Cores = AllLimit CPUID Maximum = DisabledExecute Disable Bit = EnabledSpeedstep = EnabledTurbo = EnabledC1E = EnabledC3 = DisabledC6 = DisabledFlorian, what's your full load Vcore for 5GHz please?

hello dazz,I have a vcore up to 1.52V, and when I run OCCT, it goes to 1.56!what about you? do you have the last BIOS version?

hello dazz,I have a vcore up to 1.52V, and when I run OCCT, it goes to 1.56!what about you? do you have the last BIOS version?

Wow, that's way too much Vcore man. I have the latest 1204 BIOS and it never gets past 1.368V under full load with Linx + AVX

Wow, that's way too much Vcore man. I have the latest 1204 BIOS and it never gets past 1.368V under full load with Linx + AVX

I know, its toooooo much!Which method or tutorial did you use to make your overclock?

I know, its toooooo much!Which method or tutorial did you use to make your overclock?

I found a helpful guide but it's in spanish. Anyway if you have some experience overclocking there's no need for guides, but with new bios and options it's good to know what settings people are using, especially stuff likeVRM Fixed Freq Mode = 370Phase Control = ExtremeDuty Control = ExtremeCPU Current Capability = 130%The most tricky part is to figure out the offset needed to achieve the desired Vcore depending on how high your LLC is set. Here's a table from that guide (for 4.8GHz, I think)

Hello Everyone,I would like to pick your brains please. I will try to simplify the symptoms of a problem. Jim (Firehawk44) and I have been trying to set his BIOS to run 4.8 GHZ the same way mine is. We have exactly the same CPU, MB, and RAM (except I have 8g and he has 4g. Everything can be set the same, 100 BCLK, RAM settings, 1.38v core etc., but when we go to change his multiplier from auto to 48, it will only allow 42, so 4.2GHz is as far as it will go. Everything else is exact! Do you have any ideas as to why this would be? Is it the TPU switch or what? Very mystifying! What would make the BIOS disallow him to put any number higher than 42?Kind regards,