Gary A

667 is double data rate so it is 2x667=1333Actual speed is shown on the memory tab of cpuz

Normal. Right on the very edge, I would expect a hard drive to stop working or a fan to stop running as first sign of insuffcient PSU. Right on the very edge and probably a good idea to get a bigger good quality one 600W Given the chip runs at ~1.0v stock your grasp to hope is fleeing.

One of the inherent risks of overclocking for which we are all suffering from to some extent. Whether your CPU lasts: 5-seconds 5-minutes, 5-weeks, 5-months or 5-years is not determined, however Intel guarantee the processor for 3-years at stock. Intel would have accumulated the most statistical data for them to bet the farm on this 3-year warranty. All that we can assume is that anything greater than stock voltage, statistically (from Intel's perspective) equates to a failure rate significantly less than the 3-years that Intel are willing to hang their hat on. This is why if you are not willing to pay you shouldn't play when it comes to overclocking. Some are willing to assume that risk and smoke a $300 chip while others bank on faith and hope something bad won't happen to their chip. In this case the additional voltage required in itself does not indicate the chip is ruined, simply that it will require more voltage than previous to obtain the same overclock. It may only require that additional voltage for: 5-seconds 5-minutes, 5-weeks, 5-months or 5-years is not determined, before no amount of voltage supports it. This is why you have to understand the concept of overvolting your components and potential consequences. LLC is there for a reason, flip it to high or ultra high or 1-10 or whatever your MB brand dictates, and you are now spiking your chip. You may be able to spike that chip: 5-seconds 5-minutes, 5-weeks, 5-months or 5-years is not determined. Electromigration, look it up: http://en.wikipedia....lectromigration bad for the health of your CPU.

Add more Vcore. A processor that was once stable and continually wants more Vcore is degrading. Not much you can do other than drop the clock down and try and prolong its life or keep putting the boots to it until you RMA it. Assuming all other settings are correct. PSU is fine if it is a quality brand but you sure didn't leave yourself much margin for error.

Hi Steffen, here is a link that describes offset voltage: http://www.asusrog.com/forums/showthread.php?2162-Overclocking-Using-Offset-Mode-for-CPU-Core-Voltage&p=15535#post15535

Just turned my board down to 4.2GHz, I will leave it there for awhile. You are welcome Steffen. I lied before, at 4.5GHz I set 1.3v bios and HT=off on my board (Gigabyte turned C-states and EIST off, set manual memory timings to spec and set LLC on my board to 5, ASUS should set High to ultra high.

Sorry for not making this more clear, there is a difference between Gigabyte and ASUS boards as far as c-states. ASUS preffer to leave c-states on while Gigabyte preffer to turn them off. C-States otherwise operate the same. For your board you can leave the c-states on. EIST is speedstep. Depends on if you want speedstep or not you can turn it off and it will be fixed at whatever frequency you set. This is a really good guide for your board: http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1578110

lol, mainly due to pondering your post; I was playing around with Optimum default settings and opted to set turbo to 4.3 everything else optimum default. I get 4.3 in turbo at around 1.26v 57c ynder Prime and Intel Burn. @4.5 I just set 1.3v in bios, HT off all c-states off and that was it. My temps at 4.5 were around 63c full load. Iam sticking with 4.3 for awhile to see how it goes.

Interesting; 4.3GHz Turbo Max CPU 4.3GHz all rest optimized default CB score 8.28

4.5GHz@ 1.33v7.07HT off

I have succumbed and left practicality behind and run 4.5 just to have it. You will also succumb or be last man standing.

memory and all else is perfect. difference ud4 vs ud5 is the voltage regulation with ud5 being the better of the two with phaze20 vs phaze12. Is it worth it? I buy what I can afford, eliminates all doubt just like 2600k vs 2500k.

if you set everything the way it shows in those guides then yes higher than 1.35v you can go 1.375 as measured in CPUZ. any higher and you are in serious OC voltages, personally I wouldn't go higher than 1.375

in the bios as Jim said. Most people prefer it off, cooler temperaturers and better overclocking. I would study these two guides: http://www.clunk.org.uk/forums/overclocking/39184-p67-sandy-bridge-overclocking-guide-beginners.html http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1578110

There are a number of reasons for that and here are a few: 1) Software is not as accurate as a digital volt/ohm meter (DVM or DVOM). 2) Vdrop can have an effect. 3) Vdroop can have an effect. 3) voltage offset can have an effect.I stay well below whatever most consider acceptable voltage limits and therefore do not require the accuracy of a DVOM. I agree with Jim above in that manual setting is prefered to automatic but prefer a more reliable source of information which predomently comes from understanding what it is you are setting and why. That Clunk guide is pretty reliable. This is good too: http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1578110 See this also: http://www.anandtech.com/show/2404/5

FSX likes bandwidth and the 580 has approx. 8% more. Not sure of the difference it will make my guess a couple of frames. Every couple helps.

I just run all cores @45 and do not use Turbo, Speedstep or any C-states. 3DMark is either picking up a real performance loss due to speedstep or it is wrongly indicating a loss. Hard to tell for sure which I would need watch what CPUZ was indicating while 3Dmark was running. Even if 3DMark is correct I am not sure that the difference would be noticed in real-world.

Hi,1) The only way is to use imaging software but personally, if I opted to replace my drive I prefer a clean install. You also want to enable AHCI mode in the bios before installing.2) Not if you are not copying the OS.3) Any SSD connects just like a regular drive unless it is Pcie you will get as many opinions as China has rice, here is mine http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148448 or http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148447 This is a higher end drive http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168202276594) See 3 above5) nothing really, set AHCI and W7 will recognise the SSD and automatically disablable defrag and a couple of other things. Just remember not to defrag the SSD basically use it like any other drive.

That 1.52v "Intel Spec" is the most widely misinterpreted piece of information on the net. Seems everybody misses the fine print. See foot note2 on that spec sheet. That 1.52 is Vid and nothing to do with Vcore. Max safe Vcore is the voltage just before the one that fries's your chip.

The one right before the wrong value.

At least comparable if not better and will use less CPU than onboard. Modern onboard cards do not need a dedicated sound card unless you are an audiophile but this socket 775 may benefit. The ALC1200 is fine sound. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829132006

Without respect to your wallet, and if I was doing it again today, I would: 1) buy a z68 board and put an Intel SSD311 on for SRT. I would put the OS on a Vrap and FSX on its own Vrap, alternative to the Vrap a 1 or 2TB hard drive. An alternative if I had the money would be: 2) Stick with the B3 board and put an SSD large enough for both my FSX and OS system on it. What I do not like is mixing SSD and HDD in an ideal world. The best is all SSD if you can afford it. Out of the options you have proposed I would buy another Vrap or a 1 or TB HDD and dedicate FSX to it. Personally I would have FS9 and FSX on seperate drives never the same drive, never a partition.

From my side it was really more of a question as to what HDD you use currently. I would look at my HDD before upgrading a 470 GPU. To SLI in my opinion is a waste, if I had a need for more GPU I would just buy a 580. While SSD (depending on which one and how it is setup) may not provide a large gain in FSX performance it will speed up other applications. An Intel SSD311 is $100 much cheaper than a video card and depending on your current HDD a Vrap or a big 1 or 2TB set of HDD would likely net you more performance for the buck than upgrading the 470 alone. I would run SRT on the SSD OS and FSX on seperate drives.

No advantage or disadvantage. Generaly the ich10 is prefered but splitting hair difference I doubt either controller makes a noticable difference.

Yes put it on a USB, not sure if your board is dual bios or not...if it is flash both to same version. See this: http://forums.tweaktown.com/gigabyte/27576-bios-flashing-how-qflash-guide.html