G3258 + MSI H81M-P33 Overclocking issues

[Baggypenguin]

Hey guys, first time posting here! I hope some one here could help me. I got my shiny new Pentium-AE and MSI H81M-P33. Only issue is I cant get a stable overclock over 4.0GHz. I have it attached to a corsair H55 cooler, so getting hot isn't an issue, in fact it only gets to 44 degrees Celsius. I've attached a photo highlighting my bios settings. I hope one of your kind people can get me on the road to a better OC!

[79wjd]

Bump the core voltage to 1.30 and also take it off auto.

[Baggypenguin]

All the autos? sorry this is my first OC

[79wjd]

All the autos? sorry this is my first OC

'cpu core voltage mode' 

[zappian]

@MageTank

[Baggypenguin]

Ok so bumped the voltage to 1.300v and then set the cpu core voltage to "override". Still can't seem to get past this 4.0GHz wall

[ProKoN]

Set vccin to 1.9v

[Baggypenguin]

Setting vccin to 1.9 doesnt seem to help either

[79wjd]

Ok so bumped the voltage to 1.300v and then set the cpu core voltage to "override". Still can't seem to get past this 4.0GHz wall

Your chip just might not be able to do 4.0ghz. The only thing you could do would be to push the voltage even higher....but at some point you start to negatively affect the life of the chip -- although being that it's a dual core chip, you can probably push it to 1.40v no problem and still be done with the chip long before it dies. Thats also assuming that board can go past 1.30v. 

[Baggypenguin]

Ok, with the vccin set to 1.9 as well I've just managed 4.1. Its a big disappointment though as I've read so many stories of 4.3-4.8GHz. 

[MageTank]

 

Hey guys, first time posting here! I hope some one here could help me. I got my shiny new Pentium-AE and MSI H81M-P33. Only issue is I cant get a stable overclock over 4.0GHz. I have it attached to a corsair H55 cooler, so getting hot isn't an issue, in fact it only gets to 44 degrees Celsius. I've attached a photo highlighting my bios settings. I hope one of your kind people can get me on the road to a better OC!

 

 

 

Let's start this over. First of all, Clear CMOS. Do not load any XMP profiles on your memory if they have any, leave it to whatever the bios defaults to. Change your Vcore to 1.2 (that is the max i would go on the H81 boards anyways, a lot of them were not designed to handle too much beyond that anyways). Dial in the Vccin to 1.8 manually, and leave it there. Set all of your voltage modes to Override, do not use auto or adaptive. Set your Ring voltage to 1.1 manually (you can go to 1.2V on the ring voltage, but do not exceed that value). 

 

Make sure Spread Spectrum is off, if you see it in your bios settings. Change your CPU setting from Fixed mode, make sure that is off. For your C states, make sure you have CPU C state enabled, C3 state enabled, C6 state enabled, Package C state disabled, Thermal Throttle Enabled, NX enabled, and if you have any prefetchers, make sure they are enabled in the bios.

 

There should be no reason you cannot hit 4.0ghz with these settings. Once you reach your OC stable, then start dialing in your ram's XMP profile manually. I try not to leave things on auto unless i do not know what they do. The Vccin loves to be within .400 to .600 of the Vcore. If your Vcore is 1.2V, try not to exceed 1.8Vccin. If you go any higher on the Vcore, adjust the Vccin accordingly. Going below .400 difference results in bad stability, going above it will not cause instability, but might cause more heat than needed. Just be sure to feel your VRM to make sure it is not getting too hot, and monitor the temps of your motherboard closely.

 

Let me know the results once you finish trying this.

[ProKoN]

After looking at your screenshot I think it's pretty safe to say the problem lies with the ring frequency. Set the ring ratio for 32x. Determine the maximum core frequency before you start adjusting the ring ratio

[Baggypenguin]

Cheers for the help guys! So appreciative here! I'll give it a go in the morning. Its late here in britain and I'm a student with things to do! Haha. Ill post what I find when I try it! Thanks again guys!

[Baggypenguin]

@MageTank your settings don't seem to load but mobo temps only seem to get to 27 degrees!

[Baggypenguin]

OK so tweaked slightly and I got a stable 4.0GHz. Bellow are the settings I used, Using @MageTank 's guidelines.

 

[profesorfrink42]

If it helps...I know I got below average on my G3258, but it's running at 4.4GHz with:

 

1.32Vcore (1.3 is a bit unstable)

1.94 VRIN

1.165 VRING (Uncore Ratio: 40x

 

Also running 1600MHz RAM (single channel). Not sure if that matters.

[Baggypenguin]

Thanks. Alas I'm having trouble even getting it past 4.0GHz. Managed 4.1GHZ yesterday but the voltages I wasn't happy with. Starting to think thats my limit. If so I really didnt do well with my chip!

[tech_splitter]

my g3258 only does 4ghz as well so im pretty sure we have just plain bad silicon lottery luck

[MageTank]

You must also keep in mind that certain boards make it easier to get stability with less voltage. People that say the board has no effect on OCing haswell are just plain wrong. While most of the VRM and power delivery is now built onto the chip itself for haswell, still owning a board with more power phases will result in cleaner power delivery, which improves stability when OCing. This means you can potentially get a higher OC with less voltage required. 

 

@Baggypenguin Try dialing in your Dram voltage to 1.5V, I found a guide on the net that covers multiple board settings, some of which contradicts my advice, but you can try it for yourself too and see if it yields better results. Most of what it contradicts is the C states, but it also states to turn them back on if you plan on running your OC at all times to save energy. http://us.hardware.info/reviews/4855/5/workshop-how-to-overclock-haswell-processors-basic-settings

 

Dial in your Ring ratio to 32 (it is the default mode, but leaving less things on auto can help stability in certain cases). If you still cannot go any higher, then i would chalk it up as either a very bad bin, or a limitation of the board itself. I own 2 separate Z97 boards, my Asrock Z97m-ITX/AC board OC's a lot lower than my Asus Z97-A. 

[SteveGrabowski]

Sorry you got a bum G3258. 

[Baggypenguin]

Cheers for all the help! Found this forum to be so very helpful guys! Much appreciated. Ill try this new advice and if that fails to help then oh well! This is only a stop gap until im not longer a poor lausy student haha

[Baggypenguin]

One last note. Finally managed 4.2GHz using that guide (: I'll take that if I'm honest. Clearly didn't luck out on my cpu/ mobo. Oh well! haha. 

[MageTank]

One last note. Finally managed 4.2GHz using that guide (: I'll take that if I'm honest. Clearly didn't luck out on my cpu/ mobo. Oh well! haha. 

Considering your mobo being an H81 and not exactly made with OCing in mind, i would say 4.2ghz is very respectable. I too am stuck at 4.2ghz even on my Z97, due to this Asrock board lacking the proper options for OCing. I cannot touch my Vccin, and Asrock has my default Vccin set at 1.7, which limits my ability to push for higher clocks. However, i can undervolt quite well on this chip, which comes in handy in my mini itx case. With enough of an undervolt, i might be able to go passive on my cpu heatsink assuming i find a heat spreader large enough to dissipate the heat properly.