Advanced Overclocking questions.

[Ghost]

Hey there.

I was recently looking at an ROG Guide to overclocking when I realised I actually do not know much about overclocking.

Source: Clicky

I know how to get a basic overclock set up.

I know what the basics are.

When I set up my overclock all I was really looking at was the CPU Multiplier, CPU Bus speed and CPU voltage. Also with RAM all I know how to do is set the memory frequency and I know that it rises when I edit the CPU bus speed and I should add voltage to the RAM if there are any issues with RAM during an overclock.

However in this guide I was told to edit a few thing that I had no idea about and following instructions blindly is something I hate.

• What is “Ratio Sync Controlâ€
  
• What is “Internal PLL Overvoltageâ€
  
• What does enabling “Xtreme Tweaking†do? I assume this is a feature of ASUS motherboards.
  

In the guide it said to raise the voltage first and then lower it. I was convinced it is supposed to work the other way around.

As well as that what do things do in DIGI+ power Control?

It asks me to set “CPU Load Line Calibration†to “Extremeâ€. What is load line calibration?

Umm “CPU Voltage frequency�

In fact what are all these variables across the whole “Extreme Tweaker†section?

I guess these are all questions for people who really know what they are doing and from what I can tell settings I shouldn’t really touch.

If anyone can explain any of these settings please let me know!

Thanks!

[Kitten]

From memory... Ratio sync control ensure all cores are identically multiplied, so it should be a 'yes / no' option maybe?

Internal PLL over voltage is usually left disabled, and only serves a real benefit with very high clocking. I've read it can shorten CPU lifespan if used without reason. I'm not 100% sure what it does, I think it helps stabilize stress volatages underload. So unless you're going above 50+ multiplier, don't worry about it.

Extreme Tweaker I have no idea, ha! :P But yeah I think it's an Asus gimmick, play with it and let us know? ;)

[Ghost]

From memory... Ratio sync control ensure all cores are identically multiplied' date=' so it should be a 'yes / no' option maybe? Internal PLL over voltage is usually left disabled, and only serves a real benefit with very high clocking. I've read it can shorten CPU lifespan if used without reason. I'm not 100% sure what it does, I think it helps stabilize stress volatages underload. So unless you're going above 50+ multiplier, don't worry about it. Extreme Tweaker I have no idea, ha! :P But yeah I think it's an Asus gimmick, play with it and let us know? ;) [/quote']

After a ridiculous amount of research I actually found out what most of the useful features do.

Internal PLL Overvoltage = don't touch/ leave at default

CPU Load Line Calibration = Adds more voltage up to +150mV so keep that as low as possible. It makes the voltage delivery more stable so your CPU is more stable but if set too high it over compensates resulting in the +150mV.

The rest is mostly don't touch unless you've done a degree in overclocking from what I can tell.

[deafboy]

From memory... Ratio sync control ensure all cores are identically multiplied' date=' so it should be a 'yes / no' option maybe? Internal PLL over voltage is usually left disabled, and only serves a real benefit with very high clocking. I've read it can shorten CPU lifespan if used without reason. I'm not 100% sure what it does, I think it helps stabilize stress volatages underload. So unless you're going above 50+ multiplier, don't worry about it. Extreme Tweaker I have no idea, ha! :P But yeah I think it's an Asus gimmick, play with it and let us know? ;) [/quote']

Pretty much.

You should really only be changing PLL if you know what it is you're doing. What value it should be depends on the configuration you are using and what kind of overclocks you are trying to achieve. Generally a pretty small variation.

Load Line Calibration (LLC) prevents vdroop. Generally you don't want to set it to extreme, as under load the voltage will often exceed what you set it to be in the BIOS. LLC implimentations are getting better so it's becoming less of an issue but it's esssentially there to control the voltage to help prevent dips and spikes. I generally recommend people to set it to High (or whatever it below extreme on your config) some use numeric values as well.

DIGI+ lets you adjust power, it's digital vs analog.

Extreme tweaker just allows you to change minute settings, no real need to use it.

[Ghost]

Load Line Calibration (LLC) prevents vdroop. Generally you don't want to set it to extreme' date=' as under load the voltage will often exceed what you set it to be in the BIOS. LLC implimentations are getting better so it's becoming less of an issue but it's esssentially there to control the voltage to help prevent dips and spikes. I generally recommend people to set it to High (or whatever it below extreme on your config) some use numeric values as well.[/quote']

Why can't you set the voltage supplied to the CPU -150mV less, (which is what I heard Extreme adds to it,) and have stable voltage?

[Wats]

Yeah, what deafboy said.

Are you going for a Fixed or Offset OC? 3770k right?

[Ghost]

Yeah' date=' what deafboy said. Are you going for a Fixed or Offset OC? 3770k right? [/quote']

I'm not going for anything. I was just reading an internet article and was confused. I don't even own a 3770k.

[Wats]

lol. I thought this was kind of odd...