Is overclocking a I7 970 worth it?

[PhiberOptik]

I am considering overclocking my I7 970 because I feel it has become the bottleneck in my computer now. I know bottlenecks are almost never as prevalent as they are made out to be but I have noticed applications are taking what I consider a long time to launch considering they are loaded on a Samsung 850 pro that is properly setup. I know my motherboard doesn't have the best Sata 6Gbps but even at 300MBps I feel they should load faster. I have a MSI Big Bang Xpower, Noctua NH-D14, OCZ ZX 1000w, and a Asus DCU20C GTX 780 that could most likely be fed faster than it is. However I'd rather not kill this computer if I don't have to. Just like some help making up my mind. I'd probably shoot for safe volts and then run the clock speed as high as it will go with those volts. I'd also like to mention that it seems on auto the vcore goes up to ~1.248 volts when just using the GPU for folding at stock cpu settings.

[TheSLSAMG]

Overclocking is almost always worth it, and in this situation, it definitely is.

 

I am not much help in overclocking older CPUs, but @Jumper118 and @harrynowl can be.

[PhiberOptik]

Just noticed I put this in the wrong section. Sorry about that.

[arnavvr]

Yes. That is a 6 core 12 threaded CPU from the X58 platform, and can hold it's own when overclocked compared to the 4790K

[BurgerBum]

Just noticed I put this in the wrong section. Sorry about that.

thats alright

you're still pretty close the the 100 post mark so no one will go all that hard on you. plus you realized it pretty quick. no biggie.

 

 

overlocking anything is always worth it. with a select few situational exceptions and like two or three hardware exceptions i dont know about. 

 

as long as you have sufficient cooling to keep it under temps you're comfortable with and want to do it?

go a hed. 

pro spelin.

[arnavvr]

thats alright

you're still pretty close the the 100 post mark so no one will go all that hard on you. plus you realized it pretty quick. no biggie.

 

 

overlocking anything is always worth it. with a select few situational exceptions and like two or three hardware exceptions i dont know about. 

 

as long as you have sufficient cooling to keep it under temps you're comfortable with and want to do it?

go a hed. 

pro spelin.

 

He has a Noctua NH-D14

[BurgerBum]

also pretty sure its a 32 nm lithography CPU, should overclock better than something like a 22 nm lith. 

 

right?

[BurgerBum]

He has a Noctua NH-D14

hory shet.

[arnavvr]

also pretty sure its a 32 nm lithography CPU, should overclock better than something like a 22 nm lith. 

 

right?

 

It will overclock like a sandy

[Shaaaddoooww]

Yes. That is a 6 core 12 threaded CPU from the X58 platform, and can hold it's own when overclocked compared to the 4790K

^ I can confirm.

[BurgerBum]

It will overclock like a sandy

which was 28nm right?

right?

i need to feel smart.

[PhiberOptik]

Are there any good x58 overclocking guides, generally recognized to be accurate, and preferably covering MSI boards? Stating actual safe volts, temps, and testing tools that are widely accepted as true.

[arnavvr]

which was 28nm right?

right?

i need to feel smart.

 

Sandy was 32 Ivy was 22 Haswell is 22 Broadwell will be 14

[arnavvr]

[PhiberOptik]

That video and the one it links to really don't help all that much =(

[runit3]

That video and the one it links to really don't help all that much =(

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/core-i7-980x-efficiency,2590.html

Pretty decent starting guide

 

http://www.overclock.net/t/1426536/i7-980x-trying-to-hit-4-4oc-troubles-ensue

My first real overclocking experience, on the 980X, your 970 should follow a very similar path. Unfortunately I gave the system away so I can't provide any real-time tips, that's about as detailed as I can get.

[PhiberOptik]

Awesome. Thank you. I'll check it out.

[Jumper118]

I am considering overclocking my I7 970 because I feel it has become the bottleneck in my computer now. I know bottlenecks are almost never as prevalent as they are made out to be but I have noticed applications are taking what I consider a long time to launch considering they are loaded on a Samsung 850 pro that is properly setup. I know my motherboard doesn't have the best Sata 6Gbps but even at 300MBps I feel they should load faster. I have a MSI Big Bang Xpower, Noctua NH-D14, OCZ ZX 1000w, and a Asus DCU20C GTX 780 that could most likely be fed faster than it is. However I'd rather not kill this computer if I don't have to. Just like some help making up my mind. I'd probably shoot for safe volts and then run the clock speed as high as it will go with those volts. I'd also like to mention that it seems on auto the vcore goes up to ~1.248 volts when just using the GPU for folding at stock cpu settings.

you should be able to get 4-4.2ghz on a decent cooler without too much trouble. i have never use and x58 platform but as runit3 has shown, there should be plenty of guide out there. on a first gen i7 i would think 1.35-1.4v should be safe cpu voltage as long as you can keep it under 80c under full load. 

[PhiberOptik]

So I've spent all day today trying to get 4Ghz and have taken a break. OCCT will run for about 12 minutes and say error detected regardless of which 4Ghz overclock I set. I tried to keep RAM as close to stock(1600Mhz) as possible. I even tried odd multipliers for 4.2Ghz when I could. I guess I am missing something or I really lost the lottery. Temps never went over 71c.
The settings were

Intel EIST (Disabled)

Intel C-State(Disabled)

C State Package Limit Setting (Disabled)

C1E Support (Disabled)

Overspeed Protection (Enabled)

CPU/QPI Vdroop control both set to low

CPU/QPI both set to 1.3v

CPU PLL left on auto at 1.8v

Memory was set to 1.51v

QPI Link Speed was set to the lowest possible setting without using slow-mode

Spread Spectrum (Disabled)

Memory ratio was set to the closest setting possible to match my ram and I multiplied it by 2 to find the uncore

I tried various blck/multi combinations to reach 4Ghz including 200x20, 23x175, and 24x167

[PhiberOptik]

Any ideas @runit3?

[runit3]

Any ideas @runit3?

Without a BSOD to go off of, no. Although, my main hurdle was dialing in where my RAM would be stable, not my CPU. I had a very odd set of Kingston 2000MHz RAM and spent literally weeks finding the exact right BCLK/Mult that it would stay stable at (1724MHz if memory serves me correctly). If you could use something like Intel XTU or AIDA64 that have specific memory tests you may be able to trigger a BSOD and get a code to figure out exactly where it's failing.

 

In all likelihood you will need to manually decrease your RAM's speed, then try to get it back up to 1600. In general anything slightly over or under (+/- 30MHz) the rated speed will work best, but you may find some weird stability somewhere else.

[typographie]

which was 28nm right?

right?

i need to feel smart.

 

Sandy Bridge was 32 nm, as was the i7-970. Sorry.

 

I think a big part of why these older CPUs overclocked so well compared to Haswell is die area. A larger, wider die has more surface area to transfer heat into a cooler, so they dispose of heat more efficiently despite having higher on-paper TDPs. With a Corsair H80i on my Core i5-750 (a 95 Watt chip), my gaming temperatures rarely break 50°C, and idles are sometimes only a few degrees over ambient. And that's with a 1 GHz overclock. Haswell has a relatively small die compared to most of it's predecessors.

[FellTheSky]

It will overclock like a sandy

I dont think so... For sandy bridge the "low" overclock is 4.5 ghz on 1.3 (depending on the chip). Im running at 4.8ghz on 1.37 for around 2 years now. For the i7 970 4.2 ghz is probably the highest i would aim... they are both 32nn but they are not the same architecture

[NumLock21]

No lock or unlock nonsense during those days. Every CPU allows for overclocking. The only special CPU at that time would be the $1,000 extreme edition.

[PhiberOptik]

I am sitting at 3.8Ghz with 1.231v vcore and 1.19v qpi 1 hour occt stable. I can't trigger a BSOD to get an idea of what's failing. I took the CPU pll from as low as 1.55v to 1.88v looking for stability at 4Ghz and can't find it. I think it's something else other than my cpu causing the instability at any kind of 4Ghz(various blck x multi). I may try increasing RAM voltage to 1.55v or 1.6v from the rated 1.5v along with IOH and ICH to 1.2v just to rule those out. I really don't know where to go from here on what I'm missing. I've been reading a ton and anything and everything I can find. Something new is coming under stress at 4Ghz and I haven't found it yet.