It depends on if you intend to clock.

If you do not intend to clock then DDR3 1333 is fine

If you do intend to clock with any i7 processor which is not the extreme version you must have DDR3 1600 or better. 1600 will do the job just fine

All i7 use SPECIAL DDR3. You can not use 1st generation DDR3 with i7. It must be rated for 1.65-1.70v, no more

DDR3 use for Intel Quickpath requires 3 sticks and you need a 64bit OS to use it.

You can review clocking i7 starting with this post

http://www.simviation.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1231258145/19#19

and read the 3-4 posts following it as they discuss load and temp checking.. use REALTEMP v3.0 to monitor the proc as most of the motherboard monitors and other software out there does not read Bloomfield 100% correct.




DDR3 1600:

Fastest: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226050

Best value for speed: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227381


Both of which are excellent choices



Now, I do wish to point out that the next gen of i7s will be hitting the market soon. They have been updated and will allow even higher clocks on less heat and voltage. The 920 has also been re-released in the D0 stepping model which corrects a issue they with them and clocking above 3.8GHz. I have been suggesting the 940 over the 920 to avoid the original release 920 high clocking issues. Its hit and miss if you get a 920 that will do over 3.8GHz however the new 920 D0 stepping procs are doing 4.4GHz on the same voltage and heat

If you intend to clock and wish to run higher than 3-3.2GHz with a 920 you must have a heatsink other than the supplied Intel box unit. The best is the Thermalright 120 Extreme 1366 edition listed in the link below which will have no problem running 4GHz assuming the 920 you get will do it..

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=34994&vpn=ULTRA%2D120%2D1366RT&manufa...


Other high clock contenders are

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=35245&vpn=NH%2DU12P%20SE1366&manufact...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103057



These are OK for a clock up to perhaps 3.5/3.6 max:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118046

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233029

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but FSX is not accessing the FULL ability of both cores and memory.. in DX9 mode the truth is seen through software.. in DX10 mode the drivers and the DX10 API allows what is known as SHARED which will display both cores in operation but you must not be fooled. This means in FSX you get a MAX of 50% of core1 and its memory and 50% of core2 and its memory = 100% of ONE CORE and 512MB of memory

Now, not to add insult to injury but the ATi system is geared for SHADER CODE RENDERING ENGINES. FSX is not shader driver.. it is a old year 2000 triangle rendering engine which Nvidia still caters too... The advanced ATI card rule in Crysis and can not get out of 2nd gear in FSX, and you will see that in heavy weather especially in DX9 mode


The GTX 285 is the winner..



If you do not care about that.. then either of the other cards is up to you


I would not install more than one card in the system and leave that other slot clear unless absolutely necessary


If you are going to wait for the new i7s.. I would go with the 950 and use DDR3 2000 memory if you are really looking to rock the house. The new i7s will run DDR3 2000 without overvolting QPI

but it does cost

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10010360&prodlist=fr...

http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=35851&vpn=OCZ3B2000LV6GK&manufacture=OCZ%...

no doubt about that... You will be in video processing heaven with i7 on a 64bit OS

70c on stock CPU speed under full load?

or is that clocked?

You should be able to get a 920 to 3.8-4Ghz @ right around 80c on the right air cooler. At the same time HYPERTHREAD will heat up that proc and that will limit the clock.. typically HT is shut down when clocking however for video encoding you would not want to do that as it will make use of the HT support

That was turbo mode.. that must be disabled to clock along with HT if high clocking is desired

Check the BIOS version on that board..  there was a BIOS update that fixed a memory multiplier issue with 920 CPUs as I recall when that board was first released


I think you should have a 8x memory multiplier for that

Which would be @ a CPU multiplier of 21x and a BCLOCK of 191 you would end up with 4011MHz and a memory speed of 1528

Thats normal

You bought the 1600 memory so you had room to clock

Lower than that means a lower memory speed. Typically between 1450 and 1550

There is no way aroud that unless you buy

A: Very expensive faster memory
B: A 965 processor


Thats how it works

But in your case it reads like you may need to update the BIOS. You should have lower mem-speeds available.

You will never get it to exactly 4GHz and 1600 memspeed in a clock unless you run a 200 BCLOCK on a 20x CPU multiplier

I found the problem, I had 1 stick of bad memory.

Replaced that and hit an easy 4G

Temperatures hit 82 so have to work on that a little bit.

And I really appreciate the help..........

richardd43 wrote on Apr 25^th, 2009 at 3:45pm:



I did not see your post above till nafter I posted my long winded checks

LOL!


Ahhhh  OK..  then forget what I posted above.  That makes sense


Yea..  you have to get that down to 80c max on the 1hr OCCT test

You can try dropping Vcore to find the low end and do make sure HT is disabled for that high of a clock. HT will heat the proc up quite a bit


The best HSF for i7 clocking is still the Thermalright 120 Extreme 1366



you may have to settle with 3.8 and a touch lower Vcore to get it trimmed in on your HSF

OK.. your good on that memory.  A defective stick would have probably thrown the QPI bandwidth off and caused the BIOS to not allow the right multipler be used to get you where you needed to be


Do make sure to set the memory speed and timing manually for those sticks as well as the other settings I posted

HT will kill temps.. no ifs, ands or buts about it.

If you use the system for AV then you will probably want to reduce CPU speed and enable HT.. for FSX, kill HT and raise CPU speed

Something is not right here...


You have a 6GB kit installed?

It says 12GB

The memory timing is not right.. should also be running 1T CMD

Here is what it should be running without any clock involved:

http://www.simviation.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1240687624/8#8

And this is what it should be running WITH the clock

http://www.simviation.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1233009578

except tha clock post is mushkin memory @ 7-8-7-.. same CPU and memory speed though @ DDR3 1600 (800Mhz) and your timing should remain the same at 7-7-7 and 1T

You are missing a multiplier here... you are locked on the 6x multiplier right now and missing the 8x. From the description the next one available is 10x

you should be @ FSB/DRAM 2:8 and not 2:6

Do you have 6 or 12GB installed?

If its 12GB pull all but the 3 sticks in the orange slots and recheck

If you do not have 12GB then there is a problem with the board, the BIOS or the memory itself





Richard .. please review this entire post. paying attention to the chart listed:

Overclockings for Core i7 920 / Core i7 940

http://vip.asus.com/forum/view.aspx?board_id=1&model=P6T+Deluxe&id=2008122019104...

There is a Nehalem O/C calculator here:

http://icrontic.com/uploads/2008/11/nehalemcalc.zip

and review the math/settings rules:

Rules and relations:

BCLK (Base Clock – default 133.33 MHz, range: 100-500)
CPU Frequency = BCLK x CPU Multiplier (CPU Ratio)
DRAM Frequency = BCLK x Memory Multiplier
UCLK Frequency = BCLK x Uncore Multiplier (Options: 1600-5600 MHz)
QPI Frequency = BCLK x QPI Multiplier (Options: 4800/5866/6400 MHz @ BCLK 133 MHz)
Uncore Multiplier (frequency) ≥ 2 x Memory Multiplier (frequency)
Uncore Multiplier (frequency) : QPI Multiplier (frequency) ~ 8 : 9 for best stability



The above overclocking settings that best fulfill all the rules are:

- BCLK=150 with DDR3-1600 MHz modules underclocked to DDR3-1500
- BCLK=167 with DDR3-1333 MHz modules at rated speed
- BCLK=180 with DDR3-1600 MHz modules underclocked to DDR3-1440
- BCLK=185 with DDR3-1600 MHz modules underclocked to DDR3-1480
- BCLK=190 with DDR3-1600 MHz modules underclocked to DDR3-1520
- BCLK=195 with DDR3-1600 MHz modules underclocked to DDR3-1560
- BCLK=200 with DDR3-1600 MHz modules at rated speed


Correct:

200 BCLOCK
MEM MULT   8 = DDR3-1600
UCLK MULT 16 = 3200 UCLK freq
QPI MULT 18 (36) = 7200 QPI freq
CPU MULT 20 = 4.00GHz

I suspect you are running this:

200 BCLOCK
MEM MULT   6 = DDR3-1200
UCLK MULT 12 = 2400 UCLK freq
QPI MULT 18 (36) = 7200 QPI freq
CPU MULT 20 = 4.00GHz



So in your case it would appear the memory/BIOS is locking the UCLK MULT/FREQ at 12/2400 which does not make sense because CPUz shows 3200.

If you DO have 12GB installed and removing all but 3 sticks and populating only the T-channel orange slots does not correct the problem I suspect something is defective here. If it DOES correct the issue then the memory itself is the issue.


If you are running 12GB and removing 3 sticks fixes the issue it is possible this BIOS is splitting the calculatons across the slots in 2-2-2, something I would need to contact Asus and check on as I do not know how they are working fully populated slots in their BIOS code. That may instead be a OCZ issue too.. 12GB of their memory may not be playing nice with the Asus BIOS


..and no, that memory will never run 1800. For that you need to purchase 1866-2000 memory and it will also require the QPI/DRAM voltage be increased to between 1.50-1.62, something the new D0 stepping 920 procs correct as they will run those speeds @ 1.37v


Just a FYI and this supersedes any voltage restrictions you may have read about

The real DRAM Voltage limit is 1.85v. Do not ever run that high however you are totally safe to run 1.65 to 1.70 as long as QPI/DRAM is not less than .5v of DRAM. Keep it under 1.70v though. The higher spec is most likely going to affect D0 stepping and will not be used/seen till the 950/975s are out.

The QPI/DRAM Voltage must NEVER be less than .5v different. As long as the DRAM and QPI/DRAM remain within .5 of each other QPI is fine.

QPI/DRAM can go to 1.60 however it does stress components and is well above the 1.37v limit Intel specs for the circuit. In order for C0 i7's to run the 1866-2000 memory hitting the market they must run a QPI/DRAM of 1.50-1.65 which in my opinion is really pushing things however it can be done. The new D0 stepping procs will run 2000 @ 1.37v

Vcore limit on i7 is 1.5 max however I would keep it below 1.45, well below. 1.42 would be my limit on that.

Here is the shots overclocked with 6G of memory







Stock Speed

1600 MHz memory frequency – overlocked core frequency

Frequency / Voltage Control
CPU Host Frequency ( 200 ) (BCLOCK)
CPU Clock Ratio ( 20x ) (CPU Multiplier)
CPU Uncore Frequency ( 16x ) <---- 3200 (not correct in CPUz)
QPI Frequency (18x) <-----3600
Memory Frequency ( 2:8 ) <----- Showing correct in CPUz











ASUS P6T DELUXE V2 Template 920 4GHz DDR3 1600 7-7-7-20



JumperFree Configuration Settings
AI Overclock tuner: MANUAL
CPU Ratio Setting: 20x
Intel (R) SpeedStep (TM) Tech:  DISABLED
Intel (R) Turbo Mode Tech: DISABLED
BLCK Frequency: 200
PCIE Frequency: 100
DRAM Frequency: 1600
UCLK Frequency: (AUTO SHOULD WORK) **
QPI Link Data Rate: (AUTO SHOULD WORK) **

** If improper NB in CPUz (3200), set the following:

UCLK Frequency: 3200Mhz
QPI Link Data Rate: NOTE: AUTO usually works fine however higher is faster but it may also be unstable.. find stable highest setting or leave on AUTO


DRAM Timing Control:


==============================
NOTE: CHART FOR MEMORY SETTINGS in CPUz to BIOS:

CPUz VALUE  - BIOS LIST = VALUE

CAS# Latency (CL) - DRAM CAS# LATENCY = 7
RAS# to CAS# Delay (tRCD) - DRAM RAS# to CAS# Delay = 7
RAS# Precharge (tRP) - DRAM RAS# PRE TIME = 7
Cycle Time (tRAS) - DRAM RAS# ACT TIME=24
===========================


1st Information :

CAS# Latency: 7
DRAM RAS# to CAS# Delay: 7
DRAM RAS# PRE Time: 7
DRAM RAS# ACT Time: 20
DRAM RAS# to RAS# Delay: AUTO
DRAM REF Cycle Time: AUTO
DRAM Write Recovery Time: AUTO
DRAM Read to Precharge Time: AUTO
DRAM FOUR ACT WIN Time: AUTO
DRAM Back-To-Back CAS# Delay: AUTO

2nd Information :

DRAM Timing Mode: 1N (same as CMD 1T in CPUz)
DRAM Round Trip Latency on CHA: AUTO
DRAM Round Trip Latency on CHB: AUTO
DRAM Round Trip Latency on CHC: AUTO

3rd Information :

DRAM WRITE To READ Delay (DD): AUTO
DRAM WRITE To READ Delay (DR): AUTO
DRAM WRITE To READ Delay (SR): AUTO
DRAM READ To WRITE Delay (DD): AUTO
DRAM READ To WRITE Delay (DR): AUTO
DRAM READ To WRITE Delay (SR): AUTO
DRAM READ To READ Delay (DD): AUTO
DRAM READ To READ Delay (DR): AUTO
DRAM READ To READ Delay (SR): AUTO
DRAM WRITE To WRITE Delay (DD): AUTO
DRAM WRITE To WRITE Delay (DR): AUTO
DRAM WRITE To WRITE Delay (SR): AUTO

CPU Voltage: FIND LOWEST STABLE VALUE - 4GHz typically 1.35-1.42v
CPU PLL Voltage: AUTO (there are stability settings for high clocks)
QPI/DRAM Core Voltage: 1.35-1.40
IOH Voltage: AUTO
IOH PCIE Voltage: AUTO
ICH Voltage: AUTO
ICH PCIE Voltage: AUTO
DRAM Bus Voltage: 1.65 to 1.70 MAX - Typically 1.66
DRAM DATA REF Voltage on CHA: AUTO
DRAM DATA REF Voltage on CHA: AUTO
DRAM DATA REF Voltage on CHB: AUTO
DRAM DATA REF Voltage on CHB: AUTO
DRAM DATA REF Voltage on CHC: AUTO
DRAM DATA REF Voltage on CHC: AUTO


Load Line Calibration: ENABLED
CPU Differential Amplitude: AUTO (note: .800mv may stabilize higher clock)
CPU Clock Skew: AUTO  (100ps if used to stablize clock)
CPU Spread Spectrum: DISABLED
IOH Clock Skew : AUTO (100ps if used to stablize clock)
PCIE Spread Spectrum: DISABLED


Advance CPU Settings
CPU Ratio Setting: 20x
C1E Suppport: DISABLED
Hardware Prefetcher: ENABLED
Adjacent Cache Line Prefetch: ENABLED
Intel® Virtualization Tech: DISABLED
CPU TM Function: (ENABLED = PROTECTED - DISABLED = ALLOW FULL FUNCTION WITHOUT PROTECTION) Typically DISABLED
Execute Disable Bit: DISABLED
Intel (R) HT Techology: DISABLED (ENABLED FOR APPLICATIONS THAT USE HYPERTHREAD -WILL HEAT PROC)
Active Processor Cores: ALL
A20M: DISABLE
Intel (R) SpeedStep (TM) Tech: DISABLED
Intel (R) Turbo Mode Tech: DISABLED
Intel (R) C-STATE Tech: DISABLED

I will settle any debate here

ENABLE it or leave it DISABLED if you are stable with it DISABLED.. it doesn’t matter if you purchased good hardware

and dont worry about people who are clueless and throwing out all sorts of warnings.

I know what it does and I know the Intel spec for the design... unless you are seeing wild fluctuations in voltages from your PSU and use a really cheap motherboard, dont worry about it

They put it there to protect their CPUs from crap PSU's and crap motherboard VR designs

If you clock and find instability, ENABLE.. if not you can DISABLE but you wont do any damage either way unless your are pushing crap hardware


This is my lingo and exactly where the Vdroop system which LCC enables/disables for the CPU comes from:

http://www.intel.com/assets/pdf/designguide/313214.pdf


http://www.intersil.com/data/fn/FN9289.pdf


ENABLED = no Vdroop control and ACTUAL Vcore for clock (with fluctuations usually a touch higher)

DISABLED = Vdroop control and requires HIGHER Vcore for clock (with fluctuations usually much lower)


Think about LCC like this:

ENABLES/DISABLES (by reverse setting) an electronic supervisor (Vdroop) which will drop voltage fast if the VR on the motherboard blows and attempts to hit the CPU with high voltage, or, if the PSU spikes the system forcing a CHEAP VR circuit to JUMP in voltage before returning to nominal because of very poor motherboard design.


That’s all you need to know.. I just translated the info about the circuit from the 2 PDF's to you in one statement


Nutshell: Vdroop was made for OEM GARBAGE because Intel knows how BAD OEMs are at putting good VR's and good PSU's in towers they sell.

LLC, a setting you would be hard pressed to find in ANY OEM, was added because GOOD MB companies wanted to give the user a way to get rid of it in clocking for higher stability but retain the INTEL CERT for their boards.

This was no different that SPREAD SPECTRUM which MUST be on all motherboards BY LAW. The USER can disable spread spectrum features and the motherboard company is in compliance with legal specifications.

If it was critically dangerous to be off at all they would have big flags around the setting in the manual and probably would not offer the option




If you don’t feel comfortable setting it to ENABLED then DISABLE LLC

Odds of a good system taking out a CPU due to LLC being ENABLED: Less than winning the multimillion dollar 'super' jackpot in Vegas... 3 times times in one year!



LOL!!!  you dont think I would tell people to do something that was even remotely dangerous I hope.



Hope that helps





EDIT: and one other item.. if you happen to be pondering that LLC DISABLED an Vdroop will protect your CPU if the PSU blows or a VR blows solid closed, the answer is NO

Its fast, but it is not a ‘all protecting god of the CPU”  

Intel made it a spec so the OEMS would not whine if they were FORCED to build to a spec by Intel to get the Intel CERT for their product if others were not.

OEMs warranty to the customer.. but the OEM get the warranty replacement FROM INTEL for the CPU if the customer sends back a system with a dead proc. OEMs sell MILLIONS of units a year and that could place Intel in a position to replace at their cost a LOT of CPUs because the OEM sells cheap chit!


Intels new procs are sensitive to cheap crap OEM circuits and PSUs so Intel protected themselves from a slew of OEM returns by making the Vdroop system a standard and the OEMs could not say a word or argue about the cost to add the components to their design because Intel said EVERYONE has to use that spec.


understand?

Thanks for the reply Nick, its great to hear a definative answer. I never listen to the everyday folk on the other forums, but I still read just to see what everyone else is crapping on about. I never meant to question your recommendations, I just wanted to know what the setting actually was and your knowledge about what it does and its potential risks. I'm judging from the fact that you didn't mention anything about my voltages that they are safe to run? Ignoring the transients as I have high quality components (ASUS P6T Deluxe and Corsair TX850 single rail PSU), would you say it is safer to run with the lower voltages and LLC enabled or the higher voltages and LLC disabled? Would there be any difference in the longevity of my processor between the two?

Hi Nick

I can't begin to tell you how much I have appreciated your help.

The system runs great and I am more than happy with it.

Made my wife happy too. She inherited the machine currently in my signature.

Richard, so you now, on my P6T Deluxe V1 the speed step and turbo mode settings don't appear when AI Tuner is set to manual. When it is set to the turbo mode option, thats when they appear underneath.

no probs there, I know that feeling well. How is it all going now?

It is a lovely set up. You will love the i7, mine has been a joy to run once I got it into shape. I manage mine on 4.2ghz, 200bclck, 21x mult, 1603mhz RAM with tightened timings on 1.46vcore in the BIOS which actually idles at 1.44 and under load goes to 1.39. Some people here have tried to run it a 4.2 but can't keep it stable, I think i'm just lucky and won the chip raffle when I got my 940. I doubt you'll be able to reach that on your 920 though.

I am doing a computer science course at uni at the moment, and when I tell people about my system most of them question why anyone needs that power. I don't think anyone can understand until they sit behind the controls of one of these beasts and feel the difference of having a computer that is faster for everything you do.