1366 X58 Xeon 5650

Stu · 12 Feb 2015 at 11:28

Agree with DragonQ, you need to check if your RAM should be 1.65v (BIOS will probably prefer 1.64v). Set QPI to lowest speed (but not Slow Mode) and UCLK exactly twice the DRAM speed. QPI/DRAM can go upto 1.35v (at least it could with a 920). I still need to get familiar with tweaking CPU PLL... most people leave it to AUTO, but it may be more related to bclk speed than DRAM frequency, in which case it might be important in this case.

There is debate over the impact, but I would disable the two spread spectrum options towards the bottom of the BIOS page.

These guides/discussions may be of value:
Overclocking the X58, a practical guide
Understanding the X58 chipset Asus P6T BIOS Settings for the i7 Nehalem CPU
Max Base Clock Strategy Guide

DragonQ · 12 Feb 2015 at 12:25

Uncore clock is supposed to be "at least twice the DRAM clock", so I assume when it's set to "Auto" it just sets it to exactly that - 3200 MHz for 1600 MHz RAM.

As for the DRAM voltage, I'm surprised it's 1.5 V but if that's what GSkill says then that's what you should go with. One or two websites list my RAM as being 1.5 V but OCZ's website itself says 1.65 V so that's what I trust.

STutheTerrorisT · 12 Feb 2015 at 12:26

Hesky82 said:
Cheers guys! I did a little googling last night after Ste gave me a few pointers and I noticed P6X58D users seem to set their uncore frequency exactly double that of their ram.
I did just that and was able to zip straight up to 200BCLK with no additional QPI VTT, I'm sure I could wind the QPI voltage back from 1.3v.

Now I just need to figure out how I can get my ram to post at its rated speed of 1600mhz.
DragonQ, this is the ram I'm using.....

http://www.gskill.com/en/product/f3-12800cl9t-12gbrl#tabs-spec

Any suggestions regards to the ram?

Thanks again for your help guys.

I've got the blue C8 version of the Ripjaws (3x4gb) http://www.gskill.com/en/product/f3-12800cl8t-12gbrm and I have to run the ram volts at 1.60v and the qpi at 1.35v for the ram to run at 1600 and C8. Will double check when home but am pretty sure the volts are what I've said. Had to manually key in the timings and command rate (2N) in the bios.

Stu · 12 Feb 2015 at 12:35

There are a number of X58 boards that simply don't like running memory at > 1333 at stock voltages... you might be unlucky. I've got OCZ Platinum 1333 memory that is rated at 7-7-7-20-1T, but I can't get it to run at 1600 no matter how loose the timings or increased voltage (not quite the same situation, but I felt the need to share!).

P0tenc · 12 Feb 2015 at 14:47

Just picked up one of these X5650 processors from fleebay for £54.50, and can't wait to start playing with it

Currently have an i7 950 @ 4.2Ghz in my living room PC. Can't say that it is slow because it seemed to perform the same as my i5 4690k @ 4.6Ghz in graphics benchmarks. Both systems had* one GTX 970 each (both returned now), so the bottle neck would have been the GPUs anyway. This seems to sustain the belief that the x58 platform overclocked still provides excellent performance.

The only issue I have is that there is much less control over voltage in the Rampage III Extreme bios as compare to the Maximus VI Hero.

So the X5650 overclocks well according to several user reports, uses less power and has 2 extra cores...all for ~£50 COUNT ME IN!

Will do a follow up with achieved overclocks and such later when I receive it. Just received an item dispatched update

Ragnarok · 12 Feb 2015 at 18:28

Stu said:
There are a number of X58 boards that simply don't like running memory at > 1333 at stock voltages... you might be unlucky. I've got OCZ Platinum 1333 memory that is rated at 7-7-7-20-1T, but I can't get it to run at 1600 no matter how loose the timings or increased voltage (not quite the same situation, but I felt the need to share!).

On my EX58-UD3R my old I7-920 used to run just fine bumping the memory multiplier up. Since putting this x5650 in I can't go above the 12x memory multiplier, it simply won't post.

that was even with just 1 stick of my old ocz gold 2b sticks of memory at 1.65v and my corsair vengeance 4gb sticks 1600 1.5v

I hate it when there isn't a definitive answer on these things and you have to tinker! Seeing at the memory controller is on the cpu, it makes sense it might vary by cpu too! It could even be the bios thinking about it.

I had to go for a mild overclock and bump the base clock to 160 to make it 1600mhz on the ram a reality.

also boots all 4 of my corsair vengance 1600 1.5v @ 1.64v sticks like this.

I think my base clock also tops out at 191 on my setup which is a little disappointing I was hoping to get upto 200 like i could on my old i7-920.

that there was no way i was overclocking the old I7-920 once my water pump failed and i had to resort to air cooling, the damned thing ran far too hot. This x5650 is just fine with a mild overclock.

more tinkering is in order another day.

Hesky82 · 12 Feb 2015 at 20:02

DragonQ said:
Uncore clock is supposed to be "at least twice the DRAM clock", so I assume when it's set to "Auto" it just sets it to exactly that - 3200 MHz for 1600 MHz RAM.

As for the DRAM voltage, I'm surprised it's 1.5 V but if that's what GSkill says then that's what you should go with. One or two websites list my RAM as being 1.5 V but OCZ's website itself says 1.65 V so that's what I trust.

The sticker on the ram states 1.5v, I actually picked this ram because the P6X58D-E was on the QV list, so assumed it would have been tested on such a set-up.

They are actually the only components I purchased new for this system

Will I be ok to up them to 1.65v for testing purposes?

Cheers

Ghostom · 12 Feb 2015 at 20:51

Anyone know if the rampage III gene supports the 6-core xeons?,
sorry if this has already been covered but i cant seem to find it on any of the compatibility lists.
...bit odd if the gene II supports but not the III?

Ragnarok · 12 Feb 2015 at 21:34

first link i founds on google suggested someone not only did that it worked they went straight into overclocking.

Seems with gigabyte boards and probably asus too, if the boards bios is new enough to contain the gulftown cpu micro codes, xeons work too.

only exception was the socket 771 xeons on an 775 boards. that is a mine fields with some gigabyte boards.

Hesky82 · 12 Feb 2015 at 23:17

Stu said:
There are a number of X58 boards that simply don't like running memory at > 1333 at stock voltages... you might be unlucky. I've got OCZ Platinum 1333 memory that is rated at 7-7-7-20-1T, but I can't get it to run at 1600 no matter how loose the timings or increased voltage (not quite the same situation, but I felt the need to share!).

Cracked it! my board/cpu doesn't like the higher 12x ram multiplier, the pc wont post with 133 stock bclk and 1600mhz stock ram frequency.

If I pop it on the 10x multiplier (160bclk / ddr1600) or 8x multi (200bclk / ddr1600) it will happily post.

Logically I thought the lowest blck would be sensible to establish a stable ram frequency :rolleyes:

So I'm currently priming at 4.4ghz @ 1.3v in bios and stock vdimm of 1.5v

I planned to migrate over my watercooling loop, but these chips dont seem to generate much heat.

Thanks for your help chaps

Stu · 13 Feb 2015 at 05:09

Hesky82 said:
Cracked it! my board/cpu doesn't like the higher 12x ram multiplier, the pc wont post with 133 stock bclk and 1600mhz stock ram frequency.

If I pop it on the 10x multiplier (160bclk / ddr1600) or 8x multi (200bclk / ddr1600) it will happily post.

Logically I thought the lowest blck would be sensible to establish a stable ram frequency

So I'm currently priming at 4.4ghz @ 1.3v in bios and stock vdimm of 1.5v

I planned to migrate over my watercooling loop, but these chips dont seem to generate much heat.

Thanks for your help chaps

That's great to hear. Nice overclock. I assume you still have QPI at 1.3v? Everything else on AUTO?

I need to find time this weekend to do some testing!

Ste · 13 Feb 2015 at 08:07

Nice, if it's fully stress test stable at that voltage you have a very nice chip. Will definately do 4.5 and maube 4.6

P4Clock · 13 Feb 2015 at 10:23

Hesky82 said:
So I'm currently priming at 4.4ghz @ 1.3v in bios and stock vdimm of 1.5v

Dont use prime. Use LinX, SuperPI, Cinebench, 3dmark

i have had a system stable for 8hr's of prime and when i opened firefox it BSOD, you need to test with programs that use the system not just load up the cores with crap that means nothing to real use.

4.4 @ 1.3v. when under load what Vcore do you see in CPU-z. i found my UD5 to be way out on the volts i set. i was running 4.61Ghz @ 1.4122V but only getting a real vcore of 1.3785V. when i use LLC it only made it stable at the lower volts not at the number set on bios.

i now run 4.4 @ 1.35v but see a real 1.2750v

Ste · 13 Feb 2015 at 12:18

Same 1.406v BIOS gives me 1.375v on a UD3R

Hesky82 · 13 Feb 2015 at 12:46

Stu said:
That's great to hear. Nice overclock. I assume you still have QPI at 1.3v? Everything else on AUTO?

I need to find time this weekend to do some testing!

Hi Stu, this was my final configuration...

CPU Ratio Setting......................[22.0]
Intel(r) SpeedStep(tm) Tech............[Disabled]
Xtreme Phase Full Power Mode...........[Enabled]
BCLK Frequency.........................[200]
PCIE Frequency.........................[100]
DRAM Frequency.........................[DDR3-1603MHz]
UCLK Frequency.........................[3208Mhz]
QPI Link Data Rate.....................[Auto]

CPU Voltage Control....................[Manual]
CPU Voltage............................[1.3125]
CPU PLL Voltage........................[Auto]
QPI/DRAM Core Voltage..................[1.3]
IOH Voltage............................[Auto]
IOH PCIE Voltage.......................[Auto]
ICH Voltage............................[Auto]
ICH PCIE Voltage.......................[Auto]
DRAM Bus Voltage.......................[1.5]

As mentioned the QPI VTT maybe set a little high, as I kept bumping it up to get stable when I was inadvertently pushing the UCLK to high on auto.

Its a learning curve I guess, overclocking this socket is new to me and there are only so many guides that can help you.

Its pretty satisfying getting so much potential out of such a cheap processor, it reminds me of the dirt cheap oem Q6600 GO that sat in my old rig for 5 years clocking away happily at 4ghz watercooled.
Great bang for buck!

P4Clock said:
Dont use prime. Use LinX, SuperPI, Cinebench, 3dmark

i have had a system stable for 8hr's of prime and when i opened firefox it BSOD, you need to test with programs that use the system not just load up the cores with crap that means nothing to real use.

4.4 @ 1.3v. when under load what Vcore do you see in CPU-z. i found my UD5 to be way out on the volts i set. i was running 4.61Ghz @ 1.4122V but only getting a real vcore of 1.3785V. when i use LLC it only made it stable at the lower volts not at the number set on bios.

i now run 4.4 @ 1.35v but see a real 1.2750v

P4, I plan to run loops of Cinebench and handbrake, as its primary use will be transcoding HD video and 3D rendering with Keyshot, so it must be rock solid with that sort of stuff.

I've used Prime95 since the old days when overclocking Athlon XP-M's, its served me well doing a loops of small fft and blend.

I definitely have a bit of Vdrop, but I've not bothered with LLC as in the past it has never really helped.

P0tenc · 13 Feb 2015 at 13:13

I received the x5650 processor this morning and have been playing with it a bit. Initially the processor seems stable at 4Ghz and with turbo goes up to 4.4Ghz even with all threads at 100% activity. I am using it on a Asus Rampage 3 Extreme with modified 1601 Bios. Also using 6GB (3x 2GB 1600Mhz) ram.

CPU Ratio Setting......................[Auto] 20x, Turbo 22x
Intel(r) SpeedStep(tm) Tech............[Enabled]
Intel Turbo................................[Enabled]
All C states, C1 etc.....................[Enabled]
BCLK Frequency.........................[200]
PCIE Frequency.........................[100]
DRAM Frequency.........................[DDR3-1603MHz]
UCLK Frequency.........................[3208Mhz]
QPI Link Data Rate.....................[7218MT/s]

Load-Line Calibration...................[AUTO]
CPU Voltage Control....................[Manual]
CPU Voltage............................[1.368] ~1.375v
CPU PLL Voltage........................[Auto] ~1.8v
QPI/DRAM Core Voltage..................[Auto] 1.257v
IOH Voltage............................[Auto] ~1.1v
ICH Voltage............................[Auto] ~1.1v

This chip was definitely easy to OC and Auto settings worked up to 4Ghz with no issue. I will have to use it for another few days to establish stability, but initially it passed all my tests.

Bargain for £50 and runs a lot cooler too! Temperature in general is much lower than the i7 950 it replaced.

P0tenc · 13 Feb 2015 at 13:55

P4Clock said:
Dont use prime. Use LinX, SuperPI, Cinebench, 3dmark

i have had a system stable for 8hr's of prime and when i opened firefox it BSOD, you need to test with programs that use the system not just load up the cores with crap that means nothing to real use.

Kind of true yes. Overclocks need to be tested on all extremes, low load, high load and 1 core only load. How you test high load is up to you but best bet is a few different apps.

-Always test idle if power saving features are enabled. If you run a solid VCore then don't worry about it. Typical issue of not testing this is when the system crashes while idle or in low usage application like firefox. Adjust Vcore to add a little voltage at idle.

-Always test high stress scenario on all cores like IBT, prime, realbench etc.

-Always test 1 core high stress scenario and other cores idle. Use same applications as above but specify 1 thread and set affinity to 1 core only.

If your processor passes all 3 scenarios then you can be cautiously optimistic. Use it as normal for the following weeks and see how it behaves. Any restart blue screen etc should be a warning that it is not stable, but close to being stable.

Hesky82 · 13 Feb 2015 at 14:12

I tend to bombard the system with various stability programmes over the course of a few days and then knock it back a couple of 100mhz for day to day use, just to add a little headroom.

So are these 32nm chips ok beyond 1.35vcore regardless of good cooling? Noticed a few people nudging 1.4 on thier overclocks.
I think for mine to see north of 4.5ghz it will need a little more than 1.35v the way its scaling at the moment.

Ste · 13 Feb 2015 at 15:14

Keep QPI under 1.35. Vcore over 1.35 is less of an issue personally I want to stay under 1.4 though.

Hesky82 · 13 Feb 2015 at 15:19

Cheers Ste, will use that as my upper limit then