Intel Sandy Bridge-E Overclocking

[siopao1984]

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Intel Sandy Bridge-E Overclocking - Safe Voltage Ranges, Quad Channel Kits, Thermal Solutions and LN2 Temperatures by VR-Zone.com

With the release of Sandy Bridge-E today, budding overclockers will once again need to familiarize themselves with a new architecture and platform - starting with official safe operating voltages to run the chips, Quad Channel XMP 1.3 memory kits, bundled air/water thermal solutions for the new LGA 2011 socket and optimum LN2 temperatures clocking potential.

Processor Operating Voltages (from Intel SB-E Technical Datasheet)



Memory overclockers will rejoice that the operating voltage for DDR3 memory have now been raised to a maximum of 1.85v (up from the miserable 1.65v since the days of Nehalem), which should help attain high bandwidth 2400+Mhz on tight memory timings, without causing long term CPU degradation.

The Vcore voltage listed is rather conservative (we dare go 1.5V+ with good cooling), but from prior experience Intel have always revised their ratings upwards with new document revisions and core steppings.


Quad Channel XMP 1.3 Memory Kits



Officially, Intel claims support for 1600MHz DDR3 memory only, and usually the AUTO setting on most motherboards will default to that.

Thankfully with the new base clock ratios and vastly improved quad channel memory controller on the CPU, we have seen memory frequencies scale as high as 2800MHz+, fueling the need for specially hand-picked and certified kits to achieve such levels with stability. The new Intel Extreme Memory Profiles (XMP) 1.3 standard extends the SPD profiles to support more extreme settings, and we see vendors like Corsair, GSkill, Kingston and Patroit offering new memory SKUs to sell to demanding enthusiasts.

[siopao1984]

Bundled Thermal Solutions for LGA 2011







The new 4 corner screw on mounting design for the LGA 2011 socket does away with the dodgy push-pins and should help improve mounting pressure significantly. Unfortunately we can't say anything good about the 3960X's bundled Asetek OEM water cooler for heavy overclocking (4.5Ghz on 1.4v should be achievable) - we found the pump and the fan to be lacking in cooling dexterity even at full speeds.

The TJMax of the chip is 91 degrees celcius, so you will want to keep load temperatures below that to avoid degrading your chip.

Based on our time with the 3960X, you will need a high end air cooler with a strong push-pull dual fan setup like the Thermalright Archon or Thermaltake Frio Advanced for voltages up to 1.5v (which should take you around 4.6-4.8Ghz without throttling). For extreme voltages and frequencies beyond that, a multi-radiator water cooling setup or even LN2/Helium is mandatory, which could be tricky as LGA 2011 mounting brackets are still not prevalent. Fortunately the very overclocker friendly Asus ROG Rampage IV Extreme gets around it with X-Socket.




Optimal Temperature Range for LN2 clocking



Our hardcore friends from the ASUS ROG team have put their chips and boards under extreme cooling, and found -60 to -70 degrees celcius to be the most optimum operating temperature for the maximal cpu frequency overclock.

[akomao]

wow hapit na jd macommon ang watercooling ? HAHA

[ehcastro3]

siguro light OC lang gagawin ko >_<

Don't have the time and the patience to maintain a Watercooled PC at this time...baka in a few months pa baka pwede...