Overclocking an Intel Xeon X5470 on a GA-EP45T-Extreme
Overclocking an Intel Xeon X5470 on a GA-EP45T-Extreme
Hello Everyone,
This is my initial contribution to the forum. Although I've been a casual observer for some time, I haven't felt the urge to post until now. As this is my first entry, I'd like to give a brief overview of who I am.
I'm based in Sydney, Australia, and currently pursuing a business/finance degree full-time (second year). Recently, I began assembling PCs from scratch, and thus far I've managed three or four in total—mostly for personal use. My fascination with computers remains strong, especially the joy of seeing a project successfully launch its first boot. Of course, we all know that's not always the case!
Recently, I set a personal challenge: to build a budget computer using recycled parts donated to me. Below are the specifications I'm working with. I'm utilizing the 771 to 775 conversion mod, as it appears to offer the best value.
Mobo: GA-EP45T-Extreme
CPU: Intel Xeon X5470 (3.33ghz - 333Mhz x 10 Multiplier)
RAM: DDR3 4GB G.Skill PC3-12800 - Part Number F3-17000CL11-4GBXL
PSU: 650W
CPU Cooler: CM Hyper212 EVO
GPU: NVIDIA Geforce 8600GT (temporary choice; considering a GTX 970)
HDD: Toshiba 500GB (SATA 6.0gb/s) 2.5"
Optical Drive: LG 24x DVD-RW
I selected the X5470 CPU because it received positive feedback regarding its overclocking potential. However, I encountered some difficulties during the process. The BIOS's MIT program provides ample flexibility for tweaking settings, but I'm still unsure which adjustments are optimal. So far, I've managed to set the CPU host frequency to achieve a core speed of 3.99 GHz [3.99 x (6-10)], while keeping the default CPU VCore at 1.25V. I conducted stress tests using IntelBurnTest with maximum RAM for ten cycles without any stability problems.
I've experimented with various CPU VCore values, but none exceeded 4GHz. The system would simply fail to boot if the CPU host frequency exceeds 399.
CPU Host Frequency | CPU VCore
403 MHz 1.25V (Failed Boot)
403 MHz 1.25625V (Failed Boot)
403 MHz 1.26250V (Failed Boot)
403 MHz 1.26875V (Failed Boot)
403 MHz 1.27500V (Failed Boot)
403 MHz 1.28125V (Failed Boot)
403 MHz 1.28750V (Failed Boot)
403 MHz 1.29375V (Failed Boot)
403 MHz 1.30000V (Failed Boot)
403 MHz 1.30625V (Failed Boot)
403 MHz 1.31250V (Failed Boot)
400 MHz 1.31250V (Failed Boot)
400 MHz 1.32500V (Failed Boot)
Even with a VCore of 1.4V, the boot still failed. For more details, I've attached photos of my current setup. Any guidance or advice would be invaluable.
I'm not familiar with Xeons, but you might consider setting the reference voltage to the vcore value and increasing the PLL voltage a bit.
I've experienced good results with an x5470 on a comparable ep45-ud3p gigabyte board with MIT. Chips tend to differ, but I've managed to reach 4.5ghz despite the heat, which required a substantial Phanteks dual fan cooler. Below are my voltage settings for reference and testing:
Pll - 1.57
Term - 1.34
Vcore - 1.4
Mch - 1.42
The configuration is quite aggressive, but one core handled prime95 small fft without issues, even during extended gaming sessions at over 90% CPU load. Best of luck!
Hi there, perhaps it's still a bit late, but you might still be facing the same issue... I own the same x5470 on striker 2 extreme (790i nforce) and I used the same CPU as dfi dk p45-t2rs and msi p7n2. I also had 4x2gb xpower ddr3 at 2000Mhz (on dfi 4x2gb mushkin black ddr2 1066).
From what I've noticed, you don't need a vcore higher than 1.28 for around 4Ghz, and keeping the FSB above 400 is reliable on most boards—only on my second generation it reached 450, while the previous ones stayed under 400, which was unusual!
To achieve stability at 4Ghz, and even on some stock boards, I had to experiment with gtlref. All voltages stayed within normal ranges for any of the motherboards, though the p7n2 sometimes showed a yellow reading around 1.36v. On my second generation, the best settings were around "approximately" (though this is specific to my chip).
gtlref0 -30
gtlref1 +15
gtlref2 -30
gtlref3 +15
On earlier boards, I believed the key factors were gtlref0 at -20 or so. So it seems you should adjust gtl and possibly mem, as I encountered many issues with that approach...
Example: 1800 (450*9) was tough on my motherboard and caused cold boot problems but remained stable; 1776 (444*9) wasn't stable from the CPU side; 1750 was the sweet spot. 😉