MSI GT73VR Safe & Stable Overclock

Hello everyone!

I'd appreciate it if we all could take a moment and share our overclock settings in this thread!
If you have any cool stories to share about overclocking feel free to do so. I love stories.
Note: This thread is only for GT73VR's with i7-7820HK

Thank you,
Ralf

 

My current overclock:

4.4 GHz, VR Current Limit changed to 100A (value is 400 in the BIOS to get 100A) and Voltage Offset is -44mV

More stable overclock would be 4.2 GHz, VR Current Limit is again 100A and voltage offset is -70mV

100% fail safe overclock is 4.1 GHz, VR Current Limit is 100A, and Voltage offset is -80 to -100mV (test for stability if you do the -100mV but that'd result in much cooler temps)

 

Max stable OC for me:
4.7 ghz, VR Current Limit=200A, IA AC DC Loadline=5 (Intel IA Domain), voltage=1260mv (manual).

Absolute max game overclock: 4.8 ghz, 1285mv manual voltage, same settings as above.

fail safe overclock: 4.5 ghz, IA AC DC loadline=5, 1175mv manual, OR
4.5 ghz, IA AC DC loadline=5, adaptive voltage, +100mv offset. (no offset is required if IA AC DC is set to auto (0), but temps will be much higher).

 

please take a screenshot of where that IA AC Loadline is I'm still confused where to put it

 

Right here:

POWER AND PERFORMANCE --> CPU performance settings -> CPU VR SETTINGS -> Core I/A Domain.
Change IA AC and IA DC from 0 (automatic= "180" reference value of 1.80 mOhms) to 5 to 10.

DO NOT do ANYWHERE near the upper limits, ever, period. 180 is the reference value. 1 is absolutely NO VID Boost but a lot of vdroop so it hard to get stable. I find 5 works the best overall, but 10 might be good for you. @sirgeorge likes 10.

You will have to REMOVE Your undervolt if using ADAPTIVE Voltage, or you will certainly be unstable because of too low voltage without the "VID BOOST". Depending on your CPU's default VID, you may need +50mv at 4.2 ghz to +100mv at 4.4 ghz.

For static voltages (manual), just dial in the voltage. Seems like you need 1200mv on your system (guessing).

 

ok so for a start, I set my CPU multipliers to 42X and Ring also to 42X although I know Ring will always operate at -300MHz from the actual CPU Frequency.

I set the VR Current Limit as I always did before to 400 (100A) and IA/DC Loadline to 10 and a static voltage of 1230mV

I got a 10C reduction in temps



although I got random dips to 3.9 GHz a few times. What gives?

 

Is it because speed step (IEST) is enabled? I know mine dipped like this unless I disabled that feature.

 

I've always had Speed Step and Speed Shift enabled and I never had throttling

 

Try setting VR Current Limit to 600 or 800 (150A or 200A). but this may just be a bug with moar MSI Spaghetti code dinner. I've seen random dips from 4.5 ghz to 3.5 ghz when fully idle, then suddenly it goes back to 4.5 ghz. Doesn't ever happen at LOAD. Only idle. Sounds like buggy C-states or something.

Note: absolute MAXIMUM is 250A (1000). Found out. "Overclocking Performance Menu" shows a limit of 1000 for this value. But in the "OC" section, you can put higher than 1000. Going higher than 1000 literally flips this value back to default. Gross.

 

Dude j00 are a star!!! you got my temps down by 10C with no throttling! Upping the VR Current limit from 400 to 800 fixed it!

thanks a lot man! you are now the voltage inspector and overclocking doctor!

 

You're welcome. I still can't find the hybrid power disabled flag. I'm HOPING it's not a COMBINATION of EC register C7 with another register together, because that's impossible...battery usage to the EC is completely blocked if EC register C7 is set to 01 which would make even monitoring for battery drain impossible.

If I could find the "hidden" backdoor EC option in the Bios like Shehary did, then I could see what EC register changes...
D7 seems to be some sort of overcurrent shutoff register. Set D7 to "01" and "byebye power" instantly.

 

and here is 4.4 GHz! Man you just gave me taptop a new breathe of life!

 

Sorry to be OT, I found disabling speedstep and enabling Speedshift with EPP value set to 0 gave better performance and the clocks will stay at their max. multipliers until you hit TDP limit set in TS or XTU or BIOS.

 

@Phoenix Do you by chance have a walkthrough for overclocking the Titan? I would like a nice and easy 4.1ghz

 

6820HK?
No such thing as an easy 4.1 ghz.
7820HK?
Do exactly what he said. No need for me to repeat it.

 

set your multipliers to 41X for all 4 of them, set your undervolt to -100mV,, set your VR Current Limit to 100A in XTU or a value of 400 in the BIOS (as the value in the BIOS is divided by 4) leave your voltage as adaptive which is the default

 

Wait he was talking about XTU instead of the Bios?
You don't even need XTU for this laptop...
Changing the main CPU ratio in the Bios automatically links all four multipliers to the same value.
Ring ratio is fixed at either x36, or 3 lower than CPU core multiplier (throttlestop can override this).

The OC menu has everything available. Plus XTU is bugged.
If you change CPU Cache ICCMAX in XTU, it changes "GT Unsliced ICCMAX" the Bios (I am NOT kidding).

 

set your undervolt to -100mV let's hope he can boot

 

Thank for the reply! Is this done in software or in the bios?

 

To undervolt, you need XTU. The bios option for undervolting is hidden in "Overclocking Performance Menu", and you need to donate to Svet (On MSI official forums) to unlock that for you.
But you did say "quick and easy 4.1 ghz"

CPU current Limit (VR Current Limit) is in the Bios already, under OC section.
Power limit changing from the default of 200W is useless. Impossible to draw more than 100W from CPU at 4.1 ghz anyway.
XTU changes both MSR and MMIO power limits. Bios does not use the MMIO power limits (they are left blank; I checked).

@Papusan is right btw.
Undervolting by -100mv at 4.2 ghz is not guaranteed to be 100% stable. Because every CPU is different. if you have a CPU that was cut from the wafer on a monday morning, or a friday afternoon, you might have a bad day.

And this is on a CPU that has a low VID (default 1.08v at 4.2 ghz, which is lower than most).
I tried -100mv at 4.2 ghz and it fails FMA3 prime95 with a core error. Non FMA3 (AVX/FMA3 disabled) is stable. I found out when doing intense stress testing of my throttlestop profile for 4.2 ghz -100mv (long before I knew anything about AC DC loadline, so I was using basic defaults); Prime95 would drop a core in FMA3 testing with -100mv at 4.2 ghz.

 

Try BIOS first. I just realized you have a 6820HK not a 7820 HK so try 40X multipliers to start with with the same undervolt and test for stability in games

 

I have the 7820hk, I'm still learning how to setup my profile to list my specs. I believe its the exact same Titan you have ending in 425. One of the reason I bought it seeing all your posts and the fact you have it, it must be badass!

 

Or better... Still put 41x and lower suggested undervolt

 

yes this is the only laptop I've had for more than a year. Simply copy/paste my signature and image in one shot and paste them in YOUR signature, then edit the specs like SSDs and RAM to match your particular system

Where did you buy it from?

 

yeah and then go here >>>

 

Nope. Undervolt or even stock volt and 41x shouldnt put your chips into that We don't talk about 4.3GHz or higher.

 

@Phoenix Could I trouble you for your most up to date Firestrike Score on the Titan?(Not Ultra). Out of the box I hit 15,800 with the max fan button turned on for the scoring.

 

This thread is making the hamster very happy.
and the microwave....

 

@Papusan When I and if I do a repaste, do I need to replace thermal pads as well? And what thickness do the pads need to be? 1mm?

 

You will at least have to replace the pads if they are destroyed or not in good shape. I don't remember the thickness as I don't have MSI. But you are covered up if you have spare in 0.5 and 1.0mm from what I know. But @Falkentyne have the model and can give you a more fulfilled answer. See this guide for thermal pads if you want purchase for spare or want better performing pads. See if you can get the 6W/mK Acrtic Cooling pads or the 14W/mK Alphacool pads as they are very soft.

 

Thank for the reply @Papusan, I just finished running Prime95 for one hour and these are my results. It looks like it passed the one hour test fine but ran way too hot? From my little knowledge (and observations during the test) it seems that when the cpu hits 100C it throttles down to 3.7ghz. I'm running @Phoenix overclock he suggested at 4.2ghz copying his settings (I think) into XTU. Anything look out of the ordinary? I will order some Arctic thermal pads and I already ordered some Grizzly Kryonaut. This laptop only hits around 70c (@4.2ghz) when running Firestrike and in games it never gets very hot. Stock thermal paste and fans turned on max for all tests.

 

a more realistic test would be to run a game for 30 mins while having HWiNFO in the background and look at the average temps in that game. prime95 is not how a regular or even power user would be using his laptop.

 

I wouldn't go for Grizzly Kryonaut. If you dont want go the Liquid metal route, rather try Phobya NanoGrease Extreme.

If you want to abuse your chips. Rather use Aida64 Stability Stress Tests Guide ala Papusan @Phoenix

 

Please DISABLE FMA3 and AVX in prime95 (at the very least, disable FMA3) if you are NOT using liquid metal cooling! You will not be able to keep the temps under 100C without LM cooling or tweaking the IA AC DC loadline setting (which you don't have access to).

In local.txt in prime folder, add CPUSupportsAVX=0
and CPUSupportsFMA3=0

Then try running prime.
*Edit*
Is that prime blend or prime small FFT?

100C with only 88W power and 1.174v...wow....(even though from my own testing with how a reference value of 1.80 mOhms of IA AC DC loadline misreports the true VID, that 1.174v VID is more like 1.250v actually (because, bugs. Because I tested it).

 

@Phoenix here are my temps while playing PUBG for 30 mins on auto fans. @Papusan I will order a tube thanks

 

That's much better and that's how you'd be using your laptop not using some synthetic app that stresses the crap out of your CPU.

 

Read my last post.
and that looks like a decent CPU, if your VID weren't spiking from 1.023v to 1.185v...
I'd really love to know what the default VID is for that CPU at 4200 mhz.
If that CPU's default VID at 4200 mhz is 1.023v I'll eat Papusan and Phoenix for dinner.
Unfortunately without an unlocked Bios, you have no way of finding out the default VID, because the IA AC DC "Auto" setting VID boosts by 1.80 mOhms at full load, and this setting would need to be set to "1" (0.01 mOhms) for the true VID to be reported :/

Sometimes the minimum VID shown is very close to the default VID. But mine is 1.08v at 4.2 ghz.

And why is it 4215 mhz instead of 4200 mhz?
Did you raise the BCLK?

 

Oh man you just typed a whooole lot of stuff I'm still trying to learn about, all I did was copy @Phoenix 4.2ghz guide he posted in one of the threads and I copied his screenshots from XTU. Phoenix says there is no reason to use Prime95 so I'll just stick with the gaming tests . Do you see any settings I maybe don't have set correctly? Here is a screenshot of my XTU settings copied from @Phoenix posting

 

Please stop mentioning me for every post you make! definitely not a double mention in the same post! To the ignore list you go! I've had it with people mentioning in every post for no reason!

 

I just want to know where that 1M length came from.
Was this prime blend or prime small FFT?

Because I copied your exact settings (i realized now its an undervolt), 4.2 ghz, adaptive voltage, -100mv, and IA AC DC loadline set back to auto to match your settings and this is what i got on prime. Notice it went from 12k to 8k. Yours went from 32K to 1M....

 

Sorry about that I've never used any forum before so I didn't realize that was an annoying thing. Mr. Falkentyne I used a Prime blend test.

 

Phoenix,
he said hes sorry and shows remorse. Seems genuine but don't let it happen again.

Ok here's your blend test at your exact settings and undervolt with liquid metal cooling.

True but there is actually one VERY good use for prime95, provided you disable the CPU power virus stuff first:
It can be used as a very reliable RAM, IMC and VCORE test, rather than as a "how good is your heatsink?" test:

1) disable FMA3 and AVX.
2) Prime with custom settings:
min FFT: 512K, max FFT: 4096K, total RAM to use: 75% of total system RAM in MB value
(for 32GB, this is 75% of 32768, or 24576)

Different FFT sizes will test different things. 1344K tests CPU Vcore, 2048-4096K tests RAM or CPU IMC (I don't remember which is which, you can google it somewhere its been mentioned).

This is a good way for testing RAM overclocks, if you can pass UEFI Memtest86 without errors (passing memtest86 first means you won't destroy your Operating system by trying to boot into it, but doesn't mean your RAM tweaks are fully stable).

 

Maybe try Cinebench R15 and post results. One with HWiNFO64 and one without for highest possible score. A real world workflow

No need for running P95 whatsoever you say with or without FMA3, AVX load. Aida64 tests cover the whole range. You can even test out AVX, AVX2 and FMA workflow for your processor (Not the massive load as in P95, but still more than enough for verifying this type load for your system). And AIDA64 workload is used everywhere to validate hardware components.

 

@Papusan
can the TRIAL version of AIDA64 do this?
I thought the trial version had limitations.

Actually if you're tweaking RAM tertiary timings, you should do the prime test I mentioned, AIDA, Asus Realbench, and other tests mentioned on overclock.net (like HCI memtest and others)
You can't rely on one test when tweaking subtimings on RAM. One "1" turns into a "0" randomly and your OS can be gone!

 

As I said in previous post... AIDA64 workload is used to validate hardware components in systems everywhere (both for desktops and notebooks). Of course stress tesing with different workflow is better... But P95 ain't needed!! Even idle load is a form for stress test when you shall validate your overclock/stability.

 

Prime95 is fine if used properly.
Even unclewebb agrees.

http://www.overclock.net/forum/18051-memory/1630388-comprehensive-memory-overclocking-guide.html

Can we just agree to disagree sometimes? We are different people. Won't always agree on the same thing.
This isn't small FFT blow up the CPU testing I'm talking about here....
AVX and FMA are DISABLED.

 

no problem. I've unblocked you. Sorry if I sounded rude I am not usually, but you see, when you tag someone with the @ sign, they get a notification. that's all well and good for example when you are posting something that requires the attention of that particular member, but doing it in every single post where there is not really anything that requires the immediate attention of that member and twice in the same post is what gets annoying

Thanks for understanding.

Cheers

 

I replied to the wrong post but here is the Cinebench score you mentioned. Fans on auto. I have read about liquid metal and it seems a little intimidating to a new user like myself. I have only opened up this laptop to replace the SSD

 

Roger that I did not know that I apologize I just saw everyone doing it and thought its what the cool kids did.

 

Please, run without Hwinfo and Anti Virus software for to see if you get a more normal score. The score is Crippled for 4.2GHz.
792cb is barely better than a stock clocked 7820Hk running 3.5GHz on all 4 cores.