9900K at 5GHz + Aorus Master Z390

[jiffyslot]

I wonder if anybody can shed some light on issue I'm having with a new CPU and MOBO:
I just installed this (see left) new mobo (F8) and a binned and delidded Silicon Lottery chip that came with specific setup instructions:

CPU Multiplier: 49
BCLK: 100.0
CPU Vcore: 1.225V
AVX Offset: 2
Vcore Load-Line Calibration: Turbo (for Gigabyte)

So I set everything up in the BIOS, and I've disabled the iGPU, but now the CPU Vcore parameter setting is greyed-out and apparently locked at 1.225V. I reloaded Optimized Defaults, punched in all my settings figuring that CPU Vcore would "ungray" by refreshing the profile setup, but it does not.

In the attached image, one can see that my HW Meter is showing a different CPU voltage unless I'm reading it wrong at 1.353V idle. FWIW my 64GB RAM speed is stock at 2400, but is set to 2666 via XMP1.

The machine works great with FCPX exports via Compressor, etc. and VideoProc shows that hardware encoding is working great with the iMacPro1,1 definition. -But the machine crashes towards the end of a Geekbench 5 run. Cinebench 20 score is 4982. Mojave 10.14.6/18G2022.

Please and thank you!

 

[pastrychef]

I wonder if anybody can shed some light on issue I'm having with a new CPU and MOBO:
I just installed this (see left) new mobo (F8) and a binned and delidded Silicon Lottery chip that came with specific setup instructions:

CPU Multiplier: 49
BCLK: 100.0
CPU Vcore: 1.225V
AVX Offset: 2
Vcore Load-Line Calibration: Turbo (for Gigabyte)

So I set everything up in the BIOS, and I've disabled the iGPU, but now the CPU Vcore parameter setting is greyed-out and apparently locked at 1.225V. I reloaded Optimized Defaults, punched in all my settings figuring that CPU Vcore would "ungray" by refreshing the profile setup, but it does not.

In the attached image, one can see that my HW Meter is showing a different CPU voltage unless I'm reading it wrong at 1.353V idle. FWIW my 64GB RAM speed is stock at 2400, but is set to 2666 via XMP1.

The machine works great with FCPX exports via Compressor, etc. and VideoProc shows that hardware encoding is working great with the iMacPro1,1 definition. -But the machine crashes towards the end of a Geekbench 5 run. Cinebench 20 score is 4982. Mojave 10.14.6/18G2022.

Please and thank you!

I have no idea why your vcore setting is greyed out. The only thing I can suggest is to try and completely clear CMOS and try again.

I would not trust the HW Meter voltage reading in macOS. Best to use HWMonitor in Windows to monitor voltage.

In my experience, if Geekbench can't complete a benchmark or crashes, it's a sign that the CPU is not getting enough voltage. That's why I run it 20+ times consecutively as one of the things I do to test overclocking stability. I've had instances where an overclocked system would run for days seemingly without issues only to see Geekbench fail to complete some benchmarks. Only increasing voltage would get Geekbench 100% stable.

Also, as far as I know, AVX offset doesn't work right with macOS. If, for example, you set multiplier to 50 with an AVX offset of 3, the CPU would only get as high as 4.7GHz when in macOS and never hit 5GHz. Of course, AVX offset works as expected in Windows...

 

[jiffyslot]

I have no idea why your vcore setting is greyed out. The only thing I can suggest is to try and completely clear CMOS and try again.

I would not trust the HW Meter voltage reading in macOS. Best to use HWMonitor in Windows to monitor voltage.

In my experience, if Geekbench can't complete a benchmark or crashes, it's a sign that the CPU is not getting enough voltage. That's why I run it 20+ times consecutively as one of the things I do to test overclocking stability. I've had instances where an overclocked system would run for days seemingly without issues only to see Geekbench fail to complete some benchmarks. Only increasing voltage would get Geekbench 100% stable.

Also, as far as I know, AVX offset doesn't work right with macOS. If, for example, you set multiplier to 50 with an AVX offset of 3, the CPU would only get as high as 4.7GHz when in macOS and never hit 5GHz. Of course, AVX offset works as expected in Windows...

Hi @pastrychef –Thanks for the advice. IDR, from which thread, but I remember you saying a while ago that AVX has never worked for you and that you've had better luck OC'ing these chips when setting AVX to 0, And that you've had better luck OC'ing these chips on the Z370 series. It always goes through my head when I'm setting the BIOS and it' what I did in the past with the Z370 and the 8700K.

It is odd that SL gave such particular settings if it would fail GB5. I suppose I could set everything in the CPU area to Auto. The settings I've down-clocked it to 4.5 GHz on all cores. But in practical use, the machine is amazing with FCPX and all the Compressor stuff.

This Z390 mobo doesn't have a CMOS button, just two pins and a shorting jumper : So I'll shut everything down and flip out the battery and short the CMOS pins. Hopefully, that'll be better than reloading F8 for my i9 9900KS.

 

[pastrychef]

Hi @pastrychef –Thanks for the advice. IDR, from which thread, but I remember you saying a while ago that AVX has never worked for you and that you've had better luck OC'ing these chips when setting AVX to 0, And that you've had better luck OC'ing these chips on the Z370 series. It always goes through my head when I'm setting the BIOS and it' what I did in the past with the Z370 and the 8700K.

It is odd that SL gave such particular settings if it would fail GB5. I suppose I could set everything in the CPU area to Auto. The settings I've down-clocked it to 4.5 GHz on all cores. But in practical use, the machine is amazing with FCPX and all the Compressor stuff.

This Z390 mobo doesn't have a CMOS button, just two pins and a shorting jumper : So I'll shut everything down and flip out the battery and short the CMOS pins. Hopefully, that'll be better than reloading F8 for my i9 9900KS.

My i9-9900K overclocked well on both my Z370 and Z390. It's just that macOS doesn't work correctly with the AVX offset setting, so I always set it to 0.

On an i9-9900KS, you should get all core 5GHz on auto settings. I don't know why they recommend underclocking to 4.9GHz... Seems to defeat the purpose of buying a 9900KS...

If you want to underclock to 4.5GHz, you can probably reduce the vcore a lot more than 1.225v.

You shouldn't need to pull out the CMOS battery. Just unplug the power cable from the power supply and use a screwdriver to short out the two pins for a second and CMOS should be cleared.

 

[jiffyslot]

Wow! Auto voltage/Auto everything and AVX=0 on my mobo was showing 5 GHz and a hair over 1.41 volts. I settled on an OC of 4.8. I reduced the vcore to 1.25 seems more stable than trying 5 GHz at some higher voltages like 1.255, 1.26, 1.28, etc. I'd tweak it a little and re-run some tests. I'm not super pleased about getting a SL chip and a delidding service at a premium, but I whiffed on getting the 9900KF, so that's on me. Maybe 4.8 GHz with less voltage and greater "thermal headroom" will be great for VEP and Pro Tools because this i9 won't be throttling or racing temps up and down.

I really thought it'd be as simple as setting up the i7 8700K on the Z370 hardware build. Not so much. That one was a stock chip and I set it to 4.5 GHz, AVX 0, and everything else set to Auto. That build never crashed during a GB5 run. The grass ain't greener, it's just more to mow...

 

[pastrychef]

Wow! Auto voltage/Auto everything and AVX=0 on my mobo was showing 5 GHz and a hair over 1.41 volts. I settled on an OC of 4.8. I reduced the vcore to 1.25 seems more stable than trying 5 GHz at some higher voltages like 1.255, 1.26, 1.28, etc. I'd tweak it a little and re-run some tests. I'm not super pleased about getting a SL chip and a delidding service at a premium, but I whiffed on getting the 9900KF, so that's on me. Maybe 4.8 GHz with less voltage and greater "thermal headroom" will be great for VEP and Pro Tools because this i9 won't be throttling or racing temps up and down.

I really thought it'd be as simple as setting up the i7 8700K on the Z370 hardware build. Not so much. That one was a stock chip and I set it to 4.5 GHz, AVX 0, and everything else set to Auto. That build never crashed during a GB5 run. The grass ain't greener, it's just more to mow...

1.41v is a lot for a binned 9900KS. I'm pretty sure you can go down to around 1.35v without problems. Auto settings will always overcompensate on vcore.

How fast is your RAM? I get 9700+ multi-core in Geekbench with 3400MHz RAM on my 9900K.

 

[jiffyslot]

1.41v is a lot for a binned 9900KS. I'm pretty sure you can go down to around 1.35v without problems. Auto settings will always overcompensate on vcore.

How fast is your RAM? I get 9700+ multi-core in Geekbench with 3400MHz RAM on my 9900K.

Thanks for the info. Yeah, I totally agree. My aim was for a binned chip that would be really efficient and stable with lower than average power draw since the machine has to stay on most of the week for the VSL. IDK if this is par for the course, but since the invoice included specific operating parameters, then it should work as advertised. I'll look into that this week.

My 4x16GB RAM speed is 2400 XMP'd up to 2666 and in "Normal" mode to match the iMP 1,1 spec. See attached shot.

I usually "audit" the settings by going back into the BIOS after rebooting to see what's really changed. The 4.8 GHz setting on all 8 cores with 1.21V seems to be drawing less power than the 8700K 4.5 GHz setup. It's really stable, cool, and quiet. I'm assuming that disabling the iGPU can only help. I've considered disabling Turbo since all cores are at 4.8 GHz anyway.
I also assume that the Seasonic SSR 1000PD lets me operate the entire box in the nice fat middle of its range.

I figured I'd give Auto a shot just to see what Gigabyte decided to do with my chip. It didn't surprise me. I'm hoping that the BIOS readings are accurate in the voltage reporting department, at least more so than my last mobo which was notorious for under-reporting vcore by as much as 0.25V in some cases. Thanks again for the advice.

 

[pastrychef]

Thanks for the info. Yeah, I totally agree. My aim was for a binned chip that would be really efficient and stable with lower than average power draw since the machine has to stay on most of the week for the VSL. IDK if this is par for the course, but since the invoice included specific operating parameters, then it should work as advertised. I'll look into that this week.

My 4x16GB RAM speed is 2400 XMP'd up to 2666 and in "Normal" mode to match the iMP 1,1 spec. See attached shot.

I usually "audit" the settings by going back into the BIOS after rebooting to see what's really changed. The 4.8 GHz setting on all 8 cores with 1.21V seems to be drawing less power than the 8700K 4.5 GHz setup. It's really stable, cool, and quiet. I'm assuming that disabling the iGPU can only help. I've considered disabling Turbo since all cores are at 4.8 GHz anyway.
I also assume that the Seasonic SSR 1000PD lets me operate the entire box in the nice fat middle of its range.

I figured I'd give Auto a shot just to see what Gigabyte decided to do with my chip. It didn't surprise me. I'm hoping that the BIOS readings are accurate in the voltage reporting department, at least more so than my last mobo which was notorious for under-reporting vcore by as much as 0.25V in some cases. Thanks again for the advice.

If you are content with the performance at 4.8GHz, I wouldn't change anything. Don't disable Turbo. The all core 4.8GHz is the Turbo mode. 1.21v is great and you should have exceptional temps. Also, your "Turbo" LLC setting should be good. That's the same LLC I used on my Gigabyte Z390. Btw, now that you've achieved stability, remember to save your BIOS profile!!

There's really no need to match the RAM speed of real Macs. I've never found RAM speed to affect macOS stability. If RAM is unstable, it would cause system-wide instability.

With your hardware configuration, I don't think you will ever even hit 400W system power draw.

From what I've read, the most accurate way to see true vcore is with HWMonitor in Windows.

Side note:
There has been reports that since Intel released the i9-9900KS, users who purchased the normal i9-9900K have had a lot of difficulty hitting 5GHz. The assumption is that Intel is binning these CPUs and grabbing all the ones that can hit 5GHz and putting them in the KS boxes.

Evidence of this can be seen in Silicon Lottery's site where they don't even bother with the standard 9900K anymore.

 

[jiffyslot]

It's not very stable: It's crashing when I exit that huge Vienna Ensemble Pro session. I gotta keep monkeying with the vCore. The BCLK keeps drifting from 100.00 MHz down to 99.97 then back to 100.04 MHz. IDK if that's bad or not. I'm up for disabling "Active Turbo Ratios" -ya' know, just turn off Turbo boost and let the synced cores do their thing. I'm also going to try using the native speed of my 64 GB of [Corsair LPX] RAM: 2400 Mhz. I just want this to be smooth and steady like a workstation. I'll keep posting and hopefully this will also help others.

 

[pastrychef]

It's not very stable: It's crashing when I exit that huge Vienna Ensemble Pro session. I gotta keep monkeying with the vCore. The BCLK keeps drifting from 100.00 MHz down to 99.97 then back to 100.04 MHz. IDK if that's bad or not. I'm up for disabling "Active Turbo Ratios" -ya' know, just turn off Turbo boost and let the synced cores do their thing. I'm also going to try using the native speed of my 64 GB of [Corsair LPX] RAM: 2400 Mhz. I just want this to be smooth and steady like a workstation. I'll keep posting and hopefully this will also help others.

If it's not stable, it probably needs more vcore.

Very slight variations in BCLK is normal.

Disabling Turbo will make the CPU run at it's base frequency of 4GHz.