Intel® Desktop Boards DZ77GA-70K, DZ77RE-75K Performance Tuning Guide Revision 1.
Intel DZ77GA-70K / DZ77RE-75K Desktop Board Performance Tuning Guide WARNING Altering clock frequency and/or voltage may (i) reduce system stability and useful life of the system and processor; (ii) cause the processor and other system components to fail; (iii) cause reductions in system performance; (iv) cause additional heat or other damage; and (v) affect system data integrity. Intel has not tested and does not warranty the operation of the processor beyond its specifications.
Intel DZ77GA-70K / DZ77RE-75K Desktop Board Performance Tuning Guide Contents 1 Introduction ........................................................................ 5 1.1 Intel® Extreme Tuning Utility .............................................................. 5 2 3rd Generation Intel® Core™ Processor Family and Intel® Z77 Express Chipset General Concepts ....................................... 7 2.1 Architecture......................................................................................
Intel DZ77GA-70K / DZ77RE-75K Desktop Board Performance Tuning Guide 3.6.8 3.6.9 Reconfigure the BIOS to Re-enable Interfaces .......................... 27 Archive Performance Settings ................................................ 27 4 Performance Tuning Examples............................................29 4.1 4.5 GHz Processor Speed Using Turbo Ratios....................................... 29 4.2 4.
Intel DZ77GA-70K / DZ77RE-75K Desktop Board Performance Tuning Guide 1 Introduction Performance tuning of Intel® Desktop Board DZ77GA-70K enables useful gains that can enhance overall system performance for gaming, video editing, computation, performance benchmarking, and other uses. Performance tuning can be done using the board BIOS or the Intel® Extreme Tuning Utility.
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Intel DZ77GA-70K / DZ77RE-75K Desktop Board Performance Tuning Guide 2 3rd Generation Intel® Core™ Processor Family and Intel® Z77 Express Chipset General Concepts 2.1 Architecture Intel Desktop Board DZ77GA-70K consists of the 3rd generation Intel Core processor family and the Intel Z77 Express Chipset (the Platform Controller Hub (Intel Z77 PCH)). The 3rd generation Intel Core processor family integrates the system memory controller and the PCI Express x16 interface.
Intel DZ77GA-70K / DZ77RE-75K Desktop Board Performance Tuning Guide Figure 2.1.
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Intel DZ77GA-70K / DZ77RE-75K Desktop Board Performance Tuning Guide 3 Intel Desktop Board DZ77GA-70K Performance Tuning Using BIOS Setup 3.1 Hardware Considerations for Performance Tuning 3.1.1 Processor In addition to Intel Desktop Board DZ77GA-70K, a processor that allows the desired level of performance tuning by the user is required. Performance tuning capability with the 3rd generation Intel Core processor family is dependent on the selected processor.
Intel DZ77GA-70K / DZ77RE-75K Desktop Board Performance Tuning Guide 3.1.4 System Cooling Performance tuning results in additional system heat generation. Increased cooling capability may be required to allow performance tuning and operation of a performance tuned system while maintaining stable operation.
Intel DZ77GA-70K / DZ77RE-75K Desktop Board Performance Tuning Guide The log will also be convenient for entering parameters if profiles will be setup using the Intel Extreme Tuning Utility. The user may have different performance setting profiles that are needed, depending on the software applications being run. The Intel Desktop Board DZ77GA-70K BIOS supports a single profile.
Intel DZ77GA-70K / DZ77RE-75K Desktop Board Performance Tuning Guide 3.4 Recovering from an Unstable System Should performance values be set beyond the point of stable system operation, the system may exhibit a failure to boot, a blue screen, a system hang or a recovery screen as described in the sections below.
Intel DZ77GA-70K / DZ77RE-75K Desktop Board Performance Tuning Guide Figure 3.1. Screen Displayed When the Watchdog Timer Detects an Issue 3.4.2 Back to BIOS Button A second recovery option is to use the Back to BIOS button that is located on the board’s back panel. This button provides a convenient method of invoking the BIOS setup menu, as shown in Figure 3.2, in a safe, bootable mode without needing to open the system chassis to access the BIOS jumper.
Intel DZ77GA-70K / DZ77RE-75K Desktop Board Performance Tuning Guide Figure 3.2. Screen Displayed When System is Started With the Back to BIOS Button Depressed 3.4.3 BIOS Configuration Jumper A third recovery option is to use the BIOS configuration jumper that is provided on the board to allow the user to force the board to boot to BIOS Setup in a safe mode. The user will need to open their system chassis to access this jumper.
Intel DZ77GA-70K / DZ77RE-75K Desktop Board Performance Tuning Guide screen prompt will allow the user to adjust performance settings in BIOS to restore system stability. 3.5 Intel Desktop Board DZ77GA-70K Tuning using Over-Clocking Assistant™ Included in the DZ77GA-70K Visual BIOS™ setup program is an automated method to over clock using pre-tested built in settings.
Intel DZ77GA-70K / DZ77RE-75K Desktop Board Performance Tuning Guide To increase the processor frequency using the Overclocking Assistant, simply use the mouse to move the slider until the desired frequency is shown on the main display. 3.6 Intel Desktop Board DZ77GA-70K Performance Manual Tuning Process There are various sequences of steps possible for doing board performance tuning. The approach presented in this guide is a general starting point, but may not be optimal for all cases.
Intel DZ77GA-70K / DZ77RE-75K Desktop Board Performance Tuning Guide 3.6.1 Configure the BIOS for Performance Tuning It is recommended that non-essential interfaces (such as, onboard audio, USB, LAN, external SATA, etc.) be disabled when performance tuning to simplify the process. Once the performance parameters have been optimized, the onboard features can be re-enabled. Scroll to “Configuration” > “On-Board Devices” and use the submenus to disable these features (refer to Figure 3.3).
Intel DZ77GA-70K / DZ77RE-75K Desktop Board Performance Tuning Guide From the Performance page, processor tuning options are under the “Processor Overrides” section shown in Figure 3.4 below. Also see Appendix A for a table summarizing these settings and their effects. Sections 3.6.1.1 through 3.6.1.8 include guidelines for setting the processor override parameters. Figure 3.4.
Intel DZ77GA-70K / DZ77RE-75K Desktop Board Performance Tuning Guide 3.6.1.1 CPU Voltage Override Type Two methods are provided for increasing the processor voltage, Processor Voltage Override and Voltage Offset. Override commands the VR controller to supply a constant voltage to the processor ignoring SVID requests from the processor. Offset tells the VR controller to take the voltage requested by the processor and add extra voltage to it.
Intel DZ77GA-70K / DZ77RE-75K Desktop Board Performance Tuning Guide result in a longer time interval out of sustained mode while accumulated processor heat is being dissipated. 3.6.1.8 Sustained Mode Power Limit Set the Sustained Mode Power Limit (TDP) for turbo mode. If the average power during the sustained mode time exceeds this limit, turbo mode will disengage and the processor will run at the maximum non-turbo ratio. Inadequate cooling may cause the processor to throttle.
Intel DZ77GA-70K / DZ77RE-75K Desktop Board Performance Tuning Guide Table 3-1. Resulting CPU Frequency Values for Various Multipliers Multiplier Resulting CPU Core Frequency (GHz) Multiplier Resulting CPU Core Frequency (GHz) 35 3.50 50 5.00 36 3.60 51 5.10 37 3.70 52 5.20 38 3.80 53 5.30 39 3.90 54 5.40 40 4.00 55 5.50 41 4.10 56 5.60 42 4.20 57 5.70 43 4.30 58 5.80 44 4.40 59 5.90 45 4.50 60 6.00 46 4.60 61 6.10 47 4.70 62 6.20 48 4.80 63 6.
Intel DZ77GA-70K / DZ77RE-75K Desktop Board Performance Tuning Guide The Intel Extreme Tuning Utility includes processor and memory stress testing capabilities in addition to allowing the processor temperature to be monitored as shown in Figure 3.5. Being able to stress test sub-systems like the processor and memory with relative independence is helpful. This enables you to determine which sub-system has become unstable so you know which group of performance parameters to revise.
Intel DZ77GA-70K / DZ77RE-75K Desktop Board Performance Tuning Guide System (host) clock frequency changes were made using the BIOS screen shown in Figure 3.6. The frequency display shows the results of increasing the system clock setting from 100 MHz to 105 MHz with the resulting processor speed increase from 3.90 GHz to 4.09 GHz (39x105 MHz = 4.09 GHz). Figure 3.6.
Intel DZ77GA-70K / DZ77RE-75K Desktop Board Performance Tuning Guide 3.6.5 Performance Tuning Memory A wide variety of memory timing parameters can be adjusted in the BIOS setup as described in the sections below. See Appendix B for a summary description of memory settings and their effects. In addition, DIMM socket population will also affect system performance. Intel Desktop Board DZ77GA-70K has two independent memory channels which are indicated by blue or black memory DIMM sockets.
Intel DZ77GA-70K / DZ77RE-75K Desktop Board Performance Tuning Guide Figure 3.8. Memory Configuration Screen 3.6.5.3 Determining Memory Frequency Increasing the host clock frequency will increase the memory speed, in addition to the processor frequency. Note that the memory is not run directly from the host clock. The memory clock frequency is generated by the processor using input from the host clock signal received from the Intel Z77 PCH. The default memory clock frequency runs at 133.3 MHz.
Intel DZ77GA-70K / DZ77RE-75K Desktop Board Performance Tuning Guide Table 3-2. Resulting Memory Frequency Values for Various Multipliers Multiplier Resulting Memory Frequency (MHz) 8 1066 10 1333 12 1600 14 1866 16 2133 18 2400 3.6.5.4 Going Beyond XMP Profiles Using XMP profiles provides much of the obtainable memory performance benefit with minimum effort.
Intel DZ77GA-70K / DZ77RE-75K Desktop Board Performance Tuning Guide Extreme Tuning Utility using Manual mode. Selecting “Profiles” from the left menu brings up a window that allows the user to enter a profile name where the performance parameter settings will be stored. These profiles can be invoked by starting the Intel Extreme Tuning Utility and loading the desired profile. The most recently loaded profile will remain resident in the BIOS, until changes are made by the user. Figure 3.9.
Intel DZ77GA-70K / DZ77RE-75K Desktop Board Performance Tuning Guide 4 Performance Tuning Examples 4.1 4.5 GHz Processor Speed Using Turbo Ratios Figure 4.1 shows the BIOS settings to achieve a processor speed of 4.5 GHz. The system clock has been left at the default value of 100 MHz. XMP profiles were used to obtain a memory speed of 1600 MHz. Figure 4.1. 4.
Intel DZ77GA-70K / DZ77RE-75K Desktop Board Performance Tuning Guide 4.2 4.72 GHz Processor Speed Using Turbo Ratios and System Clock Changes Figure 4.2 shows the BIOS settings to achieve a processor speed of 4.72 GHz. Turbo ratios of 45 were set for all of the processor cores. The system base clock frequency has been increased from the default value of 100 MHz to 105 MHz. XMP profiles were used to obtain a memory speed of 1600 MHz.
Intel DZ77GA-70K / DZ77RE-75K Desktop Board Performance Tuning Guide Figure 4.3. Intel Extreme Tuning Utility Screen Showing CPU Stress Test Running with 4.
Intel DZ77GA-70K / DZ77RE-75K Desktop Board Performance Tuning Guide A Parameter Descriptions for BIOS Performance Settings Table A-1. BIOS Performance Settings 32 Setup Option Description Static CPU Voltage Override Type Overrides the voltage requested by the processor and allows a user selected CPU Static Voltage to be applied at all times. This option disables the dynamic voltage control of the processor.
Intel DZ77GA-70K / DZ77RE-75K Desktop Board Performance Tuning Guide Setup Option Description Voltage Override more aggressive overclock frequencies. Note: This setting may impact S3 functionality. 4-Core Ratio Limit Sets the core multiplier to be used when four processor cores are in use. 3-Core Ratio Limit Sets the core multiplier to be used when three processor cores are in use. 2-Core Ratio Limit Sets the core multiplier to be used when two processor cores are in use.
Intel DZ77GA-70K / DZ77RE-75K Desktop Board Performance Tuning Guide B Parameter Descriptions for Memory Performance Settings NOTE All multiplier values listed in Table B- are applied to the single 100 MHz (default) host clock. Table B-1. Memory Performance Settings Setup Option 34 Description Performance Memory Profiles Automatic setting uses specification compliant values provided by the memory module. Memory Multiplier Allows selection of memory speed from a list of choices.
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