UCLK Frequency
Common Options : Auto, 1600 to 5600 (MHz), in 133 MHz steps
Quick Review
This is an Intel Core i7-specific BIOS feature. It allows you to change the Intel Core i7 processor's uncore clock speed. However, this BIOS feature does not directly control the uncore clock frequency as its name suggests. Instead, it controls the uncore clock ratio, which multiplies the internal base clock, BCLK to derive the uncore clock frequency.
Instead of allowing you to directly change the uncore clock ratio, this BIOS feature gives you a list of possible UCLK frequencies, based on available clock ratios and the internal base clock frequency (BCLK). Therefore, the range of available UCLK frequencies will change if you change the BCLK frequency. Here's a list of possible UCLK frequencies based on some BCLK frequencies.
Uncore |
Internal Base Clock |
Available
UCLK |
|
12 to 42 |
133 MHz |
1600 MHz, 1733 MHz, 1866 MHz ... |
|
140 MHz |
1684 MHz, 1824 MHz, 1964 MHz ... |
||
145 MHz |
1744 MHz, 1889 MHz, 2034 MHz ... |
||
150 MHz |
1805 MHz, 1955 MHz, 2105 MHz ... |
Do note that while the BIOS allows you to select UCLK frequencies as low as 1600 MHz (with BCLK @ 133 MHz), the UCLK frequency must be at least twice the DRAM frequency. A UCLK frequency of 1600 MHz is only acceptable if you are using DDR3-800 memory. If you are using DDR3-1333, then the minimum UCLK frequency should be 2666 MHz.
By changing the UCLK frequency, you affect the performance of the Intel Core i7's unified L3 cache, QPI logic and integrated memory controller. Increasing the UCLK frequency would certainly boost the performance of the uncore components. However, like overclocking the processor cores, you should do it step by step, and overclock either the core or the uncore individually before overclocking them together.
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