hitman Posted June 6, 2008 Posted June 6, 2008 Ive been trying to overclock my Q6600 chip for some time...figured it was my crap Asus board that was holding me back since I couldnt install all the ram on it, plus a lot of other issues. Ive been reading on the Q6600 chip, there are a few FSB holes that I am aware of, however I still cant get this thing to overclock over 2.4ghz. Lets just assume that I have the hardware to do so, but Im not sure where the problem is with overclocking here. Im trying to run the FSB up to 1400 since the hole is around 1333 up to. Is there like some sort of limiter on my chip that I need to remove or something before I can do anything or perhaps it is something I cant avoid, having to buy another chip? Any help appreciated...
Maximus_G Posted June 6, 2008 Posted June 6, 2008 Overclocking functions are not blocked normally, nowadays. When overclocking by speeding up FSB, a common practice can be used: 1. Lower CPU multiplier at least 1 step down. 2. Lower DRAM frequency. It is done by altering FSB/DRAM ratio. Reboot and make sure the system works in this downclocked mode. Use CPU-Z utility for example, to make sure that parameters have actually changed. We lower them in order to make sure that they would not become limiting factors when we start overclocking experiment. 3. Start raising FSB frequency. Raise it by a 50Hz for example, then boot into Windows and check results in CPU-Z. Note that actual CPU frequency should not generally exceed its default value - because at this step we are checking our mobo abilities it FSB frequencies. So, lower multiplier accordingly. It's true for DRAM too. 4. Raise FSB frequency, do it several times until Windows stops loading, or the system gets unstable in any other way. When it happens, you have to decide whether you would raise voltages. It involves good cooling of components. North bridge temperature can be controlled by hand - just touch it. But first remember its "normal" temperature, in normal, non-overclocked situation. Then be aware that it should'nt be so hot that it would be painful for the fingers. BTW, in many cases the temperatures can be viewed in SpeedFan utility. They should not exceed, say, 70 degrees. OK, we got unstable system, and north bridge is not very hot. We can *safely* increase voltages by up to 10%. It's a small value, but this way the chip's life is not reduced really, so we can use our overclocked system for years (my system is now 4 years old for example). So make 110% voltage for the north bridge and look if the system forks fine. If it's not, increase CPU voltage by 3%, then 5% (remember to keep its frequency <= default). Make sure that DRAM is working at <= default frequency too. Note that Intel chipsets have sometimes more than 1 voltage parameter for the north bridge. Keep raising FSB freq, until you reach the top. When you've come to a limit, it can be overcome by more serious temperature lowering or voltage increase, or nothing. I assume you could stop here. Write down the values - this is FSB wall in your situation. Now you know how much it can be increased. Remember also, at which point you had to increase the voltage. 5. Return everything to default values, except memory - leave it lowered. And start raising FSB freq, but this time you will do the same things keeping your maximum possible CPU multiplier, and you will increase CPU voltage when needed. Keep watching temperatures, don't exceed 110% voltage. When you reach the top, try to achieve max memory freq by altering FSB/DRAM and its voltage. In some circumstances you would consider stopping at lower FSB (and accordingly CPU freq) in order to make your DRAM work at higher freq. 6. Keep in mind that you should perform stress tests, while keeping an eye on temperatures and frequencies (when overheated, Intel CPUs go to a special mode, they lower their frequency automatically. It is not normal situation. If it happens, then you have to lower CPU temperature by lowering its frequency and/or voltage). Note that you can do all this in "training" mode, not raising the voltages. It would constrain your results, but the process would be simpler.
Pilotasso Posted June 6, 2008 Posted June 6, 2008 This is strange, I can OC my Quad Q6600 to 2.66 and 3.0 MHZ on demand. I kept it at 2.66 for safety precautions. I did it by steping up to 1333MHZ wich is the boards default FSB (VS the CPU's default wich is 1066) and you gain free OC without afecting the other components. My BIOS allows to lock memory clock to whatever I wish. My current voltage is 1.312V@2.66. 3.0MHZ requires 1.4V at least (or I got my chip from a bad lot). Any less it will fail multicore threaded stress tests. .
Longbow Posted June 6, 2008 Posted June 6, 2008 What "crap Asus" board do you have, or are you using the MSI board now in your signature? I had my Q6600 @ 3.2Ghz with an Asus P5K Pro. [ Stick: HOTAS Cougar ] [ HT: TrackIR4 ]
hitman Posted June 6, 2008 Author Posted June 6, 2008 My current specs are in my sig...my last mobo was an Asus P5N-E and would only seat 6gbs ram and had other issues.
Pilotasso Posted June 6, 2008 Posted June 6, 2008 Your Issue is not the MOBO maker, its the chipset. 650I chipsets are low end and are bare minimum to deal with modern quads. You need intel P35 at the very least to be able to explore their full potential. They claim 680i are capable as well but I have heard they have lots of bugs and many cannot reach the advertised 1333Mhz capability, or have oc, and upgradeability issues. There is no cheap route for quad unless your ready to accept the limitations. My asus P35 board is awsome. My CPU isnt from the best batch thats why I cant make it higher, though the board can certainly do. You wont be able to do SLI though. For that I think you need to go the 780i chipset route. .
hitman Posted June 6, 2008 Author Posted June 6, 2008 My current chipset is 750i...others who have purchased this board and cpu have clocked it up to 3.6ghz no problems. Would the 8gbs of ram I have installed limit overclocking this bad?
Pilotasso Posted June 6, 2008 Posted June 6, 2008 Do you have RAM clock lock feature in bios? If not, that may be you problem, specialy if you mixed RAM makers. .
Vekkinho Posted June 6, 2008 Posted June 6, 2008 I suggest moving this thread to Tech Discussion section, simply because more members might help Hitman! When I choose my Hardware I always start from MoBo, I fancy expensive MoBos simply because they're long lasting investment. You can always buy another (faster) CPU later on or fill your RAM slots. So my next investment would be: http://www.links.hr/index.php?naziv=MBO+GIGABYTE+GA-X48-DQ6%2C+iX48+%2B+ICH9R%2C+DDR2%2C+zvuk%2C+S-ATA%2C+PCI-E%2C+Cross%2C+G-Lan%2C+s.+775&option=artikl&id_kategorija=05030606&id_artikl=050.306.313 Price is in Croatian Kuna currency and equals 250€! It's a good bang 4 buck with FSB@1600MHz, DDR2@1200MHz [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC]
hitman Posted June 6, 2008 Author Posted June 6, 2008 My RAM slots are filled, I have a decent motherboard, and my cpu is decent as well. All of my RAM modules are of the same flavor and speed. I dont have a RAM lock in BIOS, I usually leave it unlinked.
hitman Posted June 6, 2008 Author Posted June 6, 2008 Yes and no. I keep them unlinked because I havent heard of many ppl running my type of ram past 800ghz, which is stock speeds. Its fast enough at 800mhz IMO. I HAVE noticed I cant reduce the multipliers due to speedstepping in my BIOS. I cant find speedstep in bios in order to disable it. Cant change voltages either for some reason, but by god I can change the FSB to something slightly above 1066.
Pilotasso Posted June 6, 2008 Posted June 6, 2008 ah...that explains it... you absolutely have to change voltages from default values. That Q6600 is a bit needy in that respect for OC. Most duals dont need change voltages for moderate OC's and you can get away with it, but Quads always do need up a few notches. Stock voltage of mine is 1.28, but I had to swich to 1.32V for a mild OC as 2.66GHz .
hitman Posted June 6, 2008 Author Posted June 6, 2008 Alot of other ppl can overclock this chip past 3ghz without changing voltages, and even after that you only step up voltages slightly afterwards.
Pilotasso Posted June 6, 2008 Posted June 6, 2008 Alot of poeple do it without stressing the 4 cores in order to test the chip properly and end up only using 1 CPU reliably without noticing 1 or more other cores are failing while using single threaded apps. Very common (wrong) asssumption that their systems are stable. Whoever said his Q6600 went past 3GHZ without uping voltage is either lying (even with G0 stepping) or is not aware of what hes doing. Q6600 is a heat (thus, voltage) monster. .
hitman Posted June 6, 2008 Author Posted June 6, 2008 Tip on newegg on this board: Pros: Well, I must say after much discomfort, I am thoroughly pleased with the mobo. Right now, I'm sitting at 3.6ghz overclocked Q6600 @ 35C idle - 45C load. For most of you who encountered the dreaded 1333 mhz FSB hole, MSI has a beta bios that you can ask them for (under customer service). My initial problem was that I could not get past 1400mhz and cpu-z kept showing 1333mhz regardless. None the less the bios fixed the problem! I am really excited. Ran Prime98 stress test, no problems at all after 2 hours. Beyond that, the mobo runs GREAT, can handle everything I throw at it with little or no problem. The Northbridge heatsink is tall, but not THAT tall, you wont have a problem fitting any kind of over-sized cooler, I have the Arctic Freezer 7 Pro, fit nice and snug. Cons: The fact that I had to deal with this the first time around frustrated me. AMI bios, in my opinion, is complicated, convoluted, and just darn troublesome. Another problem was the 4-pin power connector, which is located at the very top of the board. MSI had wire-savvy me to bring cords around dangerously to the CPU heatsink and other fans. The board also emits a bright blue-/white-ish light when the PC is turned on, and a bright red light when it is off. This might be a problem for windowed cases, but thats strictly personal preference. The PCIe ports do not have a rear locking mechanism below the PCI card (besides the screwless design in the front). The card still is snug though Other Thoughts: Voltages to get 3.6ghz: vCore - 1.4v, VTT FSB - 1.4v, NorthBridge - 1.4v, South Bridge - 1.5v. Also, make sure you have Spread Spectrum off, you wont get past 1400mhz on the CPU fsb if you do. Also, you might need to losen up your timings on your RAM, I went from 4-4-4-12 to 5-5-5-15, and that helped a little. MY Rig: Q6600 @ 3.6ghz, 4gb of Geil RAM 4-4-4-12, MSI NX8800GT OC, CoolerMaster CM690 (RC-690).
Pilotasso Posted June 6, 2008 Posted June 6, 2008 Your quote shows a monster OC and a voltage steping to match (I believe its G0 stepping B3 would be higher). And since you cant change yours... Also note the low temps...water cooling? With air cooling you would be nearer to 70C and would require even higher voltage. Past a certain value the chip degrades very quickly. I think that value is 1.45V .
hitman Posted June 6, 2008 Author Posted June 6, 2008 I actually managed to change the voltage. Instead of inputting numbers, I had to use the +/- keys. Changed my multiplier to 7, Im clocked at 3ghz. Ill stress test here in a few minutes...hopefully it werkt. Edit: went from 2.4 to 3.0ghz, went from 11,500 3dmarks to 13814 3DMarks. Bet I can get higher if I o/c my video cards.
Pilotasso Posted June 6, 2008 Posted June 6, 2008 Use Prime 95 to make sure your CPU is using all 4 CPU's wihtout failiures. Use Core temp tool to keep an eye on each individual CPU temperatures. The Utility that comes from the MOBO only shows estimated temp from under the chip and is innacurate. .
hitman Posted June 6, 2008 Author Posted June 6, 2008 I dont use mfg drivers, but Ill look for Prime 95...Ive been using 3dmark06 for stability tests. As far as cooling goes, I got ethylene glycol in the case plus 6 fans. :)
Pilotasso Posted June 7, 2008 Posted June 7, 2008 3Dmark 2006 is not a stability tool. With prime 95 youll be sure, its a very small but powerfull tool to test your machine. .
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