Overclocking or: A cheap way to 3.2 GHz (and more)

[CE_Mikemonster]

What CPU usage are you finding? With those fps' I take it's 100%?

[rapid]

When you quoted the meps you only showed spoke or one core iare both cores the same?

[crazysundog]

@ CEMikemonster: I'll have to get back to you on that, I was using the affinity trick, but i didn't even think to look at the CPU usage...

 

 

@ Rapid: My #0 core is always ~ 10C cooler than the #1 core, and the #1 core is what I mentioned above. The highest temp my #0 core reached was 40C.

 

I just got home from work (late day) and recieved some ArcticCooling MX-2 thermal compound by Purolator, so I am going to reinstall the HS/F and start benching again later.... will be back with pics next time!

 

Oh, and don't get me started on pushpins!

[rapid]

Hi crazysundog, what programes are you using to test your temps?

[crazysundog]

CoreTemp...

 

 

Edit: As it pans out, I need to learn a thing or two about overclocking.... And I might be stuck at 3.8ghz as my RAM is only 800mhz...

I had previously oc'ed the ram as well, but things didn't turn out as stable as I thought, and I think I will start over properly after a little reading on good OC habits!!

 

Also of note, i've discovered that CoreTemp is not the best choice to monitor temps, and that I should use RealTemp in combination with Coretemp...

 

Live and Learn!

 

Oh, and I got sick of the skin mods messing with my BlackShark every time i tried a new one, and did a fresh install of BS. Now I will compile better info on a fresh install; hope it will help some out there!!

Edited January 10, 2009 by crazysundog

[CE_Mikemonster]

Do you reckon 10C difference sounds like a minor hardware error in the chip? (as if it even matters when under 50C at full load :))

 

I just looked on eBay for the RAM that I have and some of the prices are ridiculous! I got 4GB paired in two sticks for under £95, with a [loud] cooling fan. Pays to shop around I suppose.

[CyBerkut]

CoreTemp...

 

Also of note, i've discovered that CoreTemp is not the best choice to monitor temps, and that I should use RealTemp in combination with Coretemp...

 

I don't know how it stacks up against Realtemp and CoreTemp, but you might want to check out SpeedFan. http://www.almico.com/speedfan.php

 

"SpeedFan is a program that monitors voltages, fan speeds and temperatures in computers with hardware monitor chips. SpeedFan can even access S.M.A.R.T. info and show hard disk temperatures. SpeedFan supports SCSI disks too. SpeedFan can even change the FSB on some hardware (but this should be considered a bonus feature). SpeedFan can access digital temperature sensors and can change fan speeds accordingly, thus reducing noise. SpeedFan can find almost any hardware monitor chip connected to the 2-wire SMBus ."

 

I have no connection to the product/author except that I use it. I do not yet perform any overclocking, but I would like to get into that when I finally build a new machine specifically aimed at running Black Shark. If you have any pointers to recommended sites / pages that make OC'ing clearer, please post 'em up. ( I imagine I'm not the only one who could benefit from it. :) )

[crazysundog]

Do you reckon 10C difference sounds like a minor hardware error in the chip? (as if it even matters when under 50C at full load :))

 

I just looked on eBay for the RAM that I have and some of the prices are ridiculous! I got 4GB paired in two sticks for under £95, with a [loud] cooling fan. Pays to shop around I suppose.

 

I think the 10C difference is a difference in where CoreTemp takes it's readings... From what i've read so far, RealTemp takes its readings in a better place, and since I've been using it (which is since this morning!) it has been giving me Core#0 and Core#1 readings that are closer/only 4-6c different... Also, I've read from many sites that the cores will be different values, and that Core#1 is usually a bit higher.

 

I have not had Speedfan recommended to me other than to use it to back up what RealTemp is giving me...I hear Speedfan gives a lot more info, but I am following a couple different OC'ing guides that both tell me to use RealTemp, CoreTemp, IntelBurnTest, and CPU-Z all in support of one another.

 

Here is a guide that has been very helpful:

 

[ATTACH]23563[/ATTACH]

[CyBerkut]

Thanks for the guide! I now have that saved to a safe place for future reference. :)

[rapid]

I have a few more you could use in conjuction with the others if you want?

I wont post them now cause it seems like you have quite a few already lol................but if anybody wants them or if you want them i'll post them.

[CE_Mikemonster]

I'll stick a couple of links on then, i'm the sort of person who reads it all thoroughly though, you might want to find something a bit less mindnumbing that doesn't waffle on lol

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/240001-11-howto-overclock-quads-duals-guide

http://www.clunk.org.uk/forums/overclocking/2-c2d-overclocking-guide-beginners-p5k-add.html

 

I use CPU-z, Real Temp, and HWMonitor (sounds the same as Speedfan).

 

 

I by no means mean to patronise anyone, I just never found a decent explanation of what overclocking actually was. All the stuff about RAM ratio's etc. got me thinking it was really complex (which it can be), but it in theory can be very simple.

 

Here's an explanation of what Overclocking is:

THIS IS NOT A GUIDE, lol - You can kill almost everything on your mobo if you don't know what you're doing.

 

The aim is basically to make your FSB as large as possible whilst keeping your temperatures under 65C.

 

The Front Side Bus can be any number you want to enter in the BIOS, and each CPU uses a 'Multi' (Multiplier). Mine and SunDogs' E8500's have a multiplayer of 9.5x.

This means that if my FSB is set to 333, the CPU will output 333x9.5 which equals.. 3163.5

 

That number is the speed the processor is running - FSB is measured in MHz, so.. 3163.5MHz = 3.16GHz - the stock speed of our e8500!

 

To overclock it, it's easy. Just find the FSB box in the BIOS and stick a new number in. If I enter 400[MHz], it will give me a speed of 3.800GHz - simple!

 

This extra processing needs extra power (Volts), and this is where it gets interesting[..ish]. To make the processor stable you will need to increase the Voltage to it.

This is also done in the BIOS by simply entering the desired number into the CPU Voltage box.

Stock Voltage for my e8500 was 1.2500v. To run at 3.8GHz stable, I needed to raise this to 1.2700v. Simple as that!

 

Now this extra Voltage will create extra heat (hence SunDog getting a big fancy cooler!).

Another thing is that there are other voltages (exaple: for the NorthBridge). Same principle here too, the voltage will need to be raised in order for it keep up and run with stability.

Exactly as with the CPU, more volts will make the component hotter, so you may need to buy a new Heatsink, same as SunDog did for the CPU.

 

Now the system has been overclocked and the voltages have been raised.

 

However.. Increasing that FSB changed your RAM speed.

RAM has a maximum speed at which it can run. SunDog has 800MHz RAM. This means that he needs to make sure that he keeps his FSB under 400.

This is the 'Dual Data Rate' part of the ram -

400MHz FSB x 2[it's dual] = 800MHz!

If SunDog went over 800MHz he would then be overclocking his RAM.

 

So now we've got my e8500 to 3.8GHz, running stable, with my CPU using 1.2700v, and my NorthBridge using 1.300V.

This is creating more heat, which is handled by my new heatsinks and fans.

 

The only job now is to get the voltages as low as possible, so that the system will run as cool as it can!

Finished, we're overclocked and [very importantly] stable!

 

 

 

Like I said, wish someone had written that BEFORE I took 5 pages of notes! THATS NOT A GUIDE > it's an explanation! Hope that helped someone who wasn't entirely sure what overclocking is all about.

Most of the numbers used are off the top of my head and won't be correct, and i'm certainly no expert, so I may be wrong!

 

But anyway, hopefully might help someone understand the overclocking guides better.

mike

Edited January 10, 2009 by CE_Mikemonster
About a million corrections - tell me if i'm wrong or misleading and i'll edit again :)

[rapid]

Well done you made it lol.

Here are the others that i use as well as realtemp and core temp: OCCT: you can also stress test your overclock

 

this one give lots of info

 

cpu-z

 

graphics card monitor

[viper3two]

CE Mikemonster

THANK YOU! Now I understand how overclocking works. I have never done it yet, but plan too in the next few months, I am building an i7 system hopefully. I really appreciate you taking the time to explain things, makes perfect sense now.

Thanks again

[crazysundog]

OK, I am finally done my Overclock, everything is stable and I did some tests with a track I created using the default quickmission in Blackshark. Here is the track: [ATTACH]23621[/ATTACH]

 

First things first, here is my setup:

 

The Rig

-Intel Core2Duo E8500(Wolfdale): 3.16ghz stock/ I have it at 4.0375ghz stable...OCZ vendetta2 HSF cpu cooler

-EVGA nForce 750i "FTW edition" Mobo: FSB-1333mhz stock/ OC'ed to 1700mhz stable...2x2gb Kingston RAM 800mhz stock/ OC'ed to 850mhz (in sync with FSB speed.)

-EVGA Geforce GTX260 Core216 "superclocked edition" graphics card. Features 896mb DDR3 mem. This is used with EVGA Precision Utility to contol fan speed and keep the cards temp cooler.

-Coolermaster 750watt PSU

-Seagate 500mb/7200rpm HDD

-NZXT Lexa Blackline case

-LG 22" monitor/ 1680x1050

-Windows Vista Ultimate 64bit

-peripherals include; Saitek X52/Saitek rudder pedals/NaturalPoint TrackIR4

 

Benchmark Utilities and helpful software:

 

-FRAPS, registered (paid for) -used for FPS min/max/avg.

-RealTemp, CoreTemp, and CPU-Z for component info.

-Prime95 and IntelBurnTest for testing while overclocking.

-Jesse's Affinity Utility for DCS BlackShark: http://code.google.com/p/dcsbsaffinitytool/

thanks jesse!!

 

Here is my CPU, MoBo, and RAM overclock info.

[ATTACH]23623[/ATTACH]

 

Here are my graphics settings in BlackShark. (note: I do not believe in benchmarks done in a lower resolution than I would fly with!)

[ATTACH]23624[/ATTACH]

 

And here are some results...I documented the fps I recieved, and the temps of both cores according to RealTemp. (-FPS Captured with FRAPS-using MIN/MAX/AVG utility)

 

Test 1: CPU stock @ 3.16ghz

Frames ----26790

Time (ms)--710561

Min ---16

Max --119

Avg---37.6

 

Test 2: CPU stock @ 3.16ghz -affinity set/2 cores

Frames -----43735

Time (ms)-- 711007

Min ---31

Max --180

Avg---61.51

 

 

And here are the core temps, stock on the left, stock with Affinity on the right.

[ATTACH]23625[/ATTACH]

 

 

Here we have the OverClocked results...

 

Test 3: CPU OC'ed @ 4.04ghz

Frames------35881

Time (ms) --710692

Min ----23

Max --153

Avg ---50.49

 

 

Test 4: CPU OC'ed @ 4.04ghz -affinity set/2 cores

Frames ----53365

Time (ms)--710856

Min -----39

Max ----211

Avg-----75.07

 

 

...and temps...

[ATTACH]23626[/ATTACH]

 

I think the results speak for themselves!!

Edited January 11, 2009 by crazysundog
my reasons are my own

[rapid]

Good job there. As already noted you have the EO stepping version.

Mine is the CO stepping so i'll keep mine at 3.80 Mhz

[CE_Mikemonster]

Nice one SD. 39fps minimum is perfect.

[Pilotasso]

I got my Q9550 to 3.4Ghz at stock voltage, I never had any crashes even when using all 4 cores at 100%. The limiting factor is the motherboard. I had to put the FSB at 1600Mhz to achieve this and the chipset heatsink gets somewhat scaringly hot during the summer. If it wanst for that I could very well hit 4Ghz with this chip. I am very happy with its perfomance.

[crazysundog]

My mobo could go further, its at 1700mhz at its lowest voltage, and it comes with a heatsink fan (a loud fan!).

 

But my ram is only 800mhz, and to go up to 900mhz causes crashes. I already jacked the voltage up on the ram, and dont want to go any further. Apparently my mobo suppports 1033mhz, so i may go for faster ram at some point!!

[Vekkinho]

Did anyone try OCing Intel Core i7 CPUs?!!

 

I'm always fishing for a new, budget friendly but modern system so I'm somewhere between E8600, Q9550 and i7 920. I was into E8600 but then I read some of the articles comparing the three of them and now I have no idea what to do.

 

There's not to many games I intend to play, 'cept DCS but it's not a game...OK?!, and most of the modern games still require a strong GPU, that's no prob they're pretty cheap these days but DCS just like LOFC makes your CPU a bottleneck of the system. I imagined that high stock clock of E8600 might do more than enough for DCS and since DCS has no multicore support there's no need in having 3 cores idling in the background. Can't say what's with i7 920, it's clock is pretty low for the price of it!

[CE_Mikemonster]

I read an i7 review just to see what the fuss was all about, and i'm fairly sure it's not a huge fps increase even on CPU intensive games.

The emphasis of the conclusion at the end was that whilst it was only really slightly above it's competitors, it was technology that would be future-compatible and had an enormous potential for overclocking.

 

That said and done, if it's twice the price for an i7 system vs a very good Core 2 system..

 

Not a great time to upgrade Vekkinho, you have a big dilemma!

[hitman]

Ive seen the i7 clocked up past 6ghz on nitrogen, and at 4.1ghz on air. Mine o/c'ed fairly well on water. I had mine at 4.5ghz before my psu fried.