So I made an attempt at overclocking my Q6600 G0 at the weekend, my first ever time to overclock. I downloaded all the recommended software, Prime95, CPU-Z, Core Temp, Real Temp, Speed Fan, you name it I got it. I want to overclock it from 2.4ghz to 3.0ghz as I've heard its relatively simple to do. I have an Artic Cooling Freezer 7 cooler which I heard is pretty decent for keeping temperatures down when overclocking. My motherboard is a P35. So I went into BIOS, changed the FSB to 300 to start with. I wasnt sure about the RAM, whether to keep it at 1:1 or keep it at the rated 800mhz. I've heard some people say to keep it at 1:1 as it runs better, but others say that you are underclocking it at anything below 800mhz. What is the truth? I also set the RAM timings to manual - at manufacturers stated timings 4-4-4-12. I set the PCI-E to 100mhz as I was told it was safer than auto. I left all voltages at auto for this test. I saved and restarted, ran prime 95 and temperature monitor programs. Ran fine, temperatures a little high maybe - 65 C. Tried it again with an FSB of 323 and that worked fine after running the same tests. The problem came when I tried to get my target of 333mhz. The prime 95 blend test runs for about 2 minutes then I get the blue screen of death. I thought maybe if I change the voltages it might help, but when I went back and changed the voltages I went into CPU-Z and it showed my CPU and memory at default settings. Going back into BIOS and noticed the settings had all changed. It seems as though it wont let me change voltages. Any ideas on what I am doing wrong? Can I even reach 3.0ghz or is it something to do with my voltages? Thanks.
Hi, Firstly what motherboard and ram are you using as this will have a big effect on overclocking. My last system had a 680i motherboard and 2 gigs of 800mhz ram (rated to 1000mhz, cant remember the name) you will probably need to keep you ram at 800mhz again depending on what it is. Also I had the same cooler which is ok, and kept my 6600 at around 75 degrees when running prime. (3.2ghz)
My Q6600 in an Abit IP35 Pro @ 3.29GHz, uses 1.33V at idle, droops to 1.28V under load, and I think the BIOS is set to 1.36V. This is stable in everything I normally throw at it but 1 core always fails under Prime95. Temps stay under 70 with all fans at max.
My ram is 4gbs of GeIL Black Dragon DDR2 800MHz CL4. Motherboard is a gigabyte P35. Dont know the exact name of it. I'm not sure what voltage my Q6600 is set to in BIOS but in CPU-Z its running at 1.376V. Does this seem a bit high? And if it is, how can I change it?
I've seen some Q6600 with 1.2v stock but yes 1.376v does seem high; 1.325v is the highest possible stock voltage for a Q6600; you shouldn't need much more than stock to get 3GHz stable. Overclocking quads on the older platforms is more difficult because of the architechture and lack of voltage options, even though you're not attempting a particularly high clock speed. It's actually a good idea to set your memory timings to AUTO when overclocking as this loosens them up a bit and is a better way of getting your system stable; 4-4-4-12 is tight timings for DDR2 and you'd be better with 5-5-5-15 at least to start with.
If I set my memory timings to auto it usually goes about 800mhz, isnt that bad for my RAM? Is there any reason why the stock voltage is so high? Is there maybe some setting which I should have changed that is causing it to be so high? If I attempt to change the voltages in any way it resets my BIOS settings though so I cant reduce it.
The CPU voltage isn't nearly dangerously high, just unusually high, so don't worry about it. As for the memory, 800MHz @ 5-5-5-15 is a JEDEC standard for DDR2 so it won't be a problem. It souns like your motherboard might be the limiting factor; to overclock a quad you really want a good motherboard. Keep trying though as 3GHz shouldn't be difficult to achieve.
Auto voltages are a bad thing - they usually over-egg things a bit and you'll hit your temperature threshold long before your max overclock. Do a spot of research and start setting the likes of NB volts manually. Take your RAM and CPU out of the equation and find out the max stable FSB you can achieve. Drop the timings to 6-6-6-18 for now, drop the cpu multiplier to it's lowest setting and then start ramping up the FSB. It's best to find the board's limit first, it'll take out some of the guesswork for later. [edit] BTW CPU-Z will tell you what board you have - use the model number to google some overclocking guides for it.
I had the XE version of that motherboard and it should be good easily for an FSB of around 450 with a quad core. The mobo did suffer from massive vdroop though and doesn't have load line calibration. Intel spec shows the maximum vcore of that CPU as 1.5v so you have quite a bit of leeway yet. The vdroop on mine was up to 0.08v. EDit: Ignore, I read the wrong answer about the mobo, oops.
From CPU-Z it says I have a EP35-DS3R. How is that for overclocking? Regarding changing the timings and CPU multiplier - will that do any damage to my computer. Is there anything I need to look out for? I am completely new to this so it may seem like a stupid question! Thanks.
Bindi Reviewed the P35-DS3R back in 2007. Here, Can't see a decent review of the EP35 yet though. I haven't read it, but I didn't see much in the way of overclocking in the review. Dropping the timings will not damage your PC. Dropping the multiplier will actually underclock the CPU, allowing you to push the FSB further before reaching the limit of your CPU. Knowing the max FSB will help you when overclocking the CPU later. This review suggests the P35-DS3R is a pretty decent overclocker. Have a look and see if the review helps you overclock yours - they look pretty similar, though it's likely the P35 is superior. [edit] The EP35 looks to be a little more recent, so give that OC guide a go. With no active cooling on the board, it might be worthwhile pointing a fan at the NB heatsink and VRMs. [Further edit] IIRC Gigabyte used to hide extra features in the BIOS, until you pressed CTRL+F1. Remember to research before going crazy with voltage settings, even if you cannot find a board specific guide, there are plenty of helpful overclocking guides for 775 CPUs.
Okay, so I tried changing the CPU multiplier to 6 (the lowest) instead of 9 at 333Mhz. Running Prime95 for a few minutes I did not encounter the usual BSOD. I also changed the memory timings to 6-6-6-18. I then upped the multiplier to 9, not changing any voltages. I ran it for a few minutes and came back to find this: Any idea what could be wrong? I checked for the stress.txt file but cant find it anywhere.
Yes, it's still a little unstable. If the system was stable with a 6 multi and 333 FSB, then you just need to feed the CPU enough volts to remain stable at your chosen OC. Wait, have you set any voltages at all, or are they all on Auto? Post a list of some pertinent settings and maybe we can get somewhere.
I dont have a photo of my BIOS but here is what the BIOS basically looks like: My settings are pretty much the same except for PCI Express Frequency which I have set to 100mhz, memory multiplier is 2.4 to give 800mhz. I do not have a high speed DRAM DLL settings option. My timings are set to manual but the only things I changed were the first 4 timings to 6-6-6-18. Voltages are all set to auto. Under the option "Normal CPU Vcore" I think it says around 1.37V. You say that I should give my CPU more volts but surely 1.37 volts should be high enough for a 3.0ghz overclock, no? Hope my post is somewhat clear!
Yes, 1.37 should be enough for a minor overclock like 3GHz, however CPU-z shows 1.34v - thats a sizeable vdroop. Does your bios have loadline calibration? If it does, enable it; and disable any spread spectrum settings in the bios. Take the MCH out of auto - what options/increments does it offer? You may have to set it manually to get the board stable - this is why I mentioned pointing a fan at the Northbridge. You can try a slightly higher CPU vcore to see if it will run prime - I wouldn't go much above 1.4v on aircooling though. If this gets you nowhere, you're gunna have to dial the OC back to the highest stable setting you can manage; then work forwards by small increments on the fsb (stability testing as you go) until unstable, then correct with extra vcore. Two minutes of Prime95 does not prove a stable overclock - for quick stability testing, run it for 10-15 minutes at a time. Once you have reached your target OC, then you should run Prime for several hours at least; and don't forget to keep an eye on your core temps.
I could not find loadline calibration or spread spectrum settings. I did not check the MCH (I forgot!) but once I do find out what increments it offers, what should I do? Also, there is an option I dont know what to do with. There is one called C.I.A.2. It is currently disabled. My PC is currently OC'd at 2.9ghz and the normal cpu voltage says 1.325V. CPU-Z says 1.376V. Is that because its set to auto?
This makes me want to OC my CPU more... Oh, another thing to check is that the RAM voltage is set correctly. It should be fine as your RAM is standard DDR2 spec but I found mine was under volted and it made it very unstable. Personally I'd set the vcore to 1.35v and see how that goes. If your motherboard is like mine it'll go up in something weird like 0.015v or something silly. Just watch the temperature, anything over 80C is when you should be concerned. If I get bored over the weekend I'll probably OC some more so I will be in a better posistion to help
Well the problem is I cant change the voltages without my BIOS being reset. Its weird. If I change any voltages and go to check CPU-Z, it shows the default settings for my CPU and RAM.
