Q6600 G0 - why can't I clock past 2.7Ghz?

fross

fross

fross

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Hi all,

I've been tinkering with overclocking my Q6600 for fun, and it's nice to tinker. I've read the guides, got the software to monitor stuff, and been playing with settings, and considering my equipment I feel I'm getting poor results compared to most.

To recap, it's a Q6600 G0, I bought about Nov 2007, a P5N32E-SLi motherboard (1302 BIOS), 4x1G Geil PC6400 RAM, and a Tuniq Tower and Coolermaster stacker case with lots of fans. My temperatures are generally good (CPU 34 at idle, 60 after hours at full load)

I've set it up with the following settings, which I found online (can't find the article anymore):

FSB Unlinked
QDR 1200
VCORE 1.3V
1.2V HT 1.2V
NB 1.3V
SB 1.5V
VTT 1.3V

Memory: 4-4-4-12, 2.1V

So far, it's stable, and temperatures the same as at stock. If I try to up the QDR much (to say, 1333, or even 1266) it hangs while trying to boot windows. If I up the VCORE (I tried 1.35V), sometimes it won't POST and requires a CMOS wipe. I tried slowing down the RAM a bit as well, 5-5-5-18, but no difference. The RAM is marked as 1.9V-2.3V, should I perhaps up that a bit?

I'm quite happy with the system as it is, though it seems many people are getting close to an extra 800Mhz out of the chip with the same hardware I have, so anyone have any clues what I should try next?

Ta in advance.
 
I hadn't before, I actually just did (set BIOS to defaults, chose only AI Overclocker +20%), and it doesn't POST.

If you're familiar with this motherboard, you reckon I should update the BIOS? I've seen a lot of people discuss using a very old version of the BIOS (0803 or something), so didn't want to downgrade it. I'm currently on 1302, 1503 is the most recent I think (I have a copy waiting in case :) )
 
Hi,

The board is obviously a Nvidia 680i so overclocking a quad will be difficult though 3-3.2Ghz depending on luck should be attainable

I have the MSI 680 board and it's a mare.

Couple of things that I found.

The VTT needs to be set high, typically 1.45v or greater to get 1333FSB. This doesn't affect CPU temps as this is the voltage for CPU - Northbridge coms. VTT was single biggest factor

Northbridge, 1.35-1.4v always best if you can get some airflow in there. Even a small 40mm fan @ 5v will make a significant difference in temp.

The board is more stable with the linked 2:1 divider so the memory runs at 667Mhz when the FSB set to 1333. You can gain some performance back by using tighter timings.

With both a 650i and 680i my Q6600 requires 1.3625 volts to run at 3.0Ghz. With a 750i or Intel P31 board the same q6600 with do 3.0Ghz @ 1.25v (vid 1.2875) so a fair amount more voltage needed in the early nvidia boards

Also the memory can be awkward on the 680i, worth testing just two dimms to test stability and rule it out.

AD
 
fross said:
I hadn't before, I actually just did (set BIOS to defaults, chose only AI Overclocker +20%), and it doesn't POST.

If you're familiar with this motherboard, you reckon I should update the BIOS? I've seen a lot of people discuss using a very old version of the BIOS (0803 or something), so didn't want to downgrade it. I'm currently on 1302, 1503 is the most recent I think (I have a copy waiting in case :) )
Click to expand...

You may aswell, i updated to it about 2 weeks ago and i'm not having any problems.
 
I've noticed the Northbridge is hot. Bloody hot. But even at stock volts/speeds. I'm a bit reticent to try to push that. Maybe a little. ;)

I may give up trying to clock it further, the 680i isn't great with quads, and my VID is 1.3V (if Coretemp can be relied upon. Other option is 1.248v which CPU-Z says is the VCORE, I think it gets confused?)

I'll try a BIOS update and tinker a little further, but may have to give in. But thanks for all the advice, I'll let you know how it goes :)
 
Well that was interesting.

Upgraded BIOS to latest version. Wouldn't POST with old settings.
Changed to default settings, POSTs fine. Figure it was just incompatible or something.
Put in my old settings (as above) by hand, and boot into Windows. Windows hangs immediately with a "EXCEPTION ERROR ON BOOT: TRAP etc etc etc". Go back to default settings, it works fine.
Try the AI Overclock 20% again, and that still doesn't post.

So, 1 step forward, 2 steps back! At least I can boot again but I'm back down to stock speeds. Any ideas how to get around that Exception Error?
 
This is turning into a mini-odyssey ;)

I tried a different tack and went straight for the 2:1 1333Mhz FSB. To my amazement it posted, but windows failed (differently, bluescreen). So I went back in, upped by VTT a little (1.4) and am now stable in windows at 2.83Ghz, the memory at 5-5-5-18. I think there is still some room in this, temps are all still below 40C at normal usage.

Well, that's progress of a sort :D
 
Now stable at 2.92Ghz, going up to around 3Ghz was giving random resets. Not sure I can get much more out of this.

Well, time to run Prime95 overnight and see if it survives!
 
Well done mate - NB: The voltage in CPU-Z is your current voltage in windows whilst your voltage in core temp is your default VID. You may want to search for vdrop and vdroop as they are quite important concepts in the overclocking world.

Also, i have a 1.3 Vid Q6600 and i was able to get it to 3.7 so don't give up just let.
 
fross said:
Now stable at 2.92Ghz, going up to around 3Ghz was giving random resets. Not sure I can get much more out of this.

Well, time to run Prime95 overnight and see if it survives!
Click to expand...

I was getting the random resets, VTT and Northbridge cured it for me but couldn't get stable above 3.0Ghz. On my MSI it's percentages... so I was using +16%

I've heard the new 45nm chips don't like VTT above 1.45V but the older 65nm chips like the Q6600 will stand much more.

The northbridge does get scorching, Mine came with a fan and I'd recommend cooling it if you're running increased voltage and FSB. My 650i went from too hot to touch to warm with a 5 volted 40mm fan and I got an extra couple of hundred Mhz out of the E4300 that was in there at the time.

Edit... you might need to push the Vcore in the Bios a little more for stability, The VID is fixed for the chip. The vcore in CPUz is often up to 0.1v lower than set in the BIOS due to Vdroop .. as in an above post.

Also make sure you have disabled EIST and C1E in the bios. These change the speed and the voltage of the processor to power manage and will cause random resets if the settings it auto selects are insufficient to operate at the required speed.

AD
 
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it failed after 2 hours in prime95, just one core again though - I have another thread about just my one core failing from a few weeks ago ;) I've upped the VTT to 1.55 and it seems okay now, we'll see.

My VID is 1.3 in CoreTemp so maybe I just have the lowest of the low Q6600s to pass QA ;) I'm reasonably pleased to have got an extra 20% out of it, as I didn't buy the bits with overclocking in mind at first (PC6400 and of course the bloody 680i...). Time to give that to the girlfriend and get myself an upgrade :D
 
Well done mate :) You're ram should do you until about 1100 Mhz, probably higher if you're careful though so jus look at a new board
 
Your gonna need a 1.6vcore and some really powerful cooling on the northbridge to get much out of a quad on this board - even with a dual its a balancing act between getting enough volts on the NB and keeping it cool enough to be stable...

this is the best thing you can do with the board http://aten-hosted.com/images/DSC00524S.jpg
 
At the moment i have 3.2 that doesn't go over 65 on full load on this very board so it isn't that bad.

I am planning on intergrating a big rad into my WC and i'll let you know what happens fross
 
hey konam4, that's interesting, care to share your other equipment and settings? keep me posted!

There is one better I can do than destroy the board, I can give it to my girlfriend as a "free gift" and hence get myself an upgrade! :D
 
Haha, ram is at 900 atm on 5-4-4-15.

NB- 1.45
V-Core - 1.5
VTT 1.5

QDR - 1420

SB, HT etc are all on auto.

I have a zalman reserator circuit just cooling my q6600 with an ek supreme block.
Runs warm because all the Voltages are so high compared to other boards

A good air cooler should keep it under 70 no problem.

EDIT: The reason i haven't changed my board is because a wise man told me that if you invest in good cooling setup whilst learning then the cooling can be used over and over. When you're finally ready to go for some hardcore clocks the cooling set up will be sat there ready along with some valuable experiance and know how. :)
 
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