Q6600 Overclock - Currently @ 3.2GHz

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Hey guys,

First of all, Happy New Year to you all!

Today I installed my new Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme CPU Cooler with a Scythe S-FLEX 1600RPM Ultra Quiet 120mm Fan onto my Q6600 (G0 stepping). Everything went perfectly, and since I was getting very good idle and load temperatures I changed a few settings in the BIOS to try and reach a stable 3.2GHz, after following some advice in another thread:

FSB: 400
CPU Multiplier: 8
Vcore: 1.35

My load temperatures after using Prime95 at 3.2GHz for 15mins are:

Core #0: 52°C
Core #1: 51°C
Core #2: 50°C
Core #3: 50°C
*All the temperatures were measured using Core Temp*

I am very new to overclocking but am eager to learn, so I have read this and would really appreciate some advice on what I should be changing next to get the best overclock I can. I am also interested to know why CPU-Z is showing my Core Voltage as 1.264 on load, not 1.35, is this normal?
 
Cheers, I will. I am using an X38 Asus Maximus Formula and I was wondering what a safe temperature for the NB is? Mine is currently at 45°C.
 
Because for some applications 400*8 is faster than 355*9 even tho there is no clock speed difference (if you ignore the very slight difference). Some apps crave a faster bus.
 
Always go for a faster bus if your chip & mobo can handle it...

You're safe upto around 68deg under full orthos load so I would say you can take it higher... Try to aim for around 34-37deg idle if you can, which should be around 68deg load

Have you tried any further on your current vcore levels?

Vcore wise with my Q6600 I was safe upto around 1.5v with air cooling, but if you get stuck clocking at your current vcore, up it to about 1.425v or 1.45v and give 400 x 9 a try. Mine managed 3.6ghz on air & i've managed 4.2ghz on water
 
Cheers Caustic and Monstermunch for your assistance, it was really helpful. I just tried to get to 3.4GHz, here are the results:

FSB: 378
CPU Multiplier: 9
Vcore: 1.38125 (BIOS), 1.32 (CPU-Z)
(VID = 1.2000V)

Idle:
Core #0: 39°C
Core #1: 37°C
Core #2: 37°C
Core #3: 38°C

Load (Prime95@Small FFTs - 20mins):
Core #0: 61°C
Core #1: 61°C
Core #2: 60°C
Core #3: 60°C
*My ambient room temperature at the moment is 23°C*

Would you say that the Vcore is about right? I would like to lower it, but what happens if it is too low for the PC to start or something?

Also, I would like to end up with a clock that can be run 24/7 with no risks, would you say that this is the best I can get or should I try for 3.6GHz?
 
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Sounds like your working through the same process as me Chalex... http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17820820

I'm currently at 3.4 (8 x 425) with 1.336v according to CPU-Z, so your vcore looks good, the advice I've been given is to get the pc stable under prime, then once thats done start lowering your vcore until its no longer stable then go back to the last stable voltage. But before you do that I'd suggest finding your max OC.
 
Hey sepulchre, cheers for posting - I had a look at your thread. This morning I had a go at getting to 3.6GHz, here are some results:

FSB: 450
CPU Multiplier: 8
Vcore: 1.4 (BIOS), 1.344 (CPU-Z)
(VID = 1.2000V)

I lowered the multiplier from 9 to 8 since it is not giving me any problems as yet.

Idle:
Core #0: 39°C
Core #1: 36°C
Core #2: 37°C
Core #3: 38°C

Load (Prime95@Small FFTs - 35mins):
Core #0: 65°C
Core #1: 65°C
Core #2: 62°C
Core #3: 62°C
*My ambient room temperature at the moment is 22°C*

I on purpose made my room nice and toasty since I want the CPU to be able to cope at all temperatures once I have found the perfect clock. When running the tests at around 19/20°C, the idle is about 36°C and the load is an average of about 60°C.

So far, 3.6GHz seems to be stable, although I am going to be running Prime95 for about 8 hours today to be sure. If this turns out to be 100% stable, would you guys say that those temperatures are OK for 24/7 use?
 
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65 on a quad is perfectly fine. They're happy with 75 degrees under load. I don't have a quad myself but most threads I've seen people say the chips are ok at 75 degrees.
 
As senture says 65C is fine, I tend to think of prime as the most extreme use my PC will ever see, I doubt under normal everyday use the cores will hit those temps even if encoding or gaming etc.

What settings were you using to get to 3.6, and what ram are you running, I'm not sure my OCZ is good at a FSB of 450, although it should be. I've hit a wall at 3.4, going to 3.6 (8x450) produces failed runs of prime and BSOD's and I'm still trying to track down the problem:(
 
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I use this RAM at the moment, and have had no problems with it as yet. For the tests above, I was using these settings:

FSB: 450
CPU Multiplier: 8
Vcore: 1.4 (BIOS), 1.344 (CPU-Z)
(VID = 1.2000V)

However, after looking at some voltages in my motherboard's utilities, I was warned that some were too high. As a result, I am now running these settings:

FSB: 400
CPU Multiplier: 9
Vcore: 1.4 (BIOS), 1.344 (CPU-Z)
(VID = 1.2000V)

Now my motherboard is complaining much less and my temperatures are exactly the same. I am interested to know though, what the voltages for the BSBT and NB should be at this clock. I am getting the following (at full load):

FSBT: 1.46V
NB: 1.63V

I have no idea if these are good or not, and what the maximum voltages they should ever be are, so it would be useful to know :) .
 
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After a day of decreasing the Vcore and running Prime95, I have decreased it from 1.4 to 1.375 in the BIOS (1.32 in CPU-Z), and everything is fully stable. I have not ventured any further as yet, but I plan to shortly. My load temperatures at 3.6GHz are now:

Load (Prime95@Small FFTs - 1 hour 45 mins):
Core #0: 61°C
Core #1: 61°C
Core #2: 59°C
Core #3: 59°C

I am pleased with the decrease in temperature, especially when the room temperature was rather high at 22°C.
 
For 24/7 usage I run my rig @ 3.825 on a similar FSBT voltage, your northbridge voltage is perhaps a touch high for 24/7 usage (someone please correct me on that if i am wrong!) what RAM are you using and how many slots on the board are you using? 1.55v has always been fine when I have run 4*1gb sticks, you might want to manually set that in the BIOS and run a quick prime95 blend test to make sure its stable.
 
I am using this RAM and it is currently using 2 slots on my Asus Maximus Formula. At the moment, I only setting the FSB, multiplier and Vcore manually, the rest of it is on automatic.

Following your advice, I will lower the NB voltage and FSBT voltage a little. Are there any other voltages/settings that I should be setting manually? Cheers Pneumonic for your help.

EDIT: I lowered the NB voltage to 1.55 and it seems to be stable. I will run some more tests later and may try to get it a bit lower as well. In regards to the FSBT voltage, what does it stand for, since I can't find it in the BIOS? Does it mean FSB Strap to NB?

I am also interested to know what my CPU PLL should be, since my mobo is known for overvolting that.
 
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