Beginners Guide to Overclocking

Hi Jokester

I need a bit of help in finding Max/high FSB on my mobo which is Gigabyte GA EP45 UD3LR so it is a P45 chipset mobo.

Basically I can overclock my Q6600 to 3.4Ghz (378x9).

Bios Vcore = 1.4125v
Idle Voltage = 1.360v
Load voltage = 1.312v

However when I try to run my Q6600 @3.6Ghz (400x9), my pc crashes during prime testing. Ofcourse my Ram is always near stock speed of 800MHZ DDR2 or underclocked.

Bios Vcore = 1.5v

So should I use 400x8 or 400x6 ([email protected] stock speed) to see if my mobo can handle 400FSB. I did notice that northbridge heatsink gets very hot when running at 3.6GHz.
 
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Jokester said:
Only thing to try is give it more Vcore I would say.
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My Q6600 VID is 1.2625V which is low and pretty good. So I should use more vcore for 400x9 which is already at 1.5v in bios.

What is maximum bios vcore I should input for [email protected] regardless of whether it stabilises or not as I am on high end air cooling. Also does higher cpu multiplier place more stress on the Northbridge (MCH) or is it just the case with higher FSB?

Many thanks again:).
 
I would say idle voltage is more of a concern, the higher core speed as a result of the multiplier will increase the load on the NB a bit.

I was running 1.64V load voltage through my Q6600 to get it stable at 4GHz on water so you've got a bit to go yet I would say - temperatures will be your limiting factor.
 
Atmos said:
I've been thinking about overclocking, however I don't think I need to and would hate to damage any of my computer.
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If you've got OC-friendly components and you're modest with the overclock it's very difficult to damage your computer. I'm a newbie overclocker but after some reading and some 'playing' I'm happy to dabble in the knowledge that modern computers have some pretty useful fail-safes.
 
Ok will do. Can I just leave it to run for an hour or 2, come back & see if it has crashed or not. Or do I have to sit & watch for artefacts?

Also when people get new GPUs and run vantage (now Mark 11) and show their GPU scores. What are the settings that are all using so I can compare?

No point me running lower setting than everyone else and thinking I got a better score lol
 
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This is the method I use.

Assuming you are using something like MSI afterburner, increase the memory clock by 10MHz only run Furmark/MSI Klombuster (non-burn test) and watch it for 10 mins. If you see don't artifacting then increase by 10MHz and repeat. You need to keep doing this until at some point you will see artifacting. When there is not enough voltage for the memory clock you will usually see black or white line vertically down the monitor flashing a certain points.

The next thing to do is to test the max shader clock. Drop the memory clock back to default and increase shader clock by 5MHz and run furmark for 10 minutes like above. If all is ok and again no artifacting the increase by 5MHz. Artifacting with a too hgher shader clock will appear as blobs usually black or white again.

So now you know your max memory clock and shader clock for a specific voltage, drop the memory clock by 20MHz and the shader clock by 10MHz.

Run furmark burn test for 30 minutes say. You will need to sit there with a cup of tea and watch the monitor for artifacting and temperature. If temperature is too high or artifacting is seen, the you'll need to drop the voltage or memory/shader clock respectively. If at default voltages then the card shouldn't peak too high in terms of temperature assuming you have reasonable case airflow.

Also worth pointing out is that you should set up a fairly aggressive fan profile when testing or leave it at 60% or more fan speed. If temperatures are ok then you can drop the speed of the fan and set up a custom profile. Again after any changes I like to run furmark to make sure all is stable but also temperatures are not too high.

Unfortunately trial and error but also a lot of patience is needed! Good luck.
 
No matter how many times I read this post, my eyes just wander, walls of text is abit much to remember let alone to take notes to alter things in BIOS :/ I'll keep trying..
 
Id say its a good guide for anyone that understands it , people say my setup is good for overclocking I just wouldnt know what to do even tho its on my screen knowing me id end up blowing up my build or something lol
 
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