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CPU bottleneck?

shahpor

shahpor

shahpor

Associate
Joined
13 Mar 2007
Posts
832
Hey guys.

Just a quick question regarding my CPU.

I was wondering if my CPU was holding my system back and whether it was worth upgrading or not?

I have a 2.33GHz Q8200 C2Q.

The rest of my main spec is:

Asus P5Q-Pro mainboard
4Gb Corsair XMS2 6400C5 RAM
Gigabyte GTX260-216 896Mb Graphics card

What do you guys reckon?

Thanks.
 
The CPU at stock will definatly hold you back.
Overclock that sucker :D
You should be able to hit 3Ghz with ease and get a very noticable performance boost.
 
Hmm, been a very long time since I overclocked anything! :)

Just not sure I am really up for it these days. Getting old you know :)

Don't even know how.

But besides overclocking it, it is definitely holding me back and could do with upgrading?
 
Ok, time for a noob question, but how does one go about overclocking a CPU these days? :)

Also, for the sake of argument, if the choice was a new CPU instead, what would you guys pick? Would there be another 775 CPU worth having or is it a case of i3/5/7 is the only way?

Thanks.
 
shahpor said:
Ok, time for a noob question, but how does one go about overclocking a CPU these days? :)

Also, for the sake of argument, if the choice was a new CPU instead, what would you guys pick? Would there be another 775 CPU worth having or is it a case of i3/5/7 is the only way?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Plenty of info on these boards on how to overclock.

The low multi is the problem on the chip you have.
 
Yeah, noticed the overclocking section of the board after I browsed here. :)

Figured there would be some kind of problem. :)

Not that I doubt what has already been said, but is 3GHz a realistic target without much effort?

I figured I would need at least a new cooler as I am currently running the Intel reference one.
 
shahpor's crib sheet

Intel® Core™2 Quad Q8200


  • 2331MHz
  • 7 x Multi
  • 333MHz FSB
  • 1332MHz System Bus
  • 45nm/95W TDP
  • 4Gb Corsair XMS2 6400C5 RAM

7 x 333MHz = 2331MHz 400MHz (DDR2-800) [6:5]

7 x 400MHz = 2800MHz 480MHz (DDR2-960*) [6:5] *Too Fast!!

7 x 400MHz = 2800MHz 400MHz (DDR2-800) [1:1]
 
As Wayne's post implies you may have trouble getting past 2.8GHz with your current RAM as the multiplier won't drop lower than 1:1. Still that's an extra 470MHz which isn't too bad if it's not too difficult to obtain.
 
Well 2.8GHz is a cheeky little 20% overclock! :D

A 28% overclock would be better though and a nice round 3GHz . . . . may need added vCore and who knows if shahpor's Corsair will eek out the required extra 29MHz

7 x 429MHz = 3003MHz 429MHz (DDR2-858) [1:1]
 
My experiences with RAM overclocking have been a bit hit and miss, I've got some Corsair XMS2 800MHz in one of my machines that refuses to OC more than a few MHz regardless of how much I tweak the settings.
 
Thanks for that Big Wayne and Redmint.

Hmm, I guess this is one of those try it and see situations?

If it did manage to get to 2.8GHz, would I notice the difference?

And, if like Redmint says, the RAM won't play ball with the increased MHz, I guess it would be new CPU time?
 
Hey shahpor . . . if you stick with the 20% overclock as "sketched" here you will be fine, if you make it that far someone can update you further! . . . if you can work out how your chip has a speed of 2331Mhz (i.e multi x FSB) and you spend about 20 mins with the motherboard manual sussing out where the overclocking controls are and how to change them your on your way to 2.8GHz! :cool:

Have you got:

 
Last edited:
Thanks guys.

I have all the programs you suggested Wayne.

Am just off to download the Intel Burn Test and see whats what.

Will let you know :)
 
I personally wouldn't of suggested IBT/LinX Diagnostic for a beginner using "unknown" cooling . . . . at least I would have waited until shahpor had worked out the three apps provided as well as the BIOS stuff and confirmed some basic temps . . . just the three apps is all you need for the basics! :)
 
Cheers Wayne.

I did have a quick try at IBT with Core Temp running (doing a Standard stress).

Seems at the moment I am doing about 40-45C at idle and 60-65 under load.

Not sure how good that is to be honest.
 
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