Done the basics...what next?

turboslippers

turboslippers

turboslippers

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29 Mar 2008
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Many thanks to the threads on this forum and others I took a crash course in overclocking over the weekend. A few concepts take a re-boot or 3 to lodge in the grey matter but I'm getting the basics (he hopes)
So far I've got a gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L motherboard with Intel Quad 6600 and 2x2gig OCZtech PC2-6400DDR2) to run at 3.4Ghz. Core temps on full load are 55deg. So far, steps are (all done incrementally and tested)
  • Increase FSB to 380mhz (9x multiplier on CPU giving 3.4ghz)
  • increase core voltage to 1.4V (showing 1.36 on CPU-Z)
  • Increase memory voltage by 0.4 i.e 2.2V
  • Reduce FSB:DRAM to 1:1 as 800mhz DDR2 mem

If I go above 380mhz on the FSB (via BIOS) it fails to run past BIOS, the BIOS resets to disable the manual control on the FSB and resets to 266mhz. Obviously this isn't temp related as it's only just booting so I was wondering which bit of the system is preventing it from running faster? Memory timing is set to 4 4 4 12 which from what I have read is ok on this RAM
As I said, I'm a newbie to the art of this and shunned the gigabyte windows software which gave me such vague options as 'turbo' and 'extreme' etc. I've done it all from the bios and tested each step as recommended.
It's not a moan...3.4 on a 2.4 chip with 14800 score on 3dmark6 (8800GT) isn't sluggish but, you know, it's like car tuning...if you think there's some more in there...you want to find the limit (just...it's easier/cheaper with a PC than a twin turbo GTR when you overcook the 'boost')
When it gets to temp problems then that nice all in one water cooling kit I've seen on the site looks appealing but for the mo, just wondering what is causing it to fail

any help appreciated
Ben
 
Firstly set the Performance Enhance option to Standand til you've finished overclocking. It shouldn't make any difference at ~400mhz, but better being safe than sorry.

Then raise the MCH voltage by 0.1v.

Have you dropped the multiplier to x6 or x7 to see how far you can push the FSB?

But your CPU voltage is still quite low, so it may just need bumped a bit.
 
For your ratio's to be 1:1 your fsb should be set at 400mhz to get the memory at stock of 800mhz.

Like cob says, drop the multi on the Q6600 to 8 and pump 450mhz through it (3.2Ghz) with a few more volts.

I have the same motherboard which I installed on Monday and so far it rocks :D

At least if it is stable, it gives you some headroom to overclock the memory a little.
 
You could also raise your memory CAS latency to something like 5-5-5-18. This may help you in terms of stability. Once a stable clock is reached you could then focus on dropping your latency.
 
Can you tell me what ram and PSU you have?
Click to expand...

Ram is OCZTECH 2X2GBKIT 240PIN PC2-6400 DDR2 and PSU is a Corsair HX520

I assume dropping the multi down is just purely to test the limits of the FSB as with 8x and 450 it'll be running slower than current i.e just eliminating the limit of pushing the FSB?

Yes, CPU voltage is a little low so I will nudge this up a bit. It might be the case though that a few more 0.1V's and the core temps are going to hit 60 which, sounds a little high?

Great advice though, sounds like I should first see whether the FSB can run at 450 with a dropped multiplier and if that doesn't work, change the CAS latency. I'll try this first..

Having built this PC and ran it a for a few days I'm thinking 'how on earth did I live so long with a multi-core processor'

Thanks again peeps!

After that, chore...I have to rebuild the old PC and install that in the kitchen for the missus to replace my old old PC that is currently there. I have the spec sheet for it, Mesh P4 2.8...with all the the options...2200 quids many moons ago! Um, recycling bin? lol

regards
Ben

Ben
 
Yip dropping the multi will test the FSB limits of the CPU and motherboard. It helps to take it out of the equation, but be sure to drop the memory to 5-5-5-12 or so first.

Which cooler have you got? The Q6600's will run in the 70's under load without any issues.


Overall you probably just need more vcore, or possibly a little more MCH voltage.
 
Cooler is an Akasa item. Cheap and obviously I bought the PC to keep it relatively standard. That idea lasted about as long as keeping a car standard so I'll probably upgrade to water cooling system if required...and get some faster RAM...and and and lol

This is soooo analagous to car tuning. A nice figure would be 4ghz (probably a little high) but this is just the same as getting a genuine 400bhp on standard turbo's on a GTR skyline. Doesn't matter if you have 380...you want to see a dynapack print out with 400 on it lol. This PC tuning is a lot cheaper though lol

I'll have a little play in a bit and see what happens.
 
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