First Q6600 overclock failed could do with some guidance

Soldato
Joined
30 Jun 2003
Posts
2,807
Location
Berkshire
Tried my first overclock last night however was not successful. I got 3.3GHz out of it, though was only aiming for the 3.2Ghz mark however system came quickly unstable and had to reset the bios. Can someone make suggestions on what settings it would need to get a safe clock around that level

Specs

Asus P5Ke WiFi AP
Q6600 G0
OCZ DDR2 800MHz/PC2-6400 CL 4-4-4-15 PLATINUM XTC
 
Air flow is front to backand up, got an antec 900 case

Just by modifying the FSB i got 2.6 last night out and seemed to be relatively stable though on cpuz the mhz was fluctuating about ~5mhz, is that to be expected?
 
3.3ghz is the max you will do with stock volts for that chip.

i HAD your exact same setup, just put the voltage up a bit and try again, you should be able to do 3.6-4ghz no problem

From memory (which is bad) i had to use somthing like 1.4-1.5 volts to get 3.8- 4ghz for example.

you should be able to get 3.4ghz with just a litte bit of extra voltage, i cannot remember what the normal voltage is?

just keep upping voltage in small increments until its stable.
 
Last edited:
U can go the small inreases in the cpu voltage or just set it at 1.4v straight away.
set the ram:fsb ratio to 1:1 for now or manually set the ram speed to 400mhz (ddr2 is 400 x 2 = 800mhz)
raise the fsb to 333 (9 x 333 = 3.0ghz) and then stress test with Intel Burn Test (google it and download it).
set the ram to very high or high, threads to 4 and run the test for 10 passes.
keep an eye on temps, dont let it go above 80.C
if it passes raise fsb to 350 and test again.
keep going until it fails then either go back 10mhz in the fsb or raise the cpu voltage a little more.
max voltage is 1.5v.
when u get to the best stable speed, run Intel Burn Test for at least 20 passes or run Prime95 (google and download it) blend test for around 10 hours (imo) to make sure it stable
 
3.3ghz is the max you will do with stock volts for that chip.

i HAD your exact same setup, just put the voltage up a bit and try again, you should be able to do 3.6-4ghz no problem

From memory (which is bad) i had to use somthing like 1.4-1.5 volts to get 3.8- 4ghz for example.

you should be able to get 3.4ghz with just a litte bit of extra voltage, i cannot remember what the normal voltage is?

just keep upping voltage in small increments until its stable.

---

3.8 - 4 would be impossible withput outrageous temperatures. I suggest working your way to 3-3.2...and then up depending on what temperatures you are happy with 1.2875/1.35 v on the Go version.
 
well here's my go with the suggestions added, just need to try lower the voltage now as it's currently running on 1.4v

934818_10151567214107025_1033546455_n.jpg
 
Your temp readings are extraordinarily good. Notice your load is 0. Your max is rather high though,
73 is rather imo, depending how often it gets there, with proper cooling you should be able to go higher speedwise imo.
 
The load shown was after the burn test was completed, 73 was the highest it went to at one stage during the test, I might increase the speed on all fans insider the chassis see if that helps, is it possible to increase the speed for the cpu fan as it's only running about 1300rpm currently
 
Q6600s should be easy to overclock on a decent P45 board unless you got unlucky with your chip. Mine ran 24/7 at 3.2GHz 1600FSB (400x8). Try increasing the chipset voltage as I seem to recall I had to bump it a little to get 100% stability.
 
IntelBurnTest from what I've looked up is meant to be a real decent alternative to Prime95 and found it very simple and straight forward to use.
 
If stable and not too hot then it is ok. Incidentally playing around with mine now, 3.45 ghz @ 54C - 71C 100% load running Prime95 across the 4 cores with a 9C difference between core 4 and core 1

This system is a working machine so is used 24/7 so has to be utterly reliable. Has been running it for yrs at 3.2ghz
Aim is to run at 50 - 60C with the odd 65-67C spike
 
Last edited:
I done some adjustments to my case last night as although only a simple change there was no air been pushed to the CPU Cooler my layout was as follows

Rear Centre Front

CFan < CPU Cooler < Empty
NA < NA < CFan
PSU < NA < CFan

Changed to

CFan < CPU Cooler < CFan
NA < NA < NA
PSU < NA < CFan

CFan = Case Fan
The bottom fan is needed as it handles the HDDs temps, so hopefully the improved airflow should help.
 
Have you got the fans running full.

I have a few more fans

--- --- cfan
------ -- ^
Cfan<cpufan
------------ <fan<fan
Psu<fan

However they are turned right down(usually 1 out of 3) to be silent @ the required temps but if I turn them up, I can clock further.

While test is on room temp 25C -26C
 
Last edited:
Back
Top Bottom