I tend to think the same here. I think if you have achieved 395 then thats still very good. Your board is the weak link here.
Back in the day of release i have mine @ 3.6GHZ on a p45. So you should be pretty happy with that.
Have I done this right? q9550
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I tend to think the same here. I think if you have achieved 395 then thats still very good. Your board is the weak link here.
Back in the day of release i have mine @ 3.6GHZ on a p45. So you should be pretty happy with that.
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Because it's a low end, budget board and does not have the hardware or options in the bios for big overclocks. Pretty much the only option for big overclocks on 45nm quads was the P45 ranges such as Asus excellent P5Q Pro range.
Knowing what a Q9550 is capable of (mine hit 4.13Ghz) i would'nt be happy with 3.35Ghz. Thats the price you pay for compromising on a motherboard though. It's better to buy the best you can afford when you build the pc rather than regret it later and want to change boards.
Knowing what a Q9550 is capable of (mine hit 4.13Ghz) i would'nt be happy with 3.35Ghz. Thats the price you pay for compromising on a motherboard though. It's better to buy the best you can afford when you build the pc rather than regret it later and want to change boards.
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I've just built a mid range gaming machine for a client and used a Q9400. I overclocked it to 3.7Ghz with 1.37v. It could do higher but needed over 1.4v and I didn't want to go that high. I was using a Gigabyte P45 motherboard and when it comes to overclocking 775 Yorkfield CPU's then the motherboard is nearly as big a factor as the CPU itself.
As has been said, your motherboard will greatly limit your overclock. Good quality P45 motherboards can be picked up for ~£25 - £35.
As has been said, your motherboard will greatly limit your overclock. Good quality P45 motherboards can be picked up for ~£25 - £35.
Why is the board the weak link?
I suppose 3.35ghz isnt too bad. Was hoping to get a bit higher
G41 and similiar chipsets are the value for money rather than enthusiast boards - they lack the overspec'd power supply circuitry, etc. that P45 based motherboards tend to have which limits the max overclocks.
Personally not a fan of Asus's P5 range of boards - excellent on paper but shoddy hit and miss build quality you have a pretty even chance of getting a good board or a dud that will degrade rapildy over time.
4Ghz is really pushing it on that chip. I've seen a few guys hit 3.8Ghz, not sure from memory I've seen 4. I run mine at 3.4 since I can do that at pretty much stock voltage, and it's rock solid. Eeking out a little bit more is a lot of work for minimal gain, so I don't bother.
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In the link i posted in #16, loads of us hit 3.8-4Ghz. Mine did 3.6Ghz on stock volts and went on to hit 4.13Ghz. You need a good board though.
OP, there were not that many good DDR3 boards on 775. The Asus P45 boards are hitting silly prices on ebay at the moment. If i were you i would sell your current components now while the prices are high and upgrade to a newer socket. Q9550 cpu's are regularly hitting £105 on the bay. That alone would get you a second hand 2500k.