Help Overclocking Q6600

[sas30uk]

Hi guys

Im looking for a bit of advise for overclocking my Q6600 2.4Ghz

Im using a Asus P5N32-e SLI Plus Motherboard with 4GB RAM at 667Mhz

I can clock the CPU to 3GHz with the following settings in the bios

FSB 1333

Overvolting

Vcore 1.30000
NB Core 1.30v
SB Core 1.50v
CPU VTT 1.30

Everything else is on auto

The problem i have is that when i run the IntelBurn stress test tool it tells me the test is finished after 5 seconds of running it. When i try to reboot the PC hangs but then sometimes boots with these settings.

Would buying better cooling or even going to water cooling with say the Corsair Hydro H70 help with the instability ?

Many thanks in advance.

 

[Plec]

Im looking for a bit of advise for overclocking my Q6600 2.4Ghz

The Q6600 is a fantastic CPU - especially one with G0 stepping - (what stepping does yours have?) - and you should have very little difficulty hitting 3Ghz.

This thread posted by nicnac asking about memory timings turned into one of the most comprehensive guides to clocking the Q6600. BigWayne put an incredible amount of effort into helping nicnac try and achieve 3.6GHz and in the process created a thread that should help you considerably in getting your Q6600 to a respectable and achievable clock.

I realise that your MB is different (and possibly your memory spec) to that of nicnacs but the core principles and settings are the same/similar – and if you study the thread carefully you should glean enough information in helping you get a substantial clock out of your Q6600.

Would buying better cooling or even going to water cooling with say the Corsair Hydro H70 help with the instability ?

If you are using the stock INTEL cooler then yes a decent third party cooler will help significantly. You don’t need to spend a lot about £25 - £40 will get you a very good cooler – e.g. Gelid Tranquillo, Titan Fenrir etc. You should be able to get a mighty clock out of the q6600 (G0 stepping?) via a good air cooler and adequate case/coolong. But if you have the money to spend the Corsair Hydro H70 is a great product - but not necessary to acchieve a decent clock.

Additional: it would help if you could list your memory's brand and spec.

Good luck

 

[Michaeljcox24]

I'll be honest, you will find it very difficult to get very far with that board.

 

[Plec]

I'll be honest, you will find it very difficult to get very far with that board.

Michael makes a valid point your board does have issues even with the legendary q6600.

I did a search through google entitled "Asus P5N32-e overclocking q6600" and quite a few hits came up - one in particular was pretty definitive but it may be calssed as a competitor so i can't name it.

3Ghz is possible but not quite the 'walk in the park' i intimated - i failed to notice your MB spec, for some reason, but it certainly 'could' prove to be the limiting factor in your overclock.

 

[Michaeljcox24]

I used to have the exact same board, and it behaved in exactly the same way. Boots at 3Ghz, but whatever app you tried to run, be it benching, or a game, the machine would crash.

After extensive research I found that the P5N32 series boards were one of the worst overclockers ever made, and bought the one in my sig from OC.

That was 12 months ago now, and weirdly, it's now more expensive to buy it brand new than it was back then.

 

[sas30uk]

Many thanks for your response guys

Iv done more research since posting this topic and it does indeed look like this motherboard is very hard for overclocking the Q6600

I guess i will be buying myself a new system in the very near future and selling this one on.