Newbie to Overclocking requiring settings tips...

Simcut

Simcut

Simcut

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30 Mar 2008
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Hi guys,

let me say first of all, I am new to overclocking, so please bear with me, I have no idea what voltages etc I should set....!

I have the following setup which I would like to overclock:-

Intel Core 2 Quad Pro Q6600 2.40ghz
Gigabyte GA-EP35C-DS3R Motherboard
OCZ 2gb PC2-6400C4 Dual Channel Platinum Revision 2 XTC Series DDR2 RAM
Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT 512mb (pre-overclocked)

I would like to overclock through the bios, please can you guys give me some tips on what settings to use? I'm an idiot when it comes to what vcore etc to set, so come guidance would be great.

Coretemp software tells me the following info at the moment:-

CPUID: 0x6FB
Revision: G0
Frequency: 2400.04Mhz (266.67 x 9.0)
Platform: LGA 775
VID: 1.2125v

Core #0: 40 degrees C
Core #1: 38 degrees C
Core #2: 37 degrees C
Core #3: 44 degrees C

Would you say my CPU is running a bit hot at the moment? I do have a lot of wires in the case, havent tied any stuff back yet....

Hope you guys can help me a bit

Thanks in advance :)
 
Simcut said:
Core #0: 40 degrees C
Core #1: 38 degrees C
Core #2: 37 degrees C
Core #3: 44 degrees C

Would you say my CPU is running a bit hot at the moment?
Click to expand...


If you're using a stock cooler probably not.. although seems a bit warm if you're using a good aftermarket heatsink, but I'm no expert.
 
I'd definately read the overclocking guide(s) at the top of this forum.

As a guide, your cpu is likely to reach 3ghz at stock volts.
 
I've only been able to reach 310x9 before the computer freaks out, temps are around 44 degrees C at the moment.

I have a Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro and I put Arctic Cooling Thermal Paste on the cpu (the size of a grain of rice)

Quite suprised at the high temps still but oh well.

Any idea why I cant get more than 310x9 overclock? :(

Thx for the advice so far!
 
The Q6600 is gonna like extra CPU PLL and FSB termination voltage (CPU VTT). On gigabyte boards you need to press a certain key combo to get into the advanced section of the bios. What i would also recommend is making sure ** volt regs are well cooled...as gigabytes boards are truly awful in my opinion.

To get the most out of the chip you are gonna want to go higher on cpu voltage too. I managed to get 3.825GHz at 1.6v out of mine on watercooling. Your ram is also going to be a limiting factor at 800MHz (how high that will overclock remains to be seen i suppose :))

OK, anyway...for some tips

Firstly you are gonna need some programs

Coretemp

http://www.alcpu.com/CoreTemp/

OCCT (my fav stability testing program!)

http://www.ocbase.com/perestroika_en/index.php?Download

Ok..so..default FSB on 1066MHz Q6600 is 266MHz.

You want to set up your bios first

You need to DISABLE C1E support and EIST support from CPU features.

Set your multiplier to 9 and make sure ** ram is operating at the correct voltage below 800MHz (eventually it will be impossible to keep it below 800).

You also want to set the NB strap to 266MHz (for starters, 333 and maybe even 400 later).

CPU voltage 1.4v, CPU PLL 1.55v and FSB termination (CPU VTT) 1.35v.

These are above stock, but you are gonna need more than stock anyway.

Leave CPU GTL for now...not needed yet.

Set your FSB to about 290 and try a 1 hour stress test in OCCT, making sure temps dont go too high with ** new voltages.

With a Q6600 u r safe on CPU voltage to 1.6v. CPU PLL i wouldnt go much above 1.7v and FSB termination not much above 1.5v. How well your cooling fares is another matter altogther :D
 
** wasnt meant to be there...not sure how it got there :P

There should be some settings in your bios for NB strap

Should have options of (something like): auto, 200, 266, 333, 400.
 
j.jarman, I've recorded a video with my mobile of how my bios looks, I've managed to get to 3ghz (333) but I've manually changed a mulitplier so my ram still runs at 800mhz....

Can you play .mp4 format mate? you can see in the video the bios screens etc.... :)

Let me know if you can watch .mp4 and I'll PM you a link so you can see the bios settings I have to choose from.

Here's a pic I took with the phone anyway that shows part of the screen and how its set at the moment:-



At this moment in time, my temps are as follows (running at 3ghz)

Mobo - 35 degrees
CPU - 35
Core #1 - 44
Core #2 - 40
Core #3 - 43
Core #4 - 48
GPU - 54

Are these okay??

Cheers
 
i would try disabling that "performance enhance".

i can play mp4 yes :)

I only know DFI/Asus bios well...but ill help where i can.

Did u disable EIST and C1E support??? Basically all u want left enabled from cpu features is execute disable bit..shouldnt need anything else enabled.

I cant see NB strap anywhere in that screenshot..but id almost guarantee ** bios has it. After going above certain MHz u will need to loosen the strap or ** machine wont post.

Are u stress testing with OCCT for an hour after reaching 333?
 
I'm going to stress test shortly yeah....

I'll PM you the mp4 video

and yeah those 2 things in CPU Features were already disabled! :)

hmm, just tried to PM you but I see no option to do it ? :(
 
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need to stress test often...saves u a lot of headaches in the long run. Every so often need to stress test for 10 hrs or so as well.
 
Once I'm sure things are set "okay" I'll do a stress test :)

okay I cant pm you for some reason..... so heres the link

Video Link

Btw, I see your a trance addict, good man! ;-) love my trance and dance too :)
 
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haha :D used to be a SERIOUS trance addict in my teens (23 now:P)...probs got about 300GB of live sets. www.trance.fm is still my fav webby of all time :P although etn.fm is good too ;)

DDR voltage u need to check what it is default before adding (your manual should tell u) and u need to know what voltage your ram is rated at, which will be somewhere between 1.8 and 2.3 volts depending on manufacturer/model.

VMCH i think is CPU PLL
FSB overvoltage control is FSB termination voltage.
I c your CPU is set to 1.55v already. Nothing wrong with this...although keep an eye on temps (especially on air) and do not go above 1.6v. 60 degrees is getting hot and 65 is overheating (as a guide).

Only need to add to VMCH if cpu becomes unstable
same with fsb overvoltage (ull just have to play with those if OCCT reports errors).

NB strap may be automatic on your board, ie, you go over a certain FSB, the board changes the strap for you.

I cant see any GTL settings for some reason. This could pose problems at around the 3.6GHz area.
 
I've left it at 3ghz for the moment and I ran that software OCCT software and it tells me that the CPU is stable!

I did a test for 40 minutes and the highest temp reading was 61.5 degrees

Do you reckon this is all okay? :)
 
Just to go back on this, I bought some DDR3 RAM and switched off the overclock and I've tried to go back and re-apply an overclock and now the system wont let me do it! :-( it won't post any time I change the settings, help! :(

My setup is:-

Intel Core 2 Quad Pro Q6600 2.40ghz
Gigabyte GA-EP35C-DS3R Motherboard
OCZ 4GB (2x2GB) PC2-8500C5 1066MHz Dual Channel Platinum Series DDR2 (OCZ2P10664GK)
Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT 512mb (pre-overclocked)
 
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from memory gigabyte bios doesnt have a FSB to Northbridge strap... just settings for the ram dividers..

PPL you will need NO higher than 1.6v, 1.7v can be used for benching but I have never needed more than 1.6v even at 4ghz+, I would start around 1.5v and lower it until the clock becomes unstable... same with the VTT 1.5v is plenty high enough and I would again try to lower it until the clock becomes unstable.. probably need somewhere between 1.3v and 1.4v

1.55vcore for 3ghz is way over what you need would set it to 1.4v and again lower it until the clock becomes unstable.. mine will do 3ghz at around 1.2vcore although I have a very good CPU you shouldnt need much more than stock

In regards to your current issue... check the RAM has the correct voltage.. you will probably need to up the NB voltage a touch as well, and make sure its running at the correct frequency
 
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Sorry for the mega bump but I'd figure rather than making a new thread about my overclocking I'd use this one again.

I'm currently running the following and need some further guidance.

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600
Gigabyte P35C-DS3R G0 Motherboard
OCZ Platinum Series 4GB (2x2GB) PC2-8500C5 1066MHz DDR2 RAM

I'm currently overclocking my CPU to 3.33ghz, but some weird thing keeps happening. In Lavalys EVEREST I'm looking under Overclock and the CPU Multiplier changes between 6x and 9x occasionally. Should I be worried if it keeps changing between the two?

It happens in CPU-Z as well, sometimes it says 6x multiplier with a Core speed of 2218mhz and then 9x multiplier with a Core speed of 3326mhz?

I've set the FSB:DRAM so it's 1:1 and the DRAM Frequency is currently 391mhz according to CPU-Z.

Here's a link to the CPU-Z Validator output:-

http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=1282685

I'm currently getting idle temps of:-

Motherboard 37 degrees
CPU 35/36
CPU1 37
CPU2 39
CPU3 32
CPU4 35
GPU 39
GPU Memory 38
GPU Ambient 38
Hard Drives are all around the 23-30 degree mark.

Would really like to know about the multiplier fluctuation between 6x and 9x in CPU-Z, is it anything to worry about, and also if my temps are all fine?

I've tried going higher than 3.33ghz, the system boots but when it tries to show the "starting windows" graphic it reboots itself.....

Ideally I'd like to try and go for 3.6ghz.

Another thing, I've left my voltages settings to auto.

Hope you guys can help, sorry for being a bit of a noob :)
 
Its nothing to worry about, this is intels speedstep at work, this lowers the multiplier when the system is idle, its a built in power saving feature, you can disable it in bios if you like.
 
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