Non-OCing E6300?

mwtb · 22 Mar 2007 at 17:08

I've just put together a PC with a Gigabyte 965P-DS3P, an E6300 with Tuniq Tower and 2x1GB Geil PC6400C4. The problem being that the CPU won't clock at all. Even a trivial overclock of 280x7 with my RAM underclocked to 700MHz causes crashing under TAT, with temps hitting 63C.

I've tested the RAM at 900MHz in Memtest, so I'm sure that's got plenty of head-room. I've tried re-seating the Tuniq and even swapped out the Tuniq TIM for some AS2 I had lying around, but no difference. Is my CPU just duff? It seems a long way from the general feedback on OCing E6300s.

mwtb · 22 Mar 2007 at 20:19

I guess I may as well try a few things. I'll pull the cooler off again and check the flatness of the cpu and Tuniq base. A run with more TIM can't hurt, and I suppose if that doesn't work I can even try the stock cooler. I currently have an exciting overclock of 274x7 50-55C at idle, which isn't really what I was hoping for.

mwtb · 22 Mar 2007 at 21:06

After cleaning the TIM off the cooler, I can see scratches in the shape of the IHS. That would suggest that the edges are higher than the center. Looks like I need to invest in some sandpaper.

mwtb · 23 Mar 2007 at 12:42

Get yourself to somewhere that sells car paint stuff, like Halfords. I picked up a mixed set of wet and dry, 240 - 600 - 800 and 1200 this morning for a couple of quid.

Now to grind some copper...

mwtb · 23 Mar 2007 at 14:20

Well, 45 minutes of sanding the IHS and Tuniq heatsink (it wasn't exactly flat either) have resulted in a 5 degree drop at idle and about 7 at load. I haven't had a look to see if I've got any more overclocking room out of it, but the temp drops are worthwhile in themselves.

mwtb · 23 Mar 2007 at 20:58

...and the answer is no, I can't get anything more out of it. I can't say I'm not disappointed, I was hoping to get an extra 20% at least out of the chip. I guess that's just how it goes though.

mwtb · 24 Mar 2007 at 00:30

The Tuniq is blowing to the back of the board, directly into the output grill of the Sonata. As far as fit goes, I'm very sure there is nothing in the way. I could crank down on the screws more, but only at the expense of unscrewing effort -- the heatsink is well attached.

I think I've done it all. I've lapped the Tuniq and processor. I've tried upping the voltages on the memory, chipset and processor. It all falls over at pathetic overclocks on the CPU. I think I've just got a duff E6300. Perhaps it is badly soldered to the IHS. The only other possibility is that the motherboard is bad. They all work at stock though, so I can hardly complain.