Overclocking on an old DDR3 system... What RAM do you recommend.

jhine5588

jhine5588

jhine5588

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Hello,


I'm working with an old Intel 775 system. It seems at least one stick of my Corsair Vengeance CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9 is dead... So, should I just upgrade all of it?

I know you're all going to say it isn't worth upgrading, but at this point I'd rather spend $60-80 on 16 gigs of DDR3 than replace everything else.

System:
Intel Xeon X5460 (771 to 775 mod)
P5P43TD (not the pro, not the USB3 version either)
CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9 (2 sets with matching serial numbers, 16gb total, 4X4gb)

I would like to run this around 4.0mhz. The main reason I ask is because I read somewhere that these motherboards overclock better with only 2 sticks of RAM installed. Is this true? The max I can install per slot is 4gb and I'd rather not run 8gb if I can help it.

I have had the CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9 running around 1740mhz (with a Q9550 in the same motherboard) but I think that is what did the one stick in...

I will not have to run the memory that fast with the Xeon due to the increased multiplier limit (9.5 versus 8.5) so in theory my current RAM should be able to keep up. 420X9.5= 400mhz and the RAM would only be at 1680mhz... But if I can keep temps down I might want to push the Xeon a bit further!!

So, upgrade to some Kingston/Corsair Pro/G.Skill/Patriot/Crucial or buy two new sticks of what I have and try it?

Thanks!



Jeremy
 
You'll be a bit limited on choice with regard to DDR3 these days - but some bog standard 1866MHz sticks with a bit of tuning should give you as much as you are going to get with that system and probably more frequency overhead than you can take advantage of.
 
Since posting this I have discovered that I have ZERO control over the Vcore with this motherboard. It runs the X5460@ ~1.5Vcore and even with water cooling it will shut off without a fan blowing directly on the board. Increasing the clock speed at these temps makes the system completely unstable and will do a hard shutdown seconds into stressing the CPU, with temps over 75C. The recommended max Vcore for the X5460 is 1.35 with a few people running them over 1.40.

I am considering buying a better motherboard, however I'm at the point of scrapping the Xeon idea with the amount of money I would need to spend on the motherboard ($200 USD). If I were to go that route, I would end up getting something with DDR4 or better... The issue is I'm seeing people turn up the X5460's to 5.0ghz and above and it makes me wonder where I can push mine to.

Currently I am running a Q9550 in an Asus P5E3-WS-Pro in a PC I built my nephew running at 3.8ghz on air cooling. According to CPU-Z it is on par with an Intel i5-2500 in the multi-thread and an Intel i3-4160 in the single, which isn't terrible for a CPU that has been discontinued for nearly 10 years! It does a decent job gaming, but is being held down by the RX 470 as it was the only card I could purchase at a budget price.

What are your thoughts on a good upgrade for under $250 USD? LGA 2066 is the newest I can go due to compatibility with my water cooling AIO.

Thanks



Jeremy
 
Since most Intel sockets use the same mounts, you may find that if it supports any socket beyond 775 (e.g. 1156), that it can support even the newest 1200.

Aside from buying a cheap motherboard from Asia, as you've suggested, it's very difficult to get even older HEDT motherboards at a reasonable price and I wouldn't fancy paying $100+ for a well-used motherboard that's past the best before date.

My choice would be a 10100F, cheap H410/B460 motherboard and 16GB of DDR4. It would perform similarly, or faster and likely for way lower power consumption.

You can get DDR3 1151 motherboards for pretty cheap now, as are the old quad cores like the i5-6500, but the poor upgrade potential would put me off.
 
I found an LGA 775 motherboard to run the Xeon and DDR3 and met all of my other specs, but it was $215 shipped.

I dug a little on eBay and found a X79 motherboard with an i7-3820 16gb of ram and a stock style cooler for $217 shipped... So I bought that. It appears the DX79SR board can run quite decent CPUs too, so I shouldn't be held down much.

We shall see. Hopefully I can sell off these Xeon processors now.



Jeremy
 
jhine5588 said:
I found an LGA 775 motherboard to run the Xeon and DDR3 and met all of my other specs, but it was $215 shipped.

I dug a little on eBay and found a X79 motherboard with an i7-3820 16gb of ram and a stock style cooler for $217 shipped... So I bought that. It appears the DX79SR board can run quite decent CPUs too, so I shouldn't be held down much.

We shall see. Hopefully I can sell off these Xeon processors now.

Jeremy
Click to expand...
Nice board that, one of the last Intel desktop boards.
 
There were a couple on eBay as packages like this. I priced some other newer socket arrangements that my AIO is compatible with and just way out of my budget.

Hopefully this board can overclock and I can squeeze a bit out of it before it's to the point where the 775 boards are now!



Jeremy
 
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