Please help me OC my Commodore (Q9400)

Toadus · 6 Apr 2009 at 21:23

Commodore (Q9400) - Temp results

Hi there. My first post! : )

I recently purchased a Commodore gaming PC with the following spec:

- ASUS P5N-D / nForce 750i SLI
- Q9400
- 4gb Corsair Dominator 8500C5D
- nVidia GTX 280

Obviously not top of the range, but good enough (just about) for me...

I've been reading up on all the overclocking gubbins, trying to get my head around the subject, but i don't think I have a very good understanding of it all. I was hoping some folks here wouldn't mind helping me out a bit?

Reading though forums, it seemed that taking the Q9400 from its stock 2.66ghz to 3.2ghz should be a breeze, but not for me! The BIOS shows the current FSB at 1333 (already quad'd). I can't take it to 1600, effectively making a speed of 3.2ghz, as the PC doesn't POST. I have to re-boot, then I get a message saying there was a problem in POST, please enter the BIOS to set the default settings, or F1 to continue. Every time I hit this point, I go back to BIOS and start again... I found someone's postage voltages on-line, which were:

Vcore: 1.35
HT: 1.3
NB: 1.3
SB: 1.5

With these, I can get past POST with the FSB set to 1600, but Windows just blue screens...

The BIOS also shows the speed of the RAM, (already doubled) this being 800mhz. When upping the FSB, tried unlinking the RAM, leaving it at 800mhz, but this made no difference. The BIOS gives me ratios to choose from, but I don't understand the relevance. If i choose 1:1, then that puts my RAM up far too high than it can cope, right? I found out that the RAM I have can be set to 1066mhz by altering the voltage and the timings. I set the timings to 5-5-5-12 and set the voltage to 2.11 (it was that or 2.09) and i've unlinked it, so I have chosen to run it at 1066mhz instead of 800mhz - Doesn't seem to be a problem at all. I've tried running memtest, but that's something i'll come back to!!

I opened up the PC today, as I was looking to find a way to connect my old media HDD, which I managed to do! : ) but i was suprised to see that there seems to be some aftermarket cooling going on, so perhaps I can give this CPU a decent kick up the arse!? :beer: Here's a couple of pics:

I've been checking up CPU-Z, and i've noticed that my multiplier (on idle) drops to 6 from 8. Reading through the forums, people say that with Intel chips, this is due to SpeedStep being enabled. Well, I've disabled this in the BIOS, and also other bits that seem related, yet it still persists. Is this OK to have on when OC'ing? If so, I can just forget about it?

I mentioned memtest earlier... Rubbish! I downloaded the latest version, 3.5 IIRC, and it doesn't seem to do much but re-boot my PC. It loads up OK, start to go though a percentage task bar very quickly, gets about half way, then the PC re-boots, and it does the same thing, over and over again. Useless...

So, if anyone could lend a hand on how I can get more out of this PC, I would REALLY appreciate it. I'm keen to learn too!

P.s. I've put everything back to normal for the time being, as I don't really know what i'm doing in all honesty. Ha ha.

Toadus · 8 Apr 2009 at 12:48

Anyone?

Toadus · 9 Apr 2009 at 16:20

Can anyone lend a hand please?

Should I be setting the ram to 1066? Does it make any difference to 800? Is there another app I can use to test the ram, as memtest just crashes...

dlknight · 10 Apr 2009 at 00:47

Hi Toadus,

Toadus said:
Hi there. My first post! : )

I recently purchased a Commodore gaming PC with the following spec:

- ASUS P5N-D / nForce 750i SLI
- Q9400
- 4gb Corsair Dominator 8500C5D
- nVidia GTX 280

I didn't realise someone was using the Commodore name again, looks like a pretty nice specification PC. Better than most ready built PC's that you see for sale.

Toadus said:
I've been checking up CPU-Z, and i've noticed that my multiplier (on idle) drops to 6 from 8. Reading through the forums, people say that with Intel chips, this is due to SpeedStep being enabled. Well, I've disabled this in the BIOS, and also other bits that seem related, yet it still persists. Is this OK to have on when OC'ing? If so, I can just forget about it?

You need to double check some of the parameters in the BIOS make sure they are as the following:

Advanced>JumperFree Configuration
AI Tuning = Manual

Advanced>JumperFree Configuration>System Clocks

[*]FSB Memory Clock Mode = Unlinked
[*]FSB = 1333 Mhz (start here and work your way up slowly incrementing the speed)
[*]MEM = 800 Mhz (Keep it here so that you can concentrate on the CPU overclock first)

Advanced>JumperFree Configuration>Voltage Control

[*]VCore = 1.2v (start here and increase as necessary to keep a stable O/C but not above 1.4v unless you want to fry it)
[*]NB Core Voltage = 1.2v (as vcore start here and increase as necessary but not above 1.5v without exceptional cooling)

Advanced>CPU Configuration

[*]CPU Internal Thermal Control = Auto (will save your CPU if you overheat it)
[*]Enhanced C1 (C1E) = Disabled
[*]CPU Multiplier = x8
[*]Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Tech. = Disabled

Anymore help just shout

Regards

WhiteKnight

PS. Also take a look at the Overclocking sticky - it is very useful and is where I first started from - http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17612922

Rroff · 10 Apr 2009 at 00:57

The nForce 650 and 750 are dreadful for FSB holes, specially in the ~350(1400) to ~450(1800) range, they also aren't the happiest overclocking quads, you'll prolly have the most luck trying the 7 or 8 multi with a 460-470MHz FSB if your CPU can take that.

setter · 10 Apr 2009 at 01:20

Rroff said:
The nForce 650 and 750 are dreadful for FSB holes, specially in the ~350(1400) to ~450(1800) range, they also aren't the happiest overclocking quads, you'll prolly have the most luck trying the 7 or 8 multi with a 460-470MHz FSB if your CPU can take that.

Gotta agree Rroff, nvidia boards and quads are a no no. i used to run an evga 680i a1 with my E6600, nice combo, got the cpu to 3.7ghz with ease, sadly when i stuck the quad into the mix, 3.0ghz was the best i could get, changed to an intel p45 chipset, 3.8ghz with ease, im a noob overclocker, but i like the sli idea (never used an ati card, theyve never impressed me) to get sli on a solid system now means buying i7, which tbh isnt that great from a gamers point of wiew, nice setup for encoding, but it doesnt tempt me away from my current 3.8ghz Q6600

Toadus · 10 Apr 2009 at 12:37

dlknight said:
Hi Toadus,

I didn't realise someone was using the Commodore name again, looks like a pretty nice specification PC. Better than most ready built PC's that you see for sale.

Thanks

It came with the bare bones, so I was quite happy. No fussing about...

dlknight said:
You need to double check some of the parameters in the BIOS make sure they are as the following:

Advanced>JumperFree Configuration
AI Tuning = Manual

Advanced>JumperFree Configuration>System Clocks

[*]FSB Memory Clock Mode = Unlinked
[*]FSB = 1333 Mhz (start here and work your way up slowly incrementing the speed)
[*]MEM = 800 Mhz (Keep it here so that you can concentrate on the CPU overclock first)

You obviously know my BIOS!

I've tried exactly that, but FSB of 1600 seems to be a wall which I just can't break through. Oddly enough, I can get the FSB nearly all the way to 1600 without adjusting voltages, yet as soon as I hit 1600, even which much more volts, it just doesn't play ball.

dlknight said:
Advanced>JumperFree Configuration>Voltage Control

[*]VCore = 1.2v (start here and increase as necessary to keep a stable O/C but not above 1.4v unless you want to fry it)
[*]NB Core Voltage = 1.2v (as vcore start here and increase as necessary but not above 1.5v without exceptional cooling)

OK, I have gone all the way up to a Vcore of 1.35, still no joy. I Think it's set to 1.28 standard. What about voltages to other areas of the CPU - HT, SB?

dlknight said:
Advanced>CPU Configuration

[*]CPU Internal Thermal Control = Auto (will save your CPU if you overheat it)
[*]Enhanced C1 (C1E) = Disabled
[*]CPU Multiplier = x8
[*]Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Tech. = Disabled

Yes, exactly as I have it. Yet CPU-Z still shows the multiplier dropping to x6...

dlknight said:
Anymore help just shout

Regards

WhiteKnight

PS. Also take a look at the Overclocking sticky - it is very useful and is where I first started from - http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17612922

Thanks very much for your help so far!

Toadus · 10 Apr 2009 at 12:38

Rroff said:
The nForce 650 and 750 are dreadful for FSB holes, specially in the ~350(1400) to ~450(1800) range, they also aren't the happiest overclocking quads, you'll prolly have the most luck trying the 7 or 8 multi with a 460-470MHz FSB if your CPU can take that.

Oh, doesn't sound good.

What are FSB holes?

Toadus · 10 Apr 2009 at 12:39

setter said:
Gotta agree Rroff, nvidia boards and quads are a no no. i used to run an evga 680i a1 with my E6600, nice combo, got the cpu to 3.7ghz with ease, sadly when i stuck the quad into the mix, 3.0ghz was the best i could get, changed to an intel p45 chipset, 3.8ghz with ease, im a noob overclocker, but i like the sli idea (never used an ati card, theyve never impressed me) to get sli on a solid system now means buying i7, which tbh isnt that great from a gamers point of wiew, nice setup for encoding, but it doesnt tempt me away from my current 3.8ghz Q6600

So my set up is good for SLI, but no good for OC'ing the CPU?

dlknight · 10 Apr 2009 at 22:41

Toadus said:
You obviously know my BIOS! I've tried exactly that, but FSB of 1600 seems to be a wall which I just can't break through. Oddly enough, I can get the FSB nearly all the way to 1600 without adjusting voltages, yet as soon as I hit 1600, even which much more volts, it just doesn't play ball.

Thanks very much for your help so far!

I have an Asus P5N-E so BIOS is very similar, can get my E6300 to 3.2 but its a dual core not quad.

Have you tried going over 1600? say by putting 1700 in?

As the others have said it maybe cause it is a quad core.

What BIOS version are your running have you checked to see if there is an update on the ASUS website?

Maybe try dropping the CPU multiplier and see how high you can get the FSB speed then.

PaulyD · 10 Apr 2009 at 22:54

yep the early NV boards suffer badly with quads

An FSB hole is where it will just not work in a certain range, no matter what you try to do to get the clock to work. Rough example is at 400fsb and 1.5v on cpu it wont boot but will boot at 410fsb @ 1.4v, its just a space where it will not work.

unfortunately I have never had a NV board so can't offer much more advice as to what has not already been given, Good luck though and stick with it, you got a pretty decent spec

Toadus · 11 Apr 2009 at 09:58

Thanks very much guys.

I haven't tried lowering the multiplier, or going over 1600, so I'll give that a go for sure!

I'll report back when I've had a good play about with these different settings.

Cheers!

project90 · 11 Apr 2009 at 21:48

toadus i have same mobo as you i got a q6600 and its a pig. most say i can leave all my stuff on auto and put v core to 1.4V.

wont boot up. every 1 sayd the p5n-d is like the worse mobo for oc'n so prob gonna get new mobo when i get the money.

good luck i just got mine to 3gig today and seem stable enough

Toadus · 12 Apr 2009 at 18:28

OK, thanks for the info. Bugger...

Toadus · 14 Apr 2009 at 09:11

Hi guys.

I tried lowering the multiplier, but for whatever reason, the stupid BIOS didn't recognise the change, and still thought it was on x8, even with x6 chosen.

I thought it would be a good idea to flash the BIOS, and there's a nice little tool that does it through Windows for you. After restarting, I had to remove the battery, and do a jumper CMOS reset, as the bloody thing wouldn't POST! But got there in the end...

So, nice new BIOS running, I went for the multiplier change once again, and hey presto, it understood what was going on. Unfortunately though, lowering the multiplier and increasing the FSB worked even worse than the initial overclocking method. I could only get to around 2.85ghz before it wouldn't POST.

As it stands, with the multiplier back to normal (x8) I can get the FSB to 1500mhz with everything running stable. Unfortunately, anything higher, and it just doesn't like it. A bit crap really... As the PC is brand new, I can't see myself changing the motherboard, if indeed it is the case for the poor overclocking capabilities.

Toadus · 14 Apr 2009 at 11:50

Guys, as I use the PC for gaming, what do you think about putting an E8600 instead, and selling the Q9400?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-232-IN&groupid=701&catid=6&subcat=

Or would it make more sense to go for the cheaper E8500?

Either way, would it be a doddle to replace the CPU's?

Toadus · 14 Apr 2009 at 12:21

Come to think of it, I could change the motherboard instead? If a £160 motherboard would make all the difference, I don't mind spending the extra cash... Please advise.

dlknight · 14 Apr 2009 at 13:07

Toadus said:
Guys, as I use the PC for gaming, what do you think about putting an E8600 instead, and selling the Q9400?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-232-IN&groupid=701&catid=6&subcat=

Or would it make more sense to go for the cheaper E8500?

Either way, would it be a doddle to replace the CPU's?

Easy to swap your CPU, personally though I would save £100+ by buying an E8400, considering your going to overclock it its capable of similar speeds to the E8600.

WhiteKnight

Toadus · 14 Apr 2009 at 13:55

Really? I wasn't aware of that. Just how 'similar' are we talking here?

Can I be sure that my ASUS motherboard will OC a Duo absolutely fine? My other option is to take the ASUS out of the equation completely, and buy a different motherboard...

dlknight · 14 Apr 2009 at 17:25

Toadus said:
Really? I wasn't aware of that. Just how 'similar' are we talking here?

Can I be sure that my ASUS motherboard will OC a Duo absolutely fine? My other option is to take the ASUS out of the equation completely, and buy a different motherboard...

E8600 standard clock is 3.33GHz, E8400 standard clock is 3Ghz.

Your P5N-D will take either CPU fine according to the ASUS CPU compatibility chart on their website.

A quick search revealed someone who had got it to 4.0Ghz with W/C using your motherboard - http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17932989.

And after searching google I found a couple of matches where people had got to 3.6Ghz stable.