Q8300 Overclocking help wanted!

JBanks368

JBanks368

JBanks368

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Hey, just thought i'd ask for a little advice. I'm looking to overclock my Intel Core 2 Quad Q8300 but have no idea where to start. I've never really looked into overclocking before until I picked up a be quiet! Dark Rock Advanced Cooler for my CPU. I've tried looking all over the net but can't really find anything simple enough for someone like me who has no idea where to even start, just wondering if I can get a lil' help. Thanks :D
 
550w OCZ ZS Series PSU

LP DK P45-T2RS Plus Motherboard

8gb DDR2
DRAM Frequency: 333.4Mhz
FSB:DRAM: 1:1
CAS# Latency (CL) 5.0 Clocks
RAS# to CAS# Delay(tRCD) 5 Clocks
RAS# Precharge (tRP) 5 Clocks
Cycle Time (tRAS) 15 Clocks
Row Refresh Cycle Time (tRFC) 44 Clocks
Command Rate (CR) 2T

hope this helps!
 
Your ram may be a limiting factor here, but only if you really want to push your chip very hard.

Your processor speed is a product of a multiplier and the FSB of your motherboard. You can increase either the CPU multiplier or FSB (or both) to raise the CPU clockspeed. Raising the FSB will also increase your RAM clockspeed as it is also based on a multiplier of the FSB.

Start by fixing your CPU voltage to stock, and then increasing the CPU multiplier a couple notches. Test for stability by running prime95 and keep an eye on temperatures with realtemp or another temp monitoring program (below 80C is fine). If it isn't stable (crash, freeze, or prime throws up errors) then increase your CPU voltage slightly and repeat.

Keep doing that until you reach the desired overclock or the safe maximum voltage or temp limit for your processor. If you run out of multipliers, start raising the FSB, adjusting the ram divider to keep it as close to or below stock ram clocks.
 
Wow! That was great, thanks a lot! :D Atm my voltage is at 1.24V and in my BIOS it's blacked out(So I dont think I can change it). So is there only the multiplier and the FSB I need to fiddle with? And if so how much should I increase by each time? Thanks :D
 
JBanks368 said:
Wow! That was great, thanks a lot! :D Atm my voltage is at 1.24V and in my BIOS it's blacked out(So I dont think I can change it). So is there only the multiplier and the FSB I need to fiddle with? And if so how much should I increase by each time? Thanks :D
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Your motherboard might not let you adjust the voltage, but there should be an option to enable manual voltage control.

At stock volts you might be pretty limited, but you could squeeze maybe an extra multiplier out of it, or raise the fsb 10mhz a time.

If you can change volts then start at 1.3v, 8x multi, and start pushing the fsb up 10mhz a go. You should get to 3.6ghz at least, maybe higher. tbh it's been a long time since I overclocked a q8300.
 
JBanks368 said:
Can't seem to change my vcore and my multiplier is limited to 7 >.>
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Weak, ah well. Some BIOSes don't let you overvolt. Push the fsb up until you lose stability and then back it off a few notches. Once you feel like you're there, run prime95 for a few hours to make sure it's solid. Keep an eye on temps while stress testing.

There are some good guides on overclocking that chip so google "overclocking q8300 guide" to fill in the gaps.
 
Oh yeah, I was thinking of the e8400 which has 8 multis. Well, to get to 3.5ghz you'd need a 500mhz fsb, which your motherboard may not be up to the task of, not to mention your ram would be running at 2000mhz so you'd really need some fast ddr2 to do that.
 
It would be safe, but almost certainly not possible without raising voltages or buying new ram/mobo.

3ghz would need 428 on the fsb, which will put your ram over 1600mhz. It's currently running at 1333mhz (4 x 333), so you may or may not get that far depending on the quality of the ram. Just give it a go and see how you get on. Work in 10mhz jumps and do a quick run of Intel burn test to eyeball your stability and temps before moving on.
 
JBanks368 said:
Oh wait, got the mupltiplier to 7.5, just keep upping the clock by 10mhz a time now? Is that the only thing that needs changing now?
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In an ideal world you'd be able to raise CPU voltage once it became unstable, but yes. Your ram is already at 1:1 so that's as low as it will go.
 
i used to have the same mobo, in the bios iirc u have to press f9 to access the advanced options (ie. overclocking)

try some of these
right now your FSB is 333 and your multi is x7.5 (333 x 7.5 = 2500mhz or 2.5ghz)
set vcore to 1.30v
manually set the fsb to 350.
manaully set the ram speed to 330 or as near as u can to 333. u do this by adjusting the fsb:dram ratio,
f10 to save, then reboot into windows.
download Intel burn test (IBT) and realtemp.
open them both then run IBT on max memory and 4 threads for 15 runs.
keep an eye on temps. max remp is 70.C

it it passes go back to bios and raise fsb to 360 and then retest.
keep going until it fails, then either raise the vcore a couple of levels or go back a step.
as Devrij said, if you had ddr2 6400 ram (800mhz, DDR2=400mhz x 2) then it would be a lot easier

also here is a guide to your bios, read it http://www.clunk.org.uk/forums/revi...-review-first-look-abs-auto-boost-system.html
 
Wait logging in now ram speed is 333/667( if I've changed tge correct one? It was originally on "auto" :S) and 7.5 + 343mhz going at 2.57ghz :D
 
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JBanks368 said:
Wait logging in now ram speed is 333/667( if I've changed tge correct one? It was originally on "auto" :S) and 7.5 + 343mhz going at 2.57ghz :D
Click to expand...

Sounds like it bumped your ram divider up and pushed the ram over its stable limit. You'll want to keep the ram speed as low as possible for now.
 
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