Ultra-noob query

EvilDreams

EvilDreams

EvilDreams

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6 Jul 2008
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Let me start by saying I am probably one of the worst overclockers on the planet. My first OC was a 550MHz P3 to 622, then a Duron 800 to 1000, anyway my latest attempt was a Conroe 1.86 which I managed to overclock to a whopping 1.96, LOL.

Anyway I just got hold of a Q6600 (for free) to replace my old Conroe E6300.

I heard that you can in some cases get these things to 3.6GHz.

Right now I have some odd RAM, 2GB in 2 sticks of 1GB Geil 6400, and 2gb more in 2 sticks of ultra-cheapo Nanya RAM which I took out my brother's computer, which I thought were both 5300 but one turns out to be 6400 so for the moment that gives me 3gb of 6400 to play with.

So anyway, I need someone to clear this up for me - what sort of speeds do you think I can get for the FSB with that mixed not-so-impressive collection of RAM? What's the best FSB you can expect with 6400 RAM? (and not particularly expensive RAM at that) Also I have a P43-DS3L board, is there anyone that could explain how to set the RAM dividers in the BIOS as the settings seem a little confusing? Also do these "RAM dividers" allow me to run the CPU/FSB at say, 400 FSB and the RAM at say 266 or something completely independent to achieve an OC with my slightly crap RAM? I didn't entirely understand the forum guide on that one. My system appears to be automatically running the RAM at 333 just now, should I worry? Or should the fact that it hasn't exploded mean that I can run 9 x 333 without problems for a modest overclock to see me through? Can I push the 5300 a lot past 333 or would I be better just taking that stick out and trying to get the FSB to 400 with just the 6400 in?

I see that you can get 4GB of Kingston 1066MHz stuff in the store for £40, if I shelled out for some of that would I be well on my way to 3.6? The chip is G0, I believe that's the crap one for overclocking?

Hope you can clear all my noobish questions up. Thanks.
 
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I'll try to answer some...

The G0 chip is the better one for overclocking. Especially if it has a low VID (use CoreTemp to check this)

Your 6400 RAM shouldn't hold back your overclock as that CPU has a mutli of 9, so think about it - 9 x 400 = 3600, perfect for 6400 RAM.

Shelling out on new RAM is no guarantee of an overclock to 3.6. Motherboard, cooling and the CPU itself might not be up to it.

Raise the FSB a little bit at a time and keep checking temperatures using CoreTemp. Use Prime95 to check stability.

As you have 3 sticks of RAM (yes?) then you might need to raise the Northbridge voltage a little bit.

Raise the CPU voltage a little at a time as and when it needs it (if it fails Prime95) but don't go too high (up to 1.45v should be okay depending on your cooling, don't let the individual cores go much over 70c whilst Priming)
 
Thanks for your advice, I have copied it down so I can refer to it, lol.

VID is showing as 1.3250. Good/bad?

My temps are (at least showing) as ridicuously low on stock speeds with an AC Alpine 7 compared to my conroe, it's idling at 26/27 according to core temp. Is this system a giant you know what waiting to be you know whatted or am I getting my hopes up? I know the only way to find out is to try but not wanting to dive in without all the info.

What would I need to do for a 3GHz OC do you reckon? Voltage wise I mean, what would I need to bump up and to what? I think I will set that as my first target.
 
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VID of 1.3250 is pretty high to be honest, although you should still get a decent clock, but temps might be an issue as you go higher, depending on how much you need to raise voltages. If you are lucky, you will be able to get to 3.2 before needing to bump them at all.

Are those temps for the individual cores? If so, then they are pretty good. Just make sure to run Prime95 Small FFT's to check the load temps. If they are well below 70, then you are good to get clocking. If not, then you need better cooling.
 
Yeah, those temps are on average from each core on core temp. The fan is running at full speed but I can't hear it anyway (I love arctic cooling) so no point in slowing it down really.

Prime95, okie dokie. Thanks for the detailed advice.

Would the freezer 7 be that much better than my alpine 7?
 
Probably not to be fair. If you plan to change go for one of the top end coolers...Noctua, TRUE, Akasa Nero, Xigmatek 1283 etc otherwise you'll likely not get much benefit. Plus the Freezer is noisy at anything over 60% IMO
 
I've got a Q6600 G0 that was built last summer. It has a VID of 1.3, and needs around 1.58v for 3.ghz stable.

However, 3.2ghz needs around 1.4v. Only the best Q6600's can make 3.6ghz or more. If you have adequate cooling, you might reach 3.6ghz. But my poor Noctua could not cope with 1.58vcore :D.

Your milage may vary of course, I've seen some 1.325vid chips reach 3.6ghz with around 1.475vcore. Every chip behaves differently.
 
OK, I shall have a few "trial runs" before I start with voltage and whatnot.

I was messing about earlier and something rather disconcerting happened. When I got into windows after a bad attempt Windows, CPU-z and core temp were only showing 3 cores. After resetting the BIOS and a reboot all 4 were back. Has this ever happened to anyone as a result of botched overclocking? I don't fancy killing one of the cores.
 
EvilDreams said:
OK, I shall have a few "trial runs" before I start with voltage and whatnot.

I was messing about earlier and something rather disconcerting happened. When I got into windows after a bad attempt Windows, CPU-z and core temp were only showing 3 cores. After resetting the BIOS and a reboot all 4 were back. Has this ever happened to anyone as a result of botched overclocking? I don't fancy killing one of the cores.
Click to expand...

Not had that happen to me before and TBH I would be a little concerned. But what did you attempt to boot at? Settings and voltages?
 
A core disappearing is a bit odd, but unlike Diggsy I'd personally ignore it.

Could you clarify
2GB in 2 sticks of 1GB Geil 6400, and 2gb more in 2 sticks of ultra-cheapo Nanya RAM
vs. so for the moment that gives me 3gb of 6400
as this seems to be a contradiction

If you have four 1gb sticks I'd recommend dropping the Nanya stuff and just running the geil. This will make overclocking far easier and generally more successful as four sticks of RAM is hard on the chipset.
 
Could you clarify
2GB in 2 sticks of 1GB Geil 6400, and 2gb more in 2 sticks of ultra-cheapo Nanya RAM
vs. so for the moment that gives me 3gb of 6400
as this seems to be a contradiction
Click to expand...

Well, 1 of the Nanya sticks shows up as 6400, 1 shows up as 5300, which means overclock-wise 3 of the sticks should do 400 FSB. Right?
 
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