Can't get to 3.0 ghz on Q6600 (Striker Extreme)

1337m4n

Junior Member
Dec 12, 2007
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Please help, I bought this board with the intention that I would be able to overclock fairly well, but I can't even get to 3.0 ghz! I've tried upping voltages, I've relaxed the timings on my memory (ddr2-800 mhz Crucial Ballistix) to 5-5-5-15, Ive tried different dividers, is there anything I still need to do? I really just want to get to 3.0 ghz, but I'm very unhappy that I can't, seeing that this board was expensive. Did I just get a dud, or am I doing something wrong?
 

Sink41

Member
Sep 7, 2007
25
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What motherboard do you have? What's the highest cpu voltage you have tried? What cpu temperatures are you getting?
 

1337m4n

Junior Member
Dec 12, 2007
13
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0
I have the ASUS Striker Extreme (bios version 1305, the latest I think). Ive tried up to 1.35 vcore and 2.25 memory voltage, and my temps are (at idle)
Core 0: 44 C
Core 1: 38 C
Core 2: 34 C
Core 3: 33 C

at load
Core 0: 50
Core 1: 46
Core 2: 40
Core 3: 38
I have the G0 revision of the Q6600.
 

1337m4n

Junior Member
Dec 12, 2007
13
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0
I lowered it to 667 mhz and set FSB to 1333; it got through the POST, but didn't load vista. Tried 400mhz, the lowest I could go and it didn't POST. I'm at 2.9 ghz right now at 800 mhz RAM and 1.20 vcore.
 

Tempered81

Diamond Member
Jan 29, 2007
6,374
1
81
make your vcore 1.41 in bios w/ droop should land you at 1.38-1.39 & set mem timings to normal by spd. Put the divider to where the mem will run 667 or less, and up the FSB from there. see if you can post

800mhz ram is too fast, make your divider give you 650/lower
 

1337m4n

Junior Member
Dec 12, 2007
13
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0
I went into BIOS, set the divider that gave me lowest frequency (Sync Mode) which gave me 666.7 mhz RAM. I upped the FSB to 1333 with mem timings at normal and vcore 1.41, started up...

..and didn't POST :(

What am I doing wrong?!?!?
 

Tempered81

Diamond Member
Jan 29, 2007
6,374
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think you're confused. sync mode sets the speed of the memory to the speed of the fsb. i'd read an overclocking guide before going any further.
 

jeffw2767602

Banned
Aug 22, 2007
328
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Go over to xtremesystems.org forums and check out the posts about problems with Striker Extreme and quads. You may just need a bios update to fix the problem.
 

1337m4n

Junior Member
Dec 12, 2007
13
0
0
Well, when i set it to Sync Mode it listed it would run at 666.7 mhz. I will go over to the site and check it out.
Thanks!
 

1337m4n

Junior Member
Dec 12, 2007
13
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0
Everyone seems to be using bios revision 1303, I'm at 1305, should I use the older one or stick with this one?
 

BoboKatt

Senior member
Nov 18, 2004
529
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If you have one of the older revisions of the board (using the 680i SLI chipset) no matter what you do you might never really be able to OC that quad. I know my eVGA is one of the earlier revisions and even with latest bios, no amount of tinkering gets me good numbers with quads. With the Core2's it's a monster.

I am not sure if this affects the Stiker Extreme but check it out.

Also the latest bios on that board is the one you should be using.

Try in your bios to simply set your RAM speed manually (async) to like 750mhz again so the final speed when you boot up and you see the first screen actually shows your RAM's speed at 700 or 750 and then 5 5 5 15. I have the same RAM and run 5 5 5 15 at 1.9V using 4 of those sticks.
 

1337m4n

Junior Member
Dec 12, 2007
13
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0
I have the A2 revision of the board and I'm sure im at the latest BIOS. I've seen on many forums lots of people getting really good clocks with the Q6600 on this board, like 3.4-3.8GHZ. All I want is to get to 3.0-3.2 GHZ.
 

1337m4n

Junior Member
Dec 12, 2007
13
0
0
When I try to set it at 1333 FSB with RAM set at 667, timings 5-5-5-18 (auto,) vcore at 1.41 (1.37 detected), It POSTS, shows the loading bar, but then freezes soon after. Anything below that in between 1333 and 1250 will just not POST, no matter what settings I try.

Also,
I just tried to load at 1244 FSB instead of 1250, exact same settings im using right now, and it didn't POST!

WTF??

does that say anything, or is my board just really wacky?

 

BonzaiDuck

Lifer
Jun 30, 2004
16,524
1,970
126
I have two of those boards, with no problem at all with them. User reviews were ambivalent though, and it took a while for me to decide -- checking the reviews and forums over weeks and months -- that some people may not have had a clear idea of what they're doing. At that point, I decided to take a chance on the board.

At first, I ran with the E6600 CPU, and my over-clocks were coming close to 3.4 Ghz at stock multiplier. At multiplier 8, I think it was not too hard to get to 375 Mhz / ddr= 750, and I'd tried some other 1:1 CPU/DDR settings at lower multipliers -- 400 and ddr=800 were definitely achievable, but not "optimal" for me.

You have a good processor (assuming especially that it's a G0 stepping), all the quirks about voltage settings on the Striker board were worked out by BIOS version 1004, but you have 1305. You have "good" memory with the Crucials.

That doesn't mean that there isn't a problem with some piece of hardware, though.

I'm wondering if you don't have a bad memory module.

You should be able to easily set a 3 Ghz over-clock. Here are my own settings with a B3-stepping Q6600:

VCORE = 1.31875V or approx. 1.32V
VDIMM (Crucial Ballistix 2 x 1GB DDR2-1000) 2.125V
"FSB and Memory" in BIOS: "Unlinked", FSB 1334 and RAM = 667

The recommendation to try a 1.41V VCORE is not wrong, but with that BIOS version, you shouldn't have to do it.

TURN OFF or DISABLE: ALL spread-spectrum. Disable all throttling features like SpeedStep and C1E -- leaving only "execute-dsable bit" enabled.

For starters, (and you could probably get the over-clock with "Auto" settings, even so . . . ) -- set 12.VHT voltage to 1.30V. Set CPU_VTT to 1.35V and NB core to 1.35V. You can keep "Auto" for SB core voltage, or set it at either 1.50 or 1.55V.

Start with the default timings of 5,5,5,15, 2T-command-rate, and just set them manually in BIOS. I'm able to use timings of 3,3,3,6,1T with the DDR2-1000 Crucials. Even with the DDR2-800s, at that FSB speed, you should be able to use settings lower than the spec.

I had seen this problem come up in different ways with bad RAM modules on other systems and earlier technology. Try one module at a time with MEMTEST86+ to see if there's a problem with one of them. Even with Crucials, there is always the possibility that you got a bad one. IF you did, use the lifetime warranty and RMA both modules.

If you can isolate the problem (CPU vs RAM vs motherboard), you should be able to arrange an RMA exchange.

Also, try resetting the CMOS and starting over at all-stock settings before you go any further. FOLLOW THE MOTHERBOARD MANUAL FOR DOING THIS. You have to turn off the system, unplug it, change the CLR_CMOS jumper (to enable the CLR_CMOS switch) if necessary, push the switch once and wait for a while, then push it again. You can either leave the switch enabled, or you can put the jumper back to its default "disabled" setting.
 

BonzaiDuck

Lifer
Jun 30, 2004
16,524
1,970
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ONE MORE THING -- VERY IMPORTANT.

MOVE THE MEMORY MODULES TO A DIFFERENT PAIR OF DUAL-CHANNEL SLOTS. With two modules, I'm hoping you socketed the modules in slots of the same color (blue or white).

I HAVE PERSONALLY DISCOVERED THAT EITHER THE CRUCIAL MODULES, OR THE SLOTS ON THE STRIKER EXTREME, OR BOTH -- MAKE IT POSSIBLE TO SOCKET THE MEMORY SO THAT THEY "LOOK" AND "FEEL" AS THOUGH THEY'RE "IN ALL THE WAY" -- BUT THEY AREN'T.

There seems to be some slop in the latch mechanism. So make sure you push them in evenly and hard -- without damaging your motherboard.

I HAD THIS VERY SAME SYMPTOM -- WITH one of my Striker boards -- failure to post, and it was due to this problem with the RAM modules not socketing properly.
 

taltamir

Lifer
Mar 21, 2004
13,576
6
76
Ok... i rated this thread a 5 and it moved it from 0 to 2 stars... so that means only two guys rated this so far, with a 0 for both... WHY?
The op isn't trolling, he isn't venting, he isn't bitching... he is asking for help ocing his board? what reason do you have to give it a 0 rating when a guy asks for help? If you rated this thread a 0 you are a bona-fida jerk.
 

Tempered81

Diamond Member
Jan 29, 2007
6,374
1
81
listen to bonzai duck, that seems like info from experience, or someone who has read a guide on overclocking striker's.
 

1337m4n

Junior Member
Dec 12, 2007
13
0
0
I know how to reset the CMOS, i've done it a whole bunch of times when trying to break 2.8 GHZ. Yes. i'm sure I placed both modules in the blue socket. I will try re-seating the RAM, thank you for the advice. When I first booted up the computer after I built it had problems where I could play for 5-10 minutes, but then Vista would crash to a blue screen saying IRQL_DRIVER_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL, and once I reinstalled Vista the problem was gone. One of the recommendations to fix it was to re-seat the RAM though. Ill do that right now, then run memtest.
 

BonzaiDuck

Lifer
Jun 30, 2004
16,524
1,970
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There have been "rumors" abounding -- nothing substantive -- about the Striker's ability to deal with all four mem slots filled. This may have been related to the choice of modules as well.

My experience with the Crucials is pretty much like anything else: 2T command-rate, possibly a notch-up in voltage, maybe even slightly looser timings. This is not inconsistent with the "storage-pyramid" computer-architecture paradigm, although you wouldn't think it would be as applicable to the same "pyramid-level." The axiom is "more means slower." More and slower means less costly per unit of storage.

I had an extra pair of 2x512 Crucials (ddr2-1000, like the 2GB kit), which I'd socketed in the remaining "white" slots, and had a problem posting. Whereupon, I discovered the problem I cited earlier -- about the latches, about a need to switch the modules and slots. I had the full 3GB of Crucials running under a 2T command-rate configuration, but stress-tests would occur with the same Lucas-Lemer interation and within 1 minute of the same running time -- each and every time, without regard to voltages an speeds. The 2x512 kit is now a candidate for RMA to Crucial. And I only really needed 2GB, anyway.

I'm currently testing some Crucial Tracer DDR2-800s -- two sets of 2GB kits -- on the other Striker so I can experiment with VISTA-64. I'm suspicious of how the MEMTEST86+ and even Windows MS Memory Diagnostic handles 4GB at once, so I'm going to test the pairs separately, but so far, it looks "OK." I just took greater care to make sure they were all socketed securely. With Crucial modules, I don't see a problem with using all four Striker slots. I just wish there were better self-booting memory diagnostics available.

If you need to RMA the motherboard, ASUS has a location -- somewhere in Ohio, I think -- and they seemed to be pretty accommodating. You have 30 days from time of RMA# issued to get them the board. But at the moment, I have stronger suspicions about the memory.

These are the frustrations and heartaches of DIY computer buiilding and over-clocking. Everyone has gone through it. I had trouble with RAM in '03 when I built my sis-in-law's computer-Xmas-gift. I had trouble with the pair of Crucials I mentioned above. I blew a mobo chipset/memory-controller in '06, and nevertheless got an RMA on the memories, but I had voided the warranty on the mobo because I "sinked my mosfets" and used thermal epoxy to do it.