First OC Q6600-minimal adjustment

[wheels]

As with others, I am unsure with decision between E6850 and Q6600..but i made my mind and going quad 2.4ghz and overclock.

I have never OC'ed before and not really delving to deep into it. I just want to OC the Q6600 to 2.8ghz or 3ghz. I don't want to have an unstable system and I have no desire to mess with any options in the bios. Basically, what option do i change and what speed can i attain without much adjustment to anything. They say all I have to do is change something to 311 which get me 2.799ghz (9x311)? And will my first simple OC run smoothly with this hardware?

asus p5k deluxe/wifi
Q6600 (G0 stepping)
g skill 4GB (2 x 2GB) PC2-6400 DDR2 800MHz CL5 (5-5-5-15)
vista home premium 64bit
zalman 9500 cpu cooler

 

[swtethan]

Right now my system runs 3.4GHz with a change in voltage to 1.35v in bios @ 9x378fsb

 

[wheels]

With a 2.8ghz or possible 3ghz clock work without any voltage change?

 

[swtethan]

yes its possible, remember, the cpu's max (within warranty) voltage is 1.35v

 

[wheels]

so when i get this new Comp I go into bios (which option is it to change cpu stuff?), move some option to 311 and ill have 2.799ghz, im all set, dont have to change anything else?

 

[swtethan]

You should try for 333 lock your pci express bus to 100, and everything else should be stock. Test for stability or you can just raise the vcore to 1.35v. It should be stable.

 

[wheels]

The only thing thats make me nervous is having my motherboard fail post and have to reset the jumper on cmos. Is there a big chance that my mobo will fail post if i set the cpu fsb to 311? Also was reading somewhere else, besides locking pci-e bus to 100, do i have to change any pci bus option?

 

[Markfw]

Originally posted by: swtethan
yes its possible, remember, the cpu's max (within warranty) voltage is 1.35v

Just a note: any change of vcore at all over bios, or speed change or overclocking of any kind technically voids the warranty.

That said, your chances of frying the cpu at 1.35 v at any speed are slim to none. Just pump up the speed at stock vcore first, and see what happens. At stock vcore at any speed, you really can't hurt the cpu.

 

[Accord99]

Originally posted by: wheels
The only thing thats make me nervous is having my motherboard fail post and have to reset the jumper on cmos. Is there a big chance that my mobo will fail post if i set the cpu fsb to 311? Also was reading somewhere else, besides locking pci-e bus to 100, do i have to change any pci bus option?

On the P5K Deluxe, almost all post failures can be fixed by cutting all power to the system (ie switch the PSU to off, or disconnect the power cord) and then reconnecting power. On the next boot the MB should boot using default settings.

 

[swtethan]

Originally posted by: Accord99

Originally posted by: wheels
The only thing thats make me nervous is having my motherboard fail post and have to reset the jumper on cmos. Is there a big chance that my mobo will fail post if i set the cpu fsb to 311? Also was reading somewhere else, besides locking pci-e bus to 100, do i have to change any pci bus option?

On the P5K Deluxe, almost all post failures can be fixed by cutting all power to the system (ie switch the PSU to off, or disconnect the power cord) and then reconnecting power. On the next boot the MB should boot using default settings.

Yes on high end asus motherboards if it fails to post, just turn off and back on and it will reset itself.

 

[ylph]

With your Asus p5k deluxe motherboard, if the system fails to post due to overclocking too far, you just need to hit the power button, wait for it to shut off, then turn it back on - it will detect the failed post and automatically boot with default settings, allowing you to go back to BIOS and undo any changes. No jumpers or opening up the case required.

Also, with this motherboard you can do most of the basic overclocking without even going to the BIOS, using the AI Booster in Asus AI Suite software directly from windows. Get some free stress testing software (SP2004 Orthos, run 4 instances with small fft's, each on a different core) and temperature monitoring software (Asus PC Probe II is ok for this) and then slowly raise the FSB frequency.

You should be able to go straight to 300 MHz (2.7 GHz) and then raise it up to 333 MHz (3.0 GHz) in 5 or 10 Mhz increments, waiting for an hour or so after each step to make sure Orthos is not showing any errors. Once you reach your desired target (3 GHz in your case) you should leave all 4 instances of Orthos running for 24 hours, and if they survive without any errors, you should have a very stable system.

If you want to be more conservative, start lower and make the increments smaller. Also keep an eye on your CPU temperature, if your cooling is poor, you might be limited by how hot the CPU gets. You should probably stop if your CPU temp reaches 65C or more under full load.

Also, in some cases your system might lock up, or blue screen, and possibly not be able to boot all the way back to windows - in which case you need to go to BIOS after the reboot, go to the Advanced tab, JumperFree Config, set AI Overclocking to Manual, and then lower the FSB Frequency back to your last stable setting.

You might also need to underclock your memory a bit to get a stable overclock on your CPU - in the same menu, set the DRAM Frequency to DDR2-800 or lower (the available choices will depend on your current FSB) In my experience, memory clocked too far is a lot more likely to result in a failed post, so it is usually a good idea to set the memory clock to the lowest setting at the start, and focus on the CPU alone. Once you find your stable CPU clock, you can then set the memory back up to a speed closest to its stock rating.

Good luck !

Btw, I am running my G0 Q6600 with Asus P5K Deluxe and Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme at 3.456 GHz @ 1.40 V - Had it up to 3.6 GHz stable @ 1.46 V, but did not like the high voltage required to get that far, so I backed off

 

[wheels]

Hey thanks for such detailed replies, I now feel confident overclocking, I just got last question, how do you setup Ram(or just leave it) or is that only needed if your overclocking a lot? it is g skill 4GB (2 x 2GB) PC2-6400 DDR2 800MHz CL5 (5-5-5-15) , i am pretty set on 311 (2.8ghz) and later slowly move to 333 like you said. I read that you can choose any ram setting no matter what the cpu fsb is set? Btw, I am not building, I am getting ready to purchase on avadirect.

 

[Mucker]

You could try keeping the bus at 266. Then use an 8 multiplier instead of 9. Try this out: 400 x 8 = 3.2 GHz with slight vCore bump (1.36v) as mentioned above.

Keep the ram 533 MHz for 1:1 operation at DDR2 800, 5-5-5. Pretty good spot to be at, good performance and reasonable temps.

 

[wheels]

so I overclock to 2.7 (9x300) and change the dram frequency to 600mhz and that is 1:1? Do i put the ram Linked or Unlinked?

 

[swtethan]

You know with a zalman 9500, you can do probably 3.2ghz right? that would be 8x400 to max out your ram without overclocking it (400mhz)