going for max overclock - need to clarify some settings in bios

[Nvidiaguy07]

so a while ago i tried getting the most out of my chip but i had to settle for leaving it at 3.15GHZ because i was just too busy to put anymore time in.

Last time I remember getting 3.6GHZ stable for 20+ hours in prime95 but as soon as i ended it my screen froze up because of v-droop. im giving it a shot again and my first step is to clarify a few things about my bios.

first off my ram is DDR2-800 and is rated for 1.8-1-9volts so I plan on adding +0.1 to that, I don?t plan on using it any faster than 800Mhz so that?s fine to leave it like that right? (I'm going for 3.6GHZ so that?s 400*9)

secondly, how do I determine how much voltage my Northbridge and FSB can handle? I know my FSB is gonna need a lot so I think right off the bat I should set it to +0.3 which is the highest option I can choose. As for the northbridge I attached a small fan to it so I feel comfortable adding +0.1 for now but how do I know that I need more?

Lastly how high can I comfortably go in my bios setting for my V-core? I know that the max is supposed to be 1.5 for my chip but its not even close to that when I check it in pc health in the bios and in CPU-Z.

Right now I have It at 3.6 GHZ with a 1.45V-core +0.1DDR +0.3FSB +0.1 NB.

CPU-Z says my v-core is 1.392. my temps seem to be ok, (all cores <35 at idle and doesn?t go over 65 while running small FFT's)

Prime 95 got an error after like 15 mins so I know I need more voltage somewhere. Can I turn down the FSB or will I have to add even more V-core now.

And as for all this V-droop business has anyone else had to deal with this with whatever board you have? I have heard the DS3L is known for having a lot of it.

 

[Schmide]

How much vdrop are you getting?

You should be testing with occt does a better job with graphs and monitoring. I think it stresses things more as well.

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

Originally posted by: Schmide
How much vdrop are you getting?

You should be testing with occt does a better job with graphs and monitoring. I think it stresses things more as well.

well my v-drop is like .06 (1.45-1.392)

im not sure how big my droop is. Is there a way to test that?

(isnt drop difference in bios setting to actual v-core, and droop occurs when going from idle to load or load to idle(thats why my last OC a few months ago wasnt stable))


im going to check out OCCT. do the same rules apply as prime 95 when OCing. Do it for like 10-24 hours.

 

[Schmide]

I'm no expert but I've heard that 1 hour of OCCT is equal to many hours of prime95.

Lastly temps, although the processor can easily take some 60c+ temps, at higher OC those higher temperature will add to the instability. A q6600 3.5ghz on air fully stable occt is not the norm, most 3.5ghz+ OC require more aggressive cooling. Others chime in on this.

Oh and that V-drop isn't that bad, I've seen much worse. 0.1 and such.

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

i was considering water cooling but instead i think the antec900 with tunic tower and an 120mm fan on the side is the best i could do on air. I have all the fans on their lowest settings so if i crank them i think i can get my temps a little lower.

i think the droop is what im most concerned with though. the the voltage spikes too high or low i might crash.

also is +0.3 to the fsb a bad idea?

and is there any reason i should add more than +0.1 to the northbridge?

 

[error8]

Try this program for instability. And be very careful with your temps. Use 10 "standard" tests. If it pases those, then it's 99% stable and can count as 24 hours of Prime

My vdrop is the same as yours. I set 1.47 V in bios and I get 1.4V under load with Linpack.
Also, since you have all your mobo memory slots occupied, you'll probably have to increase the MCH voltage more. I keep mine at 1.42V ( one step bellow red). VTT ( around 1.3 V) and south bridge voltages should also be raised, as they also count for the overall stability with quad cores.

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

ive now got my memory voltage at +0.3 which shows up at 1.94V in hardware monitor. Is this too much now because they are only rated for 1.8-1.9?

as far as my NB voltage its at +0.1 now and the highest it can go is +0.3, should i just go for it?

Im close to stable now and my temps are still around 60 in prime95 and under 70 while running intel burn test.

also should i touch pci-e voltage at all?

 

[error8]

Leave the pci voltage at stock and don't go beyond 1.9 V on the ram, since you are not overclocking it anyway.