Got my Q9550/SLB8V - what's a reasonable OC expectation?

[MichaelD]

BACKGROUND The MB in my sig is dying; big time Vdroop and it's not stable. As a stopgap "use it for a couple of years until I build another beast system", I bought a Q9550 (2.83GHz/1333MHz FSB stock/SLB8V) and a Gigabyte P43-ES3G MB. Even at stock speeds I'm expecting about a 20% performance increase (400MHz faster CPU + 33% faster FSB) over the Q6600@stock I have now.

I'm hoping to at least raise the FSB to 400MHz from the 333MHz stock and get to 3.4GHz. I'm thinking that at this point (i.e. EOL) the Q9550 is mature and it's hopefully all "good silicon." Sure; I could live with the Q9550's stock 2.8GHz speed. But if I wasn't prone to misbehaving I wouldn't be posting here, would I? :sneaky:

With decent cooling (Freezer7) and either stock or slightly raised vCPU, is 3.4GHz a reasonable OC expectation?

 

[ZipSpeed]

My Q9550 @ 3.4 GHz (TRUE 120 cooler) is running stock voltage. 1.25 V if I remember correctly. Easiest overclock I've ever done and still running solid for almost two years now.

 

[MichaelD]

That's really encouraging, ZipSpeed. Did you just raise the FSB to 400? You didn't raise any voltages? I know the Gigabyte P43 MB I bought isn't a known mega-overclocker, but it looks like a solid board and I'm not planning on going hog-wild with the overclock. 333-->400 FSB seems like an easy kill to me. Will build the new system tomorrow, so we'll find out for sure! Thanks.

 

[spinejam]

i would say 3.4 -3.6Ghz should be easy for you! just keep an eye on the memory speed / timings and relax them if needed.

 

[MichaelD]

Thanks, Spinejam. I hope so! I'm not going for a record OC or something just stable enough for a CPU-Z screenshot. I want it to be stable. Rig in my sig ran rock-stable for more than 2 years at 3.2GHz (400x8) but at a fairly high 1.390v. Eventually, I guess that killed it, putting me where I'm at now. Voltage is the killer...if I can get to 3.4GHz on stock voltage I'll be doing cartwheels! Never worked with the "newer" Q-series CPUs; they have lower voltage ranges. So this will be a learning experience for me.

 

[ZipSpeed]

That's really encouraging, ZipSpeed. Did you just raise the FSB to 400? You didn't raise any voltages? I know the Gigabyte P43 MB I bought isn't a known mega-overclocker, but it looks like a solid board and I'm not planning on going hog-wild with the overclock. 333-->400 FSB seems like an easy kill to me. Will build the new system tomorrow, so we'll find out for sure! Thanks.

Yup, 400. RAM, northbridge and southbridge are all running at the lowest possible voltage I can set in the BIOS. I am running the Q9550 on an Asus Rampage Formula (X48) board.

 

[bigsnyder]

There is a sticky on overclocking the core 2s. I run my Q9550 at 3.7Ghz with a just some minor volt increases. I can do 3.8 as well, but there is some slight instability.

 

[darckhart]

OP:i have the same mobo as you, and yea, it ate my q6600 too, haha. i'm sure you can take that q9550 anywhere, but if voltage is your concern...

 

[MichaelD]

@darckhart: Yeah, seems that the Abit IP35 series had serious voltage problems and many users didn't find out until it was too late. I actually had two IP35-Pro boards; bought one for the gaming rig and one for my HTPC. Ran my Q6600 @ 3.2GHz/400 for two years without a single issue. Then last year the first IP35 just upped and flat out died..no warning at all! Voltage regulateion went bad then it wouldn't boot for squat. In the trash it went. Took the other IP35 out of the HTPC and stuck it in the gaming box. Was good for about 6 months, then wouldn't boot if overclocked at all. Now at stock speeds I have to raise the vCPU to 1.385 just to see an idle voltage of 1.32. Forget about overclocking.

I've had some folks say that my Q6600 is probably still good. I'm not too sure. It's been in two boards with voltage probs; I didn't want to take a chance so I bought the Q9550. I need stabiltiy.

Thanks everyone. I'm going to run the Q9550 at stock speeds for a few days; beat it up with P95 and benchmarking a bit, then just go for 400MHz FSB. Should be an easy target. 3.4GHZ/400 FSB will be a nice boost over what I've got now.

 

[formulav8]

I have a Q9450 which I run using Gigabytes speedstep type tech. Basically you can tell the mobo to use one of the available speed settings and it will raise the fsb only when the cpu load gets to a certain point. Its similar to speedstep except it raised and lowers the fsb instead of the cpu multiplyer. Sounds like that might be good for you as well since you want the chip to last. I would think your mobo has that feature?

A negative to my comp is the Gigabyte P35-DS3L mobo does not like the 400mhz fsb. It will freeze once I do a few minutes of encoding with the cpu clockspeed peaking at 3200mhz. I raised cpu voltages, ram volts, ect.. and the only voltage that made a difference was chipset voltage, but it still wasn't enough for a stable 1600mhz fsb oc (only 3 low setting to choose from). Your P43 should have NO problems with that however. Neither will your cpu have a problem with it.



Jason

 

[OCNewbie]

Running a Q9550 (E0 stepping, I guess that's SLB8V?) @ 3.6 Ghz at less than default voltage (CPU-z is reporting 1.2-1.216v, I think 1.2v in BIOS) for close to 2 years now. I think I gave a very half-assed try for 4 GHz (didn't try anything over default voltage) and that didn't work. 3.6 GHz at under default is great though =) This is on a Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P which is known to be a great OC'ng board, especially for this CPU.

 

[RussianSensation]

I think you should have sold your Q6600 and 8 GBs of DDR2 ram (of which probably 4Gb are always unused). It would have been a lot better to get a core i5 750/760 and 4GBs of DDR3 than waste more $ on P43 mobo and a Q9550.

 

[MichaelD]

Point taken, RussianSensation. I just didn't have an additional $400 to spend on a totally new system. Who knows how long or if it would've taken for the CPU/memory to sell?

Ironically, it looks like my 4870X2 is bad. Couldn't get the new system to boot with it installed. Would boot once into BIOS, then wouldn't reboot period. Clear CMOS, same thing X100000. Swapped in an 8800GT and booted right up/reboots no probs.

So I've got a new CPU/MB with better performance than the old, but it's negated by a GPU that's less than half it's predecessor. It's been one of those days.

 

[mtnd3vil]

Just consider each component separately.
Your ram is MADE for 400Mhz and will probably limit you to this threshold.
Your CPU is MADE for 333Mhz but will almost surely allow 400Mhz and possible more.
Your motherboard is MADE for 333Mhz but will possibly run 400MHz or more stable.

The probability of running 400MHz stable with no voltage increases is pretty likely. I've never seen a 333MHz C2D/Q that DID NOT run 400MHz.

WORST case scenario, you run 400/1600 FSB and drop a half multiplier off the Q9550 with +.05v and boost the MCH a voltage increment as well.

BEST case scenario you run 400/1600 FSB at full 8.5/3400Mhz speeds with +.05 for ensured stability and change nothing else on the system.

It seems to me that overclocking ram is no longer possible these days, everything sells with such a tight margin that the modules do what their sticker says and nothing more (sometimes barely even that) This is why I have listed your BEST case scenario at 400MHz. You'll need DDR2 1066 to accomplish anything more IMHO.

 

[MichaelD]

Thanks, mtnd3vil. That's what I plan on doing. I'd be very happy w/8x400=3.2GHz.
I agree w/you on RAM not running any faster than it's rated for these days. The Corsair memory I have is stable as a rock but won't OC for squat. Unfortunately, my OCing tests will have to wait a few more days, as I've got another new MB coming; the Gigabyte P43 board had a bad PCI-E slot. This is my time for bad luck I guess. I bought a much more high-end board this time. An Asus P5Q Pro Turbo. Should get me to 3.2GHz w/no problem.

 

[ClockerXP]

See my Sig. Easy Overclock. Did not try for more just because I want to keep my RAM in spec.