Help me overclock: e6400, ddr2 800, and Asus p5b.

[clawlan]

I've done a lot (and I mean a lot) of research on the web about my components and whatnot. But I am still a little foggy about overclocking the cpu. I searched these forums and didnt really find what I am looking for. Basically, I am looking for a step by step idiot-resistant guide to overclocking this configuration. A friend of mine has the same set up and tried O/C'ing it but it gets very unstable at about 2.5 ghz whereas anandtech is doing 3.5 without a problem. So, again, can anyone help a newbie o/c'er out? I would appreciate it greatly. Thanks.

 

[n7]

I can't help much since i haven't put mine together yet.

But i'd recommend heading over to XS (xtremesytems.com) forums to read thru some of the threads there.

 

[clawlan]

Hm, ill ahve to check that out, thanks. Anyone else have any advice?

 

[markymoo]

heres some help for getting that higher overclock.

first buy some isopropyl alcohol dont use anything else
lever off your northbrige and southbridge heatsink and clean the chips and heatsinks of old thermal compound with the alcohol. put fresh artic silver 5 on both bridges. put a 40mm fan on each bridge preferably.


update bios 507
lock pci 33
lock pci frequency 100
disable both EIST and C1E
disable virtualization
increase your vdimm upto 2.3
set your memory divider at 1:1
disable hyper path 3
up voltage on northbridge to 1.65
up vcore voltage to 1.6
keep temp under 60C

you could get a higher fsb if you drop the multiplier down to x7

 

[clawlan]

hm. what does all that do? I dont want to just change all those settings on a whim.

 

[markymoo]

those settings are safe to change. there the safe limit your pc can go

you said you done alot research , googles your friend

 

[aggressor]

Out of the list Markymoo posted, I'd only recommend:

update bios 507
lock pci 33
lock pci frequency 100
disable both EIST and C1E
set your memory divider at 1:1

Bios 507 allows for the greatest overclocks (let alone being the latest official bios). Locking the PCI\PCI-E frequency keeps them at their defaults, which is good, since you don't want to overclock those. EIST and C1E are both things that automatically downclock your CPU and drop the voltage when idle to produce less heat. You don't need them while overclocking. Setting memory to 1:1 is best because you don't want to stress out your ram while overclocking, and since you are using an E6400, you will be seeing 400mhz+ FSB, putting your ram near it's rated settings.
As for the other recommendations....I'd leave Northbridge, Southbridge, ICH, and FSB Termination to auto for now. CPU voltage should be set around 1.35 (I'd say 1.375 since Asus boards undervolt) as a starting point, as it's the 'default max' vcore recommended for Core2Duo chips. For memory voltage, stick to what it's rated at since you'll be running it around stock settings (for the ram) anyway. Set your ram timings manually; don't let the motherboard do it.

From what I've seen everywhere, reaching 3ghz should be a piece of cake, so you could start there. If you find yourself unstable, up the CPU vcore a little and change the NB voltage to 1.45. Other than that, it's just a lot of trial and error.

 

[clawlan]

Thanks. How would I go about setting the ram timings manually? Also, If they are rated 4-4-4-12, manually set them to 4-4-4-12?

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: markymoo
heres some help for getting that higher overclock.

first buy some isopropyl alcohol dont use anything else
lever off your northbrige and southbridge heatsink and clean the chips and heatsinks of old thermal compound with the alcohol. put fresh artic silver 5 on both bridges. put a 40mm fan on each bridge preferably.


update bios 507
lock pci 33
lock pci frequency 100
disable both EIST and C1E
disable virtualization
increase your vdimm upto 2.3
set your memory divider at 1:1
disable hyper path 3
up voltage on northbridge to 1.65
up vcore voltage to 1.6
keep temp under 60C

you could get a higher fsb if you drop the multiplier down to x7

vcore 1.6 is way too high

 

[clawlan]

good to know.

 

[markymoo]

depends how hot your temps are it 1.5 is fine but if you want more overclock i suggest 1.6

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: markymoo
depends how hot your temps are it 1.5 is fine but if you want more overclock i suggest 1.6

I just helped a friend overclock his P5B Deluxe and e6300 to 400x7 effectively 2.8Ghz on the CPU. With only 1.375 voltage on the CPU

 

[aggressor]

I would in no way suggest going above 1.45~ (actual) without water cooling. So far I haven't even seen anyone needing much more above stock to hit 3ghz.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: aggressor
I would in no way suggest going above 1.45~ (actual) without water cooling. So far I haven't even seen anyone needing much more above stock to hit 3ghz.

Yeah even 1.375 is mighty high really, but I used it as a base and the temps were fine so I left it and password locked the BIOS so he couldn't accidently change anything

 

[markymoo]

If you want to use it for desktop stuff. Just overclock to 3.2 witht he lowest voltage you can get away with. Whenever you play games push up the voltage and you can get 3.6 to play them. This way you conserve the life of your chip. If you want to keep your pc along time run it below 1.5.

p5b overclock better at lower northbridge tempuratures than the p5w dh which needs 1.85 northbridge voltage to get the same fsb, to get 500 fsb you need grade a cooling

 

[Pachino123]

I too was unable to get past 320 FSB...until I set it to 415...then everything worked just fine...what an amazing ocer this E6400 ,P5B, Corsair combo is !!

CPU Freq 415
Dram Freq DDR2-830
PCI Freq 100
PCI CLKSync 33.33
Spread Spectrum Auto
Memory Volt 1.9
CPU Volt 1.4
FSB Termination Volt 1.3

 

[markymoo]

turn off spread spectrum too

 

[chimera1982]

I have an E6300 on a board that isn't even famous for its overclocking abilities and I keep my vcore at 1.42 effective and have it oc'd to 2975MHz (425x7). You should have no problem getting 3.2GHz with an E6400 just a little above stock vcore. If you're comfortable with that, I'd leave it and be happy.

No reason to bump the vcore up "when you play games" just to eek out an extra 400MHz which might net you an extra 4fps in your games...The video card is going to be MUCH more of a factor than those extra 400MHz.

Keep your vcore as low as you can to reach an OC you are happy with and that keeps your temps at a reasonable level and you'll be fine.

 

[markymoo]

Originally posted by: Pachino123
I too was unable to get past 320 FSB...until I set it to 415...then everything worked just fine...what an amazing ocer this E6400 ,P5B, Corsair combo is !!

CPU Freq 415
Dram Freq DDR2-830
PCI Freq 100
PCI CLKSync 33.33
Spread Spectrum Auto
Memory Volt 1.9
CPU Volt 1.4
FSB Termination Volt 1.3

yes! this is contrary to what anandtech claims of the 975 being better for overclocking when users are saying otherwise.

 

[daneel3001]

Pachino123

I have too a P5B non deluxe but with a E6600

What cooler did you used for the CPU ?
Did you use the stock one ?

I had tried setting things to 405, mem 1.9 and cpu 1.5, windows would boot and work fine for a while but cpu temp @ idle is 54 and would go to > 60 under load.
And then it will be a matter of minutes before it crashes.
I have a AeroCool GT1000 so I wonder that's creating the issue..and now thinking of getting a Tuniq Tower 120.

Did you use any different cooler for the Northbridge ?

Thanks for your help.

 

[crazymike]

I've the same spek's Corsair XMS2 6400 2x1GB, Asus P5B (non-deluxe) but a E6300.

Its a really good setup but the northbridge heats a lot at FSB 401Mhz so I'm going to watercooled it before trying higher flights.

I just would like to mention my desapoitment with the P5B Sata Raid, who the hell toght it would be usefull to only have sata raid with a internal drive together with an external drive using the e-sata connector ? While it may make sense for raid 1 its absurd to raid 0 wich is the kind of setup most overcockers have. I'm so mad with this next time I'll buy a Gigabyte now I'll have to buy a PCI-E Raid Controller.

 

[Pabster]

Originally posted by: chimera1982
Keep your vcore as low as you can to reach an OC you are happy with and that keeps your temps at a reasonable level and you'll be fine.

:thumbsup:

 

[g33x0r]

Originally posted by: crazymike
I've the same spek's Corsair XMS2 6400 2x1GB, Asus P5B (non-deluxe) but a E6300.

Its a really good setup but the northbridge heats a lot at FSB 401Mhz so I'm going to watercooled it before trying higher flights.

I just would like to mention my desapoitment with the P5B Sata Raid, who the hell toght it would be usefull to only have sata raid with a internal drive together with an external drive using the e-sata connector ? While it may make sense for raid 1 its absurd to raid 0 wich is the kind of setup most overcockers have. I'm so mad with this next time I'll buy a Gigabyte now I'll have to buy a PCI-E Raid Controller.

or you coulda just spent a bit more money and gotten a ASUS P5W DH, P5B vanillas ARE NOT for anyone who wants to us RAID, it is indeed the lamest RAID setup I've ever seen. I had one, couldn't OC it worth beans to anything stable, got my P5W DH and I'm sittin' pretty at 3.2 with my E6400, w00t

 

[clawlan]

Hi all. Thanks for all your help so far. I have a quick question. Is it worth me getting a northbridge cooler? The p5b delkuxe seems to have a nice one with teh heatpipe and all. If this really isnt as good as it looks, what do you suggest? Anywyas, here the completed system. Going to build it and let you know what happens:

Allendale e6400
2 gigs Corsair xms2 ddr2-800
MSI ATI x1900XTX 512mb
Asus p5b deluxe wi-fi
Thermalright ultra-120 heatsink w/ 120mm Coolink 1202 fan
NZXT Lexa case

I hope it OC's like a beast!

 

[cmdrdredd]

Don't change the cooling setup. You can, if you want to do it, remove it, clean it off really nice and put AS5 there instead of the stock stuff. I didn't and it never goes above 40c ever. There's no need to increase the cooling on the NB.