How many people are actually running Q66/700s at or above 3.6ghz?

[Rodknock]

I was flipping through the Maximus Formula bios settings thread over at xtremesystems.org, and there's a long, long list of people's settings for G0 Q6600s and related chips. It seems most of them are running either 450 x 8 or 400 x 9, the core being at 3.6. Some are even running 450 x 9.

I've gone through two Q6600s and neither have booted at anything over 400 x 8 or equivalent. It'll post but won't make it into Windows, or it won't post, or some other error.

So my question is, is this really the overclocking 'norm' for these chips? Is it as common as it seems in that thread for people who OC to get such amazing numbers? All the setups in that thread are sky high clocks, there's no in-between. I guess I'm just a bit discouraged

 

[myocardia]

The people @ the forums you mention list their overclocks as one of two things: how high they can boot to Windows, or more often, how high they can boot to Windows, then run SuperPi. It has absolutely nothing to do with stability, well, at least my definition of stability.

 

[JAG87]

I've done it, but with water cooling. You have WC, shouldn't be that hard...

Try 400x9, 1.45 vcore in bios, +0.2v on the NB, + 0.2v on vFSB, and you should be good to go.

 

[bryanW1995]

A better definition of "stability" is my running orthos for 8 hrs at 1.38 vcore in bios and 450x8 on my X3350. Then, running it on seti 24/7 for a week while I was out of town and couldn't even check on it, then coming home to find that it didn't have any problems while I was gone . An even BETTER definition is markfw900's definition of f@h 24/7 stability. Look at his signature and see how he's done with his b3 and g0 quads vs his single Q9450. Using his info, the step from b3 to g0 was bigger than g0 to 45nm, though I should be able to test this when I can compare my Q9450 to my X3350 next week. I personally think that it would be VERY improbably to get 2xQ6600 that are 3.6 orthos stable at "reasonable" vcore (which most if not all 45nm quad owners would agree I'm using right now).

 

[n7]

I run my Q6700 @ 3.5 GHz 24/7.

If it wasn't for DFI hating on my RAM & making it impossible to run it at anything but 2:3 stably, i'd be running 3.6 GHz...but 3.5 GHz is fine for me.

 

[krnmastersgt]

I ran P95 12 hours stable at 3.6, I can get into windows and run some minor apps/games at 3.8, beyond that I just bsod after boot up. I run my system at 3.2 currently though, save a tad bit of energy since I don't see huge differences between 3.2 and 3.6

 

[coreyb]

I run my pc at 3.6 24/7. No problems here.

 

[Markfw]

See sig.....

 

[Rodknock]

Originally posted by: JAG87
I've done it, but with water cooling. You have WC, shouldn't be that hard...

Try 400x9, 1.45 vcore in bios, +0.2v on the NB, + 0.2v on vFSB, and you should be good to go.

At this point my problem doesn't seem to have anything to do with cooling. Anything over 400 FSB, or ~3.4ghz, just doesn't get into Windows. Ever.

 

[coreyb]

I'm confused. Why do you need to go over 400FSB when you can just do a 9x400?

 

[LOUISSSSS]

never got stable with 3.6, the closest i got was: 398 x 9 = 3.582ghz @ 1.3750 in Bios. forgot what the cpu-Z readings were, but i had a decent amount of vdroop.
i was not fsb limited, i was *temperature* limited, @ those settings above, my load temps JUST hit 72C.

i've tried 440 x 8 = 3.520 @ 1.3375 in Bios and was OCCT stable.

Currently running 9 x 395 @ 1.3375 in Bios and am OCCT + F@H stable.
temps load at around 55

 

[Rodknock]

coreyb: I worded it wrong, I meant, can't get anywhere near 400FSB

 

[lopri]

My Q6600 is currently @3.6GHz/1.42V but it took 4 motherboards. I knew the CPU was capable but none of my boards helped, so I ended up purchasing a new board.

- EVGA 780i: 400FSB/450FSB doable (such as 8x400 or 7x450), but the board failed to supply adequate power for 3.6GHz. 3.2GHz rock stable.
- ASUS P5E-VM HDMI: Same as above
- BadAxe 2: 380FSB doable, and it was the only board that kept the CPU stable @3.4GHz (9x378), until I got..
- DFI X48: 400FSB/450FSB doable and stable for 3.6GHz (9x400/8x450). 450FSB requires more voltages for the NB with little benefit, so I keep it at 400FSB

The key was, more than anything else, stable power delivery and cooling for the CPU.

 

[Rodknock]

Ya know, Lopri, I'm having what sounds like the exact same problem. I can do 8 x 400, 7 x 450, etc. But I just can't get 3.6ghz, no matter how much voltage I supply to it. And since you had this problem on a P5E, it's quite possible it IS the same problem, because the Maximus Formula is basically a P5E with some 'spiffyness" added on.

There's something else that leads me to believe it might be the CPU, however. My idle and load temps measured in realtemp are significantly higher than they should be. Right now at 9 x 333, I'm idling at 41*C cpu temp. This is on 1.35v. Seems way too high to me. Load temps in prime 95's blend test get into the mid 60s. Keep in mind, the cpu is cooled on a water loop and has an MCR220 rad all to itself with nothing else on the loop, with two scythe s-flex fans on the rad keeping it cool. I don't see how it could be the cooling system's fault, but stranger things have happened. Even when I was running air with a Zalman 9700, temps were higher than normal at *any* clock speed. Can higher than normal temps, assuming for the moment the cooling system is working under optimal conditions, be caused by, I dunno, a crappy CPU? eg, I got the bad one in the batch?

 

[Idontcare]

Also don't underestimate the loaded statistics effect of voluntary reporting that these enthusiast style forums tend to generate.

When enough people read the same handful of poster's repeated posts that "3.6GHz is easy, no problem, teh noob can do it" then eventually you end up with a rare breed of folks willing to admit they are less than teh noobs because they can't get 3.6...while everyone who can get 3.6GHz or higher posts their results as they at least made the "minimum acceptable overclock" cutoff without being emberrased.

I've got 5 G0's here, they don't like to go much over 3.3GHz on my DS3L's.

Look at the read count versus the post count on some of these Q6600 overclock threads and you might wonder just how many would-be posters are turned off to the idea of admitting "defeat" and letting folks know they suck so badly they couldn't even hit 3.6GHz with their G0.

(i.e. we will never know what to really expect of G0's on average if only the top overclockers populate the forums with their results)

 

[Acanthus]

If my PSU didnt shit the bed yesterday i could show you prime, pi, occt, and 3dmark shots.

 

[Syzygies]

Originally posted by: Idontcare
Also don't underestimate the loaded statistics effect of voluntary reporting that these enthusiast style forums tend to generate.

Yup. And the reverse effect on NewEgg motherboard reviews, you'd assume there are a lot of bad motherboards out there. I've had the most "issues" to work through with my GA-EP35-DS3P and overclocking, even RMA'ing some Corsair memory that I now think was ok before switching to OCZ. Learning about tRD, tRFC. But I worked the issues rather than concluding my motherboard was bad. I have no confidence that the majority of bad motherboard reports are correct, pushing performance gets tricky, and the performance motherboards are like flippy windsurfing boards. I could see why people order from Dell.

My definition of stable is 128 builds of Haskell from source, daisy-chaining the previous build to make the next, eight at a time with "make -j" on four cores. This takes days, hammering all parts of one's system, and will crash lots of machines that are 24 hour Prime95 stable, my buddy's $10K 8 core 64 GB server was living in the shop because of this test. His first power supply literally went up in smoke.

I was able to get partway through this test at 3.6 Ghz on air cooling before calling it on temps, I didn't like seeing the cores go over 70 C. Yet my laptop reaches these temps at full load.

It did take me a while to learn enough to manage this overclock, but I don't think I was that lucky. Overclocking is a bit like playing minesweeper; one does get blown up a lot.

In the end I retreated to 3.2 Ghz for 24/7 use at 60 C full load, nearly stock voltages. I decided that for my purposes, 2.4 to 3.2 is a nice jump, 3.2 to 3.6 is just showing off and inviting trouble.

 

[BrownTown]

Originally posted by: myocardia
The people @ the forums you mention list their overclocks as one of two things: how high they can boot to Windows, or more often, how high they can boot to Windows, then run SuperPi. It has absolutely nothing to do with stability, well, at least my definition of stability.

Nah, thats not true for running at ONLY 3.6G, those are probably 24/7 machines, but they are likely using top of the line parts across the board and water cooling and the like. When you are talking about just running SuperPi you can get that at well over 5G with the right cooling, and over 4G on air.

 

[Markfw]

Yes, None of mine can reach 3.6 stable, so it is a very select few that can hit 3.6 stable IMO. I can boot at that on 3 of mine, but forget stable.

 

[daggermeerkat]

I see lots of Gigabyte and asus mobos on here .. how about the ip35-e, anybody got figures on their overclocks with the q6600 using this mobo?

 

[EvilSponge]

My rig has ran prime95 4 threads 16 hours stable @ 3.6 ghz though I agree with Mark I will run folding@home for a week before calling it golden but the indicators are there. I feel hitting 3.6ghz stable has allot to do with motherboard, memory and cooling solution. My Q6600 is a GO stepping with a 1.2875VID so to run prime stable I need to have 1.408V, 1.50v set in bios but my board has terrible vdroop. I have EIST enabled to help with the idleing temp. As I can't set my voltage to be exactly 1.40V. My idle temps are between 34-35c and my loaded temps range between 61c - 63c Now I'm using a lapped TRUE with two 120mm fans in a push/pull configuration. That's with living in very hot south Florida.

-sponge

 

[bdubyah]

well, mine is stable at 3.5, but it gets a bit hotter than i would like, and requires a few too many volts. i haven't tried 3.6 yet.

 

[ArchAngel777]

Getting them stable isn't a problem provided you don't mind running the voltage at 1.46+ under load. If you cannot get a G0 stable at 3.6Ghz, I'd be willing to bet you 1) Don't have the voltage set high enough or 2) Don't have the cooling that allows you to run a higher voltage.

Getting 3.6 on AIR would be very difficult and I doubt anyone can really do it unless ambients are extremely low. But getting 3.6 on water should be no problem if you are willing to run voltage and temperature high enough.

A lot of people that do not make 3.6 are unable do so because of the restrictions they place on themselves and their hardware. They are unwilling to run their voltage higher than a personal set limit, or they are unhappy with their cores running well into the 70's.

 

[EvilSponge]

I disagree I'm running prime stable @1.408V under load not 1.46V+. My ambient temps in south Florida is between 76F and 80F and my hottest cores are 63c max all on air. See link.

http://www.bluekarmann.com/web%20pages/espc.html
-sponge

 

[aigomorla]

Originally posted by: myocardia
The people @ the forums you mention list their overclocks as one of two things: how high they can boot to Windows, or more often, how high they can boot to Windows, then run SuperPi. It has absolutely nothing to do with stability, well, at least my definition of stability.

excuse me! <spanking myocardia >

Im an XS Member too! But your right, i hate noobies that dont stress test go for max OC and end it there.

Take your pick. LOL...

10hr Prime
http://i125.photobucket.com/al...orla/Clipboard01-1.jpg

SuperPI 32M + 1024M Wprime: Was going to run prime, til 2nd HD3870 died. But this is her final settings.
http://i125.photobucket.com/al...3/aigomorla/Wprime.jpg

Lowest Windows Required Votlage for 4.0ghz
http://i125.photobucket.com/al.../p73/aigomorla/OMG.jpg


Anyhow enough yorkfield. You wanna see Kentsfield eh?

3.73 Running WCG. its basically a never ending stress test.
http://i125.photobucket.com/al.../aigomorla/Temps-2.jpg

Heres an Old B3.
http://i125.photobucket.com/al...73/aigomorla/Q6600.jpg

RAWR!

If you cant do 400fsb its because your FSB termination voltage, or not enough voltage to NB. :T

OR, your chip just sucks at ocing.