Hey Everyone,
Ok i want everyone to know im not a professional overclocker, nor a champion, infact im a newbie, i spent 6 weeks researching and testing, and i have successfully found the right formula that nobody else seems to post when achieving these speeds.
----
Let me start with the System Specs
Dell XPS 630
Intel Quad Core Q6600 @ 2.4 ghz - (42c-48c tempatures medium load)
Bus 1066
3 GB Ram 800 mhz (standard type, nothing fancy) (4x 768mb = 3gb ram)
Nvidia8800GT
Stock Fans and speeds, Stock Heatsinks
No Stock Exhaust Fan (pulls heat out)
----
Results After Overclocking
Intel Quad Core Q6600 @ 3.2 ghz - (41c-46c tempatures medium load, weird result) (reached 38c-42c idle)
Bus 1420
3 GB Ram 800 mhz
Nvidia8800GT stock speeds
Stock Fans and speeds, Stock Heatsinks
No Stock Exhaust Fan (pulls heat out)
----
Here is some information picked up and vouched for by nearly everyone who owns it or has tested it and from Dell technicians.
- First Dell Warranty to cover Overlocking (630 and the 730 series)
- First Dell to enable nearly all after market parts
- THERE IS NO EXHAUST FAN (so you can not turn any of the fans up, or else it will trap hot air in the case by the processor)
- The Bios Includes Overclocking Options
- The Bios Includes Voltage Specific Changes
- The Ram Memory can be Unlinked from the Bus (but must be done from the official bios menu, not from the nvidia control panel)
- The Nvidia Control Panel, comes with the system, includes Overclocking options, voltage changes, as well as graphics card overclocking, fan controls, auto-fan sensing options, and Profiles for all settings to be saved and loaded if your system crashes and you want to pick up from last saved settings.
- Fans that can be controlled are CPU Fan, PCI Cage Fan, HDD Fan, Graphics Card Fan, however 4 other small fans inside the system such as the bus fan and power supply fan cannot be controlled at all)
----
Here are some important Notes you need to know before overclocking.
- There is no Exhaust Fan, so do not attempt to change the fan speeds higher or it will trap hot air near the processor.
- Dell 630 Parts (cpu,gpu) are extremely stable and cooled while being overclocked without changing ANY fan controls.
- Dell 630 Parts (cpu,gpu) stay cool upon high loads while overclocked without changing ANY fan controls.
- Dell 630 (cpu) gets hot when any of the fans are turned up, the fan motors heat up, however, if you want your processor to last years while running load 75% of the time, atleast turn the fans up 10%.
- Dell 630 (gpu) gets cooled when fans are turned up, but the cpu gets hotter by the gpu fan.
- Dell 630 (gpu) if you run high resolution games with all settings high including Anti Alias AA, you must turn up the gpu fan, the auto sensor does not function good, even with the bios update for it, i would suggest 10-20% minimum, but remember this forces the CPU to get hotter while cooling off the GPU.
- Dell 630 (cpu) Side Effect, the Faster the CPU Overclock, the less usage the processor receives, and the cooler the processor will be, this is weird, and is against most normal overclocking results. (This Has been tested with 3d studio max rendering, high load testing for up to 2 hours, I have not yet tested beyond that point)
----
So here is where you decide, did you buy an xps gaming machine for games?
If Yes, then you must turn up the GPU fan, thus heating up the CPU, meaning you CANNOT OVERCLOCK above 2.8ghz or else the cpu will recieve heat in the 60-70c forcing it to freeze while playing games.
IF No, (but occasionally a game or 2 a week), then you can overclock to 3.2ghz stable easily, but while playing games, turn down the overclocking and turn up the gpu fan, it is very easy to set this in the nvidia control panel profiles.
And yes, you are also free to change the profiles throughout the day if you want to render alot, but then play games alot too. But that is tons of work, and a mistake means your computer freezes each time you make the mistake.
----
Steps Overview
Steps Set 1. Unlinking the RAM from the FSB
Steps Set 2. Setting a Starter Overclock Setting to 2.6ghz
Steps Set 3. Overclocking Instructions
Steps Set 4. Overclocking to 3.0ghz
Steps Set 5. Overclocking to 3.2ghz
(Do not skip steps, most XPS 630 owners fail at overclocking by going directly to changing speeds and voltages directly. Having warned you, testing what you know wont work, is what makes you a great tester, system hacker, overclocker, and problem solver. But for those of you who dont have enough time, heres the cheat sheet below.)
Lets get started.
Steps Set 1. Unlinking the RAM from the FSB
- First turn on your computer and hold F2 to enter the BIOS menu
- From the Bios Menu top go to ADVANCED
- Then down to Overclock Configuration
- Change FSB - Memory Clock Mode to UNLINKED
Steps Set 2. Setting a Starter Overclock Setting to 2.6ghz
- Stay in Overclock Configuration
- Change FSB (QDR), MHz to 1,164
- DO NOT CHANGE RAM MEM (DDR), MHz
- DO NOT CHANGE CPU Multiplier (leave at 9.0, it also says 9.5, that is fine, do not change it)
- Press ESC Once to return to the ADVANCED menu
- Open Overvoltage Configuration
- Change CPU Core to 1.350v
- Change FSB to 1.300v
- DO NOT CHANGE MEMORY VOLTAGE
- Change Chipset Voltage to AUTO (this is the default, This ensures perfect voltage for 2.8ghz)(I'll explain later)
- Press ESC twice, and go to SAVE and Exit and press Enter
- Press Y in the Prompt Window for Saving to CMOS
Your Computer is now overclocked to 2.6ghz everytime you start your computer, now time to get it to 3.2ghz
Steps Set 3. Overclocking Instructions
- Start Windows Vista
- Open Nvidia System Monitor (YOU MUST DO THIS EVERY TIME, or overclocking options will not show in the nvidia control panel) (Nvidia system monitor is in the start menu folder called NVIDIA CORPORATION)
- At the top right of the system monitor screen click the Circled ARROW to shrink the monitor out of view, it is now minimized. (you can also double click on tempatures and clock speeds to force them to always display even while minimized)
- Open Nvidia Control Panel - Performance (Nvidia Control Panel is in the start menu folder called NVIDIA CORPORATION)
- On the left, under performance, Click DEVICE SETTINGS. (if you do not see PERFORMANCE, then you did not open Nvidia System monitor, or you accidently closed it by clicking the circled X instead of the circled ARROW, start the steps over from set 3)
Steps Set 4. Overclocking to 3.0ghz
- From here you can now freely adjust settings and voltages and watch your system freeze if you do not follow directions, so follow these steps VERY CAREFULLY and CORRECTLY, you can change them later on.
- Ensure all fans are set to stock, CPU 26%, GPU 29%, Chassis AUTOMATIC FAN CONTROL (hdd, pci cage, set them to auto, from above).
- From the CPU menu, change the following settings
Set FSB Clock to 331 MHz
Set CPU Core Voltage to 1.375v
Set CPU GTL Vref Boost Voltage to 0.925v
- From the Motherboard Menu, change the following settings
Set nForce MCP Core Voltage to 1.350v
Set FSB Voltage to 1.350v
- At the top of the entire window menu, click Profile, Click Save, and create a name such as cpu2979 (which is the cpu clock speed, and yes i know it is not 3ghz exactly or 333mhz bus, but you are not staying at 3ghz for very long, your going straight to 3.2ghz after this step)
- At the bottom of the entire window screen, click APPLY button. (If no button appears, it may have already applied after saving.)
You are now at nearly 3.0ghz stable, dont bother staying, we're not getting off this train yet, its time for 3.2ghz stable.
Steps Set 5. Overclocking to 3.2ghz
- From the CPU menu, change the following settings
Set FSB Clock to 355 MHz
Set CPU Core Voltage to 1.388v
Set CPU GTL Vref Boost Voltage to 0.959v
- From the Motherboard Menu, change the following settings
Set nForce MCP Core Voltage to 1.400v
Set FSB Voltage to 1.400v
- At the top of the entire window menu, click Profile, Click Save, and create a name such as cpu3195.
- At the bottom of the entire window screen, click APPLY button. (If no button appears, it may have already applied after saving.)
You have now reached 3.2ghz stable with stock parts
----
I mentioned earlier i would explain why the motherboard voltage was set to auto in the bios back in the 2.6ghz steps set 2, the reason is because it sets gtl vref boost to 0.890v and possibly the nforce mcp core voltage. But this is a step that the motherboard does a good job of settings on its own.
----
To answer some general questions that I and others have had, heres a list
- It is not exactly 3.2ghz, but its tested for stability, if you want to go higher by 1 mhz, go ahead and test it.
- The Dell 630 Intel Q6600 Processor is capable of 3.33ghz stable with stock hardware and stock cooling, i have yet to find a combination of voltages that work with this, perhaps its the fan settings or the graphics cards heat and power voltages that make the cpu freeze.
- The Dell 630 Intel Q6600 processor has the capability of going to 3.4ghz and even 3.6ghz stable, but it requires Liquid Cooling or equivelant cooling hardware, and you will spend atleast $100 for liquid cooling hardware, to achieve the extra 200-400 mhz.
- Do you own the most overclockable stable CPU ever, YES, you do as of June 2008, the only processor to come close is a top tier quad core extreme that hit 6ghz for the new record and was not even stable.
- Is the 8800GT the most overclockable stable GPU ever, yes, no other gpu, series, or type, or even multicore setup can overclock higher than its stock settings, than the 8800GT as of June 2008.
----
Having said all of that, you should be happy with 3.2ghz, that is 800mhz faster than 2.4ghz stock, thats 33% boost. If you want, think of it as 800x4 = an extra 3.2ghz worth of power to your system, that is more than adding a 5th core.
This should solve all of your problems, and enable you with the knowledge of how to properly overclock and get you to the top of where you want to go, maybe even further than you planned.
Thanks for reading, It would be cool if people visited my new web site, i wont ask you too, but im trying to earn some money to buy back my 2nd 8800GT sli card, i sold it to a friend for $100 because my room mate screwed me for rent this month, and i had to act fast before they would send my account to the attorneys. But i wont ask you guys to visit, because its NSFW (not safe for work) materials, so im just sayin, thats my web site.
Ok i want everyone to know im not a professional overclocker, nor a champion, infact im a newbie, i spent 6 weeks researching and testing, and i have successfully found the right formula that nobody else seems to post when achieving these speeds.
----
Let me start with the System Specs
Dell XPS 630
Intel Quad Core Q6600 @ 2.4 ghz - (42c-48c tempatures medium load)
Bus 1066
3 GB Ram 800 mhz (standard type, nothing fancy) (4x 768mb = 3gb ram)
Nvidia8800GT
Stock Fans and speeds, Stock Heatsinks
No Stock Exhaust Fan (pulls heat out)
----
Results After Overclocking
Intel Quad Core Q6600 @ 3.2 ghz - (41c-46c tempatures medium load, weird result) (reached 38c-42c idle)
Bus 1420
3 GB Ram 800 mhz
Nvidia8800GT stock speeds
Stock Fans and speeds, Stock Heatsinks
No Stock Exhaust Fan (pulls heat out)
----
Here is some information picked up and vouched for by nearly everyone who owns it or has tested it and from Dell technicians.
- First Dell Warranty to cover Overlocking (630 and the 730 series)
- First Dell to enable nearly all after market parts
- THERE IS NO EXHAUST FAN (so you can not turn any of the fans up, or else it will trap hot air in the case by the processor)
- The Bios Includes Overclocking Options
- The Bios Includes Voltage Specific Changes
- The Ram Memory can be Unlinked from the Bus (but must be done from the official bios menu, not from the nvidia control panel)
- The Nvidia Control Panel, comes with the system, includes Overclocking options, voltage changes, as well as graphics card overclocking, fan controls, auto-fan sensing options, and Profiles for all settings to be saved and loaded if your system crashes and you want to pick up from last saved settings.
- Fans that can be controlled are CPU Fan, PCI Cage Fan, HDD Fan, Graphics Card Fan, however 4 other small fans inside the system such as the bus fan and power supply fan cannot be controlled at all)
----
Here are some important Notes you need to know before overclocking.
- There is no Exhaust Fan, so do not attempt to change the fan speeds higher or it will trap hot air near the processor.
- Dell 630 Parts (cpu,gpu) are extremely stable and cooled while being overclocked without changing ANY fan controls.
- Dell 630 Parts (cpu,gpu) stay cool upon high loads while overclocked without changing ANY fan controls.
- Dell 630 (cpu) gets hot when any of the fans are turned up, the fan motors heat up, however, if you want your processor to last years while running load 75% of the time, atleast turn the fans up 10%.
- Dell 630 (gpu) gets cooled when fans are turned up, but the cpu gets hotter by the gpu fan.
- Dell 630 (gpu) if you run high resolution games with all settings high including Anti Alias AA, you must turn up the gpu fan, the auto sensor does not function good, even with the bios update for it, i would suggest 10-20% minimum, but remember this forces the CPU to get hotter while cooling off the GPU.
- Dell 630 (cpu) Side Effect, the Faster the CPU Overclock, the less usage the processor receives, and the cooler the processor will be, this is weird, and is against most normal overclocking results. (This Has been tested with 3d studio max rendering, high load testing for up to 2 hours, I have not yet tested beyond that point)
----
So here is where you decide, did you buy an xps gaming machine for games?
If Yes, then you must turn up the GPU fan, thus heating up the CPU, meaning you CANNOT OVERCLOCK above 2.8ghz or else the cpu will recieve heat in the 60-70c forcing it to freeze while playing games.
IF No, (but occasionally a game or 2 a week), then you can overclock to 3.2ghz stable easily, but while playing games, turn down the overclocking and turn up the gpu fan, it is very easy to set this in the nvidia control panel profiles.
And yes, you are also free to change the profiles throughout the day if you want to render alot, but then play games alot too. But that is tons of work, and a mistake means your computer freezes each time you make the mistake.
----
Steps Overview
Steps Set 1. Unlinking the RAM from the FSB
Steps Set 2. Setting a Starter Overclock Setting to 2.6ghz
Steps Set 3. Overclocking Instructions
Steps Set 4. Overclocking to 3.0ghz
Steps Set 5. Overclocking to 3.2ghz
(Do not skip steps, most XPS 630 owners fail at overclocking by going directly to changing speeds and voltages directly. Having warned you, testing what you know wont work, is what makes you a great tester, system hacker, overclocker, and problem solver. But for those of you who dont have enough time, heres the cheat sheet below.)
Lets get started.
Steps Set 1. Unlinking the RAM from the FSB
- First turn on your computer and hold F2 to enter the BIOS menu
- From the Bios Menu top go to ADVANCED
- Then down to Overclock Configuration
- Change FSB - Memory Clock Mode to UNLINKED
Steps Set 2. Setting a Starter Overclock Setting to 2.6ghz
- Stay in Overclock Configuration
- Change FSB (QDR), MHz to 1,164
- DO NOT CHANGE RAM MEM (DDR), MHz
- DO NOT CHANGE CPU Multiplier (leave at 9.0, it also says 9.5, that is fine, do not change it)
- Press ESC Once to return to the ADVANCED menu
- Open Overvoltage Configuration
- Change CPU Core to 1.350v
- Change FSB to 1.300v
- DO NOT CHANGE MEMORY VOLTAGE
- Change Chipset Voltage to AUTO (this is the default, This ensures perfect voltage for 2.8ghz)(I'll explain later)
- Press ESC twice, and go to SAVE and Exit and press Enter
- Press Y in the Prompt Window for Saving to CMOS
Your Computer is now overclocked to 2.6ghz everytime you start your computer, now time to get it to 3.2ghz
Steps Set 3. Overclocking Instructions
- Start Windows Vista
- Open Nvidia System Monitor (YOU MUST DO THIS EVERY TIME, or overclocking options will not show in the nvidia control panel) (Nvidia system monitor is in the start menu folder called NVIDIA CORPORATION)
- At the top right of the system monitor screen click the Circled ARROW to shrink the monitor out of view, it is now minimized. (you can also double click on tempatures and clock speeds to force them to always display even while minimized)
- Open Nvidia Control Panel - Performance (Nvidia Control Panel is in the start menu folder called NVIDIA CORPORATION)
- On the left, under performance, Click DEVICE SETTINGS. (if you do not see PERFORMANCE, then you did not open Nvidia System monitor, or you accidently closed it by clicking the circled X instead of the circled ARROW, start the steps over from set 3)
Steps Set 4. Overclocking to 3.0ghz
- From here you can now freely adjust settings and voltages and watch your system freeze if you do not follow directions, so follow these steps VERY CAREFULLY and CORRECTLY, you can change them later on.
- Ensure all fans are set to stock, CPU 26%, GPU 29%, Chassis AUTOMATIC FAN CONTROL (hdd, pci cage, set them to auto, from above).
- From the CPU menu, change the following settings
Set FSB Clock to 331 MHz
Set CPU Core Voltage to 1.375v
Set CPU GTL Vref Boost Voltage to 0.925v
- From the Motherboard Menu, change the following settings
Set nForce MCP Core Voltage to 1.350v
Set FSB Voltage to 1.350v
- At the top of the entire window menu, click Profile, Click Save, and create a name such as cpu2979 (which is the cpu clock speed, and yes i know it is not 3ghz exactly or 333mhz bus, but you are not staying at 3ghz for very long, your going straight to 3.2ghz after this step)
- At the bottom of the entire window screen, click APPLY button. (If no button appears, it may have already applied after saving.)
You are now at nearly 3.0ghz stable, dont bother staying, we're not getting off this train yet, its time for 3.2ghz stable.
Steps Set 5. Overclocking to 3.2ghz
- From the CPU menu, change the following settings
Set FSB Clock to 355 MHz
Set CPU Core Voltage to 1.388v
Set CPU GTL Vref Boost Voltage to 0.959v
- From the Motherboard Menu, change the following settings
Set nForce MCP Core Voltage to 1.400v
Set FSB Voltage to 1.400v
- At the top of the entire window menu, click Profile, Click Save, and create a name such as cpu3195.
- At the bottom of the entire window screen, click APPLY button. (If no button appears, it may have already applied after saving.)
You have now reached 3.2ghz stable with stock parts
----
I mentioned earlier i would explain why the motherboard voltage was set to auto in the bios back in the 2.6ghz steps set 2, the reason is because it sets gtl vref boost to 0.890v and possibly the nforce mcp core voltage. But this is a step that the motherboard does a good job of settings on its own.
----
To answer some general questions that I and others have had, heres a list
- It is not exactly 3.2ghz, but its tested for stability, if you want to go higher by 1 mhz, go ahead and test it.
- The Dell 630 Intel Q6600 Processor is capable of 3.33ghz stable with stock hardware and stock cooling, i have yet to find a combination of voltages that work with this, perhaps its the fan settings or the graphics cards heat and power voltages that make the cpu freeze.
- The Dell 630 Intel Q6600 processor has the capability of going to 3.4ghz and even 3.6ghz stable, but it requires Liquid Cooling or equivelant cooling hardware, and you will spend atleast $100 for liquid cooling hardware, to achieve the extra 200-400 mhz.
- Do you own the most overclockable stable CPU ever, YES, you do as of June 2008, the only processor to come close is a top tier quad core extreme that hit 6ghz for the new record and was not even stable.
- Is the 8800GT the most overclockable stable GPU ever, yes, no other gpu, series, or type, or even multicore setup can overclock higher than its stock settings, than the 8800GT as of June 2008.
----
Having said all of that, you should be happy with 3.2ghz, that is 800mhz faster than 2.4ghz stock, thats 33% boost. If you want, think of it as 800x4 = an extra 3.2ghz worth of power to your system, that is more than adding a 5th core.
This should solve all of your problems, and enable you with the knowledge of how to properly overclock and get you to the top of where you want to go, maybe even further than you planned.
Thanks for reading, It would be cool if people visited my new web site, i wont ask you too, but im trying to earn some money to buy back my 2nd 8800GT sli card, i sold it to a friend for $100 because my room mate screwed me for rent this month, and i had to act fast before they would send my account to the attorneys. But i wont ask you guys to visit, because its NSFW (not safe for work) materials, so im just sayin, thats my web site.
If anyone has suggestions about my overclock please feel free to comment, I could use some help as well.
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