HOWTO: Overclock C2Q (Quads) and C2D (Duals) - A Guide v1.7

[azev]

Originally posted by: DeathBUA
Finally think I hit the absolute wall with my processor.

C2Q 6600, Sitting stable at 3.64 Ghz.

3.64Ghz

Had to really bump the Vcore to be stable. CPUZ says 1.44, but its really 1.425. With Vdroop its 1.41 at least according to Speedfan.

Funnily enough it'll fail Prime95(after about 2 hours) but I can play crysis, TF2, etc without any issues.

I bet most ppl here will say that failing prime95 means your computer is not stable...
I on the other hand, believe that if a computer does everything you do and does not crash, its a stable computer.... Btw keep bumpin the vcore and fsb, maybe then you can pass prime95

 

[TraumaRN]

Originally posted by: azev

Originally posted by: DeathBUA
Finally think I hit the absolute wall with my processor.

C2Q 6600, Sitting stable at 3.64 Ghz.

3.64Ghz

Had to really bump the Vcore to be stable. CPUZ says 1.44, but its really 1.425. With Vdroop its 1.41 at least according to Speedfan.

Funnily enough it'll fail Prime95(after about 2 hours) but I can play crysis, TF2, etc without any issues.

I bet most ppl here will say that failing prime95 means your computer is not stable...
I on the other hand, believe that if a computer does everything you do and does not crash, its a stable computer.... Btw keep bumpin the vcore and fsb, maybe then you can pass prime95

Meh, no need. I hit the point of lessening returns at that point. I mean I can do 3.52 Ghz all day long Prime 95 stable for 1.38volts

So I mean just another 120 Mhz takes 1.42 Thats the point at which I say alright I'll hang out at 3.52. Really what game will know the difference

And just as an aside if I continue to bump the FSB and Vcore up I can load windows at 3.8 but it crashes within 30 seconds of windows.

 

[Ghost Child]

Hi, Great thread on OC.

I just put together a new system and I can't get the processor to OC even a small amount. It will amost always POST, but as soon as I try to move the mouse or open a progrma it fails. On occasions, at the default setting while game playing, it does lock. I have monitored the temps and all is appears well. As a point of reference, I can underclock it just fine.

Here is the config.

MB: ASUS Extreme Striker.
Processor: E6850 Intel C2D w/ Zalman 9500 cooler.
Memory: 2 x DDR2 PC2-6400, 4-4-4-12, Crucial Balistic Memory.
Video: 2 x GForce 8800FT SLI

I'm trying to determine what steps I should take to determine if the problem is the memory or the Processor? I have ruled out the MB as I had an EVGA MB before and it had the same problem, but it developed a problem and since they are not available at the moment, I exchanged it for the Striker.

Any thoughts?

 

[graysky]

Have you boosted the vcore manually as you attempted the o/c settings? Drop your mem down to 1:1 and try 9x333 @ a high vcore (look up your chip on processorfinder.intel.com and see what the max recommended is and use it). I have no experience with that board.

 

[Ghost Child]

Originally posted by: graysky
Have you boosted the vcore manually as you attempted the o/c settings? Drop your mem down to 1:1 and try 9x333 @ a high vcore (look up your chip on processorfinder.intel.com and see what the max recommended is and use it). I have no experience with that board.

Interestingly enough, the package that the processor came in says on the Intel authentic lablel that the maximum voltage is 1.35 Volts, however, the link you provided says 1.5 V for the E6850.

I have the memory settings at 5,5,5,15 and the processor now at 3.375 GHz and 1.35V. So far I have it linked so it stays at 9. If I change any of the memory timings tighter, it becomes unstable, but I can drop the memory voltage down to 1.9V with no change in stability. I have the memory voltage at 2.2V, which is the max recommended. Does the NB or SB voltage play a part in this? If so, what might I safely move them to?
Suggested next step?

Thanks,

 

[zsero]

I've followed the guide and got the following SmallFTT stable results with a Q6600:
9*375 -> 1.300 Vcore load, 75C load with Ninja
9*385 -> 1.375 Vcore load, 85C load with ninja
That 9*375 was very easy to achieve, with very little vcore i could get it to that 3375Mhz.
What does it mean? It means that +10 Mhz FSB means +0.075V Vcore raising from that point (3375 Mhz) and my processor is now not reacting linearly but exponentially, meaning I have no chance for 3.6 with air? I tried 9*400 at 1.4V but my computer always restarted instantly, after 2 seconds of SmallFTT start. In that 2 seconds usually 1 core went into red error.

 

[graysky]

zsero - you said it: it's linear up to a point, and then temps increase at some polynomial function. My advice is to stay in the linear range BTW, lap that processor HS if you want better temp

 

[rockfella79]

The best OC online help i've ever come accross!!!

 

[jimbo29]

Hi guys, Great thread.

I am a complete noob when it comes to overclocking and am now trying to research how to do it.

I have read through the guide on the first page but the problem I have is finding where to input the settings on my rig??

I have an E2180 with an ASUS striker extreme motherboard and 4gb RAM. Unfortunately my BIOS has completely different options to the guide and I dont want to be messing around with settings I have no clue about.

Can anyone give me a guide on using the striker extreme to be able to clock to 3-3.2ghz.

Any help appreciated,

Jim.

 

[neosapien]

When it comes to minimizing your vcore, how low is too low? My CPU is a C2Q 6600 B3 with a 1.325 VID. I've been lowering its voltage in increments of 0.00625V using the Gigabyte Easytune 5 tool that came with my GA-P35-DS3L motherboard, then testing in prime95 for 5 minutes in small FFT mode, then lowering the voltage again to see how low it will go before it crashes, so I can bump up the voltage and get it stable. So far I'm at 1.09375V (CPU-Z says 1.026V), and haven't reached my crash voltage yet. This seems to me to be an extremely low voltage. Is it safe to continue lowering the voltage? If I continue my undervolting tests and go too low, could I end up damaging my processor?

 

[Ghost Child]

I have not found a specific guide for just the Stiker Extreme. Since other MB's such as EVGA etc. use the same NVIDIA chipset, the guides that you find for those will be somewhat similar.

 

[graysky]

Originally posted by: jimbo29I have read through the guide on the first page but the problem I have is finding where to input the settings on my rig??

Can anyone give me a guide on using the striker extreme to be able to clock to 3-3.2ghz.

Yeah, it's unfortunate that there aren't standards for the naming of the settings. I haven't seen that board before. Google is your friend when it comes to board settings. You should still be able to find the basic settings (FSB, multiplier, vcore, etc.) Which settings are specifically giving you troubles?

 

[graysky]

Originally posted by: neosapien
When it comes to minimizing your vcore, how low is too low? My CPU is a C2Q 6600 B3 with a 1.325 VID. I've been lowering its voltage in increments of 0.00625V using the Gigabyte Easytune 5 tool that came with my GA-P35-DS3L motherboard, then testing in prime95 for 5 minutes in small FFT mode, then lowering the voltage again to see how low it will go before it crashes, so I can bump up the voltage and get it stable. So far I'm at 1.09375V (CPU-Z says 1.026V), and haven't reached my crash voltage yet. This seems to me to be an extremely low voltage. Is it safe to continue lowering the voltage? If I continue my undervolting tests and go too low, could I end up damaging my processor?

My Q6600 is also a B3 that can run totally stable on the lowest vcore setting when running @ stock settings of 9x266. According to processorfinder.intel.com you can power a B3 on only 0.85 V. What is your FSB and multiplier setting? If you're anywhere around 9x333 and you're doing it on ~1 V something isn't right with your software!

 

[neosapien]

9x266. stock 2.4Ghz
You say your B3 runs totally stable on the lowest vcore setting at stock. What is your lowest vcore setting? Do you mean it runs totally stable at stock at 0.85V?

 

[sutahz]

I like this guide.
HELP, STICKY ME, I'm SLIPPING DOWN THE 'RANKS'!

 

[Idontcare]

Dear Mods,

Graysky's guides are the best I have ever seen. Extremely thorough and well documented.

I used this guide extensively these past 2 weeks as I assembled and overclocked multiple quad-systems.

I have an upcoming lapping job to do on one of the quads still and Graysky's lapping guide is giving me the info I need to prepare (as well as gain the courage) for that task as well.

Please sticky this thread so future forum friends can easily find it. It is a keeper. Thanks for your consideration on this matter.

Regards,
Idontcare

 

[graysky]

Originally posted by: neosapien
9x266. stock 2.4Ghz
You say your B3 runs totally stable on the lowest vcore setting at stock. What is your lowest vcore setting? Do you mean it runs totally stable at stock at 0.85V?

My BIOS only goes to 1.0000V and it's perfectly stable at that level (9x266).

 

[graysky]

@Idontcare - thanks for the kind words and I'm glad people are still getting some mileage out of my posts

 

[PCTC2]

woah. a sticky is dropping.

 

[graysky]

smoke just re-stuck it, thanks for pointing this out guys

 

[MaKeOuT]

Graysky,

First, I'd like to thank you for the tutorial as it answered many of my questions. Let me give you my problem and maybe you or someone else has a fix for me. When trying to boot, I get to the screen that says ASUS and has the options of hitting delete to enter bios or hitting tab to enter post message or just hit nothing and it normally goes to windows. The problem is that it just sits at this screen now...I try to hit delete or tab and I get no response. after about 30-60 seconds my keyboard doesnt respond to me, i.e. the caps lock wont change, num lock either.

Here is the background and why I believe I am in this situation...I have a Q6600 G0 revision and ASUS P5N-E SLI mobo using zalman 9500. Two weeks ago I used my AI overclock feature and slowly bumped it up to 20%. This feature uses the mobo's manufacturers own settings, all I do is enter 20% and it does the rest. So here I am running at 2.88GHz with multi of 9 and everything seems fine but im not satisfied. I want to do a manual and oc it to 3GHz so I set everything back to factory 2.4GHz and leave it alone until I could do some reading. Last night I followed this guide ---> http://forums.anandtech.com/me...=2057083&enterthread=y
and first went to 2.45GHz. Again, I followed the guide and left voltages to auto and tried to do everything else mentioned for the mean time. I then went to 2.6GHz using fsb:ram 1:1, multi of 9X (although my bios allows me to make this higher) right now. Everything seems fine at this point. I believe my mistake happens because I upped my fsb in too big of a step. I went from 2.6GHz and attempted to go to 3GHz directly so I upped my fsb to 333MHz, multi of 9, DDR2 memory at 667MHz and voltages set to auto. Now I am to the point where I cannot access bios and im stuck. I am really hoping I can do something to reset the bios. I did backup my bios using my flash drive if that helps. I dunno if taking out that battery will work. I just dont want to try anything now until I get some advice from someone knowledgeable. I am afraid I f'd up bad and ruined my mobo but I still have hope.

Thanks for anything you guys can do.

 

[Idontcare]

Originally posted by: MaKeOuT
Graysky,

First, I'd like to thank you for the tutorial as it answered many of my questions. Let me give you my problem and maybe you or someone else has a fix for me. When trying to boot, I get to the screen that says ASUS and has the options of hitting delete to enter bios or hitting tab to enter post message or just hit nothing and it normally goes to windows. The problem is that it just sits at this screen now...I try to hit delete or tab and I get no response. after about 30-60 seconds my keyboard doesnt respond to me, i.e. the caps lock wont change, num lock either.

Here is the background and why I believe I am in this situation...I have a Q6600 G0 revision and ASUS P5N-E SLI mobo using zalman 9500. Two weeks ago I used my AI overclock feature and slowly bumped it up to 20%. This feature uses the mobo's manufacturers own settings, all I do is enter 20% and it does the rest. So here I am running at 2.88GHz with multi of 9 and everything seems fine but im not satisfied. I want to do a manual and oc it to 3GHz so I set everything back to factory 2.4GHz and leave it alone until I could do some reading. Last night I followed this guide ---> http://forums.anandtech.com/me...=2057083&enterthread=y
and first went to 2.45GHz. Again, I followed the guide and left voltages to auto and tried to do everything else mentioned for the mean time. I then went to 2.6GHz using fsb:ram 1:1, multi of 9X (although my bios allows me to make this higher) right now. Everything seems fine at this point. I believe my mistake happens because I upped my fsb in too big of a step. I went from 2.6GHz and attempted to go to 3GHz directly so I upped my fsb to 333MHz, multi of 9, DDR2 memory at 667MHz and voltages set to auto. Now I am to the point where I cannot access bios and im stuck. I am really hoping I can do something to reset the bios. I did backup my bios using my flash drive if that helps. I dunno if taking out that battery will work. I just dont want to try anything now until I get some advice from someone knowledgeable. I am afraid I f'd up bad and ruined my mobo but I still have hope.

Thanks for anything you guys can do.

The most sensible thing to do for starters would be to "clear the CMOS".

Do you know what this means? If you have the mobo manual or if you look online for a copy of the mobo manual (check ASUS website) you should find very clear directions on where your "clear CMOS" switch is located on the motherboard.

Clearing your CMOS will likely get you back to your original "default" computer settings so you can start the fun all over again. (don't forget to unplug the computer from the electrical socket at the wall before doing this)

 

[Cheezeit]

Originally posted by: Idontcare

Originally posted by: MaKeOuT
Graysky,

First, I'd like to thank you for the tutorial as it answered many of my questions. Let me give you my problem and maybe you or someone else has a fix for me. When trying to boot, I get to the screen that says ASUS and has the options of hitting delete to enter bios or hitting tab to enter post message or just hit nothing and it normally goes to windows. The problem is that it just sits at this screen now...I try to hit delete or tab and I get no response. after about 30-60 seconds my keyboard doesnt respond to me, i.e. the caps lock wont change, num lock either.

Here is the background and why I believe I am in this situation...I have a Q6600 G0 revision and ASUS P5N-E SLI mobo using zalman 9500. Two weeks ago I used my AI overclock feature and slowly bumped it up to 20%. This feature uses the mobo's manufacturers own settings, all I do is enter 20% and it does the rest. So here I am running at 2.88GHz with multi of 9 and everything seems fine but im not satisfied. I want to do a manual and oc it to 3GHz so I set everything back to factory 2.4GHz and leave it alone until I could do some reading. Last night I followed this guide ---> http://forums.anandtech.com/me...=2057083&enterthread=y
and first went to 2.45GHz. Again, I followed the guide and left voltages to auto and tried to do everything else mentioned for the mean time. I then went to 2.6GHz using fsb:ram 1:1, multi of 9X (although my bios allows me to make this higher) right now. Everything seems fine at this point. I believe my mistake happens because I upped my fsb in too big of a step. I went from 2.6GHz and attempted to go to 3GHz directly so I upped my fsb to 333MHz, multi of 9, DDR2 memory at 667MHz and voltages set to auto. Now I am to the point where I cannot access bios and im stuck. I am really hoping I can do something to reset the bios. I did backup my bios using my flash drive if that helps. I dunno if taking out that battery will work. I just dont want to try anything now until I get some advice from someone knowledgeable. I am afraid I f'd up bad and ruined my mobo but I still have hope.

Thanks for anything you guys can do.

The most sensible thing to do for starters would be to "clear the CMOS".

Do you know what this means? If you have the mobo manual or if you look online for a copy of the mobo manual (check ASUS website) you should find very clear directions on where your "clear CMOS" switch is located on the motherboard.

Clearing your CMOS will likely get you back to your original "default" computer settings so you can start the fun all over again. (don't forget to unplug the computer from the electrical socket at the wall before doing this)

Yep, all you have to do is clear CMOS. Most of the time it is just two pins sticking out of the motherboard close to the battery. Use a jumper if you have one, but you just need to short it for a few seconds with something, such as a screwdriver. If that doesn't work, take out the BIOS battery as well.

 

[MaKeOuT]

cool guys thanks...im glad this is easy because i have done it many times since the first because i still keep hanging when i get to 3GHz. I have it now at 2.9GHz and stable with vcore 1.25V...is it possible that my mobo wont let me clock this quad higher? mobo is asus p5n-e sli.

 

[Idontcare]

Originally posted by: MaKeOuT
cool guys thanks...im glad this is easy because i have done it many times since the first because i still keep hanging when i get to 3GHz. I have it now at 2.9GHz and stable with vcore 1.25V...is it possible that my mobo wont let me clock this quad higher? mobo is asus p5n-e sli.

If you are not increasing your Vcore then yes it is very likely that 2.9GHz is the max stable overclock you are going to get.

Have you tried higher Vcore (upwards of 1.35V) and if you then make sure your temps stay reasonable (<70C).