MSI P45-C51 and Q9650 OC woes

[dkm777]

I've been trying to overclock my Q9650 lately with little success. It won't POST at anything above stock FSB if I play with the voltages at all, but leaving everything at "Auto" I managed to reach 400MHz FSB and prime95 didn't throw any errors when I left it overnight, but... Windows won't boot successfully every time. It's either a straight reboot before the startup animation completes or a BSOD right before the Login screen is supposed to appear. However, when it does boot from about third time, everything is rock stable. Relevant components are as follows:

MSI P45-C51
Q9650 + Scythe Yasya
2x2GB Crucial DDR3 1333MHz CL9
Seasonic X-Series 750W
Fractal Design Define R3 with 2x intake Gentle Typhoons 1150RPM and Nexus Real Silent 120mm exhaust

I'm suspecting either the northbridge overheating, RAM or CPU power delivery circuit, because when running at stock speeds I can set these voltages and still be stable:
CPU: 1.223V (CPU-Z and SpeedFan report 1.18V under full load)
DRAM: 1.50
NB: 1.00V
VTT FSB: 1.05V
ICH: 1.50V

What do you think can be done about this? Or should I forget OC'ing altogether? (the problem with that is that I read in other forums about people getting their Q9650 to 4GHz with this mobo)

 

[dkm777]

Bump and I think I found my problem. The VR mosfets were extremely hot. Going to stick VRAM heatsinks onto them and see how it goes. Also, should I attach heatsinks to the chokes as well?

 

[dkm777]

Final status update: the heatsinks I had lying around weren't big enough and the MOSFETs are still running too hot for my linking, so I ordered some beefier ones. But they at least took care of my booting problems. Lesson learned - never buy a mobo without proper VRM cooling if you intend to overclock.