Most are hidden. Go to the Advanced page, and look at the JumperFree Configuration setting. It is most likely set to Auto.
Change this to Manual, and you will see a number of new options for CPU frequency, DRAM frequency, and voltages.
And if you're fixing RAM, you want to look at the Advanced page's Chipset settings. Yours likely has Configure DRAM Timing by SPD set to Enabled. Set it to Disabled, and you can now tinker with memory timings.
And finally, in the Advanced page's CPU Configuration settings, you can set your CPU multiplier. And be sure to disable Enhanced C1 Control and Intel Speedstep tech. there.
And finally, disable Hyper Path 3 in the Advanced -> Chipset settings. That one caused me problems early on.
Just a quick note on the temps - make sure you state your ambient room temperatures.
For example, my computer lab stays at 64F year-round. That's about 18C. So I couldn't compare temperatures I receive with someone (with an identical configuration) whose room is say 22 or 24C.
For example, my computer lab stays at 64F year-round. That's about 18C. So I couldn't compare temperatures I receive with someone (with an identical configuration) whose room is say 22 or 24C.
Hey InterMurph,
Have you used the Ai Booster app any for tweaking your overclocking settings? I used it little last night and found a few cases where, after applying my changes, it failed to close out and reboot my system. I'm wondering if it is a rather flaky application and if it is simply best to edit all values directly in the BIOS. It seems you'd be just as well off since a reboot is needed anyway.
Also, as I've been thinking about my system today, one thing I remembered is that ASUS Probe did not report the RPMs for both front and rear chassis fans. I forget which one it did report on, and I don't recall looking to ensure the front fan was running, but I know the rear one was. In any case, the Gigabyte case that I have has the case wiring routed for a clean layout, with the rear fan power cable tied into the front one and thus a single connector being all that is needed to the mobo. But, do you...or anyone else here...know if using a single fan header on the mobo would prevent one of the two chassis fans from being monitored, or perhaps even controlled properly? If one is running slower than normal, that could account for my higher board temps. I do know the front fan is obstructed by the drive cage, so the flow of air isn't as strong through the case as it could be...I may explore adding another fan inside somewhere.
Thanks,
Daryl
Have you used the Ai Booster app any for tweaking your overclocking settings? I used it little last night and found a few cases where, after applying my changes, it failed to close out and reboot my system. I'm wondering if it is a rather flaky application and if it is simply best to edit all values directly in the BIOS. It seems you'd be just as well off since a reboot is needed anyway.
Also, as I've been thinking about my system today, one thing I remembered is that ASUS Probe did not report the RPMs for both front and rear chassis fans. I forget which one it did report on, and I don't recall looking to ensure the front fan was running, but I know the rear one was. In any case, the Gigabyte case that I have has the case wiring routed for a clean layout, with the rear fan power cable tied into the front one and thus a single connector being all that is needed to the mobo. But, do you...or anyone else here...know if using a single fan header on the mobo would prevent one of the two chassis fans from being monitored, or perhaps even controlled properly? If one is running slower than normal, that could account for my higher board temps. I do know the front fan is obstructed by the drive cage, so the flow of air isn't as strong through the case as it could be...I may explore adding another fan inside somewhere.
Thanks,
Daryl
I would stay away from AI Booster and focus on BIOS settings. I did install it at one point, and once Windows booted and started it up, my system rebooted every time.
And I don't know about the fans. I have an Antec P180 case, and its two 120mm fans have three-position switches on them; low, medium, and high. I put them both on high, and they are humming away.
And I don't know about the fans. I have an Antec P180 case, and its two 120mm fans have three-position switches on them; low, medium, and high. I put them both on high, and they are humming away.
What FSB, etc settings would you recommend for an e6600 system with DDR2-800 RAM? I have the same case, btw.
Beats me. If you send me an E6600, I'll spend some time on it, though.
But here is an article I found about overclocking an E6300 that you might find helpful:
Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 + ASUS P5W DH Deluxe: Ideal Mainstream Platform?
Basically, they get an E6300 up to 2.94 GHz (the X6800 stock speed, by the way) by cranking the FSB up to 420 MHz.
I would recommend one thing, though: whatever you get the FSB to, run the memory at twice that, and then get the timings as low as possible at that speed. In my case, I got the FSB pu to 370 MHz, and I run the memory at DDR2-740. Something about the 1:1 ratio (yes, it seems like a 2:1 ratio, but it's really 1:1; check CPU-Z's Memory tab) makes the RAM really fast.
I would hope you mean run a 1:1 CPU:RAM ratio but with the DDR (double data rate) RAM doing twice the FSB. Especially since he only has DDR2-800 which at 1:2 would mean a max FSB of 200mhz which is below the stock speed of the Core 2 Duos
In all honesty, I don't really know what I mean, or what you just said.
All I know is that the best memory performance is achieved by 1) pushing the FSB as high as possible (370 MHz in my case), then 2) running the memory at DDR2-[FSB * 2] (DDR2-740 in my case), then 3) lowering the memory timing parameters as much as possible.
When you do that, CPU-Z's memory tab says:
Frequency 370 MHz
FSB
RAM 1:1This "1:1" ratio has the FSB frequency as the first 1, and then (DDR2-Frequency) / 2 as the second 1. Not (DDR2-Frequency), as an uninitiated person might expect.
So his ideal configuration would be to run the FSB at 400 MHz, then run the memory at DDR2-800. For a 1:1 ratio. Even though 400:800 is 1:2, which is confusing.
Dadofamunky
Platinum Member
- Jan 4, 2005
- 2,184
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Based on these results, I convinced my boss to buy us some E6700 systems. For some reason, he wouldn't spring for the X6800 and OC motherboards...
Live and Learn! Or....don't I feel like a dummy!
It seems the issue with my 1.6GHz Core 2 Extreme, was that I simply failed to change the CPU multiplier in the BIOS for the ASUS P5W DH. Over the years, I can't recall using BIOS that wasn't purely menu driven, so when I failed to see any menu for the CPU multiplier I assumed it was somehow derived from other settings. It never occurred to me that the white text (as opposed to blue) was indicative of a data entry fild. Type in 10...save, reboot, and wham!...2.93GHz as expected! It couldn't have been simpler.
After this, I ran a rather simple "benchmark" for Photoshop CS2, wherein an 8x10 blank image at 300ppi has uniform monochromatic noise added at 400% and the application of a Radial Blur (amount 100, spin, best quality) is then timed. At 2.93GHz, FSB1066, DDR2-1066, I obtained a time of 48 seconds. I then selected one of the canned overclocking profiles in the BIOS (FSB1200, DDR2-800 I think) which yielded a 3.3GHz operating speed and turned in a 42 second benchmark time. A 12.5% performance gain for a rather gentle overclocking by also, approximately 12.5% (coincidental?). So, this is looking pretty good.
Temperatures remained about the same as previously noted, with the CPU temp ranging from 24-31°C and the mainboard temp from 44-51°C. I don't know how "hot" that mainboard temperature is considered to be, but I'd like to improve the cooling of my system. I'm not sure yet how best to approach that but my Gigabyte case has no additional front/rear fan mounting options. As the front fan is blowing across side-installed hard drives which greatly impede the air flow into the chassis, I think I'll move my 7200rmp Seagate drive up to another bay although there is no fan for it. That will improve air flow around my 2 Raptors while also allowing more air to flow through into the mainboard area. But, the DDR2 memory gets quite warm too and no doubt contributes quite a bit of heat to the interior. I installed the case window that was provided with the case, but I may remove it and replace the black mesh grille originally installed, so as to provide more ventilation and possibly a mounting point for another fan. Speaking of fans, the two currently installed are very quiet 120mm fans, the rear one being an Enlobal that I bought to try out...truly quiet! So, the Everflow fan which was there could be moved to the side grill area.
Photos of my new rig can be seen at http://ambress.com/pc, and any suggestions are welcome.
Daryl
It seems the issue with my 1.6GHz Core 2 Extreme, was that I simply failed to change the CPU multiplier in the BIOS for the ASUS P5W DH. Over the years, I can't recall using BIOS that wasn't purely menu driven, so when I failed to see any menu for the CPU multiplier I assumed it was somehow derived from other settings. It never occurred to me that the white text (as opposed to blue) was indicative of a data entry fild. Type in 10...save, reboot, and wham!...2.93GHz as expected! It couldn't have been simpler.
After this, I ran a rather simple "benchmark" for Photoshop CS2, wherein an 8x10 blank image at 300ppi has uniform monochromatic noise added at 400% and the application of a Radial Blur (amount 100, spin, best quality) is then timed. At 2.93GHz, FSB1066, DDR2-1066, I obtained a time of 48 seconds. I then selected one of the canned overclocking profiles in the BIOS (FSB1200, DDR2-800 I think) which yielded a 3.3GHz operating speed and turned in a 42 second benchmark time. A 12.5% performance gain for a rather gentle overclocking by also, approximately 12.5% (coincidental?). So, this is looking pretty good.
Temperatures remained about the same as previously noted, with the CPU temp ranging from 24-31°C and the mainboard temp from 44-51°C. I don't know how "hot" that mainboard temperature is considered to be, but I'd like to improve the cooling of my system. I'm not sure yet how best to approach that but my Gigabyte case has no additional front/rear fan mounting options. As the front fan is blowing across side-installed hard drives which greatly impede the air flow into the chassis, I think I'll move my 7200rmp Seagate drive up to another bay although there is no fan for it. That will improve air flow around my 2 Raptors while also allowing more air to flow through into the mainboard area. But, the DDR2 memory gets quite warm too and no doubt contributes quite a bit of heat to the interior. I installed the case window that was provided with the case, but I may remove it and replace the black mesh grille originally installed, so as to provide more ventilation and possibly a mounting point for another fan. Speaking of fans, the two currently installed are very quiet 120mm fans, the rear one being an Enlobal that I bought to try out...truly quiet! So, the Everflow fan which was there could be moved to the side grill area.
Photos of my new rig can be seen at http://ambress.com/pc, and any suggestions are welcome.
Daryl
Ambress, at this point I would be embarassed by a 3.3 GHz CPU speed...
Just kidding, of course. But you should be able to get to 3.6 GHz fairly easily. And once you start tinkering with the memory timings (see the second post on this page), you can speed up your memory substantially from the default SPD timings.
Just be sure to disable all of the things mentioned elsewhere in this thread (Enhanced C1 Control, SpeedStep, and HyperPath 3).
Just kidding, of course. But you should be able to get to 3.6 GHz fairly easily. And once you start tinkering with the memory timings (see the second post on this page), you can speed up your memory substantially from the default SPD timings.
Just be sure to disable all of the things mentioned elsewhere in this thread (Enhanced C1 Control, SpeedStep, and HyperPath 3).
Oh I definitely plan to explore higher performance overclocking, but first I'd like to see what I can do to improve cooling some. I'm clueless as to what would truly be considered too hot for good system stability and component life, but your numbers with the P180 case lead me to think that there is room for improvement for an air-cooled system.
Your info in this thread has definitely been helpful InterMurph...thanks!
Daryl
Your info in this thread has definitely been helpful InterMurph...thanks!
Daryl
OK, I think I'm happy for now with how I've wired and cooled the interior of my Poseidon X6800 system rig. Via nothing more than a CPU multiplier change from 11 to 13 on FSB266, I'm running at 3.46 GHz. The memory is at DDR1066 with 4-4-4-12 timing. I'll fiddle with some more aggressive overclocking this weekend as for now, I was more interested in getting temps down.
My Gigabye Poseidon case doesn't have the most effective cooling, as the side-mounted at the bottom front really obstructs the forward fan's air flow. Meanwhile the rear fan is in the top half of the case and I really don't think the diagonal airflow is very strong. The DDRAM gets quite warm and obviously contributes quite a bit of heat, so I wanted to tackle that. My makeshift solution was small fan to which I attached the Powermate 2 controller from the Zallman cooler...the cooler quiet enough that a controller wasn't needed in my opinion and the mobo already in control of the fan speed anyway. So, with a bit of strong hi-temp velcro, I mounted the small fan to the side of the case so that it would direct airflow directly along the memory. I found the heat spreaders noticeably cooler to the touch after a period of time. Oh, and I also moved the Seagate hard drive from the lower bay up to another bay so that the two Raptors in the lower bay could be moved apart and get better cooling from the forward fan. That didn't boost airflow into the interior very much, but it did help.
I was curious about the Enlobal fans and bought one which I'd originally swapped out with the Everflow fan mounted in the rear of the case. But as the Enlobal had a longer power cord on it and I liked the blue LED lighting of the Everflow which was designed for the case with a short power cable, I put the Everflow back as the rear fan and then just stood the Enlobal on edge on the floor of the case, again attaching it with velcrco. This may not be the prettiest solution for cooling, but with the small fan reduced to about 50-75% speed, it runs rather quiet and the Enlobal fan is virtually silent. Together, these two fans seem to have improved the air flow internally, and I'm now seeing the CPU temp around 24-27°C and the mainboard temp around 33-35°C that I'm happy with. Under load, such as when I ran Super PI this morning, both CPU and mainboard temps were at 42°C during the 16M calculation...which took 7 mins 22 secs.
Now, it's time to get on with installing all my software and then return to exploring the overclocking some more.
This is fun.
Daryl
My Gigabye Poseidon case doesn't have the most effective cooling, as the side-mounted at the bottom front really obstructs the forward fan's air flow. Meanwhile the rear fan is in the top half of the case and I really don't think the diagonal airflow is very strong. The DDRAM gets quite warm and obviously contributes quite a bit of heat, so I wanted to tackle that. My makeshift solution was small fan to which I attached the Powermate 2 controller from the Zallman cooler...the cooler quiet enough that a controller wasn't needed in my opinion and the mobo already in control of the fan speed anyway. So, with a bit of strong hi-temp velcro, I mounted the small fan to the side of the case so that it would direct airflow directly along the memory. I found the heat spreaders noticeably cooler to the touch after a period of time. Oh, and I also moved the Seagate hard drive from the lower bay up to another bay so that the two Raptors in the lower bay could be moved apart and get better cooling from the forward fan. That didn't boost airflow into the interior very much, but it did help.
I was curious about the Enlobal fans and bought one which I'd originally swapped out with the Everflow fan mounted in the rear of the case. But as the Enlobal had a longer power cord on it and I liked the blue LED lighting of the Everflow which was designed for the case with a short power cable, I put the Everflow back as the rear fan and then just stood the Enlobal on edge on the floor of the case, again attaching it with velcrco. This may not be the prettiest solution for cooling, but with the small fan reduced to about 50-75% speed, it runs rather quiet and the Enlobal fan is virtually silent. Together, these two fans seem to have improved the air flow internally, and I'm now seeing the CPU temp around 24-27°C and the mainboard temp around 33-35°C that I'm happy with. Under load, such as when I ran Super PI this morning, both CPU and mainboard temps were at 42°C during the 16M calculation...which took 7 mins 22 secs.
Now, it's time to get on with installing all my software and then return to exploring the overclocking some more.
This is fun.
Daryl
Ambress, before you declare victory on DDR2-1066 at 4-4-4-12, you should run MemTest86+ on it for at least 4 hours.
At various times during my tinkering, I arrived at what I thought was a stable memory configuration at DDR-1066, only to find that MemTest86+ produced errors.
That's why I am running at DDR2-740 now; MemTest86+ runs overnight at that speed.
At various times during my tinkering, I arrived at what I thought was a stable memory configuration at DDR-1066, only to find that MemTest86+ produced errors.
That's why I am running at DDR2-740 now; MemTest86+ runs overnight at that speed.
blckgrffn
Diamond Member
Oh, no doubt about it InterMurph, my results are by no means solid yet...just a quick look. Somewhere yesterday I read a review of the Corsair 8500C5 DDRAM2 memory and it was reportedly working well for the author at 4-4-4-12. I don't recall for certain that they were running at FSB1066, but I think so. So, I just set that up to see if I'd have any obvious problems, after a reboot and there were none. 15 minutes of observation before leaving for work doesn't mean too much though.
Daryl
Daryl
Another Final Update
OK, I couldn't stop tinkering, and I fine-tuned my configuration. Now the FSB runs at 378 MHz, for a CPU speed of 3.78 GHz. The memory is running at DDR2-756. Memtest86+ ran for 24 hours at 3-3-3-8 timings; it has now run for an hour at 3-3-3-7. Any time I try to change one of those 3s to a 2, it won't POST. So I think I'm pretty near the limit on my RAM at this FSB with a 1:1 ratio.
If I find more time this weekend, I'm going to see what happens when I increase the memory speed at this FSB by abandoning the 1:1 ratio. This memory should run at DDR2=1066; I want to see what timings are reqired, and compare my bencharks to my current config.
OK, I couldn't stop tinkering, and I fine-tuned my configuration. Now the FSB runs at 378 MHz, for a CPU speed of 3.78 GHz. The memory is running at DDR2-756. Memtest86+ ran for 24 hours at 3-3-3-8 timings; it has now run for an hour at 3-3-3-7. Any time I try to change one of those 3s to a 2, it won't POST. So I think I'm pretty near the limit on my RAM at this FSB with a 1:1 ratio.
If I find more time this weekend, I'm going to see what happens when I increase the memory speed at this FSB by abandoning the 1:1 ratio. This memory should run at DDR2=1066; I want to see what timings are reqired, and compare my bencharks to my current config.
According to this chart from Anand's Conroe Buying Guide review, they got this Corsair memory to run at DDR2-1067 using 4-4-4-12 timings, 2.2V, and a 1:2 ratio. That means that the FSB was 266 MHz.
But every time I try this, I get MemTest86+ failures right away.
I have read elsewhere that people have had success running DDR2-1066 if they set the memory timings to Auto/SPD. I think this ends up at 6-6-6-20, or something ridiculous like that.
Hi InterMurph,
Well, congratulations on the 3.78GHz speed....that sounds pretty darn good to me. I've never read through this thread from start to the current end, but I see you started in the same boat as I did, with no overclocking experience. It seems you've learned a lot on the way and I'm glad I've got the benefit of feeding off your experience to help ease my own growing pains.
I still have yet to sit down and really study how all the multpliers and bus speeds and such interrelate, or how/why it is that a 1:1 bus speed:memory speed would be the fastest way of operating the memory, but it does seem reasonable to expect that. I just need to find some good material to review, which may well even exist here at Anandtech.
I'm sure you've read many of the same reviews that I have, and Virtual-Hideout is one where the author says he got a stable 1080Mhz at 2.2v and 5-5-5-15, based upon an overnight run of Prime95. The other review that I liked for the content of it, was at CPU3D, http://www.cpu3d.com/pc_components/corsair_xms2_pc2-8500_ddr2_1gb_kit.html, where they spoke of running at 4-4-4-12 with "rock solid stability", yet I'm uncertain if this was at FSB1066 or not; I'm thinking not.
As you, I'd like to think that if I spend the $$$ for PC8500 DDRAM, then I could run it at its full-spec speed. But, maybe for some overclocking, you simply have to run it at lower speeds while ramping up other numbers to still get a high overclock.
Anyway, congrats on your effort and thanks for all you've shared here.
Regards,
Daryl
Well, congratulations on the 3.78GHz speed....that sounds pretty darn good to me. I've never read through this thread from start to the current end, but I see you started in the same boat as I did, with no overclocking experience. It seems you've learned a lot on the way and I'm glad I've got the benefit of feeding off your experience to help ease my own growing pains.
I still have yet to sit down and really study how all the multpliers and bus speeds and such interrelate, or how/why it is that a 1:1 bus speed:memory speed would be the fastest way of operating the memory, but it does seem reasonable to expect that. I just need to find some good material to review, which may well even exist here at Anandtech.
I'm sure you've read many of the same reviews that I have, and Virtual-Hideout is one where the author says he got a stable 1080Mhz at 2.2v and 5-5-5-15, based upon an overnight run of Prime95. The other review that I liked for the content of it, was at CPU3D, http://www.cpu3d.com/pc_components/corsair_xms2_pc2-8500_ddr2_1gb_kit.html, where they spoke of running at 4-4-4-12 with "rock solid stability", yet I'm uncertain if this was at FSB1066 or not; I'm thinking not.
As you, I'd like to think that if I spend the $$$ for PC8500 DDRAM, then I could run it at its full-spec speed. But, maybe for some overclocking, you simply have to run it at lower speeds while ramping up other numbers to still get a high overclock.
Anyway, congrats on your effort and thanks for all you've shared here.
Regards,
Daryl
Murph, I see you took my advice and tried lowering the memory speed and got stability. The reason you could not get superpi to run much past 8m is that you are using air cooling and the conroe chip needs to run cooler to be stable. You need to step up to water cooling or some type of phase cooling and improve your chipset cooling. I used a northpole cooler on my northbridge, and that lowered the temp by 10 degrees. The crappy heatpipe setup on the northbridge just does not cut it. Also as you saw, you ran the memory at 667 and got 7100 or so, and at 1066 you got 8100. Not much improvement at twice the speed (mainly due to latency and the way the core2 works). Stick with slower 2:1 memory ratio and play with the fsb. I had to increase the cpu voltage to 1.41 and gained some stability but not 100%. You need to up the northbridge voltage, improve the cooling and you will gain success. I also think it has to do with the bios, and as asus improves it, stability will come. I seem to only be able to get 100% stability up to 3.52ghz, after that the best I got was maybe 95%. Murph, read this, kind of confusing but explains why different memory to bus ratios work and peform.
Noushy
Noushy
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