Overclocking an E8400 on stock cooler

[MoxJr]

Hi I am new here and this is my first post; I have tried to do some reading on these forums to save repeat questions.

I am wondering what is the limit I should try on my E8400 with the stock cooler, and is it possible to gain a little bit of bump without changing the voltage at all? Can I achieve between 3-3.5 Ghz by just increasing the FSB and keeping the voltage closer to 1.20 V? If I do need to increase the voltage a bit, I am hoping the stock cooler will be okay.

Please share your experience with the stock cooler on an E8400 or similar CPU.

Thanks

 

[LOUISSSSS]

all we can tell u is to try. raise ur vcore to 1.2v and fsb to 400mhz and test. then report back with results and temps

 

[Rebel50]

Should be OK with the stock cooler - I am using the stock intel cooler (ex E6750) and I am running my E8400 at 9x400 - 3.6ghz.

I did need to manually set the vcore to 1.25 for stability. Temps are 40 deg idle and 58 deg under load (OCCT etc)

The temps normally dont go above 45 deg for general PC use and gaming, which is safe for an E8400.

If I increase the speed above 3.6, I need more vcore and the temps under load hover near 70 deg.

Hope this helps

 

[Drsignguy]

You should be ok but you should watch your ( load ) temps carefully. If you keep them around 65c ish no matter what your OC is, Thats about your safe limit.

 

[MoxJr]

Update:

Alright I achieved 3.6ghz by just upping the FSB to 400mhz and set the voltage to 1.2V.

Average core temp was about 66 C at 100% load.

Ran Prime95 for almost 20 minutes until I got this...

Prime95 Screen Shot

Any suggestions?
Thanks

 

[Drsignguy]

Yes, looks like you need a voltage increase. Bump it up a notch and try again. Temps are pushing it with a stock cooler so, keep an eye on them.

If you have to bump up the voltage to far to get to 3.6, you might want to consider leaving the voltage at 1.2 and clocking down to 3.5 to keep your temps in check...I wouldn't pass 70c and to have room, 65c is probably better.

 

[MoxJr]

I just increased the voltage to 1.25V and it started running around 73c at full load... then failed around 8 minutes into the test... =(

I'll keep trying.

 

[Drsignguy]

I wouldn't push it much further.....Try backing the fsb down until you get a better HS...


BTW: is your ram set to 1:1 ratio? If not, set it there and make sure it is not the cause of your OC errors.

 

[MoxJr]

Originally posted by: Drsignguy
I wouldn't push it much further.....Try backing the fsb down until you get a better HS...


BTW: is your ram set to 1:1 ratio? If not, set it there and make sure it is not the cause of your OC errors.

Nope, my ram is not set at 1:1 ratio. Does it have to be?

I think i set my ram at 1000mhz (on the bios I could only get it to 999mhz) when I played with my FSB between 350-400mhz.

Also, I just tried setting the voltage at 1.2V and 350mhz FSB and it did better on the stress test, but it still failed after about 3 hours.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Set the RAM to twice the CPU reference frequency -- each time you increase the frequency at 5 Mhz intervals moving up from a stable over-clock that can pass 1 to 2 hours PRIME95 -- until you get a core to fail (as you did) within an hour's time.

That is, the RAM frequency should be 350 Mhz if the CPU frequency is 350 Mhz, but the DDR speed or frequency should be 700 Mhz for such a setting. Leave the RAM timings loose until you find the limit of the CPU for some reasonable voltage limit.

This is all subjective, but I would find a "set" voltage (your choice in BIOS) -- whatever it is -- so that the reported value in BIOS monitor or Windows (i.e., a program like Everest Ultimate or CPU-Z) is about 1.27V.

With the vDroop characteristic of a good motherboard under load, this would probably leave you with 1.25 to 1.26V under load. 1.26V is the retail-box "Maximum voltage" spec for that processor.

But first, get an aftermarket cooler like the TR Ultra 120 Extreme, the TR Ultima 90, the Noctua NH-U12P, the OCZ Vendetta 2, etc. etc.

 

[Drsignguy]

Originally posted by: MoxJr

Originally posted by: Drsignguy
I wouldn't push it much further.....Try backing the fsb down until you get a better HS...


BTW: is your ram set to 1:1 ratio? If not, set it there and make sure it is not the cause of your OC errors.

Nope, my ram is not set at 1:1 ratio. Does it have to be?
I think i set my ram at 1000mhz (on the bios I could only get it to 999mhz) when I played with my FSB between 350-400mhz.

Also, I just tried setting the voltage at 1.2V and 350mhz FSB and it did better on the stress test, but it still failed after about 3 hours.

Well it don't have to be but if you want to over clock and gain stability then its wise to drop it.

As BonzaiDuck suggests, in his post, it is better to drop the ram to a lower ratio to remove it from the over clocking equation. Follow his information about voltages and this will help you attain a better over clock.

 

[polarbear6]

i think iam very famous for this post (i said may be I SAID MAY BE)
well the thing is iam also running my e8400 on 3.6 ghz
but the thing is i have never used torture test and i dont think u will make it thru
well i never made it thru using stock cooling

try to keep the temps below 60

 

[AmberClad]

OP sent me a PM asking about OCing this CPU+board combo and pointed me to this thread.

- I did update the BIOS (to revision 1306), but it wasn't for OCing reasons. I wasn't sure if the stock BIOS that the board ships with was compatible with E0 stepping processors, and I didn't want to find out that it wasn't after I had already taken my old E6600 out and popped in the E8400.

- What stepping is your E8400? C0? Or E0? The C0s seem to have a lower max OC, and require a bit more voltage than an E0.

- Have you set your RAM voltage correctly? If you're running 1:1 (which you're not), then you probably won't require additional vRAM since you're staying at or under DDR2-800 speed. Higher than that will probably require some increase in vRAM.

 

[MoxJr]

Thanks for the replies,

The stepping on my E8400 is E0.

I am not sure if I am setting some of the things in my bios correctly, so I have uploaded a few pictures of my bios settings. I followed the sticky on the top of this forum on how to OC these CPUs but some of the bios configs are a little different.

I've probably set something wrong here, so please let me know.

picture1
picture2
picture3

 

[MoxJr]

Can someone also with a P5Q pro motherboard can take a look at the pictures I've taken in the above post? Thx, kinda stuck in this situation.

 

[myocardia]

Host your pics somewhere else, like ImageShack.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Originally posted by: myocardia
Host your pics somewhere else, like ImageShack.

I noticed that -- the "nonsecure material" popup.

Having got myself into the nVidia rut, it's too easy to say I hate his BIOS.

Off the bat, he has too much of Speedstep and the throttling features enabled.

I see AmberClad has her E8400 E0 pumped up to 4.2, and I'm assuming the voltage is the value in BIOS monitor. I feel very comfortable with this E8600 at 4.0, because I can tighten the memory timings quite well at the minimum voltage for these G.SKILLs.

It's just . . . . tooooo good. Idles at 1.26V.

 

[MoxJr]

Originally posted by: myocardia
Host your pics somewhere else, like ImageShack.

oops sorry, here they are again:

http://img239.imageshack.us/img239/2446/img1169et1.jpg

http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/2900/img1170kf4.jpg

http://img172.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img1171if2.jpg

 

[MoxJr]

this host still not good? D:

 

[edplayer]

The host is fine.

Try disabling SpeedStep as was suggested above.

 

[walk2k]

I can do 3.6Ghz (400x9) with auto voltage (about 1.3v) no problem. Also running ram at 1066 at that speed which is stock for the ram (OCZ 1066 at 2.1v).

Temps = 43c idle (2.4Ghz), 63c in most games, 75-76c in SP2004, which is hot but no errors after 6-7 passes.

Compared to stock 3.0Ghz (1.2v auto) = 41c idle, 51c in games, 55-57c max in Sp2004.

I can also run it easily at 3.3Ghz (366 x 9) but ram is underclocked then.

I think I'll stick to 3.0 though, with the stock cooler... 76c is just a bit much, even though it normally runs well below that.

I mean is 20% overclock worth almost +20c in heat??

Screen

 

[walk2k]

Originally posted by: MoxJr
Thanks for the replies,

The stepping on my E8400 is E0.

I am not sure if I am setting some of the things in my bios correctly, so I have uploaded a few pictures of my bios settings. I followed the sticky on the top of this forum on how to OC these CPUs but some of the bios configs are a little different.

I've probably set something wrong here, so please let me know.

picture1
picture2
picture3

Set the AI overclock = manual.
Then FSB to 400 for 3600Mhz, or 366 for 3300Mhz if not so daring.
Then ==IMPORTANT== check the DRAM speed and change it to something reasonable. Like I said I have 1066 so I can run it at 400mhz/1066. If using 800mhz ram or whatever just set the ram to something reasonable, and yes increase the DRAM voltage to 2.1v if you are running it higher than 800mhz. I have to do that to run 1066 even with stock 3.0 cpu speed.
I didn't have to change the cpu voltage from the stock/auto speed or whatever but you might have better luck at 1.3 or a bit higher, just don't go much higher and watch the temps.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Originally posted by: walk2k

Originally posted by: MoxJr
Thanks for the replies,

The stepping on my E8400 is E0.

I am not sure if I am setting some of the things in my bios correctly, so I have uploaded a few pictures of my bios settings. I followed the sticky on the top of this forum on how to OC these CPUs but some of the bios configs are a little different.

I've probably set something wrong here, so please let me know.

picture1
picture2
picture3

Set the AI overclock = manual.
Then FSB to 400 for 3600Mhz, or 366 for 3300Mhz if not so daring.
Then ==IMPORTANT== check the DRAM speed and change it to something reasonable. Like I said I have 1066 so I can run it at 400mhz/1066. If using 800mhz ram or whatever just set the ram to something reasonable, and yes increase the DRAM voltage to 2.1v if you are running it higher than 800mhz. I have to do that to run 1066 even with stock 3.0 cpu speed.
I didn't have to change the cpu voltage from the stock/auto speed or whatever but you might have better luck at 1.3 or a bit higher, just don't go much higher and watch the temps.

When Conroe first appeared, there were only a couple processors chosen by mobo-benchtest reviewers to use in their test-bench configurations -- they were the ones that were most popular, like the E6600. Now, with so many different processor flavors, you'll have to search hard to find reviews of your chipset [and/or motherboard] that put the hardware through its paces with that particular (very popular) Wolfdale of yours.

EDIT: . . . . but what applies to one Wolfdale probably applies to another, except for the differences in acceptable over-clocking ranges.

 

[QuadDamage2k]

up the volt and put the nb to 1.2 1.3 range push it guys