Overclocking E6400 to its bitter end

[Fraggable]

I've never been much of an OCer, until recently when I sold my E6750 to my boss, who built a new rig around it and I was able to OC it to 3.7GHz without voltage increases, etc. I had intended to get a Q6600 but the more I thought about it I realized that would be stupid since I play Crysis mostly and wouldn't see any benefit in a quad.

So today, being a lazy Saturday, I went out to MicroCenter and looked for a E8400. All they have ins stock were Q6600's and Celeron 1200's. So much for their BYOPC month. I ran over to CompUSA - who is going out of business - and they had a E6400 for $105. I said the heck with it, I'll take a downgrade and OC the hell out of it. After all, whats the point in buying the P35 OCing board if you're not going to use it. I wanted to hit 3.8GHz, or maybe 3.7. You know, just to beat my boss's system.

So far I've hit 3.5 stable with these settings and equipment:

CPU multi 8x (max)
FSB 433 (i know this board can do 500+ easy)
memory divider at 2.0, which puts it at 866 (I've run it up to 933 so I know it can go more)
5-5-5-18, DDR2 OverVoltage set to +0.2, translates to 2.0V
CPU 1.4V, shows as 1.36V in BIOS health status
MCH +0.1 (have tried +0.2)
CPU C1E disabled, power savings features disabled, CPU fan set to 100%

Gigabyte P35-DS3R, BIOS F11 (current)
Corsair XMS2 800, 4X1GB, seems to be specced at 1.9V
E6400 2.13GHz, 1066FSB
8800GTS 320MB @ stock
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro

All in a P180 case w/stock 3X120mm fans set to high. CPU temp hits 75C in Orthos, I know that's the high limit for most people but if I can get this to 3.7 or higher I'll get a better CPU fan.

When I push to 466FSB I get a BSOD, 0x00000050 PAGE_FAULT_IN_NON_PAGED_AREA. I take that to mean something's needing a voltage push but can't figure out what. I'll be happy with 3.5GHz if that's all I'm gonna get, but I really wanted 3.7 or so.

 

[downhiller80]

75? My E6750 only hits 62C at 3.8GHz in my tuniq 120 - get a better fan.

For what it's worth I tried putting a "silent" 800rpm fan in my tuniq earlier, and after 5 minutes of Orthos my temps hit 74C before BSODing. So it might be the temps that are your problem.

 

[BlueAcolyte]

Have you looked that error up on microsoft? I had nearly the same one and it turned out to be some software on my computer not working properly. Don't just blindly push the voltage.

 

[Fraggable]

Originally posted by: BlueAcolyte
Have you looked that error up on microsoft? I had nearly the same one and it turned out to be some software on my computer not working properly. Don't just blindly push the voltage.

No it's not a software problem, the x50 error is a very common one that can point to a bad hard drive, bad memory, bad drive controller, all of which I've fully ruled out considering the PC runs fine and put up with 4 hours of BF2/Crysis/Bioshock last night. I've run Memtest86 for 24 hours on this memory.

Originally posted by: sebfrost
75? My E6750 only hits 62C at 3.8GHz in my tuniq 120 - get a better fan.

For what it's worth I tried putting a "silent" 800rpm fan in my tuniq earlier, and after 5 minutes of Orthos my temps hit 74C before BSODing. So it might be the temps that are your problem.

I'm thinking that may be it now, after reading a lot of reviews on the Tuniq Tower 120 and a few others, it seems that I might get another 200-300MHz out of it with better cooling, not to mention ~10C better temps. A few people I've read about OCing the E6400 have had to reach nearly 1.5V to get 3.7 or 3.8GHz and I don't dare do that with this midrange cooler.

I'll update this thread when I get a better cooler.

Thanks for the input!

 

[tenax]

whoooo hooooo..let's see a suicide run!!!

 

[Fraggable]

Originally posted by: tenax
whoooo hooooo..let's see a suicide run!!!

That was kind of the general idea, I only intended to keep this chip for maybe 3 months until the new quads are out and settle to MSRP pricing, but with as fast as the thing has turned out to be and as little as games utilize quads, I might keep it for a while.

Trying to decide between a $40 Tuniq Tower and a $60 Zalman 9700. I'm leaning towards the Tuniq now since it seems to perform nearly identical to the Zalman.

 

[myocardia]

Originally posted by: Fraggable
Trying to decide between a $40 Tuniq Tower and a $60 Zalman 9700. I'm leaning towards the Tuniq now since it seems to perform nearly identical to the Zalman.

What are you talking about, the Tuniq blows away the Zalman.

 

[Fraggable]

Originally posted by: myocardia

Originally posted by: Fraggable
Trying to decide between a $40 Tuniq Tower and a $60 Zalman 9700. I'm leaning towards the Tuniq now since it seems to perform nearly identical to the Zalman.

What are you talking about, the Tuniq blows away the Zalman.

Yeah it beats it in most cases I've seen so far, and considering it's $20 cheaper I'm sure I'll go that way.

I'm thinking about moving away from my P180 and getting something with a window, maybe a Antec 900. Better ventilation too.

 

[Fraggable]

I placed the order for a Antec 900 and a Tuniq Tower 120 last night, someone bought my P180 and various other things I needed upgraded from me, so I get a free upgrade. I should have some updates on this Friday.

 

[drebo]

That error is a memory related error. Increase the voltage on your RAM and make sure you have plenty of cooling over the top of it.

 

[MarcVenice]

This is hilarious, you spend LOTS of extra money getting an antec 900 and a tuniq tower, coz you went cheap on the CPU. Should have gone with the e8400 and you would have been sitting at 4.0ghz right now.

 

[tigersty1e]

Originally posted by: MarcVenice
This is hilarious, you spend LOTS of extra money getting an antec 900 and a tuniq tower, coz you went cheap on the CPU. Should have gone with the e8400 and you would have been sitting at 4.0ghz right now.

This guy did his thing like a true OCer.

Spend more on the cooler/watercooling setup/fans/lapping than on the processor.

 

[MarcVenice]

Yeah, it's funny. I know it's also a sport and a lot of fun to boot, but I do like to stay realistic myself, hence I though it was hilarious Myself I spend 1/6th worth of the CPU on a arctic freezer 64 pro and Oc-ed my x2 3800+ to be as valuable as a CPU that costed almost 175% of my x2 3800+. That's where I get most of my fun out when OC-ing.

 

[Fraggable]

Originally posted by: MarcVenice
This is hilarious, you spend LOTS of extra money getting an antec 900 and a tuniq tower, coz you went cheap on the CPU. Should have gone with the e8400 and you would have been sitting at 4.0ghz right now.

Well in my OP I said it was a lazy Saturday and I wanted my gaming rig back up and running, there's only 2 stores I'm aware of in my area that carry CPUs near MSRP, those are MicroCenter and CompUSA. MC was out of all dual core Core 2's, and CompUSA only had this or a E6550 in an open box.

I could have bought a E8400 for $100 more and waited a week for it, but what fun is that?

 

[MarcVenice]

Hey nothing wrong with a e6300 for 105$, and having it run at 3.5ghz, but then spending more money on a new case/HSF

 

[Fraggable]

Originally posted by: MarcVenice
Hey nothing wrong with a e6300 for 105$, and having it run at 3.5ghz, but then spending more money on a new case/HSF

Here's the long story as if anyone cares...

Over 2 years ago I discovered the joys of Windows XP MCE and started recording satellite TV on my desktop PC and laptop. Since I leave my PC on 24/7 to record these shows, and my ben is in the same room, I wanted something quieter, so I switched from a cheap Chenming full tower case w/window and red lights to a nice quiet P180. A couple weeks ago since that PC was locking up in games when it started recording TV or cutting commercials I built a SFF system in a Microfly case and put all my tuners in that. Now, since my gaming rig isn't on 24/7 I don't care how loud it is and want to start OCing and doing the whole PC case modding thing again, thus the Antec 900. An attorney I do work for on the side wants me to build him a system, so I sell him the P180. I charge him several hundred $ for labor involved in building the PC, moving data, etc and end up ahead enough for a Tuniq Tower, EL wire, 4 12" neon tubes, some nice headphones, 5-port gigabit switch, 5 25' network cables, USB floppy drive, internal floppy (Why does RAID still require this crap?), 4GB DDR 2 800 and a couple other little things.

And before you say '$1330 is too much for a new system', he's getting a very nice Core 2 Duo on a P35 board with 4GB DDR2, a 160GB X 3 RAID 5 array, 320GB external drive, 22" LCD, quality PSU and case + time involved in all that setup.

There, that's why this makes sense for me.

 

[Fraggable]

Got it all put together, with all fans on high, a Tuniq Tower 120 and at full load with Orthos, the cores won't push 47C.

I'll update later with my findings...

 

[Fraggable]

Well I got it to boot at 3.76Hz (466FSB) but it wasn't Orthos stable. Tried bumping DDR2 to 2.2V, MCH +0.2V, and CPU all the way to 1.45V but still wasn't stable. I may have simply hit the limit for this CPU. The max temp never rose above 55C, so I'm sure it isn't a temp limitation since I had it running at 70C stable in the old case.

I'm open to suggestions...

 

[tigersty1e]

Try dropping the multi and seeing if it's Orthos stable.

 

[aigomorla]

Originally posted by: Fraggable

All in a P180 case w/stock 3X120mm fans set to high. CPU temp hits 75C in Orthos, I know that's the high limit for most people but if I can get this to 3.7 or higher I'll get a better CPU fan.

When I push to 466FSB I get a BSOD, 0x00000050 PAGE_FAULT_IN_NON_PAGED_AREA. I take that to mean something's needing a voltage push but can't figure out what. I'll be happy with 3.5GHz if that's all I'm gonna get, but I really wanted 3.7 or so.

okey let me explain why we tell people that 70C is the MAX safe point on that processor.

Its quite simple really, the sodder that holds the DIE and IHS together has a melting point of ~77C.

You melt solidify melt solidify melt solidify... get my point? And no this solder aint anything like AS5 or Ceramic. I think it was indiam??

you'll lost performance, and then ultimately your chip will not get enough cooling and just straight up die.

But this would take a lot of what i explained above.

But its just best not to ever let it melt to begin with.

 

[lopri]

It sounds like memory issue, if not pagefile issue. Assuming you didn't play around the pagefiles (like moving it to different partition or using a smaller amount than physical RAM), try the same thing with 2 sticks. 4GB/4 sticks are definitely more strenuous to NB, and needs more attention than 2GB/2 sticks.

Edit: And 3.5GHz with an E6400 is nothing to laugh at. Especially at the price you paid. Not everyone hits that frequency with E4x00 chips, and often times E4x00s will suffer from even higher hit and more voltages.

 

[Fraggable]

I know it's a good OC and like I said before I won't complain if that's all I get out of it, but I thought it'd be fun to push it higher.

Maybe I should have mentioned that I upgraded to 2 X 2GB and 2 X 1GB sticks (same brand, spec) for a total of 6GB. I'll try it with just the 2 X 2GB sticks and see what happens.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Originally posted by: aigomorla

okey let me explain why we tell people that 70C is the MAX safe point on that processor.

Its quite simple really, the sodder that holds the DIE and IHS together has a melting point of ~77C.

You melt solidify melt solidify melt solidify... get my point? And no this solder aint anything like AS5 or Ceramic. I think it was indiam??

That's news to me. Do you have a reference for that 77C temp anywhere?

 

[Fraggable]

Originally posted by: VirtualLarry

Originally posted by: aigomorla

okey let me explain why we tell people that 70C is the MAX safe point on that processor.

Its quite simple really, the sodder that holds the DIE and IHS together has a melting point of ~77C.

You melt solidify melt solidify melt solidify... get my point? And no this solder aint anything like AS5 or Ceramic. I think it was indiam??

That's news to me. Do you have a reference for that 77C temp anywhere?

I ignored that because it's garbage. Motherboards have the ability to shut a system down when it hits a certain temp, if the CPU was going to 'melt' at 77C, why do they all go up to 95C as an option to shut down at?