Please help a noob with e6300 OC

[ibex333]

I just built my system 3 days ago. (in sig)
Orthos ran for more than 10 hours no errors.
Memtest 86 - 5 passes no problems.
Temp around 33C atm.


Now I want to try to OC slightly on stock fan. (I want to be on the safe side for now)

1)Is it ok to OC now, or I have to wait for some time to let everything "settle in"?
If I have to wait, then how long? Is it safe to raise the CPU Voltage Control to 1.375 at this point?

2)Some guy in newegg reviews says he runs my memory at 4-4-4-12 with 2.2v.
Is it safe to try this if it's rated 1.8v-2.0v max? Should I even bother? Will it make any difference for the overall CPU OC or overall system performance?

3)My board is revision 2.0. Should I flash to newer BIOS or current is ok? If I do flash do I flash in Windows or DOS?

4)I cant understand how the CPU speed is calculated. It should be FSB x multi= total speed right? But it's NOT!

In BIOS the CPU Host Clock Frequency is 200MHz. x 7multi = 1400 not 1800 !! What gives?

CPU-Z says my multi is 6 and my Bus speed is 266.7. However on top it says 6300@1.86GHz... what the heck?

Please explain.. I'm just totally clueless... The guide posted here is too short and clearly targets people who already have certain OC knowlege.

5)Mabe someone can give me the exact BIOS settings that will get me to around 2.2MHz?
I understand someone can call me lazy, but it's better to be lazy then to destroy my CPU that I was saving money for, a whole year. I know there's always a risk with OC and I'm ready to take that risk, as long as it's a CALCULATED risk.

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Originally posted by: ibex333
I just built my system 3 days ago. (in sig)
Orthos ran for more than 10 hours no errors.
Memtest 86 - 5 passes no problems.
Temp around 33C atm.


Now I want to try to OC slightly on stock fan. (I want to be on the safe side for now)

1)Is it ok to OC now, or I have to wait for some time to let everything "settle in"?
If I have to wait, then how long? Is it safe to raise the CPU Voltage Control to 1.375 at this point?
No need to wait you've tested stability at stock, your ready to go, and yes 1.375 is very conservative and safe

2)Some guy in newegg reviews says he runs my memory at 4-4-4-12 with 2.2v.
Is it safe to try this if it's rated 1.8v-2.0v max? Should I even bother? Will it make any difference for the overall CPU OC or overall system performance?
you don't need to increase ram volts until your start overclocking the ram, I would leave it a default volts and timings for now. You do need to lower your ram frequency/ratio to DDR533 or 1:1 or whatever it's called on your board

3)My board is revision 2.0. Should I flash to newer BIOS or current is ok? If I do flash do I flash in Windows or DOS?
Yes I would flash to the newest bios, and the method is a matter of opinion. I flash in windows and have never had a problem, but many will say doing it in DOS is safer.

4)I cant understand how the CPU speed is calculated. It should be FSB x multi= total speed right? But it's NOT!

In BIOS the CPU Host Clock Frequency is 200MHz. x 7multi = 1400 not 1800 !! What gives?

CPU-Z says my multi is 6 and my Bus speed is 266.7. However on top it says 6300@1.86GHz... what the heck?
Thats strange, and I can't really help you there, maybe a bios issue. It should show 266x7=1.86ghz. This may be because you have power management features enable in bios. Disable C1E, speedstep, or any other CPU power management settings in bios

Please explain.. I'm just totally clueless... The guide posted here is too short and clearly targets people who already have certain OC knowlege.

5)Mabe someone can give me the exact BIOS settings that will get me to around 2.2MHz?
I understand someone can call me lazy, but it's better to be lazy then to destroy my CPU that I was saving money for, a whole year. I know there's always a risk with OC and I'm ready to take that risk, as long as it's a CALCULATED risk.

2.2ghz is way too conservative for that CPU and board and not even worth bothering with IMO, I would start with 2.8ghz which should be very easy and will allow your ram to run at stock DDR2-800 speed and only require you to up the vcore to 1.375 as you suggested earlier and leave all the other voltages at auto.

Set FSB to 401
Set memory frequency to DDR533 (or the equivilant setting on your board that makes your DDR2 speed 2x the FSB)
Set vcore to 1.375

viola! 2.8ghz


You have 333 in your user ID and your post count is 333, that adds to 666! Are you the debil:evil:

 

[ibex333]

Originally posted by: GuitarDaddy


You have 333 in your user ID and your post count is 333, that adds to 666! Are you the debil:evil:

Ehh.. Honestly I dont know I might be.

You'll think I'm nuts but the number 666 has been haunting me for a long time now. I've been asking people around, but no one gives me a clear answer.

I see "666" in my dreams... In games(like 666 gold in guild wars), on the net(666 messages, or 666 of something else).. It repeats in newspapers, on TV... I'm actually quite tired of this thing happening again and again. It's like an omen or something.

I heard that the Number of the Beast can mean both bad and good things. It can mean that something good and divine will happen to a person and it can mean the reverse. Guess time will tell.

PS: I dont want to turn this thread into a discussion of my "devilish" nature, so let's stick to the main topic people.

 

[GuitarDaddy]

It's OK now your post count is 334

 

[ibex333]

Originally posted by: GuitarDaddy
It's OK now your post count is 334

indeed it is.

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Hows the overclock coming?

 

[ibex333]

I'll do it tomorrow and post the results.

 

[ibex333]

Update: Now running "stable" at 2.8GHz. (still haven't tested with orthos/prime - will do it overnight)
Temps on idle with speedfan: Temp1 35C, Temp2 35C, Core0 27C, Core1 37C.
Core Temp 0.95: Core0 - 51C, Core1 - 52C (too high?)
51C is showing up in RED digits in lower right corner. 52C is BLUE. Does it mean I'm burning the CPU?

How I overclocked:

CPU Volt Control: 1.36250v (there's no 1.37000v in the mobo settings so the guide here is wrong?) can someone explain?
Mem multiplier: 2.0
CPU Host Frequency: 400MHz

That's it! I didn't touch anything else... Did I forget something?

Now.. I'd like someone to please explain to me EXACTLY WHY I cant OC to 3.0 GHz. Yes I understand my memory is not one of the best, and I understand something about it being rated at 400MHz which is the speed my CPU is at right now...


Questions:

1)Where does it say that the memory is rated at 400MHz?

2)Why cant I put more voltage to it and run it at a higher speed/timings? Because it will burn? But what if it wont? How can I tell what the RAM temp is? What temp is too high? Can anything be done to cool down the RAM aside from buying fans, sinks, etc? (Several people on newegg say they put 2.1v and even 2.2v through their ram, and are now running their CPU above 3 GHz on stock fan with no problems. - they do admit that they might be burning their ram though)

3)Can someone please link me to a guide which THOROUGHLY explains how to OC ram and WHY is it that RAM runs at same speed as the CPU, what's involved in this whole process and why is it so? It's like I'm OCing without any deep knowledge on the topic. That is not right.

PS: Maybe I'm just telling myself this or maybe I'm delusional, but I can SWEAR my PC is now working A LOT faster with a NOTICEABLE difference! Programs load faster, pages load faster, everything is just... FASTER! Does an extra 1Ghz really make such a huge difference?

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Originally posted by: ibex333
Update: Now running "stable" at 2.8GHz. (still haven't tested with orthos/prime - will do it overnight)
Temps on idle with speedfan: Temp1 35C, Temp2 35C, Core0 27C, Core1 37C.
Core Temp 0.95: Core0 - 51C, Core1 - 52C (too high?) Not to high, very good actually
51C is showing up in RED digits in lower right corner. 52C is BLUE. Does it mean I'm burning the CPU? No, again your temp's are fine

How I overclocked:

CPU Volt Control: 1.36250v (there's no 1.37000v in the mobo settings so the guide here is wrong?) can someone explain?
Mem multiplier: 2.0
CPU Host Frequency: 400MHz

That's it! I didn't touch anything else... Did I forget something?

Now.. I'd like someone to please explain to me EXACTLY WHY I cant OC to 3.0 GHz. Yes I understand my memory is not one of the best, and I understand something about it being rated at 400MHz which is the speed my CPU is at right now...
No reason you can't go to 3.0 or higher, you will have to loosen the ram timings and probably bump up the dram volts, vcore, and increase the mch(north bridge chipset volts) at some point as you start getting higher

Questions:

1)Where does it say that the memory is rated at 400MHz?
PC2-6400 is rated at DDR2-800, DDR2 speed is 2x the FSB

2)Why cant I put more voltage to it and run it at a higher speed/timings? Because it will burn? But what if it wont? How can I tell what the RAM temp is? What temp is too high? Can anything be done to cool down the RAM aside from buying fans, sinks, etc? (Several people on newegg say they put 2.1v and even 2.2v through their ram, and are now running their CPU above 3 GHz on stock fan with no problems. - they do admit that they might be burning their ram though)
You can safely bump the dram volts to at least 2.1 or 2.2 if you have good airflow in your case, and loosening the ram timings also will be necessary for you push the ram much over DDR800, I would start with 5-6-6-18 just to see how high you can go then tighten it back up once you finalize your oveclock
3)Can someone please link me to a guide which THOROUGHLY explains how to OC ram and WHY is it that RAM runs at same speed as the CPU, what's involved in this whole process and why is it so? It's like I'm OCing without any deep knowledge on the topic. That is not right.
http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...adid=1947261&STARTPAGE=2&enterthread=y
http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware...erclocking-Guide-v1-ftopict197995.html
http://techreport.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=31646
http://www.overclock3d.net/articles.php...locking_guide_for_intel_c2d_processors

PS: Maybe I'm just telling myself this or maybe I'm delusional, but I can SWEAR my PC is now working A LOT faster with a NOTICEABLE difference! Programs load faster, pages load faster, everything is just... FASTER! Does an extra 1Ghz really make such a huge difference?
No your not imagining things, overclocking does make a huge differnce, thats why it's become so popular. Free performance and a lot of it, who wouldn't love it

 

[ibex333]

If DDR2 speed is 2x the FSB, and my current Memory Multiplier is 2... By raising the Memory multiplier, do I also raise the MHz? If I am correct 2.5 gives 1000, no?


Also, it doesn't say anywhere what voltage my memory is running at atm.

DDR2 Overvoltage Control gives me increments of .1v (+0.1,0.2,0.3 ---- to 0.7)


Also, do I really have to change the FSB volts, and (G)MCH? Can I leave them on auto?

EDIT: It turns out I don't have to run my memory at higher than rated voltage. People on egg are getting 900MHz with 2.0v. (2.0v is max rated volts)
But how the heck are they getting 900MHZ when 400x2.5=1000? I think there's something I'm misunderstanding.

Also do I have to touch ACT to ACT, Rank write to read, write to percent, etc? or All I have to do is change the timings, and leave the rest at auto?

 

[GuitarDaddy]

I would bump the FSB and MCH both by +0.1 to start

They are most likely getting DDR900 by running the FSB at 450mhz with mem multi at 2.0

You should be able to leave other ram stuff on auto.

 

[ibex333]

Ok.. I'll go try it.

What's the worst thing that could happen if the mem wont run 1:1 with FSB at 450mhz? System wont boot? If that happens what do I do? Doesnt it revert to factory settings after 3 reboots or so?

 

[GuitarDaddy]

It will most likely hang, freeze or reboot. If it hangs or freezes just turn the power switch on the PS off then on again and reboot. If worse comes to worst you may have to reset the CMOS jumper on the mobo

You could try a few settings between 400 and 450 before jumping right to 450. If you do go straight to 450, I would bump the vcore to at least 1.425 or maybe a little more. Your not likely going to get 450 with your current vcore

 

[mercanucaribe]

Isn't the FSB for these CPUs 1066mhz? How is that half of 533mhz?

 

[myocardia]

The FSB for these cpu's is 266, no matter what Intel tries to tell you. That's why you can run them with PC4200 RAM, if you aren't going to be overclocking.

 

[GuitarDaddy]

It's confusing I know, the 1066 is the "quad pumped" FSB which I believe is the speed that is between the CPU-cache-mem controller.

Actual stock CPU frequency = 266, x 2 = 533 stock ram speed, x 4 = 1066 quad pumped FSB

Like with the old A64's

stock HTT(same as intels FSB) = 200, x 2 = 400 stock ram, x 5 = 1000HT(hyper transport)


I think they do it just to confuse everybody. I've gotten used to calling the base setting in bios the FSB weither its Intel or AMD, but I believe the correct terminology for Intel is "CPU frequency". Motherboard makers don't make it any easier as all of them seem to call it something different

 

[ibex333]

UPDATE: After 3 weeks of running rock stable at 2.8GHz this morning I got a BSOD. I rebooted but I couldnt even get into Windows! The PC showed another BSOD for a second during POST and then rebooted itself... It kept looping like this several times, till I decided to go into BIOS. Apparently something real bad happened because the PC started locking up even in BIOS!! I'd move around in the BIOS with arrow keys for a min, and then everything would just lock up... Then my friend called on the phone, and annoyed, I just shut the PC off with a power switch on the PSU. After I finished talking I switched the PC back on and loaded into Windows no problem.. However, this time, I noticed that everything is reverted to stock settings... No wonder everything works fine.

I want my OC back! How can I pinpoint what caused the BSODs and lockups? Is it the CPU? RAM? Something else?

PS: It cant be the temps because I checked every day and they never went above 53C.

The only thing that happened recently is I got a set of Klipsch ProMedia Speakers, and the sub is sitting on the floor next to my PC. But that couldn't possibly do anything, could it?

 

[ibex333]

bump* I still need help/advice on this.

 

[Conky]

It could be anything that caused that BSOD although my guess is overheating of the NB chip...

You might want to put a fan on your North Bridge heatsink. Something like this. I put one on mine only because it seemed so hot to the touch when I overclocked. It must've worked because my E6400 overclocked to 400FSB has been rock solid stable for months now.

 

[ibex333]

Originally posted by: Conky
It could be anything that caused that BSOD although my guess is overheating of the NB chip...

You might want to put a fan on your North Bridge heatsink. Something like this. I put one on mine only because it seemed so hot to the touch when I overclocked. It must've worked because my E6400 overclocked to 400FSB has been rock solid stable for months now.

Thanx. Mabe I'll try that.

Allthough I bet it could be something else since there's many ppl OCing their e6300 to 3.0Mhz and sometimes more with stock NB, and stock HSF. Is there any software that can measure the NB temp?

 

[ibex333]

need more opinions

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Well somethings not stable with your overclock. What stress programs are you running to check stability? How long? I would use TAT for several hours and Orthos running small files for 12hrs, and 12hrs on large files.

What voltages are you using? vcore,fsb,vmch,ddr?

Bottom line is, to avoid this kind of problem you have to seriously test an overclock for stability. Running orthos for a couple of hours is not good enough, it may run games and everything fine for long periods of time then crash.

My guess is that you will have to increase voltages somewhere to make it truly 100% stable.

 

[ibex333]

Hey Guitar.

running at 2.8GHz at CPU Volt Control: 1.36250v

Tested with memtest 6 passes 0 errors.

Started Orthos and got 69-70C temps!! I'm thinking that's high, no? Needless to say I shut orthos down immediately.

Darn it... how can it be this hot when there's many people who run their e6300's at 3.0GHz and above with stock HSF?

Anything else you think I should test, or the cause is clear?

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Actually those temps aren't uncommon for C2D's on the stock HSF, and they will run up to 85c before they shutdown to protect themselves. And TAT produces even higher temps. I ran TAT on my E6400 overnight at 3.28ghz on the stock HSF and when I checked it in the morning I saw 79-80c:Q I definately wouldn't try running 24/7 with those kind of temps, I've turned my O/C down to 2.8ghz until I get the time to upgrade the HSF

My E6400 requires a vcore of 1.375 to be TAT and orthos stable, I would suggest you bump the vcore up to that to insure stability. And like me you need to get better cooling if you want to go higher.

And remember unless you run alot of CPU intense tasks(most people don't), you will only see those kind of temps when stress testing.

 

[gamephile]

I can't believe you ran TAT overnight! That program is super-hard on your CPU and I've read in other threads here and on xtremesystems that you shouldn't be running it longer than 30 minutes.