Problems overclocking E6550 w/ a Gigabyte Mobo

[Psyc0]

Hello all, it's my first post here and I'm sort of a n00b at hardware, so go easy on me. I built myself a pretty nice system:

E6550 Intel Core2Duo 2.33
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L Mobo w/ Latest BIOS installed
RADEON X2900 PRO
2 x 1GB Corsair Ballistix Memory DDR2 @ 800Mhz
Creative X-Fi Gamer
WD 320GB SATA
Coolermaster 550W PSU


I've been with laptops for the last 2-3 years so building this PC was a bit of a learning experience for me as well as remembering some things that I had learned to build a PC. Anyways, my problem lies with trying to OC the CPU. I go into BIOS and try to adjust the FSB to 400 to get my cpu goin at 2.8, but the computer just turns off once, reads it at 2.8, then turns off again and resets to stock speed. I've tried almost all overclocking speeds from 2.4 to 2.8, and still nothing. It does the same thing all the time. Anyone have any ideas on what might be going wrong or if I need to adjust anything? Or, If I could be pointed in the right direction I would appreciate it, as this has me stumped. Thanks!

 

[johnnyjohnson]

Look at what your RAM settings are. Make sure you're running the Crucial at 2.2V. When you manually adjust the FSB, the bios may also up the RAM speed to beyond what your RAM can handle. Make sure it's around 800MHz for testing purposes. You can overclock the RAM once you get the CPU stable. Also set RAM timings manually if you can. Try 4-4-4-12.

 

[Psyc0]

Thanks for the reply. With the gigabyte mobo, how exactly do you check the mem's voltage? I did adjust the speed of the RAM speed to 800 since when I tried overclocking the CPU the speed would automatically get adjusted higher, so I went and manually adjusted it to be at around 800. I also tried to set the RAM timings manually, but no luck there either. I'm stumped.

 

[johnnyjohnson]

I'm not familiar with your motherboard, I have an abit. Are you able to adjust the RAM voltage to 2.2V? Can the computer boot into Windows at stock speed? If so, your inability to overclock could be many things, including lack of enough voltage to the CPU (try adjusting vCore up a bit in the bios).

 

[mrfatboy]

At bios main menu press "ctrl + f1". This will give you more options in the MIT menu. Set your ddr2/ddr3 overvoltage to +.04v (1.8v + .04v = 2.2v).

 

[FSH42NA]

In your bios, under "MB Intelligent Tweaker" there is a "performance enhance" setting. I read somewhere, that you should set this to "standard" when overclocking. I have the P35 DS4 along with a Q6600 that I'm working on. Currently, maxed out at 3.42 = 380x9 (from 2.4 stock) using stock Vcore on air.

hope this helps (along with advice on DDR voltage you've already received)