Q6600, Bad Axe 2 and overclocking

[alizee]

So, I came accross a Bad Axe 2 and a Q6600, and in my quest for the (what I thought) reasonable overclock to 3.0GHz (333FSB) I'm having trouble.

I'm not sure if it's the motherboard or cpu my guess is the motherboard). I moved my e6300 to the bad axe 2 and attempted to match the overclock of my Asus P5NSLI-e Plus (a paltry 333FSB), but 279MHz was where the board topped out. I chalked that up to me using the stock cooler instead of my Thermalright XP-120, which is what I had been using on the Asus board.

When I put in the Q6600 I also added the Thermalright. But, unfortunately it topped out at 279 until I upped the voltage a lot. When I leave the CPU at default settings on the board it comes up as 1.325V, and to get it past 279 I took it up to 1.40V. Is that uncommen? But, even past that, I've been having toubles. I got it up to 300FSB, but not further. Unfortunately, I don't remember my FSB voltage, but I did increase it.

What am I doing wrong? Or, is this board just not a very good overclocker? (it is an intel branded board)

Q6600 B3 stepping with Thermalright XP 120 and S-Flex 120MM fan
Intel Bad Axe 2 975X (not sure what bios, how do I tell on this one?)
XFX geforce 7600GS
430W Thermaltake PSU, which does not have an 8-pin aux connector, but I do have and adapter that goes from two 4 pin molex and the 4 pin aux to 8 pin, rather than from 4 pin to 8 pin
2x1GB g.skill DDR2-800 4-4-4-12 running at 5-5-5-15 (should I clock it down to 667 to see if its the RAM causing issue?)

thanks in advance

 

[Blacklash]

Disable Watchdog in the configuration jumper position from the BIOS. Page 72 in the BX2 manual has details about said jumper. You'll then move it back to the default position, enter your BIOS again and set your ram to 667. That will still put you well over DDR2 800 because when you OC your FSB you also increase your memory speed. Make sure your motherboard is not setting your ram voltage too low. If it requires 2.0-2.20v make sure that is set appropriately.

If you want to try for max FSB slowly raise vFSB and MCH, set your ref freq to 333, and ram freq to 667. That will put you on a 1333 strap @ 1:1.

You will want to enable "enhanced power slope" if you wish to clock higher than 333 and may need to start raising vcore by 3.1GHz.

Most BX2 motherboards max @ a 390FSB x 9 with Quad core.

Important: Sometimes the BX2 will not post after you exit the BIOS and have made changes. Hitting the reset power switch usually corrects this. So if you are met with a black screen try that and it will likely apply what you just set. If that does not work you've likely truly failed your OC attempt; turn the computer off, set the jumper to the config position and return your system to the last stable settings you used. Turn off the comp and move the jumper back.

Below you may find your latest BIOS and drivers. If you download the .exe it will auto update your BIOS after you click it.

http://www.intel.com/support/m...ards/desktop/d975xbx2/

If you want to max that Q6600 try a mid ranged P35 motherboard. I got a Abit IP35 E for 70usd after rebate from Mwave and am now sitting @ 3.7GHz on air. I can boot up to 4.0GHz for short pi runs and air cooling can't deal with 1.65v at that speed.

http://valid.x86-secret.com/show_oc.php?id=237448

http://m1.freeshare.us/172fs691352.jpg

If you want RAID the regular IP35 would be a good option.

http://www.mwave.com/mwave/vie...a=BA23928&RSKU=BA23928

They still have the E too:

http://www.mwave.com/mwave/vie...a=BA23929&RSKU=BA23929

If you are just after 3.0GHz stay on the BX2. It should do that fine.

 

[alizee]

thanks for that, really thorough. I'll be trying it tonight. I would have used a P35 except for a few certain reasons (maybe you can guess when I say that the reason to go to 333 is to match the speed of a 3.0GHz MacPro)