Q6600 Tape Mod vs. BIOS Overclocking

[Fielder]

I've seen this tape mod for the Q6600, allowing the processor to run FSB 1333 instead of the default 1066.
Then, on the other hand I've seen "Newbies Guide to OC Q6600" which goes on about voltages, memory, and adjusting the BIOS. And following that guide will hopefully get your processor to 3.0Ghz or more.

But how do these 2 methods compare to each other, benefit each other?
Sitting here thinking about it as I type, I guess doing the TapeMod alone is only half the equation. Once it's taped, I'll need to overclock my DDR2 memory to utilize the 1333. And all that is done in the BIOS along with bumping the freq. from 2.4 to 3.0. Am I understanding this correctly?


And lastly, regardless of the heat produced and looking strictly at performance, am I really gaining a noticeable performance increase from 1066 to 1333?

 

[Kirby64]

The 'tape mod' is basically only useful for OC'ing processors on stock, OEM motherboards like Dell or HP that don't offer a multitude of overclocking features. Don't bother with it if you have a decent mobo that allows you to change FSB in the BIOS.

 

[aigomorla]

proper term is bsel moding.

 

[bryanW1995]

yes, a 25% oc will be noticeable btw. I notice a huge difference between my x3350 @3.6 and my Q9450 @2.7 (still waiting on tuniq...grrr).

 

[revolutn]

Originally posted by: Kirby64
The 'tape mod' is basically only useful for OC'ing processors on stock, OEM motherboards like Dell or HP that don't offer a multitude of overclocking features. Don't bother with it if you have a decent mobo that allows you to change FSB in the BIOS.

With respect, I've seen many OC'rs post that if they hit a wall Mhz wise on their OCing, that if they back down to stock, BSEL mod and then begin pumping up the FSB incrementally again they get a higher end result on their OC.

There's even a thread or two that try to explain the phenomenon. Since in a purely logical theoretical sense there's no reason that a mobo should achieve a higher stable FSB OC starting from 1333 vs 1066, and yet, it has been demonstratively so for many peeps.

Rev

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: Revolutn

Originally posted by: Kirby64
The 'tape mod' is basically only useful for OC'ing processors on stock, OEM motherboards like Dell or HP that don't offer a multitude of overclocking features. Don't bother with it if you have a decent mobo that allows you to change FSB in the BIOS.

With respect, I've seen many OC'rs post that if they hit a wall Mhz wise on their OCing, that if they back down to stock, BSEL mod and then begin pumping up the FSB incrementally again they get a higher end result on their OC.

That is true with some (many?) boards because of "FSB strap." Basically internal timings (that you usually can't change) gets altered depending on the detected FSB.

Some interesting finds

Some boards let you manually change in BIOS

Something else besides timings is that sometimes the FSB strap can affect what memory multipliers you can choose from in BIOS.

 

[taltamir]

mmm, it would make sense to me if there are two separate parts on the CPU die and the tape mod redirects the flow of power to use a different portion of the die, that is designed for 1333 instead of 1066 and is more robust in design, and thus allows a higher OC.

Or maybe even a different portion of the MODULE on which the die sits. If you notice the module itself contains various electronics on it.

 

[Kirby64]

Originally posted by: taltamir
mmm, it would make sense to me if there are two separate parts on the CPU die and the tape mod redirects the flow of power to use a different portion of the die, that is designed for 1333 instead of 1066 and is more robust in design, and thus allows a higher OC.

Or maybe even a different portion of the MODULE on which the die sits. If you notice the module itself contains various electronics on it.

It really has nothing to do with that. It basically tricks the CPU to report as a 1333FSB rather than the stock 1066. There is nothing more 'robust' about it.

The only reason some mobos overclock better with it, as far as I can tell, is because some chipsets are too finicky.

 

[Fielder]

Ok. So the consensus (for a newbie overclocker) is if I buy a good Gigabyte motherboard with a Q6600 and decent RAM, I should just make the BIOS adjustments to overclock and I'll be all set? Don't worry about trying to combining the 2 techniques.

 

[taltamir]

Originally posted by: Kirby64

Originally posted by: taltamir
mmm, it would make sense to me if there are two separate parts on the CPU die and the tape mod redirects the flow of power to use a different portion of the die, that is designed for 1333 instead of 1066 and is more robust in design, and thus allows a higher OC.

Or maybe even a different portion of the MODULE on which the die sits. If you notice the module itself contains various electronics on it.

It really has nothing to do with that. It basically tricks the CPU to report as a 1333FSB rather than the stock 1066. There is nothing more 'robust' about it.

The only reason some mobos overclock better with it, as far as I can tell, is because some chipsets are too finicky.

The CPU is HARDWARE not SOFTWARE. EVERYTHING on the CPU is a PHYSICAL process. that is why each CPU overclocks differently, because there is minor variation in construction. When you change ANYTHING on the CPU, even settings, you are PHYSICALLY changing the way it works. Heck even software makes the CPU operate differently, most noticeable is that if you lock a thread to a single core on a multicore processor it will get much hotter then the OTHER cores on the same CPU.

In that mod you are literally altering the flow of electricity in the CPU. To imagine that it will have no effect is naive.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: Fielder
Don't worry about trying to combining the 2 techniques.

Correct.

The FSB strap doesn't change CPU timings, but motherboard chipset timings. Remember that unless you have an Extremely Expensive Edition processor, you overclock by raising FSB. When you raise FSB, you are overclocking your chipset. This is like setting your CAS 4 DDR2-800 RAM to CAS 5 when you're clocking the RAM to 1100MHz. However, there's no such setting in most motherboard BIOSes, so, you tell the board to change that setting by fooling it with the BSEL mod.

Generally speaking you don't have to do it. The only times I've really seen a big behavior difference is with 800MHz FSB chips, which for some reason many boards really have problems with for overclocking.

Here's an example:

Utilizing the E2160 and external GPU we reached a final benchmark stable setting of 9x310 FSB resulting in a clock speed of 2790MHz with a CPU voltage setting of 1.425V. Memory settings were once again aggressive on this board with a DDR2-1033 speed and timings at 5-5-5-15 at 2.10V. The board was actually capable of running at 9x375 FSB with our modified E2160.

(bolding is mine)

Again, I've seen this mostly with 800MHz FSB chips, such as the E2xxx and E4xxx series, and it doesn't happen on every board, so really it depends on if the motherboard manufacturer makes allowances for this in the BIOS whether through manual settings or automatically.

 

[Kirby64]

Originally posted by: taltamir

Originally posted by: Kirby64

Originally posted by: taltamir
mmm, it would make sense to me if there are two separate parts on the CPU die and the tape mod redirects the flow of power to use a different portion of the die, that is designed for 1333 instead of 1066 and is more robust in design, and thus allows a higher OC.

Or maybe even a different portion of the MODULE on which the die sits. If you notice the module itself contains various electronics on it.

It really has nothing to do with that. It basically tricks the CPU to report as a 1333FSB rather than the stock 1066. There is nothing more 'robust' about it.

The only reason some mobos overclock better with it, as far as I can tell, is because some chipsets are too finicky.

The CPU is HARDWARE not SOFTWARE. EVERYTHING on the CPU is a PHYSICAL process. that is why each CPU overclocks differently, because there is minor variation in construction. When you change ANYTHING on the CPU, even settings, you are PHYSICALLY changing the way it works. Heck even software makes the CPU operate differently, most noticeable is that if you lock a thread to a single core on a multicore processor it will get much hotter then the OTHER cores on the same CPU.

In that mod you are literally altering the flow of electricity in the CPU. To imagine that it will have no effect is naive.

Good job showing your ignorance in your incredibly hostile post. All this mod does is trick the CPU into posting at 1333 FSB. Sure, you 'alter the flow of electricity' but in reality all you're doing is making it think that the FSB stock speed is higher than it should be.

The only way is operates differently is the increased clock speed (and heat) associated with the increased FSB :disgust:

 

[taltamir]

Hostile? there was no hostility in it anywhere. Don't be so sensitive to imagined slights.

And it it can very well simply be a change in the chip that causes a signal to flow in a different pin to the motherboard, signaling a different FSB should be used, without it ever going through the actual DIE. But that doesn't change the fact that every single statement I made there is correct. CPU = entire chip
Die = the center of the chip (or 2 per chip) that was fabben and then connected to the chip.

Anyways, It could very well be that the altered signal to the mobo is the only change, and that it does not directly affect the die itself and thus is not the cause of the observed discrepancy. But that doesn't contradict anything I said.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: taltamir
Hostile? there was no hostility in it anywhere.

Depends on how you read it. If just the plain text, nothing hostile. If you "look" at the typing, CERTAIN words in CAPS gives the "internet" connotation of yelling, which is associated with being hostile.

[Zap as mod] Anyways, regardless of right or wrong, let's all just keep it civil. [/Zap as mod]

 

[Nathelion]

Originally posted by: taltamir
Hostile? there was no hostility in it anywhere. Don't be so sensitive to imagined slights.

And it it can very well simply be a change in the chip that causes a signal to flow in a different pin to the motherboard, signaling a different FSB should be used, without it ever going through the actual DIE. But that doesn't change the fact that every single statement I made there is correct. CPU = entire chip
Die = the center of the chip (or 2 per chip) that was fabben and then connected to the chip.

Anyways, It could very well be that the altered signal to the mobo is the only change, and that it does not directly affect the die itself and thus is not the cause of the observed discrepancy. But that doesn't contradict anything I said.

Well everything you said is just as true about every other part of a computer in a technical sense, not just the processor.

 

[taltamir]

ah, i should have used bold font instead, it but is too much work and I am lazy , i meant emphasis, not yelling

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: taltamir
ah, i should have used bold font instead, it but is too much work and I am lazy

Just type out your message, then highlight what you want bolded, and click on the B. I find it faster than interrupting my touch typing to click on it, then type bolded text in-between.