Q9300 @ 3.2Ghz Vcc approaching 1.3!

[tno]

So, I finally decided to test how well my DFI DK X48 T2RSB+ could clock my Q9300. I am taking the slow and steady approach advocated by the posted guide. I've set some low goals and decided to start with 3.2 (426FSB). After mucking with VTT and NBcore a bunch I have come up with a stable overclock that puts the Vcc at nearly 1.3v. I've seen these 45nm chips get lauded so much for their low voltages so I'm just concerned I might be missing something if I have to raise Vcc so much to get 200Mhz out (I had previously been rock stable @ 3Ghz Vcc 1.2, everything else at its lowest setting).

I haven't optimized temps yet (running a Domino ALC at its lowest setting so far) so is it possible that any instability is coming from high temps? (Load temps read 70-73 on CoreTemp, 62 on the ALC's display) In other words, if I cooled it more aggressively, would I be able to lower Vcc?

This is my first time being really systematic at this, so far I am impressed with my Corsair XMS2 2x2GB kit, it plays real nice at just 1.8V and am obviously quite happy with the mobo which seems to love FSB. Maybe I'll find something funner to put inside it and clock up.

tno

 

[tno]

no love on this? I'm just worried I should be running a lower vcc before cooking my chip.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

What is your ram running at? What speed and what kind of ram?

 

[faxon]

the Q9300 is a lower binned chip, so expect it not to OC as well as a Q9550 would. given this expectation, a 700MHz OC @ 1.3vcore isnt bad. im getting 1GHz OC on my Q9650 at similar Vcore on my GA-EP45-UD3P, so 700MHz is hardly unreasonable. you could take it up to 1.3625 without putting the cpu outside of its voltage spec though, so i would hardly worry.

 

[tno]

Oil -
My RAM is running at 1:1, so 852MHz at stock timings at stock voltage (5-5-5-18, 1.8v respectively). It's Corsair XMS2 DDR2 800 2x2GB ram, plenty fast enough and working flawlessly so far.

faxon-
Yeah I was hoping I could put a whole 1Ghz on it, mainly for bragging rights, but certainly 700MHz is no small thing. I think I will kick it all the way to 1.3+ just to see how far my combination works. It's been mostly stable, though I did discover that at the 3.2 setting with the cooler set at its quietest setting it's not stable when my wife decides that 80 on the thermostat was comfortable when its 90 outside. Twenty minutes into a game of Fallout 3 I found myself face to face with the BIOS splash. I turned it back down to 3GHz and turned the thermostat to 72. Sadly I wasn't running any temp logging software (I didn't think I was benching it, I was just playing a game) so I don't know how hot it got before it rebooted but my suspicion is that between the 4890 and the high ambient it was just a touch too much heat. Will ramp up the cooler during the next o/c run!

Thanks for the help, will keep this thread up to date with results.

Jason

 

[Gillbot]

Originally posted by: tno
After mucking with VTT and NBcore a bunch

I think people get in trouble most often when they change too many settings. Set everything to their default values (NOT AUTO) and bump up the vcore and see how far you can get. Then tweak the rest one at a time from there.

Most often, I see people change settings and struggle to get stability only later to find out less is more.

 

[faxon]

just some food for thought tno im aiming for a higher OC again today after doing a bunch of tinkering. you can take a look at my thread here, its right up near the top of the page here

 

[tno]

Gillbot,

Thanks for the advice, I was trying to follow the guide pretty closely and only started mucking with VTT and NBcore when I thought i had raised Vcore as much as I should. Aside from that I have definitely gone the one at a time approach, the stable 3.2 iteration I've landed on took over 50 individual iterations, and a lot of patience. The lesson has been learned though, with a strong mobo, the only voltage that really seems to need a lot of attention is that Vcore. Thanks.

Faxon,

I'll definitely check out your thread. Thanks.

Jason