Q9450 on Gigabyte GA-X48-DQ6

[jg0001]

So, I've been toying with my Q9450 C1 on a Gigabyte GA-X48-DQ6 (the DDR2 version)... I'm coming from an ASUS mobo background and trying to get my footing...

*** Most importantly: how can I tell what the DEFAULT "AUTO" VOLTAGES are so that I can properly compare them and adjust them versus what others are getting? The whole +1/-1 system is a touch annoying. ***

I have a few overclocking questions with respect to this combo. Generally, I'm trying to get an idea of how to translate the few BIOS changes it permits vis-a-vis the BIOS settings I read others are using.

Using FULL AUTO on ALL of the voltage selections, I can easily amp the Q9450 to 3.6 GHz (8x450), but it seems awfully hot (50 C idle, 70 C at load - as read by RealTemp, I know CoreTemp reads 10C higher due to an incorrect TJ Max) [prime stable at around 1hr+, I was afraid to run it longer than that due to the temps]. On full auto, it is putting the CPU volts at 1.45 as read in CPU-Z in Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit, which I can only imagine means nearly 1.50 in the BIOS. If I take it OFF of full auto and even if I manually set this to 1.45, and nudge up a bunch of other items by 0.15, I can't even OC it to 3.2 GHz.

Someone, please, help me translate the volts so I know what to set.

I wish anyone that posted an O/C also posted EXACTLY what settings they used, as they appear in the BIOS, leaving nothing out. It would help the newb-ier among you greatly in discerning which items matter most.

 

[TheDoc9]

I have the same Mb/Proc @3.2 with stock voltages. Voltage management is set to manual but each individual voltage option is set to auto. At the bottom of the page the voltage reader shows 1.25 but in windows it never goes above 1.168. I've suspected this number is what the max is that the board will supply to the processor and that by changing this number you can adjust the voltage and it will stay around that voltage or lower. But these things are so not straight forward like they used to be, I would be extremely careful as the voltage settings go well above 3+, which of course would destroy your chip immediately.

The board doesn't seem to have as many fine tunning options as the nvidia boards, and I don't find half the settings that people talk about on the forums regularly. It works for me because I'm not pushing the extreme and only want a system that's absolutely stable under any circumstances. Having said that I'm sure someone might mention now that they run their chip at 2900 GHZ on a cookie sheet in the oven with it on broil, but it's been my experience to never go above half the highest average overclock percentage wise.

 

[jg0001]

So far, my new best is listed below. I have yet to set the memory latencies manually (it defaults to even LOOSER timings than 5-5-5-15) AND I am still using probably too much vcore at 1.4000 in the BIOS. I will try to notch that down tonight.

I did small steps on FSB and GMCH while testing 450 x8 (3.60 GHz). Here is a bit of what happened:

(all at 450 x8)
FSB +V.....(G)MCH+V ..Posts? ....WinBoot?
0.10 .........0.100 .........YES .........NO = Windows freezes pre-GUI
0.15 .........0.100 .........YES .........NO = Windows freezes at GUI
0.20 .........0.100 .........YES .........YES = BSOD in under 1 min
0.20 .........0.150 .........YES .........YES = 12 min P95 then hardlock
0.20 .........0.200 .........YES .........YES = 13 min P95 then hardlock
0.20 .........0.250.........YES .........YES = P95 ran for 1hr+

The full details for the last line are below. I was only changing FSB OverVoltage and GMCH OverVoltage in the above tests. (I did do many other tests, not listed).

CPU Speed 3.600

Robust GrBstr Auto
CPU Clock Ratio 8
Fine CPU CR 0.0
CPU Host Freq 450
PCI Express Freq 100
C.I.A.2 Disabled
Performance Enh. Standard

Sys Mem Mult 2.40B
MemSpeed 1080
Timings Auto
Timings (by CPU-z) 5-7-7-20-2T <-- will toy with manually later

CPU/PCIEX CD Ctrl 800mV
CPU Clock Skew Ctrl Normal
(G)MCH Clock Skew Ctrl Normal

System Voltage Control Manual
DDR2 OverVoltage Ctrl 0.30
PCI-E OverVoltage Ctrl Normal
FSB OverVoltage Ctrl 0.20
(G)MCH OverVoltage Ctrl 0.250
Loadline Calibration Auto
Vcore 1.40000
Normal CPU Vcore 1.23750V
Vcore (@load, by CPU-z) 1.360

Idle Temp 41-44
Load Temp 61-64//67-69
P95 set1//set2
Posts? YES
Windows Loads? YES
SuperPi - 1M 13.025
SuperPi - 2M 31.784
SuperPi - 4M 75.127
SuperPi - 8M 170.880
Prime95 1hr+ stable (will do more later)

 

[TheDoc9]

That's a 1 GHZ speed increase which is a nice little sum. The vcore might be a bit high from what I've read around the net, it's definitely at the limit but I don't know about the other voltages. I'll see about getting the settings I'm using for 3.2 ghz up tonight after I get off work, hopefully they'll be of some use in your journey.

 

[jg0001]

I managed to lower VCore down to 1.325 in BIOS (1.280 as read by CPU-z while under load), which dropped my top load temps significantly. Lower Vcore's (1.3 and below in BIOS) resulted in Prime95 failing at about the 15 minute mark when small FFTs start.

So far, I'm very happy with this performance. 3.6 with good temps (idles at 39/40, rarely over 60C at load, maxing at 63C on hottest core after sustained 100% load on small FFTs).

I'm sure I could do more if I push the other voltages... I cap out at 70C at max load when I use the old VCore of 1.40, which was totally unneccessary for 3.6. Woot!

 

[bryanW1995]

that sounds very similar to my oc settings. I'm also loading at 1.28vcore (oops, just looked and it's at 1.29) in both uGuru and cpu-z, I have it set to 1.34 in bios to get that. my mch is 1.52 (+.27 to compare with the gigabyte terms since my default is 1.25). What is fsb +v equivalent to on a ip35 pro? is that cpu vtt, ichio, etc?

 

[Fadey]

Im about to get a gigabyte x48-ds5 and a q9450 after using an amd system for about 3 years, what does (G)MCH+V do and why do you need to overvolt it?

 

[jg0001]

I'd add that I'm also running 4 sticks of 2GB PC2-8500 G.Skill memory. So despite having all 4 memory banks full, I'm getting a great overclock.

I believe the +0.30 on my DDR2 setting is just to get my memory to its rated 2.1 Volts, despite the "over voltage" tagline. Someone please let me know if this is not true. (I really wish Gigabyte boards would state the absolute voltage levels and not just the deltas.)

As to MCH... I believe it is the northbridge / memory controller hub (the (G) used to stand for Graphics), and since it is being forced to run at a higher than default frequency (i.e. 450 in my case), it likes a little extra juice to stay stable.

 

[Fadey]

Ah ok , what kind of cooling are you using?

 

[jg0001]

On the CPU? I use a Zalman 9700. I had a TRUE120 (thermalright ultra 120 extreme) on another PC, but absolutely hated the way it secured itself. The Zalman's (both 9500 and 9700) give me a much stronger feeling that it is "on", and tight.

On the chipsets? I add no other cooling to the motherboard... though Gigabyte's X48 series is pretty well heat-sinked as it is. I do have an Antec P182 case and have additional fans in the case blowing air onto the chipsets and memory, though they probably aren't even needed.

 

[bryanW1995]

I could learn to love the way the true seats itself for the 10c lower temps it'll give a quad over a zalman at 3.6...

 

[Fadey]

oh sweet ill be using my 9700 on my new q9450 as well . I got 2 fans (one pushes air in at the front and one pushes air out) in my thermaltake shark.

 

[jg0001]

Originally posted by: bryanW1995
I could learn to love the way the true seats itself for the 10c lower temps it'll give a quad over a zalman at 3.6...

I understand this post, believe me I do... it's why I bought the TRUE in the first place... but you know what? For me, it didn't help at all anyway.

With my new 1.325 (in BIOS) VCore, I'm idling at 3.6 GHz at 39 C, it jumps to 50 C at load on large FFTs in Prime95, and maxes out at 59-62C at sustained load on small FFTs. For normal purposes, I imagine my max temp to be in the high 40's, low 50's. Even video encoding doesn't generate as much heat, endlessly, as Prime95.

I don't think most TRUE's come from the factory as ready to use as a Zalman... My Zalman 9700 came with a MIRROR like flat bottom. Read about the TRUE... seems like everyone has to do half the work themselves to make it ready for use.

Also, perhaps a TRUE has more benefit over a Zalman ASSUMING the case is otherwise not well ventilated. Mine is very much ventilated, and I saw no difference.

I DID have a harder time getting the TRUE to even out the temps across all 4 cores. I'm pretty sure the way it is retained lets it LEAN ever so slightly downward, so if you have it 'hanging', as it were, it will rest a little more against the SPRINGS it uses to retain itself... I prefer the Zalman's no-nonsense screw down bar that goes across the middle of the unit. I've never worried that it wasn't fully retained and would stay that way over time.

 

[Fadey]

I just started overclocking mine, with +0.1v on the fsb / (G)MCH and cpu at 1.325 in bios (1.280 according to cpu-z when under load) i got 3.4ghz (8x425) with prime95 running small fft's and 2 threads of orthos going and im getting about 47c across my cores after running it for 20mins. Im using realtemp for the tempratures seems really low :S.

 

[jg0001]

CoreTemp 98.1 will report 10C higher, but that is because it implies a higher TJunctionMax. It's 'hottly' debated as to what the real TJMax is that should be used right now, but since CoreTemp is otherwise a mess at the current iteration (reporting the wrong proc names (Mobile), wrong socket type, etc), people are jumping ship to RealTemp.

Instead of Orthosx2, just get Prime95's latest update. It'll run on 2 or 4 cores and autosenses the core count.

 

[Fadey]

Oh really? i got the lastest prime95 it didnt seem to be stressing more than 1 core so thats why i loaded up orthos

 

[jg0001]

You want version 25.something (25.5 maybe?) of Prime95 itself... not the latest version of Orthos.

See the link below... it mentions a separate version even for Vista 64... not sure if it matters if you use that or not...
http://forums.anandtech.com/me...erthread=y&STARTPAGE=1

 

[jg0001]

Okay, here's my latest setup.... I'm getting 3.60 GHz at decent temps. I think I may be done with tweaking it for now. [Note: I put the memory back to 1:1 speedwise]

Q9450 @ 3.60 GHz -- Prime95 -- 7.25 hr run

CPU Speed 3.600

[Note: other settings are made in other areas of the BIOS. I turn OFF the following: C1E, EIST, Virtualization, Exec Disable Bit. Set HPET to 64-bit mode. BIOS is set up for AHCI on SATA drives, not IDE emulation, etc.]

Robust GrBstr Auto
CPU Clock Ratio 8
Fine CPU CR 0.0
CPU Host Freq 450
PCI Express Freq 100
C.I.A.2 Disabled
Performance Enh. Standard

Sys Mem Mult 2.00B
MemSpeed 900
Timings 5-5-5-15 (rest set to auto)

CPU/PCIEX CD Ctrl 800mV <-- this is the default
CPU Clock Skew Ctrl Normal
(G)MCH Clock Skew Ctrl Normal

System Voltage Control Manual
DDR2 OverVoltage Ctrl +0.30 <-- takes memory to 2.1 V
PCI-E OverVoltage Ctrl Normal
FSB OverVoltage Ctrl +0.20 <-- don't exceed this!
(G)MCH OverVoltage Ctrl +0.250
Loadline Calibration Auto
Vcore 1.32500
Normal CPU Vcore 1.23750V <-- as read by BIOS
Vcore (@load, by CPU-z) 1.280

Min Idle Temp 39-42
Max Load Temp 56-59//60-62 (the higher set is under max heat generation tests; the lower set is from 100% load, but not geared towards max heat generation)

SuperPi - 1M 13.025

 

[Fadey]

Got new prime going, gets abit hotter about 50 - 55 across the cores however ive lowered my zalman 9700 fan speed abit to 2000 instead of 2500 to get rid of some noise. I use my pc alot, im not risking damage by using +0.15 fsb and +0.2 mch am i? my vcore is at 1.4 cpu-z reads it as 1.296 - 1.312 under load. Any got any ideas why my vdrop is so large?

 

[Fadey]

oh nvm im an idiot its 1.34 in bios not 1.4 lol, but still is +0.15 and +0.2 mch ok for every day use?

 

[bryanW1995]

Originally posted by: jg0001

Originally posted by: bryanW1995
I could learn to love the way the true seats itself for the 10c lower temps it'll give a quad over a zalman at 3.6...

I understand this post, believe me I do... it's why I bought the TRUE in the first place... but you know what? For me, it didn't help at all anyway.

With my new 1.325 (in BIOS) VCore, I'm idling at 3.6 GHz at 39 C, it jumps to 50 C at load on large FFTs in Prime95, and maxes out at 59-62C at sustained load on small FFTs. For normal purposes, I imagine my max temp to be in the high 40's, low 50's. Even video encoding doesn't generate as much heat, endlessly, as Prime95.

I don't think most TRUE's come from the factory as ready to use as a Zalman... My Zalman 9700 came with a MIRROR like flat bottom. Read about the TRUE... seems like everyone has to do half the work themselves to make it ready for use.

Also, perhaps a TRUE has more benefit over a Zalman ASSUMING the case is otherwise not well ventilated. Mine is very much ventilated, and I saw no difference.

I DID have a harder time getting the TRUE to even out the temps across all 4 cores. I'm pretty sure the way it is retained lets it LEAN ever so slightly downward, so if you have it 'hanging', as it were, it will rest a little more against the SPRINGS it uses to retain itself... I prefer the Zalman's no-nonsense screw down bar that goes across the middle of the unit. I've never worried that it wasn't fully retained and would stay that way over time.

Oh, I understand you completely. I have a Q9450 currently being cooled by a zalman 9700. That 9700 has served me well, having been used previously on my fx-55 and opteron 180 as well. I have a tuniq tower on my x3350. The x3350 runs at 3.6 in 26c+ room and NEVER gets closer than 30c delta to tjmax on its hottest core. My Q9450 is probably just a hot-natured cpu, so hot-natured that it runs 1-2c hotter at 3.4 than the x3350 does at 3.6, plus the q9450 is in a 22c room. The zalman just can't handle the heat like a tuniq can, and, by almost ALL accounts, the true handles heat better than the tuniq. I personally love my tuniq, in fact I love it so much that I bought another one the other day to replace the zalman, but I know that I could have gotten better cooling power from a true. However, the true is more of a pita to install/ lap/etc. so I went with the tuniq. If you were comparing your hsf to a tuniq I might give you the benefit of the doubt...but you're comparing it to a freakin' zalman. Sorry, but it doesn't matter how flat/polished the surface is on the zalman, it doesn't cool a quad worth a crap. If you want 3.3-3.4, go with the zalman and just know that you'll need to run the fan on 2800 rpm 24/7. If you want 3.6+, get a true, noctua, or at least a tuniq.

 

[Fadey]

my zalman at 2000rpm does a fine job of cooling my q9450 doesnt go above 54c on the hottest core using prime95 on small fft's, idles at about 27 - 29 doesnt even break 50 when i go 2800.

 

[jg0001]

Is there much point to trying to lower ram timings from 5-5-5-XX to 4-4-4-XX on these? Would that introduce much in the way of performance for standard gaming and/or video encoding operations?