Unable to OC Q6600 using Asus Striker II Formula

[viol37]

Hi All,

Just wondering if anyone would be able to share their expertise/experiences regarding OC'ing the Q6600 (2.4Ghz).

I have read that many people out there have been able to OC'd their Q6600 well beyond the 3Ghz mark using a standard HSF but I have been quite

unsuccessful. I have read many OC'ing guides on the net and have tried so many different BIOS configuration combinations for eg: various CPU/DDR

frenquencies, voltages, multiplier speeds, DDR RAM timings, temperatures are acceptable and I have only been able to get my Q6600 stable at 2.66Ghz, anything higher results in

Vista failing to boot and/or if it does boot, it ends up crashing due to major instability issues. which I think is quite sad.

I would be satisfied with my Q6600 running stable at 3Ghz but would be even more happy if I could get it to run stable at 3.2Ghz and I know I'm not

asking for much because I have read that others have been able to successfully OC using air cooling up to approx 3.4Ghz.

I have listed my specs below so if any of you guys/girls out there that have a similar config and have successfully OC'd their Q6600 to decent speeds, I

would love to hear from you.

If you also by looking at my specs, if you suspect that any of my components may be a problems/causing a bottleneck then please point it out.

Also if I failed to list/mentioned required information then please ask.

System Specs:
Asus Striker II Fomula (1333 FSB) - BIOS Rev 0902
Intel® Core?2 Quad Q6600 2.4Ghz (Stepping B, Revision G0)
x2 Corsair Twin2X Dominator 2048MB PC8500 5-5-5-15 (1066Mhz) = 4096MB
x3 Western Digital Raptor 74GB 10000 RPM 16MB Buffer = 222GB (RAID 0)
x2 Inno3D GeForce 8800GTS 512MB DDR3 OC Edition (700/2000Mhz) = SLI
SoundBlaster X-Fi XtremeGamer
ThermalTake Toughpower 750 watt (modular)
Samsung 226BW 1680x1050 2ms (DVI)
Vista Ultimate 64bit

Thanking you all in advance.

PS:
If any of you would like to further discuss this via MSN just give me your details and I'll add you.

Vio|37

 

[viol37]

I've managed to successfully OC my Q6600 and have got it running stable on 3Ghz using the standard Intel cooler with my ThermalTake 750w PSU.

I'm running at "9 x 333Mhz = 3000Mhz"

I tried to OC it to 3.2Ghz and also tried higher voltages but was unable to successfully pass POST.

Would it be safe to assume that I'm unable to exceed 3Ghz due to the standard Intel cooler I'm using desptie that I'm getting the below temps running at 3Ghz?

Current temps and voltages are listed below:

Temps
CPU: 50
Motherboard: 40
North Bridge: 70
South Bridge: 58

Voltages
Vcore: 1.35
CPU (PLL): 1.6
CPU (VTT): 1.36
North Bridge: 1.3
South Bridge: 1.5
RAM: 2.2

Your thoughts?

Vio|37

 

[Margalus]

get a good hs like a thermalright ultra 120 if you want to hit high speeds. the stock hsf is good for stock speed, but it's not good for overclocking.

also, are those temps under full load with all 4 cores at 100% or is that idle? 50 is not good if it's idle.

 

[viol37]

That is my CPU temp at idle.

I am now seriously thinking about investing in a really good CPU cooler.

I have my eye on my Zalman 9500/9700 due to rave reviews.

I just checked out your "Thermalright Ultra 120" and that looks like one serious cooler but I'm mainly concerned about one thing with all these heavy duty coolers.

Check out the size of them!

The surface that sits on the die of the CPU looks in proportion but the rest of the cool looks HUGE.

Once you stand your case up, doesn't that put a large amount of stress on the motherboard?

My fear is that HUGE cooler somehow de-taching itself and landing on one of my very expensive nVidia GeForce 8800GTS'

I'm really nervous about the weight and size of these aftermarket coolers.

 

[stevty2889]

At 3ghz, my Q6600 was hitting 85C on a scythe Ninja..I can't even imagine how high your load temps are getting with the stock heatsink! What are you using to measure your temps? If you aren't using core temp, you are more than likely reading about 15c lower than your actual core temps..

 

[viol37]

Hi mate,

That 50 temp that I posted earlier was at idle by checking via BIOS.

I haven't checked the CPU underload as I'm unsure to whether if software temp readers are accurate.

The 85 temp that you are getting, I'm assuming that's under load, yeah?

If so, is 85 normal for a load temp?

Vio|37

 

[lou61166]

Originally posted by: viol37
That is my CPU temp at idle.

I am now seriously thinking about investing in a really good CPU cooler.

I have my eye on my Zalman 9500/9700 due to rave reviews.

I just checked out your "Thermalright Ultra 120" and that looks like one serious cooler but I'm mainly concerned about one thing with all these heavy duty coolers.

Check out the size of them!

The surface that sits on the die of the CPU looks in proportion but the rest of the cool looks HUGE.

Once you stand your case up, doesn't that put a large amount of stress on the motherboard?

My fear is that HUGE cooler somehow de-taching itself and landing on one of my very expensive nVidia GeForce 8800GTS'

I'm really nervous about the weight and size of these aftermarket coolers.

I am having no problems with the Thermalright Ultra 120,motherboards are well built and can take thie stress this cooler puts on it,i highly recommend the Thermalright Ultra 120.it works great

 

[Margalus]

if you use the asus probe taht comes with the mobo or speed fan it reports the same temp that your bios reports.

and the thermalright hs comes with a reinforcing backplate that holds the motherboard stiff, no worries.

 

[viol37]

lou61166

Thanks for the reply.

I have 2 questions for you:

1. What sort of temps do you achieve when at idle and under load?
2. I know that you are able to attached x2 120mm fans (not included with the cooler), have you mounted 1 or 2 fans?

Let me know...

Vio|37

 

[viol37]

Margalus

Thanks for the feedback mate.

I'll give the Asus Probe a go and see how I go.

I have read a tone of CPU HSF reviews tonight and I think I'm leaning towards the Zalman 9700.

Might go out and buy it tomorrow.

It also comes with backing plate but in order for me to install it, I'm going to have to take my mobo out of my case.

I'll let you guys know how I go.

Vio|37

 

[lou61166]

Originally posted by: viol37
lou61166

Thanks for the reply.

I have 2 questions for you:

1. What sort of temps do you achieve when at idle and under load?
2. I know that you are able to attached x2 120mm fans (not included with the cooler), have you mounted 1 or 2 fans?

Let me know...

Vio|37

38 at idle about 54 under load,i have one fan mounted

 

[viol37]

Those are pretty impressive temps mate.

The Thermalright Ultra 120 is also quite tall in height too, right Lou?

I read that in height, it is also practically the width of a normal PC case, is that true?

Vio|37

 

[aigomorla]

You need a better sink for better overclocking on a Quad, otherwise its gonna get bad fast.

Okey, viol37, you need to first download coretemp 0.96
That program is vital and will tell you your temps on each core directly.

Also the striker II is a 780i. Unlink your CPU FSB and Memory FSB. Then lock your ram @ 800mhz. Dont use a onboard ratio.

Also you need to up your VTT to at least 1.4V to get anywhere, and you NEED to prep the board for quadcore/high end overclocking, or it wont be stable for very long.

Preping means you need to remove all the stock cooling, clean the monkey mess underside which can usually look as bad as this:
http://i125.photobucket.com/al...aigomorla/IMG_0562.jpg

and then apply fresh TIM, and remount.

Nvidia chipset boards ARENT the most stable boards out there.

And be very careful when you do this. If you dont know how to do it properly, then i recomend you find a friend who does. But by preping the board, you can reduce its stress by almost 7-10C off its loaded temps.

 

[lou61166]

Originally posted by: lou61166

Originally posted by: viol37
lou61166

Thanks for the reply.

I have 2 questions for you:

1. What sort of temps do you achieve when at idle and under load?
2. I know that you are able to attached x2 120mm fans (not included with the cooler), have you mounted 1 or 2 fans?

Let me know...

Vio|37

38 at idle about 54 under load,i have one fan mounted

I have a mid size Antec nine hundred case, and the top of the cooler nearly hits the access door,and is a little less then half the lengh of the board.

 

[myocardia]

Originally posted by: stevty2889
At 3ghz, my Q6600 was hitting 85C on a scythe Ninja..I can't even imagine how high your load temps are getting with the stock heatsink! What are you using to measure your temps? If you aren't using core temp, you are more than likely reading about 15c lower than your actual core temps..

Then you didn't have it mounted correctly, or anywhere near correctly. My Scythe Ninja keeps my Q6600 @ 59C on the hottest two cores, after >2 hrs. of Small FFT's, and that's at 3.2 Ghz.

 

[stevty2889]

Originally posted by: myocardia

Originally posted by: stevty2889
At 3ghz, my Q6600 was hitting 85C on a scythe Ninja..I can't even imagine how high your load temps are getting with the stock heatsink! What are you using to measure your temps? If you aren't using core temp, you are more than likely reading about 15c lower than your actual core temps..

Then you didn't have it mounted correctly, or anywhere near correctly. My Scythe Ninja keeps my Q6600 @ 59C on the hottest two cores, after >2 hrs. of Small FFT's, and that's at 3.2 Ghz.

It was mounted properly, I checked it more than once, remounted it more than once(replacing the AS5 each time), and got the same results. I don't have a G0. On water I hit the low 60's at 3.1ghz under full prime load.

 

[myocardia]

Originally posted by: stevty2889
It was mounted properly, I checked it more than once, remounted it more than once(replacing the AS5 each time), and got the same results. I don't have a G0. On water I hit the low 60's at 3.1ghz under full prime load.

Well, I still find it awfully hard to believe that you'd have anywhere near 85C @ only 3.0 Ghz, even with a B3 stepping. Duvie said he was getting less than 70C on his B3 stepping, and that was @ 3.3 Ghz, using considerably more vcore than I need @ 3.2 Ghz. Wait, were you using a fan on it?

 

[Scottae]

Well if you gonna Air cool do it right... The thermalright 120 extreme is really nice but this is the coooler to get. http://www.thermalright.com/ne...wxLCxoZW50aHVzaWFzdA==

 

[lou61166]

Originally posted by: Scottae
Well if you gonna Air cool do it right... The thermalright 120 extreme is really nice but this is the coooler to get. http://www.thermalright.com/ne...wxLCxoZW50aHVzaWFzdA==

That is overkill,plus the size is to big for me,also it is not available,i checked sites, everyone is out of stock.

 

[imported_tgenius]

Wow.. I have my Q6600 at 3.2 usin my Artic Cooler Pro 7. Idle temps are 42 for hot cores, 38 for cooler cores, and 62-63 hot cores,57-58 other 2 cores running prime 95.

I think I can even go higher because my Voltage is only like 2.26 or something like that.

 

[viol37]

Hey there all,

Just wanted to let you guys know that today I bought a Zalman 9700NT and my CPU idle has dropped down from 50 to approx 32, which is a major improvement.

So i tried to OC an hopefully push on beyond the 3Ghz limit but the furthest I was able to OC, with the stable being stable is a max of 3.1Ghz.

I was hoping that with the new cooler I could have at least hit 3.2Ghz or maybe 3.3Ghz but looks like I'm unable to OC my Q6600 any further.

Should I give up guys and settle for 3.1Ghz or would any of you guys have some last minute advice/tips I could try in order for me to OC a little higher?

Let me know.

My settings are:

Voltages
Vcore: 1.34375
CPU (PLL): 1.58
CPU (VTT): 1.34
North Bridge: 1.3
South Bridge: 1.5
RAM: 2.2

9 x 345 = 3.1Ghz.

DDR Ram set to 1066Mhz

Ram timings set to 5-5-5-15.

PS:
Now that I'm running the Zalman 9700, it's safe to say that the reason that I can only hit 3.1Ghz is NOT due to CPU heating issues.

Vio|37