Beginner overclocker, few questions

E

eLus1ve

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jan 19, 2004
Messages
294
Before anything, I'll list my new hardware:
E6600 + Scythe Ninja Plus revision B
eVga 680i A1
2GB(1GBx2) OCZ 1066MHz

I've done quite some research before actually jumping into BIOS, but I can honestly say it was a lot more confusing than I thought. I already had a battle plan ready which was basically consisted of:
400 x 8 multiplier
1.35V
"Memory frequency" at 400Mhz
5-5-5-15
2.15V

Apparently, I needed more information than this because I encountered all sorts of obstacles. I've tried plugging in all the information I had here and there but my computer refused to boot. I've ran Orthos for over 10 hours on non OC'ed settings and it ran perfectly fine without any errors so I'm quite confident my hardware is in good shape. Anyways here it goes so please bare with me.

First off, can my memory run HT while in slot 2 and 3, instead of 0 and 1? My mobo manual isn't too clear on that, it just says put it in rather 0 and 1 or 2 and 3. I can't place my ram into slot 0 because my HSF hovers over it.

Secondly, what's the difference between the FSB(QDR) MHz and MEM(DDR) MHz? I had a choice between Linked and Unlinked, and I vaguely remember choosing the one that gave me the option to set the ratio, which I set it to 1:1. Was I supposed to set the MEM(DDR) at 400MHz and leave my FSB(QDR) at 1066MHz to match my preset settings mentioned earlier?

Also, I clearly disabled my EITS, or so called Intel SpeedStep but CPU-Z clearly shows it's on because my CPU runs at 1.6Ghz during idle and it'll jump to 2.4Ghz when I run Orthos.

Lastly, is it normal for my computer to take a while to boot up when I save my BIOS settings and restart? Every time I OC my BIOS and restart, my computer doesn't boot up and my eVga LED screen shows "54"(NV memory test) or "--"(blank basically). Basically I've assumed I screwed something up but I'm having this idea that maybe my computer is running some test for stability issues and needs some time to boot up?

Thanks in advance
 
eLus1ve said:
400 x 8 multiplier

"Memory frequency" at 400Mhz
Click to expand...

If I understand this correctly, wouldn't this push your memory to over 1.6GHz?

eLus1ve said:
Secondly, what's the difference between the FSB(QDR) MHz and MEM(DDR) MHz? I had a choice between Linked and Unlinked, and I vaguely remember choosing the one that gave me the option to set the ratio, which I set it to 1:1. Was I supposed to set the MEM(DDR) at 400MHz and leave my FSB(QDR) at 1066MHz to match my preset settings mentioned earlier?
Click to expand...

Okay, those measurements concern the speeds of your CPU and RAM. FSB(QDR) Means Front Side Bus (Quad Data Rate). MEM(DDR) Means Memory (Dual Data Rate). Linked or Unlinked simply specifies whether some other clock is linked to the front side bus.

What motherboard are you using?
 
What does it display for your "Actual FSB (QDR), MHz" and "Actual MEM (DDR), MHz" as well as "CPU Freq, MHz"?
 
Where can I check the actual value? If you mean the current value, my CPU is at 266.7 x 9(2.4), rated FSB at 1066.7, memory frequency at 400, and my FSB:DRAM ratio at 2:3.
 
In the pdf manual for that motherboard it shows in the same page where you adjust the frequency of the CPU and MEM that it also has displays showing the actual speeds of the CPU and RAM in MHz. They should be just above and below the frequency adjustments.

From what I see your current settings are perfectly reasonable. The settings you mentioned in the original post would've gotten you:

CPU = 400MHz * 8 (Multiplier) = 3.2GHz
FSB = 400MHz * 4 (Quad Data Rate) = 1.6GHz
RAM = 400MHz * 2 (Dual Data Rate) = 800MHz

Your memory seems to be rated up to 533MHz, so unless you've got some bad ram I doubt that's at fault. Perhaps you're being a bit optimistic about the CPU? A 30% overclock might be asking a bit much right off the bat. Try lowering your FSB to around the 325MHz range. That should bump your CPU up to 2.6GHz and lower your RAM to 650MHz. Then just take small steps from there to get as close to your goal as possible.
 
Your FSB is 400*4= 1.6GHz not 1.2GHz. The stability of the FSB at a given speed is the function of the chipset, the coolness of the chipset, and the quality of the mobo. Most people are able to get a stable 400*4 FSB on your board, so I don't think that is the problem, however it *could* be.

1 Don't start with a 30% overclock. Try 15%, see if that comes up stable. If not, try 10%. Then work your way up slowly. When something goes wrong, reset to the last known stable configuration.
2 Only tweak one variable at a time. For instance, you could keep the CPU at stock speeds and keep pushing your memory to see when the memory fails. When you find the bus speed that causes a failure, see if you can push it a little further by setting your memory timers to be more forgiving (6-6-6, etc). Then you'll know that the memory bus can never be faster than that. Then pull back your memory bus a little bit (to give yourself a little breathing room - stable on the boot is not necessarily stable in ORTHOS) and push your front side bus. See if you really can get it to 400MHz stable. If you can, you can rule out that issue. If you approach this scientifically, by isolating variables and carefully noting your results, you'll be able to max out your capabilities with much less headache.
3 As a general rule of thumb, it's better to have a higher FSB and a lower multiplier where possible. Your system's performance will be increased by a higher FSB, which governs the speed at which your CPU can communicate with various other components on the motherboard, system RAM not included.
4 Read the manual and get to understand every option in the overclocking tab of your BIOS.
5 When you hit a wall, try tweaking your voltage settings. Raise them a TINY bit and try again. Keep in mind that higher voltage reduces the effect of electromagnetic noise, but increases heat dissipation. Therefore there comes a point at which higher voltages harm your stability and even threatens the integrity of your hardware. Remember to monitor your system temps to make sure you're not getting too hot which kills stability. "Too hot" varies from component to component, you should do the individual research for your stuff. However offhand I can say that the E6600 is fine below 60C at load.
 
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