Gigabyte P965-P35 X38 overclocking and BIOS tweaking Guide

Nope. Touched the RAMS and NB heatsinks with my thermal probe. Only felt warm even after 15 seconds.

Prime95 has been running for 3 hrs now. No errors so far. Temp is averaging 67 degrees celcius.

orubasarot said:
I'm not an expert at all, just a bit of personal experience, but touch your NB heatsink. Hurts? That's when I BSOD is when it hurts.

See if your situation improves by blowing as much cold air as you can on it, with a fan or whatever you got. If you see any improvement at all then I'd suggest googling what I mentioned and checking out those third party NB coolers, because it seems like yours was revised later on, according to that link you posted.
Click to expand...
 
A short update to my OC. Was able to get a stable 3.0 Ghz OC running. However, my temperatures when I was doing the Intel Burn test was 80 degrees. Is that too hot? Should I maybe lower my OC? (I already tried loweing the CPU voltage, but it would BSOD when running the intel burn test).
 
80C is fine with the Burn Test running, it makes (it is its job) the CPU about as hot as it will ever get and hotter than it will get under any kind of normal use. It is a worst case testing tool. Your CPU does not even consider itself hot until around 100C but most of us like to give the CPU some breathing room. Nothing to worry about. Of course if there are easy things you can do to improve case airflow or cpu cooling lower is always better.
 
Going to replace the trusty release day e6300 with a Q6600 in my DS3 Rev 1.0 board.

I've been running this CPU on a 430 FSB and working it like a dog since I built the computer.

Do you think the Q6600 will be able to be pushed as hard???
 
My observations, hopefully some others will comment as well.

Going to replace the trusty release day e6300 with a Q6600 in my DS3 Rev 1.0 board.
Click to expand...

I did basiclly the same thing with my rev 1 DQ6, went from a E6300 that OCed to 475FSB to a Q6600. Despite knowning the board/memory would do 475FSB with the dual, nothing I did - and I tried everything - would allow me much over 380 FSB stable. It could be I just got a "dud" Q6600 -G0. Others have had better results but not by a whole lot on the rev 1.0 boards.

Do it if you intend to keep the machine around, its about the best thing you can do to it IMO.

No I think not, it will likely (and I hope I am wrong) not OC as high ( I doubt you will get 9 x 400 but give it a shot ! ) but the extra cores more than make up for it in smoothness and system "snappy". The higher mulitplier will make it easier to OC with a lower FSB. However it still should be easy to get it to 3.2GHz without too much trouble and on the games I play at least, I see little improvement in games or the system once I get to 3.2. The biggest challenge will be finding a memory mulitplier and a "memory performace level" settings that make it sing. I am expecting your FSB/Board to top out below 400MHz and then one needs memory mulitlplers that never seem to be optimum to run the memory at least close to spec. I recommend you do everything possible to get "memory performace level" off of normal, even if you have to underclock your memory a bit.

Regardless it will be a good upgrade even if your FSB number ends up not sounding as impressive.

LOL post is a little disjointed and I am too lazy atm to edit. Do it.

Oh I see you have an i7, /envy , you know already what the extra cores will do.
 
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Good stuff to know, so I won't kill myself trying to duplicate my e6300 FSB.

I have two Q6600s, the one that's sitting around idle at the momment, and one in my son's computer. My son's runs happily at 3.25, but that's all I could ever squeeze out of it.

The second has been just a tad better.

I would be happy at 360-370 FSB, to tell you the truth.

I like this board so much,I just can't bear to give it up......it's just a rock solid platform, and never complains one little bit about anything.:D
 
You definitely won't be able to hit 475FSB, and I also doubt you'll hit 430FSB, but as Bill said, just try. I was able to hit 400FSB w/ my rev2.0 DS3 back when I had it w/ a Q6600, but couldn't go much higher than that.
 
I've had a lot of fun with my P965 board and my C2D 6420, but I'm going to be doing New Build 2010 this summer.

What to do with my current box? Well, I have in mind upgrading the bios so that it'll use one of the Q9400, replace my RAM and harddrive, and do a bit of mild overclocking. Then give the system to my mom. She doesn't game, and it'd run Win 7 easily for the next few years. They can be one iteration behind me in their tech. As long as the mobo holds out for another 3 years, I would like to see a bit of life.

Would the Q9400 get over a 3.0 OC without pushing?
 
The problem I am having is that all settings can be modified while in the Bios and alter performance EXCEPT when I alter CPU Host Frequency it does not "change." My CPU Clock Ratio changes fine but my CPU Host Frequency NEVER displays properly(Not in POST test, CPUID, Core Temp, Windows) even if the bios shows it as Overclocked.

I attempted different modifications including loading defaults and modifying from the start with just the Voltage being normal, with just overclocking the CPU FSB. I Updated my BIOS to the most current version (F9J). I also tried overvolting between Normal 1.35-1.4

The following are my settings for a Gigabytes X38-DQ6 rev1 Bios F9J board, CPU is Q6600 G0 stepping, RAM is OCZ2RPR10661G.

Advanced BIOS Features
HDD S.M.A.R.T. Capability__ [Disabled]
Limit CPUID Max. to 3______ [Disabled]
No-Execute Memory Protect__ [Disabled]
CPU Enhanced Halt (C1E)____ [Disabled]
CPU Thermal Monitor 2(TM2)_ [Enable]
CPU EIST Function__________ [Disabled]
Virtualization Technology__ [Disabled]
Full Screen LOGO Show______ [Disabled]
Init Display First_________ [PEG]

Power Management Setup
HPET Support (Note)_______ [Enabled]
HPET Mode_________________ [32-bit mode]
Power On By Mouse_________ [Disabled]
Power On By Keyboard______ [Disabled]
KB Power ON Password______ [Enter]
AC Back Function__________ [Soft-Off]

MB Intelligent Tweaker(M.I.T.)
Robust Graphics Booster___________ [Auto]
CPU Clock Ratio (Note)____________ [9] <<<---- This Does change when loading cpu-z
CPU Host Clock Control_ [Enabled]
CPU Host Frequency (MHz)__________ [266] <<<---- This is what doesn't change in POST Test or BIOS.
PCI Express Frequency (Mhz)_______ [100]
C.I.A. 2__________________________ [Disabled]
System Memory Multiplier (SPD)____ [3.20b]
Memory Frequency (Mhz) 667 <<<---- This also appears off from cpu-z where cpu-z shows the correct stat when loaded. However it does report my RAM as PC2-5300 when it should be PC2-8500
DRAM Timing Selectable_______ SPD __ [Manual]
CAS Latency Time_____________ 5 ____ [5]
Dram RAS# to CAS# Delay______ 5 ____ [5]
Dram RAS# Precharge Delay_____5 ____ [5]
Precharge Delay (tRAS)________15 ____[15]
ACT to ACT Delay (tRRD)_______4 _____[auto]
Rank Write to READ Delay______3 _____[auto]
Write to Precharge Delay______6 _____[auto]
Refresh to ACT Delay________42 ______[0]
Read to Precharge Delay_______4 _____[auto]
Memory Performance Enhance__________ [Normal]
*System Voltages*
System Voltage Control____ [Manual]
DDR2 OverVoltage Control__ [+0.300V] <-- default is 1.8V, 1.8 + 0.3V = 2.1V
PCI-E OverVoltage Control_ [+0.1V]
FSB OverVoltage Control___ [+0.1V]
(G)MCH OverVoltage Control [+0.1V]
CPU Voltage Control_______ [Normal]/[1.38]
 
oblivix said:
The problem I am having is that all settings can be modified while in the Bios and alter performance EXCEPT when I alter CPU Host Frequency it does not "change." My CPU Clock Ratio changes fine but my CPU Host Frequency NEVER displays properly(Not in POST test, CPUID, Core Temp, Windows) even if the bios shows it as Overclocked.

I attempted different modifications including loading defaults and modifying from the start with just the Voltage being normal, with just overclocking the CPU FSB. I Updated my BIOS to the most current version (F9J). I also tried overvolting between Normal 1.35-1.4

The following are my settings for a Gigabytes X38-DQ6 rev1 Bios F9J board, CPU is Q6600 G0 stepping, RAM is OCZ2RPR10661G.

Advanced BIOS Features
HDD S.M.A.R.T. Capability__ [Disabled]
Limit CPUID Max. to 3______ [Disabled]
No-Execute Memory Protect__ [Disabled]
CPU Enhanced Halt (C1E)____ [Disabled]
CPU Thermal Monitor 2(TM2)_ [Enable]
CPU EIST Function__________ [Disabled]
Virtualization Technology__ [Disabled]
Full Screen LOGO Show______ [Disabled]
Init Display First_________ [PEG]

Power Management Setup
HPET Support (Note)_______ [Enabled]
HPET Mode_________________ [32-bit mode]
Power On By Mouse_________ [Disabled]
Power On By Keyboard______ [Disabled]
KB Power ON Password______ [Enter]
AC Back Function__________ [Soft-Off]

MB Intelligent Tweaker(M.I.T.)
Robust Graphics Booster___________ [Auto]
CPU Clock Ratio (Note)____________ [9] <<<---- This Does change when loading cpu-z
CPU Host Clock Control_ [Enabled]
CPU Host Frequency (MHz)__________ [266] <<<---- This is what doesn't change in POST Test or BIOS.
PCI Express Frequency (Mhz)_______ [100]
C.I.A. 2__________________________ [Disabled]
System Memory Multiplier (SPD)____ [3.20b]
Memory Frequency (Mhz) 667 <<<---- This also appears off from cpu-z where cpu-z shows the correct stat when loaded. However it does report my RAM as PC2-5300 when it should be PC2-8500
DRAM Timing Selectable_______ SPD __ [Manual]
CAS Latency Time_____________ 5 ____ [5]
Dram RAS# to CAS# Delay______ 5 ____ [5]
Dram RAS# Precharge Delay_____5 ____ [5]
Precharge Delay (tRAS)________15 ____[15]
ACT to ACT Delay (tRRD)_______4 _____[auto]
Rank Write to READ Delay______3 _____[auto]
Write to Precharge Delay______6 _____[auto]
Refresh to ACT Delay________42 ______[0]
Read to Precharge Delay_______4 _____[auto]
Memory Performance Enhance__________ [Normal]
*System Voltages*
System Voltage Control____ [Manual]
DDR2 OverVoltage Control__ [+0.300V] <-- default is 1.8V, 1.8 + 0.3V = 2.1V
PCI-E OverVoltage Control_ [+0.1V]
FSB OverVoltage Control___ [+0.1V]
(G)MCH OverVoltage Control [+0.1V]
CPU Voltage Control_______ [Normal]/[1.38]
Click to expand...

I dont see anything wrong. If I had to guess, and I do, its the bios version, F9J. The "J" indicates a beta (still in testing) bios version. Lets see what Gigabyteme says....

Bleh, just says "Beta" in the release notes, so no clue as to what was being worked on there. And the date of 6/2009 indicates they stopped messing with it over 6 months ago without a final version yet released. hmmm .......

Questions:
Have you ever tried to/been able to OC this board in the past ?
Do you have ANY USB devices other than a mouse connected ? (if so remove them and try again)


If me, I would try this to get back to a stable OCable configuration so that I could then start attacking the issue one thing at a time.

Load factory defaults, go into the quad bios options and copy main bios to backup bios. Check manual and make sure bios settings are such that you boot from main bios and it does not "fallover" to the backup bios on an error. Hmmm manual for your board, despite having "quad bios" (main, backup, Xpress recovery sofware copy, and one I cant think of ) does not have any instructions for manulipulating the backup bios like my board. So I am not sure here what to tell you other than if possible we want to remove any chance of anything other than the main bios booting the board and we want to make sure all bios copies are the same.



I would
Download the F8 bios unzip and/or run the exe and put the files created on floppy or USB stick formated with FAT file system.
Make sure the Qbios utility on the main bios menu screen could see the bios raw file.
Unplug the machine from the wall, put the jumper on the cmos reset pins and remove the battery and let it sit overnight.
Next day put everything back, disconnect any USB devices except a mouse, boot, load factory defaults and flash the F8 bios.
On reboot again load factory defaults, copy main bios to backup bios if you have that function. Or flash the backup with the same F8 bios file.
reboot making sure you are booting from main bios and any external USB devices are unplugged.
Now see if you can OC any/bios acts like it should. Only change what you have to in the bios leave most on auto and dont worry about anything but making sure your hard drives are set up ok.

see where that gets you if anywhere, I would not get too hung up on that F9J bios I cannot find any detailed info that it particularly helps anyone. I am running one bios down becasue the last bios version for my board went through a bunch of beta versions and it was finally finalized - but using it casued me OCing issues. So try a complete cmos reset and flash a release copy, even try F7 if you have too. If none of that works I would start screaming at Gigabyte tech support (be ready for a game of ping pong with questions and answers but keep at it as your warranty, 3 years, is running out. But I think the bios is just borked. We shall see... Good luck.
 
BillParrish said:
Questions:
Have you ever tried to/been able to OC this board in the past ?
Do you have ANY USB devices other than a mouse connected ? (if so remove them and try again)
Click to expand...

I have not tried to OC the CPU but the RAM in the past and it didn't work so I assumed I was doing it wrong so I just kept reading to make sure i understood what I was doing.
I do have a USB keyboard(LogitechG15) attached but it seems to be limited to functionality on boot-up as far as lights/screen etc. But if you are wondering about other peripherals i do not have any attached.

I havnt seen anything about the flashing the backup bios but i suppose I have to dig out my manual again from the netherworld, hehe.
 
Give it a good reset as described above, if you cannot find anything about the backup bios dont worry about it. There should be a function key mentioned at the bottom of the main bios screen but I am not postive. Your manual ( I downloaded it) does not mention how to access the backup bios so yours may not be like mine. You might not be able to get to it. Do the full reset and if you then cannot OC

(make sure your memory voltages are set properly, that OCZ reaper will need more than the default voltage of 1.8V. )

The 3 GB of ram is very odd, just use 2 sticks and make sure they are in the correct slots until you determine what the heck is going on. Do you have 2 x 1GB + 2 x 512K sticks ? If so just run the 2 x 1GB for now. Again memory voltage is critical.

Increase Vcore to 1.375 (way under max, wont hurt a thing)
Increase Vmch to +.2 (little extra voltage for the northbridge/mch )
Increase Vdimm to OCZ spec max (most likely +.3 for a total of 1.8V +.3 = 2.1V memory voltage).
other voltages auto.

memory performance enhance on "normal"
make sure the Memory Mulitplier is set to 2.0, on a boot failure it will reset to auto and try to set the memory speed to a high speed. We do not what that now, we want it set to 2.0 which will underclock the memory but keep it from causing any issues as we try to figure out why you cannot OC the CPU. Unless the board is defective you should be able to run that cpu at 3.2GHz like a walk in the part.

-------------------------------
http://www.ocztechnology.com/products/ddr2/reaper_series

it appears all that "Reaper" memory wants at a minumum 2.1V, it is absolutley critical your memory voltage (Vdimm) is manually set correctly to at least +.3V and per the manuf specs up to +.4 (which will make the bios lettering go red as that is very high voltage for normal memory - but you dont have normal memory so dont worry.)

So unless you have the memory voltage jacked up I can see that stopping you from OCing at all. And with 4 sticks of memory installed if you are at 1.8V its a bit of a wonder it boots at all.
 
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LordJezo said:
Whats the best memory for this mobo? The box says it goes up to DDR2 800, would it be pointless to buy anything faster?

I am thinking about upgrading to this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122

To help with my OCing, good choice? Its in my price range so that combined with my new fan I hope to push my E6600 a bit more.
Click to expand...

Your CPU has a default multiplier of 9x.
The lowest memory multiplier available on the board is 2.0
(low memory multiplier will let you raise FSB higher to OC the CPU without having to have extremely high speed ram).

So, using that 2.0 memory multiplier you can run a FSB speed of 400MHz and your ram will be right on spec.

With that 400MHz FSB your CPU can run a maximum of 400x9 = 3.6GHz theoretical max CPU speed with ram running exactly on spec.

Now in general 2GB memory modules do not like to OC much unless you loosen (raise) the timings and those are already 5 5 5 15 and you really do not want to go to 6, 5 7 7 18 would not be so bad, but in general you might be able to get 10-20MHz more FSB out of them and it would be certain you would have to run them at 1.9V instead of the stock 1.8V default.

This would allow (hoping for the best) 420 x 9 = 3.78 GHz as a theoretical maximum

This assumes your board will do 400+FSB etc. etc. I am just crunching numbers, what you actually would get depends on too many other things.

If you where to go with ram rated 1000MHz, that would allow FSB buss speeds approaching 500MHz (few boards will do that without a lot of cooling mods, but some of the Gigabytes will). That would allow the CPU to run up to 9 x 500 = 4.5GHz in theory.

So it depends on your OC target. If you feel 3.7ish GHz is about where your limit is the PC6400 stuff will do fine.

If you think your CPU can do better than 3.6GHz and want to go for it, you need the higher rated speed ram so you can eliminate it as the limit to your OC.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231145

about $15 more and is the same ram. It has just been speed bin tested to work at 1000MHz (500FSB with a 2.0 multiplier) and requires increased voltage of 2.0-2.1 voltage.

Me, personally, if any way to swing it I would go with the faster stuff, it just takes the ram out of the picture while you are trying to find the CPU max speed and thats worth $15 in headache relief. Also if you upgrade the CPU in the future with something that has a multiplier lower than 9x you will not have as much trouble finding a good FSB/memory multiplier combination that gives good performance.


But if you are running 667 memory now, either one will do and open up huge OCing opportunites that have been severely limitied by the 667 stuff, you cant go wrong.
 
BillParrish said:
Now in general 2GB memory modules do not like to OC much unless you loosen (raise) the timings and those are already 5 5 5 15 and you really do not want to go to 6, 5 7 7 18 would not be so bad, but in general you might be able to get 10-20MHz more FSB out of them and it would be certain you would have to run them at 1.9V instead of the stock 1.8V default.
Click to expand...

Do you mean that the 2GB sticks done like to be OCed themselves, as in overclocking ram, or do you mean the 2GB sticks dont like to be in systems that the CPU gets OCed?

I am not looking to go nuts. 3 ~ 3.2 is my target OC range for the 6600.
 
LordJezo said:
Do you mean that the 2GB sticks done like to be OCed themselves, as in overclocking ram, or do you mean the 2GB sticks dont like to be in systems that the CPU gets OCed?

I am not looking to go nuts. 3 ~ 3.2 is my target OC range for the 6600.
Click to expand...

2GB modules don't OC as high as 1GB modules.

3.2Ghz would only require an FSB of 356Mhz (w/ the default 9x cpu multiplier), which would put your RAM at DDR2-712 speed, well under spec. Now, the best combo for you would probably be 8x CPU mulitplier, 2x memory multiplier, and a base FSB of 400Mhz, again, assuming your board can handle 400Mhz FSB.

E6600: 8 × 400 = 3.2Ghz, DDR2-800

/*------------- <cut n paste> -------------*/
Formulas for Intel platform @ 1:1 settings:
c × [Base FSB speed] = CPU Clock speed (c = CPU Multiplier)
2 × [Base FSB speed] = RAM speed
4 × [Base FSB speed] = Effective FSB speed

On Intel platforms, running the RAM higher than a 1:1 ratio with the CPU is, for the most part, useless, so don't bother trying to do so. If the BIOS does it for you, just let it. All you need is a 1:1 config, though. Here's some possible clock speeds (as always with OC'ing, your results will vary):

E6600: 9 × 266 = 2.4Ghz, DDR2-533 << STOCK speeds
E6600: 9 × 333 = 3.0Ghz, DDR2-667 << Nice OC
E6600: 9 × 378 = 3.4Ghz, DDR2-756 << Good OC
E6600: 9 × 400 = 3.6Ghz, DDR2-800 << Great OC
/*------------- </cut n paste> -------------*/
 
I got new ram, some PC 6400 G.Skill stuff as I will be attempting an overclock very soon on my E6600.

When the system first boots it is telling me that the memory is running in single channel but it's dual channel ram.

Is there a setting I don't know about to change this?
 
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LordJezo said:
I got new ram, some PC 6400 G.Skill stuff as I will be attempting an overclock very soon on my E6600.

When the system first boots it is telling me that the memory is running in single channel but it's duel channel ram.

Is there a setting I don't know about to change this?
Click to expand...

hmm no setting, it should have automatically detected it.

Set the memory voltage to what the manufacturer recommends for the ram and reboot. If manuf says 1.8V (which is the normal stock default voltage) try 1.9.

Make sure the sticks are inserted properly (there is a notch that must line up) and the locks on the end locked.

(Sorry if that just sounds like basic advice, I have no way of knowing your expertise level )

But if you have them both in correclty and snug it should show dual channel on boot.

If still a problem download and burn a bootable CD (the .iso file) of memtest86+ and see what it says.
 
Oy.

I opened up my motherboard manual after Memtest said it was single channel too.

Who would have thought that consulting a manual would have been helpful? I had to put the memory in slots 1 and 3, not 1 and 2 in order to enable dual channel mode. Need to put them in like colored slots.

ramw.jpg


Not sure if that's basic knowledge but I know now. I have always put ram in sockets next to each other, never skipped before.
 
Sorry to necro this thread, but I have a problem with the MIT on my gigabyte board.

I know these boards have a default dd2 memory voltage of 1.8,

My ddr2 overvolt was set at +1, but my memory was running at 2.18,

I thought that was strange (my memory is rated 1.8-1.9), so I set it from +1 to default on the ddr2 overvolt. When I rebooted my memory voltage was still 2.18. I then used ctrl-f1 to open up the ddr "deovervolt" option (basically undervolting I assume), but it only gave me a "-1" option, unlike the overvolt which gives up to like +7. This did lower my voltage from 2.18 to 2.08, but I am still way over what I should be at. Is there any way to lower it further?
 
elitney said:
Sorry to necro this thread, but I have a problem with the MIT on my gigabyte board.

I know these boards have a default dd2 memory voltage of 1.8,

My ddr2 overvolt was set at +1, but my memory was running at 2.18,

I thought that was strange (my memory is rated 1.8-1.9), so I set it from +1 to default on the ddr2 overvolt. When I rebooted my memory voltage was still 2.18. I then used ctrl-f1 to open up the ddr "deovervolt" option (basically undervolting I assume), but it only gave me a "-1" option, unlike the overvolt which gives up to like +7. This did lower my voltage from 2.18 to 2.08, but I am still way over what I should be at. Is there any way to lower it further?
Click to expand...

What exact board ?
What exact memory do you have? (a link is good.)

I am assuming you left off the "." in front of the numbers.

It is possbile your board is overvolting due to error in the bios coding. Fairly common on first releases of a boards bios. Unfortunatley you are stuck with the options provided unless there is a bios update. I would look for a bios update and make sure I had the latest. Check Gigabyte web site and ensure you get your exact bios for your exact board. Following bios update procedures exactly as manual indicates and do not do it in windows. Use a USB stick or floppy and the Q-flash option at the bottom of the main bios screen.

What are you using to measure memory voltage ? Bios reading ? Double check with the Easytune application in windows.

The undervolting was a good idea. All in all 2.0 ish volts should not harm the memory long term if case airflow is good. During a gaming session or other heavy load on the machine that lasts an hour or so pull of the side panel and stick a finger on a memory stick. Touch the side of the stick right in the middle and 1/2 way down on the heat spreader. On a chip if no heat spreader. If you can slow count to 10 without having to remove your finger you are good. Getting below 2.1V was good as thati is about as high as normal memory likes to run. So 2.08 is a concern but not alarming and a small fan postioned to blow directly on the memory can help ease your mind until a solution is found.

But no, no easy way to do anything but what options the bios gives you and I need your specific board model number to investigate futher. In absolute desperation it is possbile to "mod" the board to reduce memory voltage but lets not go there yet.

Also I would be on Gigabyte tech support as well for an answer. Even if they cannot help it is part of the procedure to get an RMA going if needed. Also the more people that complain the quicker a bios update to fix the issue will be done.


No prob about the thread, I should have bumped it long ago. Many people still use these boards.
 
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so sad that Bill doesn't have the X58A so he can write us another wonderful guide :D
 
zoglog said:
so sad that Bill doesn't have the X58A so he can write us another wonderful guide :D
Click to expand...
Agreed. :) I'm hoping that the Sandy Bridge architecture leads to a good overclock so that Bill can write us another awesome guide. :)

Anyway, here's the deal. I have pretty much the same rig as my sig states, with the exception of a 4850 for the vid card. My oc has been stable, and in general, save for a really bad experience with video cards, I've been very, very happy.

This past weekend, my computer bluescreened and then went into continual boot mode. Once I got the install disk out and ran chkdsk both from DOS and the Windows utility, the amount of time it spent on Stage Four suggests that there are problems with the hard drive's bad sectors. Sure, a low level format might cure the woes, but perhaps a new drive (I have a spare hanging around) would do just as well.

I don't want to load XP, though. I thought I'd go for Win7. But since I will be handing this machine over to my mother, whose computing needs are significantly less intense than mine, I thought I'd upgrade the CPU and RAM. I remembered the board doesn't like all 4 slots filled, so I ordered 2x2G of the G-Skills. I also pulled the trigger on the E8400, which runs at 3.0GHz, which is close to what I'm getting on my E6400.

I will flash my BIOS to the latest version once I get the parts and once I sit down to do the upgrade.

The memory isn't that fast, I know, and I've read in this thread that the 2G models don't tend to OC as well as the 1G models, so I'm not going to push the OC far. My questions are as follows:

1. I do plan to do some mild overclocking--probably close to the baby oc that Bill mentions on the first page of this amazing thread. :) Is extra cooling necessary? I have a fan on the northbridge, but I was thinking of using stock on the cpu rather than transfer the Tunig Tower to the new cpu. The fins on the Tunig are dust magnets, and I am sure that my mom will not dust out the case as religiously as I do, so the advantages of the mega-cooler would be lost after some time.

2. I've never flashed BIOS before, but Qflash looks pretty easy. The directions say I can either flash from a thumb drive or from my hard drive. If I flash from a thumb drive, does it have to be a blank thumb drive? I have one handy, but it has some documents on it. No big deal to delete them, but I'm wondering about the thumb drive since one reason I'm doing all this is that the hard drive is a bit flaky, and I don't want to take a chance on the BIOS update getting corrupted. I'm hoping the instructions, once I get into Qflash, are as easy as it appears to be.

3. Prior to flashing the BIOS, I'll restore my system to default speeds. After flashing, I'll check to see the new BIOS version (should work with the E6400 I have in there, I think), and then take the machine down in order to put in the new components. I'll install Win7 once the machine boots. Is there anything with Win7 Ultimate on this board that I should be aware of?

Thanks so much for a great guide! I look forward to this, my final tweaking of this board. :)
 
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