Help with an overclock!

[Wolfdale75]

Hi Guys,

I've been told that in order for my BIOS to give the option of DDR2-800 instead of DDR2-833, I need to overclock my CPU.

So I read some articles online and tried to do an overclock for the first time ever in my life...

Here's my system:

Intel Core2Duo E8600 @ 3.33GHz (Socket 775 LGA)
ASUS P5B Deluxe (with latest BIOS installed)
8GB Kingston HyperX DDR2 (PC2-5300)
NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 with latest stable driver package
2 x SanDisk Extreme SSD 120 GB (Windows is on drive C
Arctic Freezer cooler (forget the exact model)
Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit (completely updated with all the latest Microsoft updates)

Now, I've heard all kinds of stories about my CPU, about how easy it is to overclock to 4GHz without even raising the voltage and blah blah blah. I also read you don't need to fiddle with the RAM settings either.

That's not at all the experience I've just had. Here's what I set in the BIOS:

CIe - disable
SpeedStep - disable
PCI clock = 100
Legacy USB = disabled
Spread spectrum = disabled
Initial display adapter - set to PCI
DRAM frequency - auto
CPU multipier - 10

I then set the CPU clock to 375 (stock is 333). Result: Windows loaded but soon froze, then the system rebooted and would not get past the BIOS screen. At this clock speed, even the BIOS crashed a few times after I entered it - never seen that in my life!

So I experimented with lower clock speeds with the above settings. The fastest speed I have got that is stable in Windows is 3.6GHz. After that I get the frozen OS and automatic reboots and I have to power down the machine and use the "CPU Parameter Recall" feature (saves having to clear the CMOS).

Next, I tried upping the vcore voltage to 1.25V. And tried 3.75Ghz again. Same results as above.

So much for this chip being idiot-proof to overclock. Can anyone advise?

Thanks!

 

[Nenu]

Dont worry about memory options.
When you overclock socket 775 FSB, it overclocks the ram as well.
Before you start, you need to slow the ram down, how far depends on how high the overclock is.

If you overclock the CPU by 10% using the FSB, it will overclock the memory by 10%, bear this in mind.
Start off by slowing the memory right down to maybe half its speed.
Then overclock the CPU as far as it can go, so you will know its limit.
Speed the ram up until it becomes unstable.

I advise you to make a full system backup before overclocking as booting an unstable overclock can corrupt the OS and cause you hours of trouble and even a re-install.
Better still, use another hard drive with another windows install or a copy of your current setup.