My first attempt ocer

[hyt3k9]

My first attempt to overclock, got stuck with a few questions.. looking for something stable and don't really want to shorten the life of my components by much, got great cooling

My CPU/Motherboard/RAM combo:
E6600 w/ Tuniq Tower
ASUS P5W DH Deluxe (1602 BIOS)
2GB Mushkin Redline PC2-8000 (2x1GB)

I noticed right away, when I adjust the CPU frequency in the BIOS, it matches my RAM up to roughly double that automatically. (ie. 333MHZ/CPU then 667MHZ/RAM by default in BIOS)
I have always read that it is a good idea to run a 1:1 divider with CPU/RAM for maximum stability.
The problem is, in order to get my rated speed of 1000MHZ out of the RAM with a CPU with a multi (x9) like the E6600, you have to run the CPU freq @ 500MHZ to get the advertised speeds out of my RAM. Also, in order to run a 1:1 divider with my RAM, that means that the CPU would have to clock up to 4.5GHZ (ie. 500 x 9 = 4.5Ghz to run 1000Mhz on RAM @ 1:1 ratio)

I am obviously missing something here, my goal is to get about 3.4 from my CPU. So far, I have been successful with getting the CPU from 2.4 to 3.0ghz (without testing) the following:

*Temps observed so far: (Speedfan: 23c/41c -- TAT: 36c/48c -- Everest: 23c/41c)
*Northbridge reporting a steady 37c-38c idle and load, no change

CPU Freq: 333MHZ @ 3.0Ghz
RAM Freq: 667MHZ (1:1)
*Both RAM/CPU voltages set to Auto
Ram timings: Auto (CPUz reporting as 5-6-6-18)
PCI-E Freq: 100MHZ
PCI Clock Sync: 33.33MHZ
*All motherboard voltages (NB/SB) set to auto

Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated!

EDIT: Was trying to come up with a "catchy" title for this thread, and forgot to change it.. so that is why the title doesn't make sense. LOL

 

[corruptblitz]

If you lower the multiplier from 9 to 7, then you could do 500x7=3500. Then you could run the ram at 1000mhz effective and have the 1:1. Sometimes it can get tricky to get the motherboard to do 500 though, and you might have to start messing with the voltages to the NB and stuff.

 

[hyt3k9]

From what I have read here, and over at Xtremesystems, it looks like the motherboard I have is rare to go above 450 and remain stable, without volt modding and going to exotic cooling solutions.

I have 3 voltages offered in BIOS, I labeled what I think each one goes to..
FSB Termination Voltage (Not sure about this one)
MCH Voltage (Northbridge)
ICH Voltage (Southbridge)

Also, is there a way to "unlink" my RAM and CPU timings, so I can run a different ratio and still have PC boot-up? At this time, all 3 times I have tried to boot up with different (higher) settings on the DRAM Freq vs. CPU Freq it wouldn't boot up.

 

[ghost6303]

my P5W DH wouldnt even post above ~407fsb. 400 was the stable max. there is no way to unlink ram on this board, your thinking about the 680i's. i was able to get it to run 1:1 ratio (1to1 is the only setting it would post on) 9x multi 400fsb (3.6ghz) at around 1.5vcore with max vmch pretty stable. the reason you cant get higher is because the MCH voltage is set too low in bios. you need to increase it more then it will let you. also anything over 400fsb sets a 1333mhz NB strap which increases timings and loweres performance noticably. 400 is much faster then 401 with this board. actualy 400fsb is about equal to 420fsb. anywhere in between is a loss.

FSB Termination Voltage (Not sure about this one)
MCH Voltage (Northbridge)
ICH Voltage (Southbridge)

i set all of these to max. just watch temps (my northbridge was watercooled)

 

[hyt3k9]

Alright, done some testing overnight, and a few more tweaks today.
Last night I got 3.0Ghz / Orthos 9hr stable (First time playing around w/ it)
This afternoon was able to get 3.3Ghz / Orthos 4hr stable (After some reading on forums on how to overcome the 350mhz wall on the FSB)

Here was the settings I used this afternoon:
CPU: 370x9
RAM: 740Mhz
Timings: 4-5-5-15
Memory volts: 2.10
VCore: 1.4625
Temps: 39c / 63c

1) I would like to cut back as much VCore as possible, to bring temps down and extend life of CPU
2) Get more performance out of my current RAM, right now running timings of 4-5-5-15, but if I run it closer to advertised specs, then the timings jump overboard to 5-6-6-18 (According to the RAM profiler in CPUz)

I would like to run 3.4Ghz. If my math is correct, I can attain this speed by simply running the CPU at 378x9. (Since I cannot "unlink" my CPU freq from my RAM, it forces me to run 1:1 this limits my total RAM performance by almost 8% @ 756Mhz)

I could approach this from the thought of maximizing the RAM speed, and lowering the CPU multiplier. I could do this by 485x7. (Since everything I have read goes against this board from being able to boot up and remain stable on anything higher than 420fsb, I dont think this is an option)

Any ideas? Besides either scaling back the OC to 3.2 (Which ran stable) or buying a new motherboard that will boot above 420fsb? I would like to use the gear I have, I am running BIOS 1602, and have read that every release of the BIOS after my version, haven't brought anything new to Win XP x86 users.. so no need to update BIOS.

Ninja Edit: Since I am tweaking settings, rebooting and trying to find my hardware's sweet spot.. How long should I test in Orthos (Small FFTs) to make quick changes (ie. Voltage tweaks, FSB Tweaks, RAM Timings, etc.) I know to test the system overnight with Orthos, when you think you got it right and want to test the long term stability, but how long is long enough when making fast-paced tests, to just try and zero in on things like temps, windows crashes, super pi, etc? Also, should I also be using another program like Prime95 as well, for quick testing? Lastly, I run Small FFTs on the CPU only in Orthos, should I be testing the RAM as well?

 

[Markyip1]

I have a Tuniq Tower cooling an E6600 at 3.6 Ghz w/o sweat. With such a great cooler, don't be afraid to increase vCore a bit. I'm running a vCore of 1.4 (1.5025 in BIOS to account for vDroop) and temps idle in the mid 30s and load (Orthos Small-FFT) in the mid 50s.

As for the Motherboard and RAM: instead of looking to replace the motherboard, replace the RAM. There is no need for PC-8000 RAM when using an E6600. In my opinion, it's overkill and a waste of money. (Factory overclocked RAM is only useful for getting high speeds from lower-end CPUs with smaller multipliers.) Get standard PC-6400 RAM instead, perhaps with tighter-timings. Then you can easily run 1:1 at 400Mhz, and either run x9 for 3.6Ghz or x8 for 3.2Ghz. Many PC-6400 Dimms are easily overclockable, often upwards of 100Mhz, so you should also have no trouble getting the 3.4Ghz mark you've been hunting.

Also, there are many articles that dispute the 1:1 divider performance benefit, so consider whether or not it is crucial for you to run the RAM at its rated speed. Of course, since one pays a premium for factory-overclocked RAM, it would seem reasonable to make use of the overclock.

Addition: Lastly, I'd run Orthos for twenty minutes after each tweak and see what happens. If it passes, go back and tweak some more. Keep doing this until Orthos fails within the first twenty minutes. Then, go back to your highest-possible overclock that'll run for twenty, and try for forty five. If it fails within forty five, reduce until it passes. Once you've found your max at forty five, run for eight hours and you'll have a good indicator of whether or not you've found something stable. Keep in mind that many people have different routines they swear by. Ultimately you should consider your research and use your own judgment.

Good luck,

Mark.

 

[ziddey]

The i975x chipset like you've mentioned will have a hard time doing much more than the low 400's in fsb.

So you should stick to 9x and go as high as you can. You don't need to keep with 1:1. The performance benefits of going further up are still there to be realized, so you should involve that as well, since you won't be seeing 500fsb on the i975x. 4:5 at 400 (iirc i975x has this divider), you'll be at 1000.

 

[hyt3k9]

Thanks for replies!! Ended up with 3.4Ghz Orthos/Prime95 stable for 8+ Hours, with temps in mid 30's idle and low 50's @ full load. Also, RAM timings ended up @ 4-5-4-11.
Thanks for the tips