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Need some help overclocking a Q6600

dr.stevil

dr.stevil

[H]F Junkie
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Sep 26, 2008
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So with minor exceptions, this build has been the first that I've ever really overclocked. Right now I have it set to 333X9 (3.0)... voltage and everything else is set to auto.

Anytime I've tried going over 333fsb, the computer wont even post. I've tried raising the voltage slightly but that's never helped out at all. It always beeps (constant rapid beeping) on restart and refuses to post, forcing me to pull the jumper to clear the bios.

3.0 has been perfect though, no stability issues and no other technical issues with it, which makes me think that it's not a problem with the chip or mobo, but possibly a problem with the memory I'm running. Here is the memory and here is my mobo

The chip is a G0 version btw

right now the memory is set to 1:1 in my bios. Should it be? I've tried leaving that at auto, but it's never made a difference. Any help would be appreciated. I've always been fine with 3.0 to be honest, so I never really tried to figure out what was going on with it. However, since getting the gtx295 and the disappointing performance:dollar ratio, I'm pretty convinced that the CPU is creating a bottleneck. Any ideas or suggestions? Has anyone ever seen any issues like this before?

thanks
 
set the memory speed & voltage manually in bios. you will need to lower memory ratio to stay under your memory capability of DDR2 800. For over clocking you need better memory speed like 1066.
 
What memory speed/voltage should I use? Can I get by with the 800mhz? or do I need something better to get the chip past 3ghz?

thanks for the help

edit: ok. I was wrong about the memory (sort of) settings

it gives me the following options for it. timing is set to auto

Auto
200/667
200/800
266/667
266/800
266/1066
333/667
333/800 (where it's set now)
333/1066
 
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you can overvolt the memory by a couple of notches if you want to see if the memory can clock higher. you can also loosen your timings. if you feel uncomfortable with overclocking your memory, you will have to under clock it to give your cpu more head room. you can bump the cpu voltage to 1.4v set the fsb to 400mhz and find the memory multiplier that keeps your ram at 800mhz to see if your system will boot to windows.
 
ok thanks. I kept the memory where it was, set the (memory) voltage to 1.9 and bumped the FSB to 355 (3200 MHz) and to my surprise it actually booted into windows. I ran prime95 and about 5-10 seconds into it, I got a BSOD. I can only assume that means I need more voltage (it's still set to auto)? also, upon startup when the computer posts, it said "DDR2 852" opposed to 800. what setting should I use to underclock it? 333/677?
 
ok, good news. I used 333/677 and left the fsb at 355x9... bumped the voltage a bit too (25mV). I booted back into windows and everything seems good. been running prime for the past 5mins without any errors... looks like it was a memory issue (or more so my own ignorance). temps aren't too bad either 65* at sustained full load

gonna give it a little longer in prime and try to bump it up to 3.4/3.5

what is considered a "safe" voltage? or what shouldn't I exceed? it's at 1.280 right now according to CPU-z

edit: worker 3 stopped (1 error, 0 warnings). does it need more voltage?

thanks
 
your memory manufacturer suggests up to 2.0v for the ram. 52mhz isn't an massive overclock for 800mhz sticks, but some can overclock to beyond 900mhz and some won't withstand 1mhz more. kind of a crap shoot. you can under clock to 667mhz which will be pushed back up to 800mhz when your cpu fsb reaches 400mhz. since your board doesn't support a 1600mhz fsb (your mobo fsb operates at a 4x multiplier to your cpu bus) you might have to bump up your northbridge voltage a notch or two to achieve more stability as you approach a 400mhz cpu bus speed. i wouldn't exceed 1.4v on a 65nm quad core.
 
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thanks renny. I'll give that a try. I appreciate the help so far... I've gotten further with it tonight than I have in 2 years lol

as for the failed worker in prime, is that indicative that it needs more voltage to the CPU? Just for my own trouble shooting... it would be nice to get it stable at 3.2 before I go any further :D
 
well, I went up to 1.38V @ 3.6 and couldn't get it stable. I kept adding voltage and it was making it run prime for a longer period of time before it would BSOD but never got it to stay on for more than 10 mins.

when I finally hit 1.38+, the computer would freeze upon boot. It actually scared me because suddenly my SSD wasn't showing up in the bios anymore after resetting the jumper :( upon reboot it came back though so who knows, could of been a bug or something.

So I tried getting it stable at 3.4... I used up to 1.32V for it and couldn't get that stable. After "X" time in prime, it would BSOD... same with 3.2

after dicking around with it for 4-5 hours, I finally just set it back to 3 and called it a night lol I may try again this weekend. Any suggestions to try to get it stable? Should I try adding NB voltage? if so, how much? Any theories as to why I can't seem to get a stable OC? I know not all chips are equal, but I figured 3.2-3.4 should be perfectly within the realm of possibility. Temps never got too crazy or anything (using an aftermarket cooler).

thanks
 
Not every Q6600 can break past 3ghz without a sweat. My Q6600 was good at 3.2, but not any higher no matter how much voltage you threw at it. A 25 percent overclock is very respectable. Have you established what the highest possible FSB is for your mobo? If you haven't every increased OC attempt is a shot in the dark.
 
Max cpu voltage for Q6600 according to Intel is 1.45V, stay under 1.4 and I like to stay around 1.375 max but I water cool. Its a personal thing and depends on your cooling. At some point you will see more voltage gives you little or no improvement in CPU speeds and in my opinion thats a good place to stop.

AMDXP idea to drop the multi is an excellent thing to try as it will keep your memory at spec speed and use the more stable 1:1 (memory runs with same base clock on both sides of northbridge but memory speed is reported as x2 because it is DDR2 and so for each clock "tick" it does 2 memory operations).

Your memory sould be good until 2.1V but check the manuf web site. G-skill likes more voltage and I would not hesitate to run it at 2.0 volts right off the bat.

Also try the first or second increase in MCH/Northbridge voltage - not sure what it is called on the DFI.
(this is critical for FSB OC as the Northbridge gets OCed just like the CPU. 1.25 volts is stock with Intel datasheet saying 1.375 is max. )

Also try the first or second increase in FSB voltage - not sure what it is called on the DFI.

The point of the last two recommendations is to just give the board a little "push" to help with OCing without going to extreams. No idea what "auto" is doing. That is really the big question, is it changing the above and if so how much ?

3.2 is a great target. My Q6600 is kinda a dud for OCing, at least with my current board which I know will do 475 FSB with a dual. I have found little difference in the "feel" of the machine once you get to 3.2-3.4 but then again my games etc. are not real demanding.
 
thanks a lot of the help and info. I appreciate it

Decided to give it another try tonight. Still can't manage to hit 3.4, but got it prime stable at 3.3 @ 1.344V at the moment (memory is at 1.975V and 732mhz.. NB is at 1.37V) , hopefully it passes.

thanks again for all the help
 
Got mine up to 3.65 stable in windows xp on air and a partial bootup at 3.8 :D

Should i sell it and go for an i7 setup with tripple ddr3?
 
BillParrish said:
Max cpu voltage for Q6600 according to Intel is 1.45V, stay under 1.4 and I like to stay around 1.375 max but I water cool. .
Click to expand...

You sure about that?

http://processorfinder.intel.com/details.aspx?sSpec=SLACR

I've been putting 1.47v though my G0 Q6600 for almost 2 years with not a single issue. On air it loads at 61c. 65nm parts have a higher voltage tolerance than the newer 45nm parts.

The 45nm Wolfdale's and such have a 1.4v limit.
 
You are correct, I am wrong, was thinking of the 45nm parts.

Per the Intel Datasheet for the CPU, Absolute Max Vcc is given as 1.55V
 
My Q6600 is running 3.6Ghz at 1.3725V. Memory is at 2.1V and clock is 400. 400x9. 18 months stable.
 
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