Overclocking a Q6600

[Goose]

Hey guys,

I'm looking into overclocking the Q6600 that's in one of my machines. I've never overclocked a processor. (I have a Q9550 I'd like to squeeze a little out of also). I'm looking to skip Sandy and Ivy and upgrade to Haswell next year at this point.

I read the large thread about overclocking here already and I've tried a little overclocking myself.

The motherboard is a Gigabyte EP45-DS3R and the Q6600 is a G0.. the CPU cooler is a Coolermaster GeminII S and the memory is G.Skill 8GB (DDR2 800 / pc2-6400 at 5-5-5-15 with 1.8-1.9v. -- from the box).

I only plan on a overclock from the stock 2.4GHz to 3.0 - 3.4GHz thereabouts.

So far the processor is at 3.1 GHz at 345x9 , the memory system multiplier is at 2.40B which increases the memory from 800 to 828.

CoreTemp says that the VID is from 1.1625 to 1.3250.

CPU-Z says core voltage is from 1.376 to 1.392.

CoreTemp says that the Core Temps are at 32c, 31c, 32c, 33c.

Everything from CPU Vcore to Channel B Reference is set to AUTO.

________

Those are the only things I've changed. Am I missing something? The system seems to boot to the desktop ok but....

The only thing I've noticed when I first turn the machine on is that it will start, pause for 3 seconds, shut off, wait for 5-8 seconds then boot completely to the desktop without Any further issues. Now it does not do this each and every time it's started.

I've not used any stress tests yet. Aside from small desktop programs.

Have I overlooked something?

Thanks.

 

[xxEIEIOxx]

Hmmm, haven't run socket 775 for a few months... Did you bump your Mch (northbridge) voltage a little? If you have 8GB of RAM it is likely necessary. You may also want to over volt your RAM one notch. You may need to bump vtt a notch or 2 also.

 

[Goose]

xxEIEIOxx, thanks.

Anyone else have some thoughts?

 

[aphasia]

every time i see someone ask about q6600 oc'ing, i drop the in the...
'graysky' - HOWTO: Overclock C2Q (Quads) and C2D (Duals) - A Guide v1.7...
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1198647&highlight=core+overclock+guide

you mentioned you checked a thread on q6600 overclocking tho this one is the most complete i've found.

doing any overclocking is usually a methodical process, make one change then stress test -rinse and repeat.

one suggestion tho, leave your RAM out of the equation while trying to find a good OC for your q6600 (change the NB strap & DRAM speed to keep your RAM @ or below the sticker speed). as 'xxEIEIOxx' mentioned, you'll probably need to increase the NB voltage despite not touching the RAM speed as you get into mid 3GHz territory.

you'll need to be aware of some of the other voltage options at some point (LLC, FSB termination voltage etc) tho the 'graysky' guide covers that better than i could.

i did some testing on my old q6600/X38 system a couple of months ago (was going to compare to a unlocked AMD 555 chip at same speeds), the settings of which i can post if your want them. ran stress & bench tests at;
-2400MHz
-3000MHz
-3200MHz
-3400MHz
-3600MHz
-3700MHz

if you do want them, the VID of my q6600 is lower than your (1.275 compared your 1.325). just so you know the VID is hardcoded into chip which dictates the voltages used at various speeds (@ 6 to 9 multipliers and the steps in-between, that's of course if you kept the power saving features turned on. initially you may want to disable) so you probably won't be able to use the same settings. only good as a guide plus even if we had chips with the same VID, voltages required as likely to be different.

 

[Goose]

Thanks for the information aphasia. That link to to the 'graysky' thread is the one I was referring to in my original post.

I think that I am going to keep it at 3.1GHz for awhile. Later I plan to upgrade the graphics card which is the main reason for the processor overclock.

I was wondering if you have thoughts on this from my post above:

" The only thing I've noticed when I first turn the machine on is that it will start, pause for 3 seconds, shut off, wait for 5-8 seconds then boot completely to the desktop without Any further issues. Now it does not do this each and every time it's started. " I'll add that it seems to do this from a cold start, not a restart.

Would this be because there are other areas in which the voltage needs to be increased? (LLC, FSB termination etc. like you mentioned).

I also didn't touch anything to do with power saving, so I believe it's at the default setting. Is there a way to lower the VID to come in more in line with yours?

The system seems stable right now so I'm not going to go any higher. I just want to make sure I did not miss an area that needs a voltage increase or decrease and ruin something.

Thanks again for the info. By the way, you can post the information about the settings for the 2.4 thru 3.7 etc. here if you'd like to. I'm not sure if I'd need them, but posting them in a thread like this may be helpful to someone else. Just a thought.

 

[aphasia]

Thanks for the information aphasia. That link to to the 'graysky' thread is the one I was referring to in my original post.

I think that I am going to keep it at 3.1GHz for awhile. Later I plan to upgrade the graphics card which is the main reason for the processor overclock.

I was wondering if you have thoughts on this from my post above:

" The only thing I've noticed when I first turn the machine on is that it will start, pause for 3 seconds, shut off, wait for 5-8 seconds then boot completely to the desktop without Any further issues. Now it does not do this each and every time it's started. " I'll add that it seems to do this from a cold start, not a restart.

Would this be because there are other areas in which the voltage needs to be increased? (LLC, FSB termination etc. like you mentioned).

I also didn't touch anything to do with power saving, so I believe it's at the default setting. Is there a way to lower the VID to come in more in line with yours?

The system seems stable right now so I'm not going to go any higher. I just want to make sure I did not miss an area that needs a voltage increase or decrease and ruin something.

Thanks again for the info. By the way, you can post the information about the settings for the 2.4 thru 3.7 etc. here if you'd like to. I'm not sure if I'd need them, but posting them in a thread like this may be helpful to someone else. Just a thought.

q6600 should have no trouble at stable operation @ 3.0-3.2Ghz on stock voltage or a little above. not all chips are equal of course tho most G0's should be fine. i noticed your RAM is OC'ed however (828), keep that at 800 or below by messing with either the memory speed setting or changing the NB strap. each NB strap should give you a few memory speed settings each.

regarding your boot issue, i couldn't really say. the only time i've seen similar behaviour is if i've made a change in the BIOS/UEFI, saved the settings and restarted. during the restart the PC will usually power off completely then power up (cold) using the modified settings.

with your experience, i'd suggest you thoroughly stress test your current setting (prime95 for 8hr with small FFTs & blend) to see if it uncovers any instability.

the other area to check is your PSU, it might not be up to the task to supply the extra juice required for the OC. monitor programs will give you a rough idea on what the 12v, 5v, 3.3v rails are doing during load tho a multimeter is far more accurate. all rails (+v) must be within ±5% of their nominal values at all times.

it's important with OC'ing that only one change is made at a time. throwing too many changes into the BIOS makes it too difficult to ID the one that's causing the trouble.
make a change, save and reboot into windows - stress test. the initial testing doesn't need to be lengthy, 15-20min then move on. the longer stress testing comes at the end when you are dialling in your final clock.

regarding voltages, initially you should only be touching the Vcore but only if your FSB proves unstable. move it up a single notch and re-test. the other voltages come later (NB voltage, LLC or loadline calibration, VTT or FSB termination etc). check the 'graysky' guide on when to touch these. i will say LLC is is very useful with higher clocks. you'll get quite a bit of vdroop during prime95 load (depending on MB). enabling this will reduce the vcore needed to keep chip stable at higher clocks. for example when i was running @ 3.7, was able to reduce my vcore from 1.45v down to 1.40v.

the VID on your CPU is hardcoded as i mentioned earlier. the VID is just the way intel bins their chips and based on this dumped into their various SKUs. by the time the G0 surfaced, 65mn chips like the q6600 was very mature process (good yields per wafer) so the VIDs for this model were all over the place (ranging from low 1.2volts up to 1.35volts). having said that, intel is generally fairly conservative so most chips can be under-volted at stock clocks and even OC'ed somewhat with a lower vcore. as you're aiming for low to mid 3GHz clock this really isn't an option. in all likelihood you'll need at least this stock voltage + 1 or 2 bumps to achieve 3.2 - 3.4Ghz.

ideally if doing this properly, you look at finding the max FSB your CPU/MB can handle by dropping you multi to x6. this will provide a good basis of where your systems limits are. as you're not chasing a maximum OC, it not as important to do this

i wouldn't worry about 'ruining' things regarding voltages, as long as you're not dumping stupid amounts of voltage thru your system, the CPU and MB are fairly robust where this is concerned. at worst you may encounter system instability during load (reboots, hardlocks, BSODs etc). at very worst you my corrupt your window installation tho that's rare. think it goes without saying it's important to have a disaster recovery option in place just in case. a image of your boot partition should be enough tho a backup of your docs, emails, browser setting doesn't hurt.

remember the voltages used here are not going to be the same for you. you're going to need at least 1.325 on your CPU. also your MB uses a newer chipset than the one i used. mine was an X38, yours is a P45. their fairly similar tho the voltages are likely to be a little different.

finally keep an eye on your CPU/NB & SB temps. the G0 chips are rated at 72C, not sure on the NB/SB tho personally i wouldn't go near 60C on those. i know the 'graysky' guide is long and to get the most out of it, you'll probably need to read it a few times. i certainly wish i saw it before i got my q6600/x38 system, could have saved me a ton of hours. i was kinda lucky tho, anandtech did a OC special on my asus X38 MB plus i found and excellent thread @ xtremesystems tho that thread is dead now (deleted from forum archive?). this thread was also useful;
http://forums.extremeoverclocking.com/showthread.php?t=313529
the info is mainly for Asus ROG MBs tho most of the discussions on settings are still relevant.

 

[EarthwormJim]

Sounds like the infamous Gigabyte Cold Boot problems. I do not recall if there was a true solution, have you tried updating the BIOS at all?

If not, it just might be something you have to deal with.

 

[Jorona]

Sounds like the infamous Gigabyte Cold Boot problems. I do not recall if there was a true solution, have you tried updating the BIOS at all?

If not, it just might be something you have to deal with.

This. Mine does it to. It doesn't hurt anything.

 

[xxEIEIOxx]

I think that I am going to keep it at 3.1GHz for awhile. Later I plan to upgrade the graphics card which is the main reason for the processor overclock...

No shame in 3.1. The biggest gains on a Q6600 are going from 2.4 to 3.0. I honestly could not tell much difference going from 3.2 to 3.6 so anywhere between 3.0 - 3.2 is reasonably good unless you are going after bragging rights, which you are going to get much of with a Q6600 these days. If you can hit 9 * 360 fsb you can break 3.2 without too much work. There really isn't much return after hitting that, so it would be a good stopping point without putting an excessive amount of work into it.

 

[Goose]

snip

Thanks for all that information, quite informative.

 

[Goose]

Sounds like the infamous Gigabyte Cold Boot problems. I do not recall if there was a true solution, have you tried updating the BIOS at all?

If not, it just might be something you have to deal with.

I did not know about a Cold Boot Issue. I'm guessing that the overclock made it happen as it has not happened once in over 3 years. Thanks for letting me know about it. I've not updated the BIOS, something I should consider doing... and I'll most likely have to deal with it knowing it isn't harmful.

 

[Goose]

No shame in 3.1. The biggest gains on a Q6600 are going from 2.4 to 3.0. I honestly could not tell much difference going from 3.2 to 3.6 so anywhere between 3.0 - 3.2 is reasonably good unless you are going after bragging rights, which you are going to get much of with a Q6600 these days. If you can hit 9 * 360 fsb you can break 3.2 without too much work. There really isn't much return after hitting that, so it would be a good stopping point without putting an excessive amount of work into it.

3.1GHz seems to have livened up the computer. It's good enough for me, no bragging rights needed for the Q6600, she's an old gal but tried and true.

Thanks to all who helped

 

[asdf123]

I used to have your exact setup and heatsink, I had it at 400FSB for a 1:1 ratio with the ram and bumped the timings down to 4 - 4 - 4 - 12 with the CPU Multiplier at 8x giving me 3200MHz. bump the NB voltage to around 1.4v aswell

 

[grambo]

I have the "double boot" issue on my P5B-Deluxe with an OC'd Q6700, press power, LEDs come on, fan spins a bit, powers off, 2 seconds later powers up normally, mostly happens on cold boots and nothing to worry about (4-5 years of it now). Good luck and enjoy the "free" speed increase.

 

[Pyroja]

I have the "double boot" issue on my P5B-Deluxe with an OC'd Q6700, press power, LEDs come on, fan spins a bit, powers off, 2 seconds later powers up normally, mostly happens on cold boots and nothing to worry about (4-5 years of it now). Good luck and enjoy the "free" speed increase.

Same thing happens on my system (Q6600 @ 3.4ghz, Asus P5Q Deluxe). Always wondered why it happened... But nothing bad ever came of it.

A decently OC'd Q6600 is still a solid CPU! Long in the tooth? Yes. Still going strong? Definitely!

 

[grambo]

Same thing happens on my system (Q6600 @ 3.4ghz, Asus P5Q Deluxe). Always wondered why it happened... But nothing bad ever came of it.

A decently OC'd Q6600 is still a solid CPU! Long in the tooth? Yes. Still going strong? Definitely!

Yep it is. I just built this IB system after using my Q6700 for about 4 years (and E6600 @ 3.2 for 1.5 years before that). The new system is a massive upgrade, but the Q6700 was still very capable with a 560Ti, will be selling it soon.

 

[ShuttleLuv]

Q6600 is all about the GTL's.

 

[Jorona]

Q6600 is all about the GTL's.

...

Wat?

 

[Endgame]

I just finished OCing a 9550, which I got to 3.93Ghz on a Gigabyte X48-UD4. Terribly annoying board to be honest, with several hard walls on the OC (FSB and Memory) when using 8GB. If you want to tweak some more, try dropping down to 2 memory modules and see if it helps. Of course, I decided to stick with 3.93 and 8GB of ram, buy YMMV.