overclocking my E8500...

[cannondale06]

okay first off try to be nice because I am a noob at this overclocking thing. I am not looking for an insane oc but instead just a small boost. at the moment its not even necessary but I am planning on getting a much faster gpu in a couple of months so I will need to oc the cpu a bit just to keep the bottlenecking to a minimum.

ok some mistakes I have made before was just raising the fsb which actually put the memory at 960 which I hope didnt cause any harm. next I tried to mess with the memory timings a bit but that resulted in no booting, obviously my memory doesnt like any thing higher than 5 4 4 12 which are the standard timings.

ok here are some things that worked. I did figure out the 1:1 thing and got the cpu to 3.6(9x400) with memory running at 5 5 5 18 because I left it set to auto. next I tried 3.8(9.5x400) and it ran just fine for prime95. then I set the memory to 5 4 4 12 and left the cpu at 3.8. I ran prime95 for over 30 minutes with no issues and 52 C max temp.

so the exact settings I am using right now with no issues are:
3.8(9.5x400)
core voltage left at auto and its showing 1.312 to 1.296 at desktop and 1.280 to 1.296 for prime95
memory at 5 4 4 12 timings, 2T, 800mhz with voltage left on auto
pci-e set to 100mhz

I am happy with 3.8 and dont really care to go any higher for the time being. please let me know what else I need to change or alter for best long term stability.

 

[-=Antimatter=-]

As long as you are prime95 stable for at least 12-24 hours then you are golden.

I wouldn't leave the voltage on AUTO, you'll need to test yourself what the minimum voltage required for stability is.

You might want to set your memory voltage manually too just to make sure that it's running at its proper rated voltage. For memory with tighter timings like that it's possible that it requires more than just the default voltage.

Edit: If you're running this kit, then you should be fine with 1.8V, just set it manually.
http://www.mushkin.com/Memory/Blackline/996587.aspx

That's the only kit I see on the Mushkin site that has 5-4-4-X timings stock.

 

[cannondale06]

As long as you are prime95 stable for at least 12-24 hours then you are golden.

I wouldn't leave the voltage on AUTO, you'll need to test yourself what the minimum voltage required for stability is.

You might want to set your memory voltage manually too just to make sure that it's running at its proper rated voltage. For memory with tighter timings like that it's possible that it requires more than just the default voltage.

Edit: If you're running this kit, then you should be fine with 1.8V, just set it manually.
http://www.mushkin.com/Memory/Blackline/996587.aspx

That's the only kit I see on the Mushkin site that has 5-4-4-X timings stock.

thnaks for replying. so what is the harm in leaving voltage on auto? do the voltages I have listed, 1.312 to 1.296 at desktop and 1.280 to 1.296 for prime95, seem normal?

yeah thats the exact memory I have. I believe its actually running at 1.904 according to this. http://img339.imageshack.us/i/1218090604a.jpg/ is that the memory voltage?

 

[Matthew Kane]

I would've been the first to post, but my net got dc so .....

Heres some things you can do:

Disable Speedstep/EIST/C1E

Change your RAM to 1:1 ratio if aval, 2:1 or 5:4

Raise your FSB in increments of 5-10, see if it posts and if it does, you go back in again and increase more. Once you have overclocked it by about 200 or so mhz, stress test your system for 10-15 minutes with either Prime95 or OCCT 3.x. If it crashes, increase voltage a slight bit, if it doesn't you can keep on repeating the same step, until you've reached a point where instability is incoming, even with the relaxed RAM timings and extra volts, you can stress test it for about 8-10 hours (I do 72 hour stress testing) and once stable, your good to go. Keep note of your temperatures at all times.

Also to your question, leaving the voltages on auto, has no bad side affects, those temperatures you've mentioned is vdroop, when under load, the temperature drops slightly, this is all dependent on the motherboard itself, and some can be vdroop modded.