Q6600 BIOS questions *pics*

[Purostaff]

I would love you guys forever if you can give me answers to the following questions: (Please see pictures below for references)

1. Why do I have unlimited frequency option? Isn't it for higher end MOBO that can have more than 9x fsb multiplier?

2. What is the HT speed multiplier for? It stands for hyper transport right? The default is 5x, but I've read that it should be 4x when OCing.

3. Concerning FSB : DRAM ratio, what's the difference between 'sync' setting and '1:1' setting. I always thought those were the same thing, but that doesn't seem to be the case here. The 1:1 setting at 2.4 Ghz can only be possible with RAM rated at 1066 mhz according to the BIOS. Thus, anything higher would require overclocking the ram.

4. How do I know if my HD is SMART capable? The bio default setting is 'disable'. I have Western Digital 500GB WD5000AAKS model.


Spec:

nForce 650i SLI MOBO (C55-MCP51)
C2Q Q6600 G0 @ 3.0ghz (9 x 300) <-- still need to run prime95
2x 1gb PC6400 DDR2 800mhz @ 5-5-5-18
Geforce 8800 GTX

 

[BinarySynapse]

1. Why do I have unlimited frequency option? Isn't it for higher end MOBO that can have more than 9x fsb multiplier?

Not sure what you mean by unlimited, but the ratio of the CPU is locked (at 9 in your case), but it can be lowered in order increase the FSB if the CPU gets maxed out before the FSB does.

EDIT: I see the frequency unlimit option now. You had the CPU ratio setting selected, which threw me off. Not sure what's that for. I would assume that it allows you to raise the FSB speeds when it's enabled. I'm probably wrong on that however.

2. What is the HT speed multiplier for? It stands for hyper transport right? The default is 5x, but I've read that it should be 4x when OCing.

I believe the Intel version of the nforce chipset still communicate with the southbridge over HT. If you're overclocking the nortbridge (via FSB overclocking), then the HT links can become unstable. Lower the multiplier to solve this problem just as you would on an Athlon64/X2 system.

3. Concerning FSB : DRAM ratio, what's the difference between 'sync' setting and '1:1' setting. I always thought those were the same thing, but that doesn't seem to be the case here. The 1:1 setting at 2.4 Ghz can only be possible with RAM rated at 1066 mhz according to the BIOS. Thus, anything higher would require overclocking the ram.

It's just how the manufacturer chose to name the settings. Sync sets the DRAM actual speed to the FSB's actual speed (i.e. not the quad-data rate speed). 1:1 in this case seems to match the DRAM's DDR rating to the FSB's QDR rating.

4. How do I know if my HD is SMART capable? The bio default setting is 'disable'. I have Western Digital 500GB WD5000AAKS model.

All xATA hard drives sold over the past 5 or so years have been SMART capable. Just enable this setting.

 

[Purostaff]

So, how would you know when to lower the HT multiplier? Is there a general troubleshoot for it and does it lower the performance significantly if you were to decrease it?

Thanks again. <3